Open your Bibles, if you will, this morning to Matthew chapter 8. Take a look down in verse 23. Very familiar passage of scripture, very familiar story. It says in verse 23, and when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. 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 woke him, saying, Lord, save us, we perish. And he saith unto them, why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, 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? Amen? I have just briefly titled this message this morning, as you can imagine, Faith in the Storm. Faith in the Storm. Let's bow for a word of prayer, and then we'll jump into things. We'll try to get finished in a relatively short amount of time, because we've got the kids out there. Jeremy's not out there, so I can break early. Let's go ahead and have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you again for just being good to us. Lord, you are a great God. We sing the songs of Zion about you and to you, praise that's from our lips lifted up to the high God of heaven. Lord, you are the only God in the universe that can save men. You're the only one that can really answer prayers. You've got all power. All glory is yours. I pray that you'd help us to honor your name here this morning, to be in a mindset of praise and worship to you, Father. That's where our minds ought to be. I ask you here this morning to bless the message. Help us, Father, in the things that we go through. I know there are storms and trials that come up in people's lives. It is a regular part of the human existence. And the truth is we need your help and we need your strength. We pray these things now in Jesus' name. Amen. So we have this, again, familiar passage of scripture. We have the disciples out on the Out on the boat with the Lord Jesus Christ, first off, they decide to follow him. That is an amazing thing. It says, when he was entered into the ships, the disciples followed him. Well, I know that at least the majority of you here are saved this morning. You've been born again. You have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior by faith. It's not a church thing. It's not something you put on to impress anybody else. It is a reality from the heart. And that's why those songs mean so much to you. Amen? Amen. That's why you can sing, hallelujah, what a savior, because he really is a savior. And he means something to you. And it's real. And that's a good thing. And if you can't, well, then maybe you need to check the heart, because something's missing. Either A, you're not saved. Or B, you're just backslidden so far you don't even want to praise and worship the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen? That's what the Lord Jesus Christ is all about. Listen, he came down here to this earth, and he was God manifest in the flesh. And folks, he is the high king of heaven. He is the king of kings, the Lord of lords, and there is nobody else that can stand next to him. And he is worthy of praise. We are but dust. He created us. Who are we to balk against Him? Right? Who are we to try to follow a different God? He's God, and what He says goes. Right? That is the Lord Jesus Christ. That wasn't in the notes, that was just for free. But these disciples, these disciples in Matthew chapter 8, they recognize that and they saw something in the Lord Jesus Christ that hopefully all of you have seen. If you haven't, you should, right? You need to get born again and trust Christ as your Savior because otherwise you'll die and go to hell. It's really that simple. It's not complicated. But they trusted the Lord Jesus Christ. They followed him in his earthly ministry. And the Lord Jesus Christ went out to get on a ship. And he was going to cross to the other side of the lake. And those disciples, when they saw that, you know what the Bible says? It says they followed him. Why? Because that's where he was going. And so they got in that ship. They went out and they got on that ship by faith. I am confident the Lord's going to take care of us. I'm confident the Lord is going to see us through and we're going to get to the other side. And I bet there's a great dinner waiting over there when we get there. That's probably what they were thinking when they got on the ship. Man, we've been helping all these other people. We've been ministering here and there. And we've been doing all these things. And you know what? It'll just be nice to kind of get away for a little bit, have a nice little relaxing sail over to the other side of the lake. Let's go with Jesus. Let's get on the ship. And so they did. They got on the ship. And as you know, the storm came up, and the winds, you know, there's a great tempest in the sea, it says, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves. Well, now, folks, they're in trouble. Amen? They're in trouble. And the thing about it is they are the ones that decided to follow Jesus. Can I say this? The people that are back on the shore don't have to worry about the waves. You ever think about that? And unfortunately, sometimes people mistake that and they look at that scenario and they go, you know what? If I had just not followed Jesus, I would be safe. If I had not followed Jesus, everything would be fine. If I had just not gotten on the boat, if I could just fake it, if I could just not follow Jesus, I'll be back on the shore. I'll be warm. There may be some clouds up there. There may be some rain. There may be some wind going on. But you know what? I don't have to worry about drowning. Bad mistake. It may seem that way on the surface, right? But folks, the disciples chose to follow Jesus. They chose to follow Jesus. And what did it get them? Well, it got them a storm. Right? It got them a storm. And then those disciples, they had to go through the process of figuring out, what on earth do I do now? Right? I don't even want to ask for a show for your hands because I know, and we'll talk about it, some of the things some of you have gone through over the last year, last couple years. And those storms arise not for the people on the shore. That's just a little bit of rain. Those storms arise for people that are in the boat with the Lord Jesus Christ. So what do you do? Well, I learned from the disciples a couple things in the process of how they handled this. And that is the first thing is very obvious. And you hear it over and over again. And you'll continue to hear it as long as you come to church here. And that is this. The first thing that you need to do when those storms arise, you need to seek the Lord. It says in Matthew 8, it says, and his disciples came to him. Right? They came to him. Now, I don't know how big the ship was that they were on. OK? I have no clue. I'm sure it was bigger than a rowboat. probably not as large as the Concordia. I don't imagine it was too awful difficult to find the Lord Jesus on that ship, right? It was probably just big enough to accomplish its purpose. But I noticed this. I noticed that when the storm arose and when things got really bad, the first thing that they had to do is it says, they came to him, right? They came to the Lord Jesus Christ. Folks, the first thing that you would need to do is, when that storm rises in your life, the first thing that you need to do is go find the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the kicker is this. And this is primarily focused around Christians here this morning. If you're lost, I wish you had it as lucky as we did. If you've never trusted Christ, if you're lost here this morning, I wish you were in the ship with us. You say, I don't want to be in that storm. In the end, it's much better than what you're going to face. Amen? But the reality is, those disciples are already following him. They've already decided to go with him into the ship. It was an act of choice on their part. And they're in the ship with him. And the reality is, he's not that far away from them. They are with him. following Him, sailing right along beside Him. They're in the same boat. You could say, for example, they're in church with the Lord. They're already in fellowship with Him. They're walking with Him. They've just been walking with Him. They've been ministering with Him and for Him. Again, these disciples, they're already close to God. The problem was not that they were a wicked heathen who didn't want to follow God, and they had their own agenda, and you go do your thing. That's not what these guys were. They were walking with God. And the ship is not that big. Like I said, they're in the same boat. They're already following. And when the storm came up, When the storm came up, as close as they were with the Lord Jesus Christ, when the storm came up and things got bad, you know what they had to do? It says they came to Him. Well, you know what? If you have the wrong perspective, if you're standing on the shore, you're going, well, they're already with Him. But when you're following Him, when you're walking with the Lord Jesus Christ, you know what happens when the storm comes up? You need to find a way to get closer. Why? Because he was apparently all the way on the other side of the ship. I don't imagine the ship was much bigger than from me to the wall. Maybe as wide as this auditorium, I doubt it. But it wasn't that far. But those that were following him, those that had already decided to trust the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, those people, the disciples, when the storm arose, you know what they did? They realized, I need to get closer to Jesus. So the first thing that they did, ladies and gentlemen, is they came to him. On a normal journey, when everything's going fine, when there's no wind and there's no waves, you know what? Just being in the boat with the Lord Jesus Christ is probably sufficient. Hey, look at everybody else. They're on the land. I know you're not supposed to compare yourselves with, you know, they that compare themselves amongst themselves are not wise. That's what the Bible says. But you can't help it to some degree, because we're all a little bit foolish every now and then. And you look at yourself, and you go, hey, well, all those guys are on the shore. And hey, at least I'm here in the ship. And praise the Lord for that. Right? That's a good thing. That's an admirable thing that you're doing. And kudos to you for doing that. But the reality is, when the storm arose, that wasn't sufficient. They needed to be even closer. Why? Because this wind is much worse than a normal storm. The wind that they're experiencing is much worse than a normal storm. The waves that they're fighting are much worse than just a normal storm. These were fishermen. A lot of them were fishermen. They were accustomed to being out on the boats. This was second nature to them. A little bit of wind, a little bit of wave, a little bit of storm, not that big a deal. But this one got their attention. Well, that's what you'll go through in life. And when that happens, even though you're walking with the Lord, even though you're in the same boat with him, even though you're at church every Sunday, even though all those things, you know what you need to find a way to do? Draw closer to him. Why? Well, because this storm is something exceptional. So they came to him. I've watched many of you over the last year, couple years, face these kinds of storms in your lives. That wind that's kicked up, those waves that begin to wash over your lives. And I've seen many of you, like the disciples, become scared. It says the disciples, they were afraid. Nothing wrong with being afraid. It's a normal human emotion. They're in the ship. They're fishermen. They know what they're doing. And the reality is they have a reason to be afraid. You know what's worse sometimes when you're going through that kind of a storm? Sometimes what's worse than being afraid is being uncertain of what's going to happen. Hey, where is God taking me? Hey, what's going on? Hey, why can't I find an answer? Why don't I have a solution? Why are these troubles continuing? They seem to have no end in my life. What is it? Does God not like me? Why is he doing this to me? Isn't being in the same ship good enough? What does he expect? I don't know if those things all ran through their mind, but sometimes they run through ours during those difficult storms when they arise. You begin to think that that ship is going to go down. You begin to think that ship is going to sink. You begin to think that your life is going to swirl out of control, and you have no clue where it's going, and everything just is about done. Well, that's what they thought. I mean, after all, it says in Luke 8, but as they sailed, he fell asleep. Right? And there came down a storm of wind on the lake. And it says, and they were filled with water. What does that mean? The boat is flooded. We're not just talking about a couple of guys that are scared because, you know, this little storm arose on the lake, and they don't know what to do. These are professional fishermen. No, they're on the lake. They're with the Lord. They've chosen to follow him. And now, all of a sudden, they find themselves in a place where the boat is now flooded, and the waves are going, and the winds keep kicking water in. That's the position they're in. The Concordia, when it launched in 2005, was Italy's largest cruise ship, measured about 951 feet long, a capacity of about 3,780 people. In comparison, the Titanic was 880 feet long and it could accommodate about 2,400 people. It's a big ship. On January 13, 2012, it left a port in Italy. And it had 3,200 passengers on it, a little over 3,200 passengers, about 1,000 crew members. And it approached an island that was a normal part of its route. And one of the things that they typically did is they would kind of deviate from the course a little bit and go close to this island and sound their horn. is kind of a salute. It was a common practice for the vessels that were there. And people on the land, they always enjoyed seeing the cruise ship go by. Well, in the process of doing that, there's rock formations underwater and outcroppings that are out in the ocean. And as the ship was making this little detour, the captain ordered a course change because they were getting ready to hit one of these rock formations that's underwater. And so he ordered a change in the course. But instead of that order being followed, because there was a communication problem between him and the helmsman down in the engine room, he was an Indonesian, and there was a language barrier. And the captain said to go starboard, and he went port. The wrong way. Just a little communication error. Little bit of confusion. They say, officially, it only took them 13 seconds to correct the mistake. But that was all it took. And that ship came across and it hit one of those rock formations underwater and just slid along and had just ripped 172-ish foot gash alongside the port side, the left side of the ship. Damage was in five different compartments, including the engine room. They were flooding. The ship very quickly lost power. They had no engines. They had no rudder. And so the ship couldn't be steered. Everything was stuck right where it was at. And the position that the rudder happened to be in when the Concordia was struck the rock outcropping caused it to head back and start this turn back towards land. And the ship started flooding on the port side left, but because of the way it was turning, it started listening to the right. Eventually it ran aground near the shore. During this time, one of the passengers actually contacted the a family member who called the Coast Guard, and the Coast Guard contacted the captain. And the captain, when the Coast Guard contacted him, said, no, we just had a little power outage. Meanwhile, the vessel began to tip. A few minutes later, The first rescue vessel arrived. About 15 minutes later, the captain finally ordered abandon ship after all this time. Although people had been hitting the lifeboats long before that. Around 10.39 PM at night, that's when the first Coast Guard ship got on the scene. Around 11.20, the captain himself left the bridge and abandoned ship. his crew was still on the ship. Later on, he claimed that because the ship was listing, he fell out of the ship and landed in a lifeboat. I thought that was kind of interesting. All in all, when it was all said and done, 32 people perished. Praise the Lord, it was only 32. But he was arrested. Several of the crewmen were arrested. There was a big investigation. But he, again, this ship wound up having to be salvaged. And while this ship was not necessarily in a storm, so to speak, I tell you what it is. It's an example of a captain that when the storm came along was too proud to ask for help. I got this. I can handle it. What, does Jesus think I'm weak? Why do I need him? I can do it on my own. Listen, ladies and gentlemen, when those storms arise in your life, when everything starts going crazy, and it can take all kinds of different forms, I don't have time to go into all the different ways the storms can arise, but you know what they are. The reality is you need to seek help from God immediately. Right? Listen, there is no crisis too big for the Lord Jesus Christ to handle. And he's not going to jump ship on you, I promise. And I've watched many of you go through storms over the last year, last couple years as I've been pastor here. And many of you, when that storm hits, I mean, right away, you guys are very good at saying, hey, Jesus, take the wheel, right? And praise the Lord for that. You should. Why? Well, because you're just flesh. I don't know what you think you are, but you can't handle it like you think you can handle it. If it wasn't for the Lord giving you breath, you wouldn't have even woken out of sleep this morning. You've got to be that grateful to him. But I've watched you guys over the course of time, and I've seen many of you go through difficult trials. And you guys have always been very good about calling out to the Lord and seeking the Lord and asking the Lord for help. And brethren, you're to be commended for that. That's a great thing. Praise the Lord for that. But with the disciples here on this ship with the Lord, you notice they waited. They didn't approach him right as soon as the storm happened. They waited until the ship was filled with water. Now, the Lord's gracious and merciful. And if you've waited too long in your storm, listen, he can still recover you out of it like he did the disciples. But they waited. They waited until they said, Jesus, take the wheel. It was a little later on in the process. Listen, they should have sought the Lord before the ship was overflowing with water. And that's a good lesson for us to learn. You know what happens a lot of time in life, ladies and gentlemen? You go through storms, and you're walking, and you're kind of walking close with the Lord. And maybe you're in the same boat with him. And maybe you think your fellowship with him and everything is going along well. And like I said, everybody else is on the shore, but you're in the boat. And then some storm arises. And in your natural state, you want to handle it yourself. You want to handle it yourself. And then it gets to be too much to handle. And what you find as you go through that process is it's hard to let go. It's hard to let the Lord Jesus Christ take control and really steer the ship. You find yourself in a condition kind of like this. Jesus take the wheel. Then you get pulled over by the police. Why are you driving with a vice grip? Well, because Jesus took the wheel. Or you find yourself sitting in the back seat, sitting in the back seat, and you become a backseat driver. Why? Because you can't let go of control. You think you've got to be the one that does it. You can't turn things over the Lord Jesus Christ. So you're a backseat driver. You sit in the back after you've asked him to take the wheel. Jesus, did you take a wrong turn? Where are we going? I mean, that's just human nature, ladies and gentlemen. You know the best thing you can do? Hey, turn things over to the Lord Jesus Christ and let him handle it. I promise you he can handle it better than you can. Can you stop the waves? Can you stop the wind? Okay, well give the God that created the waves and created the wind a chance without you trying to hold onto the wheel. Second thing that the disciples had to do is they had to shake the Lord. Listen, it wasn't enough that they were in the boat. When they realized that the boat was filling up, you know what they did? They had to get close to the Lord. They came to Him. Getting close to Him wasn't enough either. I mean, they had to get close to Him, but that wasn't enough. After they got close to Him, you know what they did? Hey, hey, Lord, Lord, Lord. Hey, Lord, wake up, Lord. You know what you have to do when you're going through that kind of a storm in life? Listen, you not only have to be in the boat with the Lord, you've got to be saved. I mean, God will help the lost as well. I know that. But for this morning, we're talking about Christians. You need to be saved in the boat. Then you need to get close to the Lord. You've got to come to him. And then you need to get his attention. Why? Well, because something serious is going on in your life. You've got to get his attention somehow. You say, oh, I can handle it. Oh, yeah. How's it going for you? How happy are you? How much peace and joy do you have? Because the reality is none of you can handle it. I can't handle it. So you've got to get close to him. And then, ladies and gentlemen, you've got to reach down and you've got to shake him somehow or another and get his attention. Hey, Lord, I need help here. I don't know what's going on. You know what? You've got to get to the point where you finally give up and say, Lord, I can't stop the waves. I can't. I can't magically make the water disappear out of this boat that I'm in. It's flooded, and I'm in over my head, and I'm about ready to go down. And you know what I finally realized? I'm sorry it took me a while, Lord, but I finally realized I don't have control over those elements. You do. Now, in the earthly example, the Lord Jesus Christ is on the boat somewhere, probably on the backside of a pillow. He's fast asleep. I promise you that your heavenly father is not sleeping on the job. Right? This is a great example. Sometimes we may think he's asleep. Sometimes we may think that we can't get his attention. But they had to wake him up. So being in the boat is not enough. Being right by his side is not enough. Walking with him is not enough. Deciding to follow him is not enough. I mean, those are all good things. Don't misunderstand me. But when you're in the midst of a storm like this, you need more than that. You need to get his attention. Hey, Lord, I'm here. You need to be able to reach out and actually touch and communicate with the Lord Jesus Christ. I don't mean physically. You remember the story of the certain woman that had the issue of blood 12 years? There was the press. There were so many people around the Lord Jesus Christ that she had to wiggle through the crowd to get up to him. And she thought to herself, she thought, if I could just get up to him, if I can just get up to him and just touch him, just touch the hem of his garment, he can heal me. Right? Virtue's gone out of me. Well, who touched me? Lord, what are you talking about? The press. What do you mean who touched you? No, no, no. You know what? You need to be able to get to the Lord and somehow or another reach out and actually touch him. That's what they're doing. They're shaking the Lord trying to wake him up. Hey, we need your help now. I know God is not going to be asleep when you're in trouble like Jesus here is in this example, but it's a great picture. It's a great picture of what? Of the need to actually get his attention. You had the same thing happen when, after Peter walked on water, they got to the shore. They came to the land of Gennesaret. And the men of that place found out, hey, Jesus is here. Hey, let's take all the people that are diseased and filled with evil spirits and devils. Let's take them. And you know what? If they can but touch him, they'll be healed. You know, there are some problems if you're struggling with. You know what you need? You need to get to a place where you can just touch Jesus Christ. Because you need some things out of you. And he's the only one that can do it. And those people recognized that they had that going on inside of them. And when Jesus showed up, you know what they did? They said, hey, let's go touch him. And you know what he did? He healed them. How many of you want to keep devils running around inside of you? Pleasant, aren't they? No, you need the Lord Jesus Christ. Why? You need to touch him. You say, yeah, but I'm already a Christian. OK, so you're in the boat. Big deal. I'm glad you are. I'm glad you're not on the shore. But the disciples found out that wasn't enough. They got to get close to him. And after they get close to him, they got to get his attention. Hey, Lord, I'm the one that needs help. Would you help me? I'm going through this storm. Here's my problem. And Lord, I finally realized I can't control the waves, and I can't control the water. And you're going to have to do it because, you know, I am just not strong enough. And some of you are way too proud to do that. You think you got it all under control. Yeah, how's it going? How's it going? That Syro-Phoenician woman, same thing with her. She came to the Lord Jesus Christ, right? Her daughter had an unclean spirit. And she was a Greek by nation. And she got to the Lord, and she said, Lord, would you cast this devil out of my daughter? Why? Because it's affecting her. I see how she acts because that devil is in her. And you know what? She needs to be delivered from it. Would you cast the devil out of her? And the Lord looked at the Syrophoenician woman and he said, you know what he said? He said, it's not fit to give the children's meat to dogs. And you know what she did? Well, how dare you talk to me that way? got on her little high horse, thought she was something. No, that's not what happened. You know what she did when she was faced with that kind of a situation? The Lord just looked at her and said, it's not fit to give the children's meat to dogs. That's pretty brutal. You know what she did? She bowed her head and she said, yea, Lord. But the dogs get the crumbs that fall from the children's table. You know what that did? That touched the Lord. Her getting to that place of humility, where she was willing to accept who she really was, even though it's not exactly a flattering title. Her humility. She sought the Lord out. She got close to him in the press. And then she reached out and touched him. And she talked to him. Would you help my daughter? And the Lord answered her that way. And she became humble and said, Lord, I know that. But even the dogs get the crumbs that fall from the children's table. Man, that turned the Lord around. You want to get the Lord's attention? You need help in the storm? You want to get the Lord's attention? Try humility. Because the Lord did not have to answer her prayer, I am not come but to the house of Israel, the tribe of Israel. Jesus Christ came for the Jews. It wasn't the Gentiles' turn yet. But because of her humility, he looked at that woman and he goes, you touched me. I was sleeping on the ship and you got me awake. You know what you need to do, ladies and gentlemen? You need to figure out a way to get him awake for you. Why? Because he's the only one that can calm the wind. He's the only one that can get the water out of the ship. So that Syro-Phoenician woman humbled herself and the Lord looking, oh man. I bet he's thinking, oh man, that girl just touched my heart. You know what? I'm going to help her. It's a great thing. How do you touch the Lord? Hey, listen, you know what? You get serious with him. You get real with him. Put it all on the line. Hey, Lord, here's what's going on. Can you help me? Here's what I'm struggling with. Here's what I'm going through. Can you help me? He already knows your attitude. You think you're hiding it from him? He already knows the struggles you're going through. He knows all the details. So how do you touch the Lord? How do you get close with him? Well, you've got to be in the same boat. You've got to get close. And then you've got to reach out and touch him some way. Hey, get real with him. Ask for the help that you need. That captain tried to cover it all up. Oh, no, we don't have any problems. We're OK. We didn't just hit a rock. We're not listening to the starboard side of the ship. We just had a little blackout. How's that work for you? It's a good thing. It's only by the grace of God that a lot more people didn't die. And in the end, what does he do? He chickens out and bails. OK, try it that way if you want. I'll tell you a better way. Be honest with the Lord. Hey, Lord, here's what I'm going through. Here's what I'm struggling with. Can I get your attention? You get his attention by being real. You get his attention by realizing, you know what? I don't have any other option. Lord, I've tried everything else. I know several of you went through a rough time last year, and some of you are still going through things. And it doesn't seem like the Lord's doing anything. That's how it can get sometimes. That's how the disciples felt right before they woke him up. It seems like the Lord's sleeping. But if you find yourself in that place, if you find yourself with that going on in your life, you just need to figure out a way to touch him. Shake him awake. Hey, try fasting. Try fervent prayer. Reality. You say, OK, I've tried that. Hey, try getting a bunch of people to pray with you. Because ultimately, ladies and gentlemen, the Lord's purpose is to get those disciples to the other side of the lake. He's not going to let them drown. He already told them they were going there. They just don't know it yet. All they see is the storm. And when all you see is the storm, everything is distorted. You forget some of the basic things that you should remember and you should know because you see the storm. The reality is, how do you touch the Lord? Well, you know what? You keep knocking. You keep knocking. You keep knocking. You keep going back. You say, he's not listening. He's still asleep. He must not care about me. Trust me, he does. But you just have to keep knocking. You know the story in Luke 11? The guy goes to his friend. Hey, knock, knock, knock, knock in the middle of the night. Give me bread. I got guests at my house. Go away. I'm sleeping. Knock, knock, knock, knock. Hey, give me some bread. I got a guest at my house. I said, go away. I'm sleeping. Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock. And this goes on. This goes on. Finally, the guy gets up. He goes, good night. Fine. I'll give you some bread. He goes up, and he gives the friend the bread. Now, go home and let me sleep. Well, why'd the person get the bread? Well, because he kept at it. Now, if he had not, hey, can I have some bread? Go away. I'm sleeping. No bread. You've got to put a little effort into it. Right? Hey, the Lord's there. Sometimes the Lord just wants to see if you're really serious about getting his attention, if you're really serious about trying to touch him. That Syrophoenician woman, I'll tell you what. With her kid, she was serious. I don't care about anything else. You know what? This is what I need to have solved. Lord, if I can just touch you, get out of here. I'm not coming to you. You're a dog. Go away. I come to them. Yeah, I know, Lord. But could you have mercy on me anyway? Because even dogs need to be fed. She touched him. I know that there's a time in Paul's life when he besought the Lord thrice, and the Lord said, my grace is sufficient for thee. Paul got a definite no. OK, if you reach that point, maybe the answer is no. But if you're not sure that that's happened, keep knocking until you know what's going on. I am confident if the Lord says no, he'll make it known to you. If not, keep knocking. Finally, when you get his, not finally, but when you get his attention, the next thing the disciples did is they spoke to him. The disciples came to him, they awoke him, they touched him, saying, Lord, save us, we perish. Listen, tell him what's going on. Those disciples, when they finally got him awake, when they finally got his attention, you know what they did? They poured their heart out to him. Didn't take very long. Lord, save us! We're perishing! It's pretty quick. It's kind of like Peter. Lord, save me! Sometimes it doesn't take long to tell the Lord what's going on in your heart. Sometimes you're a little afraid to talk to him. Don't be afraid to talk to him. He already knows. Be honest with him. Tell him about your concerns, your care. Tell him about your fears. Hey, listen. Like I said, he already knows. Get real. Sometimes people think, with God, I got to be careful what I say. You're foolish if you, you know, bad mouth him and go to God that way, with a proud, arrogant heart, and you think you got it all under control, and he doesn't know what he's doing. But even if you do that, he can put up with it. You're not going to hurt him. He's going to look down and go, my foolish child. Let's see, how do I correct that out of them this time? You're not going to hurt him. Don't be too proud to beg. That's what that Syrophoenician woman did. Lord, I need your help. I don't care about anything else. Now, you may get rebuked for your lack of faith. Isn't that what happened to the disciples? Oh, ye of little faith. Right? And at some level, you know, they hadn't, this was the first time they experienced this. They got a couple more, you know, experiences with the storms in the ship along the way, and things were a little bit better. And one of the later ones, Peter decided to even get out of the boat in the storm and walk to the Lord. So he learned and he grew. But this was the first time it happened, so they hadn't seen the Lord take care of this kind of a situation before. So it is understandable why they would be unsure. Well, maybe you haven't been through this kind of a storm in your life before. It's understandable why you might be unsure that the Lord could actually help. But you know, the truth of the matter is, we have a Bible, we have all these stories, so great a cloud of witnesses, Hebrews says. We should know better, but still we fail once in a while. So if the Lord comes back to us after we've sought him and says, where is your faith? It's a valid question. Because we should have more faith in the Lord Jesus Christ than what we do. How many of you are perfect in your faith? That's what I thought. So take the rebuke, yes Lord, because you'll be stronger later. So the disciples went to him and they did. They got rebuked for their lack of faith. But folks, you're still just human. Sometimes you don't think God can really do what God can really do. Sometimes you doubt. Or worse yet, sometimes you don't want it. You know what should happen then? At this point, Jesus doesn't need to take the wheel. He needs to pull over and spank you, some of y'all, with his flip-flop. How many of you had the mom that said that? You're in the car driving, and you and your brothers are fighting in the back seat. Not that that would ever happen. And your mom yelled back, if you boys don't settle down, I'm going to pull over and whip you. I had a mom like that. And you know what I found out? She would, too. Maybe you're at a place where your faith is lacking and you're not used to all this. You don't think the Lord can really take care of what you're going through. And maybe you've tried turning the wheel over to Jesus. And when he took control, it kind of seemed like this was happening. Isn't that kind of what the disciples did when they first got on the boat? Okay, Lord, you take us. Whoa, what's going on? Hey, listen, sometimes you're going to turn things over the Lord Jesus Christ, and guess what? You're not going to be ready for the ride. It's going to seem like things are out of control. Because from your limited perspective, they are. Jesus is looking at this going, that's okay, I got floaties. In my mind, he's going, yeah, and I got my scuba gear right in the back seat, too, just in case. Sometimes you're going to turn things over to the Lord Jesus Christ. And I've shown this before, but I love this picture. Not that wheel. Why? Because you don't understand how the Lord Jesus Christ is actually going to fix or get you through the storm that you're going through. Why? Because you're human. You're not God. But trust me, he can get you through it far better than you can. I know normally it just kind of feels like this. See, the Lord Jesus Christ doesn't necessarily want you to be in control. You turn things over to Him and you're just along for the ride, man. You say, I don't like that. Bear with me. You know what the Lord says? I don't care. I'm God, not you. Now, he's a good God. I mean, he's not going to do something foolish just to, you know. But that's what it seems like if you're trying to stay in control and he's going, ah, I'm the one that should be in control. You're going to feel like that. After you learn to actually turn things over to him, listen. You know this. Hey, Lord, I am yours. And whatever you choose to do with me, I'm just along for the ride. And I know that even though I may not understand what's happening down here, you're still right. You're still God. I'm still wrong. I'm still nothing but a human. And as hard as it is, I'm just going to let you take care of things. And whatever you choose to do, OK. I need to get done. Finally, the last thing, ladies and gentlemen, what you need to know when you're going through those kind of storms is you need to know that you need to stay in the ship. Stay in the ship. Why? Well, at the end of the passage, why then are ye fearful? O ye of little faith, right? They got rebuked. Then he arose, rebuked the winds and the sea, And there was a great calm. If they had jumped ship, they wouldn't have experienced the calm. You know what the hardest thing for me to watch sometimes as a pastor here at Berean? It's watching some of you when you go through trials and struggles and you have doubts and you have fears or something hits you, you know, wrong and you have big objections. The hardest thing to watch is when some of you go through that, you go through these storms and you don't see an answer right away. And like I said at the beginning, most of you, most of you are really good about turning things over to the Lord right away and letting him take control. You're looking for his will, that's on your heart. You guys are very good about that. But still, even when you do that, sometimes it lingers and it goes on, it goes on, it goes on. And sometimes a year passes or more. And you're waiting and waiting and waiting. And there doesn't seem to be any solution. And I pray for you, and I watch you going through it, and I sometimes feel completely helpless, inept. What can I do? And I got to remember, it's not me, it's the Lord. The hardest thing is to watch when you're going through the storm, and you're in the middle of it, and there doesn't seem to be an answer. I know there's an answer. God's proven himself over and over and over again. And I know that eventually he'll get you to the end of the storm and things will be fine and there will be a calm. But even for me, sometimes that process is difficult. There have been so many of you that have gone through that. I'm not going to take time to mention names because we need to get done. It is difficult, but I know that God can take you through it if you'll just stay in the ship. Now, if you jump ship, hey, all bets are off. You got a whole new set of problems. You don't realize it, but you got a whole new set of problems. Because you're not going to avoid the wind or the waves by jumping ship. You're still in the water. Now you don't have a boat. OK, so jump. And I'm saying that very sarcastically. Don't jump ship. It's the most foolish thing you can do. Well, I'm not going back to church. OK, you don't want the boat, I guess. What an idiotic thing to do. Hey, what other options do you have? There's some problems going on with the disciples and, you know, everything, you remember the passage, Jesus said unto the twelve, will ye also go away? Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. Let me ask you this, if you jump ship, where are you going? Jesus Christ has the wheel, and it's his. Amen? And I'm done. These disciples went through the storm, and what I learned from them is this. Even though they were in the boat, when the storm started raging, they still had to seek the Lord. They had to come to him. They had to get his attention. They had to shake him up. Hey, Lord, I need your help. They had to speak to them, tell them what's on their mind. Hey, Lord, we perish. They got rebuked, but, you know, they learned from that. And then finally, ladies and gentlemen, what I learned, the best thing that they could do and the best thing that you can do is just stay in the ship. Why? Because if you do, the Lord will give you the calmness that you're after. Stay in the ship. Let's bow our heads for a word of prayer. Father, we thank you for what you've done. I do pray that you'd watch over, take care of these folks that have come here this morning. Lord, pray that the words that were said this morning would penetrate and pierce their heart, that they would realize the truth to them. Father, again, there's many storms that have gone on in the lives of the folks here at this church, but you are faithful. You're good. You're always there. Help us to realize what the disciples learned in this storm that they went through. and help us to do the same things. I pray these things now in Jesus' name, amen.