Trusting Jesus Amid Life's Storms

"those of you have been following along with us know that jesus has been making it perfectly clear to his followers and to all who are gathered in attendance that it is vitally important that when people hear him speak they take great care to listen properly and indeed this is expressed in the 18th verse of this chapter when jesus says therefore consider carefully how you listen not simply that you listen but how you listen he had previously told the story of the two builders one wise and the other foolish the foolish builder said jesus was a picture of the individual who hears the word of god but who fails to put it into practice when the torrent strikes and the winds and the waves beat upon such a profession of faith then just as in the house without foundations so that life will collapse and its destruction will be complete" [00:01:09]

"and here now in chapter 8 the lord jesus gives to them a lesson in trust and if in verses 16 to 18 the issue is listening and if in verses 19 to 21 as we suggested the matter is the matter of belonging then here in verses 22 to 25 the issue is trusting trusting do you and i trust god do you and i even know what it means to trust god and are we able to identify in our lives the times when we fail so miserably to trust him well then let's look at the passage and see what it has to say first of all will you notice that verse 22 describes a routine event a routine event luke's phraseology underscores the almost humdrum nature of the proceedings jesus said to his disciples let's go over to the other side of the lake" [00:03:58]

"and jesus who as we say had apparently fallen asleep immediately is still asleep now the juxtaposition of these things is quite dramatic is it not you have a sleeping christ in the stern head on a pillow blissfully unaware of what's going on and complete pandemonium up at the level of these individuals you see the disciples had passed the point where their personal know-how was sufficient don't miss that point if i remember i'll come back to it they had passed the point where their personal know-how could carry them they had passed the point where they were as they thought in control because the circumstances were now so dramatically out of control and he whom they had seen do these remarkable events on the previous days was now sleeping in the stern of this boat" [00:09:20]

"the storm is stilled jesus asserts his authority over these elements of nature their fury subsides and all is calm remember luke said as he introduced his gospel that he had carefully investigated all of these events that he had set out to write a very orderly account and that we've noted already in these eight chapters or so that he has a terrific eye for detail and his phraseology here in describing the way in which the storm comes to an end points that up it was not simply that the wind began to die down while the billows continued to surge on the waterfront rather as hendrickson in a quite masterful phrase puts it wind and waves synchronize in the sublime symphony of a solemn silence" [00:13:30]

"now is it any surprise that they ask about the identity of this man jesus of nazareth they will be well enough versed in all that was represented in the old testament scriptures to recognize that the quieting of a troubled sea is the supreme indication of the power of almighty god that people knew that there was nobody who could bring control to the sea save god alone for example psalm 89 verse 8 oh lord god almighty who is like you you are mighty o lord and your faithfulness surrounds you you rule over the surging sea when its waves mount up you still them and they would understand that only god can do this only god brings the sunshine only god gives the springtime only god brings the harvest only god can make the rainfall only god can calm the sea" [00:17:48]

"and hear from the pillow at the stern emerges this jesus whom they've begun to follow and he stands up and all of a sudden it's a glassy calm who is this they said he is even more wonderful than we've understood you find the same thing in psalm 107 i had to memorize it as a schoolboy in scotland before i went on to the lessons of my day in the king james verse and it went like this they that go down to the sea and ships that do business in great waters they see the works of the lord and his wonders in the deep in other words when you move amongst fishing communities and when you move amongst those who sail the seas they understand that there is a power and a raging might about this that cannot ultimately be harnessed by humanity" [00:18:25]

"and so jesus stands up and he shows that the same power that is ascribed to god alone is the power that he exercised over this event and the so-called laws of nature are jesus laws christ sits as it were at the right hand of the father in heaven and smiles as newton makes a discovery smiles as we discover the law of aerodynamics that can overturn the the effect of the law of gravity and propel us into the sky smiles as he did as we discover all these thermal nuclear policies and processes and he himself is the one who holds it all together now do you see how this must have struck them so dramatically they had been frightened by the storm but it would appear that they are just and frightened by the calm and the way in which the calm came about" [00:19:40]

"where is your faith he asked his disciples surely a legitimate question wouldn't you say after all they'd seen the centurion servant and what had happened to him they had been around when the widow's son had been resurrected they would have recalled presumably as a result of this event on the lake the last time they'd been on the lake and that dramatic catch of fish so jesus says then where is your faith or does he say where is your faith or does he say where is your faith don't know can i ask you where is your faith if i were to ask you to articulate your worldview for me do you have a worldview that allows you to sleep at night in the awareness that if you die you will be welcomed into god's presence in heaven for all of eternity" [00:22:16]

"and his power manifest in your life then i suggest to you that if not whatever your world view is whatever your means of getting through life putting together the structure of your days whatever that is it is inadequate and this is a valid question where is your faith upon what do you base your existence as you go through another thanksgiving and did you count the days to another christmas and as we do all the deck the halls and we do all that stuff and it's already new year and it's a new millennium and it's another dentist visit and it's another start of term and it's all the continual round the common task and the writer of ecclesiastes stands up and says meaningless meaningless utterly meaningless did you find yourself with jane wagner in search of signs of intelligent life in the universe" [00:23:13]

"and the church is going to be snuffed out before we even get to the end of the first or the second century or in the dark ages oh lord jesus it is so dark in here that i don't think there's a church left at all and then god lights a candle in the heart of a little roman catholic monk named martin luther and all of a sudden the reformation is fanned into a great and glorious flame and all throughout the western world the light and the glory of the gospel begins to emerge and here we are 300 years later and once again the church finds itself not persecuted in the west although it is in other parts of the world but just facing the most dreadful declension you find yourself waking to another day and you're saying i wonder i wonder i do genuinely wonder in the midst of persecution in the face of all kinds of perils if jesus christ is truly within his church" [00:26:02]

"then even though his help may at first sight not necessarily be seen or felt those who know him and who follow him must never doubt him and must recognize they have no need to fear not only is it a lesson for the church but it is a question that needs to be faced personally what about you and me today in light of this does anyone know where the love of god goes when the waves turn the minutes to ours as a trivia question who's saying that song gordon lightfoot correct go to the top of the class emerging from what november 10 1975 the wreck of the edmond fitzgerald one of the great vessels that could ply across these great lakes standing three stories high in a moment in the face of gusting winds of 96 plus miles an hour and 30 foot swells this proud vessel is broken in two separated by 170 feet and takes its contents to a watery grave 500 feet below in a matter of moments" [00:27:22]

"and the questions arise does anyone know where the love of god goes when the waves turn the minutes to our some of you have been there and you've asked that question and if we had time i could invite you one at a time to come up and tell people where the love of god is when the waves turn the minutes to ours because as you have lived through the difficulties of your day and as you have faced the drama of loss and as you have found disappointment and heartache in your life you have discovered that jesus christ does emerge in the midst of the storm and he is able to speak peace even to the most troubled circumstances this morning some of us are frankly just facing the storms of life oh our superficial size and our marginally sincere responses cover up a multitude of stuff you know we get by one another relatively easy with just uh just a phrase or two okay good thanksgiving good thank you nice time oh nice time glad to be home glad to be home everything fine everything fine how are you today good how are you good good good good good good" [00:28:47]