Storms in a life journey with Jesus-3

하나님은 우리의 피난처시요 힘이시니 환난 중에 만날 큰 도움이시라 ² 그러므로 땅이 변하든지 산이 흔들려 바다 가운데 빠지든지 ³ 바닷물이 흉용하고 뛰놀든지 그것이 넘침으로 산이 요동할찌라도 우리는 두려워 아니하리로다(셀라). God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. ² Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, ³ though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah (Ps. 46:1-3).

²³ 배에 오르시매 제자들이 좇았더니 ²⁴ 바다에 큰 놀이 일어나 물결이 배에 덮이게 되었으되 예수는 주무시는지라 ²⁵ 그 제자들이 나아와 깨우며 가로되 주여 구원하소서 우리가 죽겠나이다 ²⁶ 예수께서 이르시되 어찌하여 무서워하느냐 믿음이 적은 자들아 하시고 곧 일어나사 바람과 바다를 꾸짖으신대 아주 잔잔하게 되거늘 ²⁷ 그 사람들이 기이히 여겨 가로되 이 어떠한 사람이기에 바람과 바다도 순종하는고 하더라. ²³ And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. ²⁴ And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. ²⁵ And they went and woke him, saying, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing." ²⁶ And he said to them, "Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?" Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. ²⁷ And the men marveled, saying, "What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?" (Matt. 8:23-27)

FCF: We tend to fear death amid storms in a life journey with Jesus.

주제: 예수님은 만물의 통치자이기에 인생의 풍랑에 중에도 예수님을 의지해야 합니다.                               

Theme: Because Jesus is the Ruler of all things, we must trust Him in the face of storms in life.

Introduction: Last month, Typhoon Hinnamno raked through the southern part of South Korea. It claimed some precious lives and caused a lot of damages. Especially, it claimed several lives in the flooding of an apartment parking lot in the basement in Pohang. The apartment guard made an announcement that the residents should move outside their cars in the basement parking lot because the basement would be soon flooded. So, a lady acted quickly to move her car outside. Her son accompanied her to help. When they got the basement, they were able to walk freely because there was only little water in it. However, in a few minutes, water quickly rose to the ceiling. They immediately sensed they would die soon. There were several people inside swimming to get out. However, their efforts were futile. They were facing the apparition of death. An old couple were crying out of fear of death. But when the mother and her son realized there was no way that they could get out of there, they were ready to embrace their moment of death by faith.

They were unafraid of death because they were Christians who had hope in eternal life.

They were repenting of their sins and asking for forgiveness of God. And they simply committed their souls to God. Also, they were praying for others, who were non-Christians, to come to know Jesus Christ, give them peace in a moment of death, and welcome them to heaven. Soon, they were all separated, not knowing whether they were alive or not. The mother was holding the electric line in the ceiling of the basement. Dirty water kicked into her nose. She couldn’t breathe, which she felt so painful. So, she asked God to take her right away. But her life was still there with her. He drank a lot of water. She bobbed in and out of the water. She tried to take a breath. So, she saw one of her slippers flowing toward her. She grabbed it and used it to breathe in a small space. She was praying for her family. She was praying for her son. The time went on. She didn’t realize how long she had been incarcerated there. She felt her son was taken by God while praying for him.

While holding unto her life by a thread, she sensed the water getting dwindled slowly. She saw a ray of hope for survival. She began to pray that God would deliver her from there. In a desperate moment after her prayer, she saw the flashing light and heard the rescuers coming to her aid. She realized God answered her prayer right away. She was miraculously rescued. When she got out of there, she was welcomed by her younger sister who came down from Seoul. She felt she was only three hours in the flooding basement. But she was rescued in fourteen hours. She was taken to hospital and treated for hypothermia. Since she didn’t know about her son’s status or whereabouts, she was still praying for his life. But she soon discovered he got drowned. She remembered the last moment in which they were praying for each other and thanking each other. Her son said, “Mom, thank you for having raised me so far. I love. I love you. See you in heaven.” She didn’t expect she would be rescued. She thought she and her son would be in heaven. But he died and she lived. She experienced the Lord’s powerful grace through that powerful storm. Now, she tells people the story how God has saved her from death. She shares the gospel of salvation with as many people as she meets. She encouraged her son’s friends to believe in Jesus Christ so that they would meet him again in heaven. She has newly discovered her mission to preach the gospel to families, friends, neighbors, and so on.  

Her testimony illustrates the point storms in life reveal what we really fear and what we really trust. Pastor Tim Keller wrote,

이러한 풍랑들은 여러분 삶의 파운데이션이 무엇인지를 보여줍니다. 삶의 뗏목이 어떤 것인지 드러냅니다. 여러분이 여러분을 지탱하도록 진정으로 의지하는 것이 무엇인지를 보여줍니다. 예수님은 왜 여러분의 인생에 풍랑을 보내시는 것일까요? “Those storms show you your foundation. Those storms show you your life rafts. Those storms show you what you really are relying on to hold you up. Why does Jesus send storms into your life?” The mother and her son laid their foundation in Jesus Christ whereas others had no true foundation to hold them up before death. The old couple fell into panic and cried profusely without any hope. But she and her son committed their lives into the gracious hands of God with hope of heaven. In that moment of life or death, their faith couldn’t be faked. Truly, life-threatening storms in life expose the veracity or falsehood of our faith. The disciples of Jesus in the tempest were terrorized like the mother and her son. Though they were with Jesus, they didn’t feel a need of Him until they felt like perishing soon in the sea. They were waking Him up and cried out in fear, not in faith, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing. The Lord knew exactly what was happening to them and what was happening in their hearts. He showed them their lack of faith. Their fear was attributable to lack of faith. This story teaches us we should trust Jesus in the face of storms in life because He is the Ruler of all things. God intends to challenge, test, train, purify, and strengthen our faith through trials in life. So far, we have covered the first two points: 1) storms in life reveal our limitations and 2) storms in life reveal Jesus’ sovereignty. Today, I will cover the last point, which is storms in life offer us a chance to practice faith.

      I.         인생의 풍랑은 우리의 한계를 드러낸다.

Storms in life reveal our limitations.

    II.         인생의 풍랑은 예수님의 주권을 드러낸다.

Storms in life reveal Jesus’ sovereignty.

  III.         인생의 풍랑은 믿음 실천의 기회를 제공한다.

Storms in life offer us a chance to practice faith.

The whole narrative not only focuses on who Jesus is, but also how to respond to storms in life. From the current episode, we learn about the care, power, and lordship of Jesus Christ. Even though we know much biblical information on the person and work of Jesus Christ, we may feel paralyzed by fear of death if we are thrown into a danger like a hurricane. If we feel a powerful clout of a storm in life, we will be similar to the disciples who cried out in fear for deliverance. This is quite natural for us to be terrorized before such a gigantic turmoil in life. However, we must keep in mind that the Lord Jesus is always with us. Surely, He is not physically with us. However, His spiritual presence never departs from us. He certainly sees us through the storms of life. We know this truth from His promise. We must hold to this biblical truth by faith. We must hold unto the presence of Christ by faith.

In fact, our faith will not grow without daunting challenges or problems in life. No matter how greatly we desire to avoid any troubles in life, we will have enough of them throughout our lives. Like we have both sunny days and rainy days, we will have both good things and bad things. Spiritually speaking, our faith normally grows not in sunny days in life, but in stormy days in life. The disciples had the sunny days in the land with the Lord Jesus Christ. They had ample chances to witness the wonderful manifestations of Jesus’ wisdom and power. When they watched their Lord healing the uncurable and casting out evil spirits, they felt as if they were great like Jesus because they were particularly called to be the apostles of Jesus. They assumed their social standing and popularity greatly increased in proportion to the popularity of Jesus among people. Though they faced the increasing oppositions of the Jewish religious authorities, the crowds were still flocking towards their Lord. So, they felt a sense of spiritual elitism among the crowds because they were a selected few chosen by Jesus. Their special identification with Jesus made them feel great and proud.

However, such a sense of election may have nothing to do with their trust of Jesus. Their faith should be challenged and tested by trials, hardships, or storms as they continued following Jesus. The question is whether they truly trusted the care, power, and the lordship of Jesus as Jesus was challenged by the religious authorities. In the book of Matthew, the first challenge they encountered in following Jesus is the life-threatening windstorm, which occurred unexpectedly in the sea of Galilee. In the land, they thought they were filled with unwavering faith in Jesus. But as the tempest threw them into panic, they were overwhelmed by fear of death. And their faith was not working properly. In fact, their faith was helplessly fluttering in the sea. It was drowning in the sea until they turned their attention from the storm to the sleeping Lord. They failed to exercise their faith in Jesus until they were terrified by the tempest. Even when they woke Jesus up and asked Him to save them, they were unsure of what Jesus could do for them. Perhaps, it is because their faith was untested until they were floundering in the sea of fear. Their faith was dreadfully sleeping in the storm, whereas Jesus was physically sleeping in the storm. Surely, they needed a storm to see what they were really trusting to hold them up. 

We see a glimpse of why Jesus ordered them to go to the other side of the lake. Not only did He intend to reveal His authority over nature, but also He intended to challenge, test, and fix their faith. Certainly, He intended to help them establish their faith only in Him alone. Since the tempest was under Jesus’ power, the disciples should have trusted Jesus as the Son of God, the sovereign Lord over all things. Surely, they should learn that truth from the storm experience. As I preached before, storms in life are designed to expose the true condition of our hearts. They are designed to turn our attention from ourselves to Jesus Christ. Also, they are designed to test our faith and increase our confidence in Jesus Christ. Through the storm, the disciples were finally able to see how feeble and small their faith was. They were called to trust in Jesus, not in their self-confidence. God surely brings storms to our lives to test our faith. Faith during the storm is genuine faith, where faith in a calm may be, or may not be, genuine faith.

Certainly, storms in life offer us an opportunity to practice faith. The disciples exercised their faith mixed with fear and doubt. We are no different from the disciples. The disciples were compelled to seek the Lord’s help because of their fear of death. In like manner, we may be forced or led to seek Jesus for help by fear of death. Until we tremble in fear before massive storms in life, we may not practice our faith in Jesus. We may not even feel whether we have faith or not. Indeed, faith is invisible. The validity and reality of faith is manifested by storms in life. Though faith is invisible on one hand, it becomes visible on the other hand. For some, faith is abstract and non-functional. For others, faith is practical and working. How do we know to which one our faith belongs? One of the ways we can make sure our faith is practical and working is seeing how we respond to trials in life. In a sense, storms in life, no matter how we wish to avoid, are necessary for growth and maturity of our faith. The Lord knows it well. So, He brings us into storms in life, not to destroy us, but to grow us. As John Blanchard said, “the storms of life no more indicate the absence of God than clouds indicate the absence of the sun.” As Jesus was with the disciples in the boat, the same Jesus is with us during the storms of our lives. Through the storms of life, therefore, we should learn to become humble, wise, and reliant on Jesus Christ.

In Matt. 14:22-23, the second storm episode in the book of Matthew, I want to see how the Lord helps us practice our faith through storms in life. Peter, the head of the apostles, took courage to ask, 주여 만일 주시어든 나를 명하사 물 위로 오라 하소서. "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He wanted to make sure it was the Lord, not a ghost of death. If it were a ghost, it means they would perish soon. If it was the Lord, it means they would be saved. So, he made that request. The Lord graciously granted him his request, saying, “Come.” Now, Peter needed to decide whether he would venture to walk on the water or not. Walking on the water was something impossible with man. Why did Peter ask Him for such an impossible thing? He simply could have trusted what He said, “Take heart. It is I. Don’t be afraid.” He simply could have let Him into the boat. Why did He dare to test whether it was the Lord or not, by commanding him to walk on the water? It seems Peter really wanted to trust the Lord Jesus walking toward them. It seems Peter didn’t see Him as a ghost. But he wanted to take a chance to exercise his faith in the divine power of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, he wanted to go and see Jesus on the water. He wanted to see the Lord and experience the same power of Jesus whereby He walked on the water and he could also walk on the water.

So, Peter was a man of faith, unlike the rest of the apostolic band. The rest were unwilling to take a chance to see whether it was a ghost or the Lord. Their faith was put on a hold. Even though they heard Him saying, “Come to me on the water,” none of them would take a chance to walk on the water. All their experiences convinced them not to walk on the water, because they knew they would immediately get drowned. They were worried about Peter. They may have thought Peter was crazy. But in the middle of the storm and at the moment of desperation, Peter was so audacious to meet with Jesus coming to rescue them. At the Lord’s command, Peter took courage to walk on the water. He became the second person who walked on the water. When he put trust in Jesus’ word, he had the most thrilling moment in his life. He saw himself doing the impossible when he obeyed the Lord’s command in faith. Indeed, He tried his faith against all odds. None would dare to walk on the water even though they saw Jesus coming toward them. They may still have thought it was not Jesus, but a specter of Jesus. But Peter took a chance and walked on the water by faith.

However, his faith was not perfect. When he fixed his eyes on the Lord, he was able to come to Him on the water. But all of a sudden, he felt conscious of the perilous condition of his external circumstances. He turned to see the wind, not the Lord. And he saw himself sinking down. He cried out, “Lord, save me.” The Lord grabbed him on his hand and rescued him from getting drowned. He pointed out his lack of faith, saying, “O you of little faith, why do you doubt?” Even at the most wonderful moment of doing something nobody had done in human history, Peter began to doubt because of the violent wind. At one moment, Peter began to walk on the water by faith. A little later, Peter began to sink down by doubt. But by the Lord’s grace, he was saved from drowning. The Lord took him to the boat. And the wind died down at His command. Finally, Peter and the rest fell prostrate at His feet and worshipped Him as the Son of God.

We see here how fragile our faith is when we are surrounded by overwhelming circumstances. John Calvin said, 우리의 믿음은 결코 완전하지 않습니다….부분적으로 불신자입니다. “Our faith is never perfect … we are partly unbelievers.” Realizing this, we must never trust in our faith, but always in Jesus Christ. The object of faith is always Jesus Christ, not our confidence in Jesus. Therefore, we realize here we must fix our eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ, which is the only way to conquer fear and stand strong in faith. Hebrews 12:2 says, 믿음의 주요 또 온전케 하시는 이인 예수를 바라보자. “Keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.” Ken Gire said the following: 이들은 베드로를 통하여 믿음에 대한 생생한 정의를 얻게 되었습니다. 순종으로 예수님께 걸음을 내딛고 가며 우리의 발걸음을 지탱하기 위하여 그분을 바라보는 것 외에 어떤 것이 더 믿음이란 말입니까. 비록 순종의 길이 불확실하고 예측할 수 없는 물로 우리를 이끌어 간다 해도 그렇게 하는 것입니다. 믿음은 바로 이런 것이다. 이들은 또한 베드로를 통하여 믿음으로 행하기는 것과 보이는 대로 행하는 것의 차이를 배우게 되었습니다. 베드로가 세상에 눈을 고정했을 때 그는 가라앉았습니다. Through Peter they gained a visual definition of faith, for what more is faith than stepping out in obedience to Jesus and looking to Him to sustain our steps, even when the path of obedience takes us over uncertain and untamed waters. Through Peter they also learned the difference between walking by faith and walking by sight. When the disciple fixed his eyes on the world, he sank.”

We are to walk not by sight of circumstances, but faith in Christ. It is really hard not to be affected by depressing circumstances. No doubt, we feel dreadful before the enormous high waves and winds. But we can come to the Rescuer by faith in His Word. Rather than sinking down deep into the waters, we must gaze on Jesus and keep enjoying the thrills of walking on the water through the storm. When we keep on trusting Him against buffeting storms in life, we may experience something wonderful, something unimaginable, or something incredible. We may not fully imagine what we can do when we step out in faith. We may be enabled to do the impossible, which we have never imagined to do, when we resolutely obey the Lord’s command. We may be enabled to experience His divine power and worship Him as our Savior and Lord. Through the storms of life, our faith gets firmer and purer. God drive us into deep waters not to drown us but to strengthen us. Our faith gets focused on the Lord Jesus Christ. In adversity we usually want God to remove our obstacles when He wants to refine our faith. To realize the worth of the anchor, we need to feel the storm.

We may not feel a need to exercise our faith in times of prosperity. When everything goes well in a sweet wind, we don’t use our faith. However, when we face an adverse wind against us, we naturally use our faith. Ironically, we need the storms of life to practice our faith in Christ. We soon realize how small our faith is in front of giant storms. A Christian man honestly describes the smallness of his faith and the greatness of the Lord Jesus Christ in the following way: 나는 산을 옮긴 적이 없습니다. 내 생각엔 결코 산을 옮기지 못할 것입니다. 제게 있는 믿음을 다 끌어 모은다 해도 작은 개미둔덕도 움직이지 못할 것입니다. 하지만 주님께 드릴 말씀은 주님을 아는 기쁨 때문에 감사하다는 것입니다. 그리고 제 인생을 통하여 주님께서 옮겨 주신 모든 산을 인하여 감사드립니다. 제가 도움이 필요할 때 주님은 크고 깊은 절망에서 저를 건져 주셨습니다. 제가 감당할 수 없는 무거운 짐과 고통과 아픔이 있을 때는 주님께서 늘 삶의 노한 바다에서 회복할 수 있는 용기가 되어 주셨습니다. 또한 제게 그렇게 크게 보이던 이 작은 산들을 옮길 수 있는 용기가 되어 주셨습니다. 수 많은 문제와 지불해야 할 돈들과 염려와 마음의 고통이 매일 쌓여갈 때 주님께서 어떻게 그것을 하셨는지 모르겠습니다. 어디에서 왜는 설명할 수가 없습니다. 제가 아는 것은 이러한 산들이 축복으로 바뀌었다는 것입니다. 주님, 제 믿음이 너무도 작아서 산을 옮긴 적이 없습니다. 그러나 하늘의 주님, 감사합니다. 주님은 항상 제가 부를 때 응답해 주셨습니다. 제 인생에 산이 있이 있을지라도 저는 두렵하지 않을 것입니다. 산을 옮기시는 예수님이 저의 힘이 되시고 항상 제 곁에 계시기 때문입니다. “Lord, I've never moved a mountain and I guess I never will. All the faith that I could muster wouldn't move a small anthill. Yet I'll tell you, Lord, I'm grateful for the joy of knowing Thee, and for all the mountain moving down through life You've done for me. When I needed some help you lifted me from the depths of great despair. And when burdens, pain and sorrow have been more than I can bear, you have always been my courage to restore life's troubled sea, and to move these little mountains that have looked so big to me. Many times when I've had problems and when bills I've had to pay, and the worries and the heartaches just kept mounting every day, Lord, I don't know how you did it. Can't explain the wheres or whys. All I know, I've seen these mountains turn to blessings in disguise. No, I've never moved a mountain, for my faith is far too small. Yet, I thank you, Lord of Heaven, you have always heard my call. And as long as there are mountains in my life, I'll have no fear, for the mountain-moving Jesus is my strength and always near.”

We should neither let our fear in storms in life paralyze and cripple our faith nor misunderstand Jesus Christ. We should not let our assumptions lead to a wrong conclusion. The storms of life, no matter how tempestuous they may be, will come to pass. They are under Christ’s perfect control. So, we must trust the Lord who keeps us through them and trains our faith to maturity. We admit they look daunting and severe. Our faith is so small. But we believe the Lord is always with us. We will continue to grow strong in the Lord by God’s grace through storms in life. Sometimes, the Lord calms the storms in our lives, and other times, He permits them to rage. Regardless of the weather, however, the Lord always calms and comforts His children. Therefore, we must take heart, knowing the Lord is always with us. We are made stronger, and more deeply rooted by all the storms of life. We should not shrink from the tempestuous winds of trial, but take heart, trusting the Lord’s training hands holding us up firmly.  

It is not our strength of our faiths, but the power of the Lord Jesus, that we should stand upon. Do you know who Jesus is? The disciples didn’t expect the Lord to rebuke the storm and calm the raging sea. They expected something from Him, but not that kind of supernatural power over nature. How much do you know Jesus? Do you really love and trust Him? Gregory of Nazianzus, a 4th-century Archbishop of Constantinople and theologian, said, 예수님은 굶주리시며 그 사역을 시작하셨습니다. 하지만 그는 생명의 떡이십니다. 예수님은 목마르시므로 이 땅에서의 사역을 마치셨습니다. 하지만 그는 생수이십니다. 예수님은 피곤하셨습니다. 하지만 그는 우리의 안식이십니다. 그는 세금을 내셨습니다. 하지만 그는 왕이십니다. 예수님은 귀신들렸다고 비방을 받았습니다. 하지만 그는 귀신을 쫓아내십니다. 예수님은 우셨습니다. 하지만 그는 우리의 눈물을 닦아주실 것입니다. 예수님은 은 삼십에 팔리셨습니다. 하지만 그는 세상을 속량하셨습니다. 예수님은 도살장으로 끌려간 어린양이셨습니다. 하지만 그는 선한 목자이십니다. 예수님은 죽으셨습니다. 하지만 그의 죽음으로 죽음의 권세를 깨뜨리셨습니다. “He began His ministry by being hungry, yet He is the Bread of Life. Jesus ended His earthly ministry by being thirsty, yet He is the Living Water. Jesus was weary, yet He is our rest. Jesus paid tribute, yet He is the King. Jesus was accused of having a demon, yet He cast out demons. Jesus wept, yet He wipes away our tears. Jesus was sold for thirty pieces of silver, yet He redeemed the world. Jesus was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, yet He is the Good Shepherd. Jesus died, yet by His death He destroyed the power of death.” 

During the storms of life, what matters is what or whom you really trust. Do you trust your money, wisdom, or faith can deliver you from them? Or do you trust the Lord Jesus will deliver you from them? No matter how hard and desperately you trust your power, wisdom, and faith, they can’t save you from death and eternal condemnation. They are not the right object of faith. The true and only Object of Christian faith is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Ruler of all things. Faith is only as effective as its object. We could have remarkable faith in very thin ice and drown, whereas we could have very little faith in very thick ice and be perfectly secure. If Jesus is the Object of your faith, you will be eternally secure in God’s love. However, if you make something else as the object of your faith, you will be eternally condemned. We may be easily overwhelmed by giant storms in life. But those storms are under the Lord’s control. They can’t grow any bigger under the Lord’s power. They are the Lord’s teaching tools for us to grow mature, wise, and faithful. With the Lord Jesus, we can grow bigger, experiencing something wonderful. Without the Lord, we will see ourselves sinking down into a deep vortex of the water. While trusting the Lord, we can greatly benefit from storms in life.

Conclusion: Surely, we find an unfathomable love in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our perfect righteousness and peace. He is our eternal rest and security. He is our everlasting Portion. I don’t know what you are going through right now. But remember the Lord is always with you through the storms of life no matter how you may feel. Please, turn your dread and worry into prayer and petition. The storms of life, which is appointed by God, will make you stronger and firmer by His divine hand. Instead of complaining about them, you commit yourself to Him in peace. The Lord wants you to practice your faith for all occasions. Please, do not let your faith sleep. Let your faith kneel before the Lord and seek His shing faith. His everlasting love sustains you through the storms of life. As you believe in Jesus Christ who died for you and rose again from the dead for you, so you believe Jesus Christ riding with you through the storms of life. His everlasting arms are supporting you now. Ask the Lord to strength your faith in Him. Then, practice your faith to trust Him and take rest in Him for God’s glory.  

Benediction: ²⁴ Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, ²⁵ to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. 능히 너희를 보호하사 거침이 없게 하시고 너희로 그 영광 앞에 흠이 없이 즐거움으로 서게 하실자 ²⁵ 곧 우리 구주 홀로 하나이신 하나님께 우리 주 예수 그리스도로 말미암아 영광과 위엄과 권력과 권세가 만고 전부터 이제와 세세에 있을지어다 아멘 (Jud 1:24-25)