Faith in the Midst of the Storm

[0:00] You're listening to the online sermon podcast ministry of the First Baptist Church of Jackson, Kentucky. Hi, my name is Jonathan Clemens and I'm the pastor of the First Baptist Church.

[0:12] We've put this sermon archive together and we pray that it will be a blessing to the saints and edifying to those who follow the Lord Jesus Christ, as well as that it would be a light to those in our community who have questions about the gospel.

[0:24] One of the wonderful benefits of the internet is that it can give us so much access to good quality Bible teaching materials.

[0:35] But I want to encourage you not to use the internet as a crutch or a substitute for obedience to Jesus. It's so important that each and every one of you are trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ for your salvation and growing in spiritual maturity and in fruitfulness before the Lord.

[0:53] And that requires obedience to His command to assemble and be a part of a local congregation. God calls each of us to go to church, but not just go to church, be a part of a church.

[1:05] And I want to encourage you, if you're not a member of a church, to find that biblical church. One that preaches and teaches the Lord Jesus Christ and one that will embrace you as an important part of the congregation.

[1:18] And be active and involved. You can never use online materials to substitute obedience. Well, our sermon will follow shortly.

[1:29] I pray that this ministry will be a blessing to you. And we would love to hear from you. Feel free to reach out to us over our Facebook page. You can contact us on our church website.

[1:40] And of course, you're always welcome to join us on a Sunday morning. You'll find us at 1105 Main Street in Jackson, Kentucky. That's at the corner of Main Street and Broadway down by the police station and City Hall.

[1:54] We gather at 1045 in the morning and we would love to see you. Have a wonderful day. God bless. God bless. God bless.

[2:15] So we'll be looking at Mark chapter 4, faith in the storm.

[2:28] Now this is a very popular passage of Scripture. We'll look at verse 35 to the end. And we're all familiar with it. We've all heard this more than likely at some point.

[2:38] At a VBS or a Sunday school or in a sermon. And it's the story where Jesus loads up into the boat with his disciples. And they're beginning to cross the Sea of Galilee.

[2:50] And a ferocious storm comes upon the Sea of Galilee. And it threatens not only the ship that Jesus is in. But all the other little fishing vessels out on the sea.

[3:01] And while this storm is raging, what is Jesus doing? He's sleeping in the back of the boat. While the disciples are in a panic.

[3:12] And of course, by the end of the story we see that Jesus calms the storm. And corrects his disciples for their lack of faith. In this story we see that fear, based on our circumstances especially, Fear supplants faith.

[3:32] When we're given over to fear, it erodes our faith. And we'll see that the Lord will use fearful circumstances to correct us and strengthen our faith.

[3:43] That's what we'll see today in this passage of Scripture. Fear is a present reality in our culture. I got a message on my phone probably 15 minutes ago.

[3:57] A news agency was so kind as to send an alert out to warn me that RSV was now ravaging our communities. It's out and it's on the loose. And of course, I'm familiar with RSV because Levi had it.

[4:12] And we were not scared when he had it as a baby. And things went just fine. And it comes and goes from time to time. And people catch it and struggle with it. But the news wanted to inform me that I needed to click that link.

[4:25] And they're going to make a little money off the advertisers. But it's a service to me. They'll assure us. And hear the fearful story about this new virus none of us have heard of. RSV that is ravaging our communities.

[4:38] You see, we live in a society where fear has become normal. It's normal to see our media putting forward scary headlines. It's normal for our leaders to appeal to fear to get us to do what they want.

[4:54] Whether that's vote for them or dress a certain way or whatever they want. They appeal to fear. That's the society that we live in. It's a big deal.

[5:05] It is often the political realm that tries to force the fear upon the people. Perhaps the biggest offender with their allies, the media. And it's no one group of people doing it.

[5:15] You see it on the left, which is fear over the virus and we must comply. And you see it on the right, where it's fear over a political situation. And we better vote the right way or we're going to be in trouble.

[5:27] But either way, fear is being capitalized upon. And we looked a little bit at this a few weeks ago. Where we looked at the fear of the Lord. But particularly today, we're going to look at how fear destroys faith.

[5:42] How fear erodes faith. And we're not called to live a fearful lifestyle as Christians. Now what exactly is fear?

[5:53] Well, there's different ways of looking at fear. We're not going to really focus on the natural phenomenon of fear. And what I mean by that, there's that fight or flight reflex.

[6:07] That's not specifically what we're talking about. We're going to be talking about spiritual fear. Physical fear is what you experience when you're driving down the road. And a deer jumps out in front of you. And all of a sudden, some adrenaline starts coursing through you.

[6:21] And you have a split second decision. Can you swerve into the other lane or you just mow it down? A split second decision. Fight or flight. Many lives have been saved.

[6:32] Many children have been saved by this reaction from their parents. In that split second, children have been saved from certain doom. It happens all the time.

[6:44] This is, we describe it as fear. It is a physical reaction. It saved King David on the battlefield, humanly speaking. It saved many lives. And it's a physical response.

[6:56] You hear stories about people being able to lift things beyond their natural weight. I heard a story of this massive log falling on a man. And his two buddies picked it up and lifted it straight up off of him. Saved his life.

[7:08] But they came back amazed that they could lift that log without the loader. And they couldn't lift it again. What was that? That was the adrenaline. That was that natural fight or flight.

[7:19] You see, what we're talking about is spiritual fear. It's spiritual fear that people have. It's the fear that those fall under that tend to gnaw on it.

[7:32] They tend to worry about it. We saw several weeks ago that we are called by God to fear God. We're not to fear man. We're not to fear our circumstances. We're to fear God.

[7:43] We saw that fear was a natural human emotion that we were made to feel. Adam in the garden of Eden received a fearful command, didn't he?

[7:55] If Adam were to partake of a certain tree of knowledge of good and evil, what would happen? He would surely die. And the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, as Scripture says.

[8:09] We know that Adam rejected the fear of the Lord. He rejected wisdom. He foolishly listened to Satan and partook of that tree, didn't he? We're called to fear God.

[8:20] But there's something that the Scripture refers to as the spirit of fear. And the Scripture warns us not to be given over to the spirit of fear. 2 Timothy 1.7 God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind.

[8:38] You see, as Christians, we're not to live under what the Scripture calls a spirit of fear. You say, what exactly is the spirit of fear? It is that cloud of fear that comes from not trusting God.

[8:50] It's that cloud of fear that actually comes from misplaced trust. There are people who will trust, for example, in the economy to provide for them.

[9:02] They don't trust in the Lord. They trust in the economy. So when times are booming and they're going well, guess who feels good? That person. And when times get hard or difficult, guess who feels awful?

[9:12] They're going well, that person. They've put their hope not in the Lord, but in the economy. And they've bought into a spirit of fear. The spirit of fear has to do with people fearing circumstances.

[9:25] Fearing weather. Fearing sickness. Fearing supply shortages. Whatever. They're fearful based on their circumstances. And they fall under the spirit of fear, which robs them of the power of faith.

[9:39] It robs them of soundness of mind. But it's not just circumstances people can become fearful about, is it? It's what other people think. It's called the fear of man.

[9:50] The fear of what your neighbor thinks. And this is often a stumbling block for many Christians, because we ultimately care more about what other people think than what God thinks. For if we cared about what God thought, we would go ahead and share the gospel with our neighbor, even if they didn't like us.

[10:08] If we cared about what God thought, we would do what He said. Oftentimes we're more fearful about what our neighbors think. And are given over to a spirit of fear.

[10:20] God has not given us a spirit of fear. He's given us peace and power. He's given us a sound mind. And those things flow out of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

[10:31] If you truly believe who Jesus is, you'll have the strength that comes from that. But if you doubt, if you look at your circumstances around you, if you succumb and choose instead of fearing the Lord to fear something else, and you're given to the spirit of fear, you will falter.

[10:49] You will be a miserable person. You will not know the joy of the Lord. You will not know the peace that passes all understanding. Those are gifts of faith. You'll know instability, unsoundness of mind.

[11:05] Your judgment and discernment will be darkened. And you'll incline your ear to the forces of fear in the world. God has not given His children a spirit of fear. But there is a certain group of people that God has given over to a spirit of fear.

[11:20] And the Scripture is clear about that. No, they're not His children, but it's the world and it's the world under judgment. Proverbs 28.1 says this, The wicked flee when no man pursueth.

[11:33] The wicked flee when no man pursueth. But the righteous are as bold as a lion. The mere thought of something fearful.

[11:46] The mere thought of not having the economy they want. The mere thought of sickness. The mere thought of not having the nation they want. Cause the wicked to tailspin into a nightmarish fear.

[12:00] But the righteous are as bold as a lion. Leviticus 26.1 A people under judgment. 26.17 And I will set my face against you.

[12:15] That's God speaking. What a terrifying idea. God says, And I will set my face against you. And ye shall be slain before your enemies. So the nation was going to lose its divine protection.

[12:28] And would be defeated in battle. And he goes on to describe the judgments they will experience. They that hate you shall reign over you. They that hate you shall reign over you.

[12:43] And ye shall flee when no one pursueth you. Does this sound like any relevant things happening today in our world? Have we been given over to defeat on the field of battle?

[12:57] Are there those that hate this country ruling over this country? Are people given over to an irrational spirit of fear? So that they will flee when no one will pursue them?

[13:10] Absolutely. He goes on to say in Leviticus 26.37 And upon them that are left alive of you, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies.

[13:24] And the sound of a shaking leaf shall chase them. And they shall flee as fleeing from a sword. And they shall fall when none pursue. And they shall fall one upon another as it were before a sword when none pursueth.

[13:39] And ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies. Those under the judgment of God are not bold. They are not courageous. That is the characteristic of the righteous.

[13:51] No, those under the judgment of God, the wicked, are cowardly. They are powerless. They cannot stand before their enemies. They cannot stand up for what they believe in. And they are so terrified of the bad things that might possibly happen that haven't happened that they will destroy themselves, their heritage, and their legacy just to try and protect themselves from that which doesn't even exist.

[14:15] It's judgment upon the wicked. The spirit of fear. So for Christians, to choose to walk according to the world, not just in outward conduct, but when you do that, you fall under that spirit of fear, don't you?

[14:30] For Christians, to choose to willfully live under the spirit of fear is to choose to live as those under divine judgment from God. Of course, Scripture promises that the Lord will discipline those that are His.

[14:44] We see that the disciples were disciplined by Jesus for their fear and their lack of faith, and their faith was restored in the end. But those who willfully can set their face against the truth of God and willfully choose to stubbornly live in fear, they are demonstrating absolute unbelief in who God is and what God has promised.

[15:07] You see, something has happened during the last year, year and a half, and it's that there's been a revealing of what lies beneath in the church in our nation. There were fissures and cracks there before, but we're seeing very clearly where people stand.

[15:23] And something of the many things that have been revealed, both good and bad, something that has been revealed in many churches is an attitude of outright cowardice.

[15:34] It is an attitude of outright fear. It is a stubborn refusal to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and rather to heed the spirit of fear.

[15:45] Rather to heed the voices of fear in our culture. Now I want to make a careful distinction. A coward is not just a person who struggles with fear.

[15:57] There's something out there that concerns us enough, on an individual level, and it's different for each of us, that we might be fearful. That we might struggle with fear.

[16:09] And the Scripture would say that we're to take every thought captive and bring it before the Lord. To struggle with fear, and especially to overcome fear, does not mean one has fallen into the sin of cowardice.

[16:21] But a coward is someone who willfully gives themselves over to fear. And what's commonly demonstrated in the life of a coward, is they not only choose to live in fear, is that often times they fight against those who choose not to live in fear.

[16:40] The coward will fight against those who live boldly. The coward will fight against those who live by faith. The coward will be the first person to tell the faithful to fall behind.

[16:52] To fall in line. That is what demonstrates a coward. You see, the coward, in the face of the enemy, rather than fight the enemy, will turn and fight their own friends.

[17:05] This was a common problem in the ancient world, when you had lines of soldiers. The inexperienced soldiers were typically put up front. They were typically younger, could handle the battle.

[17:16] Maybe win by their strength. The veterans were put at the back. Less energy. Maybe they could win by their wisdom. But what would happen is those inexperienced soldiers, when they saw the enemy, and their hearts were so filled with fear, rather than fighting the enemy, often times they would turn and hack down their own brothers in arms, just to escape.

[17:40] This is why in World War I, and other wars, there was a stiff penalty for cowardice. And that was that your commanding officer would shoot you dead, if you were a coward on the battlefield. Cowards are more dangerous to the good guys than the bad guys are.

[17:54] The enemy within is more dangerous than the enemy without. And the coward will fight against the good that tries to come alongside and help them.

[18:06] Scripture is clear, Revelation 21.8, But the fearful and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake, which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

[18:25] The fearful. Those given over to fear. The fearful and unbelieving. What is their destiny? Where will they end up? In the lake of fire. Many translations go and look at that Greek word, and say fearful is better translated coward.

[18:42] We all face fear. We're all called to overcome fear. It is the coward that will have their part in the lake of fire. As Christians, it is serious that we walk by faith.

[18:55] Because when we choose to listen to the voices outside of the church, when we choose to listen to the voices of our culture, peddling fear in order to gain control, we don't just stand to lose those things like everyone else does.

[19:11] Wealth, or a sense of security, or personal freedom. When we cave to the pressure to live in fear, friends, it erodes our very faith that we have in God.

[19:24] And there are eternal consequences for walking according to the flesh, and not living by faith. Now those who are of Christ will ultimately be disciplined by the Lord.

[19:35] The loving Father will not let us stray. He will discipline us and He will correct us, just as He did His disciples in this boat. Yet for those who can plunge headlong into cowardice, who can live in fear, and fight against those who try to live by faith, those folks have a fiery demise.

[19:57] This is serious. Fear is not something to be winked at. Fear is a sin. Fear is a sin that erodes faith.

[20:09] So we will look today at this passage of Scripture, and we will see that those living by the Spirit of fear, that they lack faith in God. That's how Jesus diagnoses the situation with His disciples, in the face of a very real disaster.

[20:23] We're going to see that God uses this terrifying scenario, these difficult circumstances to reveal what? A weakness of faith, a proneness to fear.

[20:34] That's what He does. Oftentimes we go through that valley of the shadow of death, so that we learn to walk with Him beside of us. And that's exactly what Jesus did here. And then at the end of the passage, we're going to see the disciples' faith restored, and instead of fearing circumstances, a fear of the Lord will take that place by the end of the passage.

[20:56] So please look with me at Mark chapter 4, and we'll start in verse 35. And the same day, when even was come, He came unto them, Let us pass over to the other side.

[21:13] And when they had sent away the multitude, they took Him, even as He was in the ship. And there were also with Him other little ships. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.

[21:31] And He was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow. And they awake Him, and say unto Him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still.

[21:47] And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And He said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?

[21:59] And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even with the wind and the sea, obey Him?

[22:11] This is the word of the Lord. Again, this is a very well-known passage of Scripture.

[22:22] We see it's evening time, and Jesus is getting into the boat. And of course, there are three witnesses that record this account. Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

[22:35] Matthew was the only Gospel author who was personally present when this happened. Mark was Peter's associate. And when you read this account, for example, you see that Mark, out of the other two Gospel authors, includes more details on how a boat works.

[22:52] The numbers of ships, the type of equipment that was used, things like that. And it's likely because the primary witness he talked to was who? The Apostle Peter, who he ministered with.

[23:05] Luke, who traveled with the Apostle Paul, traveled and met many saints. And he recorded their stories and the testimonies they gave of Jesus. And of course, Matthew was there personally for all of it when he recorded his account of Jesus' ministry.

[23:22] As we look at this, we see great agreement. It was evening. It was time to leave. It was time to get in the boat and travel across the sea. This had been a full day of ministry.

[23:33] If you look back in verse 1, it says, And he began again to teach by the seaside. And there was gathered a multitude. And he entered into a ship and sat in the sea.

[23:45] And the whole multitude was by the sea on the land. So Jesus, starting early in the morning, he gathers his crowd together, has them stand on the shore. It's likely a slope.

[23:56] And he stands out in a boat, in the middle of the water, preaching to these people standing on the shore. It was almost like a theater type setup as they would have sat in a semicircle.

[24:07] And Jesus spoke to them from the shore. They would hear him speaking better that way. And of course, if you've ever spent a day out on a boat, I remember growing up, we lived near Dale Hollow Lake.

[24:18] And we would go out in these flat bottom little river boats on the lake. And there was no roof on them. And you were in the sun. And it's quite exhausting to spend a day sitting in the sun.

[24:30] Even though you're surrounded by so much cool, refreshing water. And Jesus starts off early preaching and teaching these people from a boat who are standing on the shore. And then by verse 10, he takes his disciples off into a house.

[24:44] And they have a private meeting. And he teaches them in depth more about the parables. He gives them a chance to ask their questions. To question the master. To learn. And he teaches and explains these things to them.

[24:56] And then it's now finally the evening. The sun is going down after a long, difficult day of ministry. And Jesus gets into the boat with his disciples.

[25:08] Now, Mark and Luke note that he gives a verbal directive. He instructs them. Again, this is what Jesus does. He does a lot of instructing, doesn't he? And he instructs the disciples that they are going to cross over.

[25:21] And Matthew, he says something interesting though. Instead of noting a verbal instruction, he just says this. And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. You say, well, what does it look like to follow Jesus?

[25:35] This is a little bit of a side note. It looks like to follow Jesus, you follow his instructions. Matthew followed Jesus into the boat like a dutiful disciple, heeding his instructions.

[25:47] So they load up into the boat. And it's time to cross the water. Now, Mark notes that there were other little ships there with him.

[25:58] It wasn't just Jesus' boat on the lake when this storm hit. When Jesus would preach and teach, people would come out from miles around from the towns and villages. Most would walk in.

[26:10] Some, of course, you can imagine, might want to bring an animal to ride. And they would gather and they would hear him preach and teach. And in the evening, they would go home. Well, there was another group.

[26:20] Perhaps they lived across the lake. Or perhaps they just fancied the mode of transportation is more efficient. They used boats to follow Jesus on the Sea of Galilee. When he had snuck off to go pray and his disciples were alone in the water, they were in boats.

[26:36] After John chapter 6, the other people were in boats kind of looking for Jesus. Where did Jesus go? So wherever Jesus went, crowds would walk out to see him. And when he traveled on the water, a small flotilla would follow him around.

[26:48] As Mark said, the other little boats were there. And evening comes and Jesus dismisses the crowds and those who are perhaps the most devoted of his followers who have little supplied boats follow him wherever he's going to go camping.

[27:05] They're going to go. And Jesus sets out with the little ships. Mark notes simply that they took him as he was in the ship.

[27:20] Jesus, tired, was taken into the ship. He laid down in the back. He goes to sleep. He was taken by his disciples across the water.

[27:32] Can you imagine that responsibility? Perhaps even the pride of those disciples who were fishermen. They weren't like Matthew. They didn't collect taxes.

[27:43] They weren't like the others. But hey, they could drive a boat really well. They knew the water. They probably told them all about the sea as they traveled. And they're going to take Jesus across the water.

[27:56] Imagine that wonderful responsibility. And as they're sailing across, what happens? Well, a storm arises. And it's not a small storm.

[28:10] It's not one of those storms that starts off in the distance and two hours later it's here. It's not one of those storms that starts off with a little sprinkle. It was a fierce storm that fell upon them suddenly.

[28:23] Mark said, and there arose a great storm of wind. He notes the wind. And the waves beat into the ship so that it was now full.

[28:34] He said those waves beat the ship until it was full of water. You can imagine that like sailors throughout all times when water starts to get into your boat, what do you start doing?

[28:46] You start bailing it out. It's what the disciples would have been doing. Nobody wants to just let their boat fill with water and sink. Luke said this, But as they sailed, he fell asleep. And there came a storm of wind on the lake.

[29:03] And they were filled with water and were in jeopardy. Again, the filling of the boat. The suddenness, the fierceness of the storm. It being a windstorm and danger, jeopardy.

[29:13] Matthew says, There rose a great tempest. There was a fury about this storm in so much that the ship was covered with the waves.

[29:25] How low to the water do you suppose that ship was? It was on the pericope of going under. It was so full of water and the disciples couldn't do anything to stop it.

[29:36] They worked and they worked and they worked. And then at some point they just turned and faced Jesus who's still asleep in the back of the boat. It was a ferocious storm. Of course, Mount Hermon nearby is 9,200 feet above sea level.

[29:52] Above sea level. 9,200 feet. And it's cold up that high. And the sea was 680 feet below sea level.

[30:06] You ever hear the saying, Well, I'm going to give you a 10,000 foot overview. That's what airplanes like to fly. That's about the difference between the cold air at the top of the mountain and the warm air on the sea.

[30:19] There were hills and cliffs and valleys and ravines that all kind of channeled down to the sea. And what would happen is that a high pressure pocket of cold air would suddenly rush down 10,000 feet on top of the sea of Galilee.

[30:36] This is a common occurrence even today. And what happens when you have rushing ice cold air on top of a pocket of hot air over water that's been boiling in the sun all day?

[30:47] Well, heat rises. And we're familiar with this phenomenon in our own country. What happens when the heat pushes a little hole through that cold air?

[30:59] It starts spinning. It turns into a tornado. This was a tornadic windstorm on the Sea of Galilee. The sea is known for claiming many lives.

[31:11] It's a fearful place to be. You all might recall the time where Jesus is walking on the water and those disciples likely familiar with the dangers of the sea and familiar with the legends of all the sailors that have died on the sea.

[31:26] Who did they think it was? They didn't think it was Jesus. That wasn't their first guess who was walking on the water. It was a ghost. It was a spirit. They knew full well of the dangers of the water. They grew up on the water.

[31:37] They likely knew families that went out together. The men from the family would go out to fish and they would never come back. And this horrific storm falls upon the lake.

[31:48] It's a 13 mile long lake. And at its greatest width is only a mile and a half wide. It's a wind alley. And as they sailed, Jesus fell asleep.

[32:05] And then there would be this sudden windstorm that would come. Of course, you can imagine how exhausted Jesus was after a day of ministry. I know that when I share a sermon, I certainly don't preach the better part of an entire day like Jesus did.

[32:22] But I come full in one way and empty in another. And after worship, I leave full in one way and empty in the other. And to speak in public and to preach and to do what God had called him to do, it would be an exhausting ministry, especially standing out in the sun doing it.

[32:41] Jesus was tired. We see his humanity on display. And as the boat starts to gently bob, as it leaves the shoreline, Jesus falls asleep. Peter notes he's in the hinder, that is the back of the ship, asleep on a pillow.

[32:56] Now their idea of a pillow is not very comfortable to us today. It was likely some sort of leather wrapped headrest that was built into the ship on the back. And it's interesting too, it's Mark that gives these details about where Jesus was.

[33:11] Because those who are accustomed to being in small boats understand that the most stable place to be in the boat is at the back. That's where there's less waves knocking the boat around.

[33:24] It's the most peaceful, comfortable place in the boat. So I grew up around Dale Hollow Lake, so I knew this. So if you wanted to have fun on the lake, you would sit on the front of the boat and you would bounce around, right?

[33:35] When we were in Alaska, those fellows up there live on an island. Everybody owns a boat. And they wanted to put the new guy on the front, right? They wanted to give me the boating experience. Of course I knew.

[33:46] I just played along. I didn't complain at all. I think they were hoping I would. They eventually felt bad and invited me to sit at the middle of the boat. The best place is where the driver sits in the back. Well, in the ancient world, there's no motor on the back.

[33:58] Jesus is laying back there sleeping. And the storm comes. Now, Jesus has worked hard. He's tired. And there's many great blessings to working hard.

[34:12] And one of them is sleep. And Proverbs 3.21 says this. It sounds very messianic when you read it in its broader context. My son, let not them, those are the commands, depart from thine eyes and keep sound wisdom and discretion.

[34:28] So shall they be life unto thy soul and grace unto thy neck. Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely and thy foot shall not stumble. When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid.

[34:41] Yea, thou shalt lie down and thy sleep shall be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden fear, neither the desolation of the wicked when it cometh.

[34:52] For the Lord shall be thy confidence and shall keep thy foot from being taken. Here is Jesus in perfect faith in the Father. He does not doubt God's love at all.

[35:04] He has worked hard all day being faithful to the Father. He lays down to go to sleep. Not a care in the world. Not a fear at all. Sleeping, resting in full confidence.

[35:16] Resting in perfect faith. Yet in comes this storm.

[35:28] And it was sudden. And it was terrifying. And the disciples would have begun to do whatever sailors do to try and save their ship in the midst of a horrific windstorm.

[35:39] And it's not just their ship that's caught out, is it? It's the other little boats that were following Jesus. The small flotilla is caught out in the windstorm. And not only that, the Sea of Galilee was a busy place.

[35:52] You had barges hauling things like cakes of raisins and almonds and dates and flasks of wine and olive oil up and down there. It was a thoroughfare.

[36:03] You had fishermen who were, hey, happy that those other fishermen got off the lake to go hear Jesus because we're going to go fishing. People still do that today. They like to go fishing on Sunday mornings. But you would have had a bunch of people out on this lake when this horrific windstorm comes down.

[36:19] And it comes suddenly and the disciples begin doing their thing to try and save the boat. And when the boat is overtaken, when the boat is covered in water, when they realize that they can't bail this water out, the waves aren't going to stop, it's that moment where they look around at each other, and Jesus is snoozing in the back of the boat.

[36:48] He's there in the back of the boat. Now, they were very surprised when He stopped the storm, weren't they? They didn't go get Him to stop the storm. They got Him for a different reason.

[37:01] Perhaps each one had a different reason for getting Him. Matthew says in Matthew 8.25, His disciples came to Him and awoke Him saying, Lord, save us, we perish.

[37:11] Jesus, what are we going to do? The boat is sinking. Luke 8.24, And they came to Him and awoke Him saying, Master, we perish. We're going to die. Right?

[37:21] They're going to die. We perish. There's Mark's account. Just such a knowledge of the ship. I think he had to have talked to Peter on this one.

[37:34] Mark 38, He was in the hinder part of the ship asleep on a pillow, and they awaked Him and said unto Him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?

[37:49] Jesus, don't you care that we're about to die? Again, they didn't expect Him to stop the storm. Why wasn't Jesus in the middle of this mess fighting with us to save our lives?

[38:05] Why wasn't Jesus concerned at all about us? He's just going to let us all die. He doesn't even care about Himself. He's just sleeping in the back of the boat.

[38:16] And you can hear the hurt. Sometimes if you talk to fellows working out on the street, you can hear hurt feelings. And sometimes when guys are pouting, it comes out differently.

[38:28] Where's the boss? Oh, he's sitting in his air condition cab right now. There's something else going on there. Where's Jesus?

[38:40] Sleeping in the back of the boat on that cushion. Master, don't you care that we perish? I think that's been the prayer of a lot of people.

[38:53] Questioning. Looking at the world overcome by their fearful circumstances. We're going to die, Jesus. What are you going to do about it? Master, Master, don't you care we perish?

[39:09] I tell you what, I had a time of prayer and then I had a funny realization. You know, it was those times, you know, as American Christians, we have civic responsibilities that far outweigh that of people under a dictatorship.

[39:24] I was just baring my heart. Lord, I have so many responsibilities and I don't know what to do. I don't feel like anything's making a difference. I've called someone. I've written a letter. Nothing's happening.

[39:35] And this just dawned on me. He's king of the universe and he's not even an American citizen. Jesus doesn't even have to worry about it. It's like, that's your problem, buddy.

[39:46] You're the citizen. He can't even vote. Now, he cares a great deal about our country. He's king of the universe after all. But, often times, we get so wrapped up in what's going on.

[40:02] We lose track of reality. Here are disciples in a boat with the Son of God, with the Messiah. They know the prophecies.

[40:13] They know what the Messiah is supposed to do. Obviously, they're not going to die in the boat from a faith perspective. But when they looked at it from the standpoint of their circumstances, that tornadic windstorm on the sea and the filling of the ship overcame them.

[40:37] They had different responses. They were hurt at Jesus. Don't you care? Verse 39. Verse 39. And he arose and rebuked the wind and said unto the sea, Peace be still.

[40:53] And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. Remember how the Scriptures describe this storm? A great tempest and it's replaced with a great calm.

[41:07] Jesus spoke and the storm immediately ended. The wind ceased and there was a great calm and he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful?

[41:20] How is it that ye have no faith? How is it that ye have no faith?

[41:33] You see, Jesus woke up and stopped the storm and rebuked them. But he wasn't worried about the storm. He knew his time.

[41:44] Jesus understood that he would be crucified. Jesus understood God's divine plan for each of these disciples and the role that they would play in Scripture as they fulfilled prophecy.

[41:56] Jesus wasn't worried. that boat was going to make it to the other side. Maybe it would just be an inch from the water line. We don't know what would have happened otherwise.

[42:08] But Jesus wasn't concerned and they should not have been eaten up and so consumed by fear either. They should have had faith. They should have trusted in Jesus.

[42:22] But Jesus stopped the storm and corrected them. The storm was there completely under God's control for the duration that he wanted it to be there and he ended it when he felt like it.

[42:40] And the purpose of the storm was what? To teach the disciples. To show them who Jesus was, his great power and control, but also to reveal their lack of faith and to encourage their growth in Christ.

[43:00] The storm in our country right now could disappear as suddenly as it came. God could get rid of the corrupt leaders like that.

[43:15] It has happened in history. Study Western history. There have been times where corrupt leaders are swept off the scene and they're even replaced by godly evangelical leaders and nations.

[43:28] God can end this storm any time that he wants. Now we have problems in our country and responsibilities, but you know, we're kidding ourselves if we think we can stop this storm.

[43:43] Because it serves a greater purpose. It serves God's purpose. And our problem, if I can speak nationally as Americans, our problem is not with the other half of the country.

[43:55] Our problem is with God. And God calls us to repent. And God calls us to forsake our sins. And God calls us to trust in Him.

[44:11] But that's the last thing you'll ever hear. You have people that will even pridefully say, we've got to get back to God. and repentance has nothing to do with it.

[44:25] Are you going to repent of the 20 years of sexual immorality that you've lived in? Are you going to repent for dishonoring your mother and father?

[44:40] Are you going to repent for still not trusting in Jesus? Jesus? Because the whole patriotic fanfare God is not Jesus.

[44:53] Are you going to trust in Jesus? Or are you going to just continue down this path that's still unrepentant? See, our problem is with God.

[45:04] And the way back to Him is through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. That's the only way back for our country. God forgives. The country might not ever go back that way.

[45:16] But friend, you as an individual can. You can turn to Jesus. You can trust in Him. And God is using these horrific circumstances in the world to teach His church to reveal to us our deficiencies to reveal to us our lack of faith.

[45:38] Our fears reveal what we've really been trusting in. will we live in a spirit of fear or will we walk by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ?

[45:54] A few observations from the text that are relevant to us. First, Jesus was sleeping in the middle of this apparent crisis.

[46:05] One that if the disciples had the same level of faith that He had, wouldn't have been a problem. You say, how does that work out where a boat can be so full of water in such a storm and it's not a problem?

[46:19] And that the prophecies will still be, I don't know. It didn't happen that way. God would know. He knows what He was correcting them for. But it shouldn't have been a problem. They would have made it. Maybe it would have been like Paul and his shipwreck.

[46:31] Not a soul was lost in the entire flotilla. Everybody ended up on the other side just fine. We don't know. But the problem was their lack of faith.

[46:43] Jesus didn't lack faith. Here you have this apparent crisis and He's tired. So what does He do when He's tired? Goes to sleep. That's something probably some of us need to learn.

[46:54] I know I struggle with this sometimes. I just want to keep going, right? Jesus is tired. Why is Jesus tired? He's tired because He was exhausted. He wasn't just a little tired.

[47:04] He was exhausted. You have to be exhausted to sleep through a hurricane. Why was Jesus exhausted? Because He had been busy the whole day. Standing in the sun, preaching and teaching, answering questions, interacting with people, explaining things to disciples as the sinless Son of God.

[47:24] As hard and difficult and as long as a day's work is, remember, Jesus kept a good God-honoring attitude the whole day through. Jesus was exhausted physically, mentally, He was tired, at the end of the day.

[47:38] He needed to rest and be fresh. Peter can sail the boat. Jesus needs to be fresh so when He gets out on the other side, He's ready to serve the Lord. What can we learn?

[47:51] Well, we can learn many things. We can learn about the humanity of Jesus Christ, that He is like us. Of course, Jesus doesn't tire out any longer, does He?

[48:02] He's in His glorified body. He's at the right hand of the Father. He is not going to fall asleep. He can hear all of our prayers. But while He was on earth, He became tired.

[48:14] We see obviously also His great sovereignty, the great power that He has over the weather, that He can control a storm, a great tempest.

[48:27] He can certainly take care of us in whatever troubles might affect us in this life. He was tired, He has great power, but we're also to imitate Christ, aren't we?

[48:40] You see, Jesus didn't have time to sit up and worry with the disciples because He had been so busy serving the Lord, He fell asleep.

[48:52] And I wonder how many times if we were faithful to what God had called us to do, we would be too busy to sit and worry. I wonder how many times if we were faithful to what God called us to do, we would be too tired at the end of the day to just keep scrolling on the death feed on Facebook, right?

[49:13] If we wore ourselves out in faithful Christian service like Jesus did, there would be a whole lot of other things we wouldn't even have time to worry about.

[49:26] Not only that, we see that when the disciples were overcome by fear in this natural crisis their judgment was clouded. They weren't seeing the world as God wanted them to see the world.

[49:42] They were seeing the world as their neighbor saw it. They were seeing the world through fleshly eyes. They were not thinking in terms of the fulfillment of prophecy.

[49:55] They weren't thinking, huh, God promised way back after Adam that he would send someone. And this is Jesus. Rather, get the water out of the boat for we're going to die.

[50:10] That's what they focused on. That's what they thought about. They were consumed from an earthly standpoint, not a heavenly standpoint. I remember hearing an account of the earthquakes from the New Madrid Fault back in the early 1800s and it shook the whole continent of North America.

[50:29] the newly founded United States. People were terrified. They thought God's judgment was coming and the world was ending. At all these horrific earthquakes.

[50:42] And there was one man, he was described as a Puritan. He would have probably been one of the last of them. And the men in his town were out in the street terrified by the shaking, trying to figure out what they could do, talking about it.

[50:57] And he's at the window with his friend and his friend says, this is the end. And he immediately turned and he went back to his desk and started working. And his friend said, aren't you going to go outside with everyone?

[51:12] And he said, no, if the Lord comes back, he's going to find me as a faithful servant. He's going to find me working and not standing out at the street gawking.

[51:23] That was his conclusion. And there's a parable in the Bible that talks just about that. The wicked servant who buried his talent because the Lord was such a severe man. Which is exactly what you're going to do.

[51:37] If you read the Bible with fleshly eyes and you see all the wrath and destruction, it's going to be very easy to say, I'm just going to go take everything that God gave me and bury it and hide and wait for the world to come to an end.

[51:51] That's exactly what the unfaithful servant did. The Bible should inspire us to do the opposite, to faithfully serve the Lord Jesus Christ.

[52:03] To not view things through a purely earthly lens, but to view them through an eternal lens. Their judgment was clouded by their fear.

[52:16] So what are some things we need to clearly understand? We need to clearly understand who Jesus is. We need to clearly understand His purpose for us.

[52:30] Now, unlike Jesus, we don't know our exact end, do we? I imagine if you knew that your end would be in an automobile accident, you wouldn't have a bit of concern about chainsawing trees down out in the forest or riding on boats.

[52:48] Right? But we have something better than knowing how we'll die. We have to say, well, what's better than that? Knowing where we'll be. Knowing where we'll be.

[53:01] Knowing that it's in God's timing and that it's in God's hands and that He has a perfect plan. Matthew 16, 18 is a promise. Jesus says, upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

[53:20] do you believe that promise? Do you function in light of that being true? You see, when an army went to overtake a city and capture it, you know what they went?

[53:34] They went to the gates and attacked it. Where is Jesus picturing this war happening? God's army at the very gates of hell and the gates of hell can't stop God's army from blowing right through it.

[53:46] The gates of hell will not prevail against the army of heaven. And hell throws a lot at us. Look at our wicked culture.

[53:58] Look at all the evil that happens in our culture. It will not prevail. Hebrews 13, 5 Let your conversation be without covetous and be content with such things as ye have.

[54:10] For He hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. Some people say, well what if we become such a horrible, awful socialist nation?

[54:21] We just farm turnips and eat cabbage like the eastern Russians and don't have all the nice things we have now. Be content with what you have because Jesus said, I will never leave you or forsake you.

[54:35] Friends, some of the most godly, faithful people you will ever meet are living in those difficult circumstances. Are you afraid to live like your brothers and sisters in Christ by faith?

[54:46] Psalm 91 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Do you believe that?

[54:58] Of course, if you read all of Psalm 91, it becomes clear it's about Jesus. It's about Jesus. Jesus dwells in the shadow of the Almighty.

[55:08] And guess what? If you're in Christ, you're there too. If you trust in Jesus, God has overspread you with His protection and His love. 2 Corinthians 5, 1-2 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

[55:31] For in this we groan earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven. He goes on to say in verse 6, Therefore, we are always confident knowing that whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord for we walk by faith and not by sight.

[55:49] Do you believe that? That you have a better heavenly body prepared for you and that to die and leave this world is to be present with the Lord. Do you believe that?

[56:03] Because if you listen to what they're saying, you won't. If you believe what they're saying, you won't. But if you believe Jesus, you will.

[56:21] The old Baptist used to talk about dying grace. It's this idea that whatever battle you face, in that instance, you have the grace to do well.

[56:32] and that that final battle when you face death, God will give you the grace to persevere until the very end.

[56:45] Do you believe that Jesus will be with you until the very end? Even the very end of your life? Come what may? You see, if you listen to the voice of fear in our culture, you will not be a faithful Christian.

[57:02] You won't work like God said to work. You won't worship like God said to worship. You won't share the gospel like God says to share the gospel. You won't be a good citizen like God says to be a good citizen.

[57:15] You won't be prepared to build and advance the kingdom as He tears down and destroys what the wicked men in this nation have built. You won't be ready if you listen to the voices of fear.

[57:28] But if you live by faith, come what may, you will be guaranteed God's blessing and God's presence. And you do not have to live by fear. But you can live confidently in the hope of Jesus Christ.

[57:45] You know, when we look at things like this sickness that's going around, we need Christians to stand up and not debate masks and vaccines and for or against.

[57:57] We need Christians to stand up and say, you know what? Even if I die, it's okay. It's okay. Because you know what the world is saying?

[58:11] Don't die. Live in terror. Live in fear. Hide. And if you die, you're going to beg for your life at the very end. No. Don't live in fear.

[58:24] If I die, it's okay. If I die, I will seek to be faithful. If I die, I trust that God will give me the grace I need to pass on.

[58:36] Don't hide. Don't forsake Christ. Your duties as a mother or a father or a husband or a wife or a worker or a church member or a servant of Christ, a neighbor, a citizen, you have a calling here.

[58:53] Do you believe that? That God has an important purpose and He's put you here for a reason. Not just in the world during this time, but specifically here in Jackson, Kentucky because you have a little sphere that you live in and you have a ministry there.

[59:09] No matter how small or humble that little sphere might be, you have an important part to play. Do you believe that? Will you die in service to Christ?

[59:23] Would you do that? Would you serve Him? We need to be courageous Christians. We need to trust the Lord.

[59:35] Trust that He is in control and do what He's called us to do. We need not to live by fear and let fear dictate how we function.

[59:46] but we need to let faith dictate how we function. That's what we're called to. Let's pray.

[59:56]