Transcription
[Music]
When everything else is crumbling around us, in the darkest hour of your life, God will never fail you. God uses storms to teach us that we need Him every day, in every hour of our lives.
God teaches us through those storms that He is all-powerful, that He is mighty, and that He alone is in control of planet Earth. Just about the time humanity begins to feel invincible, God cranks up the engines of Mother Earth and shakes loose until we feel as helpless as a child.
He demonstrates His absolute control of the world and the control of our lives by the storms He sends and the stars He conquers. God uses storms to shake us out of our comfort zone into a position of complete dependence on Him for our survival.
In sixty years of ministry, I have listened to stories of betrayal, honest confession of intentional sin, reckless and foolish choices. I have listened to sobbing voices express the fear of tomorrow, the barriers that are in their hearts, the rejection that they have felt, the unforgiveness, the rage, the abandonment, the lack of self-confidence, and the insecurity that can come from the failures they have been through.
All of these are storms. Some of you here, and many of you watching by television, are going through a storm right now. For some of you, it is a make-or-break kind of storm.
The God we serve is the master of wind and waves. He is the chain breaker, and He is the waymaker. He is the way, He is the truth, He is divine. It is His force that penetrates the darkness. He is still the light of the world.
He is the Lord of glory. He's still the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He is still our companion in the valley of the shadow of death. He is our hope, He is our fortress, He is a high tower. He is the mighty God, the everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace.
He is the sea walker and the blind man healer. He is the champion of death, hell, and the grave. His name is Jesus, the Son of the Living God, heaven's hope and hands.
Give Him praise in the house today.
We talk about the storm of fear. Read with me from verse 23:
"And when He had entered into the ship, His disciples followed. And behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves; but He was asleep. And His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, 'Lord, save us; we perish.' And He said unto them, 'Why are you fearful, O ye of little faith?' Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. But the men marveled, saying, 'What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?'"
Father God, we have come to the house of the Lord today to discover what manner of man is this that controls the universe, and yet we are so reluctant to call upon Him in the day of adversity.
Our lives have been scarred by storms. We come today now to ask You to say, "Peace, be still," to every life here and those watching who are in a desolate time of great failure.
In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
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