Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Welcome to the Karma Chaj podcast.
[00:00:07] Great. Thank you.
[00:00:09] Take a seat.
[00:00:11] I've got your Bible here.
[00:00:14] There you go. It's normally me leaving mine.
[00:00:18] I was just on the. On the offerings. I was just. As Juliet was doing the offering, I was reminded that I heard another testimony. And I think this is the third of someone who got their mortgage paid off completely. How cool is that?
[00:00:35] And remember, when we hear testimony, sometimes we can hear it and go, why wasn't that me?
[00:00:41] But the way we receive it is, thank you, Lord, that you did it for them. Now I know you can do it for me. Okay, that's the response, But I think it's number three. I love it. I love what God does. Okay, Right. I'm gonna. This is a trick question. All right.
[00:01:01] How many of you are trying to hear God's voice and obey him? That's all of you, right? Okay. Just. Just in case you didn't know. And. And when you, you know, we're. We're desperate. Lord, will you speak to us as we read your word, as we, you know, as we're in your presence, as we listen for this still small voice of the Holy Spirit? Would you speak to us so we can obey you?
[00:01:26] And sometimes we hear and it goes, good, right?
[00:01:31] But sometimes we hear and it's a little bit more difficult, right? It doesn't seem to be going how we thought it would go.
[00:01:39] Come on. I know, I know.
[00:01:41] We've all been there. And what happens then is we think, oh, maybe God didn't speak to me. Maybe it wasn't God. Maybe I've had too much Weetabix. Maybe I had too much, I don't know, Coca Cola or something like that. And it was. It was something else speaking to me.
[00:01:59] I must have heard wrong.
[00:02:02] And what I want to say to you this morning is not necessarily that. Whenever we. We listen to what God is saying to us, we run it through a grid and our dials. But just because things get harder doesn't necessarily mean it wasn't God.
[00:02:20] So get your Bibles.
[00:02:22] Find Luke, chapter eight. In fact, we're going to read two. Two stories this morning.
[00:02:29] And you can never read too much Bible.
[00:02:31] So why don't you stand again?
[00:02:34] We get a lot of exercise here. Luke, chapter 8, verse 22.
[00:02:40] Now, it happened on a certain day that he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, let us cross over to the other side of the lake. And they launched out. But as they sailed, he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake. And they were filling with water and were in jeopardy. And they came to him and awoke him, saying, master, Master, we are perishing.
[00:03:05] Then he arose and rebuked the wind and the raging water, and they ceased. And there was calm. But. But he said to them, where is your faith?
[00:03:14] And they were afraid and marveled, saying to one another, who can this be? For he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him. Okay, flip back into Matthew. I put my little.
[00:03:30] I don't know what these are called, but whatever they're called, I put it in.
[00:03:35] Bookmark? No, it's a book ribbon.
[00:03:40] Sorry.
[00:03:41] Don't mind us.
[00:03:43] We're just chatting.
[00:03:45] Where are we? Matthew 14:22.
[00:03:49] Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side while he sent the multitudes away.
[00:03:58] And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.
[00:04:05] Now, when evening came, he was alone there, but the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.
[00:04:13] Now, in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, it's a ghost.
[00:04:23] And they cried out for fear.
[00:04:26] But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, be of good cheer, it is I.
[00:04:31] Do not be afraid. And Peter answered him and said, lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.
[00:04:39] So he said, come.
[00:04:40] And when Peter had come out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid and beginning to sink. He cried out, saying, lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him and said to him, I. Oh, you of little faith. Why did you doubt?
[00:05:01] Now, look, just putting one in for Pete. At least he got out the boat, right?
[00:05:09] I'm not getting out.
[00:05:10] No way. Pete's out the boat.
[00:05:13] And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped him, saying, truly, you are the Son of God. Okay. Amen. Take a seat.
[00:05:27] Right.
[00:05:29] Two storm stories at two different times. One towards the beginning of the ministry of Jesus and one towards the end of the ministry of Jesus. They're both real storms, and they're both real miracles. But what can we learn?
[00:05:46] Firstly, both of these adventures. Jesus tells the disciples to get into the boat.
[00:05:54] Okay, see, I want you to see something here. Jesus is telling them to get in the boat, and they're going to go into A storm. This isn't something they've fallen into.
[00:06:05] You see, Jesus doesn't avoid storms.
[00:06:08] And it would appear that sometimes he even leads us into them. That wasn't in the small print. Right. Remember, when we call you forward to give your life to Jesus and he's going to come and fail you, we never told you he's going to lead you into storms.
[00:06:22] Now you know, don't anyone who's going to come and give their life to Jesus this morning forget that bite. We'll deal with Jesus bit first. Then you can. Then you'll worry about the storm. So just because the storm hits doesn't mean you've misheard.
[00:06:39] Now, you might want to check your dials because whenever we find ourselves in circumstances, we need to check the dials. Just like you check your car. You know, when you're driving along, red light comes on, you stop and you know you've got counsel.
[00:06:54] You're not contrary to the scriptures, anything like that.
[00:06:57] Okay? But just because the storm has come doesn't mean you've misheard God. In fact, sometimes completely the opposite. The fact that you're now in a storm probably means you've really heard the Lord. I remember when we, when we tell the story, when God told us to gather around his presence and host the presence of the Holy Spirit. And so we thought, all right, we need to worship. And all the musicians left and we went, oh, no, how do we do this without musicians?
[00:07:30] And maybe we misheard.
[00:07:32] Maybe he said, gather around the Bible.
[00:07:34] But that isn't what he said to us. He said, gather around my presence in worship. So the storm hit because people didn't, this is silly. This is foolish. We're going to. We're going.
[00:07:47] But out of that, God did a miracle. You know, he tells you to go and buy a house you've been renting for years. And he says, right, I'm gonna do a miracle in your life and you're gonna own your own home. So you go and buy a house and interest rates shoot up and you go, oh, no, I must have misheard. I must have got it wrong. This isn't the right time to do it.
[00:08:08] Not necessarily. Or what about, he says, I want you to start a business.
[00:08:14] So you get all the preparation, and just as you start your business, the country goes into recession.
[00:08:19] Oh, this isn't the best time to do it. It's the wrong time to do it. I've misheard. It can't be God.
[00:08:26] And what I'm saying is, but what has the Holy Spirit Said, what did Jesus say to you? What did he speak to you? You see, just because the wind is picking up doesn't mean you're heading in the wrong direction.
[00:08:41] You see, when the storm comes around us, it is an opportunity for faith in operation.
[00:08:48] You know, following Jesus will probably lead you into a storm.
[00:08:54] So don't be surprised.
[00:08:56] Deal?
[00:08:57] So if it gets a bit stormy in the week you're walking with Jesus.
[00:09:09] In this world, you're going to have trouble. But fear not, I've overcome the world.
[00:09:13] Remember, those are the. You know, it's never in the offering declaration, is it, Lord, send me trouble, Send me a storm.
[00:09:21] But actually, it's where we. It's where we learn the most. Okay, back, otherwise I'll get distracted. The first storm, Jesus says, let us go to the other side, okay? So he has given the disciples instruction that they are going to go to the other side, whether it's under the water or on top of the water.
[00:09:43] Because he said so, they're going to get to the other side. The second one, he makes his disciples go before him. It's a command that he tells them to go. And, you know, often Jesus will send us before him.
[00:10:02] Okay? He would do it a lot to the disciples. And when we go before him, it feels very uncomfortable.
[00:10:09] I mean, if Jesus was just there around us and the glory's all around us, it would be easy. But he says, no, I want you to go ahead. I'm coming, but I want you to go ahead. And so the wind picks up and it feels very uncomfortable. But in both the stories, the first one, Jesus is asleep in the boat.
[00:10:30] The second one, Jesus is praying on the land.
[00:10:36] So I think this is a picture of walking with Jesus.
[00:10:40] This is where we're going to go. He speaks to you. Here we go, gang. We're going to follow Jesus. And this is where we're going.
[00:10:47] The moment we start, the storm hits and you see, the storm starts to distract us.
[00:10:54] But it's in the storm our faith is tested. See, that's when we're going to go. Have we heard right? Are we going to keep going forward or are we going to turn back?
[00:11:05] But it's through the storm we learn to trust Jesus.
[00:11:10] You know, my faith has never been built up on the beach.
[00:11:15] It's just, you know, when I'm just basking in his presence. That's not when my faith is built up. My faith is built up when the wind is pounding and I, you know, rowing like mad, and I'm going, lord, is this really you it shouldn't be this hard, but we're on a course that he has taken. You see, this is something of the person of Jesus.
[00:11:39] You know, even in the storm, in the first one, Jesus is at peace. He's asleep. He's in the boat, everything's all okay. He's on his throne, Heaven is not rocked.
[00:11:52] And so as we're rowing like mad, he's just praying for us.
[00:11:57] Paul says in Romans 8, both Jesus and the Spirit make intercession for us.
[00:12:03] Now, look, does God answer my prayers? Absolutely. Anything we ask in the name of Jesus, the Father will do. But how much more is he going to answer Jesus prayers?
[00:12:15] You know, I throw the prayers out and I might waver a little bit. Lord, I want to believe you can answer my prayer. But when Jesus prays and you see the Bible all the way through says, jesus is praying for you. Jesus is praying for me, Especially when you're in the storm. He's lifting up prayers to heaven for you and me. We're going to be okay.
[00:12:40] So what's the lesson in the storm? Find where Jesus is.
[00:12:46] If he's in the boat with you, you're going to be all right.
[00:12:53] Or if he's walking out towards you through the storm, saying, step out.
[00:13:01] You see, either way, find where he is.
[00:13:06] What has he said and what is his invitation?
[00:13:10] Because often we're so worried about the storm, we miss the invitation.
[00:13:18] You see, if he has said, cross the lake, you're going across the lake.
[00:13:24] But in the midst of what's going on in our life, there's often an invitation.
[00:13:30] And that's where Peter says, lord, if this is you, bid me to come out.
[00:13:37] And so in the middle of the storm, he gets to do something impossible.
[00:13:42] You see, the storm is where the miracles are.
[00:13:46] I mean, can you imagine what that was? What was that? I mean, when was the last conference you went to on walking on water?
[00:13:54] Now, I know we're a bit landlocked in Leicester, but we've got Rutland water. And, you know, every now and again we get a bit of flooding, which for practice.
[00:14:05] But Peter said, if this is you, I want to come out with you. Jesus. And the whole process of stepping out of the boat and starting to walk, and he's walking on water.
[00:14:17] I mean, Peter had a number of failures, but this wasn't one of them.
[00:14:22] And then suddenly he becomes aware of the storm and that's. I mean, I know it's where you are because it's where I am. You know, we're trying to step out the wind's buffing us. And we.
[00:14:35] We get our eyes on the storm instead of Jesus. And he says, I'm sinking, Lord, rescue me. And Jesus reaches out and pulls him up. He says, where was your faith?
[00:14:45] I think he was. You see, most of us would go, surely he's an A.
[00:14:51] But what Jesus is saying is, when the storm is not the deal, the deal is keeping your eyes on Jesus. What has he said? Where is he? Where is he taking us? And as we walk with him, we come through the storm. That's number one. Okay, number two, what comes next?
[00:15:17] You see, the next thing I want to say about storms is unto what?
[00:15:23] You know, it's interesting that the first thing that happens after Jesus calms the first storm is they meet the Gadarean demoniac.
[00:15:34] Can you imagine the disciples?
[00:15:37] The boat's been filling water. They've emptied all the boat.
[00:15:40] They're finally on land. They step on land, this crazy person comes. No one can contain. He's dribbling, he's naked.
[00:15:50] And, you know, they're like, let's go back to the storm.
[00:15:54] Okay, let's get back into the boat.
[00:16:01] You see, they are about to witness one of the biggest demonic battles outside of the cross and the temptation of Jesus.
[00:16:13] See who was behind the storm?
[00:16:17] Well, the devil.
[00:16:19] Why? Because he didn't want Jesus getting to the other side.
[00:16:22] Because there was a man who'd been tormented all of his life who needed to be set free.
[00:16:30] You see, the disciples had to go through the storm in order to see the miracle.
[00:16:37] And first Jesus confronts the storm, but then Jesus confronts Legion.
[00:16:43] Mark tells us 2000 demons Jesus goes to confront.
[00:16:49] No wonder the disciples wanted to get back into the boat. We get one here on a Sunday and we're. Is everyone going to be all right?
[00:17:01] I remember.
[00:17:04] Was that a don't go into story? Oh, God. Can I just tell one demon story? Just one?
[00:17:10] Yeah, I remember we were starting this journey. I was actually away that week. And we were doing a fire tunnel. We were doing a fire tunnel, weren't we?
[00:17:20] And so people are going through the fire tunnel, and this lady comes to go through the fire tunnel and gets thrown out. Not by anybody. And this demon man was, I'm going to kill her.
[00:17:29] Everyone's.
[00:17:32] Jesus had 2,000 of those, and he didn't break a sweat.
[00:17:39] Why?
[00:17:41] Because he knew who he was.
[00:17:44] And they just come through.
[00:17:46] And you see, the storm was not on the water, but actually on the land.
[00:17:53] The man who'd been tormented all of his life needed to be freed. No one could help him. There was no hope for this man. No one could even restrain him. He just ran around beating himself on the stones. But Jesus could.
[00:18:10] Jesus could help him.
[00:18:12] And Jesus always goes after the one, the one lost sheep and the one who's been tormented by demons.
[00:18:22] But do you know what?
[00:18:24] Sometimes we have to go through a storm to see the miracle.
[00:18:31] And the devil whizzed up the wind to stop Jesus getting there.
[00:18:39] He doesn't want people to get free.
[00:18:42] But Jesus walks straight through the storm, straight into the real battle of freeing men and women.
[00:18:50] And if we want to see men and women freed, we're going to need to go through some storms, and we're going to need to learn how to calm the storm so that we can see the real miracle.
[00:19:01] The second storm is when Peter walks on the water. The disciples are going like mad. But isn't it interesting what immediately happens next?
[00:19:11] Matthew 14:34, when they had crossed over, they came to the land of Geneset. And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent out into all the surrounding region, brought to him all who were sick, and begged him that they might only touch the hem of his garment. And as many as touched it were made perfectly well.
[00:19:37] The other side of the storm is a miracle.
[00:19:43] Why does the devil not want us to get through the storm? Because that's where the miracles are. The storm is only part of the battle and picture.
[00:19:53] And you see, the storm often distracts us from the real mission, men and women getting free.
[00:20:01] You know, if the enemy can get us all caught up in the storm, the wind's blowing, there's too much rain, the boat's gonna sink. We're not even thinking about actually, why has this storm come? And what is the other side of this storm? And what is the actual mission of the church?
[00:20:17] The mission of the church is to rescue men and women.
[00:20:20] The mission of the church is that men and women will be healed and free and find salvation. But we're caught up in the storm. And so Jesus said, no, keep going through the storm.
[00:20:37] And as many who touched his hem were made perfectly well. And you know, that's my constant prayer, Lord, teach me this.
[00:20:47] Teach me to go through storms.
[00:20:52] And if the result of going through difficulty is that men and women will find salvation, count me in.
[00:21:00] If the result of pushing through some of the difficulties around me is that men and women can be rescued and find eternal salvation, count me in, Lord. I don't want to go through difficulty just for the sake of it. You know, don't just send Me, trouble. But if the other side of the trouble is that men and women find you, Jesus, and they're healed and they fall in love with you, and you get the glory and you get the honor, count me in.
[00:21:28] And I often feel sorry for many of the people that have taken the journey with us because we've been through a few, right? I'm looking at Joel and Rachel. We've been through a few storms.
[00:21:38] There's a few scars.
[00:21:41] But at every point, the Lord Jesus comes through and we see the miracle.
[00:21:49] You see, too many Christians are distracted by the storm, so they miss the real miracle. And we are in a battle for the lives of men and women.
[00:21:59] And what I want to say is, at the cross, Jesus has disarmed the enemy.
[00:22:06] Jesus says this. If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.
[00:22:14] You want to know if the kingdom is here? Demons are being expulsed.
[00:22:20] That's what Jesus says. How can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strongman and then he will plunder his house.
[00:22:30] You see, Jesus has bound the devil so we can plunder his house.
[00:22:35] See, at the cross, Jesus bound the devil when he gave his life for us. And he went into the ground. His blood was shed. The devil was bound.
[00:22:49] Now we get to plunder his house. Jesus said, the prince of this world is coming, but he has no hold over me.
[00:22:57] And if you are in Christ, he has no hold over you.
[00:23:03] And through the storm, that's the truth you discover.
[00:23:07] He has no hold over me. Why? Because I belong to Christ.
[00:23:12] And he's telling you his hold of you. The storm is raging around you. It feels like the water's coming in the boat, But Jesus saying he has no hold.
[00:23:21] So what's the lesson?
[00:23:24] The first story is early on with the disciples. And when Jesus calms the storm, this is what they say. Who can this be?
[00:23:34] For he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.
[00:23:40] See, they don't quite know who Jesus is yet.
[00:23:44] I mean, their hearts are burning, they're following him and they're walking with him. And they love everything that's happening, but they don't know who he is yet. The demons do. They don't.
[00:23:56] But they're. Who is this that speaks to the elements and they obey him.
[00:24:02] By the second storm, they've been walking with Jesus.
[00:24:06] Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped him, saying, truly you are the Son of God.
[00:24:12] You see, now they Know who He is?
[00:24:15] Do you see the move? Do you see the difference? Do you see the journey? You see, you go through some storms with Jesus and it won't be who is this? It'll be, you are the Son of God.
[00:24:27] And that's why our journey, that's why faithfulness is so important. That's why we walk with him, because we start to get a track record with Jesus.
[00:24:37] And as we first start out, we've got to push in and we're going to push through those storms. But as we've walked with him for a longer period of time, it's not who is this person, it's he is the Son of God. He lives in me. We can do this because he has said. And so our whole thinking and understanding changes. And it's time for the church to. To understand who Jesus is, who it is that we worship, that his manifest presence is the same as his power.
[00:25:11] And he has anointed the church.
[00:25:16] You see, when you've been through a few storms, not only your faith increases, but it's your relationship with God changes.
[00:25:27] He's not just a miracle worker or a great man or a good teacher, but he's the Son of God.
[00:25:34] He's someone we worship and adore. He created the world with a word.
[00:25:40] He redeemed the world by his blood.
[00:25:44] He has bound the devil so you can plunder his house in the power of the resurrection.
[00:25:52] You see, the storms we are facing are actually a distraction to the real miracles.
[00:25:59] And what I want to say to you this morning is just really, really simple.
[00:26:06] When you find yourself in the storm, remember this is probably a distraction to where he's taken me.
[00:26:13] What has he said?
[00:26:15] Remember what he said to you.
[00:26:19] What is his invitation?
[00:26:22] So he said, let us go across the other side. But in the midst of the psalm, he may be inviting you to something more.
[00:26:31] Lord, if it's you, bid me come out.
[00:26:35] He wants you to step out.
[00:26:38] If he's in the boat, find his peace.
[00:26:43] And in the midst of storm, you need to find the peace of God.
[00:26:50] It doesn't necessarily stop the storm, but you know you'll find the peace in, in this book, sometimes you'll read, you'll find the peace in your prayer time when he speaks in this still small voice, Elijah.
[00:27:05] But you come to that point of Jesus is in the boat. I'm okay, we're going to be right.
[00:27:15] But if he's on the water, take a chance.
[00:27:20] Step out with him.
[00:27:23] See where he'll take you. Because there's always another invitation with Jesus.
[00:27:30] You see, when people walk down here and give their lives to the Lord Jesus, that's the first invitation.
[00:27:36] There are hundreds more, hundreds more invitations of walking with the Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:27:44] You see, a church who gathers in worship is a church preparing to plunder the earth so that men and women can walk in freedom and know the Lord Jesus Christ for themselves.
[00:27:59] He is the Christ.
[00:28:01] He is the Son of the living God who has come and made his home in each of our hearts.
[00:28:10] And he says, come, follow me.
[00:28:14] I'm done. Why don't you stand up?
[00:28:18] Thanks for listening to the Chroma Charge podcast. If you enjoyed this message, you can like and subscribe. You can also join us in person or online every Sunday at Croma Church. For more information about us, including our ministries, events, worship and how to donate, visit our website at Cromer Church Ch.
