Sunday, July 4, 2010

Peace Speaker

"Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth. But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.
And he said unto them, 'Where is your faith?' And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, 'What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.'-(Luke 8:22-25)

If the occurance of storms in the life of a believer were not to be expected, I highly doubt that this event would have been recorded in all four gospels. It is the will of the Lord that we understand that: "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."-(John 16:33) In truth, we must cheerfully anticipate the challenges and "storms" that await us along the path of our earthly training for eternity. "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience."-(James 1:2-3) If we can learn to be as Jesus in the torrents and chaos of the tribulations that stretch our boundaries, we will become more like the Master Himself, and greater grace will abound in our lives.

A few years ago, a great man of God, dear friend and spiritual father of ours, Dr. Ralph Wilkerson, founder of America's first Mega-Church, Melodyland Christian Center in Anaheim, California (across the street from Disneyland), was traveling with Pastor Benny Hinn and entourage to a crusade on the ministry jet. The weather over the flight path was forecasted as "clear, smooth and docile" and the Captain had even announced that they should arrive early to their destination. Dr. Wilkerson was exhausted from the previous crusade (a state we are altogether familiar with) and decided that this would be a grand opportunity to get some much needed rest. He fell into a deep, peaceful sleep. About a third of the way through the flight, the Captain announced that they were getting reports of a "massive tropical storm". He said they were attempting to fly around it, but that their fuel limited the possibility of out-flying the storm. The turbulence hit hard as it became evident to Pastor Benny and the other passengers that it would not be possible to avert the danger ahead. The Captain let him know that they had no choice but to spearhead into the storm and "hope for the best". The conditions were deadly. The jet was tossed to and fro, sending the passengers, who were being shaken like rag dolls, into panic. The Captain came over the loud-speaker and with a quavering voice said "I don't know whether we're going to hold together here, and we are running out of fuel. Everyone needs to be ready to brace for impact." The attempt to avoid the storm nearly drained the fuel reserves and the situation became entirely grim in an abbreviated blink of time. Pastor Benny recalled to me that people were crying, praying in tongues and some weeping and singing hymns all at the same time. He then related to me that the entire time this was going on, Dr. Ralph Wilkerson remained peacefully asleep. He stumbled over to him to alert him of the imminent danger that they were in, and shaking the sleeping man of God said- "Ralph! The plane is going to go down!! Get up and pray!!" Dr. Wilkerson opened one eye and said very calmly- "Let me sleep. Jesus slept in the midst of the storm, let me sleep. Where's your faith?" Moments after that, the Captain announced that they were breaking through the storm and that they had just received clearance to land at an alternate landing strip to refuel. It was a miracle. God had pulled them out of the grip of death and destruction and safely delivered them.

I often reflect on that situation as the literal contemporary exemplification of Luke 8:22. It forces me to contemplate situations of dire outlook that occured in my own walk and review how I carried on through them. I believe that the darkest instances of challenge we have faced have always equated to the deepest, most substantial growth in our faith and spiritual maturity. As believers, we often pray for "breakthrough" or "revival" or "growth". We ask the Lord for a deepening of our relationships, an empowerment of His grace and glory in our lives. But few and far between recognize that God does not offer developmental conditioning and growth to us without testing. We were never promised total deliverance from trials or tests in this life. On the contrary, we were told to expect them, endure them and finish our races, not for the comfort in the present, but for the "joy set before us"-(Hebrews 12:2). Jesus said as He prayed for us in the Garden of Gethsemane "I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one."-(John 17:15) He could have asked the Father to keep us entirely out of the world and its snares. But instead, He asked that we would be kept from the evil one. A request that positions us to ultimately win, but also retain the development and seasoning of taxing and testing.

Knowing that we are victorious in Christ, we are given the power to act with Him at the helm. When we face trials, challenges and tests, we are granted the grace, power and authority to wear Him. "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ."-(Galatians 3:27) As we are covered by and in the person of Jesus Christ, we have not only the authority to claim victory over the adversary's plans, but to remain in peace, even speaking peace to and through every storm. "Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm."-(Mark 4:39) So, precious people, as you encounter the storms that will inevitably occur in this beautiful life we have been blessed with, do not curse the clouds and lightning, do not be dismayed by the winds and the downpour, rather, be secure in the knowlege that your faith will grow through each one, as you are ever equipped by Jesus Christ to be a "Peace Speaker".

1 comment:

  1. Pastor Brian - I really like your phrasing - "As we are covered by and in the person of Jesus Christ, we have not only the authority to claim victory over the adversary's plans, but to remain in peace, even speaking peace to and through every storm."
    I think we have seen too many Rambo movies where heroic is shown by what is suffered. Jesus seems to have defined heroic by what we don't allow and therefore don't suffer. We have the authority to remain at peace. That makes us heroic.

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