“HE’S IN THE BOAT WITH US!”
Mark 4:35-41
“On the same day, when the evening had come, He said to them, ‘Let us cross over to the other side.’ Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. & other little boats were also with Him. & a great windstorm arose, & the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. & they awoke Him & said to Him. ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ Then He arose & rebuked the wind & said to the sea, ‘Peace be still!’ & the wind ceased & there was a great calm. But He said to them, ‘Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?’ & they feared exceedingly, & said to one another, ‘Who can this be, that even the wind & the sea obey Him!?!’ ”
INTRODUCTION:
Jesus had just left a great time of teaching & preaching with the people & the disciples. Many people were touched & saved by the teaching & preaching of the word. Lives were transformed by the Son of the Living God! Jesus Christ Himself!
Jesus tells the disciples, “Let’s go over to the other side.” So they did as He said & there was a group of boats going with them. These were people who didn’t want to Jesus leave them or leave Jesus for that matter. So they went with Him to the other side. Now, Jesus was tired after preaching & teaching all that time so He went to the back or the stern of the boat & lay down & went to sleep.
Now we know from the passage we just read what happened. There arose a great storm on the sea. Scripture says that the boat was being swamped. Now what do you do when a boat is being swamped. You DO the only thing you CAN DO! .
YOU START BAILING WATER!
IT MAKES SENSE DOESN’T IT?
REMEMBER THOUGH:
I DIDN’T SAY BAIL OUT, I SAID BAIL WATER!
We have to know the disciples were busily & frantically bailing water from the boat so it wouldn’t sink. Many of these disciples were fishermen. They knew what to do. Surely they’d faced similar struggles such as this if they were ever out on the seas for any length of time. Surely they’d have faced some storms & having faced them they knew what to do. They bailed water. Bailing OUT of the boat will only get you killed, but bailing water is the most sensible thing at this point, or so it seemed!
BUT, IT WASN’T WORKING! Surely they had been bailing water for quite some time before someone got the brilliant idea that said,
‘HEY! JESUS IS IN THE BOAT! HE’S BACK THERE SLEEPING! SURELY HE DOESN’T WANT US TO DIE! SOMEBODY WAKE HIM UP! SOMEBODY CALL ON HIM BEFORE WE GO UNDER!”
Folk, I want you to think about something here for a moment. IN THE MIDST OF FEAR, TRIAL, & TRIBULATION BAILING OUT THE BOAT MAY MAKE SENSE, BUT IT’S NOT ALWAYS THE WISEST MOVE ON OUR COLLECTIVE PARTS!
DON’T GET ME WRONG, WE DON’T NEED TO LET THE BOAT GET SWAMPED WITH WATER & SINK BUT THERE IS A “SPIRITUAL ISSUE” HERE GREATER THAN WHAT WE SEE WITH OUR EYES! IT WASN’T TILL THEY CALLED ON JESUS THAT THEY GOT WHAT THEY NEEDED!
WE HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT JESUS “IS” IN THE BOAT WITH US! HE’S NOT GOING TO LET US GO UNDER IF WE HAVE FAITH IN HIM!
Waking Jesus up was the right thing to do. But fearing that they were going to go under was not! JESUS WAS IN THERE WITH HIM! HE WASN’T GOING TO LET THEM GO UNDER!
They made a “FATAL ERROR” that day in their Theology & Faith. They made a statement that troubled Jesus when they said...
“HEY, DON’T YOU CARE THAT
WE’RE DYING OUT HERE?”
Folk, sometimes we can get a little “FATAL” in our “Theology & Faith” as well. We may not use the same TERMINOLOGY they used but we lump it in our throats, we say in our eyes, we scream it our faces & voices, we say it in our minds!
Always Remember Hebrews 11:1:
“FAITH IS THE SUBSTANCES OF THINGS HOPED
FOR & THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN!”
Remember this one things this morning! JESUS IS IN THE BOAT WITH US! No matter what the “ECONOMIC CRISIS” is or may be “OUTSIDE” these walls or for that fact “INSIDE” these walls! He “IS” in the bat with us & He “IS” our God, He “IS” our Savior! & He “IS” our Provider!
We must TRUST HIM, HIS WORD, HIS COVENANT & PROMISE TO US! He would not let that boat go down nor will He let this CHURCH GO DOWN! He is “JEHOVA JIREH” which means “GOD WILL SUPPLY/ PROVIDE!”
Phil. 4:19 tells us..
“BUT MY GOD SHALL SUPPLY ALL YOUR NEEDS
ACCORDING TO HIS RICHES IN GLORY!”
PRAISE GOD WITH ME ON THAT! But even tho that is a scripture we all know I think there is one that fits the occasion even a little better this morning!
Turn with me to Eph. 3:16... Juselin read that for me!
“THAT HE WOULD GRANT YOU, ACCORDING TO THE
RICHES OF HIS GLORY, TO BE STRENGTHENED WITH
MIGHT BY HIS SPIRIT IN THE INNER MAN.”
Let me expound for a few moments on this passage.
Here is the “MEASURE OF GOD’S POWER!” So much of the time we measure God’s Power by man’s concept of power! The man of the world is full of what he can do, the Christian of what he cannot do! Here we have the Inward Power for which to ask to supply our needs & our deficiency!
THE MEASURE OF “HIS” POWER! Is measured by HIMSELF! HIS PERFECTION & HIS EXCELLENCE!
BUT MAN MEASURES HIMSELF BY HIS “IMPERFECTION & POVERTY!” WE MEASURE OURSELVES BUT WHAT “WE HAVE NOT”, NOT “WHAT WE HAVE!”
THAT IS WHAT THE DISCIPLES WERE DOING THAT DAY! THEY WERE MEASURING THEIR SUCCESS AGAINST THE SEA BY “THEIR OWN POWER” OR AS IT WERE “THEIR OWN POVERTY!” THEY COULDN’T DO IT ON THEIR OWN! THAT WAS PART OF THEIR “FATAL ERROR!” THEY FIGURED THAT THEY WERE GOING TO DIE BECAUSE THEY WERE FOCUSING ON WHAT THEY COULDN’T DO IN & OF THEMSELVES!
WE HAVE TO MEASURE OURSELVES BY “WHAT WE HAVE”, NOT WHAT WE “DON’T HAVE!” WE MAY NOT HAVE THE MONEY OR PEOPLE WE WANT & EVEN MAY NEED BUT WHAT WE “DO HAVE” IS A GOD WHO LOVES US & IS LEADING US TO THE OTHER SIDE! JESUS KNEW THAT STORM WAS COMING BUT THERE WAS SOMETHING ON THE OTHER SIDE FOR THEM!
THE NATURE OF THE SUPPLY CULMINATES IN THE “INDWELLING OF CHRIST” IN OUR LIVES & OUR CHURCH! THEY MORE HE INDWELLS WITHIN US & THE HOLY SPIRIT THE MORE THE “NATURE OF THE SUPPLY” CULMINATES WITHIN & WITHOUT US AS HE MOVES IN & THROUGH US!
Let’s look at the “CHARACTER” of that Indwelling for a moment. In Colossians 2:6-7 reads...
“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord (you have received Him haven’t you!??!), so walk in Him, ROOTED & BUILT UP IN HIM & ESTABLISHED IN THE FAITH, AS YOU HAVE BEEN TAUGHT, ABOUNDING WITH THANKSGIVING.”
(NOTE: When I take the offering I want everyone to be thankful for his blessings & provision & show it !)
Now let’s look at the “EFFECTS” of the indwelling. The “EFFECTS” of the indwelling make us “ABLE” to comprehend or grasp the promise.
Again Phil. 4:13
“BUT MY GOD SHALL SUPPLY ALL YOUR NEEDS
ACCORDING TO HIS RICHES IN GLORY!”
FOLK, WE CAN’T JUST HEAR IT BUT WE HAVE TO “COMPREHEND & GRASP” IT. WE HAVE TO “EMBRACE IT” I told somebody yesterday that I can be sitting next to my wife & know she is there but “INTIMACY” comes when I EMBRACE HER!
That same type of “INTIMACY” comes with the “PROMISES OF GOD” when we “EMBRACE” them for the moment & for our lives! Folk, we have to “EMBRACE” the “PROMISES OF GOD” right this minute! We can’t be SHAKEN, FEARFUL, OR PANICKY! When we are SHAKEN, FEARFUL OR PANICKY the enemy is sitting on the sidelines laughing at us!
What the enemy does best is to SHAKE US, CAUSE US TO FEAR & PANIC! But GOD is the “AUTHOR OF PEACE!” Jesus spoke to the winds & waves saying, “PEACE BE STILL!”
Folk, we are in a time where we cannot Shake, Fear or Panic, but we have to Call out to God! That is what “PRAYER” is all about! That is why we’re “PRAYING & FASTING” on Wednesdays!
But don’t make the “FATAL ERROR” in your Theology & Faith by thinking Jesus is going to let us go down in this ship! That is “NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!” that is “NOT HIS WILL NOR HIS WAYS!”
As we understand what the Scripture says to us, by what we’ve been taught then we have to “EMBRACE” what the Word says and believe it & act on it! We have to know the LOVE OF CHRIST surpasses all our understanding & by the Holy Spirit which dwells within us! That same Holy Spirit which dwells within us leads us to TRUST & FAITH in Him which in turn opens up the WINDOWS OF HEAVEN! BLESSINGS FROM PLACES WE DON’T EXPECT OR UNDERSTAND!
I’m looking forward to seeing what is going to happen when the exploration company we’ve made agreement with starts drilling under this property. I fully expect God’s blessings to come in like a flood, but until then I FULLY EXPECT GOD TO DO WHAT HE PROMISES US HE WILL DO! BUT WE HAVE TO DO OUR PART THROUGH OUR “FAITH & TRUST” IN HIM!
When we live like that “GOD’S MEASURE MEETS OUR MEASURE” & MIRACLES HAPPEN POWERFULLY! But we are the “KEY!” Our FAITH, Our TRUST, Our LACK OF BEING SHAKEN, FEARFUL & PANICKY SHOWS “OUR” TRUST IN HIM!
Don’t let the enemy cause you to SHAKE, FEAR & PANIC! Let the “FULLNESS OF GOD’S PRESENCE” IN YOUR LIFE GIVE YOU THE “PEACE OF GOD” THROUGH HIS PROMISES!
Picture with me for a moment what it must have been like on that boat. The waves were swelling up around them, water was splashing in, the boat was being swamped, the waves were tossing it back & forth, the skies were dark, the rain was beating down & stinging them in the face, the lightening was flashing & the thunder was roaring.
Here they were bailing out as fast as they could but couldn’t keep up with the water & the storm. Finally one of them says where’s Jesus? He’s in the back of the boat fast asleep! They wake Him up with their “FATAL ERROR OF THEOLOGY & FAITH!” You may say, “I’d never do that!” But folk, sometimes our “actions or lack of actions” speak louder than our words!
Jesus steps up, we like to think maybe to the front of the boat but I’m thinking He just stands where He is. He’s not going to give the enemy any place in the situation. He most likely looks at the boys with some disappointment & disturbance in His Spirit & speaks to the winds & waves.
Then He says”Why are you so fearful?” As if to say, “I’m here with you!” FOLK, HE IS HERE WITH US! If we are shaken, fearful & panicky then He is right in saying, “How is it that you have no faith?” As if to say, “After all I’ve done, all you’ve seen, all you’ve been taught, how can you be of little faith?”
FOLK, HE OWNS THE CATTLE OF A THOUSANDS HILLS! HE IS THE CREATOR OF ALL THINGS! HE IS THE PROVIDER OF LIFE & LIBERTY! HE IS THE ONE WHO SAVED YOU FROM YOUR SINS! HE IS THE ONE WHO HAS PROVIDED FOR YOU BEFORE & HE IS THE ONE WHO WILL PROVIDE FOR YOU AGAIN! HE HAS PROVIDED FOR THIS CHURCH IN PAST & HE WILL PROVIDE FOR THIS CHURCH AGAIN!
Think about this. He is the one who said “Let’s go to the other side!” do you think He didn’t know there was a storm brewing out there? Of course He knew it was out there. That’s why He was sleeping in the back! He knew what was coming & He knew they would survive it VICTORIOUSLY!
When Jesus said “Let’s go to the other side” It would seem to me that going to the other side indicates something fresh, new & vibrant is going to happen over there but getting there always takes some doing! God is bringing us to the other side but getting there is taking some doing! But Jesus is in the boat! Let your faith & trust be in Him. If He’s in the boat sleeping, that is good enough for me! I will take my flesh to the altar & deal with it there!
CONCLUSION:
Take up offering at the end of service. Praise God for the excess that is in His blessing & how He can make our needs met & exceed those needs as well.
Bring church down to pray & wake Jesus up in the back of the Boat not with “FATAL THEOLOGY” but with “FAITHFUL THEOLOGY!”
