Week 22 Why Face the Storm
“We all face storms in life. Some are more difficult than others, but we all go through tirals and tribulations. That’s why we have the gift of faith.”
Joyce Meyer
Passage
1Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.
3And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;
4and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;
5and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Romans 5:1–5 (NASB95)
"Hikers descending north face of Electric Peak with approaching storm" by YellowstoneNPS is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.
Background
Quote-Pauline Joyce Meyer (née Hutchison; June 4, 1943) is an American Charismatic Christian author, speaker, and president of Joyce Meyer Ministries. Joyce and her husband, Dave, have four grown children and live outside St. Louis, Missouri. Her ministry is headquartered near the St. Louis suburb of Fenton, Missouri. Meyer also reports that during an intense prayer while driving to work one morning in 1976, she heard God call her name. She was born-again at age nine, but unhappiness drove her deeper into her faith.
Passage-The book of Romans is a Pauline Epistle (letter from Paul). The Apostle Paul wrote it roughly about 56-57 A.D. The key personalities in the book of Romans are the Apostle Paul, and Phoebe who delivered this letter. Paul wrote the letter to the believers in Rome, hence the name “Romans”. He wrote it to give them a concrete theological foundation on which to construct their faith and to live for and serve God effectively.
The book of Romans reveals the answers to important questions and supplies information on many topics, such as salvation, the sovereignty of God, judgment, spiritual growth, and the righteousness of God. Many scholars also describe it as The Gospel and the Righteousness of God, which can be received only by faith in the atoning death of Jesus Christ.
Lesson Notes
Opening Statement
Some have a stronger faith than others. Some don’t have any faith at all. Still others have faith but it is shrouded in doubt. A boat is hard to row by yourself, which is why we come together to worship, study, and pray.
Ask: Where should we anchor our hope when we are in the middle of life’s storms?
Point: Jesus Christ. Please read the following:
29And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
30But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”
32When they got into the boat, the wind stopped.
Matthew 14:29–32 (NASB95)
Ask: What do we learn from Peter about anchoring our hope on Jesus in the storm?
Point: When we take our eyes off Christ and focus on the troubles around us we begin to sink but when we refocus on Him, and take His hand to walk His way, we are able to do the miraculous and “…they got into the boat…”
Ask: What happened when they “…got into the boat?”
Point: verse 32, “…the wind stopped.” Meaning the storm subsided.
Ask: What is the boat?
Point: The boat is the way they traveled across the water. It is how we walk through life.
Ask: What does it mean to anchor our hope in Jesus? Do we have a scripture that explains this?
Point: Yes. Please read the following:
11‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.
12‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
13‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:11–13 (NASB95)
Ask: “But this is God talking that He knows. How does Jesus know too?”
Point: Jesus is God. Please read the following:
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2He was in the beginning with God.
3All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
John 1:1–3 (NASB95)
Ask: “That’s God’s voice, His Word. Not Jesus, right?”
Point: No. The Word, the Logos is another name for Jesus. Please read the following:
12But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,
13who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
14And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:12–14 (NASB95)
Ask: Do those three passages explain how anchoring hope in Jesus is what gets us through the storm and back on His path for our lives?
Point: Yes because God and Jesus know what Their path is and how it is for our benefit and not for our loss.
Ask: “That’s great that God and Jesus know what my path is but how do I know what my path is?”
Point: Listening to the Holy Spirit. Please read the following:
12“I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
13“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
14“He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.
John 16:12–14 (NASB95)
Ask: Why face the storm at all if the path isn’t going to be easy?
Point: Please Read the following:
6For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
7For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.
8But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
Romans 5:6–9 (NASB95)
Closing Statement
God didn’t promise life would be easy but He did promise he would be there. Jesus died for everyone’s sins saving us from the just punishment of one who has broken the rules. He took our punishment so that through His sacrifice we can be made clean. The storms are temporary but salvation is eternal. If we stay on His path for our lives we might be able to help someone else discover this truth and weather their storm.
Questions for the Week
Question 1 Consider the difficulties you face in life past, present, and future.
Question 2 In light of the Matthew 14 passage from today’s lesson what does your “boat” look like (the boat is your path through Life?)
Question 3 Contemplate the hardships from Questions 1 and what your “boat” looks like from Question 2 and answer this: what direction does your path with God take from this point forward?
Question 4 With the answer to Question 3 in mind, write down in your journal what one, two, or three immediate next steps you think the Holy Spirit is guiding you to on God’s path for your life.
Question 5 Whether you wrote down steps or not, spend deliberate time in prayer this week asking God to guide you on His path for your life instead of your path for your life.
Definitions
Greek Strong’s Number: 3056 Word
Greek Word: λόγος
Transliteration: logos
Phonetic Pronunciation: log’-os
Root: from <G3004>
Cross Reference: TDNT - 4:69,505
Part of Speech: n m
Vine’s Words: Account, Cause, Communicate, Communication, Intent, Matter, Matters, Question, Questioning, Reason, Report, Saying, Show (Noun), Speech, Talk, Things, Treatise, Utterance, Word
Usage Notes:
English Words used in KJV:
word 218
saying 50
account 8
speech 8
Word (Christ) 7
thing 5
not tr 2
miscellaneous translations 32
[Total Count: 330]
from <G3004> (lego); something said (including the thought); by implication a topic (subject of discourse), also reasoning (the mental faculty or motive; by extension a computation; specially (with the art. in John) the Divine Expression (i.e. Christ):- account, cause, communication, × concerning, doctrine, fame, × have to do, intent, matter, mouth, preaching, question, reason, + reckon, remove, say (-ing), shew, × speaker, speech, talk, thing, + none of these things move me, tidings, treatise, utterance, word, work.