Don’t Forget Jesus
From Cradle to Cross • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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In the Gospel of Luke, we read ABOUT Jesus and ABOUT what He did — but Luke’s focus returns again and again to the CHARACTER of Jesus… Specifically, to His NATURE and CRITICAL ROLE in salvation history.
That’s going to be the central them of our passage today…
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22 One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out.
Jesus gave a command. The disciples obeyed.
Not much new here.
We’ve seen this happen before.
We’ve engaged in messages from God’s Word about how we should hear the COMMAND of Jesus and OBEY His Word.
So… It’s a familiar starting point…but a twist is just around the corner…
23 As they sailed, he — JESUS — fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.
This isn’t an imagined moment… The disciples are ACTUALLY in great danger here.
They are experiencing a storm that has the power to drastically change — OR END — their lives.
To understand what’s going on here, we have to frame this event the way Luke intended us to see it…
The disciples were doing exactly what Jesus asked them to do.
They were not living in rebellion.
They were not running from Jesus.
They are in this storm precisely because they obeyed Jesus.
Sometimes obedience doesn’t keep you out of storms.
Sometimes obedience is exactly what puts you into the storm.
The “storm” you’re experiencing is NOT what defines you…
Satan wants you to think it does — BUT IT DOES NOT
When you surrender yourself to Jesus, He begins to direct your steps…and if you listen…
You are going to walk through some stressful moments
Example: Exodus (We spent time this year considering the Exodus journey)
God’s people were slaves for 400 years
They cried out for help
God rescued them and invited them to the Promised Land
But IN BETWEEN slavery and promise, there was 40 years of stress in the wilderness
HOWEVER…
The people weren’t defined by the wilderness
Their story — their legacy — became an enduring discovery of what submission looks like
When you obey Jesus — and you walk into a storm because of it — the storm DOES NOT define you.
Your enduring legacy is the story of surrender — EVEN WHILE IN THE STORM
24 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”
Luke isn’t focused on the storm — he’s focused on the disciples’ INTERPRETATION of the storm.
“Master, we’re going to die!”
“This is the end!”
“Nothing can save us now!”
I want you to notice something…
Jesus gave a command and the disciples obeyed.
The weather CHANGED and the disciples CHANGED along with it.
The disciples’ feelings CHANGED and their view of Jesus CHANGED along with it.
Just in chapters 7 & 8 of Luke’s Gospel, the disciples have seen Jesus…
Heal a centurion’s servant
Bring a widow’s son back to life
Stand up to the Pharisees and forgive a woman’s sins
Teach about the Kingdom of God with authority
There is little doubt that when Jesus gave the command get into the boat, they had confidence and faith in Jesus.
Now…it took exactly ONE storm to CHANGE them
But notice the ONE thing that did not change was JESUS…
He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm.
Storms don’t make Jesus more powerful. They make His power more visible to you.
Our passage began with Jesus giving a command that the disciples obeyed…
…and then there was the twist — in the form of a storm
And now the passage is drawing to a close with Jesus giving a command that the storm obeyed.
We already know ——— Jesus was the same BEFORE the storm…DURING the storm…and AFTER the storm.
But it was somewhere IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STORM that the disciples got their clearest look at the power of the Son of God.
I’m reminded of...
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Followed by…
8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “ ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.”
In the Gospels — Jesus was:
The Son of Man
The Lamb of God
The Bridegroom
King of a Kingdom that has both arrived and is still coming
In Revelation — Jesus is:
The GLORIFIED Son of Man (1:12-16)
The WORTHY Lamb of God (5:8-13)
The ARRIVING Bridegroom (19:7-9)
The CONQUERING King of kings (19:16)
Jesus WAS — and IS — and IS TO COME
He is the same BEFORE the storm — DURING the storm — AFTER the storm
Jesus NEVER CHANGES...
His Word
His Character
His Ways
His Will
But sometimes — especially when life is going well — we slip into an autopilot mode and we forget who Jesus really is…
We think of Him as…
A friend who walks alongside us
A source of comfort when life is hard
A good teacher with wise advice
A therapist for our anxiety
All of those things contain PIECES OF TRUTH…
But while they’re true, on their own…THEY’RE INCOMPLETE
Luke 8 reminds us that the One who was asleep in the boat — who woke up to silence the storm with a voice…
is the LORD OF CREATION
the WIND KNOWS HIS VOICE
the WAVES RECOGNIZE HIS AUTHORITY
CREATION OBEYS HIM INSTANTLY…
…while His disciples — Peter, James, John, YOU, ME — struggle to do the same.
25 “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.
In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”
When they asked, “Who is this?” — is it possible that they maybe knew??? (Or at least had a suspicion???)
They had grown up reading the Word of God after all…
Genesis 6 — God brought a flood over the face of the earth
Exodus 14 — God parted the Red Sea
Beyond all that… Their songs of worship — the PSALMS — had lyrics like…
8 Who is like you, Lord God Almighty? You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you. 9 You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them.
In the moment of their terror, they were seeing songs of worship come to life right before their very eyes…
First, there was fear..
And then they cried out for help
They were looking for Jesus…
And then when they found Him, He exerted control OVER THE SURGING SEA
When they found Him, they remembered the song… — “Who is like you??? You rule over the surging sea…”
Every Jewish child knew this simple fact…
The One who commands creation is the Creator.
First, there was fear…
And NOW…..there is FEAR.
There comes a moment for every single one of us when our surrender to Jesus moves beyond KNOWING He is the King and it turns into KNEELING BEFORE THE KING OF KINGS.
It reminds me once again of John’s “Revelation from Jesus Christ”
12 I — that’s John, writing about himself — turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was someone — JESUS — like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
What do you do when you find yourself in the presence of Jesus — AND YOU RECOGNIZE HIM FOR WHO HE IS???
In Luke 8, the disciples were full of “fear and amazement”
In Mark’s Gospel, he shared the same event and said they were — “terrified”
In John’s Revelation….
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then [Jesus] placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. — interesting enough, the word that both Luke and Mark used to describe the disciples’ fear is the EXACT SAME WORD Jesus uses here…don’t be AFRAID / FULL OF FEAR / TERRIFIED…why???? — I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!”
When you go through storms — and you will — remember this…
The storm isn’t necessarily punishment for disobeying Jesus … because sometimes your obedience is exactly what puts you into the storm.
The storm isn’t more powerful than Jesus … and Jesus will use the storm to more clearly reveal His power — and His IDENTITY — to you.
So…. Let me ask you…
What do you do with all this??? WHAT IS YOUR NEXT STEP???
1 - Name your storm — but don’t crown it.
You can’t surrender something to Jesus until you can identify what needs surrendering.
A difficult marriage
A diagnosis
Financial pressure
A prodigal child
An uncertain future
Depression
Loneliness
Every weekend, I offer an invitation for you to stop by the Next Steps table — if you’ve been going through a storm and you feel like you’re getting beaten down by it, this would be the perfect reason to go by…
It’s possible that Satan is whispering to you right now…
“No one has ever dealt with your storm before”
“They’ll be shocked by how messed up your life is”
“Someone’s going to mock you // gossip about you”
I can assure you…
Your storm feels big — but Satan repeats his tactics over and over — we’ve heard a story like yours before
No one is going to react by judging you… or mocking you…
And I can GUARANTEE no one is going to gossip about you…
2 - Ask yourself - “What has Jesus already said?”
In the midst of the storm, the disciples forgot Jesus’ first words… “Let’s go across to the other side.”
They forgot the first command in search of something new that would make them feel better in the moment.
Don’t constantly search for a new word from God…REMEMBER and OBEY the last one.
Here’s a Next Step for you…
ask — What command of Jesus am I delaying because my feelings disagree?
Forgive
Give generously
Confess your sin
Reconcile a relationship
Serve with humility
Share the Gospel
Stay faithful in your marriage
Increase your gathering with God’s people
True faith obeys the last clear thing Jesus said.
3 - Remember who Jesus is — not just what Jesus does.
Jesus is NOT a last gasp, desperate, final hour, buzzer-beater solution to a problem that nothing else could solve.
Jesus is… the First and the Last, the Living One who was dead but now is alive forever and ever!
Jesus is… the One who does not change … He is the Holy One who WAS and IS and IS TO COME!
AND TODAY IS THE moment for YOU when your surrender to Him moves beyond KNOWING He is the King and turns into KNEELING BEFORE THE KING OF KINGS.
INVITATION: Surrender to Jesus
CHALLENGE: Take a Next Step
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
What “storm” are you facing right now, and how has it affected the way you’ve been thinking about Jesus?
The disciples obeyed Jesus and still ended up in a storm. Have you ever felt disappointed that obedience didn’t lead to an easier life? How did you respond?
When life gets difficult, what are you most tempted to trust instead of Jesus?
Your own abilities? Other people? Money? Control? Something else?
What command of Jesus do you already know but have been delaying because your feelings disagree?
What truth or promise from God do you most need to remember this week?
The storm revealed more of Jesus’ power to the disciples. Looking back on your life, can you identify a difficult season that ultimately gave you a clearer picture of who Jesus is?
How would your prayers change if your first focus was on Jesus’ character instead of your circumstances?
What would it look like this week to interpret your circumstances through Jesus instead of interpreting Jesus through your circumstances?
What is one specific step of surrender Jesus is asking you to take?
