1. Mark 4:35-41 & 6:45-51 By Pastor Bafikile PEACE IN THE MIST OF THE STORM!!

2.  The God who is bigger than the STORM  Finding God in the Storm  Hidden blessings in the STORM  Fear not neither be discouraged, your storm is almost over THE STORM IS PASSING OVER...

3.  The two scenes from Mark that form the Scriptural foundation for this message do not describe the first time the Disciples had been on the Sea of Galilee. Most of them were fisherman and had been out on those waters hundreds of times since their childhood. They knew that Sea like the back of their hand and they knew how to manage a boat in its rough waters. But they had never seen anything like the storms that hit them on those two separate occasions. They were so massive and violent those hardened fishermen cried out in terror fearing they were about to die.  In New Testament imagery a boat was the symbol of the Church and troubled waters were the symbol of troubled lives in the midst of sin sick world. As Americans and Christians, you and I are in the boat facing a storm such as we've never seen. Like the Disciples who took their experience with the Sea of Galilee for granted and believed they knew how to handle ever thing it might throw at them, we had become fairly complacent about life in America. That is, until September 11th when a storm blew in upon us the likes of which we never thought we'd see. TROUBLED WATERS IS THE SYMBOL OF TROUBLED LIVES

4.  Philippians 3:13-14 (ESV) 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. LOOKING WHERE?

5.  Yet, brothers and sisters, somebody is about to throw us a life preserver. Somebody is about take on the storms of our life face to face and shout, "Peace! Be still!" Somebody is greater than all the winds of destruction. Somebody is stronger than all the rain of terror. Somebody is greater than the darkness that surrounds us and the waves that seek to wash over us. And that somebody is Jesus! "PEACE! BE STILL!"

6.  Mark's two stories of drowning men and their Lord and Master teach us two unchanging truths about Jesus and how through Him we can find peace in the midst of the storm: Jesus is present in every storm and has power over any storm.  In the first of Mark's stories Jesus is in the boat with the Disciples, but in the second He is on the far shore as they go sailing off alone. Yet in neither experience do the Disciples pay much attention to Jesus' location. They were simply going to sail across the waters of Galilee as they had time after time before. Jesus' presence or absence didn't seem to make much difference. Those meaningless trips across the lake didn't seem to require Jesus' help. In fact, in the first story He goes to one end of the boat and falls asleep without the Disciples saying a word about it at the time.  In much of our living Jesus' presence or absence doesn't seem to... DROWNING MEN AND THEIR LORD AND MASTER

7.  In the midst of this national storm we are battling together some of us may be trying at the same moment to sail through the trouble waters of a stormy personal life.  The enemy may be sending storms of destruction upon some of our families, or our finances, or our health.  The boat is taking water, the threats of the storms we face are very real, and we may well feel as if we're about to drown. WHAT TO DO

8.  “If we are willing to do the mental work, almost anything can be healed." Did you know that limiting beliefs and ideas are often the cause of illness, and shows how you can change your thinking - and improve the quality of your life!  Song: “impilo inzima, ifuna abomeleleyo, kwasho abadala, ifuna abomeleyo  Jeremiah 30:17 : For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the Lord, because they have called you an outcast: ‘It is Zion, for whom no one cares!’ Jeremiah 30:17 CONCLUSION

9.  I was in a tunnel And couldn't see the light And whenever I'd look up I couldn't see the sky Sometimes when I'm standin' It seems like I done walked for miles And my heart could be cryin' Dead in the middle of a smile But then I climbed the hills And saw the mountains I hollered help 'cause I was lost Then I felt the strong wind Heard a small voice sayin' "THE STORM IS OVER NOW"

10.  The storm is over (The storm is over now) And I can see the sunshine (Somewhere beyond the clouds) I feel Heaven, yeah (Heaven is over me) Come on and set me free, whoa Now in the midst of my battle All hope was gone Downtown in a rushed crowd And felt all alone And every now and then I felt like I would lose my mind I've been racin' for years And still no finish line, oh But then I climbed the hills And saw the mountains (Mountains) I hollered help 'cause I was lost Then I felt the strong wind And then a small voice sayin'

11.  The storm is over (The storm is over now) And I can see the sunshine (Somewhere beyond the clouds) I can feel Heaven, yeah (Heaven is over me) Come on and set me free Somehow my beginning stepped right in (Right in) Then faith became my friend (My friend) And now I can depend On the voices of the wind When it's sayin' (Sayin') Won't you come and set me free Won't you set me free