Crossing Over – The Storms of life

What is Crossing Over?

Crossing over represent a transition from where you are to where God wants you to be.

Mark 4:35-41 (NKJV)

35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 Now
when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also
with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38
But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care
that we are perishing?”39 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. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you
have no faith?”[a]41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the
wind and the sea obey Him!”

Before we move on, look closely at what Jesus said in verse 35, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” I
know that literally, Jesus is talking about getting in the boat and going to the other side of the lake. But His
statement reminds me about the “other side” of life. On this side of the lake Jesus had performed miracles,
confronted the Pharisees, taught about the Kingdom of God, the crowds are growing and everything is looking
good. On this side, the disciples faith and trust in Jesus has been easy and fun, but on the “other side” they are
about to be tested. They don’t know it, but a storm is coming on the other side. On this side things are going
well, but on the “other side” things are about to get tough.

The “other side” of good health is illness. How will you respond? Your faith is going to be tested on the “other
side.”
The “other side” of the honeymoon is a broken relationship. How will you respond? Your faith is going to be
tested on the “other side.”
You get the idea. Storms are a test. Those test occur on the “other side” of life.

I. LIFE’S CROSSOVER WILL DEFINE YOUR PRIORITIES

35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 Now
when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also
with Him.
A. Busyness doesn’t equal productivity. Activity is not accomplishment.
B. prioritizing will cause you to do things that are uncomfortable and sometimes even painful.

There are 3 ways to identify what is important to us

1.What we spend time on
2.What we spend money on
3.What we think and talk about

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John 6:38 (KJV)
38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

Philippians 3:13-14 (NKJV)

13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are
behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the
upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

II. LIFE’S CROSSOVER WILL LEVEL-UP YOUR PERSPECTIVE

41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea
obey Him!”

Psalm 46:1-3, 10a

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst
of the sea;
Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.
Selah…
…Be still, and know that I am God
A. They Made Discoveries About His Power – This storm that so terrified these men posed no problem for the
Lord Jesus. He rebuked the wind and spoke to the sea. When He did, the winds fell silent and the sea became
as a sheet of glass. Just as easily as He had healed the sick and cast out the devils; He was able to control the
storm.

The Lord we serve still has that same power today, Matt. 28:18; Gen. 18:14; Eph. 3:20. Your storm is no
problem for Him! He can silence it with a word, if He so desires. He may, however, desire to allow the storm to
rage. When He does this, He is well able to protect you in the midst of the storm. (Ill. Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego – Dan. 3; Ill. Daniel in the lion’s den – Dan. 6)

B. They Made Discoveries About His Promises – Just as He said, they passed over, Mark 5:1. They learned that
He was as good as His Word!

He still is! Everything He has promised He will do, Rom. 4:21; Heb. 6:18. He will not back away from any
promise He has made in this book!

C. They Made Discoveries About His Presence – When the Lord is in your vessel, you have an advantage. The
Bible says in verse 36 that there “were also with him other little ships.” There were many boats on that sea
that night, but only one contained the Lord of glory. That boat was the place to be.

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 As we sail on the sea of life, we need to remember that we are all in this thing. We are all on the sea, we
are all in our boat, and we all voyage together. We need to be sure that Jesus rides with us in our vessel.
Having Jesus in your vessel makes all the difference. They were able to call on Him because He was with them.
They were able to see Him move in power because He was with them. They were able to experience His peace
because He was with them. Is His in your vessel? If He isn’t, how do you weather the storms that arise in your
life?

D. They Made Discoveries About His Purposes – The storm taught these men a lesson they could have learned
no other way. It would have been nice if they would simply have believed Him after seeing Him do all the great
things He did in chapters one and two. It would have been great if they could have taken the things the Lord
did for others and applied it to their own lives. If they could have said, “You know, if Jesus can heal a leper,
cure Peter’s mother-in-law, cast out devils, heal that guy with the palsy and forgive his sins, then I am sure
that He can take care of this storm too.” But, they seemed unable to process that information and apply it to
their own lives. So, He sent them into this storm to teach them to trust Him.

What about us? We have the Bible. It tells us all the things He has done and can do. We have the
testimony of others around us. We have seen what He has done for them. We have even seen Him move in
our own lives. Wouldn’t it be great if we could just trust Him? We don’t, so He uses the storms to teach us that
we can lean on Him and trust Him to take care of us.

(Ill. When they arrived in Gadara they saw that demon possessed man. I wonder if they doubted Him after
the storm. When they saw Jairus come for help for his daughter, and even when she died, I wonder if they
said, “I believe He can take care of this”. I think the storm increased their faith! That may have been the
purpose all along. If it wasn’t the purpose, the Lord surely used it in that fashion. He does the same for us!

When you come to Mark 6:48-51, there you find these same men in another storm. Again, they are afraid.
They are filled with doubt once again. But, this time, Jesus is not with them in the boat. Again, they are filled
with doubts and fears. Jesus comes to them and stills their storm. They are taught another valuable lesson:
even when you can’t see Him, He is still watching you and working on your behalf!

Sometimes, He sends the storms to educate us and to teach us to trust. His purpose is not to hurt us, but
to grow us. You can always trust the Lord to do right in the storms of life.)

E. They Made Discoveries About His Peace – While they are fretting and fearing, what is the Lord doing? He is
sleeping! Why? He knows that He is in the center of His Father’s will. He knows that He will die on a cross and
not in a shipwreck. He can sleep during the storm because He trusts His Father to take care of Him.

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 If a situation doesn’t rattle the Lord, we shouldn’t allow it to rattle us either! And, nothing rattles Him,
Psa. 121:4; Psa. 127:1-2.

F. They Made Discoveries About His Person – When Jesus calmed the sea, they were amazed and said, “What
manner of man is this?” They learned that He is the One Who is in control of every puff of wind; every angry
wave and every storm. He is a good man to know! He can corral the waves; lasso the winds and hog tie the
storm. (Ill. King Canute I of England) Do you know Him today?
Jesus has power over the storms of your life

III. LIFE’S CROSSOVER WILL LEAD YOU TO YOUR PURPOSE

John 4:31-35 (NKJV)
31 In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But He said to them, “I have food to eat of
which you do not know.” 33 Therefore the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to
eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. 35 Do you
not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and
look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!

You will have new outlook in life.

Having a clear God given purpose will suddenly bother you about the way things are or the way things are
headed in your life’s situation It will CHANGE your perspective, – the way we look things.

It will change your attitude in life

Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he
is a rewarded of them that diligently seek him.

It will drive you to act with passion

Galatians 2:20 (KJV)
20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live
in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Conc: I don’t know the nature of your storm, but I know Who can calm it. He is still the Master of the deep.

· If it is a storm of suffering; He can ease your pain.

· If it is a storm of sorrow; He can comfort your soul.
· If it is a storm of sin; He can deliver you and set you free.
Do you need to hear Jesus say “Peace, be still” to your storm? If you do, bring it to Him and watch Him work.