EMBRACING THE STORM | JESUS SERIES

Mark 4:35-41 NKJV Premise ⁃ How you acknowledge, address, or recognize Jesus is undeniably how you will receive and honor Him. It is in the storms of life that we find out not only what we believe but who He is! Natural response: Storms cause fear, panic, and anxietySpiritual expectations: Power, love, and a sound mind“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” II Timothy 1:7 NKJV Positives of a storm 1. Storms bring needed Rainfall. “Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime; it is the Lord who sends the thunderstorms. He gives showers of rain to all people, and plants of the field to everyone.” Zechariah 10:1 NIV “Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.” James 5:18 NIV “He provides rain for the earth; he sends water on the countryside.” Job 5:10 NIV 2. Storms Break-Up Bacteria and cleanse the land. ““Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.” John 12:27 NIV 3. Storms Balance the Temperature. “For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.” Psalms 33:4 NIV 4. Storms replenish life. “For I have satiated (satisfied) the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.”” Jeremiah 31:25 NKJV Scriptural Insight 1. The Lord is trying to get you to the “other side” and sometimes He uses a storm to do so! “On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.”” Mark 4:35 NKJV 2. It’s not just about you! Others are following, experiencing, and watching. How you handle the storm determines not only how YOU view Jesus but how THEY view him. “Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him.” Mark 4:36 NKJV 3. When the storm came/comes what will/did you call Him. Title determines performance. “And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”” Mark 4:37-38 NKJV4. The expectation of Jesus is that His disciples will ALWAYS have faith and embrace the storm HE is with US in. “Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”” Mark 4:39-40 NKJV 5. Focus on the lesson and not just the miracle! Miracles last only a moment, lessons last a lifetime and continue to teach when the miracle is finished. “And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”” Mark 4:41 NKJV