Jesus Is In The Boat

INTRODUCTION:

Looking around at the world we can see a lot of turmoil.

Don’t you wish for simpler times in our nation, church, and homes?

With everything that is going on, we can easily get discouraged.

Let’s look at Luke 8:22-26 and see how so much of it applies to our circumstances today.

I. WHERE IS JESUS?

Jesus makes a promise.

Let’s cross over to the other side (Luke 8:22).

Jesus is not a liar (Hebrews 6:18; Titus 1:2).

What did it mean when He said they would cross to the other side?

It meant they would pass over to the other side.

If you see any promise or declarative statement from Jesus in the Bible, bank on it coming true.

Comfortable no matter what.

The storm comes (Luke 8:23).

The disciples are afraid (Luke 8:23-24).

Being fair, put yourselves in the sandals of the disciples.

Can you think of a time when there has been a tornado warning, and you were afraid of what might occur?

The power going out.

Adam being scared.

Naturally, human nature shows that we will try to fight to live.

This means that when life is threatened a natural response would be panic.

Yet for us, we do not have the luxury of the Son of God in our homes physically as the disciples did in this account.

Let’s go back to the issue of fear for a second.

What scares you?

I imagine the list could be quite lengthy for each individual person.

Yet, we must have the confidence as Christ did.

For the disciples, they were scared of losing their lives.

Don’t get me wrong.

This is a serious situation.

The boat is filling with water.

You don’t want that.

It will not work as well with water in the boat.

If the fishermen are getting concerned, then I need to be concerned.

Yet, they have forgotten a key point in all of this.

Where is Jesus?

Jesus is in the boat (Luke 8:22).

Jesus is the best security system for mankind.

They just could not remember that in the moment due to their focus on the boat sinking.

If our focus is off, we are just like the disciples.

II. WHERE IS YOUR FAITH?

The rebukes.

The disciples rebuke Jesus (Luke 8:24).

Get the full picture here:

The boat is going down.

So, they are going down.

Sometimes, when we are not thinking clearly, we speak out of turn.

The disciples did just that.

Notice Mark’s account on this storm (Mark 4:38).

Can you imagine having the gall to ask the very One who created these disciples if He cared for them (John 1:1-3)?

Children do not always understand why certain things happen the way that they do.

They want the good over the bad.

If they do not get it exactly as they pictured it, then we have a major issue on our hands.

The disciples (by their rebuke of Jesus) evidently never expected hardship following Him.

Jesus rebukes the storm.

Again, Mark wrote (Mark 4:39).

Not “please be still.”

Jesus did not have to beg the storm to obey Him.

He had the authority over it, being the creator of all things on this earth (John 1:1-3).

Don’t you wish that you had the power to tell a storm to stop?

Think of the damage that the weather has often caused our world.

If a tornado is in the area, what can we do other than take shelter and pray?

Pray to who?

The one who can stop the storm.

I would have loved to have seen the look on the disciples faces when this storm ceased.

However, Jesus will now shift His gaze to the disciples.

Jesus asks a question.

Where is your faith (Luke 8:25).

Why did Jesus say this to them?

They have been with Him.

They witnessed Jesus perform miraculous healings and helping to all different types of people.

They had seen His handling of the Pharisees and others who sought to trip and ensnare Him.

Each and every time, Jesus came out on top.

They knew that certain things were supposed to happen in order for Jesus’ ministry to be a success.

If they sank and drowned all that Christ was teaching would not have been fulfilled.

What did they expect Jesus to do when they awakened Him?

They seemed surprised that the winds ceased.

Could it have been that they were going to get Him to recognize the situation?

Faith over fear.

Why does it seem that Jesus was not afraid?

Faith.

He knew they would make it through.

His followers did not understand, but that is really the whole point.

Hear me carefully on this.

The result is not that the storm calmed.

This is not the key central point of the text.

It is merely the catalyst for the key central idea.

That is that Christ has power and dominion over the world.

A great lesson to be learned in this passage is that tragedy and hardship can build/strengthen our faith!

Promise fulfilled.

They made it to the other side (Luke 8:26).

Jesus keeps His promises.

Just as He said, they made it to the other side.

All that fear and what did it really get them?

III. TEXT TAKEAWAYS

Jesus is in the ship, so why fear?

Jesus will never leave us (Hebrews 13:5).

Jesus is in the boat with you!

When we become children of God through baptism, we are added to the family of God (Acts 2:47).

This gives us all the blessings that a family would have.

One of those promises that we are given about Jesus is that He will never abandon us (Hebrews 13:5).

We should not stress over the problems of this life.

All of the hardship that we may face.

All of the trials that can come our way can easily be overcome if we simply remember that Jesus is in the ship!

The disciples had forgotten this fact and it showed in the way they treated Jesus (Mark 4:38).

God has this.

Let God drive the boat.

Think of all the disciples had seen Jesus do up to this point.

The miracles.

The traps avoided.

If Jesus can heal a paralytic, He can calm any storm and solve any problem.

Think of what they had heard from the O.T.

All the stories they had been told or even read from the Old Law.

That even in the worst of times, God provided a way out.

Noah (Genesis 6-8).

Esther (Esther 8).

Daniel (Daniel 1-6).

Should there be any doubt that Jesus could get them through this storm when He had already had His hands in all other seemingly hopeless events in the past?

God rules in the kingdoms of men (Daniel 5:21).

No matter what happens in this life, God is still in control.

Perhaps what we need to be doing is taking the goggles off and looking at the whole picture.

It is hard to be objective when we are afraid.

It is impossible to be objective when we feel that we have to fix everything.

Don’t be afraid of death.

Death is not scary (Philippians 1:21-23).

I do not want to die.

There are things that I would very much like to be able to do and witness.

But, if I do die and my time on earth ends what do I have to fear?

Paul knew that even if his life came to a premature end, if he was ready to meet the Lord it was actually a reward!

We do not need to curl up in a ball waiting for death.

We do not need to go looking for death.

But, if death still comes we can be ready and unafraid of what follows.

Why?

This world will not last forever (2 Peter 3:9-11).

The world is perishing.

It will one day cease to exist.

Jesus keeps His promises.

Jesus can help us get to the other side (John 14:6).

We serve a God that is greater.

Greater than any problem we face.

A God that will see us through any trial that comes our way.

CONCLUSION:

Jesus is in the boat.

Are you?