so so so Amen. If you'd like to find your place in Matthew chapter 8, Matthew chapter 8, the title of the message is Facing the Storms of Life. But facing them in faith, and that's so important. We're all going to have storms. We're all going to go through troubles and trials and But it's in those storms that your faith is going to be revealed. Whether it's a lack of faith, or no faith, or like was said of some in the New Testament, they had great faith. But through the struggles and the trials that they went through, it reveals our faith. And that's what the Word of God does. It'll reveal our heart. It'll reveal where we are. But storms will do that for the child of God. And we're all going to face them. And may the Lord help us to face them with great faith. But if we do face a storm and it reveals our lack of faith or little faith, boy, let's do something about that. Where does faith come from? It comes from hearing the Word of God. It comes from spending much time in the Word of God and God's Word in you. And that's what we all need. And we don't need more of Christmas get-togethers. We need more of the Word of God. And we need to be in God's house more. Isn't that something? We'll go to four or five different Christmas gatherings, but yet we won't go to church but once. I mean, there's something wrong. There's a priority. And may the Lord help us here to make sure that we're walking with Him and don't get distracted in this season. I call this the season of distraction. Starting from Thanksgiving on, it's a season of distraction if you're not careful. And before you know it, you can get overwhelmed real quick. And it's all because we lose focus of what's important, what's really important. And it's not just in this time of the year, it's in all times of our life. and putting Christ first and making much of the Word of God. And you make much of His Word, He'll make much of you. You make much of Jesus, the Son, and I tell you, the Father will make much of you. And what we need is help, and we face these storms, and every person's going to face them. And I'm not just talking about material storms, you know, financial situations or job situations or housing or whatever, but we're going to face physical storms. That's for sure. We're going to face things that affect us personally and then also emotionally. And then throughout the Bible, you see a lot of people going through emotional storms. and then also spiritual storms. And there's no doubt about that. And we're going to face those. And may the Lord help us in those times to respond with great faith. Not just faith, but with great faith. And if you find your place here in Matthew chapter 8, Matthew chapter 8, And in Matthew chapter 8, you've got just a series of stories here that Jesus intervened in people's lives. But there is one very familiar story that many times when you talk about storms and you talk about going through some difficulties there, we immediately go to verse 23. And when Jesus steals the waves there in that section there, verse 23-27, and the disciples, their faith is going to be tested through a tempest, a great storm. And many times we run right to that passage, you know, if we're going to talk about storms and things like that. And that's understandable because the disciples were in the will of God. They were doing what God wanted them to do. They were obeying God, but yet God still allowed their faith to be tested by this storm. Well, think about Job. In the will of God, Job faced a terrible storm in his life. I mean, one that just seemed not to stop and just kept on and on and on, but yet Job's faith was being put to the test. And here in Matthew 8, we see a series of people, and I mean, just one after the other here, about every few verses, there's another person that's facing a storm. They're facing different types of storms, and they're facing things that the person after them's not facing. It's something totally different for them. But in every case, in every storm, in every story, in every situation, What we find here is what I want you to get a hold of this morning is that Jesus met them where they were. And it makes no difference what you'll face. I mean, we've got this crowd of people here this morning and everybody here is facing different things and none of us may be facing the same storm or the same difficulties, the same troubles, but right here is the truth. Jesus will meet you right where you're at in your storm. Jesus will show up and make a difference. And if you notice there in verse 23 to verse 27, everything was going fine until they got out in the middle of the sea. And when they got out to the water, a sudden storm popped up. And look, we're gonna face those sudden storms. Don't think that during the next month, even though some people call it the most wonderful time of the year, that you're not gonna face a sudden storm. And we all could. There's a possibility of that. And you're going to see others here in this passage in chapter 8 where their storms had been raging for years and things that they'd been dealing with for days and maybe months and maybe years. And there's some storms like that that you're just going to be in it. until Jesus comes or you get called to be home, you're just gonna have to deal with those storms and you're gonna have to deal with the leftovers and the consequences of those storms. And we're gonna see that right here in this passage. But each storm is gonna reveal something about each person's faith. And I want you to really get a hold of that. And then as we make application to the storms that we're facing, maybe now or in the future, in the past, that storm, if you'll look at it, it revealed where you were with Jesus, with your walk with Jesus, how close you were to Jesus. Matter of fact, it'll reveal how much faith you have. The storms of life don't make us or break us. All they do is reveal what's already in us. And I'd like for us to start with this first one. It's a two-part message. I'm not going to get it all done this morning, so tune in to this afternoon for the second part of this message. I trust it will be a help to you, a blessing. But let's start reading in Matthew chapter 8 in verse 1 through 4. It says, and when he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand and touched him, saying, I will. Be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. and Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man, but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded for a testimony unto them." Here I'd like for us to notice that this man was facing a personal storm. It was the storm of personal affliction. This storm was not a sudden storm. It's not something that just came up on this person. The Bible said that he was a leper. He had already been deemed unclean. He had already been deemed untouchable and he had already been isolated because of the leprosy in his life. I want you to notice with this man here, this is something that he'd been dealing with for a long time. You may have come into this auditorium this morning, there's some things that you've been dealing with for a long time. But isn't it good to know that Jesus will meet you right there in that storm and Jesus knows exactly what you've been facing and how long you've been facing and Jesus got the the answer there for you. And I tell you, we can take hope in that today because this man had already been deemed unclean. I tell you, the effects of the leprosy had already taken hold on his life. This is something that he'd been dealing with for a long time, most likely. But in verse two, I want you to notice his approach. It says, and behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. Did you notice what he did before he was healed? He was doing what a lot of people won't do and what a lot of people run from when they're facing the storms of personal affliction. The Bible says that he worshiped. He worshiped before he was ever healed. Now, you'll hear of people when they get healed, they'll worship and they'll be thankful unto the Lord, but my goodness, this guy right here, before he was ever healed, he came and he worshiped the Lord. You see, his leprosy, the storm, that he was facing had not impacted his worship. I'm gonna tell you that we're missing that in our churches today. Hey, we're missing people that'll just stay in there and just stay with the stuff. And they'll just keep on going through the difficulties and the troubles of this life. And they'll just keep worshiping Jesus no matter what. Boy, I tell you what, we live in a time where it don't take much to knock somebody right out of the church pew. I tell you, just the least little adversity, the least little difficulty, the least little trial, I'm telling you, it takes them right out of the pew, and they're no longer worshiping the Lord. But this man had leprosy, but that leprosy had not impacted his worship. Now, we understand he couldn't go to the temple anymore, and he couldn't go into corporate worship there. Oh, but he knew how to make his way to Jesus. and he got to where Jesus was, and it says that when he got to where Jesus was, he didn't just say, heal me. No, he worshipped. He worshipped the Lord before he ever asked to be healed. Why? What did he worship the Lord for? Because he knew the Lord and he knew his power. Did you see in verse two, he came and he said, Lord. He knew who he was and he knew his power. He says, thou canst make me clean. You say, well, man, I'm going through a storm and I've got this sickness. Hey, but you can still worship the Lord. because he's still Lord when everything's going good and he's still Lord when everything's going bad. Hey, he's still the same God. He's that God on the mountain just like he's the God in the valley and he's the God in the valley just like he's the God on the mountain. And there's a God in heaven that's worthy of our worship because of what he can do. You say, well, I'm still sick, and I've been praying. Hey, and I've been asking God to help me through all this. Well, can I just encourage you today and just keep on? Hey, you just keep on worshiping God. You just keep on trusting God, because you know what God can do. Hey, God has the power, and that's why He came. He worshiped the Lord for what He could do. Boy, so many times we'll only want to worship Him or thank Him for what He has done. But my will to worship Him for what He can do and for what He has the power to do and acknowledge that power that He has. He said, thou canst make me clean. But not only that, He submitted to Jesus' will. See, we want what we want. But I like what he said. He said, Lord, if thou wilt. If you will. Lord, if it's your will. I mean, you understand, he worshiped. knowing what God can do, knowing who God is and the power that he has, but he still worshiped, knowing that it's still up to the Lord. If it's his will, and he was okay with that. Boy, how many people aren't okay with that? How many Christians are not okay if God don't get them out of every little trouble and fix everything right then? They're just not okay with it. But this man said, Lord, if you want to, Lord, if it's your will, Look, he worshipped Jesus because of who he was, because he was Lord. I don't know what you're facing today, but Jesus is still worthy that we worship him today for who he is. He is Lord. Not only that, he worshipped him for what he could do. He said, Make me clean. Hey, I tell you what, you may be facing some troubles today, but you ought to worship God for what God can do. Hey, God can take that thing and turn it around. If He wants to, He can take it. You ought to just worship Him for the fact that He can. You've got something to worship Him for. The Bible says to give thanks in everything. It doesn't say for everything, but in everything. In any situation, I can give thanksgiving to God because of who He is and for His power and what He can do in my life. And I can submit to His will. Lord, that's worship, by the way. When you submit to the will of God, when you submit to him and you submit to his doings in your life, that's worship right there. You're acknowledging that he's Lord in your life. In the storm, this leper's faith was revealed in his submission to the will of God for his life. He said, That right there was a testimony of his faith. See, when you face a personal storm of affliction, can I encourage you just to go ahead and worship anyway? Hey, what worship? Worship anyway. Why? Because he's still Lord and because he's able and because, hey, it's his will and you can trust him today Worship is what is gonna turn your storm into an altar. You think about that. His leprosy, that storm of personal affliction that he was facing is what turned his situation into an altar. It was that leprosy that brought him to Jesus. It became an altar in his life. Hey, don't listen there and look down and demean. Think about it, what God's allowing you to go through, because it just may be that thing that becomes your altar. It may become what brings you to the Lord and gets you closer to him. Hey, his storm turned into an altar. Over in Psalms 34, in verse 18, it says, unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all." Hey, can I tell you, you can just worship today. based because the Lord said he's nigh to those that are of a broken heart. You know that man's heart had to be broken. You know that man's heart had to be tore out of his frame, being isolated and being separated, being declared unclean, unable to gather with family, unable to do this and that and carry on. Every time he met somebody, he had to holler unclean, unclean. And I tell you, that leprosy may not have been through any fault of his own. Oh, but yet it caused him to be separate from others. And I'm gonna tell you, he still worshiped. He worshiped the Lord. Why? Because God is near those that are of a broken heart. You may have walked in here with a broken heart today. Can I just say God's near those people? But I'm gonna tell you what, he's gonna be near you if you'll worship him. And if you'll still praise him, hey, just because of what he can do, he can turn this thing around. And you ought to just be thankful today that he can do that. Boy, we see the storm of personal affliction, but number two, we got the storm of a loved one's burden. I'm gonna tell you, all of us, if you've been saved any time, you've carried another person's burden to the Lord. There's been other people maybe that you cared for, other people that you love, maybe family members or friends, that you've had to carry their burden, and you've had to take that burden to the Lord. In verse 5 it says, And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, and saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home, sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saying unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I'm not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof, but speak the word only and my servants shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me, and I say to this man, go, and he goeth, and to another, come, and he cometh, and to my servant, do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marveled and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you that many shall come from the east and west and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way, and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. and his servant was healed in the self same hour." Oh, this man's storm was different than the man with leprosy. Hey, this wasn't a personal affliction. This was the storm of a loved one's burden. He had a servant that was sick. He had somebody that was dear to him. He had someone that he cared for that was sick and he came to the Lord on his behalf. Here we see that his plea was not for himself, but his plea was for someone else. Oh, we see his humility being displayed in verse 8. He said, Lord, I'm not worthy. Jesus says, I'll come and heal him. And he said, Lord, I'm not worthy. Oh, but then you see in verse 8 there, you see his faith was revealed. In his storm, he said, all you got to do is speak. to speak the word only, to speak the word only. Hey, some storms come because of those that we love. Hey, maybe it's a spouse that's gotten away from the Lord or maybe there's some form of maybe even mistreatment or maybe there's a spouse that's suffering in our house. Maybe it's a child or a family member, or it could even be a friend. But I'm going to tell you, we're going to face those storms of loved ones' burdens. And what can you do there? All you can do is bring them to Jesus. Hey, because His Word still has power. You see, this storm in this centurion's life revealed his faith. Oh, in verse 10, Matthew 8, it says, and when Jesus heard it, he marveled and said unto his father, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. Somebody say, well, you know, my loved one won't come to Jesus. Well, hey, this servant couldn't get to Jesus either. Bible says that he was tormented and he was unable to come to Jesus, but somebody came to Jesus on his behalf. They won't come, but can I just say you can. Hey, you can display your faith in the storm of a loved one's burden. Hey, maybe you're so burdened for that person, you better come running to Jesus on their behalf. And you better come to him and say, Lord, help me. Help my unbelief, Lord. Lord, help my servant, help my spouse, help my child, help my family member, help my friend. Oh, God, they need help, Lord, today. And God, only your Word can fix it, Lord. Hey, Lord, would you get your Word to them today? Oh, God, all we need is to hear from you, Lord. And if they'll hear from you, it'll make all the difference in the world and their life. If they'll just humble themselves at your word, oh God, would you simply just speak a word to them, Lord, today? Oh, my children need a change of heart. Oh, my spouse needs a change of heart. Well, go to Jesus and say, Lord, if you'll just speak a word to him. Hey, you know what the Word of God can do. He knew that the Word of God could heal his servant. Hey, there's nothing that your loved one's going through that the Word of God can't help them. No matter what it is, the word of God will help them today. Oh, the Bible says in James 5 16 that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Boy, you think this centurion's request availed much to the benefit of that servant? I think it did. I think it did. Hey, your prayers are not in vain. Your intercession is not in vain. There's still a God in heaven that's able, that has all power, and his word still changes lives today. Hey, would you run to him today in faith? Would you show some great faith today and say, Lord, I can't fix it. Lord, I can't help him. Oh, but God, all they need is a word from you, and if they'll listen, and they'll take it in. And whatever they gotta do, humble themselves or whatever it is, maybe it's repent of a sin and get right with him. But that's what the power of the word of God will do. It'll heal them. Here we see the storm of a loved one's burden. We've seen the storm of personal affliction. You notice that Jesus meets every person where they're at. Boy, and I hope today for you and for me, the third storm is the storm of domestic trouble. Boy, this one right here is a sensitive storm that some people have to face, that storm of domestic trouble. In verse 14, it says, and when Jesus was coming to Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother laid and sick of a fever, and he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she arose and ministered unto them." Here we come to a story here that's getting closer to home. He went into Peter's house, and there his mother-in-law lay sick of the fever. Did you notice that nobody had come? Not even Peter. Peter didn't even come to Jesus on her behalf. Peter's wife didn't even come to Jesus on her behalf. Hey, she's not able to come herself. She's not able to make her way to Jesus, but thank God in verse 14, it says, in verse 4, and when Jesus was coming to Peter, he saw, he saw his wife's mother laid and sick of a fever. Hey, there's some storms that's not going to be visible to others. You may have walked in here today and you're in one of those type of storms that nobody else can see. It's not a personal affliction, maybe some physical problem. It may not even some loved one's burden, but yet you're going through something that nobody else knows about. that you won't mention for certain reasons. It could be domestic trouble. It could be something in your home that you're dealing with, that you're going through. Maybe you came in here today with a broken heart over a situation in your own home and what's going on there. in your house and nobody else knows your hurt. Hey, you may have walked in here with a big smile on your face, but your heart was weeping before the Lord, hurt before Him because of some domestic problem that nobody else could even see the depth of the hurt that you're facing. Oh, but thank God there's one who sees today. Thank God that Jesus saw Peter's mother-in-law. He saw her there. He saw her need when nobody else would understand and nobody else would come to him. When it seems like nobody else cared, Jesus saw and he came to her. And the same Jesus that came and touched her. is the same Jesus that'll meet you in your storm and he can touch your life and he can help you today. But here we see that her faith, the storm that she was going through, her faith was revealed by what she did after Jesus healed her. In verse 15 it says, she arose and ministered unto them. You know what she did? She got up. and she kept on going. She got up and she just kept on serving God. How many people want God to touch them and heal them and help them, but then they don't wanna go back to doing what they was doing before? They just wanna get healed so they can just go on about their business, but the Bible says she got up and she kept on serving the Lord, and she just kept on ministering unto them. Boy, I'm gonna tell you, we need some of that. We need some of that today. Some people, they'll just keep on going. Hey, when God shows up, hey, they'll just, and it fixes things and gives them grace and gives them peace and gives them mercy and gives them help and strengthens them. They'll just keep on going. They'll just keep on serving the Lord. Number four, we see the storm of overwhelming need. Overwhelming need. And we're all gonna face those type storms. In verse 16, it says, and when the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils. And underline that word, many. And he cast out the spirits with his word and healed all that were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaias the prophet, saying, himself took our infirmities and bear our sickness. Jesus, many were possessed. I'm telling you, many were sick and many were suffering. You know, there's gonna be some storms that feel endless. I mean, I'm talking about overwhelming needs in our life that's gonna come up, and it seems like it's just gonna be one thing after another. I mean, here they just kept coming, if you would. That multitude had gathered there, and I'm telling you, there were many that were, possessed and he cast out the spirits and healed all that were sick. I like verse 16, though. When people were overwhelmed because somebody had to get those people to Jesus. Somebody had to bring them there. It says, verse 16, it says, and when they even come, they brought unto him. Hey, hey, many, Many, and I tell you, they had got to the point where it was overwhelming to them, and they could not handle it anymore. So what did they do? They exercised their faith, and they brought these people to Jesus, knowing that Jesus had the power to do what they could not do. Hey, here we see a sense of overwhelming need. Hey, we're so limited in what we can do. But thank God, Jesus' compassion has no limits. They brought them many that were possessed, and he healed them, and all that were sick were healed. Oh, Jesus' power is greater than ours. Can I ask you, do you have something that you can't carry anymore? Do you have something, maybe some storm in your life, something that's come up in your life where you just feel like it's overwhelming to you, where you just feel like, I can't go no more, I can't take it no more, Oh, I've come to a point where I just realize I just can't do no more. I've done all I can do, and I've tried. Hey, but there's still one more recourse. Hey, you can bring it to Jesus. You can bring it to Him. Hey, and He'll meet you there. Did you notice every person that we've looked at so far, Jesus met them right there in their particular storm. You see, these folks right here, they revealed their faith. when they brought their need to Jesus. Their faith was revealed with what they did with their overwhelming need. They simply brought it to Jesus. Aren't you glad you don't have to have great faith? All you got to do is just have a little faith to get the heart of God. Hey, for God's heart to be touched, hey, would you bring that burden to Him? Maybe it's something that's overwhelmed you today. Hey, would you simply bring it to Jesus? Maybe it's a storm of the burden of a loved one. Maybe there's somebody on your heart there that you just, they won't come to Jesus and they won't get right. Hey, but you can come to him and you can exercise faith in his word and what his word can do and worship him just like that leopard did. Hey, he worshiped him because of who he was today. Even though he was facing a storm, he was facing a trial, he worshiped God for who he was and for what he could do and he submitted to the will of God for his life. Maybe you're going through some domestic problem. Maybe there's something going on at home that nobody knows about. And boy, you need God. Boy, you need the Lord to see you right where you're at. Oh, I tell you, it'd be a good time. It'd be a good time to just get on your knees right now. If you're listening by the way of the internet, you just get on your knees right there, just bow in your heart. and just cry out to God and worship Him. Maybe it's some kind of personal affliction. Maybe it's the burden of a loved one. Maybe it's a domestic problem. And maybe it's something that's just got you overwhelmed today. Could you take comfort in knowing that Jesus knows all about it? And He's willing to meet you right there in your storm. If you'll just show some faith and you'll just submit to Him and just worship Him again, thanking Him for what He is or for who He is, for what He can do, what He can't do, and submitting to His will, knowing that God sees. Maybe it's a loved one that needs prayer. Maybe there's someone that you're burdened about that won't come to the Lord. They won't turn from their ways and they won't humble themselves. Hey, do you know that the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword? Would you just, like that centurion, exercise some great faith? and say, God, if you can just get your word to them, I know that your word can make all the difference if they'll simply hear it and apply it to their lives. And Lord, they too can see the victory. They too can be healed from whatever it is that's got them bound. We serve a great God.