Shortly after we moved to Indianapolis, we heard sirens go off for a tornado warning. Now, I know you don't have tornadoes here. If you do, they're rare. We've been here 11 years and there hasn't been one. An occasional hurricane, but no tornadoes. But the siren went off and I wanted all of our family to get in the only room in the house that didn't have windows. That was the downstairs bathroom. We didn't have a basement. So I got all six of us into the bathroom with much complaining. I was seated against the door to make sure nobody could get out. We had a radio on to hear weather reports. For five minutes at least, I heard complaints. Dad, dad, come on, dad. Nothing's going to happen. See, we had just moved from Mississippi. And where we lived in Mississippi, near Jackson, Mississippi, the sirens went off almost every day because there was a funnel cloud somewhere near Jackson, Mississippi almost every day. That's probably an exaggeration, but at least twice a week in the summertime. So the kids were used to ignoring the siren. So we were in the bathroom and this great hush fell over us. And shortly after that, the sound of what could be described as a jet engine or a train rose up. Then we started hearing an assault, loud pelting on our house. And the wind was stronger, the loud, the noise grew louder. The kids started crying. Nobody wanted to leave at that point. And at one point, even though I'm a fairly large person and my back was against the door, I heard it cinch up tighter, which meant the tornado was right over our house and all the wind or the air was being sucked up. Eventually, the sound passed and I decided it was okay to look outside and I opened the door. And this is where I wish there were cell phone cameras back then because in our backyard, which was almost an acre, it was covered with tennis ball sized hail. The damage was so bad in our neighborhood that virtually everybody got a new roof and got a new siding, so much so that companies from Texas had to come up and fill the void because the ones in Indianapolis weren't enough. The tornado, I found out, had gone directly over our house and tore a tree out of our neighbor right across the street, tore it out roots and all, didn't hit their house either and kept going. The damage was pretty extensive, but fortunately nobody was injured. And that is the worst storm, the most terrified that we've ever been in a storm. And yet I think more than likely the disciples in the boat were even more scared than us because they were in a boat. And if they got knocked out of the boat, they were going to drown. Many of you know the Canadian now late songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. In his song, the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, the captain wired in and the water coming in and the good ship and crew were in peril. And later that night when his lights went out of sight came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the words turn the minutes to hours? The searchers all say that it made Whitefish Bay if they'd put 15 more miles behind her. One of the questions that we should always ask when we come to a passage like this is why is it here? That might sound like a silly question, but the gospel writer John said, now there were also many other things that Jesus did for every one of them to be written. I suppose the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Yet this passage is included in four gospels. So why is it here? Well, the first reason it's here is because it happened. The Sea of Galilee is below sea level. The surrounding geography is such that wind comes funneling down into the lake in such a way that storms come up very quickly. So people could be caught on the lake without sufficient time to go ashore. These storms usually happen in the afternoon, so fishermen fished either at night or very early in the morning. A lot of educated people say that the gospels were made up. In other words, there are myths or fictions that were written to encourage people in their faith. Here's the problem. The myths of that time didn't include details like this. Modern fiction does, but to believe that the gospel writer made all this up with all the details, you would have to conclude that never before had anybody written in this style, Mark did, and then nobody ever did afterwards for centuries. The reason that the details are here is because they happened. Another reason that we can trust this is because of its authenticity. Because if this was being made up by a few people, why did the disciples look so much less than heroic? They're afraid. They're panicking. They're accusing Jesus. Don't you care? If they're going to make it up so they can be leaders of a new religion, wouldn't they make themselves look good, look strong, look faithful, look like leaders? They don't. They look weak. They look afraid. They look like their faith is easily shaken. Other places in the gospels, they look jealous. They look petty. They look slow to learn. They act cowardly. Why did they look like that? Because it happened. And after Jesus calms the storm, they say, what sort of man is this that even the winds and the sea obey him? The heart of the matter is what will you do with Jesus? What do you believe about him? So who is he? Who are you? And who is he to you? The writer to the Hebrews says, without faith, it's impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. So according to the writer of Hebrews, he exists and he rewards those who earnestly seek him. So do you believe that he exists or do you believe that we are left to chance victims of fate or circumstances? As one of my university professors said, we are just lucky mud or unlucky mud, depending on how your life is going. It's popular these days. You hear somebody say something like, I'm spiritual, but I'm not religious. I'm spiritual, but I'm not religious. What does that mean? That means you're making it up for yourself. I'm spiritual, but I'm not religious. I've heard one person say, I like to take a little bit from Christianity, a little bit from Buddhism, a little bit from Islam, and take the parts that I like. What does that mean if you do that? That means you are your own God. When we lived in Kent, Ohio, I went to a restaurant and the waitress said, I have my own God. I was talking to her about it. I was reading a book by Frances Schaeffer and she asked me about it and I told her what it was about and she said, I have my own God. Well, a lot of people, that's how they think. I have my own God. It's like not elf on a shelf, but God on a shelf. They take him down and play with him whenever the need arises, take him down and ask him to fulfill their requests. They take him down when they're facing some difficulty. Jonah was a man asleep in the stern of a boat on a cushion. He was apparently at peace. So you've heard people, excuse me, say things. Even church people sometimes, I've run across people that are abandoning their spouse and they'll say, I have a peace about this. I have a peace. Well, Jonah had a peace. It couldn't be more peaceful. He was in the bottom of the boat. He was asleep on a cushion. He was going in the wrong direction away from God and he had a peace. Peace is no indication that you are headed in the right direction. So who are you? You're perishing. That's what the disciples said to Jesus. Don't you care that we're perishing? In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul writes that we're perishing. Physically, something will eventually kill you and me. Literal storms like the one I described at the beginning, the tornado that had the power to end our lives. Personal storms, family conflict, marital problems, parenting trials, health concerns, financial stress, emotional storms. Tracy's brother's family is going through a storm right now. Their youngest son, who's in, he's 30 something now, was in accident. He rolled his car over several times a week ago and he hasn't woken up since. We are perishing because we need a savior. And where you go for comfort, where you go for assurance, where you go for salvation, during the storms tells you who your savior is. Many of us try to save ourselves when the storm comes. Redouble our efforts. I will get it done. In the account in Jonah, what we read was the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, what is this you have done? And in verse 12, he said, pick me up and hurl me into the sea and it will quiet down for you. For I noticed because of me that this great tempest has come upon you. Nevertheless, the men rode hard to get back to dry land. They rode hard to get back to dry. Why? They've been told what to do. They ask, what should we do with you? How should we get ourselves out of this? They were told, throw me into the sea and the sea will quiet down for you. Yet they didn't do it. They rode harder. That's a question we might ask. What must I do to be saved? What must I do to have eternal life? And you're told to repent of your sins, to turn away from your ungodly way of life, to turn away from your own efforts, to turn away from trying to save yourself. And to turn to Christ, to repent of your sins. Repent means to turn again, to turn to Christ, repent of your sins, to embrace Him as your Lord and Savior and your King. That's what we're told in the Gospels that we're to do if we want to have eternal life. But what do we do? So many of us instead, we say, I'll just try harder. I'll try to do good. I'll try to be better. I'll try to turn over a new leaf. I'll put more effort into it. Even though the men got the answer, they tried to do it themselves. And for those of us who have heard the Gospel and say that we believe it is true, we do the same thing. We want to do it ourselves. Why? We don't want to admit that our great need, do we have great need? Or we think it's foolish that someone else will save us. In 1 Corinthians chapter 1 it says, the word of God, the cross, is foolishness to those who are perishing. So when someone hears the Gospel and they think it's foolishness, it doesn't matter. It's usually more educated people think it's foolishness, but whoever it is, when they hear the Gospel, they think it's foolishness. And the reason they think it's foolishness is because they're perishing. And they're perishing because they haven't given their lives over to Christ. They think it's foolish. I remember talking to a retired professor in Kent, Ohio in a coffee shop, and I explained the Gospel to him. And I asked him if he believed in the resurrection. He said he did. He believed in the resurrection. I said, okay, but do you believe that Jesus rose from the dead? And he said, bah! That's nonsense. Nobody should believe that. You see, he was willing to believe it as a myth, but he wasn't willing to believe it as true. To him it was foolishness, and so he was perishing. So the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved, it's the power of God. And we have to accomplish the wisdom of the world. Many of us, when we have these little storms, go to little gods of comfort. If we feel we've been slighted, or if we believe that we're being mistreated, or if you've had a bad day, what do people do? They eat ice cream. Or something. Food, nachos. They go to food, because food is a comfort. Some people go to sex. Some people spend money. I don't feel good. I've had a bad day. I'm going shopping. Take out the credit card and spend what you don't have for what you don't need, because it comforts you. Some people turn to gossip. You wouldn't believe what so-and-so did. You wouldn't believe what's going on with them. But when a big storm comes, and it will, where will you go? To whom will you cling? And where you go for comfort, where you go for ignorance, where you go for salvation, during these storms, tells you who your Savior is. Who is He to you? Tracy and I, one of our favorite movies. It's actually a comfort movie. It's O Brother Where Art Thou? If you haven't seen it, you should see it. There's a scene near the end where it looks like they're all going to be hanged. And Everett, who's been a scoffer and an unbeliever and an atheist, really, through the whole movie, suddenly, when facing death, says, Oh, Lord, please look down and recognize us, poor sinners. Please, Lord. And the singing of the grave diggers begins to turn into a mournful swell. He says, I know I've been guilty of pride and sharp dealings, so he's confessing his sin. I'm sorry that I've turned my back on you, Lord, please forgive me and help us. Lord, I swear I'll mend my ways for the sake of my family, for Tommy's sake and Delmar's and Pete's, the three guys that were with him. Then there's a rumbling. He says, let me see my daughters again. Please, Lord, help us, please. And what happens is they're flooding the whole valley and turning it into a dam so they can have electricity. Delmar says, a miracle. It was a miracle. And Everett now completely changes his tune. Don't be ignorant, Delmar. I told you they're going to flood up this valley. That ain't it. We prayed to God and he pitied us. And he said, you just never fails. Once again, you two hay seeds are showing how much you lack for intellect. There's a perfectly scientific explanation for what just happened. He says, that ain't the tune you were singing back there at the gallows. And he says, well, any human being will cast about in a moment of stress. No, in fact, they're flooding up the whole valley so they can hydroelectric up the whole darn state. For many people, even if you chuckled to yourself under your breath because I didn't hear anybody, that's who Jesus is to you. He's one of the someones or some things to which you cast about in a moment of stress. Ask yourself, is this who Jesus is to you or do you possess him and him you? The storms will reveal it. The storm will tell you who your savior is. And let me tell you, if yours is a God of your own creation, he, she or it will be of absolutely no comfort in the midst of the storm. You've heard it said over and over again by people in our culture, listen to your heart, listen to your heart. No, don't listen to your heart. Talk to your heart. In the chapter of Jonah, we read, Lord, please do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man for you, O Lord, have done as you please. They took Jonah and threw him into the raging sea. The gospel says, as the crowds increase, Jonas or Jesus said, this is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given except the sign of Jonah, for as Jonah was assigned to the Ninevites, so the Son of Man will be to this generation. Jesus, in this story, calms the seas and asks, where's your faith? But in the end, he throws himself into the storm of God's wrath for us. The disciples said, why are you sleeping? Why are you perishing? Which is one of the most insulting things you can say to God. Why don't you care? You know what you're saying when you say, why don't you care? You're saying, if I was God, I would do it better. If I was God, things would be different. If I was God, my child wouldn't be sick. If I was God, my marriage wouldn't fall apart. If I was God, I wouldn't lose my job. If I was God, I wouldn't be experiencing this disease right now. If I was God, things would be different. That's what you're saying when you say to God, don't you care that I'm perishing? Of course he cares. Of course he cares. That's what the cross is all about. Jesus calms the seas and asks, where's your faith? But then he throws himself into God's wrath for us. The disciples said, why are you sleeping? We are perishing. But then the disciples felt, I'm sorry. The men in the boat said, why are you, I said that wrong again. The disciples said, why are you sleeping? We are perishing. But they fell asleep on him and his hour of greatest need. And that is us and the death sleep of sin. And yet while we were dead on our trespasses and sins, he threw himself into the storming ocean of the wrath of God until it was quenched and satisfied. Never to rage against us again. Then he went into the earth for three days and came alive again for us. Jonah is thrown into the sea and swallowed by a fish which saves him ultimately. Jesus says, peace be still and the waves disappear and the sea is like glass. And that's what he's done to the storm of God's wrath for us. If you've never given your life to Christ, if you've never turned from your sin and embraced Jesus and the gospel, don't wait. We don't know what storms are coming. Father in heaven, thank you for your word in Jesus name. Amen. Please stand.