Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
March 26, 2006 - W0613

Most of us worry more than we should even though it can cloud our decisions, make us fearful, and have relational breakdowns. The point is, circumstances would remain the same even if we took away 95% of our worries.

Jesus tells a parable about the sower and the seed. One example teaches us about worry. The seed that was thrown among the weeds (which represent the worries and anxieties of the world) come in and choke out your fruitfulness. Listen, if the devil can’t destroy you, he will try to block our fruitfulness through ropes of worry. 

Another story in the Bible tells about the disciples being in a boat with Jesus. While a storm raged on, Jesus fell asleep. It possibly could have been that he was very, very tired after preaching in Capernaum and other towns. But, maybe there was another reason…

 “…when evening came, He said to them, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’…And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?’ And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Hush, be still.’ And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?’” (Mk. 4:35-40)

The disciples could not understand how Jesus could sleep. After all they thought they were going to die, so they woke Jesus. Jesus quieted the storm, but then says something that tells us He was really concerned about their lack of faith more than his sleep. Jesus is not a ‘tired’ Savior, He is a  a ‘secure’ Savior. We worry about things that seem so drastic, yet it doesn’t faze our Lord. And so He shows us how worry mutates into a lack of faith which can hinder us from bearing fruit. How do we increase our faith to be more like Jesus and replace fear with security? We can begin by sitting with the Lord instead of worrying about our circumstances. Which will we give audience to? One will steal our fruit and one will produce fruit. 

When the Lord says in the verse, ‘Let us go…’ that included Him in the crew. In other words, when Jesus is with us, we won’t go down with the boat. Everything will be fine no matter what storms we face. How then do we increase our security with the Lord? Here are three ways we can begin…

INCREASING OUR SECURITY:

1.       BE SURE TO bE WHERE JESUS IS.

Are you where He wants you to be? Are you walking with Jesus or are you separated from Him? “…the nearness of God is my good…” (Ps.73). In other words, we can be assured that everything will be alright if we are in His presence and walking with Him.

Our concert at Halawa Prison was a scary experience for me. As I walked down the prison corridors with prisoners looking back at me, it was a little intimidating. However, I felt secure because I was walking with Roy Yamamoto. Everyone knew him, so I felt safe. You see it’s not so much what we know as much as WHO we are with.

The same is true for us. When we are with Jesus, we don’t have to be afraid. Oh, we might still stumble upon obstacles, but we can be confident that the outcome will be God’s best for our lives. That’s why it is so important that we are doing and speaking what Jesus is doing and saying. That’s what Jesus says in Scriptures about His Father: Whatever I see the Father doing, I do and whatever the Father speaks, I speak. So, although we are not immune from the storms of life, everything will work out when we are where Jesus is.

“When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, because the LORD is the One who holds his hand.” (Ps.37:24)

“No harm befalls the righteous, but the wicked are filled with trouble.” (Pro.12:21)

So, the first way towards increasing your security is to be where Jesus is because He can calm the roughest of storms. The next step to remember is: 

2.       DON’T LET OUTSIDE STORMS BECOME INSIDE STORMS.

Storms are inevitable, but the secret is not to let those outside storms become inside storms. Why? Because like a storm at sea, once the outside storm gets inside the boat, it sinks. The same is true for people’s lives. If we try to avoid storms, we will be terribly disappointed in life. We’ll be upset with people, with God, and with the church. And Jesus will ask us the same question He asked the disciples: “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

So what can we do to be sure we are protected on the inside? We must keep a persistent spirit otherwise our spirit will break. Remember it’s not the size of the storm, but the condition of our spirit that will prevent inside storms. That’s why the Bible says we want the Lord to strengthen our inner man. “The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, but who can bear a broken spirit?” (Pro.18:14)

Don’t defend the condition of your spirit by your circumstances. Instead, follow the example of someone who faced many struggles yet did not allow his spirit to be broken: He failed at business and was bankrupt in1833. Then in 1835, his fiancé died. He lost his job in 1842 and was defeated for the legislature in that same year. He lost the bid for Congress in 1843 and again in 1850. He was defeated for the Senate in 1854 and again in 1858. Nevertheless, in 1860 Abraham Lincoln became the sixteenth President of the United States of America.  He is still remembered today as a most phenomenal President of the United States and a man of great wisdom.

You see, faith is not the absence of storms; it’s rising above them. It doesn’t mean we’re immune from them because storms are just a part of life. The Bible says too that we have to be mindful to protect our spirit from another’s storms. In our effort to help someone else through a difficult season, we must be careful that whatever they are going through doesn’t become an inside storm for us. “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.” (Gal.6:1)

Faith is not a mystical, magical formula that will remove all the storms of life.  It’s really quite practical and here are three steps in which…

3.       FAITH DECREASES ANXIETY BY:

a.      Praying.

Faith decreases anxiety by praying to God. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  (Phil.4:6-7)

Prayer teaches us to ‘think deeply’ in the presence of God. While in prayer, look at your problem and then just think deeply about it. Look at your options and solutions, eliminating them while in conversation with God. Then between you and Him, the answer will be revealed. If you plead with your focus on the problem, you will walk away with a broken spirit. In essence, if we don’t walk away with our hearts and minds guarded then we really haven’t prayed or thought deeply before God.

Billy Graham once talked about prayer. His definition of prayer was based on a metaphor of watching a ship come in to dock. A big rope was thrown around a post on the pier while the huge engines on the ship began to whirl loudly as it pulled the ropes taut and tight. He noticed something spectacular. The ropes didn’t pull the dock out to the ship. It pulled the ship into the dock. And that’s what prayer is. Prayer doesn’t pull God down to us. It pulls us near to God. And when we are in His presence, we will know that everything will be fine because He says, ‘let us go’ across the storm. It is the presence of God that guards us, not the absence of a storm.

So, remember that praying decreases our anxiety. It’s a peace that surpasses all understanding because it is a peace in the storm and not from the storm. If we miss this, we’ll be disappointed because we won’t recognize the peace of God.

Here’s an old prayer that reminds us of how God cares for His people: I prayed for food; God gave me a job. I prayed for a car; God gave me a bus schedule. I prayed for more money; God sent people to help. I prayed for strength; God taught me the power of weakness. I prayed for a miracle; God taught me patience. And then, I prayed for others; and God gave me His blessings so I would have something to give in helping others.

So the first step towards faith is praying. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. But then take the time to let the peace of God guard your heart and mind because our spirit cannot wilt during seasons of challenge. The second step is:

b.      Accepting.

Life doesn’t come neatly wrapped. Things happen -- financial hardships, death of a loved one, or other things that cause problems. When Saul kept pursuing and chasing David determined to kill him, David writes: “The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.” (Ps.16:6) In other words, David was satisfied with how God was treating him in that season of his life. It was pleasant to him. If we always want to control things, we will always live in a state of anxiety and essentially get in the way of our fruitfulness. The apostle, Paul, gives good advice when he says, “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content whether in hunger or abundance, with lots or with lack, I have learned the art of contentment.” The art of contentment is an inside job. 

There was a story about a couple whose life was full and loving. But when the wife died, the husband’s life deteriorated because he could not accept her death. His fruitfulness died as he stopped going to church and ceased ministry work. His pastor told him, “The greatest act of love that you can do for your wife is the fact that you are bearing the grief for her death, because if you would have died first, she would have had to bear the grief.”  As he began to understand and accept this, his life began an upward flight.

When we’re near the Lord, He will help us in prayer and give us an answer and a peace that surpasses all understanding that guards our hearts and minds. So we not only have to pray but to accept where we are. And the third step that helps decrease anxiety is by:

c.       Obeying.

After thinking deeply in prayer, God will give us instructions on what to do. We will begin to know how to handle a situation, how to speak, and how to live life as we hear God in our prayers. Obeying is the third practical step in increasing faith that will decrease our anxieties in life. You may be wondering why God allows us to go through a storm, remember: “…He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain to fall on the just and the unjust.” (Mat. 5:45)

We are not immune from rains simply because we have faith. Yet faith is extremely practical and we can follow some simple steps that will not only increase our security, but decrease our anxiety. The first is to be where Jesus is because He is the One who holds our hand. Next, we must learn to protect our spirit from outside storms because who can bear a broken spirit? Then we can reduce our anxiety by praying which really helps us to think deeply in the presence of God. Next, accept whatever season you are in because we can be content with however the Lord is dealing with us. Finally, after thinking deeply in prayer and accepting our circumstance, the next step is to obey His instructions that He shows us through daily devotions. Thus, obeying becomes a practical outworking of our faith.

“We know that in all things God works for good with those who love Him, those whom He has called according to His purpose.  Those whom God had already chosen He also set apart to become like His Son…” (Rom.8:28-29)

Our goal is to become more like God. It will require confidence to go through those hard times. And as we take steps of faith, we will be surprised at what God can do. No we won’t be insulated from storms or immune from the rains, but we can become a people with the peace of God, and spirits that rise above the storms and the outgrowth of that will be courage and confidence no matter what the circumstances. And that kind of faith and courage will change the world. 

DISCUSSION ITEMS

1.      Describe a difficult moment in your life. How did you pray? Were your prayers answered? How were your prayers answered?

2.      Are you going through a storm right now? Are you near to Jesus?

3.      On a scale of 1-10, where is your anxiety level in this season of your life? Praying, accepting, and obeying are practical steps to lowering your anxiety – what do you need to do toady that will help?

4.      Do you know a friend or loved one who is going through a storm in their life? How can you help them without allowing it to break your spirit?

5.      What instructions is God giving you and how will you obey His Word?

6.      Recall a difficult time in your life where you felt you would never get through it. What have you learned from it and how would you have handled it differently using the three steps of faith?

Mahalo to one of our volunteer writers,  Debbie Chang who increases her faith by diligently serving and staying near to Jesus in spite of the storms of life. Thank you, Debbie!