Sleep in the Storm - Pastor R.B. Ouellette

yeah I was with the Bob Jones jr. one time he's talking about a great preacher named BR lakyn and he said he said well his wife wrote most of his sermons and I said is she still alive because if she is I get her Oh turn your Bibles to Matthew chapter 8 I believe this is a great crowd I believe it's the biggest Korona crowd in the counting's and oh I bet any Sunday night we have the biggest crowd of any Church anywhere I sure appreciate Pastor Howells leadership and really have encouraged he's handled this situation so wisely and you as a church been so cooperative and I'm encouraged to see that had not expected to be here supposed to be in Lancaster California and brother Chapel they're limited out there to meetings of 250 or lassy said everything we're gonna have you do is canceled fact the college is canceled and then next Sunday I was to be in Milford Ohio and Ohio the exempt churches but they're encouraging you to have crowds of less than a hundred and from there as they go to a big camp meeting in Georgia and I'll know for sure tomorrow but looks like that's going to be canceled as well so pray for my wife she'll have me around a lot more than normal Matthew chapter 8 beginning at verse 23 I preached a series of sermons on this particular portion these portions of Scripture years ago here and then I put them all together and made one sermon that I would preach when I was out and about so you've never heard this one sermon do you probably heard some of the thoughts I had another sermon couple that I've written since I've been here last but felt really impressed to the Lord to go this direction when Pastor asked me to preach tonight so graciously gave me that opportunity the trouble is because I've put that whole series together it does take about an hour and a half so yeah Matthew chapter 8 verse 23 when he was entered into a ship his disciples what are the next two words hey there's a good idea disciples should follow Jesus behold there arose a great tempest in the sea and so much that the ship was covered with the waves but he was asleep and his disciples came to Anna woke him saying lord save us we perish and he said unto them why are you fearful oh ye of little faith then he arose and rebuked the winds and the sea and there was a great calm but the men marvelled saying what manner of man is this that even the wind's and the sea obey Him mark chapter 4 has a similar account I'm going to read three versions of this story but they're all from your King James Bible all right our chapter 4 verse 35 the same day when even was come he said unto them let us pass over unto the other side and when they sent away the multitude they took him even as he was in the ship and they were also with him other little ships and there arose a great storm of wind and the waves beat into the ship so that it was now full he was in behind her part of the ship asleep on a pillow and they awake him in saying then master carest thou not that we perish and he arose and rebuked the wind and said unto the sea peace be still and the wind ceased and there was a great calm and he said unto them why are you so fearful how is it that you have no faith and they feared exceedingly I'm always amused when I read those verses why are you so fearful and they feared they were slow learners they feared exceedingly and said one to another what manner of man is this that even the wind and the sea obey him and then Luke chapter 8 if you wouldn't mind turning there or flipping the buttons on your electronic device to get to that spot verse 22 now it came to pass on a certain day that he went into a ship with his disciples and he said to them let us go over under the other side of the lake and they launched forth but as they sailed he fell asleep and there came down a storm of wind on the lake and they were filled with water and were in jeopardy and they came to him and awoke him saying master master we perish then he arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water and they ceased and there was a calm and he said unto them watch this question where is your faith and there being afraid wondered saying one to another what manner of man is this we commanded even the winds and the water and they obey Him father I thank you for the wonderful privilege of preaching here at this tremendous church thank you for our pastor thank you for his guidance in this time of crisis in our country and lord help us to be a good testimony to be many additional opportunities to give people the gospel because of this and he's challenged us to be alert that have helped us to do so thank you for the man that was saved this morning and is back tonight and I for you to continue to do things like that and arm its guide me and empower me by your spirit help me to say that which would please you and then I for you to bind the devil and his demons and keep that from distracting us and not receiving a good seed of your perfect Word make this a profitable time and lift up your name in our hearts who would thank you in Jesus name for all that you do amen the Jews were not seagoing people they were landlubbing people but for the Jews in this boat made their living on the Sea of Galilee Andrew and Peter and James and John were fishermen so when the Lord Jesus said let's go over the other side of the lake it was no big deal they had been there and done that it was a journey they'd made in the head for experts with him in the boat it wasn't very long and a terrible storm came up the storms in that particular body of water our frequent and they can be fierce it's surrounded by hills or mountains gullies have been etched into those hills by the wind and it whips down and causes the storm on the water only this was a really bad storm this was so bad that even the expert sailors were frightened I want you to think for a moment with me this morning and understand from paying careful attention I'm supposed to do this sometimes too he's got a cane for my trip up backups the reason for the storm he was look for reasons why would God allow something like covet 19 know the answered all my questions is all those questions is sin Oh started with Adam and Eve why did this storm come one of my favorite Bible commentators a man named John Phillips John Phillips died as a member of Bobby Robertson's church as funerals there remember of an Independent Baptist Church and John fellows pointed out that in the Gospel of Mark the Bible says that the Lord Jesus rebuked the wind and spoke to the waves that's interesting he said the Lord rebuke is most often used in our New Testament to talk about rebuking evil spirits you have to believe this but it makes sense John Philip says he believes the storm was inspired by Satan I don't know for sure that it was but I know the devil likes to cause trouble I know he's the accuser of the Brethren I know that he filled Ananias and Sapphira start to lie against the Holy Ghost and I know that he likes to cause storms and trials in our life would he believe that or not you have to believe this reason the second reason for the storm was not only was that I think inspired by Satan but it was instructive for the Saints people say things like this and that pastor doesn't say well God was testing me to see whether or not I would do such and such no he wasn't God already knew what you do God has always known everything he knows the end from the beginning dr. Hutson used to say did it ever occur to you that nothing ever occurred to God when the storm was over Jesus didn't know one thing about the disciples that he hadn't known before but the disciples knew a lot more about Jesus yeah they they had known that he could perform miracles he had done some of those pretty early in his ministry didn't know maybe that he made wine people seeing lame people walking they did not know that his power extended could to controlling the wind and the waves our pastor preached a great sermon this morning from the Book of Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar had had experience with God in the previous chapter and he said you're God's a revealer of Secrets but he didn't know he was a quencher of fires he had some more to learn about God can I tell you you and I have some more to learn about God let's say that all the trials and troubles in all the trauma that we go through is designed to teach us some more about God so the reason for the storm it was I think inspired by Satan was instructive of the Saints but think about the response to the storm the disciples are scared why are you so fearful they they were frightened they said master we perish never get scared if you want to get scared just watch the television pull up some stuff on your phone there's always some crisis somewhere and always somebody exploiting it in fear-mongering and making it worse than it is they're scared it's a really bad storm the Lord Jesus is sleeping here's what's really interesting about that when he went to sleep nobody said anything never said Lord please stay awake we're gonna need your help we're sailing across the waters well we might sink there might be a storm come up you never know what happened Lord we need you no they didn't worry about it because they knew what they were doing and they'd been there before on that same body of water the same kind of shipping they had that one fixed and what they found out is they need Jesus all the time the storms just remind us how much we need Jesus they don't make us need him anymore Lord Jesus is sleeping and it kind of looks to me like he did it on purpose it says he was asleep in the hind her part of the ship on a pillow faster you took a nap this afternoon just take it off did you a pillow I've had people sleep while I preach some of you here tonight in fact I have some regulars from when I was passing I remember I never say anything about it I believe in the law of sowing and reaping when I was in college I worked a lot one particular year I worked Night Watch every other night from to 6:00 a.m. 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. or 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. and then I worked in the Mattress Factory and all kinds of other things along the way so I perfected the art of sleeping with my elbow on a hymnbook and my chin on my fist in an upright position it's a law of so he reaping says I am old people sleeping while I freeze I did hear about one pastor had an old guy went to sleep on purpose every Sunday he was sick and tired of he said to his wife next week I'm gonna get him he waited who the guy was sleeping real well and he said everybody who would like to go to heaven when you die would you please raise your hand they raised their hands up to sleeping Saint and then he said ever I won't say go to hell when you die would you please stand up yo guy woke up jumped up to his feet it's a preacher I don't know what it is for voting on but looks like you and me the only ones for it but I never never here or anywhere else had anybody come in put a pillow down on the phew and lay down to go to sleep Jesus did it on purpose by the way he was sleeping in the ship but he was still watching remember the Lord Jesus became man in Bethlehem's manger but he's always been God and we became man I didn't stop being God he said to Nicodemus no man hath ascended to heaven but he that came down from heaven even the Son of Man which is in heaven he said I'm in heaven right now and I'm talking to you he's God he's everywhere he's always alert but the ship disciples are scared Lord Jesus is sleeping the ship is save anybody on a boat did you know it's natural for some water to be in your boat you gotta sixteen for the woman a boat with a 25 horse motor out of here if I got a milk jug you cut out and left the handle on to scoop out water when it gets in the ship and your boat you got a bigger boat it's just hanging so the water runs to the back and a bilge pump goes on and kicks out the water kind of like a sump pump in your basement same idea but I don't know any boat that's designed to be full of water the Bible says their ship was now full the Bible says it was covered with the ways but you know what it did not sink you know why I didn't sink because Jesus was in that boat we used to sing that song master The Tempest is raging the billows are drawing nigh then we sing that part that says no tempest can swallow the boat where lies the master of ocean and earth and skies hey be sure Jesus is in your boat you'll be all right ship is safe reason for the strong response to the storm think about then a rebuke in the storm there are two rebukes there's a a calming rebuke Lord Jesus says peace be still and as quickly as the storm started it stopped let me tell you about this crisis in our nation every other crisis in our nation every crisis in your life it won't last forever when the news first started coming out I said to Chrissy well honey you they will all die or it's going to get better as alls can happen we've been there and done that it's it's alright and and that's just natural response that's just human involvement did you know all the trials and all the troubles and all the tempest that you face can be ended by God as quickly as they started so there's a calming rebuke and then there's a convicting rebuke and the conviction reboot has two parts he can mix them about their fear and he convicts him about their faith he says to them why are you so afraid that's a good question think about what frightens you old age hey I Got News for you you got two choices get old or die they may be to get old you're still gonna die running out of money getting the coronavirus losing a lovely we used to have a couple four members of this church and and the lady always had a terrible fear her husband was gonna leave her we're back in the days before cellphones he was to pick her up at the mall upon day in cinema hacia and they got confused about which door he was together he was 10 minutes late and she was a basket case balling she was sure he'd left her ten minutes late to pick her up at the mall most ladies count that as a blessing what scares you no social security running out of health insurance somebody that you love being taken out of your life now the psalmist said I will trust it said one time what time I'm afraid I will trust in anybody sit again I will trust and never be afraid and I remind you that God hath not given us the spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound my head Lord Jesus said why are you afraid so think about what frightens you some of why Oh pastor I make a bad news from the doctor but although I might find out that they've issued the over system is malignant and not benign I might find out that I'm gonna get really really sick well then what well then I might died well then one what happens when you die yeah Paul said for me to live as Christ but to die is gain hey I Got News for you none of us can know this thing alive let's Jesus comes back everybody's gonna die dr. John rice founded the sword of the Lord was a great Christian and one day a guy came up and he stuck a gun in his stomach and he said I'm gonna blow your brains out I don't think the guy was a biology major I just felt impressed have mercy on the videographers and John Rice said you can't scare me with heaven why are you so funny what scares you why why are you afraid of that I have Monroe Parker preached here years ago 1984 in the other building out of meeting with him in Bob Jones jr. and Harold cycler great meeting Munroe Parker years ago was preaching in Kentucky one of those places back in the hollers where the police didn't go it was way before airplanes and that he came on the train the old pastor 77 years old picked him up at the train station said hurry hurry getting the car there's gonna be trouble he said the last demands of us that came here they shot him while he was in the pulpit and the same board shot him went through his body and hit his wife at the piano and killed her too so dr. Parker hurried and got in the car he went to the church on a Saturday night for a prayer meeting and they were praying like this old God don't let dr. Parker die oh god don't let dr. Parker die and he said you could hear my fervent amens intermingled with their prayers the rough meeting some tough guys with six guns on their hip came by and told her their arms and stood at the back of the auditorium and kind of dared God to do anything and one night they turned the lights off the middle of the service they beat up the old preacher they broke his glasses they stole his fountain pen and Monroe Park had had enough he was a very strong man played football he would do a headstand and then from a headstand he do push-ups go home and try that you'll know if you did by the people of Nick braces on Wednesday and the real Parker pushed the pulpit aside and he said you bunch of cowards beating up an old man in the dark break his glasses steal his fountain pen he said it but he said you guys go around br6 guns pointed at your heels you better be careful they might go off accidentally and blow your brains out you major in biology either and then he sit up his friend oh god don't let dr. Parker die oh god don't let dr. Parker die he said you can't kill me I'm gonna live as long as God does hey so am i if you're a child of God so are you I'm just here for a little while this world is not my home I'm just passing through I don't think anybody who's gonna die the coronavirus but I'll tell you what if you do you're gonna be in a wonderful place forever and ever and you won't regret one moment that you miss on earth I rebuke about fear and rebuke about faith he said how is it that you have no faith in I like this he said where is your faith let's see who knows who made these pews they are about 38 years old 19 they're known about 28 years old - take it back 28 years old who knows how much they're rated for that's why I saw people coming in tonight they're looking underneath and making sure if you look good and trying to find water was engineered for right anybody do that you just came in and plopped down in your seat and some of your prop plop pretty hard you got a lot to plop but nobody worried I'm afraid that Pew might not hold me up now if it didn't hold you up it'd be really embarrassing you'd fall down and everybody we'd help you after we took your picture and put it on Instagram we'd help you reset no you had faith that that cubed holds you up 28-year old - how many drove somewhere today I mean it came to an intersection and you had the green light that happened to anybody and I know what you did you slow down real carefully I looked both ways just to make sure the people on the red light side we're gonna stop is that what you did you didn't do that you drove on through some of your master on the accelerator just had to get through before it turned red your side turned yellow a little bit now you had no idea who was in the cars on the streets coming either way there could have been teenagers in those cars just drove on through you had faith that complete strangers would stop and not run into you everybody's got faith I probably shouldn't ask this how many of you locked your car in the parking lot tonight so whew so trusting now it's on live soon you better welcome next week you have faith that nobody's really coming try to take off with your car the contents you cut why you're gone and the Lord Jesus says look at where is your faith you had it in your ability to cross the lake as long as the wind wasn't blowing you had it on the salesman that the shipment ability and sailing ability of Peter and Andrew James and John as long as the storm wasn't worse even by their standards and their experiences where's your faith when you got saved these put your faith in Jesus Christ and you trusted him and him along to forgive your sin and give you eternal life in heaven I got the man of Christ yesterday there was Richard Harris pray for I'm hoping I get it become the church and he said when I gave me he said no he said he said I've been Bela never got saved he said but I was baptized twice he said but I I wouldn't know how to ask God to forgive me he said I've done a lot of bad things he said I've been really bad he said never killed anybody but I've been really bad so I gave him the gospel I showed him I retract I showed him the sinner's prayer that I said well here's how you could ask God to say to making sure there's to the gospel and he looked at that prayer you know what he said he said I like that yeah I like that too I asked Jesus to save me and I'm trusting him for my eternal destiny I wonder if I could trust him to help me make it through the coronavirus even though I just touched my face well I mean I can trust him to supply my needs with things go haywire oh I don't have to work from home or maybe I get laid off because business is that a lot of I could trust him to help me realize children I wonder if I can trust him with my future what did I get trust him to do the things that are best in my life where is your faith few thoughts and I'm done I think the last time I see her to preach I told you my new motto is if you can't be good be short did you know there's probably some more storms ahead what are they telling us about the virus it'll get worse before it gets better my personal sense is that they've taken rather dramatic steps to limit the spread and it's gonna be better sooner and not as bad because of that lets they're probably enough some storms it is impossible but that offenses should come in the world you shall have tribulations man he's born to trouble as the sparks fly upward make it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange thing happening to you probably more storms ahead someone probably caused by the devil see he can he can cause you some trouble he can send a storm he can upset your saving but he can't sink your ship because if Jesus is in your ship you survive storms that would sink anybody else you're in my hand nobody's gonna you jesus said out of my hand and out of the Father's hand nobody and pluck you out of his hand you are safe and secure forever and I remind you this you can trust Jesus even when it seems he's asleep have you ever felt that God ought to have done something before he did it you've ever felt like you're crying and you're praying and you're burdened and you're beseeching and nothing's happening and there's no answer and God didn't do anything there felt like that see Jesus slept long enough so the disciples would know they really needed him and way before the ship was in any danger of sinking because he was in it he stopped the storm I go to movies you know that and they're bidden to a movie I read about a Superman movie years ago Superman what is he more powerful than a locomotive and faster than a speeding bullet and able to leap tall buildings at a single bound otherwise known as a church secretary in this movie it said the Superman went down in this fire and he rescued this guy from a burning building and so he's flying up way high and way fast and the Superman is way way up above the ground the man looks down and the houses look like they're made of Legos and the people look like ants and he gets scared Superman got upset he said hey I think all the way down there and pull you out of a burning building just to drop you on the way home wonder what God thinks when he sees this fret and worry instead of trusting and believing whatever it says why are you so afraid where is your faith what are you trusting how come you're not trusting in me I I wonder didn't say don't you know I didn't send my son down there to bleed him down on the cross I didn't lift you out of a my replay and set your feet on a rock and establish your toys and put a new song in your mouth I didn't tell you by my spirit I didn't erase all of your sins I didn't create a mansion in heaven for you just to drop you on the way home it's gonna be alright but Jesus says don't fear with fear because we have become too attached to stuff in this world we don't want to lose and we have trouble with our faith because we choose to trust something or someone other than the Lord Jesus Lord would you help us thank you that even if it seems you're asleep we know you're absolutely in control that was in these days of interruption confusion some trepidation through lies we have something the world doesn't know anything about we have you you help us to love him relying and trusting you our heads are bowed our eyes are closed nobody's looking around I wonder if you here this evening you say brother all that I am God's child and heaven is my home and the Spirit of God has dealt with me and I need to put in practice something I heard from his word tonight pray for me you say that hold your hand up high god bless you god bless you father help us to act based on what you've told us who thank you in Jesus name for what you do amen

Channel: First Baptist Church of Bridgeport

Views: 681

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: First Baptist Church of Bridgeport, First Baptist Church, Michigan churches, Michigan Baptist Churches, Baptist Church, KJV, Independent Baptist Church, Pastor JD Howell, FBC, Preaching, Bible, Jesus Christ, Church Sermon, Bible Preaching, King James Version, IFB, Fundamentalism

Id: TZqizphnc5g

Length: 30min 29sec (1829 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 17 2020