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!

There was a story that I once heard…and I found the story on www.christianchallenge.com..

Back on June 30, 1859, a man by the name of Charles Blondin crossed Niagara Falls on a tightrope. He crossed on a 3 inch manila rope stretched 1,100 feet across the falls at a height of 160 feet. Not only that but in the ensuing days he also accomplished these amazing feats while crossing the falls: he executed a backwards somersault, crossed while blindfolded, while pushing a wheelbarrow, on stilts, in the dark with Roman candles flaring from the ends of his balancing pole, and one time even stopped half way across and cooked an omelet on a portable stove and lowered it to a boat below him.

Then on September 15, 1860, he accomplished his most amazing feat of all and it went something like this:

Before crossing the rope on that particular day Charles Blondin turned to the crowd and said, “Do you believe I can carry someone across the rope on my back?” The crowd roared its approval, “Yes, we believe you can!”

Then Charles asked for a volunteer, “Who will volunteer?” The crowd was silent. He then pointed out one man standing nearby, “How about you?” The man said, “Hardly, you don’t think I am going to risk my life like that, do you?” and he turned away.

Next Charles pointed out another man, “And what about you?” The man replied, “I believe. In fact, I have no doubt at all.” Charles said, “Will you trust me?” The man replied, “I will!”

The man then proceeded to climb on the back of Charles Blondin and they headed across the falls. The crowd waited breathlessly while they crossed and roared their approval once they completed the crossing. What they didn’t know was that the man who crossed on Blondin’s back was Harry Colcord, his manager. You see Harry Colcord knew how good Charles Blondin was and fully trusted him. His faith was secure, as the object of his faith, Charles Blondin, was trustworthy and had proven himself so over the years.¹

Jesus Christ is the object of our faith. He has proven Himself trustworthy. He created the world we live in. He came and lived a blameless life without sin. He served and sacrificed, even to the point of dying on the cross for our sin. Then He overcame death and arose from the dead because He was God who came in the flesh. He has power over death and power over life. He is worthy of our trust.”

So Faith… What is it?

• Ephesians 2:8-9, We are saved by faith.
  

• Rom. 1:17, We live by faith.

• Rom. 4:13, We receive righteousness by faith.

• Rom. 5:1, We are justified in Christ by faith

• Rom. 5:2, We have access to God’s grace by faith.

• 2 Cor. 1:24, We stand firm in our belief by faith.

• Gal. 3:14, We receive the promise of the Spirit by faith.

• 1 Tim. 1:4, We do God’s work is by faith.

• Gal. 5:5, We wait for the return of Christ by faith.

Indeed, faith is very important; it is vital to the Christian.

I have learned a few thing about faith over the years.

1. You must have your own faith.

It’s important to you as a person/christian to have your own faith…Not your parents faith, your youth/senior pastors faith..YOUR OWN FAITH! it doesn’t matter if your dad was a preacher and you were born in the church..Your mom singing in the choir hits a high note and out you come..Still you must have your own faith

2. Gotta add to your faith.

How do you do that? Reading the word of God-praying-fasting  Growing on your own..I tell the young people in my youth group all the time..We want you to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, so when you graduate from youth groups you don’t graduate from your faith..

It breaks my heart to see teenagers stop going to church when they graduate from high school. That is why it is vital youth pastor for us to give them the tools they need to learn and grow as a christian!

3. You’ve got to add to your faith..

More than just coming to church or youth groups…Going to church doesn’t make you a person of faith..I eat at the local Mexican restaurant , that does not make me Mexican! You have got to add to your faith, if fact the bible says without faith it is impossible to please God..WOW

So what is faith, Proverbs 3:5-6 say: Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart don’t lean to your own understanding but in ALL your ways ackowledge HIM and HE will direct your path…

So you can trust God with your….

I. FUTURE>

He knows the plans he has for you! Life might seem hard but Trust HIM because he said He will direct your path if you do!

And just know..His ways are not your ways, His thoughts are not your thoughts..God is up to something Big in your life..Trust Him and he will never fail you..Might take a testing/trial/storm or 2 to get you to the place that he wants you.BUT HOLD ON! HE HAS YOUR BEST IN MIND!

II.Failures>

We all mess up.

we are a bunch of Sinning, low life, no good, can’t do any good if we wanted to WRETCHED SINNERS!

I’m so thankful for His mercy and His grace,

Funny story about mercy..When I was about 15 years old my brother and I got some bottle rockets from some friends. It was the 4^th of july…

Now in order to make the story come to life I’ve got to set the stage. I grew up in downtown Chattanooga TN, the house my mom and dad live in is Fort Wood. A historical part of town..It’s on the campus of UTC “University of Tennessee @ Chattanooga” right next door to the Kappa Sigma Faternity house.

So the stage is set. 4^th of July, a 15 year old and a 8 year old (my brother) a pack of bottle rockets and some fraternity boys.

Mom was getting ready to leave for the afternoon, she said these words as she walked out the door.”BOY’S DO NOT TOUCH THE BOTTLE ROCKETS WHILE I’M GONE” ok mom…

Well about 10 min after she left, I heard the pop of a bottle rocket outside..The Kappa Sigma Guys were having a bottle war! IT”S GO TIME!

I got my brother, the bottle rockets, and 2 broom handles (they were hollow so you could shoot the bottle rockets out)

There I stood a 15 year old boy, Having a HUGE bottle rocket war..Well I didn’t relize was my shirt had little burning holes all in it from the bottle rockets shooting back at me..About the time I was really getting into it…MOM TURNED THE Corner…at that moment heat and fear came over my body…. We were about to get half dead! Needless to say it was not a good time on our backside that night!

Why did the punish us? Because we disobeyed…I’m thankful for the fact That God gives us mercy..Because non of us deserve Heaven, we deserve HELL! Our sins alone should send us to hell. I have heard it once said “Mercy is God’s ministry to the Misirerabell” Thank God for Grace and Mercy!

III.Fears>

I’m  scared of a bunch of stuff.

I know we all deal with fears, some are scared of

Spiders

Snakes

Flys

Dark

Highest highs

Flying!

And some are personal

Not fitting in…

Not good enough

To fat

To skinny

Not Popular enough

Not Smart enough

It’s all Lies from Satan….You are God’s master piece created in Christ Jesus..

That’s why he said You can trust me with you fears. He understand your fears!

IV> Footsteps

He know’s the plans that he has for us. Sometimes theses plans are different/harder/worst/better than we think they could or can be.

I don’t worry about tomorrow because I know who holds tomorrow! God is in control…I think of the song

“When Jesus is my portion my constant friend is He..His eye is own the sparrow and I know he watches me”

He knows the plans he has for you! Trust Him….Have Faith in Him

Dear pastor/church leader

JESUS HAS NOT FORGOTTEN ABOUT YOU!

• You might feel forgotten…alone…abandoned…and maybe even like you once heard the voice of God…but for some reason, can’t hear it now…

• You used to feel like you were close to Him…but ministry has taken away your intimacy/excitement/joy, and You feel like the One who called you is SO far away.

• So you assume He’s forgotten you…sent you where you are basically to get you out of the way so that He can get to other “important” things.

• You’ve prayed…you’ve read your Bible…you’ve fasted…and NOTHING.

• So…the only “logical” conclusion is that He’s forgotten you and that you, for some reason, no longer matter.

NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH.

Isaiah 49:14-16 says,Yet Jerusalem, “The Lord has deserted us; the Lord has forgotten us.” Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has birthed? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins. I WILL NOT FORGET YOU! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands…”  (Emphasis mine)

You might be thinking right now that you have been forgotten for various reasons…

• The critics seem to be getting louder…and maybe even more numerous.

• You are not getting enough rest…and you really do feel like the key to getting His attention again is to DO MORE, WORK HARDER…and so you are desperately seeking His approval.  (See Matthew 3:17)

• You are not seeing the “success” that other ministries are seeing.

• The “new idea” that you once had and were convinced that it was going to be successful was a miserable failure.

• The enemy is real…and wants us to feel abandoned and alone!

But reality is this…if He called you then He WILL finish what He started!

He is still with you…and will NEVER leave you or forsake you!

I don’t know where you are…OR what you are going through…but HE DOES…and He will fill you with HIS Spirit and HIS strength and sustain you.

DO NOT give up on the God who hasn’t given up on you…even though you can FEEL that He’s with you…that doesn’t change the FACT that He’s there.

You’re not forgotten.  If you are still breathing then He isn’t finished with you.  The churches best days are ahead of her…not behind her…and He’s called you to be a part of it!!!

He has NOT forgotten you!

You must Preach the Word!

I want you to listen to 2 songs… Let the word of these two songs below

1. Encourage you and

2. Challenge you… To get up, shake off the dust from under your feet and get to work!

….Sorry, I understand that the first video was a southern gospel group, ha ha I know some of ya don’t like it..But boy what a message! And for the second video. The Power point was horrible…But that song has got a white boy wanting to shoot hell with a water pistol HA ha! God bless you I love ya!