Dear Faithful Seed Sowers:

It is our prayer here at The Seed that we all come to know the love of God, grow in the grace of Jesus Christ, go in the power of the Holy Spirit sowing seeds of faith in our families, neighborhoods, work places and everywhere we go. TIME IS SHORT. Let’s live our faith today and every day.

If you were able to read last week’s Seed of Faith, you heard that sometimes Jesus sends us into the storms of life and even as we enter the storm, Jesus sees us. We are sent and seen by our Lord and Savior.

The “So What” questions last week were —

So What? How about you? Are you currently in a storm?
Take heart—
JESUS SENDS YOU INTO THE STORMS OF LIFE.
JESUS SEES YOU IN THE STORMS OF OUR LIFE.

Keep looking up and trusting Jesus.

Today we conclude our study of this passage above.

Take heart—JESUS SENDS YOU INTO THE STORMS OF YOUR LIFE…And…JESUS SEES YOU IN THE STORMS OF YOUR LIFE.

We are ready to continue! Point 3: JESUS STILLS THE STORM OR HE STILLS US IN THE STORM.

JESUS STILLS THE STORM
Here comes the miracle. Jesus comes walking on the water. Now remember the waves are three feet tall. The lake is not calm. Jesus is not only a miracle winemaker! Jesus is not only a healer! Jesus is now a wave-walker, death defeater! (And it only gets better and better!)

We just went to our grandchildren’s league finals track meet. We watched them run, jump, and throw. What amazing athletic talent it takes to compete in the various running and field events. I thought wrestling was hard. I read the other day that you would have to sprint sixty-seven miles an hour to actually to walk on water. Did you hear that? 67 MPH. “The fastest recorded foot speed is 27.79 miles an hour, by Jamaican Olympic Gold Medalist Usain Bolt. Reaching sixty-seven miles an hour would require fifteen more times the energy than the human body is capable of expending.”[i]

Jesus now walks up alongside the boat and says to the disciples, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.” John 6:20-21

The Greek for “It is I” is “ego eimi.” Which translated is “I Am”,  “I am the alpha and the omega. I am the beginning and the end. I am the first and the last. I am the same yesterday, today, tomorrow, and forever. I am in the burning bush, I am in the fiery furnace with you, I am in the lion’s den with you, I am with you when you are swallowed by a big fish or facing a giant like Goliath. I am with you as you cross your Red Sea or Jordan River. I Am who I am! Do not be afraid!”

Our son had a football coach who would always tell the boys when the game was getting difficult — “I do not care how rough the waters are, just bring the ship home.” The waters were rough for the disciples, but with Jesus’ help, the storm was stilled and they could bring the ship home.

In an instant the disciples’ attitude changed 180 degrees from frightened and fearful to faithful disciples again. A moment before, they had feared for their lives. Then they heard the voice of Christ. Note that he did not say, “Don’t be afraid” before he said, “It is I.” When we focus upon Christ, we begin to find and receive his help. I love that Jesus appeared in the middle of the worst of the storm. And, true to fashion, GOD SPEAKS into the chaos once again.  (Why not let God speak into your chaos? Just sayin’.)

There once was a king who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Paintings arrived from all over—everyone wanted the prize! The day came to announce the winner. The king uncovered picture after picture: A calm lake, an ocean sunset, a flock of sheep on a grassy hill, blue sky with fluffy clouds, a lake with majestic mountains in the background. The king uncovered the last picture: Rugged mountains, angry sky, it was raining and lightning. A waterfall tumbled down the cliff. It did not look peaceful but looked cold and penetrating. Deep in the painting was a little bird in a nest on the branch of a tree. The branch was leaning over the tumultuous waterfall. Yet there, in the midst of all the turbulence, sat the mother bird on her nest—in perfect peace.

Remember this, if Jesus sent you (or allowed you to be sent), Jesus sees you, and Jesus will either STILL the storm or Jesus will still YOU– like the mother bird in her nest; safely hidden from the storm raging around her.

Best news for last: POINT FOUR: JESUS SAVES!

JESUS SAVES
Missionary pilot Forrest Zander shared some of his experiences in a book titled, “His Faithfulness Reaches to the Skies.” On one occasion, Zander and his copilot were crossing the Andes Mountains in Colombia, crossing at 16,000 feet, which they were wearing their oxygen masks. As he watched the fuel gauges, he was alarmed to see the needles going down much faster than expected. There was a problem somewhere, and Zander still had the last three ranges of the Andes to cross. He needed to refuel, but where? No commercial airport was near, and alternate airstrips were rare. Having cleared the highest mountain peaks and passed the foothills on the eastern side, Zander quickly descended to preserve fuel and looked for a place to land. Then he spotted an airstrip right at the foot of the mountains. But what about fuel? Would they have any? Circling the airstrip, he saw containers of aviation-grade fuel guarded by a contingent of armed soldier. Drug dealers used the airstrip. Zander had no choice but to land, and he was immediately surrounded by guards with their guns. When he explained the problem, the commander offered to give him the fuel, but as he refueled, a black storm cloud approached. The entire group of missionaries and soldiers fled to a protected area. It was a perfect setup. As the rain pattered and poured on the roof, Zander read to the men from his Spanish Bible, shared the Gospel with them, and left the Bible for them to study.

Zander wrote, “Then joyfully, we departed, realizing again that our times are in the Lord’s hands. Sometimes delays and problems as His way of opening doors to new opportunities to love people and serve Him.”

I remember my first call as a new pastor in a rural church in Missouri. The call to the church was a tough call. It is a long story for another day. After being in the ministry for a year, I was at my breaking point and ready to throw in the towel. I said to myself, “I gave up everything to follow you God and this is it?”  I was in the middle of the lake trying to row the ship home. It was dark. It was one of the darkest times I have ever experienced. I was sure that I was failure and that my boat of ministry was going to sink.

My wife and I went to Silver Dollar City in Branson to get away from everything one Sunday night. We were walking out of the park that night and we noticed people going in. Where were they going?  Hundreds of people were exiting the park, yet hundreds were heading back in. We stopped a few people and asked them where they were going. They told us that every Sunday night they hold a concert outside and this night it was group by the name of “Third Day.” To be honest with you, I had never heard of the group, but we did not want to go home. I said to Jac, “Let’s go!” That was my introduction to Third Day. That was a life changing night. At the end of the concert, Max Powell, the lead singer asked everyone to sit down. He gave a Gospel message. “Some of you are going through tough times. I want you to have hope in Jesus. We’re going to sing a song called, ‘My Hope Is You.'”  He told us to sit and not to stand until we really believed that our Hope is Jesus. Jac jumped up pretty early. I sat there thinking about how dark this church storm was, how difficult it was, and how God had seemingly forgotten me. I listened to the words and began to cry. I finally stood and said to God, MY HOPE IS YOU.

Here is a YouTube link for song MY HOPE IS YOU by Third Day.
https://youtu.be/85XmMoYlTPU

I do not know where you are. You might be on the sunny side of the beach. If you are, ENJOY. DRINK IT ALL IN! Because we all go through storms but if you’re in the sunshine–live it up!

You might be in the middle of the lake and the waves are crashing and wind is blowing. You might be sitting in the dark and it seems to be getting darker.

Remember Jesus sends you; Jesus sees you, Jesus stills either you or your storm, and Jesus saves.

From that dark storm of my first call, I took a second call to a place I said I’d never be sent. (Don’t do that. God hears. I believe he said, “Pastor Dave? California. Check.”) Listen, I have spent 19 of my 24 years here in California. It is my call. It is where I fit. It is where I belong. Through the storm I have come to understand how wide, how deep, how long and how high is the love of Christ…for me…for you..for the world.

Whatever storms you face, the great I AM is with you. Go listen to the song and sit until you know that you know: MY HOPE IS YOU.

Just have to say in closing: row, row, row YOUR boat! Jesus sends, sees, stills, and saves; yesterday, today and tomorrow–and forever and ever. TRUST Him.

See you Sunday!
God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com