JESUS CAN CALM THE STORMS OF YOUR LIFE
MARK 4:35-41
EACH OF US IN THIS CHURCH HAS FACED STORMS OF SEVERAL DIFFERENT KINDS IN YOUR LIFE. THE STORMS MAY BE FINANCIAL, PHYSICAL, HEALTH, OR RELATIONSHIP STORMS, BUT IT IS FOR CERTAIN THAT WE ALL HAVE FACED OUR SHARE.
SOMETIMES, DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES, IT FEELS LIKE WE ARE FACING MORE THAN OUR SHARE OF DIFFICULTIES. WE MIGHT EVEN WONDER IF GOD REALLY CARES ABOUT US. WE KNOW IN OUR HEADS THAT HE DOES, BUT SOMETIMES IT’S HARD TO CONVINCE OUR HEARTS.
WHEN WE THINK ABOUT PHYSICAL STORMS, MOST OF THE TIME WE ARE ABSORBED IN THE DAMAGE, AND THE LOSS OF LIFE THEY CAN CAUSE. THIS IS WHAT IS SEEN ON MOST NEWS BROADCASTS.
I WOULD SUGGEST TO YOU THAT EVEN IN THE MIDST OF STORMS, BE THEY PHYSICAL OR SPIRITUAL, THAT WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THE MIGHTY POWER OF GOD AT WORK, NOT IN THE DAMAGE CAUSED, BUT IN MANY POSITIVE WAYS THAT WE WOULD NOT SEE, EXCEPT FOR THE STORM.
TAKE FOR EXAMPLE, THE BEAUTY OF A BOLT OF CHAIN LIGHTNING AS IT FLASHES ACROSS THE DARK SKY OF THE STORM. IT IS A FACT THAT SOME OF THE BEST COUNSELLORS FOR PEOPLE DEALING WITH CRISIS SITUATIONS ARE THOSE WHO HAVE GONE THROUGH THE CRISIS THEMSELVES. WE CALL THEM “WOUNDED HEALERS.” HOW OFTEN DO WE CONSIDER THE POWER OF GOD IN OUR LIVES, TO CALM THE STORM, IF THERE IS NO STORM TO CALM?
THE BIBLE DOES NOT SAY THAT JUST BECAUSE WE ARE CHRISTIANS THAT WE WILL NOT FACE STORMS IN OUR LIVES. THE FACT IS THAT IT TELLS US THE OPPOSITE:
1 PETER 4:12: “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.”
JAMES 1:2-4: “2 ¶ Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
WHAT PETER AND JAMES ARE TELLING US, IS THAT STORMS, ARE NOT ONLY GOING TO COME IN OUR LIVES, BUT THEY ARE NECESSARY IN OUR LIVES TO HELP DEVELOP OUR SPIRITUAL MATURITY.
THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT WE WELCOME STORMS, NOR THAT WE DO NOT FEEL THE BITE OF THEIR TEETH AS WE DEAL WITH THEM. WE MAY FACE LIFELONG SCARS AS A RESULT OF WHAT WE FACE. OUR ATTITUDE MUST BE THAT GOD HAS SOMETHING HE WANTS TO TEACH US THAT IS FOR OUR GOOD, AND THAT HE WILL SHOW US THIS LIFE POINT AS WE GO THROUGH THE STORM.
TODAY WE ARE GOING TO SEE THAT WE ARE IN MANY WAYS LIKE THE DISCIPLES ON THE BOAT. WE ARE GOING TO SEE THAT THE STORM IS NOT NECESSARILY PHYSICAL BUT OF SPIRITUAL ORIGIN. LAST, WE SHALL SEE THAT IT IS OUR ATTITUDE TO THE MASTER THAT IS IMPORTANT, AND NOT TO BE OVERWEALMED BY THE STORM. WE LEARNED FROM PETER WHEN HE WALKED ON WATER, THAT IT WAS ONLY WHEN HE TOOK HIS EYES OF CHRIST, AND BECAME ABSORBED IN THE STORM THAT HE BEGAN TO SINK. THE SAME IS TRUE OF THE DISCIPLES IN THIS STORM.
BACKGROUND:
JESUS WAS AT THE POINT OF PHYSICAL EXHAUSTION WHEN THIS ACCOUNT TAKES PLACE. THIS IS THE TIME IN HIS MINISTRY WHEN HE IS BESET BY CROWDS EVERYWHERE HE TURNS. MULTITUDES OF PEOPLE WOULD THRONG HIM, DEMANDING TO BE HEALED, OR LISTENING TO HIM TEACH. HE COULD HAVE BEEN TEACHING RIGHT FROM THE BOAT THAT THEY SET OUT IN.
THE TRIP THAT THEY TAKE WAS A SPUR OF THE MOMENT DECISION. HE MADE NO PREPARATION FOR THE JOURNEY. IT WAS JUST A TIME OF RETREAT FOR JESUS FROM THE CROWD.
WHEN THE MEN SET OUT, THE SEA WAS CALM AND EVERYTHING WAS ALL RIGHT. SOON JESUS AND HIS FRIENDS FOUND THEMSELVES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LAKE IN THE MIDST OF A FEROCIOUS SQUALL.
STORMS LIKE THIS WERE COMMON ON THE SEA OF GALILEE. RISING JUST TO THE NORTH OF THE LAKE IS BEAUTIFUL MOUNT HERMON. MOUNT HERMON IS CAPPED WITH SNOW, AND SOMETIMES THE COLD AIR FROM THE TOP OF HERMON RUSHES DOWN THE MOUNTAIN AND BLOWS ACROSS THE LAKE.
THE FORCE OF THE COLD AIR MEETING THE HOT MOIST AIR AROUND GALILEE CAN BE EXPLOSIVE, AS IT WAS ON THIS DAY. THIS WAS A VERY VIOLENT STORM. THE MEN WERE BEING TOSSED ABOUT, WATER WAS COMING INTO THE BOAT, AND THE MEN WERE AFRAID THEY WERE GOING TO DROWN.
IF YOU THINK THE DISCIPLES SHOULD HAVE NEVER LEFT SHORE, I REMIND YOU THAT THESE STORMS WERE UNPREDICTABLE, AND THERE WERE OTHER BOATS THERE IN THE STORM AS WELL. THEY WOULD VERIFY THE MIRACLE THAT WAS ABOUT TO HAPPEN.
APPLICATION:
THIS THEN BRINGS US TO THE MEAT OF THE ACCOUNT. THE MEN ARE IN THE MIDST OF A STORM. JESUS IS CATCHING 40 WINKS IN THE BACK OF THE BOAT. THE MEN ARE SCARED STIFF THAT THEY ARE ABOUT TO DROWN. THE DISCIPLES GO TO THE BACK OF THE BOAT, WAKE JESUS UP, HE CALMS THE SEA AND THEN REBUKES HIS MEN FOR THEIR LACK OF FAITH. IT SEEMS STRAIGHTFORWARD DOSEN’T IT. I’VE ALWAYS FELT THAT IT WAS, UNTIL I EXAMINED THE VERBAL EXCHANGE BETWEEN THE DISCIPLES AND JESUS, AND UNTIL I REALIZED JUST WHAT JESUS DID IN STILLING THE WATERS. I HAVE COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT WE MAY BE A LOT LIKE THE DISCIPLES IN THE BOAT, BUT NOT FOR THE REASONS YOU MAY THINK.
POINT ONE: WHAT WAS THE UNDERLYING PROBLEM HERE?:
MANY PEOPLE, INCLUDING MYSELF, HAVE THOUGHT THAT THE UNDERLYING PROBLEM IN THIS PASSAGE IS THE LACK OF FAITH ON THE PART OF THE DISCIPLES. THE DISCIPLES FIRMLY BELIEVED THAT THE SHIP WAS GOING TO SINK. THEY THOUGHT THAT THEY WERE GOING TO DIE.
IF THEY DID NOT HAVE FAITH THAT JESUS COULD HELP THEM, WHY DID THEY EVER WAKE HIM UP IN THE FIRST PLACE? WHAT WERE THEY SAYING? WE’RE GOING TO DIE HERE SO WE WANT YOU TO BE AWAKE WHEN YOU DIE WITH US? WHAT WAS THE POINT IN THAT?
I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT THE DISCIPLES FELT THAT JESUS COULD NOT SAVE THEM. I BELIEVE THEY FELT HE COULD. THE REAL ISSUE IS GIVEN TO US IN THE QUESTION THEY ASK:
MARK 4:38: “Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?"”
THE MEN ON THE BOAT DID NOT DOUBT WHETHER JESUS COULD CALM THE STORM, BUT WERE UPSET AT HIS INDIFFERENCE TO THEIR PLIGHT.
IT ALSO BRINGS TO LIGHT ANOTHER IMPORTANT POINT. JESUS FELL ASLEEP IN THE BOAT AFTER THE STORM STARTED, NOT BEFORE. IT COULD BE THAT THE CHURNING WAVES ROCKED HIM TO SLEEP. YOU SEE, HAD THE STORM BEGUN AFTER HE WENT TO SLEEP THEY COULD NOT CHARGE HIM WITH INDIFFERENCE, FOR HE WOULD HAVE NOT KNOWN THAT THE STORM HAD ARISEN. NO THEY WOULD HAVE AWAKENED HIM TO LET HIM KNOW.
THEY CHARGED JESUS NOT WITH POWERLESSNESS, BUT WITH INDIFFERENCE. IN THE MIDST OF A GROWING PERIL JESUS WENT TO SLEEP.
THIS IS WHERE WE MAY BE TODAY AS WE FACE THE STORMS OF OUR LIFE. WE MAY REALIZE THAT GOD HAS THE POWER TO CALM THE STORMS OF OUR LIFE, OUR QUESTION IS AS THE HYMNWRITER WROTE “DOES JESUS CARE”?
WE SEARCH THE STORM FOR AN ANSWER. THERE MUST HAVE BEEN SOMETHING THAT WE DID WRONG, SOME SIN THAT WE COMMITTED, THAT WOULD MAKE GOD TURN HIS BACK ON US.
GOING THROUGH A STORM DOES NOT MEAN THAT GOD DOES NOT LOVE YOU, THAT HE IS ANGRY WITH YOU, OR THAT THE STORM IS SOME FORM OF JUDGMENT. SOMETIMES THE STORMS OF LIFE THAT WE FACE ARE SELF-MADE. SOMETIMES STORMS HAPPEN BECAUSE WE LIFE IN A FALLEN WORLD. SOMETIMES STORMS HAPPEN TO EQUIP US FOR FURTHER MINISTRY. WE MUST REMEMBER JESUS WORDS IN MATTHEW.
MATTHEW 5:45: “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
POINT TWO: JESUS IS PRESENT WITH US IN THE STORM!
WHEN THEY WAKE JESUS UP, HE ASKS THEM TWO QUESTIONS:
1. WHY ARE YOU SO AFRAID?
2. DO YOU STILL HAVE NO FAITH?
JESUS WANTS THE DISCIPLES TO LEARN THE SECOND LESSON ABOUT THE STORM.
JESUS IS PRESENT WITH US IN THE STORM. JESUS WAS IN THE BOAT WITH THEM. THEY WERE NOT FACING THE STORM ALONE. HE WAS TELLING THEM THAT THEY DID NOT HAVE TO BE AFRAID, BUT HE WASN’T TALKING ABOUT THE STORM. HE WAS TALKING ABOUT THEIR FEAR THAT HE DIDN’T CARE. HE IS CALLING ON THEIR FATIH OF THE PAST, TO LEAD THEM THROUGH THE PRESENT, AND PREPARE THEM FOR THE FUTURE.
POINT THREE: JESUS CALM THE STORM:
JESUS CALMS THE STORM, NOT ACCORDING TO THE TIMING OF THE DISCIPLES, BUT ON HIS OWN DIVINE TIMING. REMEMBER, HE COULD HAVE SPOKEN TO THE WINDS AT ANY TIME. HE COULD HAVE STOPPED THE STORM BEFORE IT STARTED. JESUS HAD SOMETHING TO TEACH THE DISCIPLES AND US.
ROMANS 5:6: “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.”
THE DISCIPLES ASKED A THIRD QUESTION HERE:
MARK 4:41: “They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"”
THE DISCIPLES WERE AFRAID OF THE STORM, BUT THEY WERE TERRIFIED OF JESUS AND HIS POWER. THEY HAD SEEN HIS HEALING, HEARD HIS TEACHING, BUT THEY WERE SEARCHING FOR BOUNDARIES. WHAT WERE THE BOUNDARIES OF HIS POWER? THEY WERE COMING MORE AND MORE TO REALIZE THAT THERE WERE NO BOUNDARIES TO JESUS’ POWER.
THE WORD FOR FEAR HERE IN THE GREEK MEANS AWE. THEY WERE AWESTRUCK IN THE PRESENCE OF HE WHO CAN CALM THE STORMS, HE WHO CAN CALM THE WINDS JUST BY THE SOUND OF HIS VOICE. WE SHOULD NOT BE SURPRISED BY THIS, FOR HE CREATED THE SEA AND THE WIND IN GENESIS WITH THE SOUND OF HIS VOICE.
POINT FOUR: WHAT WAS THE ORIGIN OF THE STORM?
WHEN JESUS SPOKE TO THE STORM, WHO WAS HE REALLY SPEAKING TO?
WE LIVE IN A WORLD THAT IS IN THE GRIP OF THE DEVIL AND HIS AGENTS. THIS INCLUDES THE PHYSICAL WORLD AS WELL. JESUS UNDERSTOOD THIS AND SO WHEN HE WAS SPEAKING TO THE STORM, HE WAS NOT REBUKING THE WIND, BUT THE ONE WHO AROUSED IT. JESUS LIVED IN THE CONSTANT REALIZATION THAT:
EPHESIANS 6:12: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
CONCLUSION:
WHAT THEN CAN WE LEARN FROM THIS PASSAGE?
1. STORMS IN LIFE WILL COME. THEY WILL COME TO CHRISTIANS OR NON-CHRISTIANS.
2. JESUS IS PRESENT WITH US IN THE STORM. REMEMBER THE CHORUS OF THE HYMN “DOES JESUS CARE?” “O YES HE CARES, I KNOW HE CARES!”
3. STORMS CAN COME FROM MANY SOURCES. WE ALSO KNOW THAT FOR THE CHRISTIAN GOD WILL WORK GOOD OUT OF THE STORMS WE FACE.
4. STORMS DO NOT LAST FOREVER. JESUS CAN CALM THE STORMS OF OUR LIFE.
DO NOT EVER FEEL THAT GOD IS NOT AWARE OF YOUR NEEDS TODAY. WE MUST TRUST GOD’S ABILITY AS WELL AS HIS TIMING IF WE ARE TO BE PEOPLE OF FAITH. THE PERSON THE GOSPEL WRITERS PRESENT TO US IS NO MERE MAN, AND HIS MIGHTY WORKS MUST BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY.
THE MIRACLES OF OUR LORD FORCE US TO COME TO A DECISION ABOUT JESUS CHRIST. EITHER HE IS WHO HS SAYS HE IS, OR HE IS A LUNATIC AND A LIAR. YOU MUST MAKE AND YOU WILL MAKE A CHOICE ABOUT JESUS TODAY. ULTIMATELY IT IS THE CONDITION OF YOUR HEART, NOT MIRACLES, THAT WILL DETERMINE YOUR RESPONSE TO JESUS CHRIST.
LUKE 16:30-31:
“30 "’No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 31 "He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’"”
