I am aware of the fact that most people claim to dislike the King James Version of the Bible. I am also aware that when we want to recite the Lord’s prayer or the 23rd Psalm, we want—no, that is not right—we DEMAND to have it in good old King James English. I knew a pastor in Ohio who, when she was called to a church, was told that they wanted nothing to do with the stuffy, old King James. It was the custom of that church to open each service with a congregational reciting of the Lord’s prayer. At that first service she led them in the Lord’s prayer from the New International Version, AND SHE WAS FIRED FOR MESSING WITH THEIR LORD’S PRAYER. I didn’t hear about it for a couple of weeks, but when I did hear about it, I asked the person telling me the tale (one of the Elders of that church) how they could fire her when they had told her that they didn’t want the King James. He looked at me blankly. In our subsequent conversation it came out that he did not know that the Lord’s prayer is actually Scripture! An Elder!

          The point here is that, for all of your protestations against the King James, there is just something almost regal in the language.

          For instance, in the recent series, I have used the King James because when the King James says, “fear not,” it sounds so much more comforting than “don’t be afraid.” The phrase “fear not” is not in today’s Scripture, but I will still use the King James, because it sounds so good.

          In Matthew 8, Jesus had been ministering to many, starting with Peter’s mother-in-law. Finally, He was worn out. He told the disciples that they needed to leave there and go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Just a note, the Sea of Galilee is a rather small, freshwater lake. Wabash County, Indiana, is six and a half times larger than Galilee. The Sea of Galilee is 64 square miles. Lake Michigan is 22,394 square miles. Jesus commanding to go to the other side was not a big deal. Once they left the shore, an exhausted Jesus fell asleep. And this is where we pick up in Matthew 8:23-27---And when He was entered into a ship, His disciples followed Him.  And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but He was asleep.  And His disciples came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And He saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marveled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him! Wonderful story!

          Again, the phrase “fear not” is not used. Instead, He asked a question. Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? WHY ARE WE FEARFUL? The waves are over the boat! We’re tossed around like a rubber duckie in a bathtub! We are gonna sink! They had enough faith to know He could save them, but they didn’t believe He could do it in His sleep. I am thinking He had a little smile when He asked the question. So, He stood up and calmed the sea.

          Let me share with you what has brought this line of thinking about today.

          In church on Sunday mornings, you stand and watch the Power Point on the screen. The songs and the Scriptures are there. Each individual message that comes up on the screen is called a slide. It might take as many as ten slides for one song and, usually, each verse of Scripture gets its own slide. They go by pretty quickly in the course of the service. You may, or may not, pick up on the background of each slide. I have taught myself how to superimpose that background, so that the backgrounds all have something to do with the overall message of the service. Kind of a subliminal thing, only in a good way. This week the message is out of Ezekiel, where the Lord promises showers of blessings. We have the song, Showers of Blessings. There is a joy in the idea that the heavens will open up and the blessings will flow down! How exciting!

          So, I wanted to get a picture for a background that conveyed that excitement. I looked at literally hundreds of pictures. It took me almost two hours to find a picture. I never spend that kind of time. The Lord always gives me just the image I want, but not this time. All I was getting were pictures of heavy storm clouds, gloomy days, tossing waves. This is not what I am looking for Lord! Give me happy showers of blessing!!!

          And then it occurred to me. This may not be a huge revelation to you but it was to this old farm boy. In Ezekiel 34:26 where it talks about showers of blessings, I had always read that as all good things. But as I sat there feeling frustrated because I couldn’t find that 'all good thing' picture of blessings, I realized that showers do not fall from cloudless skies. Again, SHOWERS DO NOT FALL FROM CLOUDLESS SKIES. You would think that someone who grew up depending on the rain would know that, but sometimes you get a certain thought in your head and you don’t think.

          Now, this is the thing. In order for there to be showers of blessing, there has to be a storm. On a clear and beautiful day, you are exhilarated and filled with the joy of the Lord. But, when you are passing through a storm, the blessings of God become more and more pronounced. There is a branch of Christianity that teaches that if you have enough faith, all will be wonderful. Which is completely unBiblical. It is only in the time of storm that you truly feel the power and presence of the Lord. For the true servant of the Lord, those periods of peace and rest are like R&R for a soldier.

          This is a Biblical truth. When you start to see the truths of the Bible and how they all come together, it gives us a sense of wonder. And so it is that Ezekiel 34 and Matthew 8 link up to make a Biblical truth clearer.

          If there had not been a storm that night on Galilee, the disciples would not have needed a miracle. (Or, rather, a blessing. A blessing is a miracle, either because of its timing or because of its substance.) They would have sailed across the lake without a thought and probably have complained the next morning of their lack of sleep. But the storm did come. Their lives were in danger of being lost and they were afraid. They woke Jesus and He calmed the sea, after He had given them a gentle lesson. This would have been a huge blessing because the need was so great. Showers of blessing only fall from stormy skies.

          But there is one more thing. A wonderful blessing does not mean rest and relaxation. The greater the blessing the greater the work to follow. In Matthew 8 it says that Jesus rebuked the wind and the sea and a great calm settled on the sea. The boat was still filled with water and had to be bailed. And it was a sailing vessel. With no wind, it had to be rowed to shore. Not an easy job. Certainly, Jesus could have dried out the boat and He could have attached a 250 horsepower Evinrude engine to the stern of the boat, but none of that is recorded. Regardless the blessing, there is still work to do.   

          Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Indeed. Why do we struggle with the fear that grips our soul?  

          When Marsha left me, I was deeply hurt. But I was probably more fearful than hurt. At that time, we had been in the ministry for 43 years. During all of that time I had worked with the Youth, even when I was also pastoring. For many of those kids, the relationship Marsha and I had was the very image of what a committed, Christian relationship should be. I was afraid that they would have a hard time dealing with that, thinking that it had all been a great untruth. I was afraid that we were going to be doing great harm. As the weeks began to pass, there were cards, phone calls, e-mails and texts from former Youth, some in their 20s, some in their 50s and a lot of them in between. Compassion. Caring. Sharing memories. Sharing their love. And every single one of them ending every communication with, “I am praying for both of you.”

          Jesus said, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? A good question.

          “Fear not.”