Sermon for 6/20/21 15 Minutes - Trusting God through the Storms in Our Life!
Notes
Transcript
Mark 4: 35-41
Mark 4: 35-41
This morning I'll be reading Mark chapter 4 verses 35 through 41.
And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.
Mark 4:35-41
This morning,,, we continue in the book of Mark,,, in the next verse that continues where we ended last Sunday. Jesus ended verse 34 explaining things to His disciples privately. And as we see in these verses,,, the disciples,,, "just like us",,, still need help,,, as we struggle with the storms that come our way!
Mark 4:35–41 (HCSB)
35 On that day, when evening had come, He told them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the sea.” 36 So they left the crowd and took Him along since He was already in the boat. And other boats were with Him. 37 A fierce windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38 But He was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke Him up and said to Him, “Teacher! Don’t You care that we’re going to die?” 39 He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Silence! Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 Then He said to them, “Why are you fearful? Do you still have no faith?” 41 And they were terrified and asked one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning.
Let us pray:
Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen.
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Today is fathers day,,, and as father’s,,, we always want to do everything that we can to take care of our families the best that we can.
But there are times when we just can’t do it by ourselves,,, and it took me a long time to figure out why!
Hopefully after looking at these verses this morning,,, it will help all of us to see.
Now,,, last Sunday we looked at the way that we need to be obedient to the words of Jesus,,, by planting seeds and trusting God.
This morning,,, we will look at the reasons that we need to remember to trust God,,, no matter what kind of storms that we go through.
So let’s look at these verses this morning and see how they can help us in our walk with God this week.
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Verses 35 and 36 say: 35 On that day, when evening had come, He told them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the sea.” 36 So they left the crowd and took Him along since He was already in the boat. And other boats were with Him.
It appears that the disciples had not made any prior preparations for this trip across the Sea of Galilee,,, since they were already in the boats maybe it was just easier to head in that direction.
That would allow them to get away from most of the crowds for awhile,,, except for those that followed them.
Maybe Jesus had decided to cross over so that all of them could rest.
It’s also possible that He just wanted to change the area and the people that He was ministering to.
We aren’t told the exact reason why,,, just that it seems to be a sudden decision.
Jesus’ disciples,,, several of them being experienced fishermen,,, take charge of the voyage.
This allows Jesus the chance to rest as they go across the Sea.
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Verse 37 says: 37 A fierce windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.
The Sea of Galilee was known for storms that would appear out of nowhere,,, without warning.
Since it was surrounded by high hills and narrow valleys that functioned as wind tunnels,,, it was very dangerous,,, and apparently they could be especially dangerous when they happened in the evening.
So it was from one of these storms that come up quickly in the evening,,, as the verse says: A fierce windstorm arose,,, so that the boat was already being swamped.
The disciples have either,,, forgotten,,, or,,, never truly understood,,, who was in the boat with them!
We know that because as the boat is filling up and possibly getting close to sinking,,, they become frightened.
Apparently they wonder where Jesus is,,, and why that He isn’t concerned about what is going on at the time.
And of course we see where He was,,, by the next verse.
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Verse 38 says: 38 But He was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke Him up and said to Him, “Teacher! Don’t You care that we’re going to die?”
Jesus was exhausted because of the work that He has been doing all day,,, so He is found asleep on the cushion,,, which is probably a sailor’s rowing cushion,,, according to my Bible Knowledge Commentary.
I’ve always been very concerned when we have storms like bad thunderstorms,,, tornado warnings,,, or hurricanes,,, especially if they happen at night.
I am usually awake most of the time,,, trying to keep up with what is happening.
Even though I’m usually tired,,, I can’t sleep.
I know that I can’t change anything that might happen,,, but still,,, I am awake,,, keeping watch!
Even though I know that God “will take care of me” no matter what happens,,, I still can’t truly relax and go to sleep.
Yet,,, here is Jesus,,, right in the middle of a terrible storm out in the Sea of Galilee,,, sound asleep!
While the disciples are doing all that they can to keep the boat from sinking,,, possibly trying to keep the boat heading into the waves to help minimize the water coming into the boat,,, whatever they can think of to do at this time.
Remember,,, some of the disciples were experienced fishermen,,, they made their living from the sea,,, they knew and understood what needed to be done during these types of storms,,, and,,, they also knew,,, the dangers from them.
So they have worked tirelessly through the storm,,, doing everything humanly possible to keep them safe,,, until finally,,, after they have done all that they can do,,, they wonder about Jesus!
And where is Jesus during all of this commotion,,, because,,, surely it would have been hard to stay asleep with all of the wind,,, rain,,, thunder and lightening going on,,, not to mention the loud cries of the men as they tried to save themselves,,, ??
He’s asleep in the stern of the boat,,, calmly getting His rest,,, while they are scared that they are going to die!
The disciples find Him,,, and it says,,, So they woke Him up and said to Him, “Teacher! Don’t You care that we’re going to die?”
How many times,,, have we done the same,,, how many times will we continue to do the same,,, when we should be like Jesus,,, ,,, ,,, ,,, yet,,, ,,, normally whenever I look at this passage of scripture I only see that we should be asleep like Jesus,,, but,,, what would have happened if the disciples had done the same thing that Jesus was doing,,, gone sound asleep,,, notice,,, ,,, the storm is still going on,,, they are still in danger,,, if they would have stayed asleep,,, like Jesus,,, during the storm,,, they might have been swamped.
So,,, does that mean that we are to remain awake during all of the terrible storms that we will or are going through?
No!!!!
Unlike the disciples,,, we need to find Jesus first,,, then truly give our problem,,, our storm,,, our whatever is bothering us,,, to Him,,, and then,,, we can rest as well!
That’s where the disciples made a mistake,,, they should have called on Jesus first,,, not last!
Nothing could be done,,, until they gave Jesus a chance to fix what was wrong!
Notice what happens in the next verse,,, after the disciples have found Jesus.
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Verse 39 says: 39 He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Silence! Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
After the disciples have found Jesus and woke Him up,,, Jesus commands the wind and the sea,,, “Silence! Be still!”,,, and they obey.
Just as God spoke and the world was formed and all that we know of today,,, Jesus spoke,,, and the storm obeyed.
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Verse 40 says: 40 Then He said to them, “Why are you fearful? Do you still have no faith?”
Even though the disciples have been with Jesus during His teachings,,, healings,,, and confrontations with the religious leaders,,, they still don’t understand who Jesus is,,, and what power is available to them,,, and consequently,,, us today as well!
Jesus questions them,,, Do you still have no faith?”
Do “we”,,, have faith?
Do “we”,,, truly understand what is available to us today?
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Verse 41 says: 41 And they were terrified and asked one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
We can see from this verse,,, and of course we have the rest of the story before the resurrection,,, to show us as well,,, that the disciples really don’t understand who Jesus is at this point.
But we know that through their personal revelations from Jesus,,, and the Holy Spirit,,, after Jesus’ ascension,,, that their faith grows to remarkable,,, unbreakable,,, proportions.
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So this morning,,, and later in life,,, as we look back at these verses,,, we want to remember that the disciples were helpless during this storm.
All of us today,,, have been in situations ourselves,,, or,,, we are in one now,,, or,,, we will be,,, where we just can’t fight our storm alone.
Just like the disciples in the boat,,, who could do nothing,,, until they decided,,, to find Jesus,,, and let Him know what is going on,,, “we to” must find Jesus,,, because without Jesus,,, we cannot handle any storms,,, on our own!
You see,,, the disciples had Jesus in the boat with them,,, they knew Jesus,,, they thought that they understood Jesus,,, but they didn’t get any help,,, they were about to sink,,, until they decided to ask Jesus for help.
It’s the same for us!
When I have thought about these verses in the past,,, I usually think that we should have enough faith to just sleep through the storms that life throws at us,,, but looking at this again makes me realize that we cannot sleep,,, until we have given our problem to Jesus and then,,, we can truly rest!
For those of you that are fathers,,, and all of us today,,, we can either stay awake and fight through the storm alone,,, or we can ask Jesus to help us through it,,, and then truly get the help that we really need!
Trusting God,,, through the storms,,, in our life!
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