The Storm Meets Jesus / Luke 8:22-25 // Talk 16/11/14 The Point Church

I
wonder how many of you feel like there is a storm in your life right now?

The
thing about storms is they can vary so much can’t they, and our descriptions of
them vary too. I mean this week we’ve had torrential rain! But a storm might
include any number of things: Thunder, Lightening, Hail, Rain, wind. Could be a
terrific thunder storm or it could be a howling wind or just a lot of rain. Storms
can vary hugely.

And
it’s the same when we describe our own personal struggles, our own personal
storms isn’t it. We might describe them in many ways, what it means to one
person might mean something else to another. We might say we are struggling, we
are stuck, we are suffering, we’re having a tough time or we are really going
through it… So I wonder what you might say are the storms in your life right
now?

xxxxx

So
as I was prepping for this talk this week, and praying, I was really struck by
the title. ‘The Storm Meets Jesus’ not ‘Jesus calms the storm’ as it appears in
most bibles but The Storm Meets Jesus… You might think it’s not really any but
you know when I was preparing I really felt it was significant. You see Will
sets these titles months in advance usually, and when I was praying this week, I
felt like God was saying it was prophetic – ie: from God – because that’s what
he wants to do here today – that Jesus is going to meet us here and the storms
that we face are going to meet Jesus. He wants to work through those storms
today.

The
difference really is that notion of meeting
Jesus. It’s not just a process of calming or commanding or praying or
declaring, the change happens when we, when our situations and, when people meet Jesus.

So
I just had a real sense that that’s what
God wants to do today, that he wants to not only meet with us, but meet
with the things we are going through, the challenges we are facing, the storms
we are stuck in. And by that I just mean, whatever
you are facing right now. Whether you think it’s a gigantic squall or a
little gentle wind, those storms are going to meet Jesus today.  Because look I can stand up here and tell you
what I have learned about this passage, what I have prepared and prayed about
yes, and that’s part of my role, but what is the point in me teaching on Jesus
calming a storm if we don’t actually give
him the opportunity to do it right here and right now. Right?!

So
I am going to do a bit of teaching but then we are going to take some time and invite
Jesus in to meet our storms. So is that ok?

xxxxx

So
there’s really just two things I want to focus on here. One is Jesus (obviously! Kind of goes without
saying) and the other is Faith. This
passage highlights who Jesus is, but
he also highlights the faith of the
disciples, his followers.

So
let’s start with Jesus. And I might get a bit theological but I hope it’s going
to all make sense, just shout if it doesn’t ok!? Bit of audience participation
is always good!

xxxxx

So
when I read the bible, I love to really imagine
myself in the story, in fact I really recommend it. Sometimes you can skim
over passages without really understanding what they are all about and this I
think is a classic example of that. It’s actually quite a simple story,
basically Jesus performs a miracle. But there is so much more than that.

I
did think about doing that this morning, dramatizing it but we haven’t got time
ad I want to keep time to pray at the end, so why not go home and try it
yourself! Prayerfully!

But
in doing that myself one line really struck me: that ‘Jesus fell asleep’.  I mean
he’s God, right, but he’s just there asleep in the boat? Doesn’t that seem a
bit odd? Well one thing I have learned over time is that if something in the bible seems a bit odd then its probably saying
something important. Well its all important obvs…

So
here we go with the theology… so just keep that thought in your mind for a mo.

So
this term at college we’ve spent some time looking at the Trinity and the Incarnation. So the Trinity – God is 3 parts –
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And Incarnation – Jesus was incarnated, became
Human, on earth,

So
we believe, and we sometimes say or here we often sing The Creed – in the song:  ‘I
believe in God the Father, I believe in Christ the Son, I believe in the Holy Spirit,
Our God is three in one, in much of the Anglican church they declare it each
week in the Nicene Creed.

One
of the hardest things to get your head around is that Jesus is both fully God and fully human. We can’t separate out the
bits that were human and the bits that were divine, so we cannot say that here
the human bit is sleeping, then the Godly bit wakes up and calms the storm. He
is both at all times. It’s a ‘paradox’  Which is part of the mystery of faith,
part of the tension we have to hold on to in our faith. And it is something
that has kept theologians and academics in work for years so don’t dwell on it
too much!  But in relation to our passage
here I think the very fact that we see Jesus asleep helps us to understand that
he knows, I mean he truly knows,
what it is like to be human, the bodily needs but also the emotional ones. He
knows what it is to suffer or to be in pain, he knows what it is to be filled
with joy and laughter and as we highlighted last week, with our Remembrance
video – John 11:35. He knows what it is to mourn.  Jesus Wept.

He
knows what it is like to be us, to be me, to be you. He knows.

xxxxx

But
this passage gives us such a sharp contrast doesn’t it?! he’s asleep one minute
and performing an amazing miracle the next!

But
if we understand this, in his divinity…
as God…. he doesn’t sleep.

He
doesn’t leave us, he doesn’t sleep when we are in trouble, he’s right there in it with us. Just as he was on the boat. He
hadn’t left, or abandoned them in their hour of need, he was right there with
them. Just as he is always with each of us.

So.
He’s human but he’s also God.

So
here’s the thing, do you know what happens when a storm forms? In a very basic
form (and if there are any amateur meteorologists out there you can correct me
– but not until I’ve finished ok!) a storm happens  when there are differences in atmospheric pressure coming together.

So
when Jesus calms the storm, he is literally
changing the atmosphere. And that’s what he does, when he comes, the atmosphere
changes. Spiritually and physically, the atmosphere changes.

What
the disciples realised that day that, we know already. Jesus is Lord over all.

I
just love their reaction, I mean can you even begin to imagine what it must
have been like? They are on the verge of drowning then Jesus just commands it
all to stop – I mean we see in the passage, the disciples are like: who even is this? The wind and the water obey
him – what is that all about?!

Well
we now have the benefit of the bible and the bible tells us that Jesus is the Lord of creation, it is
under his command. Colossians 1 says this of Jesus:

So
that’s:

If
he can command the wind and the waves, what is there that he cannot do?

Xxxxx

So
then what about us? What’s our role?

I
love how when the disciples wake Jesus up, the passage just says ‘He got up and
rebuked the wind and the raging waters… it’s just sounds so chilled out doesn’t
it.  I’m not sure it was as simple as
that, I mean when I wake up it takes about half an hour to get moving, and then
I’m not even properly awake.

Not
only that they were going to drown, the boat would have been lurching from side
to side, rocking, filling up with water. And he just ‘gets up and calms the
storm’. Now I don’t know about you but if I get woken up, I’m pretty grumpy
about it. I don’t do waking up well. And I don’t know, but Jesus seems pretty
grumpy here doesn’t he, I mean it is a bit harsh, the disciples obviously
thought they were going to drown and he’s like ‘where is your faith?’. Well,
derr, I mean I’m not sure how many of us could be in a situation like that and
just be calm about it. What did he want them to do? They did actually call on
him, they woke him, so what else did he expect them to do?

Well
do you want to know what I think? Well I’m gonna tell you anyway….

I
think the point here is that they even
took their gaze off him at all.

Hebrews
12 tells us – ‘Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith.’

Faith is not just about believing
in Jesus, it’s about being truly and utterly focussed on him, in all things, at
all times in all places. In
fact Hebrews 11:1 tells us that: faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance
about what we do not see.

Sometimes it isn’t even about believing, it’s about
trusting. And there is a difference.

Listen
we can spend all our time focussing on the things that distract us, whether
they are little niggly things or great big boulders that block our view, they
take our gaze off Jesus. I heard someone once say that even something as small
as 1pcoin can blot out almost your whole view, if its right in front of your
eye.

If
we focus on the storm, we will drift, we will be swept along by the tide, we
will be tossed and turned by the waves.

I
don’t know if any of you have ever
danced but you know when you see dancers ballet dancers particularly, not
sure if you will see it on Strictly! – perhaps ask Karen, she can tell you! –
anyway when they do lots of spins on the spot, to stop themselves getting
dizzy, or falling over or drifting, they keep they eyes fixed on a spot on the
horizon, so if you watch they move their body but the head stays still and
flicks at the last minute, keeping their eyes fixed on one spot…

So I think that’s why Jesus was
asking them ‘where is your faith?’ because they were so focussed on the storm,
I think they probably even forgot he was there. I mean how easy would that be, you can
imagine it, they were probably all running around grabbing ropes, trying to
slop the water out of the boat, or hanging on to something to avoid getting
washed out of the boat. Would one man asleep in the corner be grabbing their
attention.

But
then we forget – they had travelled with Jesus, for weeks if not months, they
have seen him do extraordinary things, healings, raise someone from the dead!! they
have given up everything to follow him. And yet, here he almost withdraws
slightly and at the first hurdle they
panic!

You
know that’s why things like discipleship, small groups, reading your bible and
praying regularly are so important. We need to have Jesus and our faith so
ingrained in us that when the proverbial hits the fan, we are still set firm on
the rock of Jesus, So that in the midst of the storm, we can still fix our eyes
on Jesus. That he can be our focus in all that we face

xxxx

Jesus is fully human – he really knows what we are going through,
from the every day stuff to the real challenges.

Jesus is fully God – He is Lord over all, nothing is too great
for him, he even commands the wind and the waves. He can perform miracles.

And us – well we have to play our part. Where is
our faith? We need to focus on him, fix our eyes on him, even in the midst of
the storm.

 So I said at the beginning I really felt God
wanted to meet us this morning, the storms are going to meet with Jesus. We
should have plenty of time to pray.  Couple of things I want to say first:

Sometimes,
especially in really challenging situations we can feel let down by God, we
don’t understand why things happen, or why he doesn’t heal, or why he hasn’t
answered our prayer. That’s ok. But this morning let’s focus on who he is. If
you have a storm, or a challenge or a situation that you need help with, or you
need healing, I encourage you to bring it before him. We can’t always
understand, that is so hard, I know, but we can make a choice to fix our eyes
on Jesus. So let’s try and do that this morning.

And
secondly it’s ok to get angry with God. He wants to know you – all of you – the
Psalms are full of David getting cross with God and then praising him all the
same! You can be cross with God or not understand where he is or what he is
doing, and still have your eyes fixed on him! So that’s ok… and hey if you need
to shout at God this morning, this is a safe place! Go ahead!