Gabriel Ruhl: God's Not Worried

take your bibles turn to mark chapter number four the gospel of mark and chapter number four and i so appreciate you being here today i'm excited for our time together around god's word and as pastor mentioned i do pray that it will be an encouragement and a blessing to you 2020 has certainly been quite a ride there is no doubt about that and this past week has not disappointed as well it's kind of hard to put it all into words how to feel or the emotions of it but we found a video that i think kind of summarizes how it might feel i wanted you to see it and that's that's been 2020 right there for sure it just uh it's it's one thing after another and it's been quite a ride indeed and uh yet this morning i want us to look at mark four and a message entitled god's not worried mark chapter 4 and look with me if you would in verse number 35 in the same day when the even was come he saith unto them let us pass over into the other side and when they had sent away the multitude they took him even as he was in the ship and there rose also with him over other little ships and there arose a great storm of wind and the waves beat it to that ship so that it was now full jesus and his disciples were ministering on the northwest shore of the sea of galilee they were in the region near tyre and sidon and the lord had a very full and busy day of ministry in this one particular day the lord healed a man who was suffering from being possessed with a demon the lord was teaching a crowd of people and the crowd grew and the lord got into a boat and they took him a little offshore and there was a natural amphitheater there around the sea of galilee and the lord was teaching truths and parables to that crowd the scribes and the pharisees came to hear the teaching of the lord and to see the performing of these miracles and as oft they did to discourage and uh to fight against the work of the lord they even accused jesus of being possessed with the devil himself it was indeed a long and an exhausting day and it was drawing to an end we read in our passage and it was time to move on to their next ministry destination what happens next is a great reminder to all of us today of god's amazing power and indeed a reminder of the fact that god is not worried and i want us to unpack this story together this morning to be encouraged by it and i want you to see first of all in our study this morning of mark chapter 4 the sailing here the lord had requested of his followers that he that they would take him by way of ship to their next ministry destination it was indeed a very busy day of ministry that they have concluded and that was a hallmark of the life and ministry of the lord jesus christ he consistently and unselfishly gave of himself to minister to others many times with great needs of his own going unmet because he was here for the cause and sake of other people so we see when it comes to the sailing across the sea the command of the lord jesus christ we read it in verse 35 in the same day when the even was come he the lord jesus saith unto them let us pass over unto the other side now as you read verse 35 that doesn't really sound like a command come on guys let's go over to the other side but that's exactly as his disciples interpreted it and i think it's a good reminder for you and i this morning that if we are devoted in our relationship with christ if we are committed to him if we are walking with him closely even a simple request we take it as a command and the lord said let us go to the other side and that's all that needed to be said his disciples understood his wish and it became their command now the other side how far is that exactly well the sea of galilee is about six miles from one side to the other if you're familiar with lake tahoe it's about half the size of lake tahoe six miles from side to side i had the privilege of being there in the fall of 2015 and i remember being on a boat on the sea of galilee and of course when you read the bible in my mind everything is big and and all the stories as they come to life and i was quite surprised being on that boat on the sea of galilee how easy it was to see from one side to the other so about six miles now of course they didn't have a fuel propelled jet engines or anything on their boats they just had the oars and the men so it was still going to be quite a journey this night going six miles from one side of the other rowing the boat along but we see the compliance of the disciples look at verse 36 the bible says and when they had sent away the multitude they took him even as he was in the ship so the lord jesus christ says let's go to the other side and the bible says that the disciples immediately took him into the ship and they departed for the other side the phrase was even as he was indicating that as soon as the disciples heard that this is what jesus wanted them to do they did not waste time they began their voyage to the other side of the sea of galilee and they immediately obeyed in luke's account of this story the bible says and they launched forth the minute that jesus christ gave the order this was their response to obey and to go forward in matthew's account the bible says and when he entered into the ship his disciples followed him no arrangements were made for their voyage no time to pack no time to stock the vessel no time to let people know jesus said let's go to the other side and immediately as he was i believe because jesus was already in the boat as he was he was already there they jumped in they followed him and they began voyage across the sea of galilee many times in the word of god we see lessons about being prompt and our obedience we learn in scripture that delaying obedience to god never works very out very well for his children and i want to encourage all of us this morning to have a tender heart to the things of the lord to be sensitive to his leading and to be ready to obey i don't know what it is that god wants you to do today maybe you came into this place already knowing something god wants you to do maybe there's someone he wants you to forgive maybe there's something he wants you to get right maybe there's a step of obedience in your life maybe getting baptized maybe growing in some way that god has been working on your heart and i want to encourage you to say yes and to obey the bible says in james 4 17 therefore to him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not to him it is sin but notice with me as they sail on the company of those that follow them look at verse number 36 and when they heard that he sent away the multitude they took him even as he was in the ship and watched this and there were also with him other little ships now as you study mark chapter 4 there's two greek words used here to reference the ships now today we would call these vessels boats we reserve the word ship for a much larger vessel that we would see maybe out on the ocean but they're referred to here in this passage as ships there's one greek word that uh describes the ship that jesus is in it's a little larger and then the other word for these smaller boats now who were these other little boats and why did they take this journey from one side to the other the bible doesn't go into it in great detail but i believe there were people there on the shore of the sea of galilee watching and hearing jesus seeing miracles performed and parables taught and truth shared and when they saw that jesus got in a boat and his followers with him and that they were heading to the other side they said we want to go with him and they jumped in their own vessels and they began journeying with the lord across the sea of galilee it certainly speaks to the influence of the lord jesus christ and his disciples we see as his disciples take christ across the sea that others are influenced and others join in pursuit and i remind all of us that we never know how many people we have influence over and usually it's more than we think our obedience to the lord jesus christ will always allow us to have a favorable influence over others and yet when we're living in disobedience to the lord it is a negative influence for sure so may we be encouraged and reminded to live obediently to the lord that as we follow christ others would follow him as well paul said in corinthians be you followers of me even as i also am a follower of christ may our life lead people to the lord jesus christ let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven so we see others are now taking this journey as they sail across the sea of galilee well we see after the sailing in our story this morning the storm and this really becomes the pinnacle of this story because the sea of galilee is 680 feet below sea level it's surrounded by mountains and all of the mountains with their gorgeous surrounding the sea of galilee have that cold air coming off the mountains we've experienced a little bit of that the last 24 hours and then you have the sea of galilee 680 feet below the sea the level of sea level and so you've got the ability to heat there and that hot air trying to escape and rise and as that cold air comes down off those mountains and that hot air rising from the sea of galilee you're going to have some violent reactions in this bowl where the sea of galilee is located and that's exactly what happens in our story notice with me the severity of this storm look at verse number 37 and there arose a great storm of wind and the waves beat into the ship so that it was now full now there were natural causes to the storm i just described the hot air coming off the sea of galilee the cold air coming down from the mountains through uh the gorges and that collision and though violent reactions that were not uncommon on the sea of galilee but in this particular storm on this particular night it was not just natural forces at work there were spiritual forces as well satan was fighting the person and ministry of the lord jesus christ in fact all three accounts in the gospels that talk about this story matthew mark and luke all refer to the fact that when jesus stopped this storm that he rebuked it and we're going to look at the rebuke later in our message this morning but it certainly indicates that there was evil behind this storm that they were facing indeed that this storm was satanic we're reminded in the book of ephesians that satan is the prince of the power of the air and what a great opportunity for satan by the way here's jesus christ here's all of his disciples they're in one boat they're going across the sea of galilee at night he could drown the boat kill them and quelch the gospel ministry of that era as it was known in matthew's account the bible says and behold there rose a great tempest in the sea and so much that the ship was covered with waves great tempest means that it was a storm like an earthquake or a tornado or a hurricane this was an unbelievable great storm in luke's account it is described that there came down a storm of wind on the lake and they were filled with water and were in jeopardy so they are facing a severe storm indeed a couple years back i was preaching in newport beach in fact for pastor ryan thompson who will be here tonight and we were having a wonderful day of ministry and our family decided to stay over and just enjoy some of the things there in that area and somebody had told us about these things called a duffy electric boat and they are a boat i think they were originally invented by a high school kid who had the idea that you could take a battery operated golf cart motor and put it in a boat and have a nice quiet ride around the inlets of the harbor there around balboa island so we looked into that we rented a boat our family got there we had some in-n-out burger which was great we kind of got settled into the boat and when they get you settled in you have a certain amount of time you're allowed to be out and enjoying the boat then they give you a little map and the map talks about going around balboa island and there's beautiful homes to see and other boats and yachts and so on that are there there are some restaurants you could pull up and tie off and go enjoy and just a lot of neat things to see and then on the map as you kind of look at the balboa island in the harbor and the inlet area they show the channel that leaves out to the pacific ocean and there's a big thick red line on the map and as they're instructing you there at the duffy boat rental about where you can and cannot go they are extra clear to tell you do not pass the red line out of the harbor into the pacific ocean i don't know what it is about me when somebody tells me do not cross that line it's not safe there's just something in me that says i would love to cross that line and just see what is it like over on the other side exactly so we started out on our journey and on the duffy bow as a family we were enjoying the homes and the boats and i was kind of letting suzanne and the kids not really know where we were or what we were doing but i was making my way for that channel i wanted to see exactly how it would feel on the other side of that red line but we were nearing that area of the ocean and sure enough we got over that red line and i didn't have to tell them where we were because they could feel where we were the water instantly changed it was very choppy and when i read this story in mark 4 i was reminded of that day being on the pacific ocean and literally the waves on either side of us were as high as our boat and my wife looked at me with that look like you are gonna kill our kids you know and uh we were the only small vessel out on the ocean that day uh and we were only going five miles an hour because that's all that that motor can do thankfully god in his mercy for my stupidity allowed us to turn around and get back into safety indeed now sometimes our days start out on smooth sea but before long we can be coming into a brewing storm the christian life is not without trials we understand this the bible says yea and all that will live godly in christ jesus shall suffer persecution the presence of christ on our boat does not mean that we will not encounter storms think about this the disciples in this storm were living an obedient life jesus said to them i want to go to the other side as he was they jumped in the boat they followed him they began the rowing to get from the area of tire inside and down across the sea of galilee over to the area of gadara and yet in the midst of their obedience here came a storm we must remember this morning that a faith that cannot be tested is a faith that cannot be trusted we're reminded in first peter 1 7 that the trial of your faith being much more precious than of gold that perisheth though it be tried with fire that it may be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of jesus christ god wants you and i to shine in the midst of adversity what jesus promises is not his protection from the storm but what he promises is his presence in the storm and we must remember as a believer as a follower of the lord jesus christ that as we live the christian life as we embark on this journey it's not a guarantee that we're not going to face difficult or uncertain times but it is a guarantee that jesus will always be with us before we move on and think about the severity of the storm i often think about the other little boats but what an amazing storm had come but what about those other little boats it reminds me of the fact that as i look around 2020 and all that it has been could you imagine enduring this year and not knowing jesus christ could you imagine going through everything you know turning upside down and having no hope having no eternal perspective having no understanding of the god who can calm the storm how blessed we are if you in this room know jesus christ as your savior i'm thankful in the midst of a storm i'm in the boat where jesus is i'm not in one of the other little boats indeed was a severe storm but notice with me in this story the serenity of the savior look at verse 38 and he jesus was in the hindu part of the ship asleep on a pillow now this kind of amazes me here's the lord in the midst of all of this this great tempest this great storm waves beating upon the ship it's filling up with water where is jesus in great hysteria for safety no he's asleep on a pillow now we already read earlier that the lord had had a very busy day of ministry he was tired all three accounts in the gospel record of this miracle include the fact that jesus was sleeping in the hindered part of the boat in fact it's the only place in the bible we find where jesus was sleeping the bible says in luke but as they selled he fell asleep he had a busy day he taught he relieved someone of demon possession he was falsely accused and criticized he dealt with all that ministry comes with and indeed he was tired and though jesus was god fully god and fully man he was incarnated in the likeness of the human body and so experienced the frailties of the human body hence after strenuous day he was tired and boy tired he must have been now think about this here's the lord in the boat that ship being tossed to and fro the waves beating against it the wind howling over it the ship filling with water and where is the lord jesus christ being tossed getting wet all of that but he indeed is a sleep he must have been tired some in this room will wake at anything my wife is kind of like that some in this room can sleep through anything i'm kind of like that i read the story this week of an 80 year old woman in hamilton new jersey and last year in the month of august she called the police because her car was stolen but it was a very unusual situation she came home on a wednesday night it was around 9 00 pm and she was dead dog tired and she decided i'm just going to sleep in my car she pulled in her driveway she turned the car off and she went to sleep she woke up about 4 a.m on thursday morning laying on the ground in her driveway and her car was gone she called the police and evidently while she slept someone came by removed her from the car and stole her car and left her laying there in the on the ground in her own driveway now how can you sleep through that i don't know how could jesus christ sleep through this i have no idea but the fact that jesus christ slapped during the storm meant that he truly had security in the will of god jesus christ knew what was coming jesus christ knew his day would be the day that he hung on the cross for you and for me meaning that this storm was not his time to go he was at perfect peace with the will of god the bible says in psalms 4 8 i will both lay me down in peace and sleep for thou lord only maketh me dwell in safety the bible is clear that jesus christ was in the hinder part of the ship a sleep on a pillow today we would call the hinder part the stern of the ship and the front of the ship we would refer to as the bow of the ship and the hinder part where christ was and where he was sleeping was typically where the pilot would ride in the boat the bible says that he was asleep on a pillow this isn't like the pillow that you and i might enjoy in our beds this would have been a leather seat or a leather bench where the pilot might sit to lay as they would journey along and it's really important to understand the significance of where jesus was in that ship he was in the hinder part he was in the stern he was in the place that the pilot would be it's really important when we think about our lives this morning of who is piloting our ship are we at the wheel or is the lord jesus christ at the wheel is the lord jesus christ in the place of the pilot or are we in that place because it is true that jesus christ may steer our life into some storms but he will also deliver us from those storms and i would much rather face a storm with jesus piloting my boat than face a storm at my own leading the bible says trust in the lord with all thine hearts and lean not in a known understanding and all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy path so we see the serenity of the savior the disciples are overwhelmed with this storm jesus asleep so notice then the suspense of the disciples read on in verse 38 and they awake him and say unto him master carest not that we perish the disciples are looking around and things are not looking good now stop and understand some of these disciples grew up on the sea galley being out on a boat at night was nothing new to them these were veteran fishermen they had been out on this sea many times since storms many times in great winds many times with great waves but this storm and again that goes back to who was behind the storm and the satanic oppression of it but this storm this was rattling them they had never seen it like this the wind the waves the brutality of it as fast as the ship was filling with water as bleak as hope was they thought for sure this was it and so even though they were veteran fishermen even though they were familiar with the sea of galilee they were no when it came to being out there on a boat in the midst of a storm they thought indeed they were going to perish and so they went and awakened the lord jesus christ now when you're in trouble that's the right place to go that's the right person to go to the lord jesus christ they did exactly as they should the bible says in psalms 107 then they cry unto the lord in their trouble and he bringeth them out of their distresses he maketh their storm a comb so that the ways thereof are still god is our refuge and strength and a very present help in trouble they went to the lord and that's exactly where we should go you know sometimes it would do us good to turn off some of the noise of the news and the social feeds and all of that and just tune into god's word in the lord jesus christ they went to the right person but what they said is troubling master cares not that we perish there was a huge disconnect in their mind with the severity of the storm and the serenity of the savior they did not deduce from that that everything's going to be okay their reasoning from that was jesus you don't even care we are in the midst of a terrible storm we are about to die and what are you doing you're sleeping have you ever been there have you ever felt like everything was going wrong nothing was as it was supposed to be it wasn't going the way you expected it to go and when you prayed it felt like there was no answer that's where they were master cares not that we perish and it is often our tendency that when trouble comes into our life or disadvantages that we face or things that don't go the way that we thought that they would go that we begin to blame the lord jesus christ we forget about his mercies we forget about his faithfulness we forget about his long suffering we forget about the things that he's helped us with in the past because we're living in the moment and that's where these disciples were lord we are going to die we perish now by the way if we don't have the lord that indeed is our fate spiritually as well the bible says in ephesians even when we were dead in sins the bible says in john he that believeth on him is not condemned but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten son of god friend if you don't have jesus you don't have a prayer but they had the lord and there was this moment of conflict master cares not that we perish and let's look thirdly in our story this morning at the savior i love when jesus comes on the scene and by the way god doesn't respond just when we come to him like we're supposed to because we're taught in the psalms that we're to come into his presence with thanksgiving that we are coming to his courts with praise there's a certain way that we are to embark upon and entreat the lord jesus christ but here the disciples in the midst of all that they were facing and in the midst of their fear they came to him kind of with the wrong spirit and attitude and complaining and saying master terrorists not that we perish but despite that the lord solves their problem and we're reminded that god is greater than satan in any storm so notice how he does it first of all we see satan's rebuke look at verse number 39 and he arose he's awake now and he rebuked the wind and said unto the sea peace be still and the wind ceased and there was a great calm now each of the gospel accounts of this miracle report the fact that jesus christ stopped the storm simply by his word he spoke and the storm ceased what a wonderful reminder of the power of the word of god the bible says but the word by the word of the lord were the heavens made and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth for the word of god is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword piercing even to dividing asunder soul and spirit of the joints and marrow and as a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart the power of the word of god can do marvel in our lives friend don't underestimate the power of the book you hold in your lap this morning don't underestimate the power of the lord jesus christ to bring calm to your storm oh how we must get into the word of god regularly oh how we must get into the word of god earnestly oh how we must unleash the power of the word of god in our life what did jesus do he rebuked the whim the word rebuked means to tax with fault to chide or to reprove jesus was very forceful in dealing with evil again you remember that satan is behind this great storm and jesus is taking care of the wicked one and may you and i in the spirit of the lord jesus christ when evil comes into our life be firm and forceful may you and i drive wickedness away from our life may you and i run after righteousness in our life i love the fact that jesus was right on time we read in luke's account that the ship was full it couldn't take on any more water it was about to go under and just in the nick of time the lord jesus christ appeared he was there the miracle was rot and the entire sea gave evidence of his miracle working power is your life this morning evidence of the fact that jesus christ is at work in you jesus can bring peace to your life jesus can bring calm to your storm therefore being justified by faith we have peace with god through our lord jesus christ we can have peace with god even though the fact that i am a sinner and that i deserve an eternity away from god because of my sin but jesus and his love left heaven's glory and came to this earth and was born of a virgin and lived a perfect life and at the end of his life he died on the cross and he shed his blood and he was buried and he rose again from the dead and he paid for my sins and i remember as a teenage boy when i prayed and i placed my faith and trust and the lord jesus christ and the results of that is this as i stand in this room this morning i know that i know that heaven is going to be my eternal home how do i know that through jesus christ that's the peace that jesus christ gives but it's not just an eternal peace it's a present peace god wants you and i to have a peace in our life today the bible says in philippians and the peace of god which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through christ jesus are you experiencing peace this morning and miss the storm amidst any uncertainty and missed anything else that is going on in your life is there a peace in your heart that passeth all understanding the world cannot give this peace it's incapable of it the bible says in john peace i leave with you my peace i give unto you not as the world giveth give i unto you let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid jesus said listen follower of mind child of mine believer in me i've got a peace for you that the world knows not of i've got a peace for you that the world cannot give don't be troubled don't be afraid live in the peace that i give the calm that i provide for your storm friend we will never have genuine peace in our life if sin is there we must have a relationship with god and we must be right with god if you're living this morning a rejection of the lord jesus christ can i invite you today to receive him a savior if you're living this morning away from god in sin can i invite you back to the father loves you to the savior who wants a daily relationship with you who offers a peace the world cannot offer so we see the savior's rebuke and the sea is calmed but notice the savior's reproof look with me at verse number 40. and he said unto them jesus speaking to his disciples on the ship why are ye so fearful how is it that you have no faith now isn't it interesting in this passage jesus calms the storm but it doesn't stop there because he's god and he knows that the problem was not just with the wind and the water the problem was with the unbelief in the hearts of his followers he knew that the problem was more than what you could see he knew there was a problem underneath the surface in their hearts so jesus after addressing the wind and the waves is now addressing the hearts of his followers and jesus here scolding them guys why are you so afraid now jesus was not angry for the fact that they woke him up jesus was not angry for the fact that they were seeking his help he was happy to do it he's happy to do it in my life and in yours but he was disappointed in the lack of their faith you see when christ is on board in our life there's no reason to fear the bible says in second timothy 1 7 for god not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind in matthew's account the lord looked at them and said oh ye of little faith guys why the bible says in proverbs 24 10 for if thou faint in the day of adversity thy strength is small we understand this morning good times do not reveal what somebody is really made of it's during a time of trial it's during a time of uncertainty it's during a bad time in their life where you know indeed where they are and we read how is it that you have no faith and can i just encourage you church family this morning that we still have a god that brings calm to storms we have no reason to fear we can have all the faith in the world in the living son of god and we must beware because the bible says in hebrews 3 12 take heed brethren lest there be in any of you an evil heart of un unbelief and departing from the living god he says hey take heed brethren take heed fellow believer take heed follower of christ unless there be an evil heart of unbelief may god not find you and i in the tumultuous season of 2020 going where is your faith may god find you and i in the midst of 2020 believing in the lord jesus christ having peace and effect he's in the inner part of the ship he's in the seat of the pilot it's all good and when i kind of feel like we're about to die and the wind is howling and the waves are are beating the ship and the boat is being filled with water and i look over at jesus and i see him asleep i'm not going to be afraid i'm just going to trust he's going to get me from one side to the other that he indeed is going to see me through now why did these disciples have this lack of faith well jesus christ had just spent the entire day teaching they just watched him take a demon out of a man but maybe they weren't listening does that ever happen to you maybe in a church service on the drive home where the preacher preached about you have no idea talking to your wife for an hour what did she just say you can't even recall five minutes of it you ever been there where you're there maybe you're hearing the sound of it but you're not really listening to the words of it the bible says in faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of god and again i encourage you to be in the word of god to be faithful to church you say gabe i'm here on a sunday morning it's cold outside and i'm here and i'm glad that you are and i encourage you to be here tonight at five o'clock be in your connection group today or wednesday night at seven o'clock every time there's an opportunity to hear the word of god preached and taught be in your place we must build our life of faith on the foundation of the lord jesus christ for he himself is the chief cornerstone that as we close notice the disciples reaction and i love it look at verse 41 and they feared exceedingly and said one to another what manner of man is this that even the wind and the sea obey him man they were afraid of that storm they rushed to jesus who was sleeping on that leather pillow and they said master care is not that we perish and jesus christ arises from his sleep and he rebukes the wind and the waves and he says peace be still and in that moment the wind stopped in that moment the cease became the the sea became cold it didn't take a while for the waves to slow down i mean it was in an instant it was over and the disciples saw that and their fear of their jeopardy and that storm was now nothing in comparison to their awe of jesus christ these were the followers of jesus christ who had a front row seat when he would do miracles when he would teach parables when he would do ministry they had heard him teach they had seen the miracles but this one outdid them all when they on that boat saw the winds and the waves obey in immediate fashion the spoken word of jesus christ they were in awe matthew says and they marveled mark or luke says and they wondered mark says they feared exceedingly they feared with great fear what does it mean it means they stood and complete all of who jesus is friend can i encourage you this morning in the midst of 2020 don't get your eyes on the storm put your eyes on the savior that can bring calm in an instant who can speak and it'll be still who can direct the wind and the waves and anything that is troubling you this morning god can handle it the disciples were in awe of the lord jesus christ in that moment of calm and of stillness they saw and were reminded of the power of god what do we do on a day like today where you might feel like you're in a bit of a storm hopefully you'll leave here being reminded of the power of god he can handle whatever it is that you're facing it teaches us that the disciples were still getting to know jesus and that should be our heart as well that i might know him in the power of his resurrection my dad grew up in a troubled home many of you know my dad he's preached here most prominently the men boys camp out when my dad was seven his mom and step dad were in a very difficult relational situation his stepfather was a drunk there was a lot of physical abuse happening his mom decided best for her the kids that it would be time to leave and so they did one day my dad's mom her name was jenny was a waitress at the black diner black bear diner and she served her chef she got her tips finished her responsibilities and made her way to the car when she did and she got into the car her husband that she was trying to leave joe woodward he walked up to the window of that car and he said jenny would you please come back to me and she said no joe i can't do that he said jenny i promise i'll change i'll leave the liquor and i want to be with you and the kids please jenny please jenny come back jenny said joe i can't do that you've promised that before for the sake of the kids i can't do it he pleaded for a while she resisted finally he took a pistol from his jacket and he reached in that car and he shot her five times he walked around that car and sat on the back bumper and took his own life social workers went to the house found my dad his brother sister began to explain to them what had happened my dad's biological father was not in a position to take the kids so they went into the system became words of the state went into foster care my dad got in some trouble went into group homes for about seven or eight years of my life my dad's life he lived with strangers when he was in high school his father finally got custody of him it wasn't pretty but at least it was family a man by the name of buck gartman left the state of texas went to greenville ohio and started greenville baptist temple following the leading and calling of the lord for the first six months of that new church plant he preached to empty chairs finally six months into it when he was about to quit on a wednesday night frank tim and jerry rule walked in the back door but gartman stood that night and he preached the love of the lord jesus christ god used that message to penetrate the heart of my father that pastor began to develop a relationship with my dad he'd go to his football games and he just took a special interest in him and it wasn't long after that he had the opportunity to lead him to the lord jesus christ my dad's life was changed my dad did not immediately live for the lord but god was at work in his life and later my dad surrendered to the call of ministry now my dad today is a pastor for 33 years he's been pastoring pleasant valley baptist church in chico california 500 miles north of here in fact my dad is preaching right now how does a kid whose mom is murdered whose stepfather commits suicide who bounces around from all kinds of uncertainty and in our minds in a great storm become a pastor who every day spends his life telling people about the love of the lord jesus christ where does that kind of calm come from in a storm that severe friend it's only found in jesus christ and that same savior is your savior and my savior so when we leave this room today yes god has told us to get in the boat and make the journey and yes along the journey there's going to be some storms but let's be reminded of the fact that jesus is in the boat and he can bring calm to no matter what we face god's not worried and neither should we

Channel: Lancaster Baptist Church

Views: 761

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: preaching, sermon, Christian, God, Jesus, Lancaster Baptist Church, Lancaster Baptist, Pastor Paul Chappell, Paul Chappell, Gabriel Ruhl, Mark 4, worry

Id: zKy-KKa0OWo

Length: 43min 50sec (2630 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 09 2020