Exercise is important. To stay fit and healthy, to stay strong, we’re told to exercise regularly.
You go to the gym and you’ll see all kinds of equipment to tone your body muscle and help you stay strong and healthy.
In the spiritual realm, we need that too. We say we have faith in God. All Christians will say they have faith in Jesus. But it’s another thing to be able to live a strong, victorious Christian life, right?
Faith is like a muscle, you have to exercise it every day to make it strong. Very often we say that we have faith in God. We say that we believe that He can do anything, but then we act as if everything depends on us. That isn’t a very strong faith, is it?
This is what happens to the disciples in Mark 4:35-41 [READ]
Jesus has never been a victim of the circumstances. And if we have faith in God, we need not be.
Jesus went through, together with the disciples, two devastating events ¡V both life threatening
¡V the killer waves, the extraordinary storm
¡V the killer demons, the unbreakable oppression
Jesus rides through these seemingly helpless situations (at least from man¡¦s point of view)
- Apparently without much of a struggle.
When He turns around and said, ¡§Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?¡¨ (4:40)
„Í He is actually telling us something ¡V you can overcome it, actually.
„Í You need not have to be so terrified by fears, actually.
Case 1 - It doesn¡¦t matter whether the devil caused the storm (which is most likely in this context), Jesus expects the disciples to be able to handle it ¡V by faith!
Case 2 - It doesn¡¦t matter even if the demons seemed to have things under his control.
They have to submit to Jesus.
STORM - the fact that the disciples were frightened tells us something about this storm.
„Í It was no ordinary storm ¡V they could have died in it.
„Í Remember that at least 4 of the disciples were experienced fishermen.
„Í They have seen storms before. They had survived storms before. They knew what to do in a storm. But this one sent them into panic. This was a storm beyond them.
POSSESSED MAN ¡V Mark seemed to stress something here ¡V
v. 3 ¡V no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain
v. 4 ¡V no one was strong enough to subdue him
No one! He was beyond man¡¦s help. It was a doom case.
Both these incidents were obviously beyond man¡¦s help. Yet Jesus exercised authority over them.
Case 1 - He rebuked the wind and commanded the waves to be quiet ¡V 4:39
„Í Jesus¡¦ authority was absolute ¡V it was immediate ¡V the wind died down; it was completely calm (4:29)
„Í This was not a gradual dying out of the storm, but a sudden and miraculous total ending of the storm and all its effects.
„Í There was no need to fear. Jesus said they were going over to the other side, not going under.
Case 2 - He commanded the demon, ¡§Come out of this man, you evil spirit!¡¨ - 5:8
„Í Jesus¡¦ authority was absolute ¡V the evil spirit has to
¡V 5:6 ¡§fell on his knees in front of Jesus¡¨
¡V 5:7 ¡§Swear to God that you won¡¦t torture me!¡¨ Jesus has the power to torture the devil.
¡V 5:10 he has to beg Jesus again and again; Mark uses the word again in 5:12 the demons begged Jesus¡K.
You see the BIG CONSTRASTS in both these events?
„Í On the one side we have hopeless, helpless situations ¡V almost impossible to do anything!
„Í On the other side, we have Jesus with absolute authority and power.
No circumstance or storm could defy the authority and power of His Word.
AND NEITHER SHOULD WE!
Storms like that would inevitably come, but no matter how difficult the situation may be, the question is: Are we prepared to stand in faith, believing Him and His Word.
Why do I say that? Because Jesus’ response to them was: ¡§Do you still have no faith?¡¨ (4:40) Luke 8:25 "Where is your faith?"
What does this mean? If you are in the boat, what do you think Jesus meant?
I¡¦m struggling in a storm, what do you mean that I should have faith ¡V do you mean that when I have this faith, the wind will stop and the waves cease? NO!
He is not talking about a dormant faith ¡V He expects them to exercise their faith.
„Í To cry out to God - pray that the storm would stop; pray for God to sustain the boat; ask God to keep their lives... etc
„Í If you have faith in God, then you must get God into the picture. Get His help! And expect it!
The disciples did not. They were struggling in their own efforts. And they are failing.
John Calvin: "The principal work of the Spirit is faith ... the principal exercise of faith is prayer."
Faith cannot be dormant.
„Í James 2:17 "...faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."
„Í This is not just true about salvation, but true in our everyday life.
We must exercise our faith. We must ACT on our faith.
Faith is like a muscle, and prayer is the exercise that helps it grow.
It will grow strong when you exercise it.
„Í To be strong physically you need to exercise.
„Í To be strong spiritually we need to exercise¡K our faith.
In every trying circumstance, cry out to God and expect Him to intervene.
Jesus expected them to exercise authority over their circumstances - to get God to intervene!
James says, "You do not have, because you did not ask." (James 4:2).
Oswald Chambers says, "You see faith by its very nature must be tried."
„Í There will be circumstances by which you’re challenged to show your faith.
„Í You’ll be forced to pray. Forced to act on what you know God said.
The author Mark wanted us to know that Jesus has given us the authority, and He expects us to exercise that authority through FAITH.
¡V When Jesus called the disciples (Mark 6:7) ¡§Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits.¡¨
¡V Earlier on in Mark 3:14-15 14He appointed twelve - designating them apostles - that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach 15and to have authority to drive out demons.
¡V Later in Mark 16:17 - 17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons.
In order words, we can never be victims of the circumstance, no matter how difficult the situation is. Unless He is dead, otherwise in Christ we have sure victories over our difficulties.
If we fall prey to the situation, it only means we have surrendered ourselves to it.
„Í You see, the disciples were crippled by fear in a very harsh environment, and we can really sympathize with them; it was quite understandable, YET Jesus’ response was kind of a REBUKE: ¡§Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?¡¨ (4:40)
Because they have surrendered their rights; they’ve thrown their faith out the window!
We fail because we SURRENDERED ourselves to the circumstances.
„Í The resources are there, but we give ourselves up!
„Í God did not give us up. We give up on our own!
Mark stressed a few times in his Gospel, that in Christ’s Name we have authority and power over the demons and all that they tried to do in our lives. We have authority over the storms of life.
Nothing can really stop us. The only problem is that we LIMIT ourselves, by our own fears and doubts.
Jesus said in Matt 17:20
He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, `Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
You have faith - so what must you do - SAY TO THE MOUNTAIN. You have to exercise your faith.
John 14:12-14 12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
I find it so odd sometimes - we respond to things in the physical realm with more faith than the spiritual realm.
¡V Get into a lift we EXPECT it to go up well. Getting into the plane. Sitting on a chair.
¡V In fact, we would be surprised if it malfunctions; the chair falls apart when we sit on it.
But in the spiritual realm, what God has said - we act the other way around.
¡V We DON’T EXPECT it to work. We find it hard to believe literally what Christ says.
¡V And it works and we see things really happening - sick being healed, kept safe from accident - we are pleasantly surprised, we give testimony, tell people about it, because we didn’t expect it.
We have to learn to trust God. Exercise greater faith in what God has said.
„Í We should pray, and then walks away EXPECTING everything to be fine and well.
„Í Expecting God to do His work and accomplish His purpose in our lives.
„Í And not moving away, as victims of the circumstances, still beaten down.
We don’t pray because we feel that things are still IN CONTROL - in OUR control.
Jesus would ask, "Where is your faith? Do you still have no faith?" He diagnosed correctly - we have no faith in God.
SIMPLE PRAYER OF FAITH
Billy Graham was doing a crusade at Shea Stadium in New York. The airplanes from La Guardia Airport flew over the stadium, dozens by the hour. On the opening night of counsellors training, Graham was talking from the podium as the engines roared overhead. He paused, glanced up and quietly said, "We’ll have to do something about this noise. This just won’t do." He bowed his head and said a simple prayer to the effect: "Lord, we ask you to shift the wind and send these planes in another direction. Thank you. Amen."
The counselors were pretty shocked at such a prayer and didn’t really know what to expect. But God did it. He answered their prayers in a wondrous way! The morning newspaper reported that the winds had changed during the night, and the airplanes over Shea Stadium had to be routed another way. For several days thereafter, thousands of people came to Christ under Graham’s anointed preaching. At the end of the crusade, the winds reverted to their normal flow, and the airplanes returned to their normal flight patterns.
James says, "The prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well." (James 5:15)
„Í Elijah was a man of faith. He prayed that it wouldn’t rain, and it didn’t. He prayed that it would rain and it did. What a faith! (James 5:17)
„Í But the verse says that we are just like Elijah. He was a mere man just like we.
What made the difference in him was his faith. Let prayer stretch your faith.
„Í Begin praying for things that won’t just naturally happen.
„Í Pray for stuff that requires the hand of God.
„Í Believe with all your heart that God will answer and that His answer is always best and far exceeds what we ever imagined.
Jesus often said, "Be it done according to your faith."
