This transcript is provided to make the message easier to revisit. Minor transcription errors may remain.
Welcome to God's Word for You, a ministry of Sharon R.P. Church in Morning Sun, Iowa. Check us out online at www.sharonrpc.org. We pray that this message will be a blessing to you and that the Lord will use it to transform your faith and your life. Will you please open in your Bibles with me to Mark chapter 4 and we'll begin at verse 35. Mark chapter 4 beginning at verse 35. If you're using your New King James Pew Bibles you'll be able to find that on page 886. Mark chapter 4. Beginning at verse 35, brothers and sisters, this is the perfect and fallible rule for faith in life.
On the same day when evening had come, he said to them, let us cross over to the other side. Now when they had left the multitude, they took him along in the boat as he was, and other little boats were also with him. And a great windstorm arose and the waves beat into the boat so that it was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke him and said to him, teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? Then he arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, peace, be still. And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.
Prayer for Illumination
But he said to them, Why are you so fearful? And how is it that you have no faith? And they feared exceedingly and said to one another, who can this be that even the wind and the seas obey him? Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for your word. And we pray, Father, that you would teach us, give us faith, May your Holy Spirit be working in us, in Jesus' name. Amen.
Sermon
In 2006, I was on the USS Enterprise, and as I was on this massive aircraft carrier, 1,123 feet long from bow to stern, we were going along the coast of India, and as we were going around the coast of India, there was a hurricane or a typhoon that swelled up, and there were 50-foot waves. And I remember as I was on this gigantic ship that normally towered above everything around it, going up to the bridge, and as I stood there on the bridge, the nose of the ship was going into waves.
And the waves were so large and the storm was so bad that the captain came over the 1MC, the microphone system, and told us, shipmates, button down the hatches. Tie down the planes. No one goes outside. We must keep the ship safe. And as we went through that storm, we were sailing through the storm under power. As we were going, all of a sudden the alarms started going off. Flooding, flooding, flooding. Flooding in the folks hole.
This is where the anchors go out of the ship and the chains go into the ship. And as we were running there, as the damage control men were running to the front of the ship, we walked into this gigantic space, about the size of this room. And every time the ship was going into the waves, water would fly into the folks hole, it was way steep. The problem is, if water got into the anchor, or the chain lockers, the ship would go front heavy, and we could sink. And I remember being in the folks hole, desperate trying to get the water out, and every time we went into the waves, water would crash into the ship, and crash into the ship, and crash into the ship.
Jesus has finished teaching on the shore. And as he's standing there, he says, we're going to go to the other side. And they get on this little ship, not longer than 27 feet long. And as they get on this ship, Jesus, most likely exhausted from teaching all day, goes to the stern of the ship where there's a little platform in there. There's a pillow. And exhausted, he lays down his head. And as he is there in the stern of the ship with his head on a pillow, completely trusting that the Lord is going to care for them, the fishermen around him, their faces turned gray.
Because these men who had made their living on the Sea of Galilee, a great storm had come. A mega storm, a mega wind had come. And the waves were higher than they were used to, and the boat is getting swamped, and the water is coming into the boat, and into the boat, and into the boat, and they become extremely concerned.
And they go to Jesus, and they wake Him up, and notice what they say, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? Where these disciples are is they've seen Jesus heal a leper. As they've heard wonderful things come out of his mouth, now they're sitting there and the reality of life is pressing in on them.
Their life is on the line. The ship is taking on water. Don't you care about us, Jesus? What are you doing? I wonder what they were thinking he would do. Jesus arose. He rebukes the wind and the sea. He says, peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. There had been a mega wind, a mega storm, and the second Jesus speaks the command out of his mouth, silence. I wonder if you could hear the seagulls again. I wonder if the sun poked through the clouds.
What is the response? Jesus asked them, why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? And in verse 41, and they feared exceedingly and said to one another, who can this be that even the wind and the seas obey him? I don't know what the disciples were expecting when they said, teacher, don't you see that we're perishing? Why don't you care about us?
But what they did not expect was what he did. Jesus stands up and he does something that only God himself could do. You go read Psalm 67, Psalm 89, or Psalm 107. And the Jews sang it time and time and time again in their families and in the synagogues. It was God who stilled the wind and stopped the sea. Jesus doesn't have to conjure up some miracle. Jesus doesn't have to say some incantation. Jesus doesn't...
It's almost remarkable. What does He do? He speaks. And creation listens. He speaks, and his word is more powerful than the wind that made them fear for their lives. And it makes them afraid. They were really afraid of the storm, but now they're exceedingly terrified as they realize the man in the boat they had way underestimated. This was not any mere man, but this was God himself in the flesh.
This was Jesus who Colossians chapter 1, I normally don't do this, but I'm going to encourage you to get out of the gospel and go with me to Colossians chapter 1. Colossians chapter 1, and I want to read to you how the Holy Spirit teaches us about Jesus in Colossians chapter 1. Colossians chapter one, beginning at verse 15. Speaking about Jesus here, he is the image of the invisible God. The word there for image is icon.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, for by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created through Him and for Him. Don't get this confused here, the Him is speaking about Jesus. And Jesus, verse 17, and He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself. by him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of his cross." Jesus was no mere man. The people at this time had a problem with this. If you go read the first few chapters of the book of John, people scratch their head and they say, how does he say he's from above? Don't we have his family near us? Don't we know his mother? Don't we know his father? Don't we know his brothers? But here, as people have been underestimating Jesus time and time again, the disciples go out and they're on this boat. The creator of the universe who spoke all things into existence speaks. An inanimate creation obeys Him.
You might think, well, this isn't that big of a deal, Brian. Maybe you're just like making this a big deal. Okay, well, I'll tell you what. I want you to go outside and I want you to tell it to rain. I'll wait. Let me know how it goes. Maybe say, well, maybe just rain. We'll tell you what. There's always the winds of Sharon. Go talk to Miss Virginia. She's wanted to make a song of it for decades. I'd like for you to go outside the next time it's really windy, as it seems like a gale's coming across the cornfields. And I want you to go outside, and I want you to tell the wind, stop. If it happens, please make sure I'm there. If you're going to try this, I'm asking you, please make sure I can see it because I want to fall down in exceeding fear also.
It's Christ who has dominion even over the creation because He made it. This is what the Jews didn't understand when they were talking about Abraham and they said, are you greater than our father Abraham? And he said, I don't think you guys get it. Before Abraham was, I am. This is why John chapter one says that he is the incarnate word.
In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. Jesus is no mere man, but Jesus is creator. Jesus is the one we put our faith in in Hebrews chapter 11 verse 3. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God so that the things which are seen were not made of the things which are visible. It was Jesus we have faith in who created all things by the word of his power. Jesus is the sovereign one.
He commands creation. He's the one who brings the storehouses of snow. He's the one who keeps the covenant in the book of Genesis that there will be seed time and harvest time. He's the one who keeps the covenant promise of the rainbow that he'll never again destroy all mankind for our sins.
It's Jesus Christ who is the sovereign one This is a critical point in the Gospel of Mark. That we understand that He's not just a great teacher of parables, but that He is God in the flesh. That Jesus is Lord. That Jesus truly is the Holy One of God. That Jesus is the Son of God. That Jesus standing before them is the Lord of Glory.
And what is the only right heart attitude of someone who stands before the Lord of Glory? to tremble in fear. Have you ever read through the Bible before? When God appears to people, they fear. They fear. They fear. We've got this difficulty in our Christian faith, don't we?
There's so many people who love Jesus and they love Jesus so much because He offers salvation. There's people who love Jesus so much because He's so full of grace and He teaches all these beautiful parables that seem to shed so much light on life. But it's not until we come face to face with the whole Jesus who is, yes, Savior, but is also Lord, of creation and of our souls that we come face to face with the true Lord Jesus Christ. And it is this Jesus who is not just sovereign over the material things as Colossians teaches us, but he is also Lord over the immaterial. This is why he is able to take out a man's heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.
I need to ask you this morning. I need to ask you this morning to be serious in your hearts. If Jesus asks you this question in verse 40, why are you so fearful? Why are you so fearful of the things of this world? Why are you so fearful of the storms that might come up? Why are you so fearful about the wind and the waves? Why are you so fearful if the one who created you holds you in his sovereign hand? I also have to ask you, how is it that you have no faith?
They've seen, the disciples have seen Jesus They've walked with him, they've seen the miracles. They've heard the teaching. He's explained to them the mystery of the parables that nobody else was given. And yet what do they not yet trust? That Jesus is sovereign over their entire life, body and soul. That the King of the kingdom of heaven has come. and that nothing happens outside of His dominion.
Some of us find ourselves in this place, don't we? It's really easy to believe in the goodness of Jesus and His protection when things are going well. Don't you know that in your own life? When things are going well, it's like, man, this Christianity stuff ain't too bad.
I know some of you have gone through some of the deepest bouts of depression. Some of you have been in the deepest depths of despair, where it seems like the providence of the Lord is just hard upon you time and time again. Some of you have seen people die in front of your eyes. Even people you love. Some of you have seen injustice. And it causes you even at times to be like John the Baptist. Are you truly the one or should we wait for another? And yet I want to encourage you.
Jesus doesn't abandon his disciples here. Just like when John had hardships in his life. Remember what Jesus said about John, even after he had asked when he was in prison, are you the one or should we wait for another? What does Jesus respond when he's telling his disciples about him?
There's no one greater than John the Baptist. I call you today, even as you wrestle with who Christ is. I call you this morning to faith, to trust in the one who can stop the storms. I call you to faith this morning to believe in the one, if he is sovereign enough to stop the wind in its tracks, can he not also save your soul? Will He not also provide for you and watch over your entire life? Is He your Lord? Do you reverence Him? Do you walk before Him?
The world didn't get this. The world did not understand this most of Jesus's earthly life. Read the Gospels, it's only glimmers when people understand this. As we celebrate the Lord's Supper today, it's at that point that Jesus displayed that He truly was Lord of glory. As He hung on that cross, and as the Roman centurion who had been there for the execution said, surely this man was the Son of God. And as the thief stood on the other side of Him, and realized that this was a just man being punished for his sins, and he realizes something, has a moment of clarity, and says, remember me in your kingdom, and he says, today, you will be with me in paradise.
Do you trust that Jesus actually has a kingdom of paradise? Do you have faith? Do you reverence him? Do you believe that He rose again from the dead? And that He has ascended up into heaven? Do you believe that Jesus has prepared a place for you? A place in His Father's house? Do you believe that Jesus is Lord? Do you believe that He's Savior? Do you believe that He is God in the flesh? As we come to the Lord's table, that's what we're proclaiming.
I'm going to explain that more in a moment, but I'd like for you to turn in your Psalters and we're going to sing Psalm 24, Selection C. Please stand if you're able and we're going to sing Psalm 24, Selection C. Thanks for listening to this week's message from God's Word for You, a ministry of Sharon R.P. Church in rural southeast Iowa.
We pray that the message would be used by God to transform your faith in your life this week. If you'd like to get more information about us, feel free to go to the website, SharonRPC.org. We'd love to invite you to worship with us. Our worship time is 10 a.m. every Sunday at 25204 160th Avenue, Morning Sun, Iowa, 52640. May God richly bless you this week.