Praise be to the wonderful Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
God is good, and His mercy endures forever.
Turn to your neighbor and say, “God governs my life.” “God governs every situation in my life.” Because He has sovereign authority over everything in heaven and on earth.
Sometimes we hear that a storm is coming. The news begins to warn us. The clouds gather. The wind changes. There is tension in the air. We prepare our homes. We secure our doors. We charge our phones. No one can stop a storm from coming..but we prepare ourselves to face it.
Before a storm arrives, the sky darkens. Thunder rolls. Lightning flashes. The sea begins to rage. There is a sense of fear even before the storm actually hits.
During the storm, everything becomes chaotic. Electricity fails. Communication is cut off. The house becomes cold. We sit in candlelight. We cannot contact loved ones. We do not know what is happening outside.
And if you ever go to the beach during a storm, you will see something terrifying — a raging sea. Dark waters. Violent waves. An uncontrolled force that looks proud and unstoppable.
But here is something powerful.
Even after the storm passes, the sea can remain rough.
The sky may clear, but the waters remain disturbed for hours… sometimes even days.
And many of us are like that.
The problem ended — but your heart is still disturbed.
The thunder stopped — but your mind is still shaking.
The storm passed — but the waves remain inside you.
Some of you are no longer in the storm…
but the storm is still in you.
And there is only One who can speak to your inner waves and say,
“Peace, be still.”
Psalm 89:9 says,
“You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, You still them.”
Notice that the waves rise. But God rules.
Job 38:11 says that God told the sea,
“Thus far you may come, but no further. Here your proud waves must stop.”
The Bible even describes the waves with a word that means pride, swelling, arrogance. The sea has majesty. It has power. It has beauty. But it also has pride. Yet even the proud sea has boundaries.
God says, “This far. No further.”
Tonight I want to speak on this title:
The Pride of the Sea.
Every person here has something in common.
We all face storms.
1. Some storms are loud.
2. Some storms are silent.
3. Some storms come suddenly.
4. Some storms stay for years.
But there is one Voice that has authority to calm the pride of the sea.
Let us look at four kinds of storms in Scripture — and how Jesus defeats them all.
1. The Sea That Rages — He Calms It:
In Mark chapter 4, the disciples obey Jesus and enter a boat because He told them to. And immediately, a great storm arises.
Sometimes storms come not because you are far from Jesus — but because you are following Him.
The waves beat into the boat. The boat begins to fill. Experienced fishermen panic. But Jesus is asleep.
They wake Him and cry out, “Master, do You not care that we perish?”
Jesus stands up. The Bible says He 'arose'.
He rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace, be still.”
And there was a great calm.
Not partial calm.
Not delayed calm.
Great calm.
Normally after a storm, the sea remains disturbed.
But when Jesus speaks, disturbance disappears.
The storm that terrifies you does not terrify Him.
You may be facing unexpected sickness, family tension, job uncertainty, confusion, or fear.
Do not think God is sleeping.
When the storm arises, allow God to arise in your situation.
Zechariah says, “Be silent before the Lord, for He is raised up from His holy habitation.”
When God stands up, no enemy can speak.
He is the God who calms the raging sea in you!
2. The Sea Claimed by the Dragon — He Rebukes It
In Ezekiel chapter 29, the Lord speaks against Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
But notice how God describes him.
He does not simply call him a king.
He calls him a dragon.
A great dragon lying in the midst of his river.
Pharaoh says something shocking:
“My river is mine. I made it.”
This is not just political pride.
This is spiritual arrogance.
The Nile was Egypt’s life source.
It brought water, agriculture, wealth, power.
And Pharaoh stood in the middle of God’s creation and said,
“I made this.”
That is the spirit of pride.
That is the same spirit we saw in Job — the proud waves.
The sea in its swelling majesty looks unstoppable.
And the dragon in Ezekiel represents a spirit that claims ownership over what belongs to God.
This is not a weather storm.
This is a spiritual storm.
Some storms in your life are not wind and rain.
Some storms are voices.
Voices that say:
“You will never change.”
“This problem belongs to you.”
“This addiction owns you.”
“Your family will always be like this.”
“Your future is already decided.”
That is the dragon speaking.
It lies in the river and says, “This is mine.”
But then God says something powerful:
“I am against you.”
When God says He is against something, it will not stand.
The dragon may lie in the river.
But the river was created by God.
The enemy may claim your mind.
But your mind was created by God.
The enemy may claim your children.
But they were given by God.
The enemy may claim your destiny.
But your destiny was written by God.
Church, not every storm is an accident.
Some storms are the result of pride — spiritual forces claiming what is not theirs.
But before Jesus ever rebuked the sea in Mark 4,
God already declared in Ezekiel 29 that He confronts the dragon.
And when God confronts pride, pride collapses.
The sea may swell with arrogance.
But it still has boundaries.
God still says:
“This far. No further.”
He is the God who rebukes false claims over your life!
3. The Sea Where Demons Fled — He Delivers
Immediately after Jesus calms the storm in Mark 4, He reaches the region of the Gadarenes.
Do not miss this connection.
The storm on the sea tried to stop Jesus from reaching one broken man.
Sometimes the storm you face is not about you.
It is about what God is going to do through you.
When Jesus arrives, He meets a man possessed by many demons.
1. This man lives among tombs.
2. He cries day and night.
3. He cuts himself.
4. Chains cannot hold him.
5. The town fears him.
But Jesus does not fear him.
This man is living in a storm no one else can see.
His storm is not outside.
It is inside.
There are people sitting in churches who look calm on the outside, but inside they are screaming.
Inside they are battling thoughts.
Inside they are fighting shame.
Inside they are drowning in anxiety.
This man runs to Jesus. The demons inside him speak. They beg. They ask to be sent into pigs.
Jesus permits it.
The pigs rush violently into the sea.
Why the sea?
This is the same Sea that the Satan claim in Ezekiel 29. Here, Jesus sends him to the same sea to die.
Throughout Scripture, the sea often symbolizes chaos, darkness, rebellion.
The demons run back to chaos.
But that man?
The Bible says he is seated, clothed, and in his right mind.
The storm inside him is gone.
Notice something.
Jesus did not calm the sea just for weather.
He calmed the sea to reach a soul.
Sometimes God calms your external storm because He is about to address your internal one.
1. Fear.
2. Addiction.
3. Anger.
4. Hidden sin.
5. Depression.
Jesus still has authority over internal seas.
The enemy can break chains physically.
But one word from Jesus breaks the enemy spiritually.
4. The Sea That Threatens — He Walks On It
In Matthew 14, the disciples are again in a boat.
Again, there is wind.
Again, there is fear.
But this time, Jesus is not sleeping in the boat.
He is walking on the water.
He walks on the very waves that frightened them. Imagine the scene.
The wind is strong.
The night is dark.
The boat is unstable.
And then they see something moving on the water. At first they think it is a ghost.
But it is Jesus. He does not calm the sea immediately.
He walks on it.
Sometimes God does not remove the storm.
He shows you that He stands above it. He can walk on it.
What overwhelms you is beneath His feet.
The waves that threaten you are beneath His feet.
Peter says, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come.”
And Jesus says one word.
“Come.”
Peter steps out. For a moment, he walks on the water too.
But when he looks at the wind, he begins to sink.
Fear will always sink you faster than waves. But notice this: Immediately Jesus stretches out His hand.
The storm may threaten you. But His hand is closer than you think.
The sea under your feet may feel unstable. But under the sea is the command of God holding it in place.
The sea has pride.
But it has limits.
Jesus walks on its pride.
5. The Sea That Blocks — He Parts It
In Exodus 14, Israel stands trapped.
Behind them is Pharaoh — the same spirit of pride, the dragon.
Before them is the Red Sea.
No path.
No solution.
No escape.
This is not just a storm. This is a blockade.
Some of you are not facing waves. You are facing walls.
You look forward and see impossibility.
You look backward and see pressure.
You feel trapped.
God tells Moses something unusual.
“Lift your rod.”
That seems too simple.
But obedience releases miracles.
Moses lifts his hand.
The sea divides.
Walls of water rise.
Dry ground appears.
The same sea that looked proud and impossible becomes a pathway.
Israel walks through on dry ground.
Pharaoh follows — but the sea closes over him. Notice: Pharaoh claimed the water in Ezekiel 29...it is not his, because God created the waters.
The sea that blocked them becomes the sea that buries their enemy.
What stops you will not stop God.
What blocks you today may become your testimony tomorrow.
The pride of the sea cannot stand against the purpose of God.
CONCLUSION — HE IS LORD OF EVERY SEA
Tonight you may face:
A raging sea — He can calm it.
A claimed sea — He can rebuke it.
An internal sea — He can deliver you.
A threatening sea — He can walk on it.
A blocking sea — He can part it.
Every sea has a voice. But none of them have the final word.
Only Jesus has the final word.
And Revelation says one day, there will be no more sea.
No more chaos.
No more pride.
No more storms.
Until that day —
If He can calm it, He can walk on it.
If He can walk on it, He can part it.
If He can part it, He can carry you through it.
Same authority. Same voice. Same victory.
Amen.
