| | Giants in the Land Series Part III: Ride Those Waves! Key Scripture: Matthew 8.23-27 – And when he was entered 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. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, “Lord, save us: we perish.” And he said unto them, “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?” Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was great calm. Butt he men marveled, saying, “What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!” Matthew 14.24-33 – But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a spirit;” and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.” And Peter answered him and said, “Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.” And he said, “Come.” And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, “Lord, save me.” And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said, “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, “Of a truth, thou art the Son of God.” This lesson is part three of a series called “Giants In the Land.” Last time, we dealt with how to defeat and overcome the difficulties that come into our lives. This time, we will take a look at how to live above the “waves” and problems of life. As we begin, here are a few questions: When you see the Ocean, what comes into your mind? What is your life like right now? Is it calm, and placid, like a lake on a good day? Is there trouble in your life, insomuch that your life resembles a boat in the midst of a terrible hurricane or typhoon? Finally, is it possible to live in such a state that the winds, the stormy sea, the waves, and the problems of life seem far below? Like a Boat in the Ocean When we look at life here on Earth, it is easy to see that life clearly resembles a ship on the Ocean. Sailing – even in these post modern days – is still a lengthy way to travel. Even at it’s fastest, a boat sailing from San Francisco, California, USA going to Tokyo, Japan can take anywhere from one to two months. It is pretty much the same for any ship, no matter how large or how fast, traveling the Pacific. Though the Atlantic and Indian Oceans are smaller, as is the Mediterranean Sea, it still takes anywhere between several days and several weeks to travel by boat across the vast expanses of water and ocean that make up such a large part of the Earth. In a similar fashion, life is a lengthy process, and it resembles traveling on the sea or ocean. Some days – just as a boat on the sea – life moves at a great clip, with time being enjoyable and work being steady. At other times, life can be like a ship in the midst of a squall or tempest, with waves crashing around and about. Still other days, the winds are prevailing and good speed can be made. In other days, the winds are contrary, and the boat must tack into the wind if progress is to be made…and some days, there is neither wind nor movement at all! This is a picture of life for people, also. Life is a Series of Waves In fact, if we are to take a serious look at life, we actually can see that life is more akin to living in, on, or above, a series of waves. Sometimes the waves that hit our lives are gentle, easy, and helpful in directing us and empowering us to do what we are called to do. At other times, the waves are huge, scary, and crashing into our lives akin to the kind of waves that cause such destruction and problems during a hurricane or typhoon. At still other times, the waves look to engulf our little boat called life and figure to capsize us, sink us, or both. Still, there are those unexpected, tsunami-like rogue waves that hit us by surprise and quite often in the clearest of weather, causing such havoc and despair as we have never known before. At still other instances, the waves and waters are choppy, despite the day being beautiful, and it seems like one problem after another keeps coming up, threatening to make an easy day into the hardest of work. Whatever the case, and whatever the kind of waves which come into life, we can rest assured that we will always encounter each of these kinds of waves, and life will always be a challenge. Why the Storms Hit; Why the Waves Come In Biblical times, a storm on the sea or ocean often meant trouble. In fact, many times in the Bible, Father uses a storm to correct his people or to bring his followers back into a right relationship with him. Jonah the prophet, when he ran from God, away from Nineveh and towards Tarshish, was kept from his escape by a terrible storm that arose (Jonah 1.5-10). Only when the sailors on the boat tossed Jonah overboard at his command did the storm cease (causing the first recorded Maritime Revival in the history of man; see Jonah 1.12-16). Waves and Storms come into the lives of believers in and for a similar fashion and reason. God often uses these storms, waves, and winds of life to test us and teach us to lean more closely on him, and to trust him and his will more deeply. It is similar with sailors, whether they be in the Navy, Maritime Sector, or even pleasure boaters. A storm quite often tests a sailor to his or her limits, causing him or her to use every bit and piece of knowledge that they have to utmost of their ability. If there were only calm seas and beautiful days, a sailor would never improve, a captain never rise higher, and a navigator never truly able to put his expertise to the test. So it is with believers. If have only the mountain top experience, and never the valley; if we have only placid, calm lives and never trial, we will never come to a true and complete sense of who God is. It is through the storm that our faith is stretched. It is in the dark nights where we can see nothing and the fog of life is as thick as pea soup that our trust and beliefs are strengthened. It is when the winds are contrary and the waves as tall as mountains that our faith in our Captain and Leader is made rock-solid. For unrepentant sinners, there is only one reason for the storms: they are Father’s way of calling you to salvation. You see? Storms come to everyone…but not everyone has The Good Captain to lead the helm of life. Because of this, those who do not know Christ as Lord and Saviour of their lives are in the gravest of dangers, both here on Earth now, and later in Eternity. The Apostle Paul is speaking of this when he wrote the following: “This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; Holding faith, and a good conscience, which some have put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.” -- 1st Timothy 1.18-20 The two men Paul writes about here were living lives in terrible danger – danger of being physically and spiritually shipwrecked. If anyone in the Bible knew abut being shipwrecked, it was Paul the Apostle. Read this description that Paul gives of his own experience at sea: “…thrice I suffered shipwreck, a day and a night I have been in the deep; in journeyings often, in perils of waters…” -- 2nd Corinthians 11.25-26 When Paul wrote and talked of shipwreck, he knew intimately what it was all about. In the above scripture from Paul’s Second Corinthian Letter, he writes that three times he suffered ship wreck, and was a day and a night in the water. We can read more closely of one of these shipwrecks in Acts 2713-28.2. In this passage, Dr. Luke writes how Paul and the others aboard the ship he was traveling in were shipwrecked after passing through a terrible Mediterranean Storm. Though it may be hard for some to understand, a great picture and description of the shipwreck is found here. In the same way this physical shipwreck is described, Paul also warned of the dangers of spiritual shipwreck. Just as a physical shipwreck can and often does result in great material loss, spiritual shipwreck can also result in great spiritual loss and destruction. Reader, if you are not under the leadership of Jesus Christ; if you do not know the LORD Jesus as Saviour, then there is bad news for you: you are in the gravest of dangers from spiritual shipwreck. Life may be fine, good, dandy, and fun for you now, but it is promised – just as with the Prodigal Son as recorded in Luke 15 – that there will be a time when you have hit the bottom. You will go through the storms of life, and your life may be shipwrecked. Without the Lord Jesus as your friend, redeemer, and Saviour, what will you do? Where will you turn? In the darkest times, the devil is always the one that abandons those who follow him. However, in the darkest times, Jesus Christ is closest to those who’ve placed their trust and hope in him. The plea is for you today: Come to Jesus Christ! The Poseidon Adventure and Those Rogue Waves of Life In the story “The Poseidon Adventure”, a luxury liner named the Poseidon is traveling through the Ocean on a New Year’s Day Cruise. Late at night, just after the clock has struck midnight and the New Year has begun, a huge mountain of a rogue wave crashes into the Poseidon, causing the huge ship to capsize. Many aboard the ship are killed almost instantly by way of falls, electrocution, or drowning. Many others manage to survive the initial hit of the wave in the ship’s galley and grand ballroom, as it and other parts are filled with air pockets, keeping the Poseidon afloat. According to one or two versions of the story, the Captain of the Poseidon orders everyone to stay in the ballroom and galley to facilitate an easier rescue. According to the Captain, the Poseidon will stay afloat indefinitely thanks to the ship having numerous large rooms where air pockets should have formed. Several of the people in the ballroom and galley, however, elect to make their way out and to the bottom of the ship (which is now the top) and await air rescue. As a result of the pressure from the weight of the ship, the Poseidon begins to sink as each of the rooms with air pockets collapses, contrary to the belief of the Captain, and eventually, only those who were part of the small group of people who chose to escape are the ones who survive the disaster. This story is a good illustration of what often happens in life. Rogue waves – waves that form and move either contrary to the current of the sea or arise suddenly in placid water – often hit ships of all size, or even land, and can cause great damage, confusion, and loss. Similarly, spiritual rogue waves can hit peoples’ lives with a force that causes life to seem like it has capsized. Life for a man may be going wonderfully, until the day he goes for a routine check-up and finds out he has cancer. A woman may be at the peak of her life and career, when suddenly a family tragedy brings everything crumbling to a screeching halt. A family may have everything going for it, with a great financial base, a wonderful educational foundation, and a solid relationship between all members, until suddenly, there’s an unexpected pregnancy with a son or daughter, or a parent passes away. These are spiritual or life rogue waves, and Whom we have at the controls of our lives makes all the difference in how we will handle these rogue waves. Remember Who’s In the Boat The disciples in today’s passage were crossing the Sea of Galilee with the Lord. As often happens there even today, a storm arose and threatened to take the ship down. Try as they might, hard as they worked, the situation looked hopeless and the disciples doomed. In their despair, they finally called on Jesus. After they had tried everything and failed, the disciples finally called on Jesus. Isn’t that often how it is with us, too? We get hit by a storm, with high waves and dangerous waters, and we try everything we know to do to keep our little boats-of-lives afloat. Finally, when we’ve tried every idea, turned every trick, and exhausted our knowledge, we come to Jesus and ask for his help. Jesus – after rebuking the winds and the waves – questioned his disciples’ faith, and this is a great lesson for us. Why did Jesus upbraid his apostles for their lack of faith? After all, they did finally call on him and ask for his help. There are two points to look at here: First, it wasn’t until the end that the disciples remembered that Jesus was with them. Don’t we do the same thing? We can remember how to change a tire if the car gets a flat. We can probably remember how to bandage even a bad cut if an accident in the kitchen happens. We can also remember with relative ease what we need to do if we experience heat exhaustion. However, how many of us remember to call upon the LORD when a problem arises? How many of us – as the disciples – finally call upon the Lord, remembering him as if we found a long-lost trinket in a storage chest? This is how it was with the Apostles. Jesus was with them, and even if the waves and the wind were looking very bad, it is important to remember that nothing can disturb, take away, nor threaten the LORD if we have him in our lives (isn’t it interesting to note that Jesus was sound asleep in the stern of the ship during the storm? Should that kind of calm not have been with the disciples {and us, when storms come} as well)? Secondly, the disciples should have asked Jesus for help before the storm became to terrible. We need to understand that there are times when something seemingly mild and not-so-dangerous can turn and become life threatening. When the disciples started out, it was a calm day. However, sometime in the midst of their journey, the storm hit. Very likely, that storm didn’t hit all at once: it probably – as most storms do – started off small and ended up great. Peter, Andrew, James, and John were seasoned fishers and sailors, and hey very likely knew long beforehand that a storm was in the offing. Why did they not ask Jesus for help then? Don’t we, in this instance, too, do the same thing? When life is going well, and when all is moving at a favourable clip, do we not shuck off calling out to Jesus for any kind of help, even when we can see the signs of a coming storm all around us? In the storms of life, we need to remember that Jesus Christ is never further than a prayer away. A reminder: Jesus will not help us if we do not ask him! This was the failing of the disciples! Jesus was right there, waiting to be asked for help, yet, as time went on, nobody seemed to ask him a thing. Later, when all looked lost, the disciples had to wake him up! He’d fallen asleep, and part of it was because the disciples were too busy. We need to keep ourselves in communication with the Lord, and call on him when we see danger even approaching. The reason why Job persisted and persevered is because he knew the LORD, had determined in his heart to follow him no matter what (Job 13:15, 31.1), and chose to cling to him even when the hard times were the hardest for him. Strollin’ On The Water Many people tend to upbraid Peter for his failure to stay up after walking out on the water to meet Jesus. Many people point to Peter’s brashness, point out how he was too bold, and make reference about how Peter often ended up with his foot in his mouth. While much of this is true, in the instance where Peter walked out on the water to meet Jesus, many people fail to see something very important. Very likely, the other disciples and apostles in the boat that night may have given Peter a piece of their minds as well. “Whoa, Peter, you sure made a fool of yourself, sinking like that in front of Jesus.” “Man, you looked good, until you looked around and started to go under.” “Dude, Peter, next time, just stay in the boat!” Isn’t that how tit is with us, today, too? How many of us tend to upbraid those closest to us for failing, falling, and/or sinking in some endeavour they wished to do for the LORD? Yet, despite it all, we usually forget the obvious. I wonder, if after suffering the rebukes from his fellow disciples, did Peter ask anyone else if they had soaked feet? We need to understand that even though Peter went out onto the water and failed, that he was still the only one who took Jesus command to “Come out!” with any sincerity. Peter – out of the 12 disciples in the boat that night – was the only one to walk out on the water with Jesus. Yes, he saw the tempest, the wind, the waves, and began to sink…but it was Peter alone who bothered to even step over the side of the boat. We need to remember this ourselves. Perhaps the most dangerous thing to have happen during a storm on any very large body of water is for someone to go overboard. Over the centuries, countless lives have been lost at sea simply because of this accident happening. Yet, how often do we hear the Saviour calling to us, asking us to “step out of the boat” during the deepest and most troubling storms of our lives? How many times have you heard a voice within your heart, or a whisper in your ear, calling to you to step out and try something different when the rogue waves are crashing in one after another? We must remember that if Jesus calls us out of the boat, he will be right there walking with us on the water, and that if he calls us out, we cannot fail, and cannot sink so long as we keep our eyes on Jesus. As a song by Audio Adrenaline goes: “If I keep my eyes on Jesus, I can walk on water! If I keep my eyes on Him, I can walk on water!” --Audio Adrenaline, “Walk On Water”: From the Album Bloom (1996, ForeFront Records) Conclusion – What Storms Are You Facing? What Waves Are Washing Over Your Life? What storms of life are you traveling through? How are those waves? How are you dealing with the waves that come and hit life in so many, many waves? Are you like a Submarine, traveling through the waves with little effort? Are you like a surfer, riding the waves and having a good time despite the storm and wind and rain? Are you hunkering down in your boat called life hoping the storm will pass over and you will be able to continue on your way? Are you on the deck of your ship called life, doing everything in your power to get through the storm, failing to see that the Saviour has been there all this time, waiting for you to ask for his help? The answers to these questions are of the highest of importance. If you, friend, are going through a storm, and you do not have Jesus Christ as your LORD and Saviour, I am sorry to report tha this storm will only get worse. And even if it does get better, what happens when a worse, more threatening storm comes, and plows your ship over as easily as the rogue wave did with the Poseidon in The Poseidon Adventure? You may have done everything to ensure that you will not suffer again, but life is uncertain, and often we get hit in an area we never knew we’d get hit in. Friend, if you do not know Jesus Christ as LORD and Saviour, today is the perfect day for you to come to him. If you wil lbut ask him to come into your life, clean out all lof your sins, ask him for forgiveness for your sins, and repent (turn away) from your old life, He will come, and he will enter your life. Without him – without Jesus Christ – not only are you in physical danger, but you are also in Spiritual, Eternal danger as well. Please, won’t you come to Jesus today? Let’s pray… Prayer – Heavenly Father, we need your help. There is a storm coming! We cannot see it! We don’t know when it will hit. We don’t know how severe or damaging it will be. But You know! You can see that storm and its outcome. We pray, Father, that when the storm begins to show itself – yea, even before then – you will help us to call on you for help. We need thee, Father. We need thee to be the Captain and Lord of our lives! Help us, Father, to keep you in the forefront of our lives so that when difficulties, waves of life, and storms of trial come, we can call upon you right away. We bless thee, and we Praise thee, and we ask al of these things in the Precious Name of Jesus Christ out LORD and Saviour, Amen. Verse of the Day But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.” --Matthew 14.27 |
