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Step out in your storm

Started by Roscoe, May 04, 2011, 04:50:49 PM

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Roscoe

 Something I'm working on for church tonight. Felt I'd post it here and see what you guys thought. Don't beat on me too much, I'm definately not the most refined. But maybe it'll help someone, even if it's just me, tweaking my sermons thanks to your criticisms.  :lol:

Trust in the Master, and Step out in your Storm.

Matthew 14:22-32
22 And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he
sent the multitudes away.
23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was
there alone.
24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.
25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for
fear.
27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth [his] hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore
didst thou doubt?
32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.

  Peter trusted in the Lord enough to step out of the ship, out of his comfort zone, in the middle of a storm. Much has been
said of Peter's doubt and subsquent sinking, but what of his faith in beginning the journey? And not only did he trust God
enough to step out in the storm, he trusted the Master enough that even when he doubted himself and became frightened, he
called on the Master and trusted Him to step in and take care of his need. Peter's doubt,I believe, was in his ability to do
what seemed impossible, NOT God's abilities.
   
Oftentimes, We need to step out in our storms and trust God to do what seems impossible. Stop concentrating on what we see
as undoable, stop trying to put our hands into the mix and let God fix it. Step out in faith, step out in the storm and trust
God. Do what He tells us to do, even when it seems contrary to everything we know. It doesn't matter if what we "know" says
that it's foolhardy. Make sure that you're listening to God and not what you want, then step out in your storm.

In my personal life, I have experienced this. I had a local, good paying job that I had worked hard at and had been
promoted. I had everything going for me in my career, and it seemed like there was every reason to believe that the
promotions I had received were not the only ones I would receive.
  But- I knew I was not in the will of God. I'd been told in the past by my man of God that the job I was taking was likely
to interfer with my walk with God, but I bulled on, thinking that I could handle it. And I did- for a while. Then came the
working on church nights, the stress of the job, and my prayer life started to slide, until I was rarely going to church.

When I was there, I wasn't involved. I found myself near a nervous breakdown, near losing my family and seeing no way out. In
desperation, I turned to the God, I'd been raised to love, and the One I knew could make this okay. " God, you've got to get
me out of this." That was it. No trumpets, rainbows and parades. Just a broken soul telling God "Here- I can't handle this.
Fix it"
  Three weeks later, I was in a training class when a classmate that I had never met before came over and asked if I had
thought about changing jobs. I acknowledged I had. A short conversation later, I had the contact number for his supervisor and
a recommendation to call. I left the class wondering "Is this of God?" I talked with my pastor and with his encouragement
contacted the supervisor. It seemed that there was no way that this could work- the job was 120 mile round trip commute, and
it was likely I would not get the shift I needed to better my church attendance.
But God stepped in. I got the shift I needed. The stress was gone. I got my prayer life back. I even got a healthy raise. I
stepped out of my comfort zone and into my storm- and God took it from there. Now I'm doing what I never imagined I would do.
Preaching the gospel, and serving the Master like I knew I should. Firmly in His will, not Bob's will. And I've never been
happier.
 
If we look further in the bible we'll find situations where the person found themeselves in storms, some times of their own
making. But when they stepped out into the storm,trusting in God, God stepped in.

Jonah 2:1
1 Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly,
2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, [and] thou
heardest my voice.
3 For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.
4 Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.
5 The waters compassed me about, [even] to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.
6 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars [was] about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my
life from corruption, O LORD my God.
7 When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.
8 They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
9 But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay [that] that I have vowed. Salvation [is] of the
LORD.
10 And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry [land].


Even in the storm of his making, when Jonah called on God and trusted in Him, God made things happen.
One final example.
Daniel 1:8
Daniel refused to defile himself with that which he knew was not of God. He's a kid,enslaved in a far away land, with no
visible sign that God even exists. It would have been easy for him to walk away, do what was easy, go along with the flow.

But in the middle of the storm, He stood up and trusted God. He left the situation in the hands the God that he knew. And God
came through. Several times in his life Daniel was given the opportunity to do things his way. He served four kings, and was
head among the presidents of the land. (Daniel 6:3) But every time,he stepped into the storm, and trusted God. How diferent
would his life had been if he had not trusted God, I wonder?
  So maybe it's time to step out in your storm, trust the Master and see what happens. I promise you, you won't regret it.

Potstirrer and snoop extraordinaire   "I have friends in overalls whose friendship I would not swap for the favor of the kings of the world."- Thomas Edison

Babs

Religion is worthless until it is able to move outside the walls.

My latest blog post.

mini

Good thought!  Might have to steal it.... :P
DISCLAIMER: All rights reserved. Meant for entertainment purposes only. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. Not necessarily the view of this website. This supersedes all previous notices.

I wonder if we made a wax figure of Mini, and then melted it, if we'd get Roscoe... -MellerYeller

Lynx

Peter is one of my favorites.  It's easy to make hay of Matthew 14:31, "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" but the other disciples were still in the boat.  Peter did something nobody (to the best of my knowledge) has ever done before or since.
"Do you sing at church?"
"Yes I sing at church, I sing at home, at work, in the car, at the supermarket, at Wal-Mart..."
:sing: :sing: :sing: :sing: :sing: :sing:

(R.I.P.) YooperYankDude



Feed The Bachelors 2010

bro. papa

Let me tell you I was there step out in your storm did preach. He brought them to their feet and shouting and praising God. I'm his pastor and I was one of them on my feet

sunlight

  :attackhug: Be full of hugs!

mini

Welcome Bro Papa!  Glad you joined.  We need all the help we can get to keep Roscoe (aka Robert Moses) lined out.
DISCLAIMER: All rights reserved. Meant for entertainment purposes only. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. Not necessarily the view of this website. This supersedes all previous notices.

I wonder if we made a wax figure of Mini, and then melted it, if we'd get Roscoe... -MellerYeller

The Purple Fuzzy

* The Purple Fuzzy *waves at bro. papa

(R.I.P.) YooperYankDude

Quote from: minnesota68 on May 06, 2011, 12:12:26 PM
Welcome Bro Papa!  Glad you joined.  We need all the help we can get to keep Roscoe (aka Robert Moses) lined out.
:laughat:
Yoop also waves  :hi: at bro. papa... Thanks for joining... Maybe now Bob will behave!  *grin*

We thought when his wife joined it would help too... But he never let's her use the computer!!  :hypocrite:


Feed The Bachelors 2010

Roscoe

Quote from: YooperYankDude on May 06, 2011, 05:35:29 PM
Quote from: minnesota68 on May 06, 2011, 12:12:26 PM
Welcome Bro Papa!  Glad you joined.  We need all the help we can get to keep Roscoe (aka Robert Moses) lined out.
:laughat:
Yoop also waves  :hi: at bro. papa... Thanks for joining... Maybe now Bob will behave!  *grin*

We thought when his wife joined it would help too... But he never let's her use the computer!!  :hypocrite:
:pound: She just doesn't want too... :hypocrite:

Okay, that's not true.... I can't help it, I'm addicted to being here...
Potstirrer and snoop extraordinaire   "I have friends in overalls whose friendship I would not swap for the favor of the kings of the world."- Thomas Edison

Lynx

Quote from: five-oh on May 06, 2011, 05:39:01 PM

Okay, that's not true.... I can't help it, I'm addicted to being here...
Oooooh, somehow I know what next Sunday's sermon is going to be about.  I don't know how I know... just got a feeling.
"Do you sing at church?"
"Yes I sing at church, I sing at home, at work, in the car, at the supermarket, at Wal-Mart..."
:sing: :sing: :sing: :sing: :sing: :sing: