Open Heaven of Sunday 16th June 2013. VICTORY OVER STORMS Memorise: Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all. Psalms 34:19 Read: Mark 4:35-41 And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. Mark 4:35 And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. Mark 4:36 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. Mark 4:37 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? Mark 4:38 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. Mark 4:39 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? Mark 4:40 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? Mark 4:41 Bible in one year: Exodus 21-24 Message In 2 Kings 4:18-26, we read of how a rich benevolent woman, who sowed so much into the life of a man of God, had her barrenness broken, and of how that son later died but was raised back to life. One lesson we learn here is that the fact that you have God does not mean that there will be no crisis in your life. Problems are part of life for everyone irrespective of religious beliefs. If anyone tells you that the moment you become a Christian there will be no more problems, the fellow is lying to you. That you were saved means that you have escaped from Satan’s prison. A Nigerian proverb says “It is right for a slave to escape, and also right for the slave owner to pursue his slave”. The difference between a Christian and a non-Christian here is that in times of storms, you already have the prince of peace with you. With just a word from Him, the storm will cease. Psalm 34:19 says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all”. Some believers think if you are in God’s will or if you obey God’s instructions – for instance in taking a particular individual as your spouse in marriage, you will never have issues. This is not true. The truth is: when problems come on account of obeying God, you can confidently return to Him and ask Him to take care of it. In John 16:33, Jesus says in spite of your trouble be joyful because His victory over the World will secure your victory over the situation. If you look carefully at Isaiah 43:2, you will understand that you must go through fires and rivers. If God will use you for His greater purpose and glory, then you must be prepared to go through not only the rivers, but also fire, but there will be no reason to fear because He will be with you. The fire will not consume you but it will be an instrument of purifying you. Jesus was in the same boat with His disciples and yet the storm arose (Mark 4:34-41). That He is in your boat does not insure you against storms but that your boat will never sink. The prince of peace is with you. Your victory is certain. KEY POINT Just as problems are bound to come, because you have Jesus, you too are bound to overcome. It’s a balanced equation.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Jun 2013 03:42:56 +0000
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