June 22

Transcript

(Transcribed by TurboScribe.)

Let's quiet our hearts. Father, we have this moment and it scares us, but thank you that you are there. Thank you that you take care.

Thank you for your grace. Thank you for your love. Help us, Lord, in these moments to quiet our hearts and to hear your words as we listen for your words.

In Jesus' name, amen. When I look at you, it looks like you're all waving at me. Elvis, we're okay? We're okay.

So you can all relax. We're good. She's in good hands.

Alexandra's on the phone. So all is good. So let me try and do the sermon.

Sometimes these things happen. They don't teach you this in seminary. That I can tell you.

And maybe this is perfect for this moment. Sometimes God calms the storm. He did that for Moses.

The Egyptians were behind them. The Reeds Sea was in front of them. Moses lifted his staff up and he prayed and God opened the Reeds Sea and they walked through on dry land.

Sometimes God calms the storm. He did that for Daniel. Daniel was invited for dinner at the Lion's Den.

Not to be the guest of honour, but he was the one who was on the menu. And when Daniel prayed for dinner, God gave lockjaw to the lions. Sometimes God calms the storm.

He did that for Paul and Silas. They were put in jail because they were preaching the gospel. And soon they would be going from praising God in jail to praising God in person.

But God opened the doors, opened the jailer's heart, and they walked out as free people. Sometimes God calms the storm. Sometimes.

Sometimes he takes away that illness. Sometimes he just replaces that cranky old boss. Sometimes he'll replenish those diminishing funds.

Sometimes God calms the storm. But other times, God chooses to calm his child. Instead, rather than stilling the tempest, he stills the sailor.

Instead of removing, rather removing the illness, he removes the fear. Rather than remove the debt, he removes the doubt. Storm is still there.

Waves are still crashing. Winds are still blowing. But the child is calm because the child knows the Father and trusts in the Father.

So much so that the child can even take a nap in the middle of the storm. Jesus did. Can you remember the story? Let me take you there.

Matthew chapter 8. Jesus was in Capernaum and lots of people and he said to the disciples, it's time to get away. Let's get to the other side. So get in a boat.

So this is what happens. Matthew 8 23. Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples.

Suddenly a fierce storm struck the lake with waves breaking in the boat. There's the word. Do I need to say it? There's your biblical but.

But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went, woke him up, shouting, Lord, save us. We're going to drown.

Jesus responded, why are you afraid? You have so little faith. Then he got up and rebuked the wind and the waves. And suddenly it was a great calm.

When I read this, I wondered what you were thinking. Which which was the biggest miracle? The fact that Jesus could calm the storm or the fact that Jesus could sleep through the storm? What gives you that calm, that peace, that in the middle of the storm you can take a nap? Wouldn't you love that? Because we live in an anxious world, don't we? You check the news this morning. It just puts that anxiety level a little higher because there's war going on everywhere and it scares the living daylights out of us.

We look at the leaders in the world and they seem to have lost their minds. And the anxiety level just goes up. We live in anxious times.

The little, not me, they did a little research. North America, 43% of people that they polled in this said they are far more anxious than they were a year ago. One third of college students say that they are anxious all the time.

Another third says they are anxious at least half of the time. Maybe you can relate. The problem with anxiety is this.

We all struggle with that. We don't sleep well. You eat poorly.

You argue more. You have all these aches and pains going on in the body and it feels like peace got on the last train and got out of dodge and you're all alone. And there is no peace.

So as we think about what we think about, what do you think about when those anxious thoughts come? How do you find that peace that allows you to sleep in the middle of the storm even when God does not calm the storm? Just remember what we said. Sometimes God calms the storm and other times decides to calm the child. How do we get there? I want to take you to one of the most well-known passages in the Bible, most quoted passages in the Bible, most read passages in the Bible.

I did a whole sermon series for you in October 2023 on this same passage. Philippians 4 verse 4 to 7. Read that with me. Rejoice in the Lord always.

Now I'll say it again. Rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident to all for the Lord is near.

Do not be anxious about anything but in every situation through prayer and petition and with thanksgiving present your requests to God and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. How do we find this peace? Paul says take a T3 but not the kind that Jay would give you, a different T3. T1 verse 4. Rejoice in the Lord always and again I will say rejoice and it's like oh that's pretty cool.

Here's the problem. It's not that easy when the bills are coming up at the end of the month and I'm looking at my finances and I know that I can't make all the bills. What am I going to pay? What am I not going to pay? How am I putting food on the table? How am I taking care? How is it easy for me in the middle of that storm to say rejoice? How do I rejoice Paul when I'm a single mother working three jobs to take care of my kids and this is not a story this is the truth.

Two weeks ago we celebrated something and we went to Lone Star sat down. I opened my loud mouth as always and the lady said I know you and I'm thinking holy Hannah what did I do? She says I recognise your voice. Let me let give us a sec.

Let the folks get in quickly and then I'll finish the sermon or maybe I should preach for them. Your voice and then and I said oh and she says now I remember. I went to your church on Christmas Eve.

You're the pastor of that church downtown. So we got talking and as we talked she told a little bit of her own story. She's a single mother who has to work three jobs to take care of her family.

She starts seven o'clock in the morning and she works until 11 o'clock at night every day of her life. Rejoice in the middle of the storm. Rejoice when those deadlines just come over me and it's like Paul I don't get this.

Here's the thing Paul you know when we have a painting right we have the frame around but the frame focusses you on what's in the middle of that frame. Paul does that. He does a little literary painting for us.

He says rejoice rejoice. There's the frame and in the middle of the frame he puts the most important part in the moment because here's the thing if I try and do all this stuff on my own if I think I can climb that hill on my own I will never find that peace because I can't. But if I face whatever I need to face even if it's working 7 to 11 every day of my life if I face that and I trust in the Lord that first T trust in the Lord in God's presence in God's care in God's holiness in God's power then I can get to the rejoice.

It's not easy but it's possible. Why? Because I can trust in one that I know that is way stronger than me. One that can do far more than me.

One who holds me in his hands. One who carries me when I cannot carry on. One who says I will never leave you and I will never forsake you.

I will always be with you. T1 for the middle of the storm. Trust God.

T2 tell God. Let me take you to verse six. Thank you folks.

Thank you people. Isn't it wonderful that we live in a place where you can call a number and they'll be right there? Isn't that amazing? Can we just thank God for that? The Lord is testing me this morning. Can you think how I have to remember this sermon with all of this stuff going on? And there's nothing written.

It's only the Bible. There are no notes. It's all there.

But that's God who does that. Tell God. Verse six.

Do not be anxious about anything but in everything through prayer and petition and with thanksgiving make your requests known to God and the peace of God that transcends all understanding who guarded your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Do not be anxious but pray and petition God. Tell God the one thing that Satan hates the most is prayer.

If you want to take that thing off, pray. He can't stand it. When you listen to a sermon, he's all fine.

When you read a Christian book, he's all fine. But the moment you pray, all hell breaks loose in hell. The walls of hell just start shaking because Satan knows the power of prayer.

Because he knows Jesus and he saw when Jesus prayed what happened to him and he's hanging around. He just didn't work out for that. In the middle of this storm, when God does not calm the storm, he calms the child by allowing me to talk to him.

Tell him. Tell him the big things. Tell him the small things.

Tell him the scary things. Tell him the joy. Just tell him.

You don't have to do it alone. You can't do it alone. Don't try.

You will fail but with him you won't. The anxiety makes us feel that the world is out of control and we don't know what to do. But anxiety goes away when I talk to the one who really is in control.

Think about this as we think about what we think about. Think about this. Who made those beautiful birds of the sky that do not weep, that do not sow and yet they are taken care of and they are so beautiful and not a single simple little sparrow will fall on the ground if God does not know about that.

He does that. Who is the one who could take five loaves and two fish and make a banquet out of that for thousands? Who is the one who could walk on the water that is raging and winds are blowing and he speaks and it becomes a glassy sea? Can I tell you a story about this for a moment? Little grandson, six years old, about a week and a half, two weeks ago he was taking a bath and sitting there with him and we're talking about all kinds of stuff and he's playing with his boat and the next thing he says, out of the blue, be still and know that I am God. And I'm saying, buddy boy, that's so cool.

Do you know that there's a song? And he starts singing. He says, yes, Opa, be still and know that I am God. And Aidan and I are sitting there and we are singing our hearts out while he's in the bath.

And when we stop the song, my heart is overflowing that this little kid, this is the way he knows the Lord and he loves the Lord. But then, then came the moment he looks up at me and he says, Opa, you know that's all about Jesus, right? I said, what do you mean, buddy? He says, there in the storm, he says, be still. And the storm was gone, Opa, and that's what he does in our lives.

He's six years old. Why are you anxious? Tell God. Tell God.

Remember what I told you three weeks ago, don't allow those UFOs in your life. You remember the UFOs, the untruths that leads to a false narrative, that leads to an overreaction. That's what anxiety does.

Don't allow them. What it will do the week after that? Uproot and replant. Uproot the lies of Satan.

Uproot all of this stuff and replant it with the Word of God. Replant it with the grace of God. Replant that in your life.

Tell your Father. T3. Trust God.

Tell God. Thank God. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition and with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God and the peace of God will come into your lives.

Thank God when the baby's making a mess. Thank God when your boss is grumpy. Thank God when you can't understand your husband.

Thank God when you eat manna in the morning, manna in the afternoon, manna in the evening, day after day, because that's what God did for the Israelites in the desert, right? He gave them manna. Isn't that wonderful that we should be grateful and they could be so grateful? Were they? Look what they did. I'm telling you that we should say thank you.

God provided. He was there all the time. Now listen to this.

Exodus chapter 15. So the people grumbled against Moses. Exodus 16.

In the desert, the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. Exodus 17. They grumbled against Moses.

Numbers 14. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron. Number 16.

The whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. Holy Anna! Were they really good at grumbling? They just give that thing a new name. Can you just remind me of this story? They were slaves.

Their children were being killed and then God comes and does these 10 miracles, leads them out, takes them through the red sea with dry ground. Now they're in there. God provides manna and oil every day and yet they have nothing to be thankful for.

Give thanks to the Lord. When you eat manna in the morning, manna in the evening, manna in the afternoon, give thanks to the Lord. The biggest cure for anxiety is giving thanks, gratitude.

Remember what we said? Sometimes God takes away the storm. Sometimes God calms the child. There was no greater storm than the storm that raged in the garden of Gethsemane on that dreadful night.

There was no more passionate prayer than the prayer that Jesus prayed when he asked his father, father will you take this cup of suffering away from me? That was an honest prayer and God could. He did that for Moses. He did that for Daniel.

He did that for Paul and Silas and he could do it for Jesus but he chose not to. Instead he chose to calm the child because God knew that the storm of the cross was necessary so that you and I could find redemption and salvation in Jesus Christ. So he didn't calm that storm but he calmed the child and Jesus walked to that cross in the peace of God that transcends all understanding, guarded his heart and his mind.

Think about what you think about when those anxious thoughts go and give thanks to the Lord for he is a holy God. Amen. Take a few moments of silent prayer.

Holy God thank you for this morning. Thank you for taking care of our loved one when she was not doing all that well Lord and thank you that you just were there. Thank you Lord that you will be with Petronella in these days when all kinds of things need to happen and be taken care of and she also has to mourn the loss of Dennis.

Thank you for taking care of Alice Poland's family as they too at this time are organising things Lord, getting things together and still mourn the loss of someone that was so important in their lives. Thank you for taking care of each one of us. Thank you for sometimes calming the storm.

Thank you for always calming your child, us, because we can trust in you Lord even when the waves are big and the winds are strong we know that you are there with us. Thank you for that. In a little while Lord we're going to eat and spend some time together with each other.

Thank you for the food. Thank you for the blessing of that and will you bless the food Lord that we will eat this morning. Will you bless our time together and our fellowship together.

You're amazing. So we rejoice in you Lord and we rejoice. We say that again.

We are not anxious through prayer and petition and with thanksgiving we live in your peace. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.