Whenever the Lord says Peace ... there will be Peace
Mark 4:35-41
Reverend Kelvin Lebron Parks
Preached at Living Stone Christian Center, Standish, Maine on 25 July 2004
Ø Prayer
Ø Thanks
o Pastor Jason Jones
o Wife and April
o Congregation
Scripture: Mark 4:35-41 (STAND)
[v. 35] And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.
[v.36] And when they had sent away the multitude, they took Him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with Him other little ships.
[v.37] And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
[v.38] And He was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake Him, and say unto Him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
[v.39] And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
[v.40] And He said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?
[v.41] And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, what manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
... you may be seated
I would like to use as a Subject:
Whenever the Lord says Peace ... there will be peace
Turn to your neighbor and say Neighbor: Whenever the Lord says Peace ... there will be peace (repeat)
Introduction
I am sure some of you have heard the story about George who was in the mountains on day taking pictures of all the beautiful scenery. Then all of a sudden he got to close to the edge and started falling down the side of the mountain. On the way down ... he managed to get a hold of a tree branch and he started yelling for help, but no one came because George was alone. Then all of a sudden he heard a voice that said "George?" George said, "Is that you Lord?" "Yes George it’s me."
"Do you trust me?" George replied. "Oh yes Lord you know I do with all my heart." "Do you have faith in me?" "Oh yes Lord I would do whatever you say." "Then George let go of the branch." George said "You want me to do what?" "I said let go of the branch." There was dead silence ... then George yelled out, "Help, is there anyone else up there?"
You know may of us are just like George ... we say that we will trust God when times get hard but when it comes right down to it we really don’t. May of us lack faith, but what we fail to realize is that if there is no faith then there is no hope, and if there is no hope then there is nothing for us to hold on too.
Let us consider our text once again.
Mark 4:35-41
You know, when I read a passage like this, I can’t help but ask the question. “Why does God allow storms in our life?” I mean, think about it for a minute. If He is all-powerful, [which He is] couldn’t God make our life smooth sailing if He wanted to? Wouldn’t it be nice if He cut out all the storms and simply made the seas that we sail on as smooth as glass? It seems like life would be much better if we didn’t have to go through rough times.
As a preacher, I have seen people that I thought were so strong, who has so much going for them but when tragedy hits ... somehow they seem to fall apart. Now I’m not talking about any old body. I’m talking about people that grew up in the church. Down south, we call them church folk ... people that know the word of the Lord. People who have heard and read for themselves over and over again what Jesus said "... I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:"(John 11:25)
They have heard and read the passage over and over "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." (Psalm 23:4)
They read over and over again in Psalm 121 "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth." (121:1-2)
But when tragedy strikes ... these passages seem to fall off their minds like water running off a ducks back.
Let’s look at our text ...
Now I believe that Mark might be trying to teach us something this morning about dealing with difficult times in our life by telling us about a stormy situation on the Sea of Galilee.
Oh yes ... I believe that there is more to this story ... than a storm tossed boat with thirteen passengers.
Watch this [v.35] ... “And the same day” refers to the day on which Jesus gave the “parables of the kingdom.” You see He had just finished teaching His disciples the Word and now He would give them a practical test to see how much they had really learned. After all, the hearing of God’s Word is intended to produce faith according to Romans 10:17 where it says "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
I heard one wise preacher say ... A faith not tested is a faith not trusted. So just, be reassure that your faith will be tested one day. Why ... because it is not enough for us merely to learn a lesson or be able to repeat a teaching or a sermon. We must also be able to practice that lesson by faith.
I believe, that is one of the reasons why God permits or allows storms to come to our lives.
Walk with me [v.35]
So, we see here in our text where Jesus invited His disciples to go with Him to the other side.
So let me just stick a pen right there. Let us pass over unto the other side. You know the other side is a good place to receive an invitation to.
The other side ... I don’t know about you but I have received an invitation to go to the Other Side. You see on this side there is sickness and death ...but on the other side, there will be no more death.
On this side, there is poverty ... but on the other side, I will have a mansion prepared by Jesus. Oh yes I do ...you see I believe what He said on in John 14:1-3
"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."
You see that’s my invitation to the other side
On this side, there is a whole lot of sadness and crying, ... but on the other side, we use to sing a song as children ... there will be no more weeping and a welling because "... My God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes.
On this side death is your doom ... In fact, if I read my Bible correctly, I believe it says over in 1 Corinthians 15:51-55
"Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, [v.52] In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
[v.53] For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. [v.54] So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. [v.55] O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
So having read that ... I think it safe to say that on the other side, we want have to face death anymore.
I don’t know about you maybe you are comfortable on this side ... but I need to tell you that this side is not my home I’m just a pilgrim traveling through to the other side.
But watch this [v.35] ... Notice the destination that Jesus named. As far as the Lord was concerned, the end of their boat ride was the other side of the sea, not the bottom of the sea.
You see ... this tells me that the Lord sometimes has to takes us through troubled water not to drown us but to cleanse us.
I just want to reassure somebody this morning that if Jesus has given you a destination (repeat), then he is going to be in your boat to make sure you reach it, all you have to do is put your trust in him.
Walk with me ... [v.36] "And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships."
He was already in the ship. What I like about this is that they set sail without any preparation, and without so much as leaving the ship, out of which He had been all day teaching. They did not return home to prepare an overnight bag. This tells me that when Jesus says it is time to go over to the other side ... then it is time to go. So you better be ye ready because you don;t know the day nor the hour when you soul will be required of thee.
I just want to park right here for just a moment and deal with this ... [v.36] "even as he was in the ship."
I want to ask you a few ship questions this morning. The first one is do you have a relationship with Jesus. In other words, do you know him? Second, for those of you who know him ... what type of fellowship do you have with Him? Is He your Savior, Friend, and Lord. Thirdly, I want to know if He is in your ship. What do you mean preacher? Well, I’m asking if Jesus is the Admiral of the seas of your life.
You see the confidence that the disciples should have had ... or should have been the fact that they had their Master with them; and the ship that has Christ in it, though it may be tossed, it cannot sink.
Oh just make it to heaven and ask Moses ... He will tell you that a bush that has God in it, though it may burn, it cannot be consumed. Oh yeah, you see ... the type of ship you are in is important. You see it is not only good to have the right person in your ship ... but it is also good to be on the right ship.
Because some ships will get you in trouble. Oh yeah ... you see
Courtship – might let you down
Relationships – might dump you
Membership – might forget you
Friendship – are sometimes fickle ... and often time conditional
But oh what a fellowship, oh what a joy divine ... when you have a ship with Jesus in it. Now I’m not talking about a boat, I’m talking about a personal relationship. I’m talking about making Jesus your anchor, your rudder, and your lighthouse, your lifeboat, and your harbor.
I’m talking about accepting him as your Lord and Savior. I’m talking about making Him the Captain your Soul.
Walk with me [v.37]
"And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full."
The storm described here must have been especially fierce if it frightened experienced fishermen like a few of the disciples.
You know there were at least three good reasons why none of these men in the ship [in a ship with Jesus mind you] should have been disturbed, even though the situation appeared to be threatening.
1. To begin with, Jesus promise that they were going to the other side (Mark 4:35). Now this statement is not a suggestion by it is a promise. What we need to understand is that His commandments are always His enablements and nothing can hinder the working out of His plans. Note that He did not promise them an easy trip, but He did promise a guaranteed arrival at their destination.
2. Second, the Lord Himself was with them, so what was there to fear. They had already seen His power demonstrated in His miracles, so they should have had complete confidence that He could handle any situation.
You know ... a lot of us are just like these disciples, for some reason, we don’t understand that He is indeed the Master of every situation.
Illustration
I reminded of a story of a man who was putting a tin roof on his barn when all the sudden he slipped and began to slide down the roof. He cried "Lord Help " when the words barely came out of his mouth a nail caught his pants and stopped him. When he stopped he said, “never mind Lord I took care of it."
3. Finally, third reasons why these men should have not been afraid which lead us to [v.38] is the fact that they could see that Jesus was perfectly at peace, even in the midst of the storm. This fact alone should have encouraged them. Jesus was in God’s will and knew that His Heavenly Father would take care of Him, so He decided to take a nap.
What a mighty God we serve ...
Let me camp right here for just a second and deal with the humanity of Jesus. He slept because He was 100 percent man.
This means that he was tried just as we are tried ... besides He had been teaching all day. He is God-Man, which means that he is also 100 percent God.
- He was so much man that he was tried and the text says that He is asleep on a pillow ...
- But He is so much God that He once said, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." [Matthew 11:28]
- He was so much man that he got hungry.
- But was is so much God that he said "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." [John 6:35]
- He was so much man that He got thirsty.
- But is so much God that He said "whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." [John 4:14]
- He was so much man that he had to turn the door knob in order to walk through doors
- But He is so much God that he said "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." [John 10:9]
So we see here in our text, that the disciples find Jesus sleeping on a pillow.
You Bible scholars may remember that ... Jonah also slept during a storm, but he slept because he had a false sense of security, even though he was running from God. However, Jesus slept in the storm because He was truly secure in God’s will.
Many Christians are just like the disciples of old in that when the trials of life come, they are prone to imitate the faithless disciples and cry out, “Lord, don’t You care?”
Of course, He cares! He arose and rebuked the wind, and immediately there was a great calm. This means to me that whenever the Lord says Peace ... there will be peace.
Watch this [v.39]
Now the question is who caused the winds in the first place. Now if God caused them then Jesus rebuked His Father and in essence rebuked himself.
But if Satan caused them ... then this shows that Jesus has authority over the powers of darkness. [Recap characteristic of the Sea of Galilee]
However, I am of the persuasion that Satan had something to do with this particular windstorm ... just as he had something to do with the windstorm that killed Job’s son (Job 1:19) refers. I am persuaded that Satan had the power to do something with this windstorm because the Bible refers to him over in Ephesians 2:2 as "the prince of the power of the air."
Bottom Line is that I believe that Satan was trying to stop the exorcism that was about to take place on the other side of the Sea.
But, I don’t have time to deal with all that this morning if you want to know more about that you will have to read chapter 5 when you get home and you will discover in Mark 5:2 that when they reached there promised destination that Jesus was immediately confronted with a man with a legion of unclean spirits.
But that is not what I want to talk about this morning. You see the calming of the wind was nothing ... besides, is there anything to hard for the Lord?
Understand this the calming of the winds was easy ... because whenever the Lord says Peace ... there will be peace. No, matter the situation or circumstance.
What I want you to understand something that the disciples missed. You see ... the greatest danger that we face in our lives is not the wind or the waves. Our greatest danger is the unbelief that is in the hearts. You see ... what we fail to realize is that our greatest problems are within us, not around us.
This explains why Jesus gently rebuked them in [v.40] and said "Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?" On the outside ... they looked good, but on the inside they lacked faith.
They had heard Him teach the Word and had even seen Him perform miracles, and yet they still had no faith. Sadly to say that the same thing happens to us. God has answered pray after pray ... yet whenever we are in a pickle or in a jam, unbelief causes us to fear, and our fear makes us question whether Jesus really cares.
You know sometimes I think we expect smooth sailing throughout our lives. We don’t expect any storms ... but I came to tell you that you will face some storms.
I heard somebody say that if ain’t one thing it’s another. You are up today ... down tomorrow; well today, sick tomorrow. But I came to tell you, don’t let your storms of life get the best of you.
And if you are in a storm right now ... don’t you sit there and think that you are the long ranger. You are not by yourself.
In fact I heard somebody say that their ain’t but three kinds of people (1) the ones that are in a storm (2) the ones fresh from a storm (3) and the ones on there way to a storm.
Somebody may be saying that you never been in a storm, but I say just keep on living. There is a storm with your name written on it. Because one of these old days the adversities of life will show up ... knock on your door and in will comes a great storm of wind, and waves to beat on your life.
Oh yes ... it will
I want each member of this church and every guest here today to understand that we will all face storms in our life. There is not a person here today that will never face a difficult time in their life. In fact, Jesus said in John 16:33
"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world, ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."
The Bible also says in the book of Job 14:1
"Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble."
Which means to me that ... on this side, I may have to cry sometimes
So, don’t be discouraged we will have:
- Difficulties
- Troubles
- Trials
- Hard times
- Problems
- Sorrows
But there is encouragement found in our text today -- that as the storm rage, the waves crash and the fears grow, that we can go to the Lord and find peace in Him. Because whenever the Lord says peace ... there will be peace.
You see ... just like the disciples, we may be at our wits’ end, but not at our faith’s end, while we have such a Saviour to go to.
You know, one of the most astounding elements to this story is that while the disciples feared for their lives, Jesus is sleeping. Have you ever felt that way?
You’re going through the storm of your life and it seems like God is sleeping. Of course we know from scripture Psalm 121 that God “... shall neither slumber nor sleep.”
But you know what I mean, if we are willing to admit it -- I think that most of us have at one point in time in our lives, have at one time or another, felt like God was taking a nap on us.
But wait let me paint the picture so that you can see exactly where I’m going with this and how we to can lose faith in God.
You see ... the scripture does not say it but I can see panic starting to set in. Some of us can relate as to how the disciples must have felt and reacted during this storm. I can use my imagination and see the 12 disciples grabbing hold of the sides of the boat as it is rocking and rolling.
If I could just use my imagination for a minute ... I can see them trying to bail the water out. Their eyes as big as silver dollars. I have to wonder if the thought ever came into the mind of one of the disciples to abandon ship -- the little bit of security they had at that moment.
Yeah ... that may seem foolish to leave what security they had. But it happens so often when people find themselves in the midst of the storm. Sometimes they leave the security of the Church.
Sometime when people find themselves in the midst of a storm ... they give up on God and refuse to call on the name of Jesus and starting trying to fix things by their self.
They refuse to seek help from the Pastor ... but instead they turn to the pew psychologist and the pew counselors ... you know sister and brother know-it-all.
Both of who are going through problems themselves ... and they take this situation as an opportunity to start spewing their venom about the Pastor, and things they don’t like in the church by telling other people who are going through difficulties that the church is their problem and they should join them and leave and go somewhere else. Which, is like telling someone to jump out of the boat and into a storm tossed sea.
Oh ... I am in somebody’s business. I did not leave Brunswick and travel all the way over to this side ... to meddle, so I am going to leave that alone.
You see ... the disciples had forgotten who was in the boat with them. And I got a filling that somebody here today has done the same thing.
Somebody has forgotten who is in their boat. I want you to picture the situation here. The disciples are in total panic. They are trying to hold on so they can stay in the boat. They are doing all they can to get the water out of the boat so the boat doesn’t sink. And there’s Jesus, sleeping like a baby.
You might think, “Why doesn’t Jesus do something. What is He waiting for?”
But I’m under the firm belief that he was waiting for them to turn to Him -- and the same things hold true for us, God has not left us, but He is waiting at times for us to turn to Him. When we are in the midst of the storm, we need to do what the disciples did and turn to Jesus.
But let us stay right here and deal with this for just one minute. You see the problem here is that when the disciples turned to Jesus they did so out of panic and not out of faith. We can see that by their cry, “Master, carest thou not that we perish? You see their panic ... faith would have said "Master save us!"
Have you ever felt like the disciples felt that day? Your life was progressing along nicely ... the sun was shining, the winds were calm, the waters of life were smooth ... and then all of the sudden “BAM” the storm hits your life. The breath is knocked out of you
Ø Your knocked off of your feet
Ø The waves break over you
Ø You hardly know what hit you
Ø It takes you by surprise
You look up to Heaven and say Lord don’t you see what is going on down here? Can’t you tell that I’m drowning? Don’t you care that I’m in trouble?
Well I think I’m preaching this morning to someone who feels just like that. Someone who feels that their life is covered with:
Ø Problems
Ø Storms and
Ø Difficulties
Ø Sickness,
Ø Trials,
Ø Tribulations
I’m preaching to someone today that feels like the waves of adversity are beating against the sides of your life. Nothing is stable, nothing is grounded, but everything is shaking.
I’m preaching to someone who feels like your life is full of problems and you are in jeopardy of losing everything. Everything seems to be going wrong. You look up and say “God don’t you care? Just when I’m living for you like I should. Just when I’m doing the right things in my life. I’m attending Sunday school, Wednesday Night Bible Study, I’m tithing, yet ends are still not meeting ... my lights are about to get turned off ... I’m still behind in my oil bill, phone about to be disconnected.
I’m preaching to someone who may be feeling like Job did when he said in chapter 23:8-10
“Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him:
But what I like about Job is that he did not end there in his sorrows ... you see he went on to say: But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”
So, when you are going through your storms of life ... know that the Lord will provide. What am I trying to say to you this morning is that there will be storms in your life.
Ø Storms that will rock you and shake you.
Ø Storms that will test your faith.
Ø Storms that will bring adversity your way.
Ø Storms that will knock the breath out of you.
But what I want you to know is that whenever the Lord says peace ... there will be peace.
- Peace in the midst of your storm
- Peace in the midst of your problems
- Peace in the midnight hour.
So don’t despair God goanna turn your situation around ... it will work in your favor.
So, the next time you decide to have a pity party ... and start to question whether or not the Lord cares for you. I invite to ask yourself the question:
Ø Did God care when He allow His only begotten Son, Jesus to be arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane
Ø Did God care when He allowed them to spit on Him and lie on and talked about Him and called Him everything but a child of God.
Ø Did God care about you, when He allowed them beat his only begotten Son, within an inch of his life for you?
Ø Did He care when he stood in judgment for you and was taken from judgment hall to judgment hall ... for sins that His Son did not commit.
So, when you are going through your storms of life ... before you throw yourself a pity party, before you throw in the towel wondering whether Jesus cares. Pause and ask yourself the question:
Ø Did He care about me when the blood came streaming down His beaten face from the crown of thorns the put on His head?
Ø Did Jesus care about me when He bore the pain of the nails piercing through his hands and feet.
Ø Did He care enough about me when they raise Him up on that Old Rugged cross, between two thieves to die for my sins and yours?
So if you going through a storm in your life and you want to make it to the other side -- do like the disciples and call on Jesus. He is the only one who can:
Ø Comfort you in the midst of your crisis;
Ø Help in the midst of hopelessness,
Ø And He will give you Peace in the midst of perplexity,
Ø Solutions in the midst of problems,
Ø Wealth in the midst of poverty,
Ø Stability for our stumbling,
Ø Victory for our battles,
Ø Deliverance from our defeats,
Ø Forgiveness for our faults,
Ø Faith for our fears, and
Ø Light for our darkness!
If you are going through a storm in you life – I invite you to call on Jesus who can turn your:
Ø Burdens into blessings,
Ø Our shame into His sunshine,
Ø Our loneliness into His love,
Ø Our guilt into His glory,
Ø Our sorrow into His joy,
Ø Our torments into His triumphs,
Ø Our weakness into His strength,
Ø And our heartaches into His hallelujahs!
It doesn’t matter how difficult and painful your circumstances are, if you give your life to Jesus, He will get you through them.
No matter if you face failure, betrayal, disease, or even death, God will bring you through. You are precious to God, and no matter what it feels like, He hasn’t forgotten you. He hasn’t deserted you.
Perhaps you are in the middle of the storm of your life. If you are, I pray that your faith has been strengthened this morning. Brother and Sisters ... never doubt God’s plan, God’s protection, or His presence in your life!
Invitation
I would like all heads bowed, all eyes closed. This is the most important part of this entire service. The invitation to Christian discipleship. There should be no moving, no talking. SAINTS you should be praying that someone will turn and accept Christ as their Savior.
At this time, I would like to ask our musician to come and quietly play an invitation song of her choosing.
I would like to take this opportunity to speak directly to those of you who have never given your life to Christ. Somebody may feel as though the storms of life are overwhelming you. If you do, then you have to ask yourself this question.
Ø “Do I want to face these storms alone?”
You don’t have to. There is a lifeline waiting for you and His name is Jesus. The good news of Jesus Christ is that He offers you the opportunity to give your life to Him, and He will protect you, provide for you, and carry you through the storms of life.
But you have to be willing to do what the disciples in the boat did. You have to ask Him to save you and trust Him enough to respond to Him in faith.
There maybe someone here who has not accepted Christ as their personal Savior. If this is you then this is your opportunity to make Jesus the Captain of your Soul.
If this is you, I would like you to raise your right hand. All eyes should be closed ... DON’T BE AFRAID. Jesus is ready to come into your ship today and speak Peace to the storm of your life ... don’t put off to tomorrow what you can do today.
Jesus said in Revelation 3:20 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him and sup with him and he with me."
This is your lifeline... your divine appointment. You can accept this lifeline by raising your right hand.
There maybe someone here who has accepted Christ but for whatever reason ... you have not been serving as you know that you should. If this is you, I would like you to raise your right hand.
There maybe someone who is new to the area and is looking for a Church home. These wonderful people would welcome you here ... but if this is not the church that you wish you join then I’m sure Pastor Jones will assistance you in finding a Bible believing church where you can worship the Lord in Spirit and in Truth. If this is you ... raise your right hand.
Ø PRAYER
Benediction
Jude 24-25
"Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,"
"To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen."
