Let us open our Bibles, please, so we can read the text that was assigned for the exposition of the Word of God. Let's go to the Gospel of Mark, chapter 4. Mark, chapter 4. And we're going to read from verse 35. all the way to verse 41, Mark chapter 4, 35 to 41. We read God's word in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, let us go across to the other side. And leaving the crowd, They took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? And he awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith? And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey him? Amen. Let us go to the Lord in prayer. Heavenly Father, we come before you in the name of your Son, name above every name. We come, O Lord, asking for your blessing. We want to hear from you. You are the sovereign God, the almighty God. We know, Father, that there's no coincidence in your plan, but you have a purpose with your people in this place at this time. You have gathered each and one of us to come here to be able to hear your word. Father, please bless us. Bless this church. Bless your people. Help us to understand the message that you have for us this morning. Help us, oh Lord. We wanna hear from you. Help your servant to deliver your message, Lord, clearly. And let Christ be exalted above everything, oh God. We ask these things in Jesus' mighty name, our Lord and Savior. Amen. Please be seated. Well, I don't know how many of you have watched the movie Bambi. Don't worry, I'm not going to talk about the movie, but I want to make a point here. I have no idea when this movie was released, but I know I watched it in the 90s when I was a kid. And I remember that as I was watching the movie, a scene caught my attention. But more than that, it terrified me. Let me see if you can remember this scene. In the woods, Bambi and his friends were just having a peaceful life. Everything seems to, you know, be calm. They were enjoying a great day, and suddenly, a hunter was approaching, causing Bambi and his friends to panic and start running away. But it was this specific scene about three birds, and I believe they were quails, if I'm not mistaken, that they went and hide in the bushes. And as they were hiding in the bushes, they could hear the footsteps of the hunter approaching more and more. The closer they heard their footsteps, the more afraid they were. But it was specifically one of the quails that started to have a panic attack. Yes, she started crying and moving, making noise. She was terrified. And she kept saying, he's coming, he's coming. It's coming closer. The other two quails tried to calm her down, telling her to stay quiet, to remain still. They were like, shh, stay quiet, don't get excited, don't panic. But the closer she heard the footsteps of the hunter, the more terrified she was. Fear took over and she exclaimed, we gotta fly. We gotta get out of this place. We gotta get out of this place. We gotta leave now. And the other two quails, they were like, no, no. Please don't fly. Please don't fly. Whatever you do, please don't fly. Perhaps the other two birds have experience in this type of situations. And perhaps this other quail was having her first experience. So the two birds were like, we're gonna be okay, just wait, be patient, be still, shh, he's coming. And finally, She said, I cannot stay here any longer. We gotta die here. And she flew away. And then a gunshot was heard. And then the movie show feathers falling from the sky. The hunter had killed the bird. You know, this scene reminds me of three profound truths that we find in the Bible. First, in our Christian journey, we must recognize that not every moment will be marked by peace. At times, we will face challenges. often referred to as the storms of life. In John chapter 16 verse 33, Jesus said, in the world you will have tribulation, but take heart, I have overcome the world. Storms of life. How many of you know what I'm talking about? Difficult circumstances such as some medical reports, financial challenges, family related issues, conflicts, conflicts within the church. This can create significant storms in our lives. These storms often evoke feelings of fear, and uncertainty leading us to doubt and testing our faith. Some storms may come with warnings while others arrive unexpectedly. You know what I'm talking about. We have peace. We're good. We're enjoying this beautiful day, the beautiful season of peace. And then suddenly, storm comes into our life. In such a moments like this one, how do we respond to the storms that comes to our lives? Are we gonna trust God in our storms? Or are we going to wait patiently on him? Or are we gonna make foolish decisions that will make things worse? Just like the quail who couldn't wait any longer and she made a foolish decision. She flew away. I'm outta here. And that got her killed. The second lesson this scene highlights is the existence of an adversary that his goal, listen to this, his goal is to kill us. Yes. That enemy is Satan. The Bible clearly states that the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. His aim is to rob you of your joy that you have in Christ. He wants to kill your relationship with the Lord. He wants to kill your relationship with your brothers and sisters in the church. He seeks to destroy the fellowship that God's people are commanded to maintain. He throws darts in your mind. Tempting you to gossip about your brother, about your sister. Darts in your mind. He's throwing... Tempting you to leave the church, to abandon everything. Why suffer? Why suffer? Of course his goal is to isolate you first, making it easy for him to bring about your destruction. 2nd Corinthians chapter 2 verse 11 says, For we are not ignorant of his schemes. This is why Peter, 1st Peter chapter 5 verse 8 says, Be sovereign minded. Yes. Be watchful. Be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. The third aspect this scene reminds me is the importance of seeking guidance in times of uncertainty. Yes. during moments of desperation, when fear threatens to dominate our thoughts, it is essential to place our trust in someone wiser than ourselves to avoid making unwise decisions. In this scene involving the three quails, one of the birds disregards the counsel of a more experienced bird, resulting in tragic consequences. You know, in times of adversity and when walking through the valley of shadow of death, it is essential to remain calm. and place our trust in someone wiser than us. His name is Jesus. Jesus embodies the wisdom to guide us and the strength to protect us. At times, we might find it necessary to embrace silence, to fully discern his voice. Maybe it's too much noise in your life. It's a lot going on in your life, in your family. Maybe it's time for you to be silent and listen to God's voice. So this is why today I want to speak to you about the topic of trusting Jesus in the storm. Trusting Jesus in the storm. How many of you know that we need to trust Jesus in our storms? Yes. In the context of our main text here in Mark, we observe that after a long day of preaching and teaching to a large crowd, Jesus told his disciples, Let us go across the sea. Let us go to the other side. And the disciples, in obedience, they got in the boat and set sail on the Sea of Galilee. At that moment, there was no sign of an impending storm. It seems that it was a peaceful night. Everything was calm. However, as indicated in verse 37, a sudden and a powerful windstorm arose, causing waves to crash into the boat and it began to fill with water. Of course, this situation was alarming for the disciples. Here we have a moment when they felt that they were going to die. Yes. They truly felt that they were going to die. Now, it is essential to recognize that these disciples had experience with the ocean, with sea, you know. They were fishermen. And I'm sure they had encountered storms before, but it was nothing like this one here. They were terrified. convinced that their lives were in grave danger. One might, you know, we can ask a question here. Why will God permit such a distressing moment for those he loved? Why? Why Jesus is allowing this storm to terrify his disciples? I mean, look at the text. We have a group of people obeying Jesus, loving Jesus, walking with Jesus, doing God's work. And yet, here they are face to face with a great storm that is threatening their lives. Jesus told them, follow me. They follow him. He told them, get in the boat. They got in the boat. He said, we're going to cross to the other side. They go with him. They obey him. And then, while obeying Jesus, they encounter this windstorm. Did you catch that? While obeying Jesus, they encountered this windstorm. We're not talking about here are people who are rebels, who they don't want to obey Jesus. We're talking about obedience Christians. Perhaps some of you feel the same way. I don't know what kind of storm is in your life right now. I don't know what affliction has come upon you at this moment. You are a faithful Christian. You are walking with God. You love His Word. You obey Him. You are working in His kingdom right now. You are doing His will. And yet, you are facing right now A storm so big, so terrifying, that you don't know if you're going to survive or you're going to die. And you also ask God the questions that the disciples ask Jesus. Teacher, don't you care that we're going to perish here? God, don't you care what I'm going through right now in my life? Don't you care about my affliction, Lord? Don't you care about my suffering, oh God? You pray and pray and pray and you just feel like God is not listening to you. You feel like God is asleep. You are confused now. You don't know why this is happening to you. You're truly confused. Because you don't see God's answer. You know, as a congregation, we are currently facing a significant storm. with powerful waves crashing against our boat, causing the water to be in our boat. Understandably, some among us are feeling fear, yes, while others perhaps are perceiving that our prayers are going unanswered. Some have chosen to abandon the boat, believing that it's already sinking. I'm out of here. This boat is sinking. In our distress, we continually turn to God, pleading, Lord, we are perishing. Lord, help us. The intensity of the storm seems to escalate with each passing moment, leaving us feeling increasingly overwhelmed. And we keep asking God the same question. Why, Lord? Why are you allowing these terrible storms to strike our hearts with fear? Let me show you how the Lord wants to answer this question. Let us turn once more to verse 39 and carefully consider what the Lord has to say here in our main text. Look at verse 39. And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Peace, be still, and the wind ceased. And there was a great calm. He said to them, Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith? And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, Who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey him? Brothers and sisters, Why does Jesus allow his disciples to endure a windstorm? He does so to strengthen their faith. To teach his disciples to trust in him in the midst of adversity. You know, it's so easy to serve God when life is smooth. Yes. When we enjoy prosperity, when we receive good medical reports, you know, praise God. Or when we have a good financial stability, praise God. When our marriages are strong, oh, praise God. When we don't have conflicts in our church, praise God. However, what happens when the doctor's report is less than good? Are we gonna say, praise God? Are we gonna praise Him? Are we gonna trust Him? Imagine receiving a call from the doctor's office asking you to come soon, quickly, because your lab reports, your lab results indicate concerning news. Will you continue to serve God in that situation? That's the question. When you're going through trials in your marriage, Will you remain committed to your faith? Or will you choose to abandon the boat? It is essential, beloved, it is essential to recognize that God has a purpose for our lives, and sometimes that includes allowing storms to arise in our lives, yes. Storms in the lives of God's children are not intent to destroy us. They are meant to strengthen our faith. To make us stronger. Look at the life of Job. Have you studied the life of Job carefully? He said in Job 23 verse 10, but he knows the way that I take. When he has stripped me, I shall come out of as gold. I like how the New Living Translation translate this verse. It says, but he knows where I'm going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold. Wow. You know, Job was a man that went through a lot of suffering, a lot of affliction. His faith was really put to the test. And yet, Job recognized that once he got out of the storm, he was never going to be the same. His faith was going to be pure as gold, stronger than ever. Consider the life of Daniel. Have you studied the life of Daniel carefully? During his time in Babylon, in trials, in sufferings, and afflictions, when he faced the threat of death in the lion's den, Daniel remained steadfast in his faithfulness to the Lord. Each challenge in Daniel's life served to strengthen his faith. Or consider the life of Joseph, who was sold as a slave, betrayed by his own brothers. Those who he held dear, he endured imprisonment in Egypt, faced mockery. He was separated from his beloved father and mother, and yet, in the middle of the storm, he maintained his unwavering trust in God. or consider the life of the three Hebrews, young men in Babylon. They faced a profound decision to serve God and risk it all, or to submit to the king and preserve their lives. Yet they remained steadfast in their faith. In the middle of the storm, they chose to trust God. When they emerged from the fire, they did so sorely pine, pure as gold, with a different kind of faith, stronger than ever. If you reflect in the life of our Savior, the sufferings of our Savior, who endured immense suffering, pain, rejection from His own people, He faced the agony of the crucifixion, the shedding of His blood, and bore the cup of the Father's wrath as our sins were laid upon Him, causing the Father to turn His face away from His beloved Son. Yet, He never abandoned His mission. He remained steadfast in fulfilling the Father's will. When he emerged from the storm, rising from the dead with power and glory, he was crowned as the King of kings and Lord of lords. The God-men triumphed over adversaries, our enemies. And now He offers eternal life to all those who take refuge in Him. You see, God has a divine plan for each one of us. With the storms that we face, there's a purpose in our storms. They will make us stronger. I want you to know that he who told you, get in the boat, is in the boat with you. He who said, let us go across to the other side, it's right beside you. You know, Jesus never told his disciples, get in the boat, cross the sea, and I'll see you over there. You're on your own. No, we don't see that in the text, right? We see that Jesus said, get in the boat, I'm coming with you. We're going together. We're crossing this together. I am with you. This is why Psalm 23 verse 4 says, God is with us in every affliction. I want you to put the promise in your life that God is with you. Matthew chapter 1 verse 23 it says, Behold the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel. Which means God with us. This is Jesus present with us in our suffering. He's there beside us in our boat. Rest assured, he will not abandon you or forsake you. He stands by you at every step you take. In the most terrifying storms, he is there with you. He calls for you to trust. In times of suffering, he seeks to strengthen your faith. emerging from this storm will transform your faith. You will emerge stronger. And let me tell you this. I trust God. I trust Jesus. Once our church come out of these storms, we will never be the same. Our church will be stronger. Our leaders will be stronger. Our elders will be stronger. Our deacons will be stronger. We will come out of this storm pure as gold for the glory of God the Father. Now, I wanna take you back to our main text for a moment. I wanna show you something here that is very important for you to keep a new heart. I want to show you how fear can easily make us forget about the promises of God. Yes. In verse 40, Jesus said to them, why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith? Now, why did Jesus ask this question to his disciples? Moments before this storm, the disciples had witnessed the profound power of Jesus firsthand. Yes. Just read the previous chapters and you will see this. However, when fear took over their hearts, they lost sight of who Jesus is. In chapter 1, we see Jesus healing a man with an unclean spirit. We see that Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law, for she was very sick laying in bed. Then after that, Jesus healed many people with disease. In verse 39, we see Jesus casting out many demons. In verse 40, we see Jesus healing a leper. In chapter 2, we see Jesus healing a paralytic in Capernaum. And he also reveals himself as the Lord of the Sabbath. In chapter 3, Jesus heals a man with a wither hen. In verse 13, he appointed 12 of his disciples to be with him and he gave them power to preach and authority to cast out demons. All these miracles were displayed before the very own eyes of the disciples. They witnessed the great power of Jesus. Power over demons, power over evil spirits, power over disease, power over the spiritual world. Despite having seen Jesus perform miracles and teach with authority, The circumstances clouded their faith. Fear took over. And fear clouded their faith. It was in this moment of fear and doubt that Jesus asked these disciples, why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith? You know this question was not merely a rebuke but an invitation for deeper reflection. Jesus wanted his disciples to recognize that his presence with them was a source of unwavering strength and protection regardless of the extreme of the external chaos. It was a reminder that faith is not just about believing in calm situations, no, but trusting Jesus in storms. When life, when the storms of life rage around us, By asking this question, Jesus was gently guiding his disciples to grow in their spiritual understanding and dependence on him. It was a call to trust him, to trust his divine authority, to trust in his power, to trust that he is in control. No matter how difficult the situation may appear, Jesus is still in charge. He's still in control. This profound lesson is relevant today as it was then, encouraging us, all of us, to hold fast to our faith and to trust him as we face trials, tribulations. In the storms of our life, it is essential to hold steadfast to the promises of God and embrace them fully, completely. Remember Isaiah 41 10, when it says, fear not for I am with you. Be not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. What a promise of the Lord. What a wonderful promise for us. Proverbs 18.10, it says, the name of the Lord, it's a strong tower. The righteous man runs into it and it's safe. Oh, what a great relief when the disciples said that once more, the great power of Jesus. Peace, be still. Peace, be still. And the wind ceased. And there was a great calm. How great is to wait patiently in the Lord. To remain faithful to the Lord in a difficult situation. You know Psalm 62 verse 1 and 2 says, for God alone my soul waits in silence. From him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress. I shall not be greatly shaken. Verse 5, the same Psalm 62 verse 5, it says, God alone, O my soul, wait in silence. Are we waiting patiently in the Lord? Are we waiting in silence, trusting Jesus in our storm? It says here, He is my hope. He's my rock. He's my salvation. I will wait patiently in the Lord. As we navigate this journey, Church, as we continue facing storms in our lives, let us take comfort in the assurance that God will never leave us, nor forsake us. Let us trust in Jesus, our Lord, in his perfect timing. He will grant us the victory. Let us wait patiently in Him. To Him be the glory and the honor. Amen. Let us pray for this word. Father, thank you for reminding us that in the midst of tribulations, afflictions, storms that comes to our life, that threats our lives, thank you for reminding us that you are with us. Thank you, O Lord Jesus, that you are with us in the boat. We're not alone. Your presence is with us. To you be the glory and the honor forever and ever. Amen.