Storyteller: Perfect Storm / Perfect Calm
Pastor Brian Schafer
June 23, 2024
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Mark 4:1
“He go in the boat and sat on the sea.”
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Everyone reading Mark’s gospel would have known what this meant: God alone sits on the seas, splits the seas, and calms the seas.
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Mark 4:35-36
As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind.
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The topography of the Sea of Galilee makes it susceptible to sudden and violent storms, which is exactly what happens…
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Mark 4:37-38
Soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion.”“
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Take your own notes here…
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Mark 4:38
The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”
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Hurt people, hurt people. Stormed-on people
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When have you seen or experienced storms in your life? Maybe even this past week?
Mark 4:39
Jesus got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
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(1) The storm is not the enemy. The storm is the way.
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Take your own notes here…
A case study in “bad things happen to good people” = Joseph in the book of Genesis
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Question: How did Joseph not just give up and give in, even in the midst of the suffering and injustice? Answer: He had 50:20 vision. (Genesis 50:20)
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Genesis 50:20
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.
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Take your own notes here…
Give room for the mystery of God.
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“We dream of bringing home babies that we never bury. If you believe the lie that life is supposed to be pain-free, then suffering will be a torturous hell. Your suffering is not some unique anomaly. Suffering is the universal experience of all humanity. Suffering doesn’t mean you’re cursed. Suffering means you’re human. The moment you let go of unrealistic expectations, much suffering lets go of you. Pain will come. Name it Mystery, and find manna in it.”
- Ann Voskamp
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(2) Words create worlds
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Jesus proclaimed, “Peace! Be Still”
That phrase literally means, “Silence,” “Stop speaking,” “to muzzle”
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The power of life and death is in the tongue. - Proverbs 18:21
The same Spirit that was in Jesus, pronouncing PEACE over the storm is the SAME SPIRIT that is inside of you, if you are in Christ!
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Genesis 1:28 = “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and SUBDUE IT.”
“Subdue” is the Hebrew word, Kabash. Kabash literally means, “to bring something under control that was once out of control. To bring order out of chaos.”
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God INVITES US into His creative work of bringing order out of chaos; of pronouncing peace over the storm.
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Take your own notes here…
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What are we called to do, as a church?
(1) Exercise Christlike authority with humility.
(2) Grieve with those who grieve.
(3) Pray bold prayers over our community.
(4) Pronounce the promises of God over individuals and families.
(5) Stand in the gap in our neighborhood as PEACEMAKERS, GRACE-GIVERS, and TRUTH-TELLERS.
(6) Over all the places of chaos, stand up and pronounce PEACE.
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“When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.” - Corrie Ten Boom