Getting Nervous

Matthew 8:23-27

Today, we are kicking off a new series called “What’s waiting outside your comfort zone?”

It is a great question to ask and even one that we should closely evaluate. It is a question that sounds a little like one that Jesus would ask. Jesus always had a way of asking questions that flipped our perspective on its head. Taking what we thought we knew, our assumed right way of living, and He showed that our priorities and understanding are all mixed up. Sometimes you will hear people refer to the kingdom of heaven as the upside down kingdom - because as Jesus teaches and reveals more about the kingdom, we find it comes with a different perspective. Many times we would readily agree with the teaching but as we evaluate our lives, we find that we are not living with those kingdom principles.

As a church, we just worked through the sermon on the mount where we see a whole sermon that is very revealing. Anyone who honestly lines themselves up against any section of that sermon will be left undone. The reality of kingdom principles and values proves to still be to a deeper and greater degree than we have lived.

Throughout this series, we want to consider the possibility that we as people grow comfortable. We may at times have genuine spiritual pursuit of God, seasons where we know and experience deeper realities of His love, and we are emboldened, energized to carry out His kingdom work. But over time, we get comfortable with the rhythm and we settle. Over time, we get distracted. We start to go down a road where our thinking shifts, resulting in us falling into worldly rhythms and habits where we have less and less time for God or for being intentional about His kingdom.

What has happened is that we have lost focus and passion in our pursuit. We have learned to settle for the joys and pursuits of man. This happens to all of us. Many times, we don’t know that it has happened until months or years later when we look back.

What would happen, if everyone took a bold step of surrender? Recognizing the drift in your life, seeking forgiveness from the Father, and asking Him for a fresh movement of His Spirit in your life. What would change? How would priorities shift?

So often, our comfort zone leads us to a place where we think we are okay. We think we are safe before the Father. But what inevitably happens is that you face a season of life where everything goes wrong. In those turbulent times, it’s as if God is simply trying to wake you up to remind you of how much you need Him.

That is what we are going to be talking about today. If you have your Bibles, please turn with me to

Matthew 8:23–27 “23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?””

Let’s walk through this starting in verse 23

And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him.

The word for “followed” is Akoloutheo, and is used by Matthew on purpose. Akoloutheo means follow or go after. But not in the sense of just following the person in front of you. It carries a sense of decided obedience. The disciples are choosing to be obedient to Jesus in the way they follow Him.

The reason we know its intentional by Matthew is because of the structure of the chapter as a whole. If we look at Matthew 8:18–22, we see a contrast in how we out to respond to Jesus.

“18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

In other words, Jesus is saying, you can follow, but there is a cost. It is not going to be pleasant and comfortable. It may be sleepless and strenuous.

21 Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.””

Jesus immediately calls this disciple to a deeper level of obedience and commitment. He is not saying that this man’s father is not important, but rather, He is quick to point out that great things come before good things. Choosing to follow and serve Jesus is the greatest decision of your life. It is a commitment to pursue and know Him wherever He leads you. Do not wait until everything is right to follow Him. Do not choose a good thing over a great thing.

In verse 23, Matthew says “His disciples followed him.” Akoloutheo - because they were choosing God over man. They were choosing obedience over comfort. There was not hesitation about other duties they needed to tend to in their life. They were committed to Jesus first and foremost.

With that in mind, “In what areas of your life are you choosing comfort over obedience?” This is an important question because it reflects how you are choosing this world over God. Are you Akoloutheo, following God? Or are you following Him on your terms?

Matthew 8:23–24 “23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.”

We know that several of the disciples were fishermen, and we know, that it was common to travel across the Sea of Galilee. More than that, we know that the Sea of Galilee is below sea level but surrounded by mountains. This means, the cold, rushing air comes down suddenly and quickly causing storms on the water. These men, collectively would have had experiences of storms on the water. Some of them would have had regular experiences. But this was not just any other storm. Matthew refers to it as “a great storm” and the Greek word he uses is our word for earthquake. An unusual word for a storm on the sea.

More than that he says “the boat was being swamped.” This idea of swamped isn’t just that water is making its way into the boat. The imagery behind this language is that the waves themselves were much higher than the boat. The boat is swamped in the sense that nobody would be able to see it or know that they are out in the water because it is only a small piece of wood, floating between large waves that cover it up.

Yet, amid this great storm, Jesus is sleeping. Can you imagine being caught in such a storm and having someone dead asleep in the boat?!

It’s interesting because if you back to verse 20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

Now, paradoxically, the one who “has nowhere to lay his head” is fast asleep in his home which seems to be anywhere that he would travel. Not troubled by the normal anxieties of man, Jesus lay, sound asleep in the storm.

What is interesting about this passage, is how it parallels the Old Testament. In the OT, we find that sleeping amid calamity, chaos, and unsettling times - is a sign of faith and trust in God and His sovereign plan. Consider:

Zophar - “If you repent Job” Job 11:18–19 “18 And you will feel secure, because there is hope; you will look around and take your rest in security. 19 You will lie down, and none will make you afraid.”

Psalm 3:5–6 “5 I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me. 6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.”

Psalm 4:8 “8 In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”

Proverbs 3:24–26 “24 If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. 25 Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes, 26 for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.”

How amazing! By sleeping amid the storm, Jesus demonstrates and models a life that is connected to and trusting the Father. More than that, its a promise that we can claim!

For those who have put their faith and trust and God, who are actively pursuing Him, spending time in His throne room getting to know Him. Reading and applying His word. Those who are living on mission for His kingdom. As we seek and know God in this way..... the truth of His sovereignty over every moment seeps deeper into our being. Our trust in His Sovereign rule grows and we experience deeper realities of His peace. Even to the point, that when everything is falling apart, we can still find rest in His presence! What an amazing truth and promise for us to claim!

Matthew 8:23–25 “23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.””

The disciples reaction to the storm further clarify’s how significant it was. Di you notice, the disciples already knew to look to Jesus? They had a knee-jerk reaction that believed Jesus could get them out of this mess. So in their time of peril, they called upon Him. But, by the time they had called out to Him, they had already done everything they knew to do. They exhausted every approach to sailing in a storm and yet they were failing.

I think the question for the disciples and us is this, “Why do we do everything we know to do before calling on the Lord? What does it say about us, that we often do everything we can to work through the storm and we only call and rely upon Jesus when we are out of options?” Why do I trust in my abilities to get through the storm until I break from the waves?

Look at how Jesus responds in Matthew 8:26 “And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.”

It’s strange that when His followers came to Him in time of need He responded this way. More than that, its also interesting that Jesus rebukes them before saving them. This is our clue to what Jesus is doing. He is not upset that they came to Him, He was upset that they trusted in themselves and only saw the physical realities before them. And with the storm continuing around them, Jesus feels the need to teach a lesson before saving them.

Have you ever been stuck in a storm and cried out to the Lord? And even though you cried out, even though you came to Him - He didn’t calm the storm. God will often use storms to teach us, sometimes He allows them to continue in our life for a season,

to teach us a lesson.

To bring something out of us that we don’t know is there.

To help us understand what perseverance in the storms of life looks like while holding on to Jesus throughout.

But more than that, to teach us a posture of relying on Him.

Jesus was not upset that they came to Him. He desires that we all come to Him. He was upset because they trusted themselves first, in their failure they allowed fear to set in, they were stuck thinking about the worst of outcomes and fixating on all the wrong things.......

All the while, Jesus was right next to them in the boat. Instead of coming to Him right away, instead of remaining calm and knowing that God is sovereign even over this moment, they trusted themselves and did everything they could to get through it. As they recognized they were not able to make it, they let fear and anxiety rule their minds instead of simply turning and trusting the Lord.

The real issue that we see here, is that the disciples believed that their most imminent threat was a physical reality. All they could see and understand was what was before their eyes. This is a struggle that captures all of us. We often come to places where we are so concerned about the physical realities of life that we don’t pay any attention to the spiritual. I assure you, every legitimate physical challenge that you face is rooted in a spiritual reality. Just as we see was the case with the disciples.

What we see in the second half of verse 26 is spiritual realities at play behind the physical.

Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

The word used for rebuke is the same word used when Jesus casts out demons. Jesus is not simply yelling at the sea or the wind, but spirits who have stirred up an uncommon storm and they were expressing themselves in it. When Jesus rebukes them, they leave. Bringing an end to a physical, spiritual attack.

“There was a great calm” means in both physical and spiritual senses. It further revealed Jesus’ power and sovereignty over both physical and evil domains.

This helps to clarify the disciple’s response in Matthew 8:27 “27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?””

Psalm 89:9 “9 You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them.”

Psalm 107:29 “29 He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.”

These passages are in the Old Testament and point to the power of God’s sovereignty. As a result, when the disciples ask, “What sort of a man is this?” The very expression carries an understanding of God in the form of a man. There was no longer any question or hesitation about Jesus. His power and His rule over every area of life have been on display for the disciples.

Lets look at the whole context of Matthew 8.

In verses 1-4, Jesus heals a man with leprosy

Verses 5-13, He healed a paralytic

Verse 15, He healed Peter’s mother-in-law from a harsh fever

verse 16, He cast out many who were oppressed by demons

verses 28-32, Jesus casts uncommonly strong and fierce demons out of two men.

In the whole chapter and into chapter 9, we see the power of Jesus the son of God on display. It is the same power that heals the sick, the same power that makes the lame walk, the same power that casts out demons, the same power that controls the winds and the seas, the same power that raises the dead to life,

It is the power of Jesus, the son of God who also died on the cross for your sin and mine and who offers us a new life with God for all of eternity. It is the same power that He gives to us through His Holy Spirit as He calls us to follow Him in obedience by getting in the boat, submitting our lives to Him, trusting him in the storm, and faithfully carrying out the mission of His kingdom.

How might God’s power be at play in your life if you get out of your comfort zone and learn to simply rest in the power of His grace???????

“If you were to step out in faith, rejecting comfort and personal preference, what spiritual storm might the Lord settle in your life?”

Don’t you know, that just resting in His presence will strengthen you while also inviting Him to calm your storms?

We serve a great and mighty God, who has called us to Himself. Who has called us to live on mission for His kingdom? Are you living on mission while in pursuit of God, or have you settled?