Trusting the One Who Calms the Storm
Pastor Tan Thai · Feb 14, 2016
This sermon based on Mark 4:35-41 presents three messages for the new year: storms will certainly come, we must call out to God in the storm, and we must trust the One who has power to calm every storm. Through the account of Jesus stilling the sea of Galilee, the pastor encourages the congregation to place complete trust in God in every circumstance.
This sermon was delivered on Sunday, February 14, 2016, at the Vietnamese New Year (Tết Bính Thân). The pastor opens with the image of familiar New Year greetings, contrasting the hope people express with the reality that everyone will face storms in life. From this, he introduces Mark 4:35-41 with three main points for the new year.
The first point is that another storm will come. The pastor explains the unique geography of the Sea of Galilee, where sudden violent storms can arise without warning. The disciples, though experienced professional fishermen, encountered a storm unlike any they had faced before. The lesson is that even though we know storms can happen, we rarely expect them to hit us personally, and past experience does not guarantee we can handle every new storm. The pastor uses the 2008 economic crisis, sudden illness diagnoses, and unexpected family losses as vivid illustrations.
The second point is to call out to God in the storm. When the boat was about to sink, the disciples woke Jesus and cried out to Him. Their question — 'Teacher, don't you care if we drown?' — echoes the cry of many people suffering today. The pastor explains that God uses trials to correct, teach, and refine us, citing James 1:2-4. Jesus spoke one word, and the wind ceased and the sea became calm, demonstrating that all of creation obeys Him. The pastor urges the congregation to seek God early, not waiting until they are completely desperate, citing 2 Corinthians 6:2.
The third point is to trust the One who calms the storm. The pastor emphasizes that many people call on God only in difficulty and then forget Him when life is going well. The right attitude is to continually place complete trust in God in every circumstance, as Proverbs 3:5-6 teaches. He uses the image of a baby sleeping peacefully in its mother's arms during a storm, Psalm 4:1 and 8, and the moving story of lawyer Horatio Spafford — who wrote the hymn 'It Is Well with My Soul' after losing four daughters at sea — to illustrate what genuine trusting faith looks like.
The sermon closes with a sincere invitation: do you truly and fully trust the One who calms the storm? This is a challenge directed to both believers and those who have not yet come to faith, calling everyone to turn their hearts to Him in the new year.