The Bible Speaks - Words of Inspiration - Into the Storm

[00:00:00] Let us pray, pray together on our knees

[00:00:07] Let us pray, pray together on our knees

[00:00:14] When I fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun

[00:00:21] Oh Lord, never see all the knees

[00:00:27] Welcome to the Bible Speaks with Elgin Carelock

[00:00:30] The Bible Speaks is a weekly ministry of Harvest International

[00:00:33] Our prayer is that the Bible Speaks will encourage you in your study of God's word

[00:00:38] You will be able to contact Elgin at the address given at the end of this broadcast

[00:00:44] And now, here's Elgin

[00:00:46] Brothers and sisters, I welcome you in the name of our risen Savior, Jesus the Christ

[00:00:51] To another edition of Words of Inspiration

[00:00:54] Encounter the blessing that you've chosen to spend time with us today

[00:00:58] Sharing in God's word and rightly dividing the word of truth

[00:01:03] Today I want us to have a discussion from a very familiar passage of Scripture

[00:01:09] Regarding Jesus walking on water

[00:01:12] But instead of discussing it from the position of Peter's experience

[00:01:17] I want to focus on Jesus sending them to the other side

[00:01:21] Therefore, our topic for today is...

[00:01:24] Into the Storm

[00:01:26] As you may remember, this story takes place just after Jesus had fed the 5,000

[00:01:33] Afterwards, he was going up into the mountain to pray

[00:01:37] But told the disciples to get in a ship and meet him on the other side of the lake

[00:01:43] Being omniscient, which is all-knowing

[00:01:46] Jesus knew they were going to encounter a storm in carrying out his instructions

[00:01:52] For me, this was for two reasons

[00:01:56] One, to underscore the need for us to pray without ceasing

[00:02:01] Or to always have an open line of communication with Jesus

[00:02:06] And second, to trust in who Jesus is

[00:02:12] Even though only a few hours had passed since the disciples saw Jesus feed 5,000 men

[00:02:19] Not counting women and children with two fish and five loaves of bread

[00:02:24] When the storm came up, they began to struggle and doubt

[00:02:29] The ferocity of the wind and their inability to go any further on their own power

[00:02:36] Caused them to become so disoriented that when Jesus was walking on the water towards them, they were afraid

[00:02:44] When we are in a constant state of communication and openness to hear from God

[00:02:51] We have a level of peace that passes all understanding even in the most ferocious of storms

[00:02:58] This is found in Philippians 4, verse 7

[00:03:03] It also says that that level of peace will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus

[00:03:11] Which is a reference to anxiety, which is worrying about something even before it occurs

[00:03:18] And stress because of what you are currently facing

[00:03:23] When I allow the Holy Spirit to guide me during these times

[00:03:27] I feel a sense of peace that God is in control and He has already given me everything I need to resolve the issue

[00:03:34] If it's something He has gifted me to do

[00:03:38] Or I have to have the patience to wait on Him if it is something that only He can do

[00:03:45] The second point of Jesus sending them to the other side and through the storm

[00:03:50] Is to show us on this side how easy it is to lose trust when storms arise

[00:03:57] When Jesus said to them to go before Him to the other side

[00:04:02] There should have been an earnest expectation that that would happen

[00:04:08] Numbers 23, verse 19 tells us God is not a man that he should lie

[00:04:17] Neither the Son of man that he should repent

[00:04:20] Hath he said and shall he not do it?

[00:04:24] Or hath he spoken and shall he not make it good?

[00:04:29] So the mere fact that Jesus told them that they were going to the other side should have left no doubt

[00:04:36] No matter what occurred on the way there

[00:04:39] Another interesting point is that the storm did not cease until Jesus got in a boat with them

[00:04:46] Which means it was still raging as Jesus walked on it

[00:04:51] For me that symbolizes His superiority over our issues

[00:04:57] Jesus can walk on what would otherwise drown a mere man

[00:05:03] Additionally, back to my earlier point of maintaining constant communication with Jesus and the Holy Spirit

[00:05:10] Because the Word tells us He will never leave us or forsake us

[00:05:15] So when He gets into the situation with us, it has no choice than to stop raging if it is His will

[00:05:23] There are times He will be with us but it doesn't change the situation as we solve with the Hebrew boys

[00:05:32] Jesus was with them in the fiery furnace and they came out not even smelling like smoke

[00:05:39] But they had to go into the furnace nonetheless

[00:05:43] Brothers and sisters, the storms in our lives while challenging are essential for spiritual growth and deepening faith

[00:05:52] As they teach reliance on God and not our own strength

[00:05:57] These difficult periods also serve to refine character and foster resilience

[00:06:03] Helping us to mature and develop a more profound trust in God's sovereignty and purpose

[00:06:10] I thank you once again for joining me for our discussion on today

[00:06:15] I hope you have a fantastic weekend and I look forward to our discussion on Sunday

[00:06:22] Until then, God bless

[00:06:42] Good news on the air

[00:07:13] Never