"It's always a good sermon when the preacher speaks the Word for an hour-and-a- half and it seems like twenty minutes." Pastor Josh's response to a preacher he listened to just recently. He went to Alabama for a meeting and left on a Thursday morning.
As he pulled out of the driveway, he saw his cows. This set him to worrying. Worrying about what might happen when he was gone. He has a couple of cows that might need tending and he wouldn't be there. Any number of other things could happen while he was gone. It was weighing on him.
When he got back, he saw the cows standing out in the pasture. He pulled up, got the bucket out, rattled it, and hollered at them. In a minute their heads popped up and, then, here they came. Still remembering the sermon he'd heard, he silently thought, "I hope I'm as smart as those cows when Jesus calls for me. That I just come running."
A fine opening for a fine sermon. He switched gears and started talking about when he used to fish. He was a big fisherman and has many stories to tell. This time it was about a crack in the boat and how they were using a bilge pump to keep the water out of the boat.
On this particular trip, it was during a fishing tournament, Pastor Josh looked down and saw water in the boat. He asked his partner, "Is the bilge pump running?" His partner replied, "Why, you don't hear it running?" "I can hear it running but I don't see water running out." That's when they realized they were in trouble.
This brings us to Mark 4:35-41. Jesus has been teaching a multitude by the seaside. It's in the beginning of the chapter. He decides to leave and go to the other side. As they are crossing to the other side, a great storm comes up. The water is rising in the boat. It says so in verse 37, "And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full."
Some of these disciples that were crossing with him had been fishermen--just like Pastor Josh and his partner. And just like Josh and his partner, they realized they were in trouble.
The story is a familiar one. Jesus is with them. They wake him up and he talks to them of their faith. They've heard the parable of the mustard seed. (It's in the same chapter of Mark.) He says, "Peace be still." and it's all over.
What does all this mean? God is able to calm the storms in everyone's lives. It's like the worry over leaving to go on a trip. It's like the water filling up in the boat. It's like all of the uncertainties of life. It takes faith on the part of every believer to trust that God keeps his word. "...But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." (Romans 5:20) Believe it. Believe it on a personal basis. Take it as a personal warranty on the "bilge pump" for your life. Yes, God does have a bilge pump for the problems of your life. That's what Pastor Josh said and I believe him.
As he pulled out of the driveway, he saw his cows. This set him to worrying. Worrying about what might happen when he was gone. He has a couple of cows that might need tending and he wouldn't be there. Any number of other things could happen while he was gone. It was weighing on him.
When he got back, he saw the cows standing out in the pasture. He pulled up, got the bucket out, rattled it, and hollered at them. In a minute their heads popped up and, then, here they came. Still remembering the sermon he'd heard, he silently thought, "I hope I'm as smart as those cows when Jesus calls for me. That I just come running."
A fine opening for a fine sermon. He switched gears and started talking about when he used to fish. He was a big fisherman and has many stories to tell. This time it was about a crack in the boat and how they were using a bilge pump to keep the water out of the boat.
On this particular trip, it was during a fishing tournament, Pastor Josh looked down and saw water in the boat. He asked his partner, "Is the bilge pump running?" His partner replied, "Why, you don't hear it running?" "I can hear it running but I don't see water running out." That's when they realized they were in trouble.
This brings us to Mark 4:35-41. Jesus has been teaching a multitude by the seaside. It's in the beginning of the chapter. He decides to leave and go to the other side. As they are crossing to the other side, a great storm comes up. The water is rising in the boat. It says so in verse 37, "And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full."
Some of these disciples that were crossing with him had been fishermen--just like Pastor Josh and his partner. And just like Josh and his partner, they realized they were in trouble.
The story is a familiar one. Jesus is with them. They wake him up and he talks to them of their faith. They've heard the parable of the mustard seed. (It's in the same chapter of Mark.) He says, "Peace be still." and it's all over.
What does all this mean? God is able to calm the storms in everyone's lives. It's like the worry over leaving to go on a trip. It's like the water filling up in the boat. It's like all of the uncertainties of life. It takes faith on the part of every believer to trust that God keeps his word. "...But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." (Romans 5:20) Believe it. Believe it on a personal basis. Take it as a personal warranty on the "bilge pump" for your life. Yes, God does have a bilge pump for the problems of your life. That's what Pastor Josh said and I believe him.
