The Gospel of Mark: Facing down Our Fears

What do you fear? What are you most afraid of? What do you find yourself worried about? All of us can probably come up with something. Maybe several somethings. We live in a society whose residents are beset with all kinds of fears and phobias. Even God’s folk — good, and saintly, churchgoing, Bible reading Christians sometimes are afraid. We all know that the apostle Paul tells us“For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. the Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” (Romans 8:15-16, NIV). But there are still those times when we may doubt, when our faith may falter a bit, and when we find ourselves afraid.

ILLUS. In a Peanuts comic strip, Linus is seeking psychiatric help from his big sister Lucy. Most kids put up lemonade stands. Lucy van Pelt puts up her psychiatric booth. He tells her, “I am in sad shape. My life is full of fear and anxiety. The only thing that keeps me going is this blanket ... do I need help?”

Lucy responds, “I think we had better try to pinpoint your fears ... if we can find out what it is you’re afraid of, we can label it.” With that, Lucy begins suggesting a daunting list of fears including, hypengyophobia (the fear of responsibility), Ailurophobia (the fear of cats), Climacophobia (the fear of staircases), Thalassophobia (the fear of the ocean), and Gephydrophobia (the fear of crossing bridges). Finally, she suggests Linus might be suffering from Pantophobia.

“What’s Pantophobia?” Linus asks.

“The fear of everything,” says Lucis.

“That’s it!” shouts Linus, bowling his sister over.

We can laugh at Linus and Lucy, but who among us doesn’t fight an ongoing battle with fear of some kind? Let’s be honest this evening; too many Christians have allowed fear and anxiety to crowd out the peace that passes all understanding. But, there is good news: there is an antidote to our apprehension that allows you to face down your fears and find courage when anxiety grips the heart. Our text for this evening, shows us that the apostles knew what it was like to suddenly be afraid. But we also discover that they had an uncommon Savior who was in control and who was in the boat with them.

I. WE ALL FACE STORMS THAT FEED OUR FEARS

“A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”” (Mark 4:37–38, NIV84)

1. verse 35 refers to “That day ... “ points backward at everything that it taken place in chapter four

a. it had been a busy day in Lord’s life

b. in order to get away from the crowds, Jesus recommends to his disciples that they get in a boat and head for the far side of the lake

2. as they begin the journey, Jesus — who is exhausted from ministry — quickly falls asleep in the back of the boat while the disciples hoist the sail and break out the oars

3. they are out upon the lake when suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a ferocious squall blows up

ILLUS. The Sea of Galilee is 700 feet below sea level and just 30 miles to the north is Mount Hermon, 9,200 feet high. Within 30 miles, you have a difference of 10,000 feet in elevation. On the west side of the sea are the hills of Galilee that reach 1,400 feet, and on the east side of the sea are the Golan Heights that reach 2,500 feet in elevation. The Sea of Galilee essentially sits in a bowl. What that means is you have constant clashing of the cold air from the mountains and the warm air coming up from the Sea of Galilee, and as a result, the Sea of Galilee was a place with lots of storms, lots of squalls.

a. as they make their way across the sea, the wind begins to blow, the waves roar and break over the gunnels of the boat to the point of swamping it

1) the disciples are quite literally bailing for their lives

b. it must’ve been a particularly severe storm, for even the experienced fishermen among the disciples were afraid

1) they are absolutely convinced this is the end, “we are perishing” is in the present tense — seasoned fishermen think they are going to die

2) can you imagine how poor Matthew, a land-loving tax collector, might have felt??

4. what does this story have to teach us about those things we are afraid of?

A. THE UNEXPECTED STORMS MAKE US MOST AFRAID

1. just like storms of nature, when we see a crisis or difficult situation looming on the horizon, were often able to steal ourselves — at least emotionally — against the calamity we see heading our way

ILLUS. When we were living in Adrian, a tornado came through the area one year, just barely missing town. It’s went north of town, crossed the railroad tracks, skipped over the highway, and went on its way through the countryside. One of our farm families, Melvin and Macel Jones, had a barn blown down and lost tin on several other out-buildings, but the house was fine. When I saw Melvin the next day, I asked him, “Weren’t you afraid?” to which Melvin responded, “Nope. Saw it coming.” Melvin saw the direction the storm was taking and knew it wasn’t going to be as bad as it could have been.

a. none of us likes going through the storms of life

b. but, there’s something about seeing them coming, that helps us prepare

2. that’s why I think that it’s the unexpected storms we fear the most

a. the accident, the unexpected illness, the unprovoked attack, the abrupt job termination, the untimely death – these are the things that seem to stir up the greatest anxiety in us

b. it is the sudden storm that lands like a sucker punch to our gut

3. some years ago, a Christian research group asked born-again believers those things that they fear the most

a. here is the top eight years among believers

1) the fear of living insignificant lives

2) the fear of rejection

3) the fear of failure

4) the unhealthy fear of God

5) the fear of sickness, aging, and death

6) the fear of threats to our children

7) the fear of the rise of evil

8) the fear of a society that’s breaking down

4. these are all real fears, but the Bible has real answers for our fears

II. SOMETIMES WHEN WE FIND OURSELVES IN THE MIDST OF A STORM, IT SEEMS AS IF GOD IS UNCONCERNED

Mark 4:38 "Jesus was at the back of the boat, sleeping with his head on a cushion. His followers woke him and said, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are drowning!” NCV

1. what do you do or who do you turn to when fear grips your heart?

a. it is very obvious from this passage that the disciples are fearful

b. we hear them cry out, “Lord, don’t you care if we drown?”

1) now, let me translate that for you from the original Greek text . . .

2) “Lord, we’re sinking . . . do something!”

2. now, let me hasten to say, that some fear is good

a. if a danger is real, then a proper fear is not only healthy, but called for

1) it is good to fear things like fire, and tornadoes, and floods, and even the consequences of inappropriate and destructive behavior

b. fear is what keeps us from playing in the middle of a four-lane highway

ILLUS. In the novel Moby Dick, Captain Ahab tells his crew, “I’ll have no one aboard my ship who doesn’t fear a whale.”

c. the Bible tells us, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,” (Prov. 1:7)

3. most of our fears, however, are unreasonable fears — phobias

a. our fear and our anxiety often make us wonder if God really cares

b. and, like the disciples, we find ourselves at the point of crying out in fear and accusation, “God, don’t you care?”

c. they wake him up, and they basically say,

“You have gone asleep on us in our hour of greatest need”

“You don’t care! Because if you loved us, you wouldn’t be letting us go through this.”

“If you loved us, we wouldn’t be going through storms.”

“If you loved us, we wouldn’t be about to sink.”

“If you loved us, you would not be letting us go through deadly peril.”

A. GOD DOES LOVE US AND HE WANTS FOR US TO APPROACH HIM IN FAITH

1. I do not have any scriptural evidence for what I’m about to say, but I’ve always wondered if Jesus wasn’t in the back of the boat playing possum, keeping one I just barely opened waiting and watching to see what the disciples would do

2. I have no doubt that these men tried any number of things on their own before they ever sought to turn to Jesus

a. they may have tried to row into the wind and the waves

1) how many times do we assume we can face a crisis all on our own if we just confront the issue head on?

b. they may have tried to return to the shore

1) sometimes our fears cause us to retreat

c. they may have tried to lighten the load by throwing the non-essentials overboard

1) sometimes we think that if we just get rid of the source of our anxiety that our fear will go away, too

d. they may have bailed water

1) sometimes, all we want to do in a crisis situation is keep her head above water

3. after everything else had failed, the disciples finally turned to Jesus, “Lord, don’t you care if we drown?”

a. of course Jesus cares, and he is just waiting for us to come to him so that he might display his power on our behalf

"Jesus stood up and commanded the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind stopped, and it became completely calm. Jesus said to his followers, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:39-40, NCV)

1) Jesus doesn’t get out his wand, he doesn’t utter some incantation, there is no “In the name of …”

2) No ... very, very simple ... Jesus utters two verbs, “Be quiet and stay quiet”

b. that’s it — this is how you talk to a child; “Sit down, be quiet”

1) if you were to read this passage in the original language you’d hear something of a play on word in the passage

a) in vs. 41 were read that the disciples were terrified — the word is megas-phobos — great fear

b) in vs. 39 when Jesus quieted the wind and waves it was completely calm — the word is megas-gal-ay-nay — mega calm

2) have you ever seen water that was as smooth as glass with no waves at all?

3) natural forces have astounding power, but Jesus has incomparable power

c. at this point, I’m not sure which the disciples were more afraid of, the storm or the one who commanded the storm to subside

Mark 4:41 "The followers were very afraid and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” NCV

4. Jesus was in the boat, but the disciples had not fully learned who He was or to fully trust Him

a. isn’t that like so many believer?

b. Jesus is in our lives, but we don’t fully know Him or trust Him

5. the good news this evening is that God wants to display His power in your lives and calm the doubts and anxieties that may be threatening to swamp your life

III. WHEN THE STORMS RAGE, WE NEED TO FACE DOWN OUR FEARS AND FIND COURAGE IN GOD

1. when the storms rage, we must keep our eyes on Jesus

a. He will take us through storm

2. there is no battle, no storm, no situation that Jesus can not give us a calm and peace in the middle of

ILLUS. William Stoddard once wrote:

Fear strikes us down . . . faith lifts us up.

Fear paralyzes . . . faith energizes.

Fear stands still, sees obstacles, and says,

“How strong is the wrong!”

Faith stands still, sees God, and says,

“There is might in the right!”

Fear doubts the power of God . . .

Faith counts on the power of God

Fear say, “Darkness is falling and night is inevitable.”

Faith says, “Darkness is fleeting an dan is certain.”

Cultivate fear and you have an enemy.

Cultivate faith and you have a friend.

Fear will make you a victim . . .

Faith will make you a victor.

Fear and faith cannot co-exist.

Like Good and Evil they will fight to the finish.

So fear only Fear and put your faith in Christ.

Best of all, fear only that which hides God’s face

– Our sin, and

Have faith in Him who brings God’s grace

– Our Savior.

A. THE DISCIPLINES NEED FOR FACING DOWN OUR FEARS

1. First, you must face the unknown with confidence in the Known

a. where do we find words of confidence and strength?

b. the very best place is the Bible

c. there is nothing like the power of the Word of God when if comes to facing fear

2. Second, you must seek the Lord’s face and call upon Him in prayer

a. when you call upon the Lord, you bring His presence and his peace to bear on the specific fears that you may find yourself fighting

3. Third, you need to encourage others by being a Barnabas

a. remember Barnabas?

1) in the Book of Acts, Barnabas played a unique role as a fear reducer

2) he was an encourager to other Christians

ILLUS. The early church was terrorized by a man named Saul of Tarsus. He was a zealous for the faith of Israel and saw Christianity as a perversion of that faith and a threat. He hunted down Christians, arrested them, and had them thrown in jail. He was even present – and may have participated – in the death of some. One day, Saul was dramatically converted to faith in Christ. But in the days following his conversion, no Christian would believe he had genuinely turned to faith in Christ. No doubt they saw it as a plot to infiltrate the church in order to get names and information. But Barnabas took a step and befriended Paul, spoke as his advocate, and brought him into the fellowship of the Church. Barnabas not only helped to alleviate the fear of the church toward Saul, he also helped Saul overcome rejection.

b. each of us needs a Barnabas at times and sometimes each of us needs to be a Barnabas as we encourage others to stand strong and overcome their fears

1) when you begin to encourage other believers in their faith, your faith will grow and your fears will subside

4. Forth, you need to defy fear with an outrageously courageous act

ILLUS. A turtle never gets anywhere until he sticks out his neck!

a. sometimes, we overcome fear by taking a great leap of faith

1) the Bible is full of stories of risk-takers

2) we read story after story of men and women who lived in fear until they trusted in God and took — what looked to the world — as a risky step

b. now, I’m not talking about bungee-jumping or hunting sharks in scuba gear

1) for you, an outrageous act of faith might mean giving your testimony in church, or witnessing to a friend, or volunteering to be a tutor

2) whatever it is, you face down your fears when you find new ways to glorify God

5. Fifth, you need to learn to fear God without being afraid of Him

a. too many believers see God as an unapproachable judge

1) yes, God is a Holy God

2) but He has opened a way to Him through His Son, Jesus Christ

Hebrews 4:15-16 "For our high priest is able to understand our weaknesses. When he lived on earth, he was tempted in every way that we are, but he did not sin. Let us, then, feel very sure that we can come before God’s throne where there is grace. There we can receive mercy and grace to help us when we need it." NCV

The Psalmist wrote: “I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.” (Psalm 34:4) Tonight, whatever it is that my bring fear or anxiety to your heart, as Him to give you courage in place of your fear.

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