Do You Still Have No Faith?

 On the playground, boys were bragging. Johnny said, "My dad made a list of men he can beat up. All your dads are on it!" That afternoon, Johnny's dad answered a rap on the front door. A big angry man glared. "Are you Johnny's dad?" "I am." "Johnny told my son you have a list of men you think you can beat up. He said my name's on it." Johnny's dad said, "That's right." The big man rolled up his sleeves. "I don't think you can beat me up. What are you going to do about it?" Johnny's dad's answer was meek. "I'll mark you off my list." A severe storm at sea is like that strong man. We'd mark it off our list, too. Not Jesus. Before Him, all nature bows. It was a hard day in Capernaum. Jesus healed, taught, & delivered people from demons, all day. Crowds even keep him from eating. His "break"? The Sanhedrin sent Pharisees to check out Jesus & all the miracles. "If He's a heretic, stop Him." They didn't take long. "You're using Satan's power." Jesus' defense? "Not so. Think! Satan's a strong man. But I rob Satan's house each time I heal & deliver. Satan doesn't fight Satan." It's already a hard day. That's when his mother & brothers arrive. They're here to kidnap Him back to Nazareth! They think, "He's not eating. He's out of his mind!" They go without Him. So many people crowd in, Jesus heads to Lake Galilee, steps into a boat, & anchors offshore. In the hot sun, He'll teach the rest of the day. Let's look at Mark 4:35-41. At last, on this hard day, 35aevening came. Jesus is God's Son, fully God. But He's also fully human. He isn't just weary. After that day, He's spent! 35bHe said to his disciples. "Let's go over to the other side." Capernaum, where they are, lies on the west side. The east side has fewer cities. And Jesus needs a break. Time to rest & pray! But if He heads back to shore to get food & clothes, the crowd is waiting. Once he lands, they'll press in again for ministry. So, 36aleaving the crowd behind, they took Jesus along in the boat, just as he was. No change of clothes. No supplies or food. <Map.> The disciples hoisted sail & set out on the 5-mile trip. Jesus tried to leave the crowd. Even so, 36bother boats followed. As shadows got longer, darkness deepened. And Jesus' eyelids grew heavier & heavier. He moved to the stern to rest. There, they gave Him the coxswain's pillow. It was fairly calm when they set sail. But Lake Galilee is 628' below sea level. It's surrounded by mountains. Deep ravines on every side channel winds onto the waters. <picture> In a storm, like funnels they intensify each wind blast. With little notice, waves can get pretty wild. That night, 37aa furious squall came up. In Mt 8:24, Matthew calls it a seismos (NIV: furious storm). An earthquake of a storm! Even the lake is shaking! 37bWaves kept on breaking over the boat. With each one, they take on water. In minutes, 37cthey're nearly swamped. They keep struggling to keep control of the boat. For as long as they can, they try not to disturb Jesus. Don't forget that at least 4 of them were fishermen. Seasoned sailors. They know these waters. While they respect the storms, they're used to heavy water. So, for a long while they keep thinking they can handle it. At some point, they realize that it's beyond them! This storm is 1 in 100. What's Jesus doing? All the while, 38aJesus is sleeping on the coxswain's cushion in the stern. <picture-painting by Jules Joseph Meynier> Their little boat is constantly moving. Fore & aft it's rocking like hobby horse. Port & starboard, it's rolling back & forth. The result? It corkscrews into each wave. The wind keeps howling, & they keep taking on water! How can Jesus sleep so soundly?! He must be exhausted! One more thing. The disciples don't realize who He is as yet. All they see is the man. Yet Jesus is The Creator! He need never fear His Creation. It can't harm Him. And He knows it. But the disciples don't. They're terrified. Finally, they can't take it anymore. 38bThe disciples woke Jesus. They've exhausted all they know to do. All but one. They're doing that now. Here's the truth. Until we ask our Father in heaven, we haven't done all we can. Ever! They're doing a right thing by bringing it to Jesus. Even so, their cry shows their state of mind.38c"Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" No faith. They're only afraid for their lives. 39aJesus got up & rebuked the wind. As a rebuke, I hear a sharp command to the unruly wind. "Quiet! Be still!" But 39bHe spoke to the waves, "Quiet... Be still..." To the waves, I don't hear a rebuke. I hear the Creator calming waves like a mother calms her squalling baby. "There, there. Shh... Be still..." Jesus didn't need to shout. It's His Creation! The Creator is always in complete control. He's Lord of even chaotic wind & waves. As He spoke, 39cthe wind died down & the waves were completely calm. Jesus has spoken. 40aHe turned to his disciples. "Why are you so afraid?" Don't You know me? Even yet? Don't you know Your Scriptures? Did you forget Isa 41:13? 13I'm the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand & says to you, "Don't fear. I'll help you." Or Isa 43:2? 2When you pass through the waters, I'll be with you. When you pass through the rivers, they won't sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you won't be burned. The flames won't set you ablaze. The Lord is with you! 40b"Do you still have no faith?" NT or OT, God has promised to be with us! We enter God's promises & blessings through faith. The disciples had faith. But in the roar of the storm, the wind, & the waves, terror set in. Their faith had fled. Now, it's suddenly quiet! And they're speechless. More than confused, 41aThey're terrified. They're more afraid of Jesus, now, than they were of the storm! 41aThey keep asking each other, "Who is this? Even the wind & the waves obey him!" This incident deeply impacted the disciples. Of the 4 gospel writers, 3 of them wrote about that night. Each faced that question. "Who this is?" Eventually, they found their answer. Where? In the resurrected Christ! Who is this? Jesus is Lord! Creator! Jahweh! God of their Fathers. In Him, they could trust their lives & their eternal future. That brings us to our lesson. Jesus will never remove the need for faith. What wind & waves are we facing right now? A health crisis? Don't fear. Have faith. Finances short? Don't fear. Have faith. Trouble with an important relationship? Don't fear. Have faith. Troubled marriage? Don't fear. Have faith. Trouble in our workplace? Don't fear. Have faith. Trouble with kids? Don't fear. Have faith. Treated unfairly? Don't fear. Have faith. Bored with life? Feel empty? Don't fear. Have faith. Struggling with confusion? Don't fear. Have faith. Whatever the issue, here's the lesson. We haven't done all we can until we bring it to Jesus. To admit we need help takes humility. And humility is the starting point for faith. Isn't that what Jesus is saying in Mt 5:3? 3Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Poor in spirit. Humble. Pride wants to remain in control. It'll never let us take our need to Jesus. Only in humility can we take it to Him. It also requires faith to take our need to Jesus. Faith that He can do something about it. Trust that He will. And that's how we exercise faith: taking each need to Jesus. We aren't bothering Him. He's honored by our trust! And trust IS faith. Trusting God with our need. Bringing it to Him. So, what wind & waves do we face? Are we still trying to cope in our own strength? Do we still think we're in control? Or have we realized that we never had control to begin with! Only God has control. And that brings us back to the question we always face. Are we still struggling? Don't we realize who He is? Do you still have no faith? Do You Still Have No Faith? - Mark 4:35-41 Page 1 of 1