Sermon Recap: Let Your Hearts Not Be Troubled
Group Leader Discussion Guide
Read: Matthew 14:22-32
Group Questions:
If you knew that Jesus was in the next room praying for you, would it change how you feel about uncertainty or change how you see your situation?
How do you experience God’s love in the face of storms?
Share a time when you experienced what you would consider a “storm of correction?”
Share a time when you experienced what you would consider a “storm of perfection?”
Why do you think our faith is so important to God?
What do you think is meant by the phrase: “Our mouth will reveal where our eyes are focused.”
Sermon Recap:
1) Where we are – God is aware
God is not unaware of what is going on around us. He sees and knows everything. Even though He was on the mountainside, Jesus saw that the disciples struggling in the boat with the wind against them. (Read Mark 6:47-52). But one might ask, “If He is aware, what is Jesus doing?”
2) Jesus is watching and praying for us
From a distance, Jesus was watching the disciples fight the waves and the wind. He was not passive or unaware, for He was on the mountainside praying. Even now, Jesus is looking at the world and all that is happening and He is praying for us. (Read Hebrews 7:25). We do not hear Jesus’ prayer, but our hope is that He is praying for our lives to return to predictability, stability, comfort, and prosperity. However, this may not be what is in the mind of Christ. In Luke 22:32, just before the storm of Jesus’ crucifixion, Jesus told Peter that He had prayed for him that his faith would not fail. While on the mountainside praying, Jesus may have been praying that the disciples’ faith not fail. Jesus may even now be praying that our faith not fail. Our faith is far more important to God than we can imagine. We are told that our faith is of greater worth than gold. (Read 1 Peter 1:7)
3) He will come to us
In times of a storm, it is so human for us to feel that God is absent or silent and that we are alone. We wonder when He will hear our prayer and come to our rescue. God promises that whatever we go through, we can count on Him being there. (Read Isaiah 43:2).
He will come to us, perhaps not when we want Him to, but at the right time. Jesus went to the disciples at 3:00 am. It was the darkest hour, when everything seemed hopeless and when things were at their worst. We can be assured that Jesus has all things under His feet and authority. He walked on the very thing the disciples feared was going to wash over them and destroy their lives. He walks on what we fear because He is king above it all. When Jesus walked on the water going towards the disciples, they did not even recognize Him and instead thought he was a ghost. Why would they not have recognized Him or have anticipated that He would come? Could it be that they were so focused on the immediate things around them, that they did not even look for Him?
When he came, He addressed in this storm what He had addressed in the other: exhorting them not to be afraid, but to take courage. We too are to be courageous. When the storms of life come against us, we are not to fear, but instead have faith.
Fear is the reciprocal of faith. Fear paints a picture that is not real but of the worst case scenario. Faith paints a picture of what can be based on the promises of God. Fear and faith cannot co-exist and whatever one you feed your mind will increase and displace the other. It is important to read Scripture, meditate on it, memorize it, speak it, and live with the anticipation that Jesus will come to us in the storm and rescue us. Our mouths will reveal where our eyes are focused.
4) He will helps us grow
In any storm, God will help us grow in our faith. In the storm of Mark 4, the disciples said,” Who is this that the wind and waves obey?” At that point, they only partially knew Jesus. In Matt. 14 the growth of their faith was evident by their words. As the wind died down, those in the boat worshiped Him saying, “Truly, You are the Son of God.” Growth in storms will mark us in knowing Jesus more. Suffering and storms sound terrible, and though they shake us, they anchor us in our dependence on God.
5) He will see us through
Whether the storms lasts for a long time or ends quickly, whether things get better or worse, whether we experience pain or discomfort, Our God will see us through. We must hold on tightly without wavering. Fear not and take courage. God can be trusted to keep His promise. Uncertainty is a reality, but we must hold to the certainty that God is with us in the midst of a storm. (Read Hebrews 10:23)