ESSENTIAL KING JESUS: NO FEAR
MARK 4:35-41
#kingjesus
USE AUDIO BIBLE: Mark Chapter 4:1-41 [5:19]
https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/esv/Mark.4
STORY 1 (p)
The date was December 31, 2000. It was a Sunday. The time was about 9:30pm. The weather was very cold and the conditions of the road in rural Tennessee were mostly clear. The 24-year old man was on his way to work for the overnight shift. Life was good. He was driving his brand new blue Nissan Frontier which was one of the first vehicles he ever got to pick out… he loved it. It drove nice. It was new. The truck sat high and he felt like a big shot. Life was also good because his wife was at home pregnant with their first child… a girl. She was due in about three months.
The young man was not a good driver. He was going too fast for the conditions as most young men tend to do. The roads were clear… yes… but there were also patches of ice on the road that could not be seen in the dark. He came around one bend in the country road and hit a patch of ice. His truck slid sideways on the narrow road. Once the truck has slid to the side of the road, it did not stop. The truck tipped over onto its side.
The problem with this is that the road was raised and there was a slope down into the pasture on the side of the road he had slid. The truck tumbled over the side of the bank and rolled into the pasture. The outside of the truck was damaged on all sides. Inside the truck, the foolish young man was not wearing his seatbelt and was tossed around in his seat some as the truck rolled. He held onto the steering wheel. Pain in his left arm. Glass shattering. The radio stopped playing. The truck became still in the field.
The feeling he felt: Fear.
Fear at almost dying. Fear of what could have happened.
People from the farmhouse to which the field belonged heard the accident and came running immediately. They recognized him and knew his wife was pregnant. They also knew that his house was not far away. The good natured folks offered to take him to the hospital, but did not want him to simply call his wife. They wanted to take him home first for him to explain what happened in person to his wife so she could see he was not badly injured.
The feeling they felt: Fear.
They were afraid that if he or another person called the pregnant young wife about the accident that the shock and stress would send her into labor. They drove him home briefly and then took him to the hospital and he rang in the new year of 2001 in the ER.
FEAR [Collins, Christian Counseling, 2007, page 140, 145]
Fear is a powerful emotion. Most of the time when I personally think of fear I think of it as a negative emotion, but fear can certainly save our life at times. When we talk about fear we also use words like anxiety, stress, phobia, panic, tension, apprehension, uneasiness, worry, and dread. We know fear when we feel it. We know how it makes us feel physically.
We may or may not think about our fears all the time, but we all have our own lists of things we are afraid of or situations that bring us fear. Fear of failure, the future, rejection, intimacy, success, taking responsibility, conflict, meaninglessness in life, sickness, death, public speaking, loneliness, change, and Coca-Cola going out of business so that all we are left with is Pepsi.
Fear is serious business because it is a powerful emotion that can affect many parts of our lives. Fear can stop us. Fear can change our behavior. Fear can change how we think. Fear can change how we treat other people.
STORY 2: http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/f/fear.htm
The scene is the deepest part of Africa on a safari. Two explorers were coming out of the jungle and back into the savanna area when suddenly a ferocious lion jumped in front of them. Fear grabbed both of their hearts. Fear shot through them. "Keep calm," the first explorer whispered to his friend, “Remember what we read in that book on wild animals? If you stand perfectly still and look the lion in the eye, he will turn and run."
"Sure," replied his companion. "You've read the book, and I've read the book. But has the lion read the book?"
FEAR RESULTS [Meier & Minirth, Intro to Psychology and Counseling, 1991, page 94]
The human body goes through three distinct stages when feeling fear. The first is the alarm reaction in which the body’s defenses are mobilized by activity in the limbic and other systems through the secretion of adrenalin and noradrenaline. I think most of us non-psychologist types call this the ‘fight or flight’ feeling. Breathing is faster and muscles tighten. The second stage is one of resistance which happens if the fear or the stress continues over a long period of time. The body tries to repair any damage while defending itself. Then third, exhaustion lays in if the fear or the emergency lasts too long. The person becomes exhausted mentally and physically because of the fear.
STORY 3: theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/08/children-delta-covid-19-risk-adults-overreact /619728/ [adapted]
Since last year, an emotion that has been common for many people has been fear. A virus spread into the world and created not only a pandemic of sickness that went around the world, but it also created a pandemic of fear. Fear of getting sick. Fear of crowds. Fear of the hospitals being overrun with patients. Fear that a cold is more than a cold. Fear that a cough is more than a cough.
That fear is coming back now for many people. Many folks were alarmed on July 27 when the CDC’s director, Rochelle Walensky, said that vaccinated people infected with the Delta variant of COVID-19 could transmit the virus “with the same capacity as an unvaccinated” person. I don’t know about you, but I was hoping all of this was winding down in many ways. I still think masks are here to stay, but I figured the active threat was gone. For people who thought that the pandemic was ending, her televised statement was like the scene late in A Nightmare on Elm Street when Freddy Krueger’s claw reaches up from within Glen’s bed and pulls him in. Fear grabbed many hearts.
One doctor in in Washington DC said: “The phones at my office started ringing immediately. People were asking: ‘Are my kids no longer safe around me?’ ‘Should we cancel our trip to visit the grandparents?’ ‘Do the vaccines not work like they used to?’” All of the questions revolved around one emotion: Fear.
FEAR IN THE BIBLE
Fear is mentioned in the Bible. There are over 400 verses in the Old and New Testament that deal with fear. The Biblical idea of fear embraces a much wider dimension than our common word which simply means ‘dread and terror.’ What I mean is that sometimes the word ‘fear’ is used in the Bible to mean ‘awe inspiring reverence for God.’ That is NOT what we are talking about today. We are talking about ‘shaking in your boots afraid of something’ fear. We are talking about the stress inducing emotion of fear.
The first time we find fear in the Bible is in Genesis 3 where Adam and Eve are hiding from God because they disobeyed Him. They disobeyed God and they were ‘shaking in their fig leaves’ afraid. Fear is a consequence of sin.
READ GENESIS 3:8-10 (ESV)
“And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”
In the Old Testament, Cain was afraid of the results of God’s judgement after he killed his brother Abel. King Saul was afraid. King Ahaz in 2 Chronicles 28 is so plagued with fear that his fear made him set up all kinds of altars for sacrifices all over Jerusalem. In the New Testament, Joseph was afraid to take Mary home as his wife. King Herod was afraid of John the Baptist. Pilate was afraid of the crowds. The whole Church was afraid in Acts 5 after Ananias and Sapphira fall dead in the middle of church. Fear is a real emotion that really does impact people. All people.
TRANSITION
We are in a sermon series on the Gospel of Mark that I’ve themed ‘Essential King Jesus.’ Each week we have been taking a look at one passage in a chapter. First week, chapter 1. Second week, chapter 2. And so on. My prayer overall is that as we make our way through the Gospel of Mark, that we will encounter the Essential King Jesus and bolster our faith or perhaps find it for the first time. And… each week I want to share with one essential truth that is important for us to believe and then also communicate to others about Jesus. We are focusing on the Essential King Jesus.
Week 1: You cannot be part of the Kingdom of God without Jesus.
Week 2: Jesus has all authority and all power to forgive sins.
Week 3: Jesus came do the will of God.
This week we are in Mark 4. Everything we have talked about thus far leads us right into the passage we are looking at in Mark 4.
FEAR IN MARK 4:35-41
READ MARK 4:35-41 (ESV)
“On that day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took Him with them in the boat, just as He was. And other boats were with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” 39 And He awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”
As we look at these few verses beginning in verse 35, we see the word ‘boat’ repeated. They went in a ‘boat.’ Other ‘boats’ were with them. Waves were breaking in ‘the boat.’ The ‘boat’ was already filling. The boat, the boat, the boat, the boat. Ok, we get it. Jesus and the disciples are in a boat. Do we get it?
You see Mark is making sure we know Jesus and the disciples, many of whom are seasoned experienced expert fishermen, are in a boat on the Sea of Galilee. They should be quite safe. Those in control of the boats are experts. The boats are made to go on the water and keep folks safe and get them where they are going. Sudden storms on the Sea of Galilee are normal.
The huge storm (MSG)… the furious squall (NIV)… the fierce windstorm (HCSB) came upon them and the picture we get is that the situation is dangerous. Water is filling the boat. It is not like they are on an ocean liner. They are in fishing boats and those boats are being swamped. The boat, the boat, the boat, the boat. The boats were in trouble. Those things that should have been safe were not.
VERSE 38
Verse 38 is very telling I think.
The disciples come to a decision and they wake Jesus. Honestly, Jesus must have been a very sound sleeper. I can imagine with the wind and waves and water and yelling and the carrying on and the rocking side to side that it would have been hard to sleep. Yet, He was. Jesus was asleep. His ministry was taxing and hard and pressure and I am sure He was exhausted. He was sleeping to gain strength for whatever would come next.
They wake Jesus with these words: “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
Those words tell us a lot actually. First, we find that they wake Jesus up by calling Him ‘Teacher.’ It is very true that Jesus is their rabbi… their teacher… but they are coming to realize He is much more than just a good moral teacher. Why did they not address Him as ‘Master’ or ‘Lord?’ Such things were being clouded over in their minds and in their emotions.
Second, we get the sense that the disciples were angry at Jesus for not acting in a way that they assumed He should. He should at least be awake and at most leading them through this storm. Jesus is literally asleep at the rudder. He should be encouraging them. He should be helping them through the storm. He should be doing something active in the midst of the wind and waves and water and yelling and the carrying on and the rocking side to side. Jesus was not doing what they expected.
VERSE 40
Verse 40 is also quite telling I think.
Jesus wakes up. His disciples are calling on Him to meet their expectations. Jesus spoke three words and the storm quit. Jesus spoke three words and the wind died down and the churning waters became calm. I can’t help but see in Jesus the same power from Genesis 1 where God says, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3) and the universe sprung into existence. Jesus is God. The same God who brought forth light with a word is the same God who calmed the storm with a word.
Jesus says in verse 40: “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”
Jesus’ words in this verse tell us something so very significant. If you stopped listening, please tune back in. His words teach us so very much about faith. What is faith? Hebrews 11:1 (ESV) defines faith as, “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” I’d like to point out that in this passage Jesus is not defining faith for the disciples and is not talking about faith. Jesus is talking to them about the opposite of faith. Most of the time we would say that the opposite of faith is… doubt. Doubt is not the opposite of faith.
Fear is the opposite of faith.
Fear is the opposite of faith.
Fear is the opposite of faith.
The disciples have called out to Jesus in the midst of this huge storm (MSG)… this furious squall (NIV)… this fierce windstorm (HCSB) and they were completely and utterly afraid. Fear was in the heart of each and every one. The fear in their hearts downgraded Jesus from ‘Lord’ to ‘Teacher’ and they were afraid that Jesus would not save them. Their fear led to doubt, anger, frustration, a lack of trust, and maybe even uncharacteristic thoughts.
Fear is the opposite of faith.
APPLICATION
Fear is the opposite of faith for us as well.
You and I are not so different from the disciples. I am going to draw out truths from this passage because the truth for these disciples in the midst of an actual physical windy storm is the same for us in the metaphorical storms of life.
Storms of Life: Medical diagnoses are storms. A loss of a job is a storm. Stress over COVID is a storm. Our children and grandchildren making foolish decisions is a squall. Dealing with mental illness is a rainstorm. Divorce is a blizzard. Doubting our Christian faith is a storm. Confronting an addiction is a hurricane.
We get in the midst of the heart wrenching storms of life and we go through the same things the disciples went through. We get stressed and afraid and we expect Jesus to do something. We believe in Him… so… Jesus bless me. God make my situation go away. Bad things happen to other people, but God I believe You and I serve You, so make my life smooth sailing. We expect God to be a certain way and when He seems not to do what we want… we become… afraid.
Fear rules us. Fear fuels our questions and our responses.
Jesus, why are You not helping us?
God, why are You abandoning me in this storm?
Jesus, where are You in the midst of my distress?
God, have You abandoned me, one of Your people?
Jesus, You said You’d never leave me or forsake me… I feel forsaken so what is the deal?
Fear is the root of every single one of those thoughts because fear is the opposite of faith. Fear feeds doubt. Fear feeds anger and mistrust and expectations. Fear feeds false beliefs.
ESSENTIAL KING JESUS
I want to share with you the essential truth that is important for us to believe and then also communicate to others about Jesus. We are focusing on the Essential King Jesus. Essential King Jesus from chapter 4 is: Jesus casts out fear.
When you and I have faith in Jesus Christ, we have faith not in a good teacher or a moral leader or a philosophical framework that is a beneficial crutch. No, when you and I have faith in Jesus Christ we have faith in the Messiah Self-Sacrificing Deliverer Who Makes Good on All the Promises of God. Faith in Jesus drives out fear because faith in Jesus is complete trust in One Who loves us and will be with us in the storms.
Medical diagnoses are storms and faith in Jesus means an absence of fear in that no matter the outcome whether healing or pain; Jesus Christ is with us giving peace when we ask. Faith in Jesus drives out fear and gives peace.
A loss of a job is a storm and faith in Jesus means we believe that God is working for our good and we need not be afraid because He will lead us where we need to work next. Faith in Jesus drives out fear and gives provision.
Stress over COVID is a storm and faith in Jesus means that even if we get COVID and die that we will not be afraid of death because our Savior has already conquered death. Faith in Jesus drives out fear and gives confidence and assurance.
Our children and grandchildren making foolish decisions is a squall and we need not fear that Jesus will never forgive them when they finally wise up because Jesus Christ extends grace to anyone who seeks Him. Faith in Jesus drives out fear and gives hope.
Dealing with mental illness is a rainstorm and faith in Jesus drives out the fear that because we deal with depression or anxiety or obsessive compulsions that God has left us behind and forsaken us. Jesus is next to us always and wants to be our guide through the illness. Faith in Jesus drives out fear and gives an anchor.
Divorce is a blizzard and faith in Jesus Christ drives away the fear that through the brokenness there is no hope of reconciliation or a healed heart or forgiveness when it is all said and done. Jesus makes all things new. Faith in Jesus drives out fear and gives a clean slate.
Doubting our Christian faith is a storm and leaning into Jesus and continually pursuing Him even when we have huge questions drives away the fear that because of our questions God will turn His back on us. Faith in Jesus drives out fear and gives answers or comfort when there are no answers.
Confronting an addiction is a hurricane and pressing into faith in Jesus means that we do not have to be afraid that our label of ‘addict’ is the defining label of our lives. Faith in Jesus drives out fear and gives us a label of ‘forgiven child of God.’
Essential King Jesus: Jesus casts out fear.
SUMMARY
I do not know what all of your lives are like right now. I know some of you are going through a storm in life and you have just about had it. You are up to your eyeballs in water and hurt or frustration or being let down. If you are not in a faith stretching time right now, just wait. Life is unfair and it is on the way.
Jesus says to us in Mark 4 that faith in Him drives out fear.
* May you give the things that bring fear into your life over to God in faithful prayer.
* May you find strength in faith in Jesus when fear is what you feel.
* May you completely believe that Jesus casts out fear.
INVITATION
Not everyone who is here today is a baptized believer in Jesus. It could be that you feel fear that Jesus cannot or will not forgive you of your sins because we all think there are things we have done that are outside the possibility of forgiveness.
READ 1 JOHN 1:9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Jesus forgives all unrighteousness. ‘All’ means ‘all.’ You need not be afraid that God will not accept you or forgive you or that somehow you are a different kind of sinner that He has never seen before. Jesus loves you and wants you to choose Him as Savior and Lord.
Remember, Essential King Jesus: Jesus casts out fear.
PRAYER
