Life.Church with Craig Groeschel - Finding Peace in Your Panic | Miracles | Part 3

Episode Date: April 2, 2023

When life storms in and you're facing something you don't understand, panic can overwhelm you. But it's possible to find peace in your panic. We're learning how in this message. ABOUT THIS MESSAGEAre you facing something so overwhelming that only a miracle can change it? Do you even believe in miracles? They've happened before and can happen again. Let's experience them together in our new series, Miracles.NEXT STEPSHave you made a decision to follow Jesus? You may be wondering what’s next on your journey. We want to help! Let us guide you to your next steps in your walk with Christ: https://www.life.church/nextCONNECT WITH A PASTORDo you need prayer? Would you like to find out how you can get involved at Life.Church? One of our pastors would love to meet with you. Schedule a video call with a pastor: www.life.church/meetwithusABOUT LIFE.CHURCHWherever you are in life, you have a purpose. Life.Church wants to help you find your next step. Our hope is that your journey will include joining us at a Life.Church location throughout the United States or globally online at https://www.live.life.churchFind locations, videos, and more info about us at https://www.life.church or download the Life.Church app at https://www.life.church/appFIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIAFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/life.churchInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/life.churchTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lifechurchCONNECT WITH PASTOR CRAIGYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/craiggroeschelFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/craiggroeschelInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/craiggroeschelTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@craiggroeschel#lifechurch #craiggroeschel #miracles Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

So do you ever wonder if God really cares about what you're going through? Do you ever wonder? It's not that you don't believe in God, you do believe in God, but you wonder, does he see your pain? Does he care about your struggles? Does he care about the times when your heart is breaking? Because you might think if he did care, it seems like he'd do something about it. if you've ever wondered, does God notice? Does God care?

You're not alone. Today, we're going to look at one of the miracles of Jesus when his disciples asked that very same question. Do you even care? The title of today's message is finding peace in your panic. Let's all pray together today wherever you are. God, we ask that your whole. Holy Spirit would minister to us and that your word would both comfort us and convict us.

Build our faith, God, to know you intimately and trust you wholeheartedly. We pray, God, believing you're going to do great things. We pray for miracles in Jesus' name. And everybody said, amen, amen, amen. Today, we're going to do something very, very fun. I'm actually going to team teach this message with your campus pastor. In a little bit, your campus pastor will toss back to me, but it's my honor now to toss to them. And when your campus pastor is there, I want you to go crazy.

Show them some love and honor. Would you help me welcome your campus pastor to share God's words? We have some campus pastors where they are, and it's just us in the room. Those of you online, I would love to know where you're watching from. Type in the comment section I'm watching from wherever, and if you're going through something difficult right now, and you need a miracle, and you need prayer, go ahead and type that in the comment section. Please pray for me, whatever it is, and we've got a team of people that would love to pray

for you. today we're going to be in mark's gospel mark chapter four and i want to give you the context of what we're going to look at in mark four the disciples found themselves in an unexpected storm my pastor used to say that you're probably in one of three places he said you're probably either going into a storm or you're in the middle of a storm or you're coming out of a storm or you're coming out of a storm. storm. That's not very encouraging, but how many of you know that can be true? Life can be very, very difficult, and it seems like you're either in the middle of something going into something or coming out of something. And I want to talk today to those of you that are facing something

maybe that you didn't choose. You didn't want it and you didn't expect it. And this is where the disciples were. Mark chapter 4, verse 35, says this. That day, when evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, let's go over to the other side. He's going to take them to the other side of the lake. Scripture says, leaving the crowd behind, they took him along just as he was in the boat. Now, there were also other boats with him, and verse 37 says, a furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern sleeping on a cushions.

The disciple woke him and said to him, teacher, don't you care if we drowned? I want to break this down for you and show you what scripture says. Verse 35 says this. That day when evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, let's go to the other side. Now, he was talking about the Sea of Galilee, a lake that was a sea or a lake technically that was about 13 miles wide and eight miles long and if you'll notice there was kind of mountains on all sides and this became the unfortunately the ideal setting for

incredibly furious and fierce storms this was known for explosive thunderstorms with gale force winds And so after an exhausting day of ministry, Jesus said to his disciples, let's go to the other side. I want you to notice that going to the other side was actually Jesus's idea, and I don't want you to forget that. So he says, let's go to the other side, and the disciples would not have been happy about this. Because they knew that on the other side, that's where the Gentiles lived. and the Jewish people avoided the Gentiles because they saw the Gentiles as the pagan people. And it was also rumored that the devil himself lived there. People were very superstitious about the sea.

In fact, one Bible commentary wrote this about the sea. He said, the sea was known to swallow entire ships and gulp down people. It was a common superstition to view the water as, the abyss where demons lurked in the deep, the sea was considered the manifestation of the realm of death. That's pretty serious. And sure enough, the disciples would not have been happy about this. They don't want to go to the other side. And when they get in the boat trusting Jesus, this massive storm blows up, showing us that even if you're a Christian, you are not exempt. from the storms of life.

Even if you're a follower of Jesus, that is no guarantee that you're not going to go through hardships. In fact, Jesus even said, in John 1633, he said, in this world, he said, you will have trouble, you will face storms, you will have difficult times, but take heart, he said,

because the good news is, I have overcome the world. So the disciples find themselves in the middle of this storm and they were taken. terrified. They felt completely desperate. Whatever illusion of control that they might have had, it was completely gone just like what some of you may be feeling right now. Because you're facing something that you didn't choose, something you didn't expect, and you woke up in the

middle of a storm. Verse 38 says Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion, and the disciples woke him and said to him, teacher, don't you care if we drowned? What they were really saying is, you don't care. Because if you did, you'd do something about this. How many of you, and do not raise your hand, because I don't want to see your complete honesty, but how many of you have ever felt like that, God, if you cared, you would have done something about this. If you cared, you wouldn't let me lose my job. If you cared, God, my kids wouldn't be going through what they're going. through right now. God, if you really cared, you'd do something about this depression that continues to take me down. God, if you really cared, you'd help me out of this financial

hole. I bought a lottery ticket, God, I gave you a chance. And you didn't, I even dedicated it to you and promised I'd give 10% if you gave me the winning number. God, where are you? Don't you? even care. God, if you cared and answered my prayer, my parents wouldn't have gotten divorced. God, if you really cared, I wouldn't be stuck in this marriage. This seems to be going nowhere. God, if you really cared, you do something.

You find yourself in the middle of a storm. And you wonder, does he even care? There's two things to remember in the storm. And I want to show you both of them when we'll look look at them one by one. Two things to remember in the storm. The first thing to remember, number one is that you are in the storm with his presence. He has not left you and he never will. Number one, you're in the storm with his presence. And number two, you're in the storm for his purpose. You may remember Jesus was the one who said, let's go to the other side. Let's look at these one by one.

one, the first big thought is this. Number one, you're in the storm with his presence. And you see this very directly in Mark chapter 4, verse 38. Scripture says that Jesus was in the stern sleeping on a cushion. Now, that's interesting to me. Do we have any heavy sleepers in the house today? Any heavy sleepers? Amy is a heavy sleeper. If someone walks across the house, house is over, I hear it. If someone breaks into our house and starts playing the drums, Amy's sound asleep. Evidently, Jesus had that annoying. He's like, hearing the storm, and he's just like saw and zees. He's just like kicking back, dreaming about angels or something. I don't know. See, he's sleeping on a cushion. And everybody else is so afraid. And they're forgetting that

Jesus said, let's go to the other side. And he's still in the best. boat. What happens? In our life, in my life, in your life, we tend to get so caught up in the what of the storm that we forget the who in the boat. We get so caught up with what we see going on around us that we forget who is actually still with us. And I want to remind you that the who is always more powerful than the what. Jesus is with you and he will never leave you and it will never forsaken. In fact, as you look all through God's word again and again, God has promised his presence over and over again. Just a few examples from God's word. Scripture says this. Deuteronomy 31, verse 6, that God will neither fail you nor will he ever abandon you. The word of God says in

Joshua 1.9, do not be afraid or discourage, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. The Bible says this in Psalm 23. David said, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, he said, I will fear no evil. Why? Because you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me, your presence is with me, everywhere that I go. Scripture says this in Matthew 28, verse 20. Jesus said, I am with you always, even till the end of this age. Our God is good.

He is with you. He will not leave you. will never forsake you. Don't get so caught up in the what of the storm that you forget the who in the boat. Never let the presence of a storm cause you to doubt the presence of God. He is with you. He's always with you. If someone breaks your heart, he's still with you. If you lose your job, he's still with you. If you don't understand why something's happening, he's still with you. He's still with you. If you get that phone call, the one you never ever wanted, he's with you. If you come home to what feels like an empty apartment, you are never alone. Our God will never leave you. He will

never forsake you. And Jesus never ever said that we wouldn't experience storms. He just promised that we'd never be alone in the middle of the storms. If you are going through something right now, just remember you're in the storm with his presence. In fact, I want to share with you a powerful story from Kristen from Life Church, Overland Park, Kansas. This is Kristen with her daughter and this is her family, an amazing family that serves so faithfully in Overland Park at Life Church. Unfortunately, on July the 9th in 2021, Kristen was diagnosed with cancer both.

both in the nerve and the muscles of her tongue. And the diagnosis was not good at all. You can only imagine the fear that Kristen had, knowing that she lost her mother to cancer at the age of 12, and she found herself asking why, why, why? She actually wrote this testimony. In the middle of her questioning, she said this, and even though I could easily go back to ask,

asking that question why. God has graciously taught me to change that why into a what and a who. She said, I asked myself, what can I do with this situation? And I reminded myself to submit and rely on the who. Don't forget the who in the boat. She said, I reminded myself to submit and rely on the who. our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, he is our refuge, he is our strength, and he is our helper. Don't forget the presence of God. Whatever you're going through right now, you're hurting, you're in pain, you're tempted to ask why and where are you. Don't forget the who in the boat.

The who is always more powerful than the what. Number one, you're in the presence, you're in the storm with, His presence. Number two, you're in the storm for his purpose. You're in the storm for his purpose. You may remember that Jesus was the one who said, let's go to the other side. In other words, the disciples weren't in the storm because they were out of his will. They were actually in the storm because they were in the middle of his will. Now, that raises a complicated theological question that I just want to acknowledge. Why did Jesus allow the disciples to endure this storm? And the answer is, I don't know. That's above my pay grade. His ways are higher than our ways.

His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. We know, though, that he loves us so much that God is always working all things together for good, to those who love him and are called. according to his purpose. Why did God allow this? I don't know for sure, but perhaps there was something that they needed to learn in the storm, that they couldn't learn on the safety of the shore. I'm not sure you're getting that. I'm going to say it again because some of you may be living there right now. There might have been something that they needed to learn in a very difficult situation, a place that required faith. There might have been something that they needed to learn in a storm

that they couldn't learn on the safety of the shore. And Kristen, in fact, her story was that they learned quite a bit about the faithfulness of God and the miraculous power of God because when they told her all of the bad news and it was very, very bad, they didn't surrender to it. But her husband, Jeff, a great man of faith, laid hands on her. and prayed for healing. And her life group laid hands on her and prayed for healing.

And the whole staff came to them and prayed for healing. And when she went in for eight different surgeries, the first of eight they projected, she told the surgeon, I believe that God shrunk the cancer. And the surgeon didn't argue and didn't shrink back, but went and examined it again, and came back in the room and said,

I'm not believing what I'm seeing, but it is significantly smaller than it was. I'm just going to remove it with one surgery, stitch you up, and you can go on. And to the glory of God and the miraculous power of God, the new biopsy report on August the 12th in 2021, said there's no cancer in the nerve and muscle, and there's no further treatment needed at all. God displayed his glory. And their 16-year-old daughter wrote this. She said, Mom, you've known that I've sometimes questioned God,

but I want you to know that that will no longer happen, I believe. She learned something in the presence of a storm that she couldn't have learned on the safety of the shore. Scripture says this. in the middle of the storm while all the disciples are freaking out. Verse 39, Jesus got up. I like this. He rebuked the wind. He was proving he had authority over the wind and the waves.

He didn't just say, please stop. No, he did what you do to your kid when your kid does it three times. He rebuked him and said, quiet, be still. The wind died down. and it was completely calm. What's really cool to me about this story is Peter. Peter, just like the other, was freaking out on the boat. That tells you it was a big storm,

because what did Peter do for a living? He's a professional fisherman, meaning he would have fished in a lot of storms on that very water. But Jesus had a purpose for him. And what did he learn? We have a clue in what he learned if you look at his words in scripture later on. Because Peter, the one who was freaking out in the boat, wrote this later on in 1st Peter 5.7.

He said, cast all your anxiety on him. Why do you do this? Cast all your anxiety. Type it in the comment section. Somebody say that like, cast all your anxiety on him. Why? Because he cares for you. you cast it on him because he cares for you.

The word cast in the Greek, this Greek words used one other time in Scripture, and the other time it's used, it's translated as transfer in one of the versions. It means like transfer your anxiety. Sometimes people will say like whatever is burdening you, like, let it go. Just like, let it go, let it go.

And I'm going to say like, maybe you don't want to let it go. because if there's a heavy weight on you, if I'm bench pressing and I'm under a heavy weight and I let it go, the weight will crush me. But Peter said, don't let it go, but transfer it. Hand it over to God. Whatever it is that's burdening you, whatever it is that's making you anxious,

that thing that keeps you awake at night. The very thing that weighs on your soul, give it to God. If you're afraid for a relationship, where's it going to go? You give it to God. If you're worried about your, your children, you trust your children to God and you pray and you cast your cares on him.

If you're freaking out about your finances, sometimes you say, God, I just need your help. I'm going to trust you with this. If it's a health issue or a career decision, you cast your cares, you transfer the weight of your anxiety to God. Why? Because he loves you more than you can ever imagine because he is good because he is loving because he is powerful now some of my say now Craig if I like just give it to God in that little irresponsible is it powerful or irresponsible and answer is it depends I'd ask you this like do you really believe he is an all-powerful ever present, all knowing God who cares for you because Peter didn't. And then he did.

Because Jesus was with him in the storm and because he recognized he was in the storm for his purposes. There was no way he could have learned what he needed to learn on the safety of the shore. but when Jesus spoke, just one word, it just takes one word, it just takes one word, it just takes one word from God, the God who speaks, it just takes one word from God, it just takes one word from God, it just takes one word from God, and when he spoke, the storm was still. And so if you find yourself in the storm, I want to encourage you to cast your cares on him. I'm carrying a weight today as I'm preaching this. And in the back of my mind, I'm going, man, I'm kind of freaking out right now too. And so with you, I'm choosing to cast my cares on him. Why? Because he cares for you.

What I want to do now is I want to welcome back our campuses. We're glad to have you back. And I want to give you all a chance wherever you are to say thank you right now to your campus pastor. for bringing God's word to us. And I want to say to all of you that when a storm comes, remember, you're never alone. Never let the presence of a storm cause you to doubt the presence of God. You're in the storm with his presence, and you're in the storm for his purpose. Our God cares about you.

cares about every single detail in your life. God cares for the brokenhearted. He draws near to those who are desperate. He is close to those who are crushed in spirit. You may be rejected by someone, but you are never rejected by God. He is always with you. He is always for you. He is always good. in one of three places. You're probably either going into the storm or you're in the middle of a storm or you're coming out of a storm because we live in a broken world stained by sin. And just because you're in a storm doesn't mean you're not in the presence of God. And the good news is the same one who rebuked the storm and caused it to go away. One day, Jesus will rebuke every sin-filled storm in this world. And by his power and with his grace, he will restore all those who are sick and he will heal all

those who are depressed. And he will bring joy to all those who are mourning right now. and he will end all rejection and he will wipe away every tear. And Jesus, the resurrection and the life, will tell death you can go to hell and never come back

because I am the power and the resurrection and the life. The alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. And on that day, Jesus will make all things new. So until then, we gather in the boat. We stay in the boat. We gather with the people of God

in the church, the place where you can go where you have nowhere else to go. The place that you can belong even before you believe. The place where you can come with your fears and your rejection and your doubt and your anxiety and all of your brokenness, the place where you can come and meet the grace of God and love from other broken people who need the same grace that you need the place where Jesus came, not for the righteous,

but for the sinners. He came for the people who were broken, the sick, not those who were healthy. And so what do we do? We stay together. We love each other. We pray for each other. We believe.

We gather. We worship. We hang on to each other and we hang on to the presence of God and we believe his promises and we stay together, casting our cares on him. Why? Because he cares. Because he cares.

Because he cares for us in more ways than we could ever imagine. And one day, Jesus will rebuke the devil, and he will rebuke the fallen world, and all the old things will pass away, and a new heaven and a new earth will appear, and he will make all. things new because he is the risen son of God, because he is the lamb of God, because he is the light of the world and his light shines into darkness, because he is the gate through which we enter,

because he is the beginning and the end, because he is our soon returning, conquering, king of all kings, and Lord of all lords. And one day every knee will be. bow and every tongue will confess he's the savor he's the lord he is the lord of all so whatever you're going through today let's take our burdens to him father thank you that you know the cries of our hearts and you see the very things that we're enduring so we cast those cares on you wherever you're from today, those of you that would say there is a, I have a burden, I have a, I have a weight, I wonder if he cares. It seems like too much. You might be worried about your health or the health of someone you love. It could be a relationship. It could be a financial situation.

Could be anxiety about the future. Whatever it is, cast it on him today. Today, if you have something that's weighing on you and you want to trust it to him, would you just lift up your hands right now. Those of you online, you can just type in the chat. I'm surrendering, whatever it is, I'm my fear to him. You can type it in, I'm surrendering a relationship to him. I'm surrendering my finances to him. Whatever it is, just type it in and say, I'm surrendering this to him. And Father, help us to trust you now. Help us to draw near to you, knowing that you'll draw near to us. And God, we just pray for miracles. We believe, God, that all things are possible with you, God. So just like Jesus spoke and rebuked the winds and the way, we rebuke

depression. We rebuke anxiety. God, we rebuke financial tension and pressure. God, we rebuke division. We rebuke brokenness and sickness and we rebuke cancer. God, and we rebuke divorce. And God, we ask for healing. We ask for your grace. We ask for your power. And in the same way Christian saw you move and bring healing in her body, God help us to see you move. Help us to believe, God. You're a miracle working God who loves us. We believe for miracles. As you keep praying today, the greatest miracle you could ever know isn't just the healing of the body or a provision. The greatest miracle is the miracle of forgiveness and new life in Christ. there are some of you today

that if we sat down and just had a conversation and I kind of ask you like, you know, where are you spiritually? Where are you with God? You might answer kind of like I did at one point. Like, yeah, you know, I try pretty hard. I try to be a good person or whatever. And the reality is at the back of your mind or maybe at the front of your nine,

you'll know like I haven't been that good of a person. The truth of the matter is every single one of us, we've done things that we're embarrassed by and we're ashamed of. And Scripture calls those things sinned. We've all sinned. And we've fallen short. of God's standard. But the amazing good news about God is that he cares for you. He loves you so much

that God became one of you. He sent his son, Jesus. To become God in the flesh, Jesus was God who came and lived a life without sin so that he could give his life as the perfect sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. The same Jesus that calmed the storm is the same thing. Jesus that shed his blood so that our sins could be forgiven wherever you're watching from today whatever you're going through today if you call on his name the name that is above every name you call on the name of Jesus if you confess your sin scripture says he's faithful and just to forgive all of your sins and to make you brand new there are those of you that you need that today what are you going to do simply call on him today say Jesus I give you my life

we're we're going to pray and when you do he's going to hear your prayer he'll forgive your sin He'll make you brand new. You're never the same. You're not watching today by accident, wherever you are. Those who say, I need his forgiveness. I need his grace. We're going to step away from our old life. We're going to give our lives to him.

If that's your prayer, say yes, today by faith, I step away. I surrender my life. I give my life to him. If that's your prayer, lift your hands high right now all over the places. We have hands today in all of our churches, people saying yes. Those of you online, just type it in the comment section. I am surrendering to Jesus. Just type that in.

I'm surrendering my life to Jesus today. We're going to pray, and nobody prays alone. Let's pray together. Pray Heavenly Father. Forgive all of my sins. Jesus save me. Make me brand new. Fill me with your spirit.

So I could know you and I could walk with you and I could serve you. My life is not mine. I give it all to you. Thank you for new life. In Jesus' name, I pray. Because somebody worship today. Welcome those born into God's family to celebrate new life in Christ.