JESUS CALMS THE STORMS

-Introduction

-With this lesson, we’ll bring our serious of lessons under the theme of “Evil, Pain and Suffering” to a close.

            -Of course, there are many, many other things that we could talk about within this theme.  It is
              certainly a broad, far-reaching topic.  But, we will close the series with this lesson.

-Hopefully, you have found something beneficial in these lessons - increased knowledge,

  practical information, encouragement, etc.

-Regarding this series, this lesson is probably the most basic of all of them but also the

  most important.

            -The fact is:  Evil, pain and suffering are a part of life in this world.  They affect each

              of us in varying ways and varying degrees.

            -The key is:  How can I best react to and cope with such situations?

-Jesus Calms the Storms

-A little while back, we talked about an occurrence recorded in Mark 4 (also Matt 8):

            -Mark 4:35-41

            -In this passage, Jesus calmed the storm with the well-known words, “Peace, be still.”

-Let’s consider another time involving rough seas as well:

            -Matt 14:22-33

            -In this passage as well, Jesus calmed the storm.

                        -Was that in the control and/or abilities of the disciples?  No.

                        -Could they do anything to alleviate their circumstances?  No.

                        -Did they do anything to bring those circumstances upon them?  No.

                        -So, they didn’t bring it upon themselves - They couldn’t do anything about it -

                         It was out of their control.

                                    -So, what was the answer?  Or, who was the answer.

-A Look At Peter

-Let’s focus on Peter in Matthew 14.

            -We’re sometimes hard on Peter regarding his actions.

            -But, consider this:  He got out of the boat.

                        -How many others got out of the boat?

-Why did he step out onto the rough waters?

            -At that particular time, he wasn’t focused on the rough waters.  They weren’t the

              object of his faith.

            -He wasn’t focused on the others in the boat with him.  His faith wasn’t in them.

                        -I wonder what they were saying to Peter as he climbed out of the boat?

                        -Whatever they said, it didn’t matter. 

-Peter’s focus was on Jesus.  His faith was in Christ, not in his shipmates.

-Now, think about us.  Do we allow what others do or don’t do to effect our faith?  Do we

  allow what others say or don’t say to effect our faith?

      -Don’t get me wrong - I know that our brothers-and-sisters-in-Christ can be very

  helpful or at least they should be.  But, I also know that brothers-and-sisters-in-

  Christ can deeply disappoint us and hurt us.

-But, are we going to allow others to hinder our faith in Christ and service to Him?

      -Why would we do that?  Our faith is in Christ.  All spiritual blessings are in Him

  (Eph 1:3).  He is Lord and Christ.  The church belongs to Him.  He is our Savior.

-Jesus will not betray us.  He will not forsake us.  He will not forget us.

-He died for us.  He loves us.  It is in Him and through Him that we gain and

  maintain our strength.

-As long as Peter remained focused on Jesus, he did just fine. 

            -Mark 14:29-30 - When Peter lost his focus on Jesus and became distracted, he began                                                 to sink.

            -What were his words?  -  Lord, save me.

            -What did Jesus do?  He saved him.

-Summary and Invitation

-Evil, pain and suffering do not detract from the nature and attributes of our God.

-Regardless of what we face in this life, the promises and blessings made available to us

  through Jesus remain in place.

            -Nothing and nobody can take those things away from God’s children.

            -Yet, we can forfeit them if we’re not careful.

-Please, don’t allow anything to cause you to stray from your faith. 

            -Rom 8:35-39

            -Rom 8:18

-Heb 12:1-2

            -Is your focus on Jesus?  Again, people will sometimes let you down.  Jesus won’t.

-What about you this morning?  Are you serving Jesus?  Have you responded to His

  sacrifice for you?

            -If not, obey the Gospel:  Believe (John 3:16, 8:24), Confess your faith (Matt 10:32,

              Rom 10:9-10), Repent of Your Sins (Luke 13:3,5; Acts 17:30), Be Baptized into

        Christ (Acts 2:38, Mark 16:16).

-If you’ve allowed something/somebody to weaken your faith, get your focus back on Jesus.  If you’ve
 wavered in your faith, return to Jesus:  Confess your shortcomings, repent of them and pray for God’s
 forgiveness (1 John 1:7-9, Acts 8:22-24).