Do We Trust God?

Scripture: Mark 4:35 – 41; Isaiah 41:10

Theme: Dealing With Worry/Fear

Title: Do We Trust God?

INTRO:

Grace and peace from God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Have you ever been afraid this morning? Have you ever been terrified? Have you ever had a time when something scared you so bad that it seemed as if you couldn’t move, breath or even think?

Did you know that over 19 million people in the United States suffer with a debilitating phobia? Not just a minor fear but a debilitating fear, but a fear that often takes over their whole lives. Some of those phobias or fears include things like:

Claustrophobia: Fear of being in constricted, confined spaces

Aerophobia: Fear of flying

Arachnophobia: Fear of spiders

Hypochondria: Fear of becoming ill

Zoophobia: Fear of animals

Aquaphobia: Fear of water

Acrophobia: Fear of heights

Tunnel phobia: Fear of tunnels

Phobias are not to be trifled with or taken lightly. Doctors tell us when people have to face their fears it can lead to some serious physical, emotional and even spiritual consequences. People have reported the following things happening to them when they become overwhelmed with fear:

Intense sweating Irregular breathing Accelerated heartbeat

Uncontrollable trembling Hot flushes or chills A choking sensation

Chest pains or tightness Nausea Dry mouth

Confusion Disorientation Migraine headaches

Although not mentioned in those above the disciples in our passage this morning seemed for a least a little while, had to deal with the phobia labeled Astraphobia – or the fear of storms, mainly lightning and thunder. The Bible tells us that they were scared, horrified and terrified.

And if those certain phobias are not enough to deal with there are all kinds of scary things that can happen in our lives –

- Things like those little noises that happen around our homes when no one else is there causing us to wonder what is going on or if someone is roaming around without our permission.

-The threat of a bad medical report – finding out that our health is failing.

- The thought of losing control over our own lives – not being able to be independent.

- The fear of not being able to drive anymore and having to rely on others to get us from point A to point B.

- The fear of running out of money and not being able to meet our financial obligations.

-The fear of becoming alone and isolated.

-The fear of the death of a loved one, spouse or other family member

All of those things are serious fears that at one time or the other each one of us may have had to experience. None of them are to be taken lightly, whether it is a phobia we suffer from or something else that brings fear and dread into our lives.

Our Lord Jesus knew all about worry, fear and anxiety. He knew what it meant to be around those who suffered from such things. And in our story this morning we see that the Holy Spirit shares with us a couple of quick things that I believe that can help us deal with our times of worry, fear, anxiety and dread. So, let’s take a few moments and look at them:

I. We need to always remember that Our Lord is Sovereign

Sometimes one of the best ways to read a passage of scripture is to read the end of it and then go back and see what fits.

In this particular passage the disciples after everything was over asked a very important question -

“Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

That was a really great question. After all, how many times have you been in a boat that was being rocked by a violent thunderstorm and had one of your fellow passengers get up, raised their voice and suddenly the rain, the wind and the sea obeyed them and become still. I have never had that happen and I am pretty sure the majority of us here today have never experienced that magnitude of a miracle.

Why did the sea obey this man named Jesus of Nazareth?

Why did the wind obey this young rabbi named Jesus?

Why did the rain obey this young carpenter named Jesus?

In short, because Jesus was not just a man from Nazareth, a young rabbi or even a carpenter – The Bible tells us that Jesus is LORD – the Bible tells us that Jesus is Sovereign – that is to say, Jesus is the Great I Am – Jesus Is All Powerful – there is nothing or no one greater than our LORD Jesus Christ.

Now, don’t gloss over this fact.

Don’t just say – Oh, okay. Jesus is Lord. Jesus is part of the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Let it sink in down to the depths of your heart, mind and soul.