WIND & WAVES | Chad Narayan

0:00 Hey, welcome to Zoe Church. We're so glad that you've joined us for this week. We're going to jump into the message here in just a second. But before we do, I want to take a moment to thank everybody who generously gives and tithes here at Zoe. If you're looking to start that journey, feel free to go to our website, zoechurch.org slash give. But we are going to jump here into the message. The title of today's message is Wind and Waves. Let's go. Mark chapter 4 verses 35 through 41. It says this, On that day when evening came, Jesus said to the disciples, Let's go across to the other side of the lake. So after leaving the crowd, they took him along, just as he was in the boat, and other boats were with him. Now a great windstorm developed and the waves were breaking into the boat so that the boat was nearly swamped.

1:03 But Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. They woke him up and said to him, teacher, do you not care that we are about to die? So Jesus got up, wiped the sleep out of his eyes, and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, be quiet, calm down. Then the wind stopped, and it was dead calm. Notice what the Bible is doing here. The disciples come to Jesus, and they say, don't you care that we are about to die? and the way that the Bible describes how the water was after the storm, it uses the word dead. I just want to encourage somebody today that you may have felt like, man, I'm dead in the water. I don't know how I'm going to make it out of this. I don't know what God is going to do out of this situation, but is anybody thankful that God pulled you up out of your sin, out of a pit?

2:09 Come on, y'all. Aren't you glad that God saved you, that God is for you, that God has offered you freedom and wisdom and guidance? And I love that the Bible says that, that God doesn't, God doesn't leave us dead in our tracks. He actually calms the storm. He calms the situation. It's actually the situation that God says, hush, be still. It's actually the addiction that God says, no, we're gonna let that die. It's actually being caught in things that we shouldn't be where God says, no, no, no, I love you. I'm gonna save you out of what you've been caught in. And he said to them, why are you cowardly? Do you not have faith? And they were overwhelmed by fear and said to one another, who then is this?

3:03 That even the wind and the sea obey him. that even the wind and the sea obey him. The title of today's message is Wind and Waves. Wind and Waves. Wind and Waves. A couple years ago, my now brother-in-law invited my family and I to Florida. He was gonna ask my sister for her hand in marriage. And so he invited our family down to be a part of the festivities and see the surprise and just be a part of it all. And so around the time it was time for me to fly to Florida, there was a hurricane that was coming off of the coast in that area. And so I was checking the news reports. I was going to see if we were even going to be able to make it. I'm like, hey, man, maybe this is a sign you shouldn't marry my sister. And so that day in LAX, I'm checking the weather reports.

4:03 I'm watching the departures. I'm looking for, I'm watching the news. And where the winds were, it was fine. It was far enough away that our flight was going to be able to land. We were going to be all good, and we would land and be okay. And so that day I took off, and somewhere over Texas, somewhere over the gulf the winds changed the pilot got on and said the winds have shifted and we are going to be flying into a hurricane be prepared there's going to be some turbulence some so the plane is flying and we enter into hurricane winds I want to be honest with you that day I'd made peace with God I'm gonna die Natalie my wife she's gonna remarry hopefully not too soon she's gonna get remarried my daughter is gonna call another man dad this is just how it's going to be I had worship music on I was holding on tight to the seat I had made my peace that I'm going down with this plane luckily, praise God we landed through a hurricane but wind does something to us. It messes with our senses. Wind, because you can't see it, you can only feel it. It messes with you mentally. I can't see what's happening. I can't see where the wind is coming from, but because I'm experiencing it, because I'm feeling it, it messes with me mentally. The other day we were golfing and we go to the first hole and we go to the first hole. And right when we're there, one of the golf, uh, golf workers says to us, Hey, just be on the lookout today. There's rat, uh, rattlesnakes and scorpions out. I said, nobody's making us playing golf. Why are we out here doing this? You know? And so that day, anytime I was

6:11 near the rough, which was a lot. And that day, you know, I'd be there and I'd, you know, hear the wind behind me and I would just hit the golf ball and just, just run. Like, I'm just like, I'm not Because it messes with you mentally. I can't see what's going on. I don't know what's happening, but I can feel it. And so it messes with my senses. It messes with how I understand my surroundings, how I'm understanding what God is doing. It messes with me mentally. Waves, on the other hand, mess with you physically.

6:45 Anybody seen the cultural phenomenon, the Odyssey? Right? Today, we were laughing. We were saying, what if we did 40X in here? We just started spraying everybody with water. The seats, you know, just the storm. But you see the movie, you see the movie and the wind is crashing and the waves are crashing into the boat and there's thunder and there's lightning. It messes with you physically. The disciples are in the boat and they are trying to adjust the sails. They're trying to fix the ropes. They are bailing water. Waves do something in our life that mess with us because I feel like I have to work harder than I normally have to do. So I have something that's happening to me mentally, which is the wind, and I have something that's happening to me physically, which are the waves.

7:39 The funny thing about this story is the disciples end up in a storm having been obedient. This is not Jonah. Jonah ends up in a storm because he was disobedient. God says to Jonah, I want you to go to the land of Nineveh. I want you to preach the message of God to the Ninevites. Jonah says, actually, yeah, no fam. He goes the opposite way, gets on a boat going towards the opposite city. And while he's there, they enter into a storm. Jonah says, we're in this storm because of me. You can throw me overboard. Jonah gets thrown overboard, a whale, God sends a whale to swallow him up, transports him all the way to the city of Nineveh where he gets out on the ocean shores, preaches the message of God, and the whole city repents. This is not that kind of story.

8:32 The disciples are in a storm because they did the right thing. The disciples are in a storm because they listened to God. The disciples are in a storm because they were obedient to step out in faith to what God had said in, which leads me to believe you and I can do all of the right things and still end up in a storm. I can be listening to God. I can be serving. I can be tithing. I can be loving my neighbor. I can be loving my coworkers. I can be in the will of God and still end up in a storm. I can still end up in a storm, which is interesting because God never gives us the whole itinerary.

9:15 With God, he doesn't give you all the details. Notice what Jesus says. Jesus says, let's go over to the other side. He doesn't tell the disciples, we're gonna be in a storm tonight. Jesus is so keen on not giving details, he's asleep on the boat. Anybody ever felt like you're in a position where you're saying, you know what, God, are you asleep to my situation? Are you asleep in my storm? Do you even know what's going on in my life? Do you see the circumstances of my life? Do you see my finances? I listened to you and now I find myself here. You told me to go into this industry. You told me to go to this school. So now I went to this school and now I've graduated from this school and there's no jobs available. See, I stayed pure before I got married. And then I got married and now my spouse is walking out on me for another person.

10:13 See, God, I thought you told me to start this business. I thought you told me to start this business and now I'm signing dissolution papers and I'm selling it to somebody else. See, God, I've read the parenting books. We've read the parenting books. We've got the nursery ready. We've done all the things the right way and three, four, five times we've been trying and we still have not been able to get pregnant. Have you ever found yourself in a storm after doing the right thing? I've been in the will of God. I've been listening. I've been reading my Bible and yet I'm still in a storm.

10:52 You can do all the right things and still find yourself in a storm. Can I go deeper with storms here just for a second? Storms, they don't announce themselves. as much as you and I would love to get a calendar invite from a storm. I'm going to come this Tuesday, 2.15.

11:16 You're going to enter into this storm, and I'm going to be here for six months. But at the end of the six months, I'm going to leave, and this is what God is going to do. Storms don't announce themselves. The disciples are in a storm after doing ministry all day with Jesus. Jesus just says, let's get into the boat. Jesus is so, he's been doing ministry all day. He's so tired, he goes to sleep, and all of a sudden, a storm comes. They don't announce themselves, and oftentimes, storms don't come when you and I are 100%. Have you noticed this? Storms don't come when you and I are 100%. Most of the time, a storm comes when you're having trouble with your spouse. Most of the time, a storm arrives when the finances aren't great. Most of the time, a storm arrives when the kids just aren't listening. Most of the time, a storm arrives when it feels like all hell is breaking loose in your life and then all of a sudden, a storm is here.

12:14 Like, really, God? If life wasn't so bad already, now I find myself in a storm. I was doing the right thing and things were already so difficult, but now I find myself in a storm. The disciples are there and they are tired from ministry and they say, well, we've got the son of God, so we should let him sleep and we'll man the boat. And as they're manning the boat, all of a sudden, they're starting to drift off. All of a sudden the wind comes in, waves,

12:55 and they find themselves in a storm. you can do all the right things and still find yourself in a storm. Which teaches us that you can't let, when you're in a storm, you can't let what's on the outside get in on the inside. don't let what is on the outside get in on the inside.

13:28 Storms, what's interesting about storms is they don't announce themselves. They come when we're tired and we're exhausted. But the interesting thing about a storm is a storm confirms that you are on the right path. You can be doing all the right stuff and still find yourself in a storm. But if you find yourself in a storm today, good news, you're in the will of God. Good news, you're on the destination where God is leading you. Good news today that God has you right where he wants you. And there may be things that God has wanted to teach you through this storm, that as you trust him, as you put your faith in him, God will speak to you, God will help you, God will give you the strength and the joy to be able to make it through. Storms confirm that you're on the right path.

14:23 For Joseph, God comes to Joseph and gives Joseph a dream. Gives him a dream of what God is gonna do in his life and the next thing that happens in Joseph's life is he gets this dream and what happens? He gets sold into slavery. What about Moses? Moses is called by God. God's saying, hey, I want you to go save the nation of Israel. I want you to lead my people out of slavery. And Moses is kind of fighting back and forth with God, but finally he agrees. And as he steps in, he goes to Pharaoh, and Pharaoh says, no, I'm not going to. The people of Israel are so excited about getting out of slavery, they tell Moses, no. We like it here. We know it. It's familiar.

15:15 What about David? David is anointed king of Israel. And right after he's anointed king, guess what happens? He fights Goliath and he has to deal with Saul. If you find yourself in a storm today, good news, you are on the path that God has for you. Good news, he's walking with you every step of the way. Good news, God is for you. He's with you. He's your good shepherd. He's going to lead you. He's on the boat with you. He's walking with you. Come on, Zoe. If you got faith that God is with you today, give him praise today. Come on, clap your hands. Thank God for the storms of life. You're right where he wants you. He's leading you. He's walking with you. And it may be scary and it may be hard and it may be a trial and a tribulation, but you're right where God wants you. I want to take just a moment with David.

16:10 David is anointed king and then he has to go fight Goliath. There are Goliaths in your life that are meant to reveal you. Goliath was sent to David to reveal who he was. Some of us are running from storms that are meant to reveal us. Not reveal what's in you, but to reveal you. there could be people in your life that God wants to put you in front of there could be influence your way there could be new doors your way there could be new things a fresh thing that God wants to do in your life that as we run from the storm God can't open that door because we're running Goliath was sent to reveal David as David kills Goliath Saul takes a step back and asks his general, who is that guy? Oh, he's, I don't know. He's a shepherd boy. David walked into the palace with shepherd's clothing. There are things that God wants to reveal in your life. There's things that he wants to confirm. There's things that he wants to do that you're going to step into new doors, new seasons, new influence, new affluence. There's things that God wants to do that you're stepping in a little bit underdressed, a little bit underprepared, but because you battled the storm, because you were battle tested, because you were storm tested, God is opening doors. He's opening new things in your life that if you are running from the storm, if you're trying to get off the boat, he can't lead you into it. And so storms confirm that we're in the will of God.

18:00 storms are there for us. Storms are there for us to walk through. I can't let what's on the outside get on the inside of me because if I do, then I won't be able to walk into what God has. Connect groups are so important. I wanna take a second here just with connect groups. Connect groups are so important because you gotta be careful who you panic with. You got to be careful who you panic with. I don't know which disciple started it. I don't know which disciple freaked out. Was it Peter? Was it John? Was it Bartholomew? There's only three I remember right now. It had to have been Judas, actually. It had to have been. You got to be careful who you panic with.

18:53 You need connect groups. You need godly community. because you need somebody that's in the boat with you that's gonna look you square in the eye and say to you, no, we're not thinking like that. No, we're gonna have faith in this season. No, we're gonna trust God. We're not gonna freak out. We're not gonna let this storm determine what's on on the inside of me. You gotta be careful. Don't let the environment, don't let the environment determine your emotions. You gotta be careful. I wanna encourage you today, keep going. There's destiny on the other side. There's a destination that's on the other side. There's purpose that's on the other side. There's something that God is preparing inside of you today that you're going to walk into tomorrow. And the storm is there to prepare you, to battle test you, to make you ready for what you are going to step into today.

19:51 I wanna encourage you, don't you quit. Don't you throw in the towel. Don't you give up on what God's doing in your life? Don't you give up on your family? Don't you give up on those coworkers? Don't you give up on that job? Don't you give up on where you're at? Don't you give up on LA? Don't throw in the towel. Keep going. Amen. So we can be doing everything right and still end up in a storm, but don't let what's on the outside get in on the inside. Keep putting your faith in God. The way that you and I get through a storm is to keep putting our faith in God.

20:35 Jesus calms the storm, and he calms the storm, and then he goes, what happened here, fellas? We just did ministry all day. You saw me heal blind people. You saw miracles happen. You saw people walk again. You saw crazy miracles. What happened here? And the disciples are so taken aback that they step back and they say, I don't, who is this guy? I don't know who he is. The purpose of this story is ultimately to reveal who Jesus is. That Jesus is Lord. That Jesus is Lord over your life. That Jesus is your good shepherd. That Jesus is your provider. That Jesus is your healer. And that if Jesus is in your boat today, you don't have anything to worry about. Come on, give him praise today.

21:41 Who is this guy? Who is he? He's God. Jesus is in control. And I want to speak this over us today, that Jesus is in control over your life. That there is nothing that is happening in your life today that he is sleeping through. That he's just saying, well, let's see how they do. There's nothing that's happening in your life today that he is not in control over, that he's not God over. And as we find in this story, we've got to keep putting our faith in Jesus. If you're in a storm today, keep putting your faith in Jesus. If your marriage is struggling today, keep putting your faith in Jesus.

22:37 If you're believing God for a new home today, keep putting your faith in Jesus. If you're believing for your kids to come back today, keep putting your faith in Jesus. If you're believing for God to move in your home, keep putting your faith in Jesus. If you're believing for God to do something new and speak to you today, keep putting your faith in Jesus. If you're believing for healing today, keep putting your faith in Jesus. If you're believing for provision today, keep putting your faith in Jesus. If you're believing for God to do something new and fresh in your life today. Keep putting your faith in Jesus. He is God. He is Lord. There is no one like him. There's no one that could ever come close to him. There's no one that can compare to him. He is God. He is Lord. He is Elohim. He is El Shaddai. He is our good shepherd. He's the one who is omnipresent. He's all powerful. He's all knowing. He's in control. He's everywhere at all times. He is above the earth. He is above all of creation. God, the great, here's the crazy thing about Jesus. Jesus stands above time. He created time. He sits above the earth. He sits enthroned above the heavens. There's nothing that's going on in your life today that Jesus is surprised about.

24:02 No, he's God. He's Jehovah Jireh. He's your provider. He's with you. He's for you. This is God we're talking about. This is the creator of the world in a boat with the disciples, telling the disciples, hey, I created this water for me to be able to speak to it and say, hush, be still. is just me getting up out of sleep and wiping some sleep out of my, this is light work for Jesus. There are things that are in your life today that is light work for God. God's not scared by your problems. He's not surprised by the storm. He's not saying, I don't know what to do. I got to go to the angels and let's try and put together a game plan of how to get out of this storm. Let's try and figure out what to do. Let's go to the whiteboard and try and figure out how we're going to get so-and-so out of this problem. No, he's God. He's in control.

24:55 He's for you. He's not against you. Come on, this is God we're talking about. Have some trust. Have some faith. Stir up your faith today. This is God. This is God. There's nothing that he can't do. I mean, we're talking about God here. Yeah.

25:26 High above the heavens. I feel like I got to put my hands on my hips. We're talking about God. what are we going to be scared of what God has full control over we're going to worry and be set back by anxiousness this is the same God that says be still and know that I am God this is the same God that says I have a peace for you that surpasses all understanding we're talking about God here this is God All right. and the disciples are who is this man this is god and he's for you and he wants you and jesus gets up and he says what happened fellas i was here the whole time I was here the whole time.

26:31 What this teaches us about the presence of Jesus is this. Jesus puts more of a premium on his presence than his power. The disciples wanted him, hey, we saw you all day heal people. Come fix this storm.

26:53 And Jesus is trying to say, no, my presence matters. more than my power. And if my presence is with you, so is my power. this past weekend my dear friend of mine his father passed away and so i was at the celebration of life yesterday and you know people are sharing and they're just talking about this man that i've known since i was a junior in high school and they're sharing stories and the accolades and all that kind of stuff. but what they shared most of all as great as their dad was they just wanted their dad back they'll trade all the accolades they'll trade all the all the things all the trips don't matter they just wanted one more conversation with their dad they wanted his presence.

28:01 I want to encourage you today. God is with you. In the wind and the waves, God is with you. His presence is with you. He's for you. He's not against you. God is not sitting in heaven looking down upset at you. He's looking down smiling, saying that's my son and that's my daughter in whom I'm well pleased. Amen. Thank you for joining the Zoe Church podcast this week. If you are looking for more information on what's going on in the life of the church, go to our website, zoechurch.org slash events. But we love you, Zoe. We pray you have the best week.