One of the most life changing things you can ever do as a believer is to go on a mission trip. Not only do you get to share Jesus with people who are hungry for the gospel, see lives transformed by the power of Christ, you also get to see and experience a lot of things you wouldn’t otherwise. But, there is only one country in the world that I encourage everyone to visit whose very geographical landscape can change your life and that is the land of Israel.

To know that you are walking where Jesus walked, to be baptized where Jesus was baptized, to sit at the very top of the same hillside where He preached the greatest sermon ever heard, is something that will leave you spiritually breathless.

One of the most interesting places in Israel is the Sea of Galilee. There are tourist hotels right by the water, and in the mornings, you can take a boat ride across the sea from Tiberius to Capernaum where you can see the remains of a synagogue where Jesus actually taught.

The Sea of Galilee sits 628 feet below sea level. It is surrounded by mountains filled with deep ravines. Those ravines serve like huge funnels that bring cold air from those mountains into a collision with the hot air above the water. When that happens you have a storm, and those storms can arise almost immediately with less than a few minutes of warning.

Imagine being right in the middle of that sea, halfway across that lake, without any warning, literally almost in a matter of minutes the sky goes black, the wind began to howl, the rains began to fall, the boat begins to rock. This is not in Jesus’ time—this can still happen and does happen today. You can be surprised, even shocked, in Galilee at how quickly you can be taken by storm.

In some ways that is exactly the way life is. You come home from work, excited about eating a good dinner, and relaxing in front of the TV, but you walk into a house that is half-empty with a note saying, “I want out of the marriage.” You are taken by storm! You go to the doctor anticipating a normal checkup, but he hears something or sees something not normal. A week later the lab work comes back and you have cancer. You are taken by storm! You go to bed at peace with yourself, with God and the world ready for a great night’s sleep only to be interrupted by a phone call at three a.m. in the morning telling you that your father has suddenly died of a massive heart attack. You are taken by storm. You go into the office for another day’s work, a place that you have given your life to, a place where you think you will retire from, only to find the boss waiting for you asking for your keys telling you to clean out your desk, because there is no more room for you in the organization. You have been taken by storm!

What do you do? If you haven’t learned this yet you may as well learn it now. You can’t avoid the storm. Most of the time you will never see the storm coming until you are in the middle of it. What do you do when you are taken by storm?

We are in a series called “Supernatural” and we are taking a look at some of the miracles that Jesus performed in His ministry. Both in quantity and quality, Jesus performed more amazing miracles, than everyone in history put together. No miracle He ever performed may be more helpful or more meaningful to many of us in this room, those watching by television, or listening on the internet than the miracle He performed on that very same sea 2000 years ago. [Turn to Mark 2]

I love this particular miracle for in a way I got to experience a little of what those disciples did that day. Every time I get into the boat on the Sea of Galilee this thought comes to my mind. Key Take Away: There is no need to fear when Jesus is near. Remember, we are characters in every parable that Jesus taught and every miracle that Jesus performed. The boat is our life. The disciples are us. There are three lessons you should put in your iPad or smartphone and drill into your heart, because you are going to need them when you are taken by storm.

I. Remember The Promise Of Jesus

The way the story begins seems rather simple, but it holds one of the keys to what this miracle really teaches.

“On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’” (Mark 4:35, ESV)

Did you hear what Jesus just said to them? You say, “Sure. He said, “Let’s go to the other side of the lake.’” That was not just a statement. That was a promise and that was a prophecy. When Jesus told the disciples to cross to the other side there was no way they were not going to make it, because Jesus never tells us to do something He doesn’t give us the power to do. He never prophesizes anything that doesn’t come true and He never makes a promise that He can’t keep.

The moment that Jesus said, “Let us go across to the other side” that boat became unsinkable. Neither the Roman Empire then or the US Navy today with all of its power could have sunk that boat.

How do I know that? Because if the boat had not made it to the other side Jesus would have been a liar. I can tell you this, the sun will quit shining, the moon will quit glowing, the stars will quit twinkling, the wind will stop blowing, and the waves will stop crashing before Jesus ever fails to keep one promise.

There is no way they could drown, because they were with Jesus and He couldn’t drown. I know you are thinking, “He was a human being and humans can drown.” That is true, but the reason I know that Jesus couldn’t drown is because God was not finished with Him yet. He had not yet been nailed to the cross. He had not yet shed His blood. He had not yet been buried in a tomb. He had not yet been raised from the dead. He had not yet accomplished the work of salvation. What is true of Him is true of you and me. Nothing can happen to any of us under any circumstances until God is finished with us.

The moment that Jesus made that promise to those disciples they could have all gone to sleep. They could have all taken it easy. They could have all sat on that deck, soaked up the sun, and listened to their iPods and read a good book on their Kindle, because they had the promise of Jesus.

When Tiger Woods was five years old, he asked his father, Earl, to buy him a tricycle. Earl Woods told his son he would have to think about it. Everyday Tiger would ask for that tricycle and everyday Earl would say he is still thinking about it. That went on for a couple of months until one day he finally said to Tiger, “Okay. I promise you will get that tricycle.”

He said he was stunned by Tiger’s reaction. He didn’t jump up and down with joy. He didn’t ask him immediately to go buy it. He didn’t ask him when he could expect to have it. He said, “I got absolutely no reaction at all. He just turned around, walked into the next room and started doing something else.” He was wondering why did Tiger react that way? Then he said it dawned on him – “Tiger believed me when I made a promise. All Tiger had to know was I would promise to get it for him and he believed my promise.

God has a perfect record of keeping His promises. He hasn’t broken one in eternity past and He won’t break one in eternity future. If you are in the middle of a storm you remember the promise of Jesus. He will get you to the other side.

II. Rest In The Presence Of Jesus

Every detail of this miracle is important. We read in verse 36, “And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him.” (Mark 4:36, ESV)

Mark adds a little detail that is not found in Matthew or Luke. Mark tells us, “And other boats were with him.” In other words, they were not the only boat on the sea that day. There were a lot of boats on the water.

Why does Mark add that detail? There was one difference between every other boat and the disciples’ boat. Do you know what it was? Jesus was in their boat! One of the benefits of becoming a follower of Jesus is He gets into your boat. He gets into the ship of your life.

But then, something every one of those disciples least expected happened.

“And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.” (Mark 4:37, ESV)

Mark calls this a wind storm which is kind of what I experienced that day. Matthew used a totally different word than Mark did. Here is what he said, “And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.” (Matthew 8:23-24, ESV)

Remember, neither Mark nor Luke were there when this happened, but Matthew was and the word he used is the Greek word “seismos”. Does that sound familiar? A seismologist studies earthquakes. A seismograph measures earthquakes. This wasn’t a spring shower, a cloud burst, or even just a hard downpour. This was an eruption of the sea below and the sky above. That word is only used on two other occasions. Once, at Jesus’ death, when the whole earth shook and again at His resurrection when the whole graveyard trembled. In other words, this was definitely the kind of storm that could break that boat into little toothpicks.

At this point, most people fail to ask an important question. Why were they out there in the middle of that lake to begin with? Because Jesus had told them to get into that boat and to cross to the other side. It wasn’t their idea to take that trip. It was Jesus’ idea. What am I saying?

Often storms come into our life and we start thinking that we are out of the will of God, that we have done something wrong, we’ve disobeyed the Lord and He is angry with us. He still remembers that cookie that we stole out of the cookie jar and we never did tell our mother about it and He has waited thirty years to get even with us.

Listen carefully. The disciples were not in the storm because of disobedience, but because of obedience. They weren’t in the storm because they had done something wrong. They were in the storm because they did what was right. They were not in the storm because they were out of the will of God. They were in the storm because they were in the will of God. Don’t get the idea that if you live right and love God you won’t have storms. Many times storms come into your life when you are closest to God. It is not because you have done something wrong. It may be because you have done what is right.

I love the story I read about a man in Ohio who owned an oil well. When the oil well caught fire he put out an all points bulletin for help to put the fire out. He offered up a $100,000 reward to whoever could put out that fire. All the large firehouses from cities around sent help. They sent their best companies accompanied by the most modern fire-fighting equipment available, but none of those trucks could get within 200 yards of the blaze, because the heat was just too intense and the fire was too big.

There was a volunteer fire department in a little town, called Calcutta, and they heard about this problem and they really, really, needed that $100,000 for new equipment and new uniforms. They only had one rickety truck, which was equipped with a single ladder. It only had two buckets of water and three buckets of sand and a few blankets. The truck was so old it didn’t even come with a hose. When that old truck reached the point where all those other fire companies had stopped because the heat was so great this driver didn’t even hesitate. He just kept barreling ahead until he and his crew were right in the thick of that fire. They jumped out of that truck, threw the two buckets of water and three buckets of sand on that fire and then beat the fire out with both blankets and their bare hands.

That oilman was so impressed by their unbelievable display of courage he wrote them out a check on the spot for $100,000 and said, “What are you and your men going to do with all that money?” The captain shaking like a leaf said, “The first thing we are going to do is get the stupid brakes on that truck fixed!” Sometimes we get thrown into the fire through no fault of our own. We get thrown into the fire just for trying to do what is right!

Mark adds another detail in this story that Matthew and Luke leave out that I really love.

“But he 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?’” (Mark 4:38, ESV)

There is only one place on a fishing boat where you could get away from bad weather, or cold weather, and it was the only place that had enough space and protection to fall asleep and that was the stern. It was the most enclosed and it only protected a part of the boat. Furthermore, Jesus had taken a pillow with Him (probably a soft cushion or seat). Why does Mark add that particular detail for us? From the moment Jesus got on that boat He went to bed. This was a premeditated sleep! He didn’t just nod off. He didn’t just fall asleep. He purposely went to sleep.

Why was Jesus at peace while the other disciples were going to pieces? It is because He remembered something that they had forgotten. He was right where God wanted Him to be. He was in the center of God’s will for His life. He was doing what God wanted Him to do. Just as He was with the disciples, God was with Him. There is no need to fear when Jesus is near!

In every storm you go through you always have the presence of God. You may not always be aware of His presence, but He is there just the same. This is going to sound strange to you, but the safest place in the world at that exact moment, for those disciples was right there in that boat. Do you know why? Because, safety is not the absence of problems. Safety is the presence of Jesus. Now we come to the best part and the climatic part of the story which tells us one last comforting truth when we are in the storm and that is we should…

III. Rely On The Power Of Jesus

“And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”(Mark 4:39, ESV)

That is so cool to me! The word “rebuke” can mean “get out and sit down.” The words “Peace! Be still!” literally means “to muzzle or silence.” What Jesus literally said to that storm was, “Sit down and shut up!”

You notice that Jesus did not keep the storm from striking the boat, but He did keep the storm from sinking the boat. When Jesus told those disciples they were going to cross over He didn’t promise them a smooth sailing. He just guaranteed a safe landing. You notice what it says in Chapter 5, verse 1? “They came to the other side of the sea…” just like Jesus said they would.

Now, let’s learn the real lesson that is found in this miracle, because Jesus asked the disciples a question that He asks you and me every time we go through a storm.

“He said to them, ‘Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?’” (Mark 4:40, ESV)

There are two lessons here. There is a lesson about fear and a lesson about faith. Every time you face a storm in your life you will face it in one of two ways. You will either face it with fear or you will face it with faith. What is the difference? It is very simple. Fear looks at the storm. Faith looks at the Savior.

The reason why Jesus was irritated was they had no reason to fear. Why? They had already seen the power of Jesus. Do you know how many miracles Jesus had already performed before this one that this disciples had witnessed with their own eyes? In Mark 1, He cast out an unclean spirit. He healed Peter’s mother in-law of a fever. He healed an entire city of disease, cast out demons, and cleansed a leper. In Mark 2, He gives a paralytic the ability to walk and take his bed home. In Mark 3, He restores a withered hand to complete health. He had already proven over and over it doesn’t matter what your problem is - disease, demons or danger, he can handle it.

What irritated Jesus was they had forgotten what He could do. Do you know what is amazing? Jesus had more faith in the disciples to steer the ship than they did in Him to still the storm.

There is also a lesson about faith. As I have said to you before and will say over and over. Every time you go through a storm, Jesus is asking you this question, “Do you trust Me or not?” I am going to say something that may shock you, but we need storms. Do you know why God leads us into storms? Do you know why God allows us to walk into storms and sail into storms? It forces us to remember His promises, to rest in His presence, and to rely on His power.

I don’t know what storm you are going through right now, what storm you are coming out of, or what storm you may be getting into, but when you do, remember the promise of Jesus; rest in the presence of Jesus; rely on the power of Jesus, then you will make it to the other side. When you are taken by storm, there is no need to fear when Jesus is near.