Sermon Tone Analysis

ONE NIGHT UPON THE SEA

*Mark 4:35-41** *

*INTRODUCTION*: It had been a long and difficult day for the Lord Jesus.

He had sat in a ship just off the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

He had used that ship as His pulpit as He preached to the great multitudes that had gathered to hear Him.

When the day was over, He called His disciples to set sail for the other side of the lake.

When darkness fell, the disciples were making their way across that little lake.

While they headed for the other shore, Jesus lay fast asleep in the rear of the ship.

He was weary from the business of the day.

Most of these men were used to being on the Sea of Galilee at night.

They were, after all, fishermen.

But, some events would occur this night that would change their lives and their perception of the Lord Jesus.

These men found themselves in the storm of their lives.

They experienced the Lord’s power to deliver them and they lived to tell the tale.

I want to travel with them as they cross the Sea of Galilee.

I want to do so because their experience has much to teach us today.

There is a sense in which we are all involved in a journey today.

We are sailing toward an unseen port.

As we sail, storms will arise and toss our little vessels.

We will often think the storms are going to destroy us.

I want you to know that your storms were not sent to destroy you, but to develop you.

Let’s join the Lord and His men as they spend */One Night Upon The Sea/* making their way across the Sea of Galilee.

I want to point out some priceless observations from this passage and preach on the subject */One Night Upon The Sea/*.  

! I.          IT WAS A NIGHT OF GREAT DANGERS /v.

37/          

As Jesus and His men sailed across the Sea of Galilee that night, they found themselves engulfed in a terrible storm.

I would like for us to examine the storm for a few minutes today.

!! A.        The Suddenness Of The Storm – “/there arose a great storm of wind/”

!!! 1.      Storms like this are very common on the Sea of Galilee.

!!!!

The Sea of Galilee is an unusual body of water.

It is relatively small (thirteen miles long, seven miles wide); but it is 150 feet deep, and the shoreline is 680 feet below sea level.

Because the Sea of Galilee is below sea level and is surrounded by mountains, it is susceptible to sudden storms.

Winds sweeping across the land come up and over the mountains, creating downdrafts over the lake.

Combined with a thunderstorm that appears suddenly over the surrounding mountains, the water stirs into violent twenty-foot waves.

The sea can be calm one minute and violent the next.

These storms usually do not happen at night.

So, these men did not set out in a storm and they did not expect one either, but a storm came anyway!

!!! 2.       That’s the way life it too!

!!!! Things can be fine one moment and the next, the bottom falls out.

One minute you can be enjoying fair weather and the next, you find yourself in the middle of a terrible and horrible storm.

One phone call, one twenty-four hour period of time, one doctor visit, one tick of the clock, and there you are, in the storm of your life.

This shouldn’t surprise us.

The Bible says that the storms will come our way, Job 14:1; Eccl.

2:23; John 16:33.

In fact, you are in one of three places today.

You are either in a storm, just coming out of a storm, or headed into a storm.

Sudden storms are a part of our lives.

!! B.        The Severity Of The Storm – “/the ship was now full/”

!!! 1.

These seasoned fishermen are frightened by the severity of this storm.

!!!!

The ship is rocking and reeling; it is full of water and they are afraid it is about to sink.

It was a violent storm and it was night time too.

They could not see where they were or how close they were to the shore and the other ships around them.

They were in terrible danger, and they feared for their lives.

!!! 2.      This is a lot like what we face in the storms of life.

!!!! a)      The storms of suffering

!!!!

When they come, they are often severe and cause us great anguish and pain.

They blow into our lives and devastate us with heartache, heartbreak and turmoil.

One problem will arise after another and they will bury us under a blizzard of affliction.

Many could testify about the storms of suffering.

!!!! b)      The storms of sorrow

!!!! Someone you love is called away by death and it leaves you grief stricken and shaken by your loss.

Sorrow touches every life!

Jesus was in their boat and they were still afflicted by a storm of sorrow.)

Story told about a woman who had some sorrow in her life and she just couldn't seem to get over it, so someone advised her to go to one of the wise men in the village.

She went to him and she explained her sorrow and she couldn't seem to get over it, so he gave her a big pile of feathers, and he said to her, "*/I want you to just go and knock on the door and give a feather to every person you talk to in every home where there is no sorrow./*"

And after a few days she came back with her pile of feathers and she hadn't given away a single one and she came to understand that sorrow is common to all, sorrow knocks at every heart, sorrow makes its way into every home.

The storms of life come severely into every life.

Sometimes there are the storms of sorrow.

!!!! c)      */The storm of sin/*    

!!!!

When sin enters our hearts, it always comes in as a pleasant, calm breeze.

It promises us the best, but it soon displays its darker side.

It will rip through your life leaving a trail of damage and destruction that can only be repaired by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and His forgiveness.

Some are in that storm today!

So, the storms come and they bring with them fear, anxiety and pain.

I just want you to know that there is no storm on earth that Heaven cannot calm!

There is no problem so great that Jesus cannot fix.

Bring that storm to Him and watch His deal with it!

!! C.        The Source Of The Storm

!!! 1.

It may have been natural,

!!!! a)      I have already shared; the Sea of Galilee was susceptible to storms of this nature.

However, it came at night and that was extremely rare.

God might have sent it.

He could have sent this storm for the very purpose of teaching these men to trust in Jesus.

Or, the storm could have been satanic in origin.

When Jesus calmed the storm in *verse 39* and said “*/be still/*”, it is the same word that is translated “*/hold thy peace/*” in *Mark 1:25*.

The word means “*/to be muzzled/*”.

It has the idea of muzzling a violent animal.

When Jesus used that word in *Mark 1:25*, He was using it to command demons to be quiet.

Perhaps this storm was an attempt by Satan to destroy the Lord Jesus.

The Bible does not tell us the source of this storm.

!!! 2.       Sometimes the storms are our own fault.

!!!! a)      The same storms in our own lives can come from various sources too.

We do things that get us into trouble and we have to pay the price.

If you don’t believe me, just read the book of Jonah.

God said “*/Go/*!”  Jonah said “*/No/*!”  God said “*/Woe/*!”  Jonah said “*/Oh/*!”  Sometimes we cause the storms.

!!! 3.         Sometimes God sends the storms.

!!!! a)      Why would He do that?

Sometimes He does it to discipline us and draw us closer to Him.

This was the case with David after he had sinned with Bathsheba, *2 Sam.

11-12*.

Sometimes He does it to teach us to trust His more deeply.

This was the case with Job and all that he was forced to endure.