“The Story We Find Ourselves In”

Mark 4:35-41

Introduction: “The Perfect Storm”clip – what did you find your self experiencing or feeling as you viewed that particular scene?
We all weather storms in life and this morning we are going to give attention to these storms and God’s place in the midst of the storms of life.
It’s a big world and a connected world, a lot of forces coming together in just the right way both in our personal lives and globally to create the perfect storm.
Bailey Colorado news and other events that Kyle has already mentioned and prayed for this morning.

Transition: in fact if we think of our world in enough detail I would image that we will find ourselves responding with a variety of feelings ranging from anger, to stress, to fear, to anxiety, to sadness, even depression.

The story we find ourselves in

Our global story
Threat of nuclear war – we could literally destroy our entire world through nuclear arms.

Global warming is a real issue and the potential natural disasters that may arise out of it.

Terrorism and the atrocity that often comes from religious fundamentalism (in this case the Islamic fundamentalist).

Economic instability with medical advancements allowing for people to live longer though the quality of life may not improve.

Russia revitalizing its Soviet Union infra-structure

The fast pace of life and communication which seems to keep information constantly running free in our minds – your ability to change your stock portfolio in minutes.

China rising; producing more intercontinental ballistic missiles on land and sea than any country in the world.

Our money is dependent upon oil in the Middle East, the Yen and the Euro.

Companies walking away from retirement plans.

The bird flu or avian influenza – which if it were to get loose could literally wipe out half of the planet. (stats from flu’s of the past)

Transition: But the “story we find ourselves in” doesn’t end with our global experience we have our own personal stories as well. Like I said, It’s a big world and a connected world, a lot of forces coming together in just the right way both in our personal lives and globally to create the perfect storm – and we can not not have some reaction to this. In other words, the combination of personal experiences and our personal experience of world events will affect us.

Our personal story – and if we think about our own personal worlds in enough detail I would image that we will also find ourselves responding with similar feelings of anger, or stress, or fear, possibly anxiety, sadness or depression.
Life events
Relationships gone awry…
divorce
strained relations with parents
strained relations with children
work relations
social relations
difficulties, not enough friends, not able to fully be ourselves or to feel like we are really known.

Abuse you’ve experienced at some point in your life, be it: verbal, physical, spiritual, emotional or sexual.
This has left us with all kinds of reactions – angry, controlling, insecure, avoiding, feelings of inadequacy, trust issues

The dynamics of our families of origin:
growing up left to fend for yourself that managed to leave you wondering whether your very existence as a person matters
perhaps your parents were overly involved to the extent that you weren’t free to make your own decisions and were left wondering who you were and struggling with the ability to make decisions
perhaps you grew up in an environment where you had to perform to feel loved leaving you with an over all experience of life of never quite measuring up.
Or perhaps you hold to a belief that there is something wrong with you because you’re parents
Divorced
Abused substances
Or abused you
The list could go on…

The events that are out of your control:
miscarriages
loss of job
death of loved one

Decisions you’ve made:
Pull out of an investment that has hurt your financial future
Things you’ve said or done to your spouse or children
The consequences of substance abuse
Or the use of pornography
Or the decision to have an abortion
You name it…

This is the stuff that makes up our experience of the world – we’re all in need of healing!
This is the story we all find ourselves in and we all continually react:
We may hide from our pain (grandiosity wizard of oz, performance, etc.)
We may displace our pain onto something else/concretize our pain
Do you blame us?
Our responses of hiding, displacing, overwhelming feelings of sadness, depression, living a life driven by fear or soaked with anxiety are to be expected in light of our experience and are indication of the healing that desparately needs to occur.
We are hurt and in need of healing

Transition: In such a world with the global and personal experiences we have how else would we respond? In 1964 Bob Dylan sang “The times they are a changin,” and they have. We live in a different world. But are our responses really all that different than those who have gone before us?

The story the disciples found themselves in
Their global story
"How miraculous! We can now sail to Spain in just four days, Gaul in three days. We can reach Africa, on the gentlest breeze, overnight."

As the first century unfolded, ancient observers were awestruck by their shrinking world.

Reconstruction voiceover: "Incredibly, even Egypt is barely seven days' journey."

For the empire that Augustus left behind was now more than a collection of conquered lands. It was a far-flung society of vibrant commerce and frequent travel. By the year 14, the people of modern day France, Turkey, Syria, Greece, Spain and North Africa were all part of Rome. They contributed to its wealth, and gained from its protection.

Unrest in Rome, Augustus had built an empire but Tiberius would not have such luck. The Senate chamber was tense as Augustus' will was read. Tiberius moved warily to claim his legacy. And he gave confusing signals. Would Tiberius assume full imperial powers, the senators asked. "No," he responded. "Which branch of government will you direct?", one member called out. Tiberius was silent. "How long will Rome remain headless?" shouted another.

Many lived on the brink of ruin. In their towns and cities, in Egypt, Italy, and around the Mediterranean, they endured filthy streets, rampant disease, and recurrent famine. Emperors tried to alleviate suffering by offering free grain to some quarter of a million Romans. But even this wasn't enough. For many of the nameless poor, feeding their families was an impossible task, especially in the Roman province of Judea, modern-day Israel. There, on the empire's desert fringe, the dry soil supported meager harvests. Roman taxes added to the burden. The Jews of Judea were fervently religious. Among them was a family from a village near the Sea of Galilee.

Joseph was a Jewish carpenter. If the birth of his son caught Rome's attention at all, it was only as a statistic. But Jesus, growing to maturity in his father's trade, would leave a legacy more enduring than Augustus himself, a legacy made possible by the extraordinary ferment of the first century. For in this corner of the empire, at this moment in history, Judea was in turmoil. The population had split into hostile factions. Preachers and prophets roamed the countryside, drawing emotional crowds. At the age of 30, Jesus joined one such group and was baptized in the Jordan River. Soon, Jesus began a ministry of his own. And like other itinerant preachers of his day, he walked between villages, taking his message to the homes and synagogues of Judea's poor.

Their personal story
The setting and the story (Mark 4:35-41)
Marks obvious presence
At least 4 of them were fishers (Peter, Andrew, James and John) and had probably known the Sea of Galilee and its storms since their youth.
In Jewish tradition the one who ruled the winds and sea was God himself

Their response appears to be a very natural response
Do you blame them – how else are you to respond when life comes at you in a dangerous or threatening manner? When life feels out of control how do you respond? Their response is chastise-like but do we blame them. Is not the fear or anxiety we fear in such a time not a God-given mechanism that aids in our survival. The survival of a people who are precious in the eyes of the Creator. Does not anxiety and fear tell us that something is wrong, does it not motivate us to make a change so that we might be liberated both from the encounter and the emotion?

I mean, what kind of question is Jesus asking? If we are God designed to experience certain emotions – do you choose to feel something? The question is almost shaming, like what’s wrong with you for feeling this way in the midst of threat?

Perhaps Jesus was getting at something deeper, something beyond their fear of the storm. Was Jesus using the stirring of the waters to bring about a deeper healing in the life of the disciples?

Transition: How are we to respond to the story we find ourselves in? How were the disciples to respond? How did Jesus respond?

Meet Jesus in the storms of life and you will find healing. What do I mean by this?

Peace: Significance of Jesus sleeping (trust)
As Jesus sleeps peacefully in the perfect storm he teaches us something of the Father, of one of His names that some of us may be less than familiar with. In the perfect storm, Jesus teaches us of the “Perfect Sovereign.” Jesus is sleeping… when we live through times of anxiety or fear we often do not sleep well, but Jesus is sleeping and his external environment is falling apart which tells us something of his internal environment – which tells us something of his approach to life and his trust in his father.

The rule of God over life brings an internal resolve to the person of faith.

Ironically, they, the fishers are the ones fearful, and it is the carpenter who sleeps peacefully – his sleep in the midst of the storm a sign of his trust in God.

The disciples however, do not interpret his untroubled sleep as evidence of his trust in God. Jesus’ understanding of God as the “Perfect Sovereign” brought an internal resolve to the external events of his life.

They awaken Jesus with an indignant wail of complaint, as if he were in some way responsible for their plight.

Power: Jesus is the Lord of life (Who Jesus is)
Mark’s question is rhetorical, inviting the response of faith, “He is the Christ, the Son of God.”

The rule of God over life brings an internal resolve to the person of faith.

The God of Israel is the Lord of history and nature.

Jesus transforms a great sea into a great calm.

He is the personal, living God who intervenes in the experience of men, women and children.

He is the God who acts, not some pale abstraction.

When he chooses to reveal himself the forces of nature must submit to his will.

The rule of God over life brings an internal resolve to the person of faith.

The decision to execute Jesus would launch a religion that would one day subsume the Roman Empire, and resonate for millennia to come.

Significance for us: In fact the storms of life are often when healing occurs – I think the concept of water is very important here. Some of you may remember the story of the stirring of the waters at Bethseba. People were healing when the waters were stirred (John 5). We find healing in the storms of life.
Blind, bleeding, women caught in adultery

This may conjure up memories for some of you of Jesus’ experience in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus is deeply grieved, dare we say experiencing a high degree of anxiety. And for good reason. Once again, a natural response to the waves of life – or in this case the wave of death. And yet, as Jesus prays “the rule of God brings an internal resolves to him.” But the wave of death did not go away, but the wave of God’s sovereignty swallowed death up.

In the cross there is healing.

In the storms of life move towards the Christ and discover a healing and peace that will transcend understanding.


Purpose: Concentric circle
Fear is inborn, faith is clearly not inborn and can ebb and flow depending upon circumstances, and is most likely to fizzle in situations of danger.

“The concentric circle” – the ideal

At different times in life we will find ourselves in the center of the circle.

Jesus’ call to his disciples, to us: in the midst of the storms of life you would find yourself at the feet of Jesus’ where you will find healing which will look like great faith, comfort, peace and calm all that originate from the “Perfect Sovereign.”


Conclusion – “It is well with my soul” (Worship team come forward)

In 1871, tragedy struck Chicago as fire ravaged the city. When it was all over, 300 people were dead and 100,000 were homeless. Horatio Gates Spafford was one of those who tried to help the people of the city get back on their feet. A lawyer who had invested much of his money into the downtown Chicago real estate, he'd lost a great deal to the fire. And his one son (he had four daughters) had died about the same time. Still, for two years Spafford--who was a friend of evangelist Dwight Moody--assisted the homeless, impoverished, and grief-stricken ruined by the fire.

After about two years of such work, Spafford and his family decided to take a vacation. They were to go to England to join Moody on one of his evangelistic crusades, then travel in Europe. Horatio Spafford was delayed by some business, but sent his family on ahead. He would catch up to them on the other side of the Atlantic.

Their ship, the Ville de Havre, never made it. Off Newfoundland, it collided with an English sailing ship, the Loch Earn, and sank within 20 minutes. Though Horatio's wife, Anna, was able to cling to a piece of floating wreckage (one of only 47 survivors among hundreds), their four daughters--Maggie, Tanetta, Annie, and Bessie--were killed. Horatio received a horrible telegram from his wife, only two words long: "saved alone."

Spafford boarded the next available ship to be near his grieving wife, and the two finally met up with Dwight Moody. "It is well," Spafford told him quietly. "The will of God be done."

Though reports vary as to when he did so, Spafford was led during those days of surely overwhelming grief to pen the words to one of the most beautiful hymns we know.

{SING}

Who can say what it is about life that leads us to such a peace ... like a river. Who can say what ingredients it takes, for this person or that, that transforms such overwhelming sadness into personal peace, or brings healing, or ... leads our souls to a new depth, or compassion.

In the midst of the storms of life may you find rest and healing at the feet of Jesus.