Have you ever heard the old hymn “Peace Be Still”? Verse one goes like this.
“Master, the tempest is raging.
The billows are tossing high.
The sky is o’er shadowed with blackness,
No shelter or help is nigh.
Carest Thou not that we perish?
How canst Thou lie asleep,
When each moment so madly is threatening,
A grave in the angry deep?
Chorus
The winds and the waves
Shall obey my will, peace be still.
Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea
Or demons, or men, or whatever it be.
No water can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of ocean and earth and skies;
They shall sweetly obey my will,
Peace be still, peace be still.
They all shall sweetly obey my will;
Peace, peace be still.
This song came to my mind last night at the first ever Set Free biker worship service as we had a bit of a tempest. The 70 X 40 foot tent along with the 20 X 10 foot tent came tumbling down. The national weather service reported in the Rapid City Journal that there were 70 plus mile-an-hour winds. The Journal reported that it blew motor cycles off the road and knocked out power lines.
Well here at Calvary we literally hung on to the tent until there was no hope of saving it. Men and women from several Set Free biker churches tried to keep the big tent from going air born. As the tent came down some of the musical instruments belonging to the band got damaged. The 20 X10 foot tent was a total loss as the frame is bent beyond repair. I ran out of the big tent as it came crashing down behind me and over to what was left of the small one. I turned to see a very moving sight….no pun intended. There were at least 20 men holding onto ropes as several other men were under the now clasped tent salvaging instruments and speakers. The wind was howling and the soaking rain pelted everyone. The men, from several different bike groups were now welded into a single force. The objective, to save the expensive equipment. There was no thought of self at that moment. No attention was paid to the lighting and driving rain. The thought was to hold the tent and remove the valuable stuff.
That scene is a representation of what this event is all about. Christian people who love the Lord and happen to love riding bikes have come together with the single objective. That objective is to see souls won to Jesus.
The conditions we seek to minister in are the same as the storm last night. Life has collapsed around so many of the bikers who come to Sturgis. In God’s eyes these men and women are valuable. The tent of life has fallen down around them and the storm is raging. The people who are working this worship event are from several different churches. Some are Set Free churches. Some are from our church. Some are from other churches, but we work together as a single team focused for Christ. I am truly blessed to be a part of this wonderful ministry. All day today men have been working to repair the huge tent and to clean up the mess made by the storm. Tonight we will regroup and begin again. Our hope is to used by the Master as he repairs the lives of the lost. Our hope is to see men and women come to Him and find peace. We must remember Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea
Or demons, or men, or whatever it be.
No water can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of ocean and earth and skies;
They all shall sweetly obey his will, peace be still, peace be still. Pastor Steve