WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO

WEATHER THE STORM
Matthew 8:23-27 (Part 1)

I. FEAR

1. The passage begins by informing us that the disciples followed Jesus into a ploion {ship}. Most likely this vessel was a small fishing boat. D.A. Carson says, “A ploion ‘boat’ was a vessel of almost any size and description (v. 23). Here it is doubtless a fishing boat, big enough for a dozen or more men and a good catch of fish, but not large, and without sails.”
2. Luke tells us that Jesus instructed the disciples to go over to the other side of the lake (Luke 8:22). Most scholars agree that they were on the Sea of Galilee also known as Lake Chinnereth.
3. As they sailed across the lake they were frightened by the roaring winds and the raging waves. This storm was not your average storm (v. 24). Jesus described it as a megas seismos {great tempest}. The Greek word seismos is found fourteen times in the New Testament. It is translated “earthquake” thirteen times and tempest only one time.
4. Some of the disciples were expert fishermen and had experienced stormy seas in the past. However, they had never encountered anything as turbulent as this storm. John MacArthur, Jr. gives us this insight into the location of the storm. He says,

The Sea of Galilee lies just over 600 feet below sea level, near the northern end of the Jordan River. Mt. Hermon rises 9,200 feet to the north, and strong northerly winds often plummet down the upper Jordan valley with great force. When they meet the warmer air over the Galilee basin, the intensity is increased. Hitting the cliffs on the eastern shore, the winds swirl and twist, causing the waters beneath them to churn violently. The fact that they come quickly and with little warning makes the storms all the more dangerous and frightening.

5. Needless to say, the storm sent the ship rocking and reeling in the midst of the sea. The crushing waves came down on the vessel paralyzing the disciples with fear.

6. Our text tells us that the storm was so severe that “the ship was covered with the waves” (v. 24). The word kalupto {covered} is also translated “hidden” by many scholars. In other words, the waves of water covered the ship to the point that you could not see the vessel. As a result, the disciples were gripped with deilos{fear}.

II. Application

 Perhaps you have been smitten with this kind of fear in your personal life.
 Maybe you have been betrayed by an unfaithful spouse who has deserted you and devastated your family.
 Or, possibly you are currently in the eye of the storm of infidelity and adultery. Your life has been ripped apart leaving you scared and lonely.
 The fear of the unknown has robbed you of security and personal sanity. Just like the disciples you’ve experienced the crashing waves and stormy seas. You have been blown away by terrible fear.
 Furthermore, you feel like a tortured prisoner in bondage to trepidation. You desire to be free from the chains of fear, but you really don’t know how to break free.

III. Breaking Free

Let me share with you two ways to break free from the bondage of fear.

1. First of all, you must understand that followers of Jesus Christ should not always expect smooth sailing.

 Far too often believers equate Jesus and Christianity with the fantasy of prosperity theology. Meaning, if I serve Jesus, then life will be filled with health, wealth, and prosperity. Yet, this is totally contrary to the teachings of scripture. Isaiah described the Messiah (Jesus) as a man who was despised and rejected by men.
 Furthermore, the prophet informed us that Jesus was a man of sorrows acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:3). Even Jesus warned the disciples, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you (John 15:18). It didn’t take the disciples long to discover that association with Jesus brought persecution, hostility and opposition (Matthew 5:11-12). It is totally ludicrous for the believer to embrace the concept of affluent grandiosity!

Example

Smooth sailing is not always God’s will. Look at the life of the apostle Paul. Apart from Jesus, Paul was the most prominent person in the New Testament. Yet, he certainly did not live a life of ease and comfort. Review his personal testimony,

Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with
rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in
the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by
mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the
wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and
painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and
nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily,
the care of all the churches (2 Corinthians 11:24-28).

Paul suffered for the cause of Christ! Yet, he was in the very center of God’s perfect will
for his life. Serene sailing is not always God’s will.

2. Secondly, how can I break free from the bondage of fear? By faith I must believe that Jesus is with me during my storm (vv. 23-24).
 This passage tells us that Jesus was in the ship with the disciples. In other words, He was with them “in” and “through” their storm. Faith in the presence of Christ can conquer my fears.
 Trusting in an omnipresent Savior will break you free from the yoke of fear. Perhaps you have been blown away by an untimely death. The grief and fear are unbearable. Have faith in the inspired words of David who said, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4). As you journey through the valley of death and despair, claim the presence of the ever living One!
 Maybe the hellish storm of immorality has ripped through your marriage and has devastated your family. The fear of the unknown has completely overwhelmed your heart. You feel like an emotional paralytic! Your heart is numb and lifeless. It’s almost like your emotions have been injected with Novocain.
 Thoughts of desertion, abandonment, and rejection cripple your mind. Your internal organs become nauseated with fear. Your psyche becomes the pit of the abyss. Deep within your mental Hades you cry out for peace, but peace cannot be found. In the midst of your despair you begin to feverishly search for the key that unlocks the chains of fear and hopelessness. It seems as if you have gone as low as you can get. You try to go to God, but somehow you just can’t make it into his presence. You spiritually struggle with Him. You wrestle with Him. You even question His goodness.

Conclusion

Have you ever been there? I have personally discovered in my spiritual journey that when I am too weak to go to God, He comes to me.
 Do you remember the story of Jesus walking on the water (Matthew 14: 24-33)? What prompted our loving Savoir to defy the elements of nature and walk on the sea?
 The text explicitly explains that Jesus walked on the water in order to go to the disciples who were terrified by the storm. Notice the phrase “Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea” (v. 25).
 Jesus walked right into the eye of the storm to be with His disciples. Since the disciples could not get to Jesus, He went unto them.
 He walked on the water for them. He performed this miracle for them. Jesus conquered the raging sea in order to be with His disciples in the midst of their storm. Praise God!
 Jesus will walk on the water to be with you in the middle of your storm. Mark it down. Take it to the bank. Faith in the omnipotent One will crush the bondage of fear. The disciples had to deal with their fears in an effort to weather this storm.