Twas A Dark And Stormy Night Series

Look with me again at Marks’ account of this… Mark 6:48 (READ).

“He meant to pass by them.” That blows my mind!!!

So let’s put all the pieces together. Jesus had to slip away from the crowds because they wanted to make Him their king… they wanted the free food, the free healthcare, they wanted to be free from Roman rule… they had the wrong idea about what Christ was, and Who Christ was. Jesus sends the disciples across the sea, and tells them He will catch up later. He goes up the mountain and starts praying. The disciples are rowing across the sea… it’s about an 8 mile trip across… but a storm hits. They’re struggling… they are moving slowly… they’re trying to do what Jesus has told them to do, but getting no-where. Jesus sees them struggling from the mountain top He’s standing on… but doesn’t rebuke the storm…

And He doesn’t come to them until sometime between 3 and 6 AM… And as He’s walking on the water, He approaches them, and He’s going to go right on by them.

What’s the lesson?

Well maybe you’re sitting here today and you’re in a storm. It might be money problems. It might be health problems. It might be problems at work, or problems in the home. It might be a storm that’s come from the sins of your past, or it might be persecution because you’re standing on God’s Word, and standing on the truth. Whatever it might be… our text today will give you hope. Because what we see in our text here, is that right in the middle of the storm, Jesus comes to them. He could’ve rebuked it from the mountain top, but instead He comes to where we are… He comes into the middle of the wind and waves, in the darkness, with lightning flashing all around. In-fact; that’s the very thing He did by becoming a man… He will come right smack dab in the middle of what you’re going through. In the middle of your struggle and despair. He’s prepared to walk into the eye of the storm for His followers.

So yes… following Christ does not exempt you from storms. Following Christ doesn’t mean you’ll be wealthy, healthy, and famous. It doesn’t mean, free food, free healthcare, and freedom from Roman rule. It means taking up a cross. It means there will be storms. But He took up His cross first, and He’ll meet you in the middle of the storm, and take it head on.

The second thing we see is that He’ll come in His time… in His way… but also, as long as you are content to keep trying in your own strength, in your own way. He’ll let you struggle. It’s like the old song we sing here in church, “What a Friend We Have In Jesus.”… there’s a verse in there that says, “O what peace we often forfeit; O what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry, Everything to God in prayer.” So that particular storm that’s raging in your life right now… have you called out to Jesus? Have you cried out to Him in desperation? Or are you still trying to fix it in your own strength? Are you still trying to do it your way? Are you still saying, “I can do it myself”?

And ultimately; this is a picture of salvation. Here are these men… they’re in darkness. Their lives are in danger. They’re trying to be obedient to God… trying to “keep the Law”, but they can’t. Everything is stacked against them. It’s impossible. They’re struggling, they’re doing it in their own strength, and failing miserably. And maybe that’s someone here today. You’re thinking, that if I just work hard enough… If I am just more religious, and more pious, and more devout. Maybe I can earn salvation. Maybe I can work my way into a right standing with God. Let me tell you, it can never be done by you and me. But it has been done by Jesus. But you have to come to the end of yourself. You have to get to the point where you say, “God I can’t do it. I need your grace… and if Jesus passes me by, I’m done for. I’m doomed. I’m sunk. Have mercy on me a sinner.” And you come to Him by faith, and you trust in Christ’s finished work… not your own.

CLOSING