[0:00] Take your Bibles and turn to the Gospel of Mark chapter 4. Gospel of Mark chapter 4. I'll begin reading at verse 35 to the end of the chapter.
[0:20] That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, let us go over to the other side.
[0:32] Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was in the boat. There were also other boats with him.
[0:43] A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion.
[0:58] The disciples woke him and said to him, teacher, don't you care if we drown? He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the waves, quiet, be still.
[1:14] Then the wind died down, and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, why are you so afraid?
[1:27] Do you still have no faith? They were terrified and asked each other, who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him.
[1:44] Let's consider carefully what we are about to hear. Springtime is such a beautiful time, isn't it?
[1:54] It displays the beauty and creativity of our God. But it's also a time of storms that reveal the power of God.
[2:04] And kids, storms can be scary, can't they? Whether we're talking about thunderstorms or tornadoes. I remember as a 10-year-old, at night, lying in bed and being scared to death of lightning and thunderstorms.
[2:22] And I would trot over to mom and dad's bedroom door and knock and cry and plead for entrance. Evidently thinking that I'd be safer in their bedroom than mine right beside them.
[2:34] Well, today we find our Lord and his disciples caught in a boat on a stormy Sea of Galilee. And it wasn't 10-year-olds who were scared to death.
[2:46] These were grown men, even fishermen who had fished this sea many times and must have experienced similar storms. But it wasn't just any storm.
[2:58] It was a ferocious one that was just about to sink their boat and drown them had Jesus not got up and stilled the storm.
[3:10] So this storm was a revealing thing. It brought some things to light, didn't it? It revealed who Jesus is, both God and man.
[3:21] It revealed his sovereign power over all creation. And it revealed his loving care for his own. But it also revealed how weak the 12 disciples' faith was still at this point.
[3:39] And all of this was written down for us. And as much to teach us about storms in our lives. And about the master of our storms.
[3:50] And of the need for faith to conquer our fear. So I have five points this morning. The storm itself. And then there's a whole series of rebukes.
[4:01] Jesus rebuked. The storm rebuked. And then the disciples rebuked. And lastly, the response. The disciples' response. So first of all, the storm.
[4:12] And in all of this, we want to see and worship the master of wind and waves. So the storm, verses 35 to 37. That day, when evening came, he said to his disciples, Let us go to the other side.
[4:29] Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was in the boat. And there were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat so that it was nearly swamped.
[4:42] Notice first the timing of this storm. It was the evening of that day. And what a day it had been. The large crowd gathered along the seashore.
[4:56] Jesus in a boat, a ways out into the lake. Teaching them. Preaching the word of God like a farmer sowing the seed.
[5:07] Giving them parable after parable about the kingdom of God. How that God establishes his kingdom right now in this time. By establishing it in the hearts of boys and girls, men and women, who trust in Jesus and obey him as their king.
[5:27] And so enter the kingdom of God. And then, coming aside with his own disciples. And explaining to them the meaning of the parables.
[5:39] It was a full day. And at the end of this busy day of ministry, in the evening, the Lord said to his disciples, let's go over to the other side.
[5:52] We'll see next week the work that was waiting for him there. But let's note, first of all, that this journey right into the storm was undertaken at Jesus' command.
[6:05] At his own word. This storm was not sent to the disciples because they were running from the Lord like Jonah was. No, it met them full force as they were pursuing God's will.
[6:18] As they were following Jesus. Wherever his word directed them. Let's go, Jesus said. And they were off. So, you see that storms will arise in the very path where our Lord Jesus is leading us.
[6:34] Our good shepherd leads us into green pastures. Yes. Besides still waters. Yes. But he also leads us into the very valley of the shadow of death.
[6:48] And into the presence of our enemies. Yes. Yes. He leads us into still waters, but also into stormy waters of wind and wave. And so, dear Christian, don't wrongly conclude that if storms are in your life, it must mean God is against you.
[7:06] God is punishing you. That's the error of the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel, which is no gospel at all, but a lie from hell. It would say, if you have storms in your life, well, it must be you're doing something wrong.
[7:21] Or you must not have enough faith to just drive the storm away. True, God may be pursuing you in the storms if you're running from him and to discipline you, as he did with Jonah.
[7:38] But you may be led into the fiercest of storms as you humbly walk with your God in the very center of his will. That's what was happening here.
[7:49] They were following Christ's orders, and it led them right into the teeth of a ferocious storm. We need a theology as big as God's word, and it's God's word that describes reality for us, describes the Christian life.
[8:07] And so we see with J.C. that Christ's service does not exempt his servants from storms. So let's look closer at this storm.
[8:19] The very lay of the land was conducive to these sudden storms that arose on the Sea of Galilee. It was a large lake, some 13 miles long and about seven miles average wide.
[8:31] And it sits 700 feet below sea level. And then it was surrounded by hills and mountains so that it looked like a big bowl way down below sea level with these walls going all around it.
[8:51] You know what happens when hot air collides with cold air. And so when the cold air from Mount Hermon, 9,200 feet above sea level, when that cold air came sweeping down into this bowl of hot air coming off of the Sea of Galilee, well, cyclone speed winds would whip the waves into a furious storm.
[9:24] And such was the squall that pounded the boat our Savior was in. It was no accident, though. It was not just chance. It wasn't just nature doing its thing.
[9:35] It was ordered and it was timed perfectly by God. And furthermore, Matthew tells us that this storm came upon them without warning. Unannounced, just suddenly out of nowhere, this storm came upon them.
[9:50] Gentle winds quickly turned into cyclone and calm sea into sudden turbulence. So this test of faith was like a pop quiz, kids.
[10:02] There was no announcement that it's coming. There was no thunder in the distance like we get here at the approach of a storm so we can prepare ourselves.
[10:14] No, this just was get out your pencil and paper and we'll see what you have between your ears. We're going to have a pop quiz. And immediately the storm came upon them unannounced without warning.
[10:26] And it was especially, well, do not, some of your storms come that way. You're having a great day, a great week, and then suddenly you find yourself up to your chin in a storm.
[10:44] How does the storm find you? Does it find you fellowshipping with your king?
[10:56] Talking with him? Catch you right in the midst of walking before him? Coram Deo? Well, such tests test our faith.
[11:10] This storm was especially deadly. Their danger was real. The text says in verse 37, the waves were breaking over the boat. So you've seen waves break.
[11:20] Well, think of them breaking over the boat so that it was nearly swamped. They were in serious trouble and about to sink. Luke says they were in great danger.
[11:33] And even these fishermen who knew the lake well were panicking for fear of their lives and thought they were going to the bottom. So storms in our life can seem to come out of nowhere, but we know they aren't coming out of nowhere.
[11:49] They were sent by our God who reigns in the storm. Tied perfectly by him, we sing that song, every joy or trial cometh from above, traced upon our dial by the sun of love.
[12:04] And so it is with the storms in our life. They're traced upon our lives by this sun of love. Now, just what is a storm then? Well, what was it to them?
[12:15] It's a trial that brings fear, and it threatens some loss. But for them, it was the loss of something precious, and for them, it was the loss of their lives.
[12:27] And so any storm in our lives that threatens some loss is the kind of thing that they were facing that day on the Sea of Galilee.
[12:40] Do you have any of that in your life? Maybe right now you're going through and there's something threatening, something valuable to you. That's a storm. And these things were written that we might learn from it.
[12:51] One more thing to notice before we move on, and that's what Jesus was doing in the storm. Did you see that, kids? Jesus was in the stern sleeping on a cushion or a pillow.
[13:03] Now, that detail, that mention of a cushion that he was sleeping on is the detail of an eyewitness that was there that day and saw it.
[13:17] And as we saw at the beginning of Mark, Peter is the one that spent time with Mark and told him much of what he writes in his gospel. Peter the fisherman was on that boat and he saw his master sleeping on that cushion.
[13:33] And it says he was in the stern. That's the back of the boat, kids. And that was the pilot's place. The man who's steering and driving the boat.
[13:44] And as we'll see, it is indeed Jesus who will pilot this boat safely through the storm. That's where he is sleeping. Isn't it wonderful to have Jesus as your pilot?
[13:58] Jesus, Savior, pilot me over life's tempestuous sea. So he's sleeping in the storm, and his sleeping bears witness to the fact of his true humanity.
[14:13] Why is Jesus sleeping? The Lord does not slumber or sleep. God doesn't need rest. He does not grow tired or weary.
[14:25] He gives strength to the weary. Why is Jesus sleeping? It's because he is a man, a real man. No less man than you are, human. And like any other man, he was worn out from the long ministry of the day.
[14:41] He had labored hard in preaching the gospel, explaining to his disciples, answering their questions. And he's so dog-tired that he's actually sleeping through the howling wind and the crashing waves.
[14:58] You need to know that for your comfort, Christian, that the one who is at the right hand of God, always interceding for you, is a real man.
[15:09] He knows weariness. He knows tiredness. He knows storms. He's been through them. He knows what you need. He has just the grace to help you in your time of need. So, take your needs to him.
[15:24] Here's one to run to. In your storms. Well, that's the storm. Secondly, we come upon these rebukes. And secondly, we see Jesus rebuked by his disciples.
[15:35] Verse 38, the disciples woke him and said to him, Teacher, don't you care if we drown? They're panic-stricken. They're consumed by fear. And they're clearly thinking they're going to the bottom and going to drown.
[15:50] Luke says, they're crying, Master, Master, we're going to drown. Everyone's shouting something. And Mark records, don't you even care? Don't you care?
[16:02] So, among other things, this storm revealed their lack of faith in the loving care of Christ for them. Don't you care?
[16:13] In their desperate state, they offensively misjudge the Savior's heart toward them. They rudely rebuke him and accuse him for sleeping in the storm, not caring for his people, not giving a rip while we perish.
[16:33] And we are met right away with just the humility of Jesus. This is God. And how low he stooped to become man and to bear even the rude insults of his own disciples.
[16:46] What a Savior. You know what I'd have been tempted to say if I were the Lord? Well, since I don't care for you, as you say, I guess I'll just go back up to heaven and then you'll really see what it's like for me not to care about you.
[17:06] But thank God he's not like I am. How full of love he is, a love that's patient and kind, a love that is not easily angered, a love that bears all things, endures all things, yes, even rude insults from his scared disciples.
[17:23] He'll have a rebuke for them, but it will be measured and gentle, as we'll see. Well, it clearly did look like Jesus didn't care about them. After all, he was sleeping through their danger.
[17:36] So let's consider this question that they ask him, don't you care if we perish? But why is the Son of God in the boat with them?
[17:49] Why is he on the earth at all? Why didn't he stay in the holy atmosphere of heaven? Why did he come and expose himself to the hatred of his enemies and the rude insults of his friends?
[18:03] And why will he not even shun the hellish cross of God's wrath on Golgotha? Is it not because we were lost and in need of a Savior and had no Savior and could not save ourselves?
[18:21] Is it not for that reason, that he cared so much about us that he came and he went to the hellish cross and there suffered the punishment that we deserved?
[18:33] Does Jesus care about his disciples? Oh, yes, he cares so much that he left heaven and went to the cross for them. And yet our storms reveal our lack of faith in his loving care for us.
[18:48] So this don't you care accusation is more common than we may like to think. Indeed, we find it in many places in the Word of God.
[19:01] There's Martha. Jesus and his disciples have come to her house. And Mary, her sister, is just sitting at Jesus' feet, listening and soaking in every word.
[19:12] And meanwhile, there's a storm a-brewing out in the kitchen. And it's in the heart of Martha as she's been left to do all the preparations. And the storm gets hotter and hotter until finally she can't take it anymore.
[19:25] And she breaks into the room and she says, Master, don't you care? Don't you care that all the work's been left to me? Tell my sister to help me.
[19:37] There it is again. The accusation. You don't care, Lord. Don't you care? You're acting like you don't. And though we may not say it aloud in our storms, our discontent, our complaining, bitter spirit says it in a language that our Lord understands.
[19:55] Don't you care about me now? What an ungrateful accusation to lay at the feet of our dear Lord. Is this the way that we repay him for his incarnation, becoming man for us, becoming sin for us, becoming a curse for us?
[20:13] We see it in God's old covenant people, Israel, don't we? I'm thinking of Isaiah chapter 40. They've been under God's discipline for worshiping other gods.
[20:26] The discipline came in the form of the Babylonians and they would be exiled for 70 years away from their homeland. And yet at the end of the 70 years, God had a word of comfort to send to them through Isaiah chapter 40, verse 27.
[20:42] Here's their response. Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, my way is hidden from the Lord. My cause is disregarded by my God. It's hidden from him.
[20:54] He doesn't know about it. Or if he does know about it, he's disregarded. He doesn't care. He doesn't care. We've been rotting away down here in Babylon for 70 years.
[21:08] When even then, God was giving them promises that he's coming to rescue them from the Babylonian storm. Isaiah 49, 13 and 14.
[21:19] Shout for joy. Here's the good news coming. Shout for joy, O heavens. Rejoice, O earth. Burst into song, O mountains, for the Lord comforts his people and he will have compassion on his afflicted ones.
[21:31] In other words, salvation is on the way. But Zion said, the Lord has forsaken me. The Lord has forgotten me. He doesn't care. I'm nowhere in his mind.
[21:43] And God responds, can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has born? Though she may forget, I will not forget you.
[21:57] See, I have engraved you on my hands. Your walls are ever before me. I can't get you off of my mind. And yet Israel says, don't you care?
[22:09] You've forgotten us. Well, later in Isaiah chapter 53, God reveals the greatest proof of his care for his people. As he lays their sins on his coming suffering servant.
[22:24] And God pierced him for our transgressions. And God crushed him for our iniquities. And the punishment that brought us peace, the bearing of the wrath we would have endured forever was upon him.
[22:37] And by that, we are healed. Yes, even when it appears he doesn't care, believe he cares.
[22:48] He cares for you. Sometimes it appears as if Jesus is unconcerned. When he doesn't come at once, he doesn't stop the storm. He doesn't bring us immediate relief.
[22:59] And Satan would whisper in your ears, if he cared for you at all, you wouldn't be in this storm. Not this long. So be careful, Christian, of drawing the wrong conclusion when things are not going your way.
[23:14] He is a God who hides himself. And he is never more present and caring for you than when we cannot see his hand in anything.
[23:26] And when we cannot feel him anywhere near. We love that song, Does Jesus Care? Is the burdens press? And the cares distress? And the way grows weary and long.
[23:39] Oh, yes, he cares. I know he cares. His heart is touched with my grief. When the days are weary, the long nights dreary. I know my Savior cares.
[23:53] How do we know? Well, because he's told us he cares. And because at Calvary he showed us how much he cares. Dear Christian, he cares for you today no less than he did that day he bore God's wrath for you on Calvary.
[24:10] That same heart that he had for you then, he beats for you now, though he is in heaven. To Calvary then, with our feelings of him not caring for us.
[24:22] To Calvary, to act fresh faith in his loving care, the Son of God, right in the darkest and fiercest time of your storm. Child of God, he cares for you as much as if he didn't have any other child to care for.
[24:38] So cast your cares on him for he does care for you, 1 Peter 5, 7. So this storm revealed their lack of faith in Jesus' care for them. But I think it also shows a bit of lack of faith in Jesus' word to them.
[24:52] After all, Jesus' word was not let's go out into the middle of the lake and drown. It was let's go over to the other side. And if Jesus intends to get you to the other side, you'll get there, Christian.
[25:04] You'll be there on that day. And so, when your circumstances seem to mock the promises of God, cling to the promises. Because every word of God is flawless.
[25:17] The word of God is true and right. He's faithful in all he does. So that's that's the the rebuke.
[25:30] Jesus rebuked. Thirdly, we have the storm rebuked. Verse 39, he got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the waves, quiet, be still. In the original, it's just two words.
[25:43] That's all that was needed. Muzzled. Shush. Stop it. The end of it. Pipe down.
[25:55] And at his word, the noisy wind shut up. The unruly waves went still and it was completely calm. You've seen a lake in the morning and it's like glass.
[26:09] From completely turbulent squall to completely calm at just two words from the Savior's lips. Now in the Old Testament, that kind of power is attributed to God.
[26:24] It's attributed many times his power over stormy waves and waters. And it's attributed to capitals, all caps, L-O-R-D, Yahweh, the God of Israel, the great I am that I am.
[26:40] And so we read in Jeremiah 31, verse 35, Yahweh puts his signature on his new covenant promises saying, this is what the Lord says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar, Yahweh of hosts is his name.
[27:06] So it's the great I am who does this, stirring up the sea. Psalm 148, 7 and 8, it's the same, praise Yahweh from the earth, you great sea creatures in all ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding.
[27:24] And Psalm 107, 23 and following says, others went out on the sea and ships and they were merchants on the mighty waters. They saw the works of Yahweh, his wonderful deeds in the deep for he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves.
[27:40] They mounted up to the heaven and went down to the depths and in their peril these sailors' courage melted away. They reeled and staggered like drunken men. They were at their wit's end.
[27:52] Then they cried out to Yahweh in their trouble and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper. The waves of the sea were hushed.
[28:03] They were glad when it grew calm and he guided them to their desired haven. Let them give thanks to Yahweh for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men.
[28:15] The Old Testament's full of that. It's the great I am who stirs up the storm and who calms the storm. So when we see Jesus of Nazareth standing up in the boat and saying, muzzled, quiet, and it becomes calm at once.
[28:38] We are being shown something. Something is being revealed as to who he is. He's Yahweh. He's the great I am that I am.
[28:50] He's the eternal. He's the one that split the red sea waters for his people to go through. He's the one who created the waters. And so here in Jesus Christ on the Sea of Galilee, the wind and waves meet their maker and master and at once they obey him.
[29:10] He who made them can muzzle them with just a word. Well, it was a word of rebuke. And so far in Mark's gospel we've seen Jesus rebuking and silencing demons, haven't we?
[29:25] And they obey. Muzzled. Rebuking fever and all manner of diseases brought to him. And they left it once. Here he rebukes the wind and waves and they obey.
[29:37] Before Mark is finished we'll find him rebuking death itself. This is the sovereign power of God the Son, the ruler of all creation.
[29:49] And one day, like we read in 2 Peter, this Jesus will speak again and the whole creation will be made new.
[30:01] A new heavens, a new earth, the home of righteousness. Praise his name. So Jesus sleeping in the storm reveals his humanity.
[30:14] He's tired. He's a real man. Jesus calming the storm reveals his sovereign deity. He is God, sovereign over all.
[30:26] Both God and man, two natures in one person. Man to sympathize with us in our weakness, God to help us with his almighty power in our need.
[30:41] Do you have a God-sized problem? A God-sized storm in your life you can't fix? A storm within or without? Threatening to overwhelm you? Threatening the loss of something precious to you?
[30:54] Go tell Jesus. Bring it to the master of wind and waves, the master of all storms. There's not a circumstance we can be in in all creation but that our Lord Jesus reigns as sovereign and cares for his own.
[31:10] You ladies heard of Amy Carmichael recently on an evening spent together a missionary in India that ministered to the poorest of the poor and she said many times we have found that the circumstances that seem to be overwhelming have not overwhelmed us.
[31:30] Many a storm that seemed to be overwhelming us but it didn't overwhelm us and that because of this omnipotent caring Savior who's ever attentive to our needs and hears our cries and ever present help in trouble and though he's now in heaven receiving the praises of angels and the spirits of just people made perfect he still hears your voice when you cry.
[32:02] Someone said the noise of the wind and waves didn't awake him but the cry of his disciples did. He hears you he cares in your storm.
[32:14] So Jesus rebuked the storm rebuked and now the disciples rebuked number four he said to his disciples why are you so afraid do you still have no faith?
[32:25] Now there's a double rebuke here and the two are closely related. First he rebukes them for the excessive degree of their fear. Why are you so afraid? You know there is a legitimate fear in the face of danger.
[32:42] Even our Savior himself felt it in Gethsemane as he approached Calvary and drinking the cup of God's wrath for our sins.
[32:55] He was afraid and rightly so. He trembled. He sweat great drops of blood and he submitted willingly to do it out of love and care for us.
[33:11] But it was danger like no other danger and it was a legitimate danger if Jesus felt it. You're standing out in the rain and suddenly crack and you don't the lightning strikes and it's not two seconds later you hear the thunder.
[33:28] It's the same time. The light and the thunder are the same. It's close. And you're scared and rightly so. And that fear is meant to do what? To drive you for cover. A legitimate fear meant to make you run for cover.
[33:45] There's a final judgment coming for every single one of us here this day. You will stand before Almighty God and he will open the books and he will judge you for what you have done.
[33:58] And the end of his judgment will be everlasting punishment in hell or everlasting bliss in heaven. That's a fearsome thought.
[34:09] That nothing could grip us more than that reality. I will one day stand before my maker. It ought to cause some fear in us.
[34:22] A fear that is meant to drive us to run to the remedy. Jesus Christ. His perfect obedience. His atoning death. Your fear is meant to move you toward faith.
[34:33] Well that's just the principle of scripture. There is a legitimate fear and it's meant to drive us to the remedy in faith. So these disciples had a reason for fear. And I don't believe our Lord rebukes them for that.
[34:46] Rather it's their excessive fear. It's fear beyond the proper bounds. It's hysterical fear. They're in the grip of fear. They're in a state of panic as if they have no promises and no helper at all.
[34:59] And so the storm revealed their excessive fear but it also revealed their lack of faith. And these two are related. Fear and faith. Why are you so afraid?
[35:10] Do you have no faith? It was a degree of fear that was incompatible with faith in God. When fear is up, faith is down.
[35:23] When faith is up, fear is down. Do you still have no faith? That's how you acted in this trial, this storm. It was all fear. You're controlled by your fear.
[35:36] So storms are the great revealers of our faith. Whether it's strong or weak, present or missing. So where do you run to in the times of your storm?
[35:49] Dear believer, we always have one to go to. He's always attentive to our cries. So we have to hand it to the twelve that when they were in trouble, at least they ran to the right person, right?
[36:03] They went to Jesus. They told it to Jesus. Although it was with an accusation that they ran to him.
[36:15] Perhaps, though, we must give them credit that there was a bit of faith in going to Jesus. But Jesus clearly expected more of them by now, didn't he? Why?
[36:27] Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith? He expected more. You see, by now they had seen Jesus perform many miracles, miracles that revealed his glory and that were meant to build their faith.
[36:41] In John chapter 2 and verse 11, after Jesus did his first miracle of changing the water into wine, John says this, this was the first of his miraculous signs Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee.
[36:56] He thus revealed his glory and his disciples put their faith in him. You see, Jesus revealed his glory in these miracles and the result was the disciples trusted in him.
[37:10] They put their faith in him. And so Jesus is expecting more of them here in the storm. They've seen many miracles and so he gives this gentle rebuke. Do you have no faith? That's how you acted.
[37:21] Did you leave your faith at home today? Why isn't it here when you need it? What good is your faith if it's not operative in the storms in the time of fear? So this was clearly a test of faith and they flunked it.
[37:35] But they had an ever so gracious master, didn't they? It turns it into a teaching moment. How are you doing with your test of faith? You're threatening storms.
[37:47] What are they revealing in you? Jesus knows your every weakness. Take it to the Lord in prayer. Tell him of your weak faith. He doesn't cast you off.
[37:58] Notice how he treats his disciples. He doesn't say that's it. If you guys can't handle this, you're washed up. You're done. No, no. So go to him and confess your fear and your weak faith.
[38:12] Lord, I believe. Forgive me and help me from my unbelief. He pities us in our weakness. He remembers that we're dust.
[38:23] He builds our faith again and again. As Matthew Henry says, we may be at our wit's end but not at our faith's end while we have such a Savior. He's not done with us.
[38:35] He's ever with us. Look again. Trust him again. Don't give way to fear. Oh, for grace to trust him more. You know, David was a man who was often in fearful, threatening storms and he teaches us in Psalm 56, 3 and 4.
[38:51] When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God whose word I praise. In God I trust, I will not be afraid.
[39:01] What can mortal man do to me? So fear. When I am afraid, I will trust. Fear is like an alarm going off and it's calling us. It's sending a message to act fresh faith.
[39:13] Fear is high. Faith is low. Zing, zing, zing. Wake up. You need to act fresh faith. Faith in God. Faith in his attributes.
[39:25] In his loving care for you. It is almighty power over all your circumstance. In his unerring wisdom. His great faithfulness. Faith in his word.
[39:36] His past deeds. His present promises. What more can he say than to you he has said? Already in his word. Find something for your faith.
[39:46] Find some faith food to strengthen your faith and chase away fears. And so on the Sea of Galilee, we see their failure of faith, but we even see, don't we, what, their weak faith and a strong Savior accomplished.
[40:05] Far better though, isn't it, to have a strong faith and a strong Savior? It's not such a faithful God worthy of a people full of faith.
[40:17] It's much to his honor when his people in the storms are trusting him. You know what it says about our God? It says he's trustworthy. I could trust him and never be put to shame.
[40:29] So let's glorify God by trusting him in our storms. That's the disciples rebuked by Jesus. And lastly, the disciples response, this fear causing storm is over, the danger is past, and yet they're even more afraid now than they were before.
[40:46] Not of the storm, but of the Savior from the storm. Verse 41 says they were terrified now and asked each other, who is this?
[41:00] That even the wind and the waves obey him. They knew their Old Testaments. They knew that no man can speak to the creation and have it respond like they've just seen.
[41:17] Or they'd seen demons and diseases obey him, but this was a display of his majesty and glory on a scale that they'd not yet seen. and it leaves them in stunned amazement at the one who's in the boat with them.
[41:31] Much like Peter when they caught the many fish and go away from me. I'm a sinful man. A realization of who's in the boat with them. Yes, he's man.
[41:44] Look, he was sleeping. We had to wake him up. But he's no mere man. He's more than man. There's only one who commands the wind and waves and they obey.
[41:54] He's the sovereign of the universe. He's the great I am. And here he is exercising his sovereign power to rescue us, his poor doubting disciples.
[42:06] So these disciples still have much to learn about Jesus, don't they? About who he is. And about why he's come. But his identity is becoming clearer and clearer.
[42:20] As Jesus keeps showing more and more of his glory. And it evokes the awe and the wonder of worship. How big is your savior this morning?
[42:32] Do you have him figured out? Is he just a little savior? Or does he blow your mind as you come to the word of God and see him in his glory?
[42:44] Does he leave you with questions? Who is this? with such power? And to use it out of care for me, his child.
[43:01] You know, this is one of Mark's great reasons for writing his gospel. To reveal who Jesus is. And that's what he's been doing in these first four chapters. Introducing us to Jesus.
[43:12] His identity and also introducing his mission which he'll come to more directly as we go on. But he's wanting to teach us who Jesus is. So let's learn that the way to grow our faith is to get to know the great object of our faith.
[43:27] Fix your eyes on Jesus. He's the author and perfecter of our faith. The disciples needed not only the authoring of their faith but they needed it perfected.
[43:39] And it's by fixing their eyes on Jesus. And that's how our faith grows. So watch him as you walk with him through the gospels. Put your neck in the yoke with him and learn from him.
[43:53] He's gentle and humble in heart. And he'll teach you and you will have rest for your souls. Yes, rest even in the storms of life. Do you know him well enough to rest in him?
[44:07] To trust him? To enjoy him? Whatever the storms, he's in the boat with you in all his fullness. and that is more than enough for you. Let me just say before we close, this event does not mean that Jesus will at once calm our every storm.
[44:27] It does teach us that he can calm our every storm. Nothing is too hard for this one. But if he doesn't do so at once, it means he has a higher wisdom than ours.
[44:41] And in his mind, he is to be glorified by taking us through the raging storm. As the gospel song goes, he can settle any sea, but it doesn't mean he will.
[44:54] He can, but it doesn't mean he will. Sometimes he calms the storm, and other times he calms his child as he takes them through the storm. And he's glorified either way.
[45:07] Who is this? With such power to stop the trial, to deliver with such power to hold us up in the storm.
[45:17] We're like that burning bush that's not consumed. You're going through the storm, and you're on fire, and you're burning, but it's never consumed because God is in the storm.
[45:28] God is in the bush, and God is sustaining you, and he's glorified. These frantic disciples were panicking with fear, the fear of death. I wonder about you and the fear of death.
[45:40] Do you know Jesus came and died on the cross to set us free from death? He entered into death, that we might not fear it, because by entering into death, he took the sting out of death, which is sin.
[45:58] He died for sin, and it's sin that sends us to hell, and if he's taken sin away, he's taken the sting out. Now the worst that death can do is take us to heaven. And then he rose from the dead.
[46:11] He went down into the valley of shadow. He came out the other side victorious, and he shares that victory with us, his people, that we might not be frantic in the face of death. Oh, may the Lord increase our faith.
[46:26] We have a wonderful Savior to glorify in our storms. But I must ask each one of you, is Jesus Christ in the boat with you?
[46:37] is he in the pilot seat? That's the only seat he will take in any life. He will not be your Savior if you will not have him as your pilot, as your king to rule over you with his commandments, with his law.
[46:57] Will you receive him as Savior and Lord? That's how he offers himself to you this morning in the gospel. Take him as he's offered. Jesus Christ, the only mediator between God and man.
[47:12] My prophet to teach me the will of God. My priest to die for my sins and to pray for me. My king to rule over me by his laws and to defend me.
[47:25] He knows how to pilot you through life's storms. He's been through them with power over them. And only he can pilot you through the last storm, the greatest storm of all, the day of judgment.
[47:42] You will not survive that storm without this Savior. Run to him. Let your fear chase you into his arms. Kiss the sun, lest he be angry and you perish in the way when his wrath is kindled but a little.
[47:57] Blessed, blessed, happy, to be envied are all those who take refuge in him. Amen. Let's pray. Eternal son of God, true God, true man, there is none like you and we worship and adore you.
[48:18] We adore you for your sovereign power over all creation. We adore you for your loving care for all who take refuge in you. We adore you because you use that sovereign power to rescue those who take refuge in you.
[48:35] As you did on the Sea of Galilee that day, as you would do three years later on the cross of Calvary, as you did at the empty tomb, and as you're still doing from your throne, coming to our help in our time of need.
[48:51] We worship you. We pray that each one here would take refuge in the Savior. you. Oh, give us more faith. Forgive us of our unbelief and for unruly fears when we should be trusting.
[49:07] Give us grace to trust you more. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[49:17] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.