Victory Over Dangers Text: Mark 4:35-41
Introduction: The Gospel of Mark has been described as a book of Mighty Works. Mark’s Gospel is a gospel of deeds. Mark presents Jesus as a worker whose life was full of strenuous activity. Mark hastens from one task to another with energy and precision. 42 times Mark uses the "straightway," as he marches us from one miracle to the next. Other gospel writers reveal to us the mind of God, Mark reveals the Arm of God. Mark records 19 miracles and only 4 parables. The writer, John Mark chooses to record the deeds rather than the words of Jesus. Mark is by no means silent about Jesus as a teacher. Jesus is a worker, and even more a teacher. Mark shows that His works prepared people for His words rather than His words preparing people for His works. The teachings grew naturally out of the occasion and the circumstances. Jesus did and then taught. Since He did what He did, He could teach with effectiveness. Both His works and words reveal who he really is.
The assignment given to those early followers of Christ is typical. Jesus was not asking the disciples to do anything they could not do. These men were fishermen, professional sailors who were familiar with the water of Galilee. Jesus commands them to get into the boat and go over to the other side. Realizing the late hour, Jesus needed the disciple to put to sea, because he would lose no time, Let us pass over to the other side; for we shall find, in the next chapter, he has work to do there. Christ went about doing good. No difficulties in his way could hinder him. The book of Mark is going to serve as the foundation for the messages this week. Tonight's message is entitled "Victory over Danger". In spite of the turmoil around us, we as children of God, we can have victory over the dangers of life.
Some of you today need victory because you may be facing what to all appearances are insurmountable difficulties, irresolvable problems, and hopeless circumstances. You’re in that boat out on the open sea, the waves sloshing, the wind howling, the darkness so thick you can’t even see the shore, much less reach it. And on top of it all, God seems unconcerned, indifferent. You feel hopeless, and you’re right. Your situation is hopeless, unless God intervenes.
Some of you, on the other hand, are enjoying relatively smooth sailing. Clear skies, calm seas, gentle breezes. And that’s great. Be thankful for God’s blessings and mercies. But be careful: guard your heart against spiritual complacency. Continue to be diligent in the spiritual disciplines of prayer and bible reading. Keep seeking the Lord, keep striving to serve God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, so that when the storms
do come, you’ll be ready. Allow me to point out some obvious and simple lessons from this story. If we are to experience Victory over danger, first we must realize: Storms will come.
1. Storm Will Come - Even though you may follow God faithfully as much as you know how…Storm will come! The apostle Peter reminds us: “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12).
There are many who do not seem to understand this. The disciples seemed to be shocked that they were in this position. After all, wasn’t Jesus with them? Wouldn’t God protect his Messiah, and therefore protect his followers? How then could this happen? I sometimes meet people who have the same feeling of shock when some storm comes into their lives. Didn’t I do all the right things? Isn’t God supposed to watch out for his own? Doesn’t he protect those he loves? How can this be happening to me? I am sure those are the questions which were marching through the heads of the disciples.
Here is what a storm in your life does not mean. It does not mean that God does not love you. It does not mean that God is angry with you, or that he is paying you back for something. God is not toying with you. Sometimes the storms that happen in our lives are self-made. But many times it is just that storms happen, and trying to analyze what happened or assign blame is a fruitless activity. We live in a fallen world. And as Jesus said, “[God] causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45). In other words, good and bad happen to all. The important thing is whether or not we are prepared for them. We can be prepared if we understand Storms will come, but Secondly, we understand that we are not alone, Jesus is with us in the storm.
2. Jesus is with us in the storm - If you are going to be in a storm, the one person you want your boat is Jesus. Jesus could have stayed on the shore and let them take all the chances by themselves, but he did not do that. Where they went, he went. He promised “Lo, I am with you always…”
The problem for the disciples was that he was with them, but he was asleep. He was asleep due to two things: 1) total exhaustion from ministering to the crowds, and 2) total peace, knowing who he was and who his Father was. But they interpreted it as a lack of caring. Disciples had two options and so do we! The disciples almost panicked because the storm threatened to destroy them, and Jesus seemed to be unconcerned and unaware. There was a physical storm, but our storms take many forms. Whatever the difficulty, you have two options: you can worry and assume that Jesus no longer care about you. That's always Satan's first option. Or you can resist fear, putting your faith in Jesus. When storm arise, put your faith in him and trust in his deliverance. Never underestimate the value of having Jesus on board and never underestimate what he can do! The disciples underestimated him. They lived with him, saw him heal others, bless others, but they did not realize his power was available for their own personal situation. Although they have been running with Jesus, serving him faithfully and, yet they underestimate his power to handle crises in their personal lives. He has power over every storms of life. So, Storms will come, Jesus will be with us in the storm and Jesus will calm the storm.
3. Jesus will calm the storm -And here is the third lesson: Jesus will calm the storm. At the perfect time during the perfect storm he exercises his power over the storms of life. God is never in a hurry, and the reason he is never in a hurry is because he knows exactly what to do at exactly the right time. He does not go by our time. At just the right time, not the right time as far as the disciples were concerned, but just at right time, Jesus stood up and calmed the storm. Don’t worry! God has you in mind. He knows and understands you and your situation. He cares for you. His timing is perfect. The Bible says, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6). He is always watching out for us. Peter wrote, “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer” (1 Peter 3:12).
4. The fourth lesson is: It is only in the storm that we truly understand who Jesus is, who we are and what faith in him can do. I think the most amazing part of the story is the disciple’s reaction to Jesus. When Jesus asks them why they are afraid, it is the Greek word meaning fearful in the moderate sense. But when Jesus calms the storm, the Bible says, “They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’” (Mark 4:41). The Greek literally says: “they feared with great fear.”
The same Jesus, who calmed the violent storm on the outside, must calm their storm that rage on the inside. It is only when the storms are calm that we can sail on. The disciple failed to realize there were other little boats following them. Their only hope in the storm was confidence gained as they watched Jesus and his disciples in the larger boat continuing to sail. If the disciples give up in fear, there is no hope at all for those following them. As our nation struggles to free itself from war and conflict, the economy struggles to hold on to gains, the eyes of the community is on the church; a Church who testifies of an all powerful God. They know that we have Jesus on board and they want to know if Jesus really makes a difference. We can have victory over danger, if we realize storms will come; if we realize we are not alone, Jesus is with us in the storm; if we realize though storm maybe raging, Jesus will calm the storm. The storm cannot last. Storms have a purpose. Finally, it is only in the storm that we truly understand who Jesus is, who we are as His witness and what faith in God can do! There is so much riding on how we respond during the storms of life. Expect storms to come, be prepared by maintaining a right relationship with Jesus, Be quick to wake him up, call on him because there are some things we cannot do for ourselves. He will calm the storm, and we must be his witnesses.
