The storms Jesus leads us into are not a sign He's absent — they're the very place where little faith gets tested into a faith that can be trusted, and where we finally answer the question, who is this man?
Jesus doesn't just do miracles that leave us in awe — He leads us through storms that actually grow our faith. Following Him was never a promise that hardship disappears, but a promise that we get to the other side, and that even little, mustard-seed faith handed to Him can bring about the miraculous.
A story from life
Story about a childhood neighbor named David whose unexpectedly powerful kickball kick changed how the whole cul-de-sac regarded him.
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Point 1 of 6
Jesus is led by the Spirit, not by the crowd
Pastor Daniel notes that in Matthew 8, large crowds followed Jesus, but Jesus was never following the crowd's expectations. Even after healing a man with leprosy, a centurion's servant, and Peter's mother-in-law while the crowd swelled to a frenzy, Jesus turned away from the notoriety and got His disciples into a boat instead.
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Point 2 of 6
The journey begins with a promise, not a guarantee of ease
Drawing out details Mark's gospel adds to the story, Pastor Daniel points out Jesus told the disciples plainly, 'let us go to the other side' — meaning they had His word they would get through the storm before it ever came. The disciples also had to choose to leave the crowd and accept Jesus into the boat as He actually is, not as they wished Him to be.
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Point 3 of 6
The storm was real, possibly Jesus-caused, and it wasn't a mistake
Pastor Daniel highlights that professional fishermen were convinced they would die, suggesting a storm of supernatural scale that Jesus himself may have brought them into. He's careful to say this doesn't mean God causes every hardship, but that Jesus understood the storm would strengthen disciples He knew would soon face the cross and persecution.
“miracles will only wow you. They will only leave you in awe but they won't ever actually grow your faith”
— Daniel Goulding
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Point 4 of 6
Jesus sleeping in the storm is not distance, it's peace we're invited into
Correcting a Hollywood picture of a grand ship, Pastor Daniel shows that a first-century fishing boat put Jesus right next to the panicking disciples, not far away. He argues Christians aren't exempt from storms, but are exempt from storms with no purpose, and that peace instead of panic can be the church's witness to a watching world.
“Christians aren't exempt from storms but you are. We are exempt from storms with no purpose”
— Daniel Goulding
“it's only when something's been tested, can it be trusted”
— Daniel Goulding
“I think real faith is the ability to expect a miracle in the middle of a mess”
— Daniel Goulding
Illustration
A quote from Charles Spurgeon: 'Storms help to make the sailors sturdy and trials help to make Christians strong in their faith.'
Illustration
An analogy about a new-build home where the construction materials have never been tested, illustrating why untested things cannot be trusted.
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI
Point 5 of 6
Little faith, handed to Jesus, is enough to move mountains
Jesus's words 'why are you afraid, you have so little faith' are framed not as rebuke but instruction — the miracle didn't require perfect faith, just faith small as a mustard seed. Pastor Daniel connects this to Matthew 17:20 and challenges the room that little faith is a fine starting point but shouldn't be where believers stay.
“sometimes the makings of a miracle is not perfect faith. It's not big faith. It's not like really spiritual faith”
— Daniel Goulding
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Point 6 of 6
Everything comes down to one question: who is this man?
After Jesus calms the sea with a word, the disciples ask the question the whole story was building toward. Pastor Daniel presses that this isn't an intellectual or historical question but a personal one, inviting each listener to decide for themselves who Jesus is to them.
“Little faith is a great starting point but when we've been journeying with Jesus at some point, our little faith should begin to grow into big faith”
— Daniel Goulding
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI
Take it into your week
Pastor Daniel frames the ask around measuring the time from panic to peace and bringing whatever little faith you have to Jesus.
Application
Answer who Jesus is for yourself
Move past an intellectual or historical answer and personally decide who Jesus is to you, especially if storms are raging in or around your life right now.
Bring your little faith to Jesus
Don't wait for big or perfect faith before expecting God to move — hand Jesus whatever small, mustard-seed faith you have and watch what He does with it.
Let your little faith grow into big faith
For those who've walked with Jesus a while, keep growing rather than staying at little faith, trusting Him for even more as you've watched Him be faithful before.
Measure your growth by panic-to-peace time
Use how quickly you move from panic to peace in this storm compared to the last one as a real gauge of spiritual maturity.
Cry out, Lord, save me
If you're here and have never trusted Jesus with your life, respond right now in desperation with that simple, most important prayer.
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI