Calm Under Pressure

Introduction

Good morning and welcome!

This morning if you would like, turn in your Bibles to Mark 4.

We are going to be looking at a time this morning when Jesus puts His disciples faith to the test.

And just for reference, the passage we are going to be looking at this morning can also be found in Matthew 8:23-27 and Luke 8:22-25.

However, I chose the passage in Mark 4:35-41 because it gives the most detailed picture of what is actually going on during this time period.

Leading up to our passage Jesus and the disciples have had a very busy day.

In fact Jesus had been on the shore of the Sea of Galilee all day long—probably since sunrise, teaching and preaching.

And you can imagine as the son began to come up and come overhead that the day began to get pretty warm.

In the opening verses of Mark 4, it actually talks about the crowd being so huge that gathered around Jesus that he had to physically get into a boat that was anchored to the shore and preach from there.

So, here is Jesus, His disciples, and this huge crowd gathered around with no shade, no air conditioning, no padded pews, no sound system, no projector, no livestream, not even a hymnal or a Bible to look at.

And they stayed there all day long.

And the reason they stayed, was because these people were hungry.

Not for food for the belly—but they were hungry for God’s Word.

They were hungry for the Gospel.

They were hungry for the truth.

They were hungry for Jesus!

And before we even get into the scripture, I have to ask, are we hungry for Jesus?

Would we come out to hear God’s Word and worship even if the air conditioner went out?

Would we come out to hear God’s Word and worship even if our padded pews were gone?

Even if we didn’t have anything to sit on, would we still come out?

Are we hungry enough for Jesus, that nothing would stop us from gathering and worshipping, and hearing His Word?

And I really and sincerely want us to consider this because in order for the vision to become a reality, we all need to be that hungry for Jesus.

Because God has big plans and God is on the move and it is like a snowball rolling down a hill.

It may start out small but by the time it gets to the bottom of the hill, it may just turn into an avalanche.

And it will wreck every obstacle that the devil puts in its path.

And I want in, how about the rest of you?

Well, buckle up because here we go!

Mark 4, starting in verse 35 . . .

Scripture Focus

Mark 4:35–41 NIV84

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 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?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

The Set Up

Now, like I said, Jesus and the disciples had been out here all day, preaching and teaching to this absolutely huge crowd.

It was hot, it was muggy, no shade to be found anywhere.

Who knows if they even had any food or water while they were out there—the Bible never says.

But the point is, it was a long and exhausting day.

So, when the evening came about and things began to finally die down a little, Jesus tells His disciples that they will just sail over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee to get ready for the next day.

And that sailing over to the other side at night wasn’t that big a deal, people did it all the time.

But it was still somewhat risky.

And the reason it was risky was because the Sea of Galilee was really a big lake—like a bigger version of Cedar Creek.

And it also was not very deep either.

And the way it was positioned it was known for violent storms coming up really quickly catching people off guard.

During the daytime you could see the storm coming but at night they would come up and take you by surprise.

Which is a message in itself.

Because you know the storms in our lives, during the daytime—when we are walking in the light, many times we can discern that a storm is coming.

And when we can discern that a storm is coming we can make preparations.

We can baton down the hatches, pull in the sails, anchor ourselves to the rock.

So that when that storm inevitably comes we can hunker down, hold on to that rock, and weather that storm.

However, when storm comes at night—at times when we are not where we need to be, then we are caught totally off guard and we are left tossing around in the sea.

And if something doesn’t happen—If we can’t cry out to Jesus and He rescue us, then we may just drown in that storm.

And one of the great lies people have been told is that when you have Jesus there will be no more storms.

That is absolutely NOT true.

Listen, the storms are going to come, regardless of where you are in your relationship with Jesus Christ.

It is coming—that’s a fact.

But what is also a fact is Jesus is our anchor.

Jesus is our rock.

Jesus is who rescues us from the storm.

Jesus is who is right there with us in the midst of that storm.

That’s why that song you all sing says, hold on to Jesus.

We had better be holding on to Jesus because things will get rough.

And if we are not holding on to Jesus we are going to drown.

But anyway, they are all just slap wore out and Jesus say’s lets go to the other side, get some rest and start over in the morning.

So they take out in the boat.

That’s verses 35-36.

The Storm

Then in verse 37 we run into a little bit of trouble. The Bible says . . .

Mark 4:37 NIV84

A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.

So, a storm broke out while they were out in the middle of Sea.

Surrounded by complete darkness—remember they didn’t have lights like we do today on boats.

All they might have had were a few lanterns but that was it.

And this thing about the boat also, this wasn’t a huge ship either.

It was a fishing boat, probably a size in between one of the big pontoons and The Minnow from Gilligan’s Island, and y’all know what happened to The Minnow!

So here they are out there in the middle of the night, can’t see a thing and this huge storm comes up and starts shaking the boat back and forth.

The rain is coming down in sheets, the wind is blowing so hard they can hardly even talk to one another.

The waves crashing so hard that they think the boat is going to come apart.

Water coming over the from all sides and they start taking on water faster than they can bail it back out.

The boat actually begins to sink down in the water a little and they are absolutely terrified.

They feel helpless and hopeless.

Isolated and all alone.

Panicked and not knowing what to do because they have tried everything they know to fix it on their own.

Because, hey these guys are seasoned fisherman.

They have been out in the boat before.

They have been out in the boat before when a storm has come up.

They know what to do.

They should be able to handle this just fine—right?

And that’s the problem because that is precisely how it feels and what happens when the storms come in our lives isn’t it?

When the storms come, man we get on it.

We get the buckets and start bailing as fast as we can.

We begin to hold on to the sides of the boat just as hard as we can.

We reel in the sails.

We may even try to drop anchor somewhere.

Doing everything we have been trained to do and everything we know to do to try and fix this thing.

And then we start wonder, where is Jesus?

Where is God during all of this?

Why am I going through this?

Why is this happening to me?

Hey—isn’t that how we act?

Jesus Is Right There

So, where is Jesus?

Why isn’t he out there fighting against this storm with them?

Why isn’t he out there bailing the water out of the boat?

Why isn’t he out there pulling in the sails and trying to drop the anchor?

Where’s he at??

In verse 38 . . .

Mark 4:38 NIV84

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?”

Jesus was in the back of the boat asleep!

And right off we think, that’s crazy—that’s nuts.

Why is Jesus laying there asleep when all of this trouble is going on.

What is he doing.

And when we get real with each other, when this storm is raging all around us in our lives, we ask—where is Jesus?

Hey, we could be all religious and uppity and give some scripted answer that sounds good but ain’t nothing but a lie.

But let’s just keep it real—we want to know where Jesus is when the storm comes?

We want to know where Jesus is when the doctor tells us we have cancer?

We want to know where Jesus is when we are heartbroken because our family is falling apart?

We want to know where Jesus is when our heart is ripped out because the people we love the most die?

We want to know because we feel like these disciples, abandoned, alone, and ready to drown.

And hear what I am about to tell you---Jesus is right there.

Jesus has always been right there, and Jesus WILL always be right there.

He’s not went anywhere.

And the Scripture says that Jesus was sleeping, but let me tell you He was sleeping because He was at peace, He was at rest.

But He knew the whole time exactly what was going on—exactly what they were facing—exactly what they were going through.

And he wasn’t worried about the storm, because He had already conquered the storm.

He had already taken authority over absolutely everything in nature.

And that storm had no chance against Him or His Disciples so long as they staying with Him.

And I’m going to tell that in your storm you may be going through right now, the same thing is true.

You may feel like you are drowning.

You may feel like you are all alone.

You may feel like you have nothing left—but Jesus is there.

He has always been there and He WILL always be there.

But the question is, will you remain with Him?

Will you go the distance with Him?

Because when the time is right . . .

Mark 4:39 NIV84

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

The Message says that “the sea became smooth as glass.”

Complete calm and complete control over the storm.

All it took was the voice of Jesus commanding it to end.

And not only did the rain stop.

Not only did the wind die down.

But the sea itself became as smooth as glass.

Not a wave or even a ripple left to be seen.

That my friends is the power that God has over every single storm that we face.

When God calms a storm—God calms the storm.

There is peace and there is rest.

And sometimes we may have to ride out that storm for a while.

And the reasons why are as vast as this universe.

I cannot answer why you have to endure the storms you have to endure, no more than you can answer why I have to endure the storms that I have to endure.

I do know that the Bible says that weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning!

And that joy comes when Jesus calms the storm.

That joy comes when we realize that God has always been right there.

That joy comes when the sweet embrace of the Holy Spirit lifts us up and we are wrapped in the warm arms of God.

that joy comes when we come to the realization that we CAN do all things through Christ who strengthens us—INCLUDING overcoming any storm that we may face in this.

Folks, that is the power of God evident in our lives.

That is the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit who we all so desperately need.

Folks, the Holy Ghost ain’t all about shouting and running the isles.

The Holy Ghost is our essential connection and tie to God for all things.

The Holy Ghost is how we endure.

But yet, we still don’t invite Him in.

We still don’t release everything to Him.

We hold on to things.

Or we release it and pick it right back up.

That is NOT what God wants for us.

Not at all.

He wants us to be free.

Free from the bondage of sin, but also free from the bondage of SELF.

But we have to want that too.

Which I believe is why Jesus rebuked them and asked . . .

Mark 4:40 NIV84

He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

And I don’t mean this to sound harsh, because it applies to me as well.

But, why are we so afraid when we are in the midst of our storms?

Is our faith so dependent on just good times and good outcomes that when our faith is really tested, we fail, every single time?

That is what Jesus is asking them here?

Listen it’s easy to have faith and be joyous, happy, shouting, and signing when everything is going good.

But can we still trust God when things aren’t going so good?

When we get that bad diagnosis?

When our loved ones journey here comes to an end?

Can we hold on to Jesus then?

Can we praise Him anyway?

Can we serve Him anyway?

Can we love Him anyway?

Because that is faith—not in all the temporal things of this world—but the eternal things of Jesus Christ.

Altar/Challenge

*Maybe ask for anointing or special prayer for anyone, while others praying at the altar.