Thank you for being a part of this episode of Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef, pastor, international Bible teacher, and the author of more than 50 books.
The newest title, God's Final Call, has and is making big impact on many lives, and it's available at ltw.org. Each time at this year, high school and college graduates flood the workplace. They bring fresh knowledge and bright energy and an unquenchable drive to follow long-held dreams into careers. But oftentimes, the workplace puts new hires into a training program, growing, refining their new knowledge and skills so they can be trusted to perform and contribute in their new roles. Well, God has a similar training program. He guides his children through life and experiences, leading them to trust and lean into Him as each chapter of life unfolds. In this episode of Leading the Way, see how God uses the situations of life as a path to a deeper trust and a growing faith. As Dr. Youssef continues his series, evidence of the exclusivity of Jesus and a message appropriately called Fear to Faith. Sign with me, please, to the Gospel of John chapter 6, beginning at verse 16 to 21.
This is just after he finished feeding the thousands upon thousands of people we saw in the last message, right after that. When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake where they got into the boat and set off across the lake to Capernaum. By now, it's dark, and Jesus had not joined them yet.
A strong wind was blowing, and the waters grew rough. And when they were rowing for about three to four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water, and they were terrified. But he said to them, it is I.
Do not be afraid. Then they're willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading. Mark's Gospel sheds a little light on this particular event, in this particular moment.
In Mark's Gospel, chapter 6, verse 45, it says that Jesus asked the disciples to get on the boat and to go ahead of him to Capernaum. Oh, beloved, listen to me. This was not happenstance. This was not an unforeseen circumstances. This was not bad luck.
No, no, no, no. Our Lord planned it all. He did what?
Plan it all. Question, is Jesus cruel? No. Is Jesus careless? No. Is Jesus heartless? No.
No, and a million no. Now, before I get to the message itself, the sign itself, I'm going to give you just a typography lesson. What they call the Sea of Galilee, it's really just a lake. It's about six mile wide, and it's about 13 mile long.
That's it. It is 600 feet below sea level. It's like a ball, literally ball-shaped depression, surrounded by precipitous hills. Often when the sun sets in the evening in the Mediterranean, wind rises from the Mediterranean Sea and blows cold air into the Lake of Galilee. And as this cold air mixes with the warm air water in the Sea of Galilee, they churn the lake into foaming rage.
And the water can sometimes get very high, upward of even six feet high in waves. Twice in the gospels of our Lord Jesus Christ and all the four gospels, twice we see Jesus stilling the storm. The first one is in the synoptic gospels.
We call the synoptic gospel. That's Mark, Matthew, and Luke. You find it in Matthew chapter 8, Mark 4, and Luke 8. That's the first time Jesus was asleep in the boat when that storm really took hold. That was the first time he stilled the storm, the raging storm. John chapter 6, Jesus said to the disciples, in the sense that while I dismissed the crowd after feeding them with their little boy's lunch, when I dismissed the crowd, then I will meet you in Capernaum. And he sent the disciples in the boat. He didn't say, go and drown in the boat, right?
He said, go and meet me in Capernaum. Barely halfway through, barely halfway through, they got caught in one of these famous frightful storms. This is not unlike life. It's not unlike life.
And what happened in the seasons of life? Most of us know what it's like when a season of calm in our lives gives way to confusing events. Most of us know what it's like when, in one of those seasons of life, when you feel security, serenity, and suddenly it gives way to storm. I think most of us have experienced and know what it is like in our lives when we be smooth sailing, and then we get beset by unexpected waves and winds. Now these storms sometimes are created by Satan, are incited by Satan, enticed by Satan. Other times, they are caused by men's foolishness, other people's foolishness, stubbornness, disobedience, like Joseph's brother, that out of hatred, out of jealousy, they sold him into slavery, or like the captain of the ship that was taking the apostle Paul from the land of Israel to Rome, who was going to be tried in Rome, and Paul said to the captain of the ship, do not sail. We're going to have trouble. But he stubbornly went through the storm, and they got into trouble. Or thirdly, it could be a storm as a result of our own foolishness.
I've done a few of those. Jonah got in a storm because of his disobedience. In fact, the American Medical Association have established that half of the diseases are behavior-related. Did you hear that?
Half of these are behavior-related. Oh, beloved friends, listen to me. God is not the author of the storms, but he allows them. He is sovereign, and his sovereign will, he allows them so that they may be for learning purposes, so that we may grow in our trust of him and confidence in him. Here in chapter 6 of John's Gospel, the storm is not of the disciples' making, right?
They had nothing to do with it. In fact, they faced it because they were obedient to Jesus. They found themselves in the storms because of the explicit command of Jesus. He told them to get in the boats and meet me on the other side, right? Listen to me. Jesus never promised us.
He never once go and look at it anywhere in the scripture, and if you find it, please let me know. He never promised the journey to heaven is row, row, row your boat gently down the stream. No, no, no.
That's for kids, okay? Listen to me. Storms come into our lives unplanned and unwelcome. Storms rise unsought and unexpected. The question is, did Jesus know that the storm would rise halfway through the journey? Did Jesus know?
Some of you believe it. Did he know of their upcoming predicament, their upcoming fear and the panic ahead of time? Here they are in the midst of the tempest, not of their own making.
Oh, my goodness. How many times I've experienced these unexpected storms in my life and so did you. I know that. How many of my friends at times I saw them experiencing storms are totally unexpected, unwanted and unwelcome, whether it is a loss of job or a loss of promotion that rightly belongs to them or a loss of loved ones or loss of health or loss of any kind. Did Jesus know about these storms coming into our lives? Of course, he does. He's a sovereign God. You know, when I was reading about Daniel the other day and I was thinking, he was 82 when he was going to the Den of Lion.
Did you know that? He was 82. Has already experienced God since he was a teenager. He's seen the hand of God.
And I often wonder what went on in his mind as he was marching to that Den of Lion at the age of 82. I know what would have been through my mind. Lord, is this the way you reward my faithfulness? Right? You don't do that.
I do that, right? Lord, is this the way you treat your friends? But not Daniel. Not Daniel. I am absolutely convinced that he knew and he tested God and he learned to trust him for the outcome. He knew that none of these puppy lions are going to touch him without God's permission. He knew that God permitted this event in order to reach into the hard-hearted of the Persian kings and the Persian officials.
I therefore think Daniel probably was marching like he's marching in a parade. Probably saying, my God is able. My God is able.
My God is able. Here in this incident, while the disciples did not know where Jesus was, and yet he was up there in the mountain and his eyes on them. They did not see him, but he saw them.
They were in the hollows of his hand, not the lake. Oh, my friend, whatever storm you're experiencing right now, don't ever forget, don't ever forget his eyes are on you. His hands surrounding you. His grace is engulfing you. His love is all over you until he takes you all the way safely home. Paul said nothing was separated from the love of God.
Scripture said the eyes of the Lord run to and throughout the whole earth to show himself strong on behalf of those who are his. You know, I often think of a story I read many years ago about Philip Armour, the meat packing guy. I was reading about his early years in business and he was really facing a lot of financial head waves and he was having financial struggles. And in the midst of his struggle, he got a phone call from his banker. You know when you have a financial trouble, the banker does not call you to see how you are.
He doesn't call to wish you happy birthday. And sure enough, as soon as he picked up the phone, the banker said to him, Philip, I am worried sick about the loans you have with our bank. Upon which Philip said, there's no use both of us worrying about the same thing.
And he hung up on him. Oh, beloved, in the middle of your storm, the Lord is saying, there is no use both us worrying about it. There is no use both of us staying up about this.
You go to sleep because I'm up anyway. Something else here I don't want you to miss. Jesus did not come to the disciples the moment the storm hit. Have you noticed that when you read the scripture? I mean, he did not come to them right away. I want him to do that. The moment I hit the storm, I want him to show up. Jesus did not show up in Bethany immediately as soon as he heard that Lazarus is seriously ill and dying. He waited several days.
Please don't miss this. Jesus always, always, always has a purpose in his delay. His delay is not without purpose. His delay is not arbitrary. His delay is not capricious. Here, he doesn't come to the disciples immediately, but he came on the fourth watch.
Do you know what that is? That's between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. Some people say this is 3 to 6. That's the fourth watch. Meanwhile, the heavy wind and the tempest kept on battering the boat and the disciples. Listen carefully.
Listen carefully. At least four of these disciples were veteran seamen. They are experts. They were making the living off that lake. They were not a bunch of amateurs. People don't now have experience with the water and the sea. These veteran seamen, they knew enough, they've seen enough to know that this is not your normal storm.
That's not your average storm. No doubt they wondered, where is the Lord? Where is the Lord? When you're in trouble, does he still care for us? Does he still love us? Does he hear our cry?
You and I have been there, or at least I know I have been many times. All to be sure, I'm going to be honest with you, he's never in a hurry like I am. He's never in a hurry as I am. Oh beloved, listen. Omnipotence can afford to wait.
Did you get that? Say it with me. Omnipotence can afford to wait. While he delayed, but he did come. He came.
He always does. Bless his holy name. Give God praise.
Give God praise. But watch and see how he came. He used the very treacherous waters as his riding vehicle. He uses the very threatening waves as his mode of transportation. He used the dreadful wind as his personal ride.
Suddenly, they looked through that bleak darkness and the foam of the water and they saw a figure who was majestically coming toward them. You know, we have wonderful pilots in this church and I love them. They really are precious people. They're dear to me, especially when they're piloting the planes that I'm flying in Delta or wherever. But I love the pilots who go around the storm. Every now and again you get a muscly pilot who goes through the storm.
I don't like them so much. Oh, but our precious Lord used the very storm to bless our lives. And while the disciples were panicking, this saw Jesus. This saw Jesus. Perhaps was not the way they expected him.
It's not the way they expected him. You know, often though in my life, and I know in many of us, we know exactly how God should intervene, right? We know exactly how he should answer our prayers. We know exactly how he should respond to our needs, right? But he doesn't. He does it his way. But he comes to us.
He comes to us, which is by far much better, much better way than our expectations. One last thing I need to share with you that is of vital importance. I have to confess to you up front, this is one of my most moving, I would say favorite, because the whole Bible is my favorite, but it's one of those things in the Gospels that probably gets to me, and you probably saw that in my reading. It stands out in my mind. It is I. It is I.
Can you say that? Do not be afraid. How comforting is that? How comforting is that? It is I.
Do not be afraid. Before Jesus took them out of the storm, he took the storm out of their lives. Isn't that amazing? I mean, I would have wanted him to stop the storm first, right? But God knows what he's doing. Before he stopped the storm, he took the storm out of their life. First, he could have stopped the storm first. He could have silenced the wind first. He could have calmed the waves first, but he didn't.
Why? The Lord gave me an insight into this. Because he wanted to come to them first. He wanted to see him first, because he wanted them to trust him. He wanted them to receive him first. He wanted to talk to them first. He wanted to calm their hearts before he could calm the storm. He wanted them to experience him first. He gave them joy of his presence first. Then he stopped the storm. What is Jesus doing?
He took that storm out of their heart. How many times before the storms in our life even abate? We feel Jesus. We see Jesus.
We experience Jesus. Have you ever faced one of those storms? I'm not talking about literal storms or storms in life.
Are you going through one now? Millions of people watching us around the world, they may be going through storms right now. In fact, somebody said, in an average church, you can find three categories. Those who are about to enter into a storm, those who are in the middle of the storm, and those who are just coming out of a storm. Temptation, anxiety, suffering, tragedy, divorce, rejection, loss of loved ones, maybe even facing death itself.
Remember this. Jesus' eye is on you. He is removing the storm out of your heart before he can still the storm outside.
You can be absolutely certain of one thing. One thing, while Jesus never causes the storm, but whether it's caused by Satan or caused by foolishness of others or caused by our own foolishness, he will use these storms to grow us up in trusting him. He will use these storms for you and for me to experience his amazing grace. He will use these storms to magnify his love and his mercy and his grace for you. He will use these storms to prepare you to reign and rule in the universe with him forever. To God be the glory. To God be the glory. Give him praise.
Give him praise. Father, only your Holy Spirit who dwells in us knows who's where what. We don't even know about the nearest and the dearest, and yet you have examined the very depth of our hearts.
You know where we are, and your love is literally undebatable. Your care is certain. Your grace is abundant. And Lord, we would be lying if we could not testify to that amazing grace working in us again and again and again and again, and that you never get tired of us. We thank you that whenever we come, there's an open door.
And if somebody has never committed their life to Christ and it's the first time they are making that decision, Father, make it a holy moment for them. For those who are living in fear and worry and anxiety and concern of what's going to happen, who is what and who we're where, Lord, I pray calm their hearts. Calm the storms in their hearts and keep our eyes on you. For I pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen. Dr. Michael Yusef, with challenging words throughout his message, Fear to Faith, right here on Leading the Way. You know, you can learn more about Dr. Yusef and Leading the Way ministry all around the world when you go to ltw.org or when you call us, speak to a ministry representative at the call center, 866-626-4356. Now, as mentioned, Leading the Way is ministering around the world and has been doing so for more than 35 years.
And during that time, Dr. Yusef has always stayed faithfully committed to passionately proclaiming the uncompromising truth of the gospel and not just on the radio. The message of God's grace is heard around six continents in 28 of the world's most spoken and most understood languages through multiple technologies, local Leading the Way teams and through partner organizations. We're praying for the spark of revival in the West, sharing Jesus with Muslims around the world, and taking the gospel to remote villages by way of creative means through the Open Door Campaign.
Remember Jesus' words to the disciples before he went back up into heaven? Go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And that is what Leading the Way is all about, using technology and passionate staff to make and grow disciples around the world. Now, there are many ways for you to partner with Dr. Yusef in Leading the Way, and you can find out more when you call 866-626-4356. Find it online, ltw.org. That's ltw.org. This program is furnished by Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Yusef, passionately proclaiming uncompromising truth around the world.
