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Houston's First Baptist Church is a relevant biblical community where we gather our hearts, grow our souls and give our lives as we seek to fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). This podcast provides weekly messages from Pastor Gregg Matte and others. Visit us at HoustonsFirst.org to learn more about HFBC, and visit us in person the next time you're in Houston!
I'm going to ask you to turn in your Bibles this morning over to the book of Mark, the second book in the New Testament, chapter number 4 and verse 35. Mark chapter 4, verse number 35. Now because of the urgency and importance of the sermon tonight, Ten Ways to be Saved, I must let you out early today to ensure your speedy return. Consequently, I'm going to cut down my sermon from five ways to just three ways to have a happy hurricane. I'll maybe stick those other two on tonight and preach on a dozen. Oh well, anyway, three ways how to have a happy hurricane. The same day when the even was come or when it was evening, Jesus, he saith unto them, let us pass over unto the other side. 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. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillar. And they awoke him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great call. And he said unto them, Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and sea obey him? I was down in Florida, in a revival meeting about a month ago, and I learned about a little game that the folks play down there, called Hurricane Party. While everybody in the rest of the world thinks that they're just dying like flies, all over the Florida coast, what they do is get a bunch of booze, and food, and some friends, and they board up their houses, and get way up in an apartment building somewhere, and rent out an entire story, and they lay in a supply of food, and they turn on the music, and they stay maybe three or four or five days, and have what they call Hurricane Party. And they pride themselves in the fact that while the world thinks they're dying, and terrible havoc is going on below, they're just in the midst of the thing, almost in the eye of the hurricane, having themselves the time of their life. And when somebody calls in, at the end of the conversation, they'll hang up the telephone and say, Bye, have a happy hurricane. Well, it occurred to me that Christians have been having happy hurricanes for about 67 generations. In the midst of the storms of life, Christians have learned, not with babes and booze, and apartments and affluencies, but with the inner composure that comes from Jesus Christ, how to have a happy hurricane. We have something on the inside. Now, I do not tell you anything new when I tell you that this is a tumultuous world. But for generations, a world as bad as this one has been witnessed to by Christian people, who in the midst of the storms of life, have had an inner strength because Jesus was as much with them as he was with the disciples in this ship. And regardless of the stormy hurricane that was going on on the outside of life, there was peace and composure on the inside. And let it be clearly understood, young people, you're going to graduate into a world full of problems. You're walking out into a society that is blown apart at the seams. Your generation is going to have tenfold more problems than mine has ever had. And yet, I say to you that it is possible for you to ride out the storm. It is possible for you to have a happy hurricane. In the midst of a tumultuous world, Jesus never promised an absence of difficulty. To the contrary, it may be far more difficult for you to be a Christian than not to be a Christian. You see, the person who's not a Christian doesn't have to get involved. He can see injustice. He can see poverty. He can see sin. He can see a lost world and not care. He can board himself up inside of an apartment and turn himself into an introverted person that just so lives that he doesn't care what's going on. He is oblivious to the pressures and problems of the world around him, and he becomes a denialist, and he pretends that there are no problems in the world. Jesus said you can be sure of one thing, and that is that in this world you're going to have some hurricanes. You'll have plenty of tribulation, but he said, man, chill up. I've overcome the world, and greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. I want to warn you that unless you take some precautions and make some right decisions, as did these disciples, that the hurricanes of life that you're going to face are going to destroy you and defeat you and sink you. But with Jesus Christ and your hand in the hand of a man that stilled the water and calmed the sea and created the hurricane, then you don't have to worry about a thing. You can ride it out. Yes, you can have a happy hurricane. Now you will recall that Jesus Christ was preaching on the water. He was actually in the boat preaching. I don't know why it was there unless the multitudinous press of the crowd was such that he could not be heard unless he got at a distance. Perhaps he knew that his voice would carry well over the water, but for one reason or another, Jesus was preaching on the water, and when he got ready to go out onto the storm to do a very special thing and teach his disciples a very special lesson, the Bible says he sent the multitude away. Because we do not learn things by osmosis. The great lessons of life are not taught in the school of great numbers. It is in a one -to -one experience with God. In those little secret and quiet places, when God takes us through the eye of the hurricane with our hand in his hand, just us and the Lord, that we learn the secret of what life is all about. God said to Moses one day, when he was just about to have a nervous breakdown, trying to solve all of his world's problems, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. And a man has to slow down and put his hand in the hand of the man and let him teach him some things about life. I could say many things, five and even more, but there are three lessons to be learned from this wonderful story that I want to speak to you briefly about this morning, how these disciples did and how you and I can have a happy hurricane. Number one, you have to get in the right boat. Now you understand again that Jesus was the man in the boat. Now look, the Bible says, and he had them sent straight away, uh, sent away the multitude and took him to him, even as he was in the ship. Look, and there were also with him other little ships. There were a lot of little boats around, but there was only one boat where they had the man. Now the world has a tendency to get in the wrong boat and the wrong boat leap. Now the word boat in the scripture has always been symbolic of salvation. There are boats and then there is the boat. There are ways and then there is the way. There are facts and then there is the truth. There is existence and then there is the life. Jesus did not say I am one of many ways. He said, I am the way. And regardless of how well off you may be or how high you may rise or how far you may go in life, unless you start in the boat that Jesus is in, where the totality of your being is given into his hands, then you'll miss the boat. You have to get in the right boat and that's the boat where Jesus Christ is. Now these disciples made a mistake when they got in the boat. They were afraid. They were scared to death. When the storm came up, the lightning began to flash, the skies turned black, the thunder began to roll, and they said, oh master, save us, we perish. You see, they made a common mistake. They were more concerned with the hurricane than the man that could still the water. They shut their their nervous system to the beat of the blowing wind rather than to the steady calm pulse of the Savior. Now someone has well said that the Apostle Paul when he placed his neck on the chopping block, if someone would have taken his pulse they would probably have found it to be a cool 72. Jesus Christ is the one in whose hand if our hand is placed we are able to go through the storms of life with peace and composure. Now let me tell you something. There are a lot of ways that seem to be more glamorous and more exciting and more appealing and more glorious and more attractive on the outside. And there doesn't seem to be very very much exciting and and thrilling in life to the average person about going to Sunday school, reading the Word of God, living a holy life and being dedicated to Jesus Christ. But I notice the folks that are having the nervous breakdown are the ones who have their their their nervous system attuned to the pressures and the problems of the world rather than their ears to the gentle beating in the breast of the Savior. Now Jesus said in the midst of the storm, I am there. I am peace. And you'd better be sure you get in the right boat because let me tell you something. Regardless of external appearances, I would a whole lot rather be in a real real shaky boat with a calm Jesus than to be on the Queen Mary with a shaky captain. You make dead sure that you are trusting in the way of the one who created the storm and who is the boat, the way, the truth, and the life. If you're going to have a happy hurricane, you have to get in the right boat. You must know dead sure that your life is given in commitment to Jesus Christ, that he is yours and you are his, that you have been saved, that you have received him, that you are God's child through Jesus Christ. Now secondly, if you're going to have a happy hurricane, you have to get the boat in the water because that's where the hurricane is. Now there are far too many people who have gotten in the boat, but they're still tied up at the dock. They're afraid to sail. They're scared of life. They're afraid of the problems and the pressures of the world. I find that a real Christian is never afraid to sail. You say, preacher, I'm not having any problems in life. I'm not having any difficulties. There are no storms anywhere. Then you're still tied up at the dock. Out there where the storm is, man, that's where the fog is. If there is no shove off, there is no sailing. If there is no untying, there is no journey. If there is no leaving, there is no progress. If there is no battle, there is no hero. The old sea salt is the one that's been through the water. And you don't need to be afraid of launching out into the storms of life. As a matter of fact, as a Christian, you don't need to be afraid of anything. In this world, you shall have tribulation. But so many people are afraid to accomplish, to get out there and mix it up, because they're afraid of the problems and pressures of the world that are going to come. Listen, there's a price to be paid. You know about the biggest problem, young people, you're going to have getting to the top in life? The biggest problem you're going to have crawling up the ladder of success in life is getting through the mob at the bottom of the ladder. That's where the crowd is. That's where the do -nothing stays. Well, as that wonderful ancient Chinese proverb said, he who travels fastest travels alone. The one that they tackle is the one that's carrying the ball. But he's the one they write up in the paper. He's the guy that has the fun. Don't be afraid of life. Come on. Get out in the midst of the water. A real Christian filled with real love, tankers for a good fight. Sure, they want to knock the holy heaven into somebody and knock the holy hell out of some others. Now that's the truth. And this world needs some holy hell knocked out of it and some holy heaven knocked into it. A Christian's never afraid of a fight. It's not afraid of the wrong. It has a faith and a power in the truth. We don't, you know, somebody said the devil sure doesn't like this crowd down at First Baptist Church. Well, you know what? That's just about fair because this crowd at First Baptist Church doesn't like him either. And the truth of the matter is, the truth of the matter is, we know more on him than he knows on us. You see, so we're all right. You know that while the church, and so many times the church, rather than leading in life, rather than being out there on the diamond sharp cutting edge of society where the world is and where there are problems, is usually the caboose in life. The church was the last to integrate. The church is usually the last to speak out against poverty. The church is usually the last to share its riches. The church is usually the last to speak out on important social issues. Where so most of the time we spend all of our time sitting around discussing which mode of worship we ought to be following and how to make it even more exterminate than it is while the world, oblivious to us, is crashing headlong into hell. I remind you that the liturgy of the Greek, of the Russian Orthodox Church is the most beautiful in all Christianity. But they sat idly by while communism took over their country. And get out there in the world. Don't be afraid of it. You're the salt of the earth. And the salt and a salt taker doesn't do any good. It's got to be scattered out out there through the week, day after day, day after day. Yes, the water is going to be rough. The waves will be chilly. The depth will be awful. The winds will be strong. But shut off and tail on. Get out there and scutter around some salt. Hook your wagon to a star. Find the will of God for your life. Dedicate your life under God to some holy purpose and give all you've got to it. There's more fun in fighting God's battles than in sitting on the sidelines and reading about what everybody else does. Don't be afraid to shove off. Don't be afraid of life. Make sure you get in the right boat. Get out there in your boat and shove off in the midst of the hurricane. And the last word, young people, is this. Make sure no water gets in the boat. Now I'm sure that this oldest cliche of all is good for one more round. And let me say to you that in a world that has a thousand new names for a hundred old problems, we still need to be sure that we live holy, pure, Christian, separated, dedicated lives. Because the church ought to be in the world. But when the world gets into the church, the church is going to sink. We must first and foremost keep that water out of the boat. The pressure without will not sink the ship. But when there comes a leak from internal pressure, that ship will sink every single time. We've got a lot of new names for a lot of old problems. Somebody said, why didn't we used to have so many psychological breakdowns? Why didn't people used to have so many guilt complexes? Well, they always did. They just used to call it sin. We have a lot of new names today, and that's good. That's all right, I suppose. But let me tell you something. The reason a lot of you are going to go down the cycle path and live in a psychotic and sit under the shade of the old psychiatry and try to understand yourself and try to do a detailed introspection on yourself and try to fill up that void on the inside with a lot of learning and a lot of things that God was intended to do in many times is going to be nothing but a case of good old -fashioned sin. Now young people, I want you to get all the learning you can. I want you to go as far in life as you can, but in a day of intellectual progress, that we have so many new names for old problems and so much enlightenment, let it be clearly understood that that young person that gets somewhere in life is the one that still lives a wholly separated Christian life and is fanatical enough to say no to sin. Now, sin will get you. It may not get you today, it may not get you tomorrow, but it will. The mills of God grind exceeding slow, but they grind exceeding fine. You will never make a success out of your life if you continue to just pump, try to pump air into the old tire that leaks. You're going to have to stop and patch up the leak. And you can keep pumping that tire of life filled with this and with that, but until you put that patch on and confess your sin to God and are filled with the Holy Spirit and are first of all concerned about a dedicated, blood -washed, spirit -filled, consistent life that is aloof from the world, that is in the world but not of the world, you'll never make it in life. You still have to keep a pure life. You still have to play by the rules of God. You still have to make sure that you don't get any water in the boat. Now, let me just say that to you in another way. Make sure you're saved. Put your hand in His hand and don't be afraid of life. Try to keep sin out of your life and keep full of the Holy Spirit and you'll make a success in your life and you don't have to be afraid of nobody or nothing. There are problems. There are adversities. There are difficulties. There are demons and oppositions in this world, but none of them that the Lord Jesus Christ cannot hush and pile us with His marvelous, matchless peace be filled. He's the man that made the water. He's still the man that rules the sea. Put your hand in His hand. Don't be afraid to shove off. The waters will be deep. The scaling will be rough. The storm will be mighty. The hurricane powerful. But don't forget the man asleep in the prow of the boat. Let's stand and pray. Our Father, we pray that in a day in which kids, are going to be besought with problems and pressures and a lot of second -rate answers to real problems, if you will help them to remember the Word of God and the simple truth of this sermon, when we put our hand in the hand of Jesus, we can shove off. We can be free from sin and live full of the Holy Spirit and live a great Christian life and worry about nothing. We don't have to be a despairist. We don't have to give up because Jesus is ours and we're His. Help us to remember it and to live for Him always. In His name, amen.