Faith or Fear

Mark 6:45–56 ESV

45 Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 47 And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” 51 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. 53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. 54 And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him 55 and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

Pray

coming up on a time of year where kids dress up and ask for candy

People look to it as a spooky season; go home haunted houses, corn mazes; things that put fear into you

This fear is only temporary; you know when you find the end of the maze or walk out the door of the house, that it is over

but there are real fears in life that are crippling. Cause anxiety, depression, and leads to thoughts of harm

these are all situations; God is the god of situations; he specializes in helping you to overcome these situations

Main Point: Situations should never dictate our fears, but point us to Jesus

That is part of what being a Christian is, being pointed to Jesus; gonna look at how when we aren’t focused on Jesus, we fear and how when we have faith, we will be the ones who take people to Jesus

Fear Comes When We Distance Ourselves From Jesus

Mark 6:45–47 ESV

45 Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 47 And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land.

Recap events of 6:33-40

Excitement ensues; crowd tries to make him king in John 6:14-15; not the time and not the means to bring his kingdom

sends disciples away while he dismisses the crowd; Jesus is all-knowing, but he sends them into danger

Exalting Jesus in Mark Mark 6:45

“Their sailing was not merely under his sanction, but by his express command. They were in the right place and yet they met with a terrible storm” (Spurgeon’s Sermons, 55:3,128).

the storms we go through are purposeful; just like the disciples, the storm was not intended to harm them, the same goes for us; in his sovereignty, Jesus sends us into storms.

the storm we go through should increase our faith in God’s power and provision; might not be what we want but will be what we need

when they were gone, he went up the mountain to pray; 3 recorded prayers of Jesus in Mark(beginning of ministry ch.1, middle of ministry right here, near the end before his crucifixion ch. 14)

prayer in the critical moments; prayer is a battle; it is war; we are waging war against our enemies

silence and solitude in prayer; missing pieces in our war; Jesus understood the importance of getting alone

being alone is strategic; rest and refreshment, communion with God, prayer

Mark 6:48 ESV

48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them,

In 1996, there was a movie starring Jeff Bridges about him being a ship captain and taking out a group of teenage boys to teach them about sailing. The movie was “White Squall”. The boys were learning and things were good, until out of nowhere, a storm came up and almost killed them.

We don’t know the strength of this storm, doesn’t even tell us it was raining, just heavy winds; that does not lessen the toll that it took on the disciples

Storms can crush us; feel like we are hitting a brick wall like the disciples; like everything is against us; but Jesus sees us

Two ways in this text that we distance ourselves

Distance from the Person of Jesus

Although Jesus sends them into the storm, this does not mean that their faith should lessen in him. We can be close to the person of Jesus without being physically close to him. When we distance ourselves from who Jesus is(Lord and savior), it invites fear into our life

Distance from the Purposes of Jesus

Jesus displays for us that we should do things like pray. When we are neglecting spending time with our father (bible and prayer), we invite fear into our life

These are two ways that if we are not careful, will dictate if we rely on fear or faith

Fear comes when we distance ourselves from Jesus

Fear Comes When We Lack Faith in Jesus

Faith and fear cannot coexist; mentos and coke, it is unstable

Mark 6:48 ESV

48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them,

Even though he sent them away, even though he needed silence and solitude with his father, Jesus kept an eye on his disciples; he sees their predicament and decides to go to them

time had passed; fourth watch of the night (3-6 am); physical separation of Jesus and disciples (land and sea); miles away

very specific language here(passed by); points us to the OT

Exodus 33 Moses had the unique opportunity of verbal communication with God. But Moses wanted to see God’s glory.

Exodus 33:18–23 ESV

18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” 19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” 21 And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, 22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”

same language; not a mistake or a coincidence

this is about the glory of God; Jesus wanted to pass by for them to see his glory and believe

Jesus wants you to see his glory today; maybe we aren’t in a boat and he is about to walk by on the water; but he has given us his word as a display of his glory; marvel in the words of God

Mark 6:49–50 ESV

49 but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

They did not recognize Jesus; he was walking on the water, going by them, yet they didn’t recognize him

We like to play Monday morning QB on a lot of things; “I would have done this differently”; let’s give them a little credit, you don’t see this every day; being terrified would be on the spectrum of reactions that we would be apt to have

But how often is Jesus right there in plain sight, yet we don’t recognize him

He speaks to them; “Take hear; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

Do not be afraid - lit. stop fearing;

political election; tired of commercials; both sides are fear mongering; try to secure votes based on us being afraid of the outcome if the other side wins

politics is not out of the realm of the commands of Jesus; does not say, “fear not, until it comes time for the election, then you can fear”

This command is so great here, take heart, it is I, don’t be afraid

This small little detail of him saying “it is I”, goes further that just 5 letters in our english alphabet; in the Greek, it is even less; translated as “I am”.

the same words that God spoke to Moses at the burning bush; Jesus is declaring himself to be God; He displays it (miracles, feeding 5,000, walking on water), now he declares it; I AM

Mark 6:51–52 ESV

51 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

God is now in the boat with them; the storm was creeping in, they were exhausted, then they were terrified; now, God in the flesh is standing in the boat with them, and they still don’t get it

The feeding of the 5,000 did not make the impression on them that we think it should

These verses are some of the greatest verses in scripture to give us hope; even the men closest to Jesus didn’t get it

They had witnessed miracles, but in this situation, they thought that it was too much for Jesus to handle; what is something in your life that you have been like this with; “I know you are God, but you just don’t get it”

Fear or faith; it is one of them; which one will it be for you? Fear comes when we lack faith in Jesus.

Focus on Jesus will give us Missionary Mindsets

Said it before, we are all missionaries; work, home, store

Missionaries bring Jesus to people, but also bring people to Jesus; drag people to him that need him

Mark 6:53–56 ESV

53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. 54 And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him 55 and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

Focus on natural instead of supernatural

they saw where Jesus was working and went there;

Jesus is working here; we need to be bringing people here; new people each week; haven’t baptized in a year now; baptisms each week; only happens when we bring people to where Jesus is working

missionary mindset; always on mission; build the kingdom, impact our community

What are you doing to do this

Conclusion

Fear or faith; one of these two things will drive us this week; if you have faith, you will live in this missionary mindset, look for ways to serve God, bring people right here where God is working; if you are fearful, you will avoid conversations about God, you will shy away from inviting people to church to hear the life changing gospel of Jesus

close with the gospel; saved, it is a reminder; lost, it is a call to believe

prayer

Lord’s supper

what is it - a remembrance of what Jesus did for us on the cross; strictly symbolic, not literal body and blood; for the believers

remember as you take it - enemy turned family, condemn but now counted as righteous, slave to sin now serving Jesus, dead in sins now alive in Christ,

who can take - do not have to be member of Immanuel; must be a believer who has been baptized as a believer; not under church discipline

4 questions to ask yourself

Have I turned from my sins and trusted in Jesus that he atoned for my sins?

Have I went public with my faith by being baptized as a believer?

Have I committed myself to the body of Christ through membership in a local church?

Am I currently walking in fellowship with the local church?

1 Corinthians 11:27-30.

Matthew 26:26-28.