WHAT ARE YOU SO AFRAID OF?
Mark 4:35-5:43
INTRO:
1. What are you afraid of? Recently my 6 year old, DJ, said ¡§my problem is arachnophobia.¡¨ Everybody has fears ¡V public speaking, spiders, caves, other people knowing they have fears. These fears, unless the go to the extreme of being phobias, may be inconsequential. But others are not.
2. Some fears, of course, are good: fear of being run over keeps you from playing on the highway; fear of being attacked keeps you from walking the streets at night. I want my daughter¡¦s date to have a healthy fear of me. The Bible encourages a fear of the Lord, which it calls the beginning of both wisdom and knowledge.
3. But many of our fears are not good. They really affect our lives. We limit our lives, where we go, what we do. It changes our behavior ¡V we act differently when we¡¦re afraid. Has fear of travel ever kept you from going someplace? Maybe the fear of what others think has kept you from pursuing a job or a passion. Fear of rejection may keep you from meeting that ¡¥someone special.¡¦ Fear of commitment may keep you from experiencing the goodness of another¡¦s love. Fear can keep us from doing what God wants, being and experiencing all he has for us. Maybe fear of disease, of the future, of death is robbing you of peace and joy. Fear makes us miserable, sucks all the joy out of life. It keeps us from accomplishment, and sets us up for failure.
4. Is there a permanent solution to our fears? How can we overcome them? How can we be free from fear?
PREV:
Today we will tackle our fears and discover the antidote to fear. We will show you the solution, the cure for what you are afraid of. Whether or not you take the antidote will be up to you...
Turn with me to Mark 4:35. As I read Mark 4:35-38, notice who is afraid, and why.
35That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, ¡§Let us go over to the other side.¡¨ 36Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, ¡§Teacher, don¡¦t you care if we drown?¡¨ Mark 4:35 through Mark 4:38
A. The disciples were afraid of the storm
An exhausted Jesus fleeing crowd, extending his mission
Jesus accompanied by seasoned sailors...
Admirers following in their boats.
A sudden, violent storm comes up. Sea of Galilee prone to these strong storms.
A serious situation ¡V waves were swamping the boat.
Jesus¡¦ humanity shown here ¡V he is asleep!
Some people can sleep through anything!
The disciples are afraid (even the fishermen!)
They were afraid of the storm, of natural events.
It affects their behavior:
Frantic, rude awakening of Jesus ¡V They rebuke him!
¡§Are we to drown for all you care?¡¨
They are frightened by what is happening to them.
B. Sometimes we are afraid of the storm
Maybe that¡¦s your fear ¡V the storms of life.
Maybe other natural events have you afraid:
A possible war with Iraq
Being a single parent.
A financial crisis, a job crisis.
The effect of the stock market on your ability to live.
All you have to get done.
Kids ¡V raising them, having them.
Car wreck.
Maybe these are some of your fears, and its robbing your joy, making you no fun to live with, keeping you from God.
What is the answer? What is the solution?
Let¡¦s look at it as we see what happened in the boat...
Read Mark 4:39.
39He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ¡§Quiet! Be still!¡¨ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. Mark 4:39
C. Faith in Jesus¡¦ power is the antidote to our fear
Back in the boat, Jesus wakes up and stops the storm!
A demonstration of power ¡V only God can do this!
Cf. Ps. 65:5-7; 107:25-30
Sudden immediate calm ¡V must have been eerie!
Look what he says to them as I read Mark 4:40.
40He said to his disciples, ¡§Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?¡¨ Mark 4:40
¡§What are you afraid of?¡¨ ¡§Don¡¦t you have any faith?¡¨
If you had faith, you wouldn¡¦t be afraid!
Faith in what? Not faith in faith, or faith in their own ability to hang in there, overcome.
Faith in the saving power of Jesus. Faith in his power to calm the storm!
Faith in Jesus¡¦ power is the antidote to our fear.
This kind of faith can alleviate your fears.
Illus: DJ¡¦s fear of a fire (prompted, I think, by a fire safety campaign at school), calmed by knowing his father will do anything to rescue him.
Notice their response. Read Mark 4:41
41They were terrified and asked each other, ¡§Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!¡¨ Mark 4:41
When faced by the storms, circumstances, events of life, we don¡¦t have to be afraid. Rather, we can have faith in Jesus¡¦ power.
Even the wind and waves obey him!
I. JESUS HAS POWER OVER THE STORMS WE FACE
Jesus has power over nature, he has sovereign control over every situation, event, happening in our lives. The person confident in the power of Christ doesn¡¦t have to fear the situations and circumstances of life.
Trans: So we don¡¦t have to fear the storms of life. Jesus has power over everything natural. But there are other things we fear, which Jesus¡¦ power can also over come. Now we look at an encounter Jesus had that wasn¡¦t very natural. Read Mark 5:1-8
1They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. 2When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil„T spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. 4For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.
6When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7He shouted at the top of his voice, ¡§What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won¡¦t torture me!¡¨ 8For Jesus had said to him, ¡§Come out of this man, you evil spirit!¡¨
Mark 5:1 through Mark 5:8
A. Jesus confronts demonization
This man was an outcast ¡V lived among the tombs.
He was uncontrollable, with great strength
He has suffered brutal treatment by others.
He suffered unending torment from this evil spirit
It shows the purpose of demonic possession: to destroy the image of God in man.
So distorted that the spirit speaks through him, and confronts Jesus, knowing his existence is threatened.
He attempts to control Jesus by using his name, title.
¡§Mind your own business¡¨
Irony ¡V ¡§Swear to God.¡¨
B. Jesus conquers demonization
As we read Mark 5:9-13, notice how Jesus handles this.
9Then Jesus asked him, ¡§What is your name?¡¨
¡§My name is Legion,¡¨ he replied, ¡§for we are many.¡¨ 10And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.
11A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12The demons begged Jesus, ¡§Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.¡¨ 13He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.
Mark 5:9 through Mark 5:13
Jesus demands to know the demons name.
¡§Legion¡¨ a large number.
He sends the spirits into a herd of pigs.
Jesus valued a soul this much! Also shows the destructiveness of evil.
As we read Mark 5:14-20, we will see the response to this
14Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man¡Xand told about the pigs as well. 17Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.
18As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19Jesus did not let him, but said, ¡§Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.¡¨ 20So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis„T how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.
Mark 5:14 through Mark 5:20
The man was completely healed!
They found him seated, clothed, in his right mind.
So radical was the transformation they were scared!
Foremost on their minds was their pigs. Apparently they preferred pigs to people. They want Jesus to leave!
The healed man wants to go with, follow Jesus.
C. Jesus has power over the supernatural
Jesus has power over evil, over Satan. Not just in the natural realm but in the supernatural realm as well.
Jesus has to power to free us in this area.
Maybe you fear that you will never be free from...
Or that God won¡¦t be able to do anything with you
Maybe you sense he is calling you to take a step, but something keeps telling you that you can¡¦t.
Or heal what is broken inside you.
Jesus offers help for those ¡§at their wits ends¡¨
You don¡¦t have to be afraid of the dark!
Even the evil spirits obey Him!
II. JESUS HAS POWER OVER THE EVIL FORCES WE FACE
Jesus has total power over the evil forces who would undermine you, destroy you. If by faith you believe in his power, you can be free of fear! He wants to run that fear over a cliff¡K
Transition: Let¡¦s see what else we don¡¦t have to fear, can be freed from fear of as I read Mark 5:21-24.
21When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet 23and pleaded earnestly with him, ¡§My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.¡¨ 24So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. Mark 5:21 through Mark 5:24
A. Jairus fears for his child¡¦s life
A synagogue leader, he begs for Jesus to come and lay hands on his very sick daughter. Not unusual.
Unusual was his confidence that if Jesus came, his daughter¡¦s life would be saved.
I don¡¦t know about you, but I can relate to Jairus. Every parent can.
Maybe, like Jairus, you fear something bad happening to your kids, to someone you love.
Jesus goes with him.
But something remarkable will happen on the way. The end of verse 24 says a crowd followed. His mission to help Jairus gets bogged down in traffic. Jairus must have been going crazy!
B. A woman with a need
Look who approached Jesus as I read Mark 5:25-28
25And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28because she thought, ¡§If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.¡¨ Mark 5:25 through Mark 5:28
12 years of uncontrollable bleeding
This made her a miserable outcast ¡V Lev. 15:25-27
She was constantly ritually unclean.
She suffered at the hands of doctors, which made her worse, and used up all her money.
Despite her ritual uncleanness, she enters the crowd, desperate for help. She had some faith, and some common belief in quasi-magic. ¡§if only I could touch his cloak.¡¨
C. Jesus demonstrates his power over disease
Notice what happened as I read Mark 5:29-34
29Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
30At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, ¡§Who touched my clothes?¡¨
31¡§You see the people crowding against you,¡¨ his disciples answered, ¡§and yet you can ask, ¡¥Who touched me?¡¦¡¨
32But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34He said to her, ¡§Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.¡¨
Mark 5:29 through Mark 5:34
Immediately, she can tell the bleeding has stopped!
Jesus knows what has happened. He stops and wants to know who has touched him.
He has the ability to distinguish touch of faith and inadvertent contact.
The disciples are impatient ¡V they know they are on the way to help a sick girl and delay could be fatal.
But Jesus wants to establish a personal relationship with this person. He would not allow her to recede into the crowd still clinging to belief tinged with magic.
In courage and gratitude, she come forward.
Her fear led her to Christ, not from Him.
She fell at his feet. He is tender with her.
Only record of ¡§daughter by Jesus.
He makes it clear her faith healed her, not touch, magic.
It was the grasp of her faith, not her hand that healed her.
The value of faith is in its object!
Jesus shows here that he has power over disease and illness Doesn¡¦t intend to heal everybody always.
The person how has trust in Christ¡¦s power is free from the fear of disease, by knowing who is in control
Maybe you are afraid of getting sick. Maybe you fear getting cancer. Maybe you order your life around this...
III. JESUS HAS POWER OVER THE DISEASES WE FACE
Faith in Christ¡¦s power removes the fear of disease. You can be released from this fear! Not a guarantee you won¡¦t get sick, but a promise that you don¡¦t have to be afraid of it. This is a call for radical faith.
Transition: We¡¦ve seen how Jesus has power over the natural, the supernatural, and even disease, and how faith in his power can release us from our fears. But there¡¦s one more fear Jesus has power over. Mark returns to Jairus¡¦ story now. Remember, Jesus was on his way to help his daughter when he was interrupted by this woman. Let¡¦s see what has happened in the meantime as I read Mark 5:35.
35While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. ¡§Your daughter is dead,¡¨ they said. ¡§Why bother the teacher any more?¡¨
Mark 5:35
A. Jairus faces his worst fear
The delay by Jesus was tragic for the young girl. A group from home arrives with the sad news ¡V she¡¦s already dead. Jairus is confronted with his worst fear, our ultimate fear. Death, in particular the death of a child causes us to fear.
A hundred things must have been swirling in his head, but Jesus gives him one more. Look at Mark 5:36
36Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, ¡§Don¡¦t be afraid; just believe.¡¨
Mark 5:36
¡§Don¡¦t be afraid, just believe¡¨ ¡V in his power.
Jairus is now asked to have faith not for a healing but for a resurrection.
Jairus has been set up for this ¡V he has seen Jesus heal the woman, showing his power and the relationship between faith and divine help. Would he believe?
B. Jesus demonstrates his power over death
Notice what happened as I read Mark 5:37-40
37He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39He went in and said to them, ¡§Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.¡¨ 40But they laughed at him.
After he put them all out, he took the child¡¦s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. Mark 5:37 through Mark 5:40
Jesus arrives at the house and finds mourning already happening ¡V professional mourners were doing their job.
He tells them they are wasting their breath ¡V the child is only asleep. He means that despite her real death, she has not yet been delivered over to the realm of death with all its consequences.
They, of course, laugh scornfully at him.
We say a lot of dumb things when children die...
But Jesus shows this wasn¡¦t a dumb thing to say.
Let¡¦s read Mark 5:41-43.
41He took her by the hand and said to her, ¡§Talitha koum!¡¨ (which means, ¡§Little girl, I say to you, get up!¡¨). 42Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.Mark 5:41 through Mark 5:43
This is a powerful, incredible moment for all involved.
Jesus shows here that he has power over death.
¡§I say to you¡¨ ¡V his personal authority over death.
Immediately she gets up.
¡§They were out of their minds with amazement.¡¨
Maybe this is one of your fears ¡V you fear something bad happening to one of your children. I know I sometimes do...
Maybe, like most of us, you have a fear of death. Perhaps you are not able to face the subject with any assurance, any calm, any hope.
Perhaps your life is consumed with preserving your life, because you¡¦re afraid to die.
Jesus has power over death! He shows it again when he himself rises from the dead.
If he can do that, if he can raise this little girl, he can do it for you ¡V he can give you eternal life by faith.
You have to believe in his power.
If he can do this, he must be God!
You don¡¦t have to be afraid!
IV. JESUS HAS POWER OVER THE DEATH WE FACE
Faith in Christ¡¦s power removes the fear of death. You can be released from this fear!
What are you so afraid of? Faith is the antidote to our fear.
