Finding Faith Amidst Life's Storms

what's most interesting about this text here in stormy times how do you act in faith how can you have the the fearless ability to look at the storm and not be so scared it's interesting that when they say master master we're going to drown jesus says where is your faith and it's very clear that faith is the opposite of that panic so how do we we get that faith so we are able to not panic in the face of storms [00:01:07]

first of all when Jesus says where is your faith that shows that faith is probably not what most of us think it is it's a deliberate action notice Jesus does not say when he says where is your faith he does not say you don't have any faith or why don't you have any faith notice that's very interesting because they were showing a lack of faith at the moment but he doesn't say oh you lack faith [00:01:41]

we mostly think that faith is sort of automatic it's like it is like a heater that if it's cold enough outside the heater just comes on and most of us think that if we have faith and panic yeah I mean and storms come up it'll just come on and if it doesn't just come on then I guess we just don't have faith [00:02:32]

it's faith not in general but about Jesus because you see they come to him and they say who is this at the end who is this and that's really what they should have been saying all along see when Jesus says where is your faith I think he was trying to say you're looking at the storm instead of looking at me and you know who I am [00:02:48]

you've seen me feed the hungry the five thousand the four thousand you've seen me raise the dead you've seen me pledge my love to you you've seen me do all these things but you've just forgotten all them and you panicked what you should have done is you should have said in a way that we know this about Jesus that about Jesus if he's all this there's he's not gonna get we're not gonna drown here [00:03:05]

so Jesus is saying what you're really doing when you panic he's not so much showing a lack of faith you're refusing to exercise the faith that you've got you're refusing to get out what you know about Jesus Christ I mean let me ask you a question do you believe that Jesus Christ was the son of God incarnate born in the manger do you believe he was he died on a tree to atone for our sins [00:03:32]

do you believe he was he died on a tree to atone for our sins that he rose physically from the dead that he's passed through the heavens and now he's sorted seated at the right hand of the Father and he's directing all things that happen in history and someday he will come back to judge the living and the dead and put everything right do you believe that then you can face anything [00:03:47]

there is no storm here on earth that can can stand before those facts so where is your faith get it out but there's one more thing I believe we're not supposed to just see faith as a deliberate action and just get out what we know about about Jesus but we especially have to remember his love for us because not in Luke six Luke eight but over in in Mark chapter four [00:04:13]

we're told that the disciples also said master don't you care that we're going to drown don't you don't love us and of course they didn't know yet but what we know and that is that on the cross Jesus Christ experienced this the greatest storm possible the storm of God's wrath the storm of divine justice coming down and he because he loved us he just obediently bowed his head into that storm and took it for us [00:04:36]

if I see him loving me that much has to bow his head into that storm than any other storm that comes along I will never say Oh Lord do you not care I know he cares so get out your faith it ought to be here remind yourself of not only who Jesus is but what he did for you [00:05:09]

every professing Christian everyone who says they are a Christian has to come to a tipping point where what they know about God they decided that they can actually trust his character is he loving is he wise is he good and if you go on the other side of that tipping point yes you've made the decision he is he is wise I've seen him be good [00:05:57]

once you have confidence I guess that's the way to say it confidence in God's character then you are able to pull your faith out but you without that confidence in God's character and that's based on seeing how he's treated you [00:06:38]