Fear-Full Or Faith-Full Series

Introduction:

A. Let’s begin with two questions: Have you ever been really afraid of something? What is the scariest situation you have ever experienced?

B. Let me share a terrifying experience that took place when I was very young, probably 14 or 15.

1. It wasn’t funny at the time, but our family has enjoyed laughing about it over the years.

2. My scary situation occurred during the middle of a hot summer night.

3. All of the bedrooms of our house were on the second floor and my bedroom was the first one at the top of the stairs.

4. During the middle of that hot summer night, I awoke to the sound of an intruder coming up the stairs.

a. As I laid there in bed with my heart beating fast in my chest, I listened as the intruder came to my door and hesitated.

b. As the handle to my door started to turn, I wondered what I should do.

c. I quickly and quietly slipped out of my bed and went into my closet and closed the door.

5. I heard the door to my room creak open and I knew that when the intruder saw that the bed had been slept in but was now empty, that they would look in the closet.

a. Thinking that the intruder would kill me either way, I decided to yell a warning to the rest of my family.

b. So I began to yell to the family as loudly as I could that someone was in our house.

6. A few seconds later, my closet door opened and there stood my concerned family.

a. They wanted to know why I was sitting in my closet screaming in the middle of the night.

b. Well, the intruder didn’t kill me, but I thought I would die from embarrassment.

7. I made my dad take me around the house to confirm that there was no stranger inside our house or any signs that someone had broken in.

8. The obvious explanation was simple: a windy summer night, an open window, a creaky door, and a vivid dream that scared me, which in turn scared everyone in the house.

C. Fear is a universal experience and fear is a God-given emotion.

1. There are some things that we should be afraid of and there are other things that we should not fear.

2. God does not want fear to cripple us or control us.

3. God wants to help us control our fears and the main way we do that is through faith in God.

4. Today, we are going to see how the disciples faced a fearful situation and how having a greater faith in Jesus could have helped them deal with their fears in a better way.

5. So, let’s get into the boat with Jesus and His disciples and learn about faith and fear.

D. Today as we explore Mark 4:35-41, we enter into a new section of Mark’s presentation of Jesus.

1. Each part of the story Mark tells reveals a little more of who Jesus is and like an expert storyteller, Mark gradually reveals Jesus’ identity.

2. After Mark’s initial introduction of the Gospel in chapter 1, he shared many things about Jesus’ long day in Capernaum.

3. After that, Mark shared a number of stories of conflict and controversy in chapters 2 and 3.

4. Then, Mark shared a number of Jesus’ parables in chapter 4.

5. Now, in the new section that we start today, Mark shares 4 stories of Jesus’ miracles – these stories highlight Jesus’ authority over nature, demons, disease and death.

6. And with each story the true identity of Jesus gets clearer and clearer.

E. Mark’s story begins: 35 On that day, when evening had come, he told them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the sea.” 36 So they left the crowd and took him along since he was in the boat. And other boats were with him. (Mk. 4:35-36)

1. Mark’s reference to “on that day, when evening had come” reminds us that a lot had happened that day.

2. That day probably began back in chapter 3 and verse 20 where we learned that Jesus had entered a house and faced the accusations of the Jewish leaders that He was ministering with the power of Satan.

3. While Jesus was correcting their false understanding about the source of His power, His mother and brothers arrived to restrain Him because they thought He had lost His senses.

4. Jesus proclaimed that those who do the will of God are His true brother, sister, and mother.

5. Then Jesus left the house and went to the shore of Galilee and the crowd followed Him, and He got into a boat and taught them a number of parables.