He Sees the Storms

by
Bishop Ernest A. Ross
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost.
Amen.
People all over the world are familiar with the utter devastation
that certain storms can bring. With the hurricanes that previously
tore through the eastern coast and of course Katrina and Ophelia;
we have become more aware of the destruction, danger and death
such storms leave in their wake. With that awareness comes a
heightened sense of the precaution and preparation one must make
in order to endure such storms, if and when they may find us.
In our personal lives, each of us from time to time, will face storms
of varying degree and devastation. You may be in a storm right
now; your world, your security, everything in your life that you
thought was rock solid may be crumbling down around you.
Regardless of the storm, you need to be assured that, God Sees
the Storms. He knows the seas that are raging in your heart, the
Lord knows and understands. He knows where you are; He knows
what youre going through, He knows what you're feeling; and,
more importantly, He cares about YOU personally!
Listen to these comforting words from the book of the Prophet
Isaiah, It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer;
and while they are still speaking, I will hear (Isaiah 65:24).
Did you hear what God's word said? It says that before you open
your mouth to cry out to Him, while youre still speaking the
words, God has already heard you!

His word says further In St. John's first Epistle And if we

know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have
the petitions that we have asked of Him. ( I John 5:15).
St. Matthew's gospel goes on to say For your Father knows
the things you have need of before you ask Him.(St. Matthew
6:8).
Do you realize what great promises these are! God knows our
needs, hears and answers our prayers before we can even speak
them.
And listen to these words from the book of Psalms 46:1, God is
our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Psalm
61:4).
The Lord is my Strength and my Shield; my heart trusted in
Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and
with my song will I praise Him. (Psalm 28:7).
King David goes on in Psalm 34 to call God: the Great
Deliverer. The Apostle Paul called Him; the God of all
comfort .
You see, beloved, God never promised that we would miss the
storms of life. He said in St. John's gospel These things I have
spoken unto you, that you might have peace. In the world you
SHALL have; not you might have but you SHALL have
tribulation; (storms) but be of good cheer; I have overcome the
world. (St. John 16:33).
Jesus said troubles are inevitable! Suffering, disappointment, loss,
pain, discouragement, disaster, persecution and so on. These things
are a part of every one of our lives. Its knowing how to deal with

the Storms that

VICTORIOUS!

can

transforms

us

from

Victim

to

May the Lord, prepare our hearts and minds to receive His
message for us this morning.
In the Fourteenth (14th) chapter of St. Matthew's gospel we see
that the disciples are in a boat crossing the Sea of Galilee and have
found themselves in the midst of a storm which they believe is
threatening their very existence:
And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them,
walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on
the sea, they were troubled, saying, it is a spirit; and they cried
out for fear. But straightway Jesus spoke unto them, saying, Be
of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered Him and
said, Lord, if it be You, bid me come unto You on the water. And
He said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship,
he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind
boisterous, he was afraid and beginning to sink, he cried, saying,
Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand
and caught him, and said unto him, O you of little faith,
wherefore did you doubt? And when they were come into the
ship, the wind ceased. Then they who were in the ship came and
worshiped Him, saying, Of a truth You are the Son of God. (St.
Matthew 14:25-33).
Notice it says, And in the fourth watch of the night; The Romans
divided the 12 hours of the evening from 6:00 p.m. To 6:00 a.m.
Into four three hour blocks of time called watches, and they
considered the fourth watch to be the darkest part of the evening.
So, in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on
the sea.

What we need to see from this passage is that JESUS HEARS

OUR CRIES IN THE MIDST OF THE STORM AND COMES
TO US IN OUR DARKEST HOUR! AMEN?
Listen to the same account of this incident from the Gospel of St.
Mark: And when He had sent them away, He departed into a
mountain to pray. And when evening was come, the ship was in
the midst of the sea, and He alone on the land. And He saw them
toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them; and
about the fourth watch of the night He cometh unto them,
walking upon the sea, and would have passed them by, but when
they saw Him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a
spirit, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled. And
immediately He talked with them and said unto them, Be of good
cheer; it is I; be not afraid. ( St. Mark 6:46-50).
The Gospel of Mark says Jesus was on the mountaintop
interceding with The Father and he looked down and saw his
disciples having a very hard time navigating the winds and the
waves of the storm. At the fourth watch, he came to them.
Now we see here that our Savior Christ is seated in glory at the
right hand of The Father. This is where Jesus intercedes for us as
our Advocate and High Priest. From His glory in Heaven, He
recognizes our troubles and motivated by His great love for us,
comes to our rescue. Now, you might be saying to yourself, If
Hes so loving, then why does it say that Jesus intended to pass
them by? Why was Jesus going to pass by his disciples in the
midst of their desperation?
Well, if you remember from the text; it wasnt until the disciples
cried out that Jesus helped them. You see the Lord was trying to
teach his disciples as He seeks to teach us today, that we are to live
by faith.

He desires that when times are tough that we reach out to Him and
trust Him alone for the answer. Like His disciples, the first thing
we want to do is try to navigate the storm by our own power only
to find that we can't save ourselves. We don't have the answers. So
what Christ allowed them to do was come to the end of themselves
in order to demonstrate that HE is the ANSWER! We can ever be
certain, that when we need it, help from the Lord is available. He
may not come to us when we expect Him to, but He will come.
St. Paul says in His Epistle to the Colossians; As you have
therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him;
rooted and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith, as you
have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware
lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after
the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not
after Christ (Colossians 2:6-8 ).
So how do we cultivate this, how are we stablished in the faith?
Well, the key to having strong faith, is to be satisfied with God.
Satisfied that His will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.
You see beloved, there is a trend among most evangelical, seekersensitive churches today to preach and teach a false gospel; a
gospel of Prosperity,of Health and wealth where the Christian is
told that he or she should be living their Best life Now. They are
told that because they are God's children that makes them Kings
Kids and as such they should prosper in all things, because the
King doesn't want them to suffer. How abominable! How utterly
wicked!
They tell us that when the unsaved world sees How God cares for
His children, How He gives good gifts to those who love Him, how
His children need not endure suffering, that the unsaved will run to
receive the great love of the Heavenly Father and He will be

glorified. Sounds good doesn't it? But I can assure you it is a spirit
of Anti-Christ!
You see beloved, the truth is that, Prosperity has the natural
tendency in the corrupt, morally fallen human heart to breed
carnality and a self-serving materialism. NOT thankfulness, and
definitely NOT faith! And that has caused many Christians who
over indulge in their prosperity to approach God with a bless me
attitude. In other words it doesn't foster a true dependency on
Christ but rather a false sense of entitlement where we deserve
blessings because we worship God. Christians in these circles have
become like spoiled children who think they deserve only the best,
are never satisfied, wanting more for themselves rather than
sharing what they already have.
True Christianity is no guarantee of a prosperous, healthy, problem
free life. In fact scripture is adamant about frequently painting the
exact opposite picture. Christ Himself was adamant about painting
the exact opposite picture as well. Christ had this to say, If the
world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If
ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because
ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world,
therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said
unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have
persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my
saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do
unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that
sent me ( St. John 15:18-21).
It is evil to lead people to believe that receiving Christ is some type
of magical experience that solves all your problems, or that the
abundant life that scripture promises means a life of health, wealth,
prosperity and success, or even to claim that the gospel is the
means to a life of temporal peace and happiness in every instance.
In fact its flat out wrong to use the fruits of salvation; such as love,
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joy, peace etc; as a way to draw others to salvation. This is

idolatrous! It elevates gifts above the giver. It's coming to the
Master's table, not to have communion or fellowship with the
Master, but to see what you can get from Him.
If God didn't spare His only Begotten Son from suffering; if He
didn't spare the company of Christian Martyrs from their suffering,
how dare we be so arrogant and selfish to believe that we should
be!
There's no faith in that only self-centeredness, greed. It's sin!
Do you want to know what living by faith really means? It's when
everything in your life falls apart; you lose your job, you go
bankrupt, you lose your house, your relationships with your spouse
and others begins to break down, a loved one dies and you can
still say, through the deepest pain and anguish, God is all I need!
He is Enough! He is Good, He will take care of me, He will satisfy
me, He will get me through this! He is my treasure! Whom have I
in heaven but Thee Oh Lord, and besides Thee I desire nothing on
earth. My heart and my flesh, my job, my finances, my
relationships they may fail but You Oh Lord are the strength of my
heart and my portion, forever and ever. AMEN!
That is true faith! A faith that reflects God's immeasurable glory!
Not as giver of cars, or money, or success, or health, but as He is...
ALMIGHTY GOD, CREATOR, SUSTAINER and REDEEMER
of this world!
Beloved, hear me when I say this, God is most glorified in you
and I when we are most satisfied in Him; in the midst of loss, in
the midst of turmoil, in the midst of the STORM! NOT in the
midst of our Best Life Now!

This is what Jesus was trying to teach His disciples. If you don't
believe me, think about another time when Christ was on the boat
with His disciples and He was sleeping in the midst of the Storm.
He was with them they should have trusted that He would keep
them, but instead they focused on the storm and became afraid.
Jesus was trying to train them up by degrees, giving them
opportunities to exercise their faith.
God is actively seeking to develop in His children a spirit of
dependence upon Him so that we may grow in faith and grace and
in the knowledge of Him who is shaping and molding us into the
image of Christ (Romans 8:29).
As I said before; God already knows our needs but His desire is for
us to exercise our faith by calling upon and trusting in Him.
The Lord promises Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show
you great and mighty things, which you do not know.
Before Jesus had sent the disciples out in the boat, they witnessed
the miracle of Him feeding the five thousand with only five loaves
and two fish. They saw Him meeting the needs of others but still
were unable to trust He had the power to deliver them from such a
storm their faith wasn't rooted, they still weren't stablished in the
faith.
Remember how The Lord came in the midst of the storm? He
came walking on the sea. Jesus comes with all authority and
all power (Matthew 28:18). HE COMES AS A CONQUEROR so
that through him we can learn by faith to conquer our own fears,
even our fear of death. (Hebrews 2:14-15).
The Bible says, Yet in all these things we are more than
conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that
neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers,
nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor
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any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love
of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:37-39).
The psalmist knew this truth when he said, I sought the LORD,
and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears Psalm
34:4. Paul knew this truth when he told the young pastor Timothy
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and
of love, and of a sound mind. AMEN?
(Story of Amanda)
The story also tells us JESUS COMES AS A COMFORTER IN
THE STORM. Verse 27 says, But immediately Jesus spoke to
them, saying, "Take courage, it is I; dont be afraid." Jesus
immediately responds to the cries of the disciples and wants them
to Take courage. The problem is we, like the disciples, find it
difficult in the storm to take by faith what Jesus wants to give us.
The reason is we get our focus on the problems instead of God.
The comfort is there, the strength is there and the courage is there
but we must receive it by faith and act in it. The word of God says
in the Epistle to the Hebrews; Seeing then that we have a great
High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son
of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a
High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but
was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us
therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain
mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16).
Its by faith that you recognize the depth of your need and draw
near with confidence to the throne of grace (1 Cor. 15:10).
Remember, Jesus knows our every weakness and will supply
everything that we need in this life, but we must walk in that faith.

It is important to understand this Get this into your heart!

JESUS DOESNT SPARE US THE STORMS OF LIFE BUT
DESIRES TO SAFELY CARRY US THROUGH THE THEM.
Finally, remember that St. Peter said to Him, "Lord, if it is You,
command me to come to You on the water." And He said, "Come!"
And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came
toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and
beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately
Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him,
"You of little faith, why did you doubt?"
You see, Jesus knows our frame is but dust. He understands our
crisis of faith and His desire is to use the crisis to teach us to live in
victory. The tragedy of the crisis of faith is that we, like Peter, take
our eyes off Jesus and then all we see is the wind and the waves.
You cant fix your eyes on more than one thing at a time so turn
your eyes upon Jesus! As the song goes Turn your eyes upon
Jesus; look full in His wonderful face. And the things of Earth will
grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. Amen?
Our fears blind us to faith, but it is our faith that frees us from fear.
Remember, Christ came to set us free! (Galatians 5:1).
Be assured; Jesus has a purpose in the storms of life, a purpose
which we may not fully understand. TRUST THAT THE LORD IS
WORKING IN THE STORMS for your benefit as Proverbs 3:5, 6
& Romans 8:28 say, Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and
lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways
acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. and all
things work together for good to those who love God, to those
who are the called according to His purpose.

Like King David said, Cast your burden on the Lord and He
will sustain you. (Psalm 55:22).
God is faithful and true to fulfill His promises and has said,
Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. (Hebrews
13:5). Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your
staff, they comfort me.
St. Peter didn't perish in the storm because he cried out, Lord
save me! The Lord brought Peter back to the disciples, back to
the lifeboat and they were all together again. I wonder, as you hear
this message today, Are you in The Life boat with Jesus? If
not, why? God will keep us in perfect peace, if our minds are
stayed on Him, because we trusts in Him.
Are you trusting in Him? When we cry out to Him, He takes our
hand and can cause us to walk upon the waters of every storm,
leading us to a place of safety.
Beloved, be encouraged this morning, because whether they are
literal storms that devastate and destroy all that we have, or
whether they are the spiritual kind that rob us of our peace of mind
and joy, no matter what kind He Sees The Storms!
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Amen.

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