Peace in the Storm

Well, we can turn back to our reading in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 4.

Mark 4 · chapter mention

And like I say, we're going to look at the end, verses 35 to the end of the chapter,

where we see Jesus with his disciples leaving the place of the where, as it says, going across the other side.

They go into the boat and they find themselves in the midst of a storm.

And then they cry out to him in verse 36.

The disciples, they woke him and said to him,

Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?

And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea,

Peace, be still.

And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.

Well, we've just had a storm, the first named storm of the year.

And because of the way that they now name the storms, and you get a long list of the names of the storms,

there's always that sense that, well, one's passed, but another one's coming.

Storm Amy has passed.

Then we have Storm Bram, whenever that may come.

Then it goes on to Siege and Andra.

There's that storm.

They've all got a name.

And there's that sense, well, there's always going to be another storm coming.

And we know that very well, where we live, that as we go into the winter months, that that is just the case.

And when we come into a storm, we can end up with things being in short supply.

If a storm goes on and the ferries don't sail, we find things being in short supply.

When you go into the supermarkets, go into the shops, they've run out of different things,

whether it's fruit and veg or bread and milk, there's things in short supply.

But when we think about it in our own situation, it's not just about these storms that come in a physical sense,

but the storms that come in life.

And there are many of them.

And it seems like we go from maybe one storm to the next, to the next.

When all our lives just seem to be full of trials and difficulties that come our way,

they can be personal ones when it's just ourselves that are going through them.

They can be family ones.

They can be trials in our community.

They can be trials in our congregation.

They can be trials in our nation and the world in which we live.

And we see all kinds of things going on that just leave us feeling that sense of being overwhelmed by the situation that we're in.

And when we're in these kinds of storms as well, when they're personal, when they're collective storms,

there can be a sense of things lacking in these storms as well.

There can be a sense maybe of patience lacking.

When we become an impatient people in some of the situations that we find ourselves in.

And we just have to look at our lives and our congregation, our community, our nation, and the world.

And we think of all these different things going on around us.

And we're losing patience.

We may be, in our personal circumstances, are losing patience with people around us,

or services around us.

We're losing patience because things don't seem to be going as we would desire.

We can be losing patience as a congregation.

When we think of the vacancy and the situation there, and we've had that bulletin update today,

where there can be a sense of our patience being tested.

Where are we going?

What's going to happen?

How are we going to go forward?

There can be that sense of patience being lost.

It can be in so many different ways.

We can lose patience with government.

We can lose patience with leaders.

We can lose patience with the world in which we live in.

But it always takes us to the point where we start to lose patience with God.

We start to lose that trust in God.

And that's when it becomes even more dangerous.

When we start to think that God, as we see with the disciples here crying out,

do you not care?

And that's the cry that we can have in so many different situations.

Lord, do you not care?

Do you not care what's going on in my life or in our congregation or in our world?

Do you not care what's happening?

And then we can lose other things.

We can find other things in short supply as well.

That sense of joy, that sense of peace.

They can go and we can lose that sense of these things as well.

When we are in days of testing,

when we are in days when our patience is being tested,

we can lose that joy and that peace.

We don't see things in perspective.

When we lose sight of the perspective under which we should be looking at things.

Because there are other ways of looking at things.

Besides our own thoughts, beside our own impatience, despite ourselves,

there are other ways that we can look at things.

And we see that there are two perspectives in this passage that we've read.

In this account of Jesus with the disciples in this storm,

there's two different perspectives in the very same situation.

And the first perspective we see is that of the disciples.

Their perspective in this is that Jesus doesn't care.

They have a sense of fear in the midst of the storm.

They don't know what's happening.

They don't know where they're going or what's ahead of them.

There's this sense of fear because that's their perspective on things.

But there's another perspective.

And that's the perspective of Jesus.

And when you look at Jesus in this passage,

even in the midst of the storm, he's sleeping.

But in the midst of the storm, he's reminding them that he has power,

that he has authority, that he is able to give peace and calm.

And that's how we should look at the perspective of our lives as well.

Whatever we are going through,

when we see things from our own perspective that seems out of control,

no direction, uncertainty, all of these things we can see,

well, the Lord has control, that he has power,

that he has authority over all things,

that he is able to reveal his will to us

in the midst of everything that comes our way.

And a lot has happened for the disciples.

It's been some day for them when you look at this chapter,

when they've heard, as we read some of the teaching

that they'd been under.

When you see the parable of the growing seed,

the parable of the mustard seed,

and other things that Jesus had been teaching

before we came to this point.

They've heard so much from Jesus.

They've already seen so much from Jesus.

And then it says in verse 35,

on that same day, when evening had come,

he said to them, let us go.

And so what we see here is that Jesus is with them.

He's reminded them of the significance of his kingdom,

a kingdom that is coming, a kingdom that is growing.

And now we're going to see how he reminds them

that it's for them as well,

that it's a very personal kingdom,

a kingdom when he shows his own,

the power and authority that he has.

And so as they're caught in this storm,

Jesus challenges them.

And that's what he does with us in our own storms as well.

He challenges us.

And the challenge is this.

Do you trust me only when things are going well?

Or will you trust me in the storm as well?

Will you trust me when things seem out of your control?

Will you trust me?

That's the challenge.

And there's five things to take from these verses for us to do.

We have first, trust.

We have trouble.

We have tone.

We have teaching.

And we have turning.

I just briefly want to touch on these five things.

Trust, trouble, tone, teaching, and turning.

And the first thing we see is trust.

Trust.

And the situation starts in a setting of trust.

What we find is that on this day,

as Jesus has been teaching with them,

that same day Jesus spoke to them and said,

let us go across to the other side.

And what do you notice?

They don't ask why.

They don't ask where are we going.

They don't ask any details about how.

All it says is,

leaving the crowd,

they took him with them in the boat,

just as he was.

They left immediately.

And what you see here is,

there was a sense of trust.

They've only been with Jesus a short time,

but they are trusting him.

And it's shown just in how they go.

And they go immediately.

Over the time of following Jesus,

seeing what he is doing,

the miracles he's performing,

the teaching that he is giving them,

why wouldn't things go well now?

They're beginning to see,

well, Jesus has a plan.

He has a purpose.

He's done all these amazing things.

And it's almost like,

well, we're expecting more.

They might say,

well, it's always going to be like this.

It's always going to be easy.

It's always going to go well,

because Jesus is with us.

It's going to be smooth.

It's going to be plain sailing.

So there's this element of trust.

And so there should be.

There should be an element of trust,

because they've seen what he has done.

But the question that they find themselves here is,

but how much do they trust him?

How much are they going to listen to him?

How much are they going to keep on trusting?

Because you see, trust isn't just for a moment.

Trust isn't just for a short time or certain situations.

Trust is what we need going forward all the time.

As we approach winter once again,

one of the things that you'll begin to see on the television again

is winter skiing.

It's amazing to watch downhill skiing,

doing the slalom through all the gates

and all of these things.

It's amazing to watch

and the speed that they get up to.

And as I watch it, I think,

well, that's not something

that I would be very keen on trying myself.

It looks quite terrifying.

But imagine doing it when you're blind

or only partially sighted.

Well, people do.

And it's part of the Paralympics now.

It's part of sport now,

where people with disabilities

will do all of these sports.

But imagine going down a hill on skis

and you can't see where you're going.

How is it possible?

Well, what they do is they're paired with someone who can see.

And they're trained to ski first on the flat,

just learning how to ski and finding their way around.

And eventually, they go on the slopes

and they start to do the slalom,

going in between the gates.

And you ask yourself, but how?

Well, it's because the person who's able to see

and skiing with them is giving them direction.

Turn to your left.

Turn to your right.

And so it goes on.

But they have to listen.

They have to trust that person beside them.

Because if they don't completely trust,

it's going to be catastrophic.

It's going to end in a crash.

And it's a vivid picture of the Christian life in this world.

Because the reality is that we cannot see ahead of us

everything that's ahead of us.

We can only see in part.

Spiritually, we're so often blind

about what course our lives are going to take,

what course we're going to take going forward as a congregation.

We don't have the eyes to see.

But we have to trust.

We have to trust that there is one with us

who promises to give direction,

who speaks to us through his word,

who reveals himself to us through prayer.

So trust is important.

Trust in Jesus is an essential part

of any relationship that we are to have with him.

A personal relationship, trust him that he will guide.

A collective relationship, trust him that he will guide.

We need to trust.

So the disciples here, they immediately responded

to the call to go over to the other side

with that sense of trust.

Trust.

But there's more to trust than just good times.

Trust is something that is often tested

and proved in more difficult times.

And that's what we see secondly here.

Because trouble comes.

The disciples were doing as the Lord asked.

And they find themselves in trouble.

And it says that as they went out in the boat

and others with them, in verse 37,

a great windstorm arose.

This storm came quickly.

And it's the kind of storm that can happen

in these regions.

And especially fishermen,

and many of the disciples were fishermen,

would be aware of this,

just how quickly these storms can come.

But yet, even they seem to be caught out by this.

They don't seem to understand

why would Jesus take us out

and this horrendous storm has come.

The waves were breaking into the boat

so that the boat was already filling.

The way Jesus has told them to go

has led to trouble.

And that's so often the reality

of following Jesus as well.

The reality of following Jesus

isn't that life is always going to be plain sailing.

It's a reality that there are going to be

troubles and trials and testing along the way.

How many troubles do we face in life?

Health issues, relationships,

personal issues, financial issues.

The list is almost endless.

We all have these troubles

that we have to face up to.

But we can learn in these troubles.

And that's what the disciples have here as well.

They're not immune from trouble.

And none of us are.

But God's word is there to help us.

And to help us through them all.

Through everything that we have to face up to.

The Lord promises to be with us.

James Packer, again quoting from

Your Father Loves You, that book.

He says this,

This is the ultimate reason from our standpoint

why God fills our lives with troubles

and perplexities of one sort and another.

It is to ensure that we shall learn to hold him fast.

The reason why the Bible spends so much of its time

reiterating that God is a strong rock,

a firm defense, a sure refuge,

a help for the weak,

is that God spends so much of his time

showing us that we are weak,

both mentally and morally,

and dare not trust ourselves

to find or follow the right road.

And so there he's giving reminders to us.

It is to trust God.

But then he goes on to say,

When we walk along a clear road feeling fine

and someone takes our arm to help us,

it's likely we will just impatiently

shake that person off.

But when we are caught in the rough country road,

in the middle of dark and a storm brewing

and our strength spent,

and someone takes our arm to help us,

we would thankfully lean on him.

And God wants us to feel that our way

through life is rough and perplexing

so that we may learn to thankfully lean on him.

And he says,

Wait on the Lord.

That's so often the advice

that the Lord gives in his word.

Wait on the Lord.

So in the midst of our trouble,

we have the Lord to lean on.

The third thing we see here is the tone.

How do the disciples react

when they are afraid?

What do they say?

The boat is filling,

it's being overwhelmed,

but Jesus is in the stern,

asleep on the cushion.

And they woke him and said to him,

Teacher,

do you not care

that we are perishing?

Do you not care

that we are perishing?

Look at the tone

in these words.

You can sense it.

There's frustration

in these words.

There's fear

in these words.

There's doubt

in these words.

Do you not care

that we are perishing?

If we are drowning,

there are times

in trouble

when we can turn to God

in this way

and we can have that tone

of anger

towards God.

Whatever it is,

we can turn in frustration

and say,

Lord,

do you not care

where we are going?

Do you not care

what's happening to us?

As a congregation,

do you not want us

to grow and to flourish?

Do you not want us

to have another minister

come in?

We can cry out

in all kinds of frustration.

But it's to wait

on the Lord.

It's through personally.

It's through collectively.

It's through

in all aspects of life.

The Lord has a plan.

But our cry

is so often

frustration.

It can be frustration

towards God.

It can be frustration

towards others,

how we speak to others.

Our tone can be off.

Our frustration

can be vented

in so many different ways.

You see,

we are sinners.

The disciples

are sinners.

And they are crying out

in their frustration,

Teacher,

do you not care

that we are perishing?

And so can we

do that as well

because sin

robs us

of peace?

We can lose

that peace

and we are just

looking at it

from our perspective.

As you drive,

especially on the mainland

or more so

on the mainland,

when you are driving

on busy roads

and you see signs

at the side

of the road

or above the road

if you are on the motorway,

one of the most common

ones you see

is frustration

causes accidents.

And it's true.

When you become

frustrated

and impatient

and try to overtake

in the wrong place

or do a manoeuvre,

it causes accidents.

And frustration

in life

causes so many

problems

as well.

They have done

what Jesus

told them

and this is

where they end up

and they cry out

in frustration.

Teacher,

do you not care

that we are perishing?

And you see the tone.

It's like Psalm 107

when the sailors,

they cry out

in the midst

of the storm.

They cry out

in their fear.

The tone

can be there

and it can be

an off tone.

Let us be careful

how we address God

and how we address

one another

in the midst

of our frustrations,

whatever

they might be.

But then we see

fourthly

there is teaching

here.

What teaching

do we have here

as Jesus rebukes

the wind

and the waves?

It says in verse 39

he awoke

and rebuked

the wind

and the sea

and said

peace

be still

and the wind

ceased

and there was

a great

calm.

Well Jesus

here is teaching.

He's teaching

them

trust me

in the storms

as well.

Who is this

is the cry

that they come to

and who is it?

It is the Lord.

It is God

that is with them.

The storm

is changed

into a calm

by his word.

That's the power

that he has.

Now when we see

a storm

around us

the sea

doesn't just

immediately

go calm.

It can take

hours and days

for the sea

to settle down

once again

but here

it's instant.

Just at his

word

there is peace

there is calm.

And that's the

teaching

that we would

want to take

from this

as well.

That we can

trust God

to change

the storms

that we face

and to give

us calm

because he

is God.

He is God

who is able.

As someone

said once

to realise

the worth

of an anchor

you need

to feel

the storm.

And whatever

storm we face

whatever

comes

our way

and whatever

way and shape

it feels

like it's

overwhelming

us.

Jesus

is able

to calm.

He is able

to say

these words

peace

be still.

He has

control.

There's a

poem

My Father's

at the

Helm.

It comes

in maybe

different forms

but this is

one.

It's talking

about a

little

bark

so that's

a little

boat.

The curling

waves

with awful

roar

a little

bark

assailed

and pallid

fears

distracting

power

over all

on board

prevailed.

Save one

the captain's

darling

child

who

fearless

viewed

the storm

and cheerful

with composure

smiled

a dangerous

threatening

form.

And can

you smile

a semen

cried

while

terrors

overwhelmed.

Why should

I fear

the boy

replied

my father's

at the

helm

so when

our worldly

hopes are

crushed

our earthly

comfort's

gone

we still

have one

sure

anchor

left

God

helps

and he

alone.

We will

have storms

when things

seem to be

out of our

control

but we have

that anchor

God's

help

and he

alone

can help.

So finally

we just

want to

see in

the midst

of the

teaching

there's

a turning

there's a

turning as

we see

at the

end.

He said

to them

in verse

40

why are

you so

afraid

have you

still

no

faith

but then

they said

who then

is this

that even

the wind

and sea

obey him

have you

still

no

faith

it can

be easy

to come

and trust

Jesus

when things

are going

well

and we

might be

interested

in coming

to know

Jesus

and to

follow

Jesus

and think

even as

we're going

through this

well if I

trust Jesus

he's going

to give

me peace

and everything

is going

to be

great

again

but he

can give

peace

but it

doesn't

mean that

the storm

always

goes

sometimes

he just

gives

peace

for the

storm

but we

can see

that he

is with

us

and that

he is

able

to help

when we

are entrusting

ourselves

to him

and his

plans

and his

purposes

and his

will

he can

give us

peace

in it

all

the writer

Andrew

Murray

he once

wrote this

and he's

talking about

times of

trial and

testing

he said

first

he brought

me here

it is

by his

will

I am

in this

straight

place

in that

fact

I will

rest

next

he will

keep me

here

in his

love

and give

me grace

to behave

as his

child

then

he will

make the

trial

a blessing

teaching me

the lessons

he intends

me to

learn

and working

in me

the grace

he means

to bestow

last

in his

good time

he can

bring me

out again

how

and when

he knows

let me

say I

am here

he said

by God's

appointment

in his

keeping

under his

training

for his

time

can we

apply that

to ourselves

today

whatever

our circumstances

whether we're

looking at

individually

or collectively

we are

here

by God's

appointment

we can

rest

in that

fact

we are

here

in his

keeping

that his

love

is always

faithful

we are

here

under

his

training

that he

can teach

us

in the

midst of

everything

and we

are here

for his

time

he can

bring us

and will

bring us

through

the disciples

would apply

it as their

lives would

go on

to see

that they

wouldn't just

answer

who is

this

that even

the wind

and the

waves

obey him

but that

they would

see

this is

the

Christ

that's

what they

would come

to recognize

as life

goes on

for them

they would

see this

is the

Christ

the one

who gave

his life

for his

church

for his

people

and they

would see

and glorify

him

all the

more

does he

care

of course

he does

more

than they

would

ever

recognize

fully

until that

point

where they

would see

him on

the cross

and see

him risen

from the

grave

who is

this

it is

the

Lord

and it's

the Lord

who is

with us

we might

not see

him fully

when we

think just

of the

perspective

of our

trials

whatever

they are

but by

faith

we can

see him

fully

who is

it that

is with

us

it is

the

Lord

and as

we trust

him

and know

that he

is with

us

and as

we rest

in his

will

as we

rest

under

his

love

as we

seek

his

teaching

and

guidance

he is

the one

who will

bring us

through

may we

find

that joy

and peace

in him

let us

pray

Lord

our

gracious

God

we do

thank you

that you

are one

who is

able to

turn

every

providence

for your

glory

the things

that we

cannot

understand

the things

that seem

beyond our

comprehension

we thank you

that you

already have

plans and

purposes

and so we

seek

your will

be done

that you

would guard

us by your

love

by your

peace

that you

would keep

us by

your

spirit

and that

you would

assure us

of guiding

us and

keeping us

on the

way

we ask

all for

the glory

of our

Lord and

Saviour

amen

we're going

to conclude

by singing

to God's

praise in

psalm 27

page 32

of the

psalm books

psalm 27

we'll sing

from verse

11 to the

end of the

psalm

teach me

O Lord

how I

should live

and lead

me in

your way

make straight

my path

because my

foes

oppress me

every day

and then you

have this

confidence at

the end of

the psalm

in verse

13

yet I am

sure that

in this

life

God's

goodness

I will

see

and in

this

command

wait for

the Lord

be strong

take heart

for him

wait patiently

we'll sing

verse 11 to

the end of

the psalm

to God's

praise

teach me

O Lord

how I

should live

and lead

me in

your way

make straight

my path

because my

foes

oppress me

every day

give me

not over

to the

will

of the

enemies

for

liars

rise

to

slander

me

and

plead

thy

cruelties

yet

yet

I

am

sure

that

in

this

life

God's

goodness

I

will

see

wait

for

the

lark

be

strong

take

heart

forever

with

patiently

after the

benediction

I'll go to the main door

we'll close with the benediction

now may grace

mercy and peace

from God

Father

Son

and Holy Spirit

rest upon

and abide with you all

now and forevermore

Amen