Perfect Storm

Good In Tension

Opening tension: What was the contradiction in the boat?

The Word said GO. The wind said NO.

Shore revelation: What was the boat and what was the storm?

The boat was the rescue from the shore. The storm became the classroom.

Progress paradox: What does the contrary wind teach about progress?

You can make great progress in the wrong direction...and almost none in the right one.

Bottom line: MUST KNOW COLD

Don't let the wind overrule the Word that sent you.

Getting nowhere: What can faithfulness look like when there is no progress?

Sometimes faithfulness looks less like making progress...and more like refusing to change direction.

Yesterday's miracle: What did the twelve baskets fail to guarantee?

A miracle you witnessed yesterday does not automatically become trust you possess today.

The delay — MUST KNOW COLD: Why did Jesus come so late?

If all Jesus wanted was to help them row, He came terribly late. If He wanted them to discover who was walking toward them, He came at exactly the right time.

The night: Who needed the night?

Jesus didn't need the night. They did.

The real distance — MUST KNOW COLD: Why did the crossing take so long?

Jesus let the crossing take longer because He was taking them somewhere farther than the other side of the lake.

Recognition: Why can we fail to recognize God in trouble?

Sometimes we don't miss God because He isn't there. We miss Him because He doesn't look the way we expected Him to.

The water — first beat: What was the disciples' relationship to the sea versus Jesus'?

The sea that was over their heads...was under His feet.

The water — second beat — MUST KNOW COLD: What did Jesus do with the thing they feared?

The thing they thought would drown them...was the floor He walked in on.

Obedience and adversity: What happened both when Jesus said “Go” and when He said “Come”?

Twice in one story...obedience and adversity occupy the same sentence.

Peter: Wet Peter or dry disciples?

Better a wet Peter than a dry spectator.

Grace — first beat: What happened before Jesus questioned Peter?

The hand comes before the question.

Grace — second beat: What gets there first?

Grace gets there first.

Sinking — MUST KNOW COLD: What does Peter's sinking teach us?

You can be in over your head...without being beyond His reach.

Transformation — MUST KNOW COLD: What did the storm make of the disciples?

They went into the storm as rowers. They came out as worshipers.

Title inversion: How does “Perfect Storm” change meaning?

What if while everything seems to be going wrong around you...something is finally going right inside you?

Final authority: Who gets the last word?

The wind doesn't get the last word. Jesus does.

Final landing

The wind can tell you the crossing is hard.
The wind can tell you the waves are real.
The wind can tell you you're tired.

But the wind doesn't get the last word. Jesus does.

Don't let the wind overrule the Word that sent you.

They entered as rowers.
They left as worshipers.

And the men who began the night without understanding ended it saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”

Perfect storm.