I want us to read about the Lord's
disciples' experience one night on a stormy sea. But as we do
so, I believe the Lord will, by our considering this in their
experience, help us to remember we've had like experiences, haven't
we? Every child of God has. And hopefully
we'll learn again what the disciples did and what I am sure was a
blessing to them afterwards. They learned what they are apart
from God's grace. We just now sang it. We just
sang it. Lord prone to wonder, Lord I
feel it. Sad but true. But more than that,
they also learned by this experience what a great God and Savior they
had and we have. What a blessed great Shepherd. This that we read in Matthew
8 beginning at verse 23 is also recorded in Mark's Gospel chapter
4 and Luke chapter 8 and I like to read all three accounts It's
only a total, all three together only come to 16 verses. But first
here in Matthew's account, chapter 8, verse 23. And when he was
entered, that is Christ, into a ship, his disciples followed
him. And behold, there arose a great
tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with
the waves, but he was asleep. He was asleep. Imagine that. He was asleep. You know why he
was asleep? He needed it. He was made in
all points like his brethren. He took upon himself the form
of flesh. He was tired. Been a long day. Miracles performed. Taught the
multitudes. And he was tired. So he goes
and lies down. Verse 25, and his disciples came
to him, I'm sorry, and behold there arose a great tempest,
insomuch the ship was covered with the waves, but he was asleep.
And his disciples came to him and awoke him saying, Lord save
us, we perish, we perish. My soul, how wrong we can be
when we take our eyes off Christ for a moment. Oh what a Misconception
we have of things if we take our eyes off Christ and only
see the storm. Verse 26, and he said to them,
why are you so fearful? It's not necessary. You don't
need to be afraid. Oh ye of little faith. And then
he arose and rebuked the winds and the sea and there was a great
calm. But the men marveled, saying,
What manner of man is this that even the winds and the sea obey
him? Now let's turn over to Mark's
account. Mark chapter 4, verse 35. Mark 4 and 35. And the same day, when the evening
was come, he said unto them, Let us pass over unto the other
side. They forgot that. As they sailed
and this storm suddenly developed, they forgot what he said. Let
us pass over into the other side. And when they had sent away the
multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there
were also with him other little ships. And there arose a great
storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it
was now full. And he was in the hind or part
of the ship, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke him and said unto
him, Master, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose
and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace be still. Be quiet, be muzzled, is a good
translation. And the wind ceased, and there
was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are
ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?
And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, Can
you just picture the disciples looking at each other after our
Lord had calmed the troubled sea, made the storm to cease? And they said one to another,
What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey
him. Now the last account in Luke's
gospel chapter 8. These are very much alike but
they differ a little that's why I wanted to read all three accounts. Verse 22, and it came to pass
on a certain day that he went into a ship with his disciples
and he said unto them let us pass over into the other side
of the lake and they launched forth. But as they sailed, he
fell asleep. And there came down a storm of
wind on the lake, and they were filled with water and were in
jeopardy. And they came to him and awoke
him, saying, Master, Master, we perish. Then he arose. Then he arose. Oh, the waters
rose. Oh, but now he arises. The sea arose, but now the master
of the sea arises. He arose and rebuked the wind
and the raging of the water, and they ceased, and there was
a calm. And he said unto them, Where
is your faith? And they, being afraid, wondered,
wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this? For
he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him. The title of this message is
when storms arise, when storms arise. Not if storms arise. There's no if about it, but when
they arise. The hymn writer said, when the
storms of life are raging, not if the storms of life are raging,
but when they're raging, stand by me. So first, may God help
us to remember that, to expect that. Storms will come. Storms are bound to come. There
is a need to be for storms in our lives. Oh, it's a very blessed
time when the Good Shepherd, as David said in his most famous
of Psalms, I suppose, the 23rd, such a blessed time when he leads
us beside the still waters. But remember, there's only one
23rd Psalm. David spoke on more occasions
saying, all the billows, the billows have rolled over my head. Still waters. In the Hebrew,
the word means, the expression still waters means waters of
quietness, waters of rest. We enjoy those peaceful still
waters at times and we thank God for them. But as the hymn
writer expressed it, I thought of this earlier. He said, things
that once were wild alarms cannot now disturb my rest, not when
we're lying next to still waters. Closed in everlasting arms, pillowed
on the loving breast. Oh, to lie forever here, doubt
and care and self-resign, while he whispers in my ear, I am his
and he is mine. Oh, what blessed tranquility,
peace and rest, when our great shepherd, the good shepherd,
leads us beside the still waters. But it's not always so, is it?
The storms will come. These experiences by still waters
won't last. Turn if you will for a minute
to 1st Peter chapter 1. Peter was on that stormy sea
that night that we read of and he was an experienced fisherman
but he'd never seen a storm like this. He was with the others
when they cried Lord save us we perish and Peter afterwards
remembered that there was a needs be for that storm. Just as he
wrote here in 1st Peter chapter 1, look at verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ which according to his abundant mercy
have begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead. Their hope died with him, they
thought, but oh, he's not here, the angel said. He's risen just
like he told you he would, and their hope resurrected with him.
Verse four, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and
that fadeth not away reserved in heaven for you, who are kept
until you arrive to that reservation in glory. You're kept by the
power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed
in the last time, wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for
a season, if need be." If need be. There's a need be. In the providence of our Heavenly
Father, there's a need be for every trial, for every heartache. They're measured out by the hand
of a loving, all-wise God and Savior. If need be ye are in
heaviness through manifold temptations, that the trial of your faith,
there it is, there's one reason. for the need be of trials, that
the trial of your faith, being much more precious than the gold
that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found in
the praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. The trials reveal true faith.
They don't produce faith, but they reveal genuine faith. And
by that We know that we believe on the Son of God. Without this
storm they would never have experienced this glorious result. Look again
at verse 27 in Matthew's account of it, Matthew chapter 8. We
read it in all three accounts. But after our Lord had calmed
the troubled sea, after he had commanded, commanded the winds
to cease, and the waves lie down at his feet at the command of
their creator, the disciples who were just before this were
fearful, doubtful. Now, verse 27, but the men marveled,
saying, what manner of man is this? Who is this? They hadn't seen
this before. that even the winds and the sea
obey Him. Without the storm, they would
have never viewed Him in that light. And I wonder how often
afterwards, after our Lord ascended back to glory and told them to
go into all the world and preach the gospel and begin where they
hated me most, in Jerusalem, how many times during persecutions
and trials and imprisonments and beatings. How often they
would look back on this miracle on the stormy sea this night
and think, well, he delivered us out of that. and he'll deliver
us out of this. He is able to keep that which
I've committed unto him against that day. Remember that night
Peter would say to Andrew? Remember that night John would
say to James? Remember what he did? There's
nothing too hard for him. Nothing's impossible to him. Oh, what manner of man is this? And they had, so to speak, an
enlarged view of that one, a greater appreciation of that one. Oh,
even the winds and the sea obey him. It reminds me of an experience
the children of Israel had at another sea. Exodus chapter 14,
you recall that. The Red Sea. My soul, Moses,
we should have known better. Is this your fault, Moses? We'd
have been better off just to stay where we were. Here we are,
we've listened to you, we've followed you out of Egypt, and
now here we are with the Red Sea in front of us, mountains
on each side of us, Pharaoh coming up behind us. We should have
stayed put. Remember what God told Moses
to tell them? You tell them to stand still. That's the hardest thing in the
world for us to do, isn't it? To stand still. I mean, when
the storms come, we think, we've got to do something. I've got
to do something. I've got to see how I can work
this out. and we usually make it worse
than it was. Oh, for grace just to stand still. Master, master. Master, arise. Master, come to my defense. Master,
speak to this storm. Speak as only you can. Speak
peace to my troubled heart and soul. Stand still and see the
salvation of the Lord. And here's the conclusion of
that miracle. That parting of the Red Sea as
millions Not a few, but millions walked through the Red Sea safe. And then, after the last one
had planted his foot on the other side, Mike, then that sea returned,
destroying all their enemies. Verse 30 of Exodus 14, Thus the
Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians.
And Israel saw. They saw, just like the disciples
saw. They saw that great work. They saw rather the Egyptians
dead upon the seashore. And Israel saw that great work
which the Lord did upon the Egyptians. That great and glorious work.
That picture of His great and glorious salvation. And believed
the Lord and His servant Moses. Oh God, be pleased to do that
today. Remind us of the grace that's
brought us safe thus far, and increase our faith to believe
that that same grace will lead us home. None can appreciate
the strength of the anchor until his boat is being tugged at by
angry waves. When this world is tossing me
like a ship upon the sea, O thou who rulest wind and water, stand
by me and teach me, Lord, teach me that other refuge have I none,
hang my helpless soul on thee. Oh, we have an anchor. Turn if
you will to Hebrews chapter 6. This is exactly what the writer
tells us here. We have an anchor. We have an
anchor. There'll be storms. There's no,
as we said at the beginning, there's no if about that. We
through much tribulation will inherit the kingdom of God. In
the world, the master said, ye will have tribulation. But we
have an anchor. He never abandons ship. Not those
in whom his disciples, his redeemed are. Here in Hebrews chapter
6. Verse 18, that by two immutable,
unchanging things in which it was impossible for God to lie,
we might have strong consolation, comfort assurance. who had fled
for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us, which hope
we have, as an anchor of the soul. Oh, what an anchor he is,
both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within
the veil, whether the forerunner is for us entered. Even Jesus,
that's our anchor, made a high priest forever after the order
of Melchizedek. Oh, yes, we have an anchor. The disciples learned that, didn't
they? Verse 25 we read, they said,
when the storm arose and the master was sleeping, Lord, save
us, we perish. We perish, they say in verse
25. And we learn this, learn this,
fear and faith can abide in the same heart. I read one commentator
as I was studying and preparing this message and he said, fear
and faith can't abide in the same heart. Now how in the world
can you read this passage and deny that? Oh yes they can and
they do. They do. Lord I believe and he
was telling the truth that man. And he also told the truth when
he said, Lord help my unbelief. Yes, fear and faith can abide
in the same heart. It's easy to find fault with
the disciples, being afraid and doubtful and unbelieving on the
stormy sea that night. It's easy to criticize them while
we stand on the land. Someone asked Brother Scott Richards
at one time, Brother Scott, do you believe this promise? Do
you believe this thus and thus? And Scott said, I don't know.
I don't know. I was there when he said this,
and I think it surprised the fellow that asked him. Scott
said, I really don't know. I haven't experienced it yet.
Do we really learn anything any other way? Oh, but when God is
pleased to bring us through the storm, help us to remember, as
the disciples, temporarily for God, and I think we do as well,
remember who you belong to. Who you belong to. This is what
the Lord says. Let me read it to you in Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 43. Remember whose
you are. But now, thus saith the Lord. This is Isaiah 43. The Lord that
created you, O Jacob, and he that formed you, O Israel, fear
not, fear not, for I have redeemed you. I've bought you. I've purchased you. You're not
your own. You've been bought. You've already
been bought with a price. You've been redeemed. You're
mine. I'm not going to lose you. Fear
not, I've redeemed you. I have called you by name. You're
mine. I am his and he is mine. If you pass through the waters,
no, no. When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you. I'll not leave you to drown.
I'll not abandon ship. I'll be with you. And through
the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the
fire, thou shalt not be burned. Neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the
Holy One of Israel, thy Savior. He who sends the storm is that
same one who steers the vessel. Child of God, we are vessels
of His grace. And Christ says, I give you eternal
life and you'll never perish. My sheep, He said, hear my voice. They know me. I know them. They
follow me. And I give them eternal life.
They'll never perish. None can pluck them out of my
hand. He said that of all of His sheep.
But are you one of His sheep? But he says that to you. He says
that to you, Lester. Lester, I give you eternal life,
he says, and you're never going to perish. Mike, nobody's going
to pluck you out of his hand. Oh, we think of the sheep general. Oh, but come bring it close to
home. The great shepherd says to you
individually, you're mine. I redeemed you. I loved you. I purchased you. Nobody can take
you from me. You'll never perish. When the storms arise, what should
we do? There's no doubt they'll arise,
but what should we do? This chapter, or this incident
in the life of the disciples, this chapter in their life, do
we not have chapters like this in our life as well? It corresponds
to what happened to the disciples. The believers' path to glory
is through winds and storms. and waves, his life is a voyage. Often in scripture, our pilgrimage
through this world is pictured as a ship at sea, a voyage. And
often it passes through tempestuous seas. But the port of heaven,
we will ultimately reach. Especially in the storm, we hear
his voice. Especially in the storm. saying,
it is I, be not afraid. Remember, as they for a moment
forgot, Christ was in the ship with them. He said, let us pass
over unto the other side. God help us to remember that
for our good and your glory. Christ is always on board. Let us pass over. And the Lord Jesus Christ says
unto you and I, all power is given unto me in heaven and in
earth and lo, I'm with you always. I'm always on board. I'm always
in control. Nothing ever takes me by surprise. I sent the storm. For my glory
and your good and I will bring you through. I'm always at the
helm. I have all power and I'm with
you always even until the end of the world. I love that verse
when old Joshua, the successor of Moses, who brought the children
into the promised land, the children of Israel, on his deathbed he
called the elders around and he said, now listen, listen.
Behold, this day I'm going the way of all the earth. I'm dying
just like Moses died before me. I'm dying. It's my time. But
he said, you know in your hearts and in your souls that not one
thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your
God spake concerning you all are come to pass and not one
thing hath failed thereof. And our Joshua Our Jesus, our
great God and Savior shall say the same. Not one thing that
He promised shall fail. All that He purposed, all that
He promised, He's able to perform. Can you imagine the reflection
upon the great shepherd if one of his sheep should perish? Reflection would not be cast
upon the sheep. It's on the shepherd. He's the
one responsible. He's the one told God that he
would do everything for his sheep that God commanded him to do.
He's the one promised his father in that covenant of grace before
the world was ever created that in the fullness of time he would
come and live and die and arise and intercede for his sheep.
He promised his father that he would bring all of his sheep
back to glory and that none would be lost. And if one's lost, it
would be a reflection, a bad reflection. upon the Son of God
and that will never happen because he says they shall never perish. Oh for grace to do as the old
hymn writer said be gone unbelief my Savior is near and for my
relief will surely appear by prayer let me wrassle and he
will perform with Christ in the vessel a smile at the storm his
love in times past forbids me to think he'll leave me at last
in trouble to sink Each sweet Ebenezer I have in review confirms
his good pleasure to help me quite through. Oh, what should
we do in times of storm? Remember that the captain of
our salvation never abandons the ship his followers are sailing
on. Never. Just as Noah and his family
was in the ark Those few souls represented all of humanity.
Everybody else had been destroyed. Noah, his wife, his sons, their
wives, they represented all future humanity. And though the ark
was tossed upon the flood, it endured. Even so, Christ, the
head of his church, The firstborn among many brethren was in this
ship this night. It must sail on. It must sail
on. And the winds of persecution
blow, and wave after wave of sorrow rolls over our heads,
and we're tempted to think, Lord, don't you care? Don't you care? It sails on. And though a God-hating
world rages against Christ's church, If they've hated me,
they'll hate you. He said, yet look at the church
of Christ. It sails on. Why? Why? Because Jesus Christ is
at the helm. Is that not so? Is that not so? I read a story the other evening
that at one time years ago, I don't suppose they do it now, but at
night at sea each hour the bell would strike and the watchman
in the lookout would call out, all's well, all's well. There
might be a storm raging and the waves breaking over the deck
and the passengers are fearful and trembling and afraid and
yet hour after hour as the night passed and the bell would continue
to ring the words would come down from that mast where the
watchman was, 10 o'clock, and all is well. 11 o'clock, all
is well. Midnight, all is well. Until
the hours roll on, and the sun arises, and the waves melt into
a calm, and there's joy once more on board. What a blessed picture of the
great shepherd. We need never doubt, we do, But
we don't have a reason to, do we? We need never doubt that
the future of the redeemed is not for evil but for good. Not for death, but for life.
Christ is risen. Christ is risen. Oh, glorious
good news. Christ is risen. Christ is now
risen. Right now Christ is risen. Right now my Christ rules and
reigns in this world. He's not waiting to be Lord.
He's not waiting for some rebel to make Him Lord. He's Lord right
now. over heaven and earth and he
possesses all power. And that risen Christ will bring
us through the night to the morning. It's the voice of the master
of the sea we hear calling down as the hours of our time swiftly
pass away. Whether it be in the morning,
he says, all is well. Or in the darkness of midnight,
he still looks down and says, all is well. It is always well
with the righteous. It is I, he says, be not afraid. Be not afraid. Remember what
he said concerning the two builders? That one who built this house
upon a rock? The storms came, the rain descended,
the winds beat upon that house, he said in Matthew 7, but it
fell not. Why? Because it was founded upon
a rock. Peter, Peter, who am I? Who am I? Who did the crowd say
I am? What's the popular opinion? This is what I think. Well, some
say you're John the Baptist risen from the dead or Elijah or some
great prophet. Who am I to you, Peter? Forget
them. Who am I? He said that to draw
this confession out of Peter. And Peter said, you're the Christ.
You're the son of the living God. And he said, Peter, upon
this rock, the truth of what you just said, my own person,
upon this rock I'm going to build my church. And the gates of hell
would never prevail against it. Now let me say this in conclusion.
Remember this too. This miracle on a stormy sea,
remember this. When this takes place, God help
us to remember. You might be passing through
a storm right now. The waves might be rolling over
your head right now. And you may think, hmm, the devil
whispers in your ear, why doesn't he stop this? Why does he allow
this? Why doesn't he put an end to
this? Master, don't you care? Don't
you care? I'm about to perish. Oh, that
cannot be so. Don't believe it. Don't believe
it. It can't be so. Remember that he's the master
of the sea. In Psalm 89, we read, O Lord
of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto you? Or to thy faithfulness
round about you? Thou rulest the raging of the
sea when the waves thereof arise. Thou stillest them again, again. I look at this incident in the
life of the disciples and I'm reminded of storms I've had in
my life. And I acted just like they did
that night. I sure did. Louie, I did. I was
scared to death. Lord, I can't bear this. This is too much. This is just too much. And by his grace, he steers my
little vessel through the storm. He speaks to my heart and says,
peace be still. And oh, by so the calm, the calm,
the sweet calm that he can produce in the heart, no man speaketh
like he does. And I think it was worth it.
If I hadn't come through that storm, I wouldn't appreciate
the strength of my anchor, the Lord Jesus Christ. When the storms
of life are raging, stand by me. When the world is tossing
me like a ship upon the sea, O thou that rulest wind and water,
stand by me. Speaking with that power, that
voice that's greater than the winds of trouble, or my own fearful
heart. May I hear above the storm the
words of the great shepherd saying, Larry, it is I. Be not afraid. When you pass through the waters,
I'll be with you. David said, though I'll walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Seriously? Seriously? Really, David? You'll fear no
evil? Man, David, I'd like to be like
you. You must be super spiritual. You must be on a higher plateau.
You've gone to the next level. Wish I could be up there with
you, David. Well, would you want to be with him when he said,
Oh, Lord, I've sinned against you. I did this terrible evil
in your sight. No, David wasn't on a higher
spiritual plateau. He was a man just like you and
me. How could he say, I will fear no evil? Though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death, you know why. He said, for thou
art with me. Mike, we won't be alone. We won't be
alone. The resurrection and the life
says he that liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Again, hear him speak. Let us
pass over, we read in Mark's account. Let us pass over unto
the other side. Father, I will also that those
whom thou hast given me be with me where I am. Let's pass over
unto the other side. And I saw a multitude that no
man could number, of all kindreds and people and tongues, stood
before the Lamb, before the throne of God and the Lamb. Let us pass
over unto the other side. Child of God, we're with Him. We're with Him. We're not alone.
When He says, let us pass over, who's going to stop us? He said
us. Who will prevent us? Who can
pluck us from His hands? How can we perish when Christ
says, let us pass over unto the other side? And we read in chapter
5, verse 1, and they came over unto the other side. The surprise
would be if they didn't. The shock would be if they didn't.
When Christ has let us pass over, thank God we pass over. Thank
God we'll never perish, but we shouldn't be shocked by it. Be
thankful for it, be grateful for it, adore him for it. Hallelujah,
what a savior. But the surprise would be if
we didn't, with the great shepherd on board. Psalm 46, therefore
will we not fear, though the earth be removed. And though
the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though
the waters roar and be troubled, amid the raging storm, we hear
that heavenly sweet voice, peace, be still, and know that I am
God. Be still and know that I am God. Oh, for grace to trust him more.
Psalm 93. The floods have lifted up, O
Lord. The floods have lifted up their
voice. The floods lift up their waves. The Lord is high. The Lord high is mightier than
the noise of many waters. He's greater than they. Yes,
than the mighty waves of the sea. Though the tempests roar
and the waves run high, A sweet voice whispers, fear not, it
is I. Those accents so tender, so loving
and kind, can scatter the tempest and quieten the mind. And when
the wild storms of life's journey are past, and the haven of glory
is entered at last, I'm looking forward to that.
Aren't you, Mike? I'm looking forward to that.
And when the wild storms of life's journey are passed and the haven
of glory is entered at last, miss the songs of the ransomed,
my anthem shall swell to the praise of his name who has done
all things so well. Amen. Amen. God bless you. Thank you for your attention.