Have you ever experienced a storm in your life?

Those times where things just didn’t make sense?

Times where your problems seemed so big and your faith seemed so small?

Times where you felt so swamped and so afraid that you were going to be taken over by the storm?

take heart I think we have all had feeling like that at some point in our life!

It’s been said that your are either in a storm, going  into a storm or just coming out of a storm.

To be in a storm you just have to be occupying space… I get mail at my house that just says “occupant”–it doesn’t matter who lives there it just mail for the occupying party. That’s how storms are, they will come without reason and sometimes without warning.

Jesus’ disciples were no different they encountered storms…

Mark 4:35-41.  As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” ³⁶ So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). ³⁷ But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. ³⁸ Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” ³⁹ When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Peace Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰ Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” ⁴¹ The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”

Some major points that we can apply here, between our Spiritual Storms and the Disciples Physical storm.

The first point that I see, is that:

I. THE STORMS WILL COME!

– Even if everything is going great right now, I want you to remember to have faith in Jesus, because the storms will come. It only takes a split second for everything to change for everything to be flipped upside down. Maybe you lose your job, or a family member is in a serious accident, or a tornado rips apart your house, you fill in your own personal storm_____________________, because the list goes on and on and on.

For the disciples it wasn’t a spiritual storm, but rather a physical storm. When they left the docks that evening, everything was fine. However it only took a split second for things to go horribly wrong. The winds picked up and the waves crashed over the boat, and the disciples were afraid. When the storms come they bring a few things

1. Emotions of fear

2. Anger

3. Frustration

4. Uncertainty.

If we know that the storms will come, we have to ask ourselves the next question-

How do we deal with these storms when they come?

a few things we need to do is

1. Never give up.

We need to take the storm that is plaguing our life for what it is, and that is a test or trial or temptation. We must remember to never give up!

2.  Deal with the storms is to keep focused.

It’s so easy when times are hard to lose our focus from the things that are really important or the tasks that we need to accomplish. And isn’t that how Satan traps and entangles us? By putting other things in our life to break our focus and to make us lose sight of our goal. Sure it is! That’s why we need to keep focused.

3.We must remember!

We must remember to have faith in Jesus! With faith in Jesus we can be assured that no matter how bad things get, the storm will not stick around forever. And that leads us to our next point.

II. THE STORMS WILL GO!

We can always take hope in the fact, that no matter how bad things get, the storms will pass.

Jesus’ disciples saw the same things. They thought that this storm may last forever, or at least long enough to put an end to them. But what do we see from the story, the SON not the SUN come out and calms the winds and the waves and the storm that they were so worried about is over.

And isn’t that the way it usually goes! When we realize that we can’t do it on our own, that’s when we ask for help. That’s when we start looking for Jesus. And why do we do that? We do that because we know that Jesus will always be there to calm the winds and the waves of our spiritual lives. He will always be there to strengthen and comfort us.

But one question that I have, is what do we do with Jesus after the storm is gone? And here is an answer that I think shouldn’t be missed. We must remember to put our faith in Jesus! Now you might be asking yourself, why should I put my faith in Jesus? The storm is already over. Well the storm may be over, but Jesus is still there! And that leads us to our third point.

III. JESUS ALWAYS REMAINS

Just because Jesus is there in the storms of your life, that doesn’t mean that you can’t look for Him in the good times. It doesn’t mean that you should only ask for His help and guidance in the bad times, because He wants to be there when things are going great. He wants to share in your joys as well as your sorrows. When I tell you Jesus always remains, I mean always!

When we look at the disciples in the story, at what time did they go and get Jesus. It was when times were really bad, it was when they had no place else to turn.

It’s amazing to me how fast people turn to God when life gets out of control…Some prayed when:

911 happened

The election results came in

When the doctor called and gave you the news about the lab work

When your date comes home and you pray that mom won’t pull out the photo album…

We have songs about prayer in troubled time..JESUS TAKE THE WHEEL!

What I think is importnant here is that we have a life of prayer, so when the storms of life hit you wont be going to God for a little help…It will be a real realationship

Abraham lincon said: the next time you are swept off your feet fall to your knees and pray

D. L. Moody said: Every great move of God can be traced back to a kneeling figure

Phillip Brooks said: Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. pray for powers qual to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be the miracle

When the Storms come we must remember to put our faith in Jesus, because He will help us through tough times. When the storms go we must remember to put our faith in Jesus, because He will help us put our lives back together, strengthening and encouraging us alone the way. And finally we must remember to put our faith in Jesus, because Jesus Always Remains! Won’t you let Him in during the good times and the bad. I would challenge you today to always let Jesus remain in your life. And remember it’s because HE LIVES that We can face tomorrow!

During a Monday night football game between the Chicago Bears and the New York Giants, one of the announcers observed that Walter Payton, the Bears’ running back, had accumulated over nine miles in career rushing yardage. The other announcer remarked, “Yeah, and that’s with somebody knocking him down every 4.6 yards!” Walter Payton, the most successful running back ever, knows that everyone –even the very best– gets knocked down. The key to success is to get up and run again just as hard…TO KEEP PRESSING ON!

No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it,but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us…

Philippians 3:13-14

Everybody likes ‘new beginnings’, fresh starts! Paul, the early Church’s missionary and gospel preacher was once Saul of Tarsus, its menace and persecutor of Christians…. But, that all change when he had an encounter with a Holy God that totally transformed his life.

When a person encounters a holy God a few things happen…I think 3 of those thing are:

1. The person who had the God encounter will never be the same

2. You wont have to tell him/her that they  just encountered God

3. A commission will usually follow

I love the story of  SaultoPaul….A guy who (key word here) “Thought” he was doing the good work by killing Christians became one of the greatest men of faith after his encounter with a holy God!

An encounter will do more for you than 1000 sermons can ever do!

His life after his encounter was not all peachy, he faced imprisonment, hunger, beatings, and death But he couldn’t quit…You know why?

Because of the encounter he had with a Holy God on the road that night...

with that in mind he made a startling statement in Phil. 3:13-14 that can help us as christ followers today have a fresh start and ‘press on’ in our faih, work and witness, no matter what…

Hudson Taylor, missionary to China, pronounced: “I am willing to go anywhere, as long as it is forward, onward and Christward’

A story I read on www.sermonillustrations.com

Young William Wilberforce was discouraged one night in the early 1790s after another defeat in his 10 year battle against the slave trade in England. Tired and frustrated, he opened his Bible and began to leaf through it. A small piece of paper fell out and fluttered to the floor. It was a letter written by John Wesley shortly before his death. Wilberforce read it again: “Unless the divine power has raised you up… I see not how you can go through your glorious enterprise in opposing that (abominable practice of slavery), which is the scandal of religion, of England, and of human nature. Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them together stronger than God? Oh, be not weary of well-doing. Go on in the name of God, and in the power of His might.”

We know from History that he stayed the course…And eventually won the Victory over the slave trade.
I want you to know, he has not forgoten about you.

when life seems to have more questions than answers it’s hard to trust..Press on!

When you feel like throwing in the towel, you feel you don’t matter anymore…Press on!

When hope seems gone, you don’t even have a song..Press on!

When you feel like you fought your last fight..Press on!

When you feel you have preached your last sermon..Press on!

When you feel like you have sung your last song..Press on!

When you feel like you can’t go on PRESS ON!