In the hinder part
Mark 4:35-41
Anyone know what it’s like to be in a stuck in a storm???
ME: When I was a young boy I stayed with my granny, I’ll never forget certain things about my granny;
She always cooked breakfast and supper for us
She waited for the bus with us in the morning and the afternoon
She smoked Salem’s and kept them in one of those cigarette pouches
She watched General Hospital religiously every afternoon at 3
She rarely missed WCW on Mondays and Thursdays
The one thing that always sticks out the most in my mind is my granny was terrified of storms, I’m talking flip the couch and crawl under, get in the hallway, stop talking, be quiet, police scanner full blast, She drove us from Lula to RabbitTown one time to get to a storm shelter.
I actually saw my first Funnel Cloud that day as 5 of us in a 2 door Ford Tempo went straight up Talladega Nights up the road that day to get the storm shelter…
My granny grew up in Gainesville Ga, April 6th 1936 the city of Gainesville was hit by an F4 tornado that leveled downtown; 203 people lost their lives that day. If you Google top 10 deadliest tornadoes in US history this event ranks 5th.
My granny’s fear of storms was created by an event that she nor anyone else had control over…
Application: Isn’t that where all of our fears come from anyways, those events and circumstances where we feel like we have no control???
GOD: God shows us what fear does to our faith in a simple story
2: Mark 4:37 And there arose a great storm
Wind, Waves, Rain beating into the ship
This vessel starts taking on a large amount of water in the process, more water than they could handle
So that it was now full
Application: 3 parts of every storm you find yourself in
1: Where you get in it
Every problem you and I face has a root
Every person in this room waits to address the root last
The root is always found where the problem begins
2: Where it gets on
It gets on in the middle of the problem
The middle is where the problem gets on you
It gets on when you believe you can’t get out
3: Where you get it
Every problem has a desired outcome
Sometimes our outcomes don’t match God’s income ( you and I just want to survive this but God’s putting something so much more valuable in the lesson we learn from the storms
You get it when you realize that storms are better to teach us things about ourselves and more importantly things about HIS presence in those storms
WE: Our storms make us have moments where we question HIS care for us
3: Mark 4:38 Master carest thou not that we perish?
We have those moments where we look up to the sky and take an accusatory tone with GOD
We question God’s method and approach
We question the situation and circumstances when we find ourselves stuck in a storm (Really God I tithe, Seriously God I volunteer)
Application: There's 3 reasons why we do that, all 3 are fears
God can’t: Jesus can’t love/accept/use someone like me
God won’t Jesus won’t love/accept/use someone like me
God doesn’t Jesus doesn’t love,accept/use someone like me
YOU: Storms make us focus on the surface level of the situation
4: Right now you’ve seen all the external factors of this story
You’ve seen the Rain, Wind and Water
You’ve heard the Thunder and seen the Lighting
It convinces you that there’s no way out, there’s no control, there’s nothing left you can possibly do to get through this
Application: Jesus wasn’t on the surface level of the ship
GOD: He was in the hinder part of the ship
5: Where do you control the ship from???
It’s not on the surface
The ship is controlled from the stern, the pillow was for the captain to use while controlling the vessel
Jesus is always in the hinder part of the ship
Application: Why was Jesus asleep??? Because the disciples didn’t choose to involve HIM until the situation had gotten to a point where HE was the last and only option and they came to inform and involve HIM…
The lesson Jesus is teaching has nothing to do with the external storm or the properties that accompany the external storm, it wasn’t even about the capabilities or lack thereof that the disciples displayed.
The lesson is about internal storms that rage within us, Jesus rebuked the wind and the sea, PEACE BE STILL.
Then he makes a profound statement to the disciples; why are you so fearful, how is it that you have no faith???
Conclusion: The real waves beating into your ship are from within because the greatest storms you’ll ever endure start inside of you not around you.
So What: Jesus loves us too much for it to be a waste of time, there is nothing you’ve faced or anything that can come against you that can stand against the presence of Jesus in your life...
