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PROVEN | Week 2 | Sermon · Rewind

Rock Point Church

41 min

Pastor Daniel Goulding · Jul 1, 2024 · 5 min read · 41 min listen

The big idea

Quoting the message: It's only when our faith has been tested that it can become perfected, end quote. and complete.

In this message

The big idea
Point 1 of 7Jesus was leading the disciples, not led by the crowd, and He deliberately walked away from popularity to take them somewhere that didn't make sense.
Point 2 of 7The disciples' journey began with a promise, not just a threat — Jesus said they were going 'to the other side,' meaning the storm would not destroy them.

Point 3 of 7A fierce, possibly supernatural storm hit while Jesus slept, showing that God sometimes leads us into hardship on purpose because storms have revealing, faith-testing purpose.
Point 4 of 7Jesus was asleep right beside the disciples in a tiny boat, not distant or careless, modeling a rest that is available to believers even while the world panics.
Point 5 of 7The disciples' desperate cry, 'Lord, save us,' is what moves Jesus to act, showing real spiritual maturity is shortening the time between panic and crying out to God.
Point 6 of 7Jesus calms the storm with a word, showing His disciples He has divine authority, and reminds them that even little, mustard-seed-sized faith is enough for God to work with.
Point 7 of 7The disciples' question — 'who is this man?' — is the most important question anyone will ever answer, because if Jesus really is God, He can calm the storms raging in and around us.
Take it into your week
Transcript

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Scripture in this message

Matthew 8
Matthew 8:23
Mark 4:35
Matthew 8:24
James 1
James 1:3-4

Rewind AI drafted the Big Idea and some point headings shown here from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

Pastor Daniel Goulding · Jul 1, 2024 · 41 min watch · 3 min read

PROVEN | Week 2 | Sermon

In this message

Big Idea
Key points
Application

Scripture in this message

Matthew 8
Matthew 8:23
Mark 4:35
Matthew 8:24
James 1
James 1:3-4

Big Idea Key points Application

Big Idea

Quoting the message: It's only when our faith has been tested that it can become perfected, end quote. and complete.

Jesus doesn't just tell us who He is — He shows us, often in the middle of the storms He leads us into. Those storms aren't proof that God has abandoned us; they're the very place our small faith gets tested, proven, and grown into something complete, while Jesus Himself stays right there in the boat with us.

Key points

1
1Jesus was leading the disciples, not led by the crowd, and He deliberately walked away from popularity to take them somewhere that didn't make sense.
Pastor Daniel notes that large crowds had followed Jesus after His healing miracles, but at the height of His popularity Jesus tells the disciples to leave the crowd behind and cross to the other side. This shows a life led by the Spirit of God rather than by public opinion or the desire to build a following.
2
2The disciples' journey began with a promise, not just a threat — Jesus said they were going 'to the other side,' meaning the storm would not destroy them.
Pastor Daniel points to Mark's account, where Jesus says 'let us go over to the other side,' and argues this establishes a promise of arrival before the storm ever hits. He applies this to the listener: our hard seasons are temporary and we too have been promised we'll get to the other side.
3
3A fierce, possibly supernatural storm hit while Jesus slept, showing that God sometimes leads us into hardship on purpose because storms have revealing, faith-testing purpose.
He explains that the disciples were professional fishermen who knew ordinary Galilee storms, yet this one convinced them they would die — suggesting something beyond a normal squall. He uses the illustration of hurricanes uncovering old shipwrecks and archeological finds to show that storms reveal what's really there, both weaknesses and strengths, and quotes Charles Spurgeon and James on trials producing endurance and completeness.
4
4Jesus was asleep right beside the disciples in a tiny boat, not distant or careless, modeling a rest that is available to believers even while the world panics.
Correcting a common mental picture of a large ship, Pastor Daniel notes Mark records the boats were small, meaning Jesus was inches from the chaos, not hiding from it. He connects this to his own airplane turbulence story about a sleeping pilot, arguing that if the One who controls the storm is at rest, we can be at rest too.
5
5The disciples' desperate cry, 'Lord, save us,' is what moves Jesus to act, showing real spiritual maturity is shortening the time between panic and crying out to God.
He walks through verse 25 where the disciples finally wake Jesus and cry out, framing this as the pattern of the gospel — God meets us in the middle of our mess when we call out to Him. He redefines spiritual maturity not as how many verses we know but as how quickly we move from panic to peace, illustrated by his kids memorizing Bible books.
6
6Jesus calms the storm with a word, showing His disciples He has divine authority, and reminds them that even little, mustard-seed-sized faith is enough for God to work with.
Pastor Daniel walks through Jesus rebuking the wind and waves and the disciples' amazed question, 'who is this man?' He ties this to Jesus' mustard seed teaching in Matthew 17:20, arguing God doesn't need big faith from us, just a small amount that He can grow into something massive.
7
7The disciples' question — 'who is this man?' — is the most important question anyone will ever answer, because if Jesus really is God, He can calm the storms raging in and around us.
He closes by pressing that recognizing Jesus for who He actually is, not who we hope He is, changes everything, since only God can command the sea. This becomes the hinge into the invitation to cry out to Jesus in the storms people are currently facing.

A story from life

Story about neighbor David's surprising kickball kick in the cul-de-sac, used to illustrate that showing beats telling

Application

Pastor Daniel's invitation is to bring whatever little faith you have straight into the storm and cry out to Jesus, trusting Him to step in.

Stop expecting a storm-free life
Recognize that following Jesus doesn't exempt you from hard seasons, but it does mean those storms are never without purpose.
Let the storm reveal what's in you
Instead of just praying for a hard season to pass quickly, ask God to show you what He's teaching you and to grow your endurance through it.
Shorten the distance from panic to peace
When trouble hits, practice crying out to God sooner rather than trying to control everything yourself; that shrinking gap is what real spiritual maturity looks like.
Bring your mustard-seed faith to Jesus
Don't discount the small amount of faith or hope you have right now — offer it to God and watch what He can do with it rather than waiting until you feel you have enough.
Cry out to Jesus in your current storm
If you're facing a storm today, whether caused by others or by your own choices, invite Jesus into it right now in prayer and trust Him as Lord and Savior of your life.

Take it into your week

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

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Scripture in this message

From the transcript
“So if you have a Bible open up to Matthew chapter eight, Matthew eight is where we'll be this morning. And as you turn there, I'll pray for us and we will jump in”
From the transcript
“It starts in Matthew eight twenty three, after the crowd has been built into a frenzy. Here's how the story starts. It says in verse 23, Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples”
From the transcript
“in Mark chapter four, I wanna read you the same couple verses, the same beginning of this story, because it will frame the context of which we're going to see this story unfold. Mark chapter four, same story recorded in verse 35 says it this way”
From the transcript
“Look how the story continues in verse 24. It says, suddenly. Everybody say suddenly. Suddenly out of nowhere, a fierce storm struck the lake with waves breaking onto the boat, but Jesus”
From the transcript
“James says it this way. He says, Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, considered an opportunity to post on Instagram and tell everybody about your life falling apart”
From the transcript
“For you know that when your faith is tested, here it is, your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow. For when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing”
From the transcript
“Remember what Jesus told us. Jesus told us in John chapter 14, he says, I'm leaving you a gift. Here's the gift, peace of mind and heart. And the peace that I give you is a gift that the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid”
From the transcript
“Verse 25, the disciples finally realized, okay, maybe we should ask Jesus for help. The disciples went and they woke him up and they shouted, Lord, save us. We're going to drown”
From the transcript
“Psalm chapter 42, David says it this way. He says, why my soul are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? And then he starts to command. He starts to speak declarative over his soul”
From the transcript
“Look at what Jesus does. Verse 26, Jesus responded, why are you afraid? You have so little faith. And then he got up and he rebuked the wind and the waves and suddenly there was a great calm”
From the transcript
“You remember what Jesus told the disciples? Matthew chapter 17, another time where they're trying to heal people and they're not getting it figured out. They can't heal them and they ask him, why can't we heal this guy? And Jesus says in verse 20, you don't have enough faith”
From the transcript
“Look how the story ends for the disciples. Verse 27, it says, The disciples were amazed. Who is this man? They asked. Even the winds and the waves obey him”

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

7-day devotional

A personal reading plan from this message — scripture, reflection, and prayer for each day.

Sign in to track your progress through this devotional.

Day 1

There is something easy to miss at the beginning of this storm story: Jesus was the one who said, 'Let's cross to the other side.' He initiated the trip. He knew what was coming. And He got in the boat anyway — with them. Pastor Daniel made this the foundation of the whole message: the storm was not a surprise to Jesus, and it was not a detour from the plan. It was the plan. That reframes everything. When you are sitting in the middle of something hard and wondering how you ended up here, it is worth asking whether Jesus might have been the one who said, 'Let's go.' Not because He wants to watch you struggle, but because He knows what is on the other side — and He knows what the crossing will do in you. The disciples did not get a full explanation before they set sail. They got a promise and a companion. That is usually how it works. You may not have clarity about why this season is happening, but if Jesus is in the boat with you, the destination is not in question. The same voice that called the storm quiet is the same voice that said, 'Let's go.' Trust who is steering.

For reflection

Is there a hard season in your life right now that might look different if you believed Jesus had deliberately led you into it with a purpose and a destination in mind?

Pray

Pray for the courage to trust that Jesus is present and intentional in the storm you are currently facing.

Day 2

The disciples who got into that boat were not strangers to the Sea of Galilee. Several of them were experienced fishermen — this was their water. And yet the storm was so severe that even they panicked. That detail matters. It means the storm was genuinely terrifying, not just a rough patch for the spiritually weak. Pastor Daniel did not sugarcoat this, and neither should we. Hard seasons are hard. Fear in the middle of a real storm is a human response, not a character flaw. What is striking is what the disciples did with their fear — they brought it straight to Jesus. They woke Him up. They cried out. Even their cry had panic in it — 'Lord, save us! We're going to drown!' — but it was still directed at Him. There is something quietly instructive there. They did not huddle together and try to strategize their way out. They did not pretend the waves were not real. They went to the one person in the boat who could actually do something. When fear rises in you, the goal is not to feel no fear. The goal is to know where to take it. Bringing your panic to Jesus — even imperfectly, even desperately — is still bringing it to the right place.

For reflection

When fear rises in you, what is your first instinct — and how might you redirect that first instinct toward Jesus instead?

Pray

Pray for the habit of turning to Jesus first when fear rises, rather than after every other option has been exhausted.

Day 3

James does not say you might face trials. He says when your faith is tested. The assumption is that it will be. But the frame James puts around that reality is not dread — it is purpose. The testing of your faith produces endurance, and endurance, when it is fully developed, makes you perfect and complete, needing nothing. Pastor Daniel leaned on this truth: Christians are not exempt from storms, but they are exempt from storms without purpose. That is not a small distinction. A storm with no meaning is just suffering. A storm with divine purpose is formation. The same pressure that feels like it is breaking you is also building something in you that could not have been built any other way. This does not mean you have to feel grateful for the pain in the middle of it. James is not asking you to fake emotions you do not have. He is asking you to hold onto a bigger picture — that the God who allowed this trial is also the God who is working through it, shaping something in you that will one day be described as 'perfect and complete.' That is a long view worth holding onto when the waves are high.

For reflection

What might God be building in you through a current or recent trial that could not have been built any other way?

Pray

Pray for the long view — for eyes to see the formative purpose behind a trial even when the outcome is not yet visible.

Day 4

The psalmist is not pretending everything is fine. 'Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad?' That is an honest question, asked out loud, to God. But then something shifts: 'I will put my hope in God.' It is not a denial of the sadness. It is a decision made in the middle of it. Pastor Daniel pointed to this movement — from panic to peace — as the mark of growing spiritual maturity. The goal is not to never feel the storm. The goal is to shorten the time between the first wave and the moment you turn your eyes back to Jesus. The psalmist models that movement. He does not wait until he feels better to speak faith. He preaches to himself while he still feels the weight. 'Yet I will praise Him again — my Savior and my God.' That word 'yet' carries a lot. It holds the tension between honest pain and stubborn hope. You do not have to resolve the tension before you can pray. You can bring both the despair and the declaration into the same conversation with God. That kind of honesty before Him is not weak faith. It might actually be where real faith starts.

For reflection

What does it look like for you personally to 'preach to yourself' in the middle of a hard season — and what truth would you most need to hear?

Pray

Pray for the ability to speak hope to your own soul even when your emotions are not yet there.

Day 5

Jesus does not say you need great faith to see God move. He says faith the size of a mustard seed — the smallest of seeds — is enough to move a mountain. Pastor Daniel was direct about this: do not let the enemy convince you that what you have is too small to matter. The lie is that your faith has to be impressive before God will act. The truth is that even a mustard seed of hope, offered honestly to God, is something He can work with. This matters for anyone in a storm who feels like their faith has been worn down. You may not be able to muster bold, confident, bet-everything trust right now. But if you have even a small flicker — even the desire for faith when faith feels hard — bring that to God. He is not waiting for you to have it all together before He shows up. He meets you at the level of what you actually have, not the level you think you should be at. The starting point is not impressive faith. The starting point is honest faith, however small. And the goal — the direction you are heading — is the kind of trust that expects miracles in the middle of the mess.

For reflection

Is there an area of your life where you have been holding back from asking God because your faith feels too small — and what would it look like to bring even that small faith to Him today?

Pray

Pray with whatever measure of faith you actually have right now — honestly, without pretending it is bigger than it is.

Day 6

After the wind stopped and the waves went flat, the disciples asked each other, 'Who is this man?' It is a question worth sitting with. They had walked with Jesus. They had heard Him teach. But this moment — watching Him command weather with His words — confronted them with something they had not fully reckoned with. Pastor Daniel framed this as the most important question any person will ever answer. Who is Jesus, really? Not just a teacher. Not just a moral example. Not just a source of comfort. The disciples saw someone with authority over the created world, and it undid them. The storm did not just reveal their fear. It revealed who Jesus was. That is part of the storm's purpose — not only to test your faith, but to show you, in ways a calm day never could, the actual nature of the One you are trusting. It is hard to know the power of Jesus as a rescuer if you have never needed rescuing. The disciples' awe on the other side of the storm was deeper than anything they could have had without it. Whatever storm you are in or have come through, the question it is asking you is the same: Who is this man? And what does your answer change?

For reflection

Has a hard season ever shown you something about who Jesus is that a comfortable season could not have revealed — and how has that changed the way you trust Him?

Pray

Pray for a deeper, truer understanding of who Jesus is — not just what He does, but who He is.

Day 7

Looking back over this week, the whole arc of Matthew 8:23-27 is a story about a faith that gets tested and comes out the other side changed. Jesus led the disciples in. He stayed present through it. He acted at the right moment. And when it was over, the disciples were not the same people who had gotten into the boat. That is the shape of what God does in storms. He is not indifferent to your fear. He is not slow because He does not care. He is working something in the crossing itself that the destination alone could not produce. Pastor Daniel's call to the church was plain: stop waiting for a bubble-wrapped life and start trusting the One who is in the boat with you. Hold onto what He has spoken over your storm. Move toward peace more quickly each time. Bring whatever faith you have, even if it is small. And keep asking — and answering — the question the disciples asked on that water: Who is this man? Because the answer to that question is what turns panic into peace, fear into faith, and a storm into a story worth telling. The other side is real. You are going to get there.

For reflection

As you look back over this week, what is one truth from this passage that you want to carry forward into the next storm that comes?

Pray

Pray for the faith to hold onto God's promises through whatever storms lie ahead — and for the courage to share what He has done in the ones you have already survived.

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

Small-group discussion guide

For leading a group conversation about this message.

Open

This message puts us right in the boat with the disciples — soaked, terrified, and suddenly face-to-face with the One who can silence a storm. Before we dig in, what's one word that came to mind when you first heard the title or passage?

Discussion questions

1
In Matthew 8, Jesus gives the disciples a clear word — 'Let's cross to the other side' — before the storm ever hits. What does it tell us about Jesus that He leads them into the storm rather than around it?
2
Pastor Daniel made the distinction that Christians are not exempt from storms, but they are exempt from storms without purpose. What difference might that distinction make in the way people actually experience a hard season?
3
James 1:2-4 says that tested faith produces endurance, and endurance — when fully developed — leaves us 'perfect and complete, needing nothing.' What do you think James means by 'perfect and complete' in that context, and how does the storm in Matthew 8 illustrate it?
4
Pastor Daniel described spiritual maturity not as never panicking, but as shortening the time it takes to move from panic to peace. How does that reframe what growth in faith looks like day to day?
5
In Matthew 17:20, Jesus tells His disciples that even mustard-seed faith is enough for God to work with. Pastor Daniel warned that the enemy tries to diminish the small faith we already have. What might it look like, practically, for a community like ours to protect and encourage even the smallest flicker of faith in one another?
6
The disciples' awe lands on the question 'Who is this man?' — and Pastor Daniel called that the most important question anyone will ever answer. Why do you think a storm was what it took to surface that question, rather than the calmer moments they had already shared with Jesus?

Pray together

God's faithfulness to bring us to the other side — and the courage to bring whatever small faith we have to Him in the middle of the storm

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

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PROVEN

Week 2 · 4 messages

Where these passages are preached

Matthew 8 Mark 4 James 1 John 14

Explore related topics

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