Faith in a Storm

[0:00] As the boys and girls go off to Sunday school, we can bow our heads in a word of prayer.

[0:13] We remain seated to pray. Let's pray. Lord God, we come before you and we humble ourselves there and we understand that we come just now to you, a God that is holy, holy, holy.

[0:30] We come just now to you, a sovereign God, and there is none other like you. We come just now to the God who created the whole universe. At this very moment, you sustain all things.

[0:42] From the most distant unknown to us galaxies, right down to the very atoms that make up our daily lives. Lord, all things are known by you. All things are in your full control.

[0:55] We come today to you, a God who is holy beyond our understanding. That you are perfect in all that you do. Perfect in all that you say. Perfect in your whole being.

[1:07] That you are glorious light. That you are light eternal. It's to you, that holy God, we come today and we confess that, as we heard just now, we are truly creatures made from the dust.

[1:19] And we confess that so often we feel that in ourselves. As we come to these times of worship. We acknowledge that before you, that in and of ourselves we have no worth.

[1:31] That in and of ourselves we feel ourselves failing and faltering. We feel ourselves in our sin and in our waywardness. And we come and we say that today we come to Christ not by our works.

[1:46] We come to Christ not by our goodness. We come today relying on his finished works. On his perfection. On his eternal glory.

[1:58] And because we come to a Savior who is eternal. A Savior who is perfect. We can know this day if we come clothed in his righteousness. Clothed in his perfection.

[2:10] If we come today and acknowledge him as our Lord and Savior. We can know and know for certain. That he is ours. And we are his.

[2:21] And he never leaves, nor abandons, nor forgets any of his precious people. Lord help us today we ask to come to this place in this time of worship.

[2:32] With hearts and minds and ears ready to listen. Ready to hear. Ready to truly listen. And to truly hear what you are saying to us through your word.

[2:44] We come to this place we admit often so distracted. With the thoughts and the worries of this past week. We come to this place where our minds so distracted.

[2:54] With the responsibilities and perhaps the burdens of this coming week. Lord we ask you would lay these things aside. For this short time we would listen to you.

[3:05] As you speak to us through your holy and living word. A word which sees and knows all that we are. For it comes from you. The God who sees and knows us. And even though we come just now to you.

[3:18] The God who is magnified and glorified. Who deserves eternities of praise. We also come just now to you. The God who is close to all who cry out to you.

[3:29] You have not remained far away and distant. But you are close to your people. Indeed so close that we see the Lord Jesus Christ. In his full deity.

[3:41] Fully man and fully God. Becoming like us in all ways. Apart from sin. Taking on himself human flesh. So that he might be for us.

[3:51] The final perfect propitiation. The perfect final sacrifice. And in his own body as the spotless lamb. That he took on himself.

[4:04] The full wrath. Of all the sin. Of all God's people. So that we today. If we know him. If we love him. Can be free of that guilt. Free of that worry.

[4:15] Free of that wrath. Which previously hung above us. We do pray just now for our friends. Here today. Those who we know. And those who perhaps we do not know as well.

[4:26] Who have perhaps attended this building. For many years. But who as of yet. Have no saving understanding. Of who Jesus is. We ask for them Lord especially.

[4:38] We ask you would draw alongside them. And be close to them. We ask Lord that you would. Even this day through your word. You would open their eyes. That we would see their need for Jesus.

[4:49] That he is indeed the only way. Of salvation. We come today praying to no saints. We come today praying to no other mediators. But Christ and him alone.

[5:01] As your word tells us. He is the only mediator. Between God and man. He is the only way of salvation. Between God and man. We thank you for that hope. We find in your word.

[5:12] That we need not place our trust. In any mere man. Any mere minister. Any mere servant. We place our trust in Christ. And in him alone. It is in his strength.

[5:23] That we come today. It is in his strength. We pray today. We thank you for the prayers of your people. How we gather just now. As a family gathering. Of sons and daughters.

[5:34] And brothers and sisters. Coming together to worship. Our saviour. Help us. We ask this coming week. To be mindful. As to this coming Lord's Day.

[5:45] Be mindful. As to the services. Which we are approaching. We know Lord. That no Lord's Day. Is in any way more holy. Than any other Lord's Day. That each Lord's Day.

[5:56] Is so special. Each day. Is the day we come. To gather. On the first day of the week. As the church has done. From the start. To glorify. And to praise your name. We are mindful of our upcoming communion services.

[6:09] We ask just now. For any in our number here. Who love Jesus. Who can call him their saviour. But who as of yet. Have not made that. Public profession of faith.

[6:21] We ask that this week. Whatever is stopping them. Whatever is holding them back. Would indeed be removed from them. They would see. Their need. Their desperate needs.

[6:32] To publicly proclaim. Their love. For their saviour. We would come and join the table. The table of brothers and sisters. That table made. And prepared for poor sinners.

[6:45] To sit together. But sinners who are saved. Who know Jesus. With our various faults. Our various failings. We come together. As brothers and sisters. To partake. Of that one meal.

[6:57] With our one saviour. We ask for those. Who are confused today. Those who have questions. That they feel are unanswered. We ask that we would. Find answers for their questions.

[7:08] Through your living word. We pray just now. For those who are not here. Those who are heavy in our minds. Just now. Our family. Our loved ones. Our friends. Those who we pray for.

[7:20] Day after day. Week after week. And year after year. Those who as of yet. Show no sign of gospel interest. Help us to be faithful. In our witness to them. In our love towards them.

[7:32] In our prayers towards them. Knowing that. We can save no one. It is you and you alone. Who saves any. And all who come to you. We do pray Lord. For them just now.

[7:43] Our loved ones. Those who have spent. Perhaps many years. In tears. Worrying and. Bringing before you. The state of your soul. We ask Lord.

[7:53] You bring them to us. Save the knowledge of yourself. Pray just now. For those here. Who are distressed. Those. Who are going through. Times of difficulty. Those with.

[8:04] Physical health worries. And those of mental health worries. Those of financial worries. And family worries. Lord. You alone know. That the breadth of worry. That. Many here are going through.

[8:16] As we go through. The reality of living this life. I pray just now. For those who are not here. But. Who long to be here. Who would love to be here. Just now. And. I pray for brothers and sisters.

[8:26] Who are laid aside. Just now. In illness. And in age. And for other various reasons. We ask you be with them. Just now. In a. A special way. Lord. If your presence. If it's.

[8:37] Your will. I pray. Lord. For those who are mourning. Those who are mourning. That we know of. And those who are mourning. Perhaps. That we have no knowledge of. Recent loss.

[8:48] And loss of many years ago. We know that we often. Are such poor comforters. But the Holy Spirit. That he is. The ultimate comforter. We pray for his comfort. Today. To those. Who so desperately need it.

[9:01] We do pray. Lord. For our gathering here today. We thank you. We can gather. As brothers and sisters. We also remember. As always. Our. Our brothers and sisters. Gathering next door. Just now. We thank you for them. We pray for them.

[9:11] In their time of vacancy. That they would have one. Who would lead them. And guide them. You would give them. An under shepherd. So that both congregations. Would have guidance. And leadership. And Lord. That we would have.

[9:22] A way forward. In this community. We do pray for our community here. We ask. We would be salt. And light. That we would be a lamp. On top of the hill. As aware of this community.

[9:33] Proclaiming in love. In sincerity. With all zeal. The truth. Without Jesus. Without the trust. And the hope of Jesus. Without having Jesus.

[9:44] As our Lord. And our saviour. We are heading. To a lost eternity. We are heading for hell. We ask that reality. We would be impressed. On hearts and minds. In our community. Go out with a simple.

[9:56] Gospel message. That in Christ alone. There is hope. In him alone. There is salvation. In him alone. And not in our good works. That we have the promise. Of eternal life.

[10:07] If we trust. In him. We pray for those. In leadership over us. Pray for those. In the council. In the corner. Lord. We pray for those. Lord. In leadership over us.

[10:18] Nationally. And internationally. I pray for our first minister. I pray for our prime minister. Pray also for our king. As always Lord. We pray for leadership.

[10:29] You give them wise leadership. I pray for the advancement. And the benefit of our own countries. We also pray. More earnestly than that. That those over us. Locally.

[10:39] And nationally. Council leaders. First minister. Prime minister. And king. Would all come to know Jesus. For themselves. That is our prayer. For those who lead our nation.

[10:51] That's our prayer. Day by day. We'd have leaders. Who love. Jesus as their savior. And to serve. This country. With that in mind. Who serve this country well.

[11:02] Until these days. Lord. We ask you. Help us to be faithful. In our areas of influence. Help us at home. At work. Lord. To be good witnesses. Forgive us for the times. That in our actions.

[11:13] In our words. Even in our thoughts. We display ourselves. To be poor witnesses of Christ. We pray Lord. You'd forgive all the times. That we are bad examples. All the times.

[11:24] We are bad witnesses. All the times. We fail. To proclaim. And to show. The wonder. Of what it is. To know. And to love Jesus. Help us Lord. We ask. As we come just now.

[11:34] With varying levels. Of faith. Some here. With small faith. Some here Lord. With even. A tiny amount of faith. But who find ourselves. Clinging on to you.

[11:45] Just now. We know. As we cling on to you. That you hold. On to your people. We come just now. Asking forgiveness of sin. Forgive us Lord. For the sins. Of our thoughts.

[11:57] Our words. Our actions. Forgive us Lord. For the sins we've committed. This past week. This past day. This past hour. And we know. That in Christ alone. We find forgiveness.

[12:07] Eternal and true. For all the sins. Of all his people. We ask. We've been numbered. Among those people today. Asking all these things. In. And through.

[12:18] And for. His precious name's sake. Amen. We can read. In God's word. Now. Turning to the book of Matthew. Later on. We can read. In Mark.

[12:29] We're carrying on. Our study in Mark. We're reading first. In the book of Matthew. Matthew chapter 8. Matthew chapter 8.

[12:42] That's on page 762. Of the church Bibles. Matthew chapter 8. On page 762. Matthew 8.

[12:55] Let's hear the word. Of God. Speaking of Jesus here. When he came down. From the mountain. Great crowds. Followed him. And behold.

[13:06] A leper came to him. And knelt before him. Saying. Lord. If you will. You can make me clean. And Jesus stretched out his hand. And touched him. Saying. I will.

[13:17] Be clean. And immediately. His leprosy. Was cleansed. And Jesus said to him. See that you say nothing to anyone. But go. Show yourself to the priest.

[13:28] And offer the gift. That Moses commanded. For a proof to them. When he entered Capernaum. A centurion came forward to him. Appealing to him. Lord.

[13:39] My servant is lying. Paralysed at home. Suffering terribly. And he said to him. I will come and heal him. But the centurion replied.

[13:49] Lord. I am not worthy. To have you come under my roof. But only save a word. And my servant will be healed. For I too am a man. Under authority.

[14:00] With soldiers under me. And I say to one. Go. And he goes. And to another. Come. And he comes. And to my servant. Do this. And he does it. When Jesus heard this.

[14:11] He marveled. And said to those who followed him. Truly I tell you. With no one in Israel. Have I found such faith. I tell you. Many will come from east and west.

[14:22] And recline at table. With Abraham. Isaac. And Jacob. In the kingdom of heaven. While the sons of the kingdom. Will be thrown into outer darkness. In that place.

[14:33] There will be weeping. And gnashing of teeth. And to the centurion. Jesus said. Go. Let it be done. For as you have believed. And the servant was healed. At that very moment.

[14:45] And when Jesus entered Peter's house. He saw his mother-in-law. Lying sick of a fever. He touched her hand. And the fever left her. And she rose. And began to serve him.

[14:56] That evening. They brought to him many. Who were oppressed by demons. And he cast out the spirits of a word. And healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill.

[15:07] What was spoken by the prophet Isaiah. He took our illnesses. And bore our diseases. Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him. He gave orders to go over to the other side.

[15:20] And a scribe came up. And said to him. Teacher. I will follow you. Wherever you go. And Jesus said to him. Foxes have holes. And birds of the air have nests.

[15:31] But a son of man has nowhere to lay his head. And other disciples said to him. Lord. Let me first go and bury my father. And Jesus said to him.

[15:42] Follow me. And leave the dead to bury their own dead. When he got into the boat. His disciples followed him. And behold. There arose a great storm on the sea.

[15:54] So the boat was being swamped by the waves. But he was asleep. And they went and woke him. Saying save us Lord. We are perishing. And he said to them. Why are you afraid?

[16:05] Oh you of little faith. And then he rose. And rebuked the winds and the sea. And there was a great calm. And the men marveled. Saying what sort of man is this?

[16:17] And even the winds and sea obey him. When he came to the other side. To the country of the Gadarenes. Two demon possessed men met him. Coming out of the tombs.

[16:29] So fierce that no one could pass that way. And behold. They cried out. What have you to do with us? O son of God. Have you come here to torment us before the time?

[16:43] Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. And the demons begged him saying. If you cast us out. Send us away into the herd of pigs. I said to them go.

[16:55] So they came out and went into the pigs. And behold. The whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea. And drowned in the water. The herdsmen fled. And going into the city they told everything.

[17:07] Especially what had happened to the demon possessed men. And behold. All the city came out to meet Jesus. When they saw him. They begged him to leave their region.

[17:18] Amen. We give praise to God for his holy. And his perfect word. Let's again sing. To God's praise. This time from the Scottish Psalter.

[17:31] And Psalm 107. Scottish Psalter. Psalm 107. From verse 23. That's on page 384.

[17:45] Of the psalm books. Psalm 107. Verse 23. On page 384. 107. Verse 23.

[17:55] We can sing down to verse 30. Again the psalm of God's rescuing. Those who call out to him. Who go to sea in ships. And in great waters.

[18:06] Trading be. Within the deep. These men. God's works. And his great wonders see. For he commands. And forth in haste. The stormy tempest flies.

[18:16] Which makes the sea. With rolling waves. Aloft to swell. And rise. Psalm 107. 23 to 30. To God's praise. God's praise.

[18:35] God's prophecy. And God's marching. And King watches where you're with, Her hand y'all keep me下面 of theids.

[18:53] And it São burns here. O become hands and forth in peace, the stormy tempest lies.

[19:17] With Jesus, dear, with glory, which I hope to swell on Christ.

[19:34] We've bound to rend them to the test, they do go down again.

[19:50] Their soul that gave and melt away, with trouble and with pain.

[20:07] There will not scatter like one day, a day we'll send thee.

[20:24] Then we do know in childlike kind, who then now sits at me.

[20:41] The storm is changed into our town, that is all my God will.

[20:58] So love the wind which reached before, but while yet at and still.

[21:15] The Lord may crown, because our dress, and what their crown may be.

[21:32] So do the heaven he embrace, which did he strive to see.

[22:02] Mark chapter 4, verses 35 to verse 41. That's on page 788 of the church Bibles.

[22:17] Mark 4, verse 35. On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, Let us go across to the other side. And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in a boat, just as he was.

[22:33] And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in a stern, asleep on a cushion.

[22:45] And they woke him and said to him, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? And he awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

[22:59] He said to them, Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith? And they were filled with great fear, and said to one another, Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

[23:14] The last three or four weeks, we've been looking at the previous section, and we saw that there was a time of teaching. Really, from the start of chapter four onward, we saw Christ teaching the disciples in terms of parables, teaching them all they have to know about the kingdom of God.

[23:36] And for this time, we now see it in our section today, the time of teaching now becomes a time of practice. They've had some teaching from Jesus, some private teaching, but now we have to carry on their journey.

[23:52] Jesus has a mission to fulfill. There are people still to be healed. There are many works still to be done, many miracles still to be done. And all the teaching is fine.

[24:04] As we heard before, even as we said in the prayer meeting in previous weeks, a head knowledge is fine. Knowing all the theology is fine.

[24:15] If there comes a time, we have to put it into practice. And that time has come again for the disciples. We've had this time of Jesus, time alone, but now the journey continues.

[24:27] We see them getting into the boat just now. We see them beginning this journey. As we spend just a short time with them in the boat, we have three lessons.

[24:40] I'm pointing to more than three, but three lessons for our time today that we learn from the disciples in the boat. First of all, we learn there will be plenty of rough journeys for the Christian.

[24:56] There's plenty of rough journeys for the Christian. Second of all, there will be plenty of reasons to fear. Plenty of reasons to fear.

[25:08] And finally, there will be plenty of things still to learn. Plenty of rough journeys, plenty of reasons to fear, and plenty of things still to learn.

[25:22] As we come to this passage, this is one we all, or many of us at least, know so well. We've heard it perhaps even from our young days. Some here from our Sunday school days.

[25:34] We know the story. As we always say, often when we know the story so well, we can tune out a bit. We stop listening to what God's word is actually saying. This is not just a nice Sunday school story.

[25:46] In this very short account, we see something amazing as to the glory and the power, but also the care of Jesus. If you're here today, and if as of yet, if as of yet you can't say that you know Jesus, that you love Jesus, as you come to read this passage with us together, see that the care and concern and the comfort and the peace that comes with knowing Jesus, with being with Jesus, so having him truly, we just say, with you.

[26:25] And for the Christians here today, this is a reminder for us that we think, don't we, often, we've reached it. We think we've got there. We think we're in a place where we know what it is to be a Christian, where life now makes sense, where everything is now easy.

[26:41] And all of a sudden, there's a small bump in the road. For some of us here, often something is worse when that takes place for us.

[26:52] Life takes place. Something comes up. The phone goes. And our life is turned upside down. This passage reminds us, in these strange days, in these hard days, Christ looks after and is with his people.

[27:10] First of all, there'll be plenty of rough journeys, verses 35 down to verse 37, roughly. On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, let us go across to the other side.

[27:26] As we said, we've had this time of teaching over the last few weeks. We've seen Jesus share the parables. We've seen Jesus share and teach the disciples and the crowd publicly, then the disciples privately.

[27:42] They've had this time with Jesus, this time of peace, this time of quiet, at least it seems for a short time together. They've had a chance to grow in their understanding and to grow in their knowledge.

[27:54] But now we see they have to move. Jesus says, let us go across to the other side. I'm not to read ahead to our next few sermons, but we all know what comes next.

[28:08] We read in Matthew, the disciples are about to see demons and healings. They're about to encounter evil, about to encounter sadness and pain.

[28:21] The truth is, as they get into this boat with Jesus, they're leaving behind what's been quite an easy few months, perhaps longer than that, for them.

[28:31] They're now beginning to journey further and further into worry and sadness and distress. They're about to see more opposition towards Jesus. They're about to see more pain in their own lives, more discomfort for them.

[28:46] They're about to travel further and further physically away from home. That's what's coming up for the disciples, as we see in verse 35, as they get into the boat and cross to the other side.

[29:02] We can't and we shouldn't speak for the disciples, but it's not too far a stretch to assume or to at least guess. As the disciples got into the boat with Jesus, who they've seen do miracles, who they are beginning to understand, a wee bit at least of who he is, that he is the son of God, he is the promised Messiah, you can almost be certain that they assumed they would have an easy crossing.

[29:29] These are fishermen. They knew, well, many of them are fishermen. They knew their stuff. They knew their crossings. They knew the sea very well. The sea wasn't new to them.

[29:39] They had crossed it, been on it, worked on it for years. And we can assume that they assumed they would have an easy crossing.

[29:51] They have a Messiah on board, the son of God on board. Surely if he's on board, this journey is just a normal journey. We'll get to where we're going. No worries at all.

[30:03] In fact, we can see and almost guess how relaxed they were in that they saw Jesus go and lie down. At some point, Jesus went to lie down and have a rest.

[30:15] We're touching that a second. If he's lying down, then we're fine. He's on the boat with us. He's relaxed. Therefore, we can just relax.

[30:29] As Christ follows us, brothers and sisters, as he leads us, as you say, as we follow him, we don't know truly the detail of what the journey is for us that lies ahead of us.

[30:42] We don't know the twists, the turns, the ups and the downs. We don't know, dear brother or sister, what the road looks like for us as Christians. We don't know how rough the journey will be for us.

[30:54] The disciples had no idea what was ahead of them. And often, like the disciples, we assume, and perhaps we always assume, for many of us here, that we have Jesus on side, therefore things will be easy.

[31:08] Even Christians who have been following for a long time, we forget. We forget that we still live in a sin-filled world. We still live in a world where there's so much pain and worry, where sin has tainted and turned and destroyed every aspect of all that we know and all that we have.

[31:28] We live in a world that is so dark, a world where we have health problems, mental and physical, we have family problems, money problems, and so on, and so on, and so on.

[31:44] And the truth is, we don't know what lies ahead of us. The journey of this evening, the journey of this new week, but Christ is with us, as it were, in the boat of our lives, and we'll see that more in a second as to why that's important.

[31:59] So they go into the boat, and Jesus calls them into the boat, let us go across to the other side. They leave the crowd in verse 36. Of course, they take Jesus with him, and their boats were with him.

[32:17] The crowd have been following Jesus. A large crowd we know of in previous weeks. There's a large crowd who have been following Jesus. The crowd's only getting larger as time goes on.

[32:29] In a sense, to almost escape just the constant pressing of this crowd, Jesus goes into a boat for a time of peace as he crosses to the other side. But note, the crowd has to stop at the shore.

[32:45] The crowd spend time with Jesus. The crowd hear Christ's words. They see him. They've seen the work he's done and some in their midst. When it comes to the journey, the crowd has to stop on the shore.

[33:00] Only those Christ calls his own come with him on the boat. As we begin to look forward to a communion season this coming week, we have the very simple reminder here.

[33:18] There's one thing knowing about Jesus. There's one thing coming to church and hearing all about him. There's one thing coming faithfully week after week, and we praise the Lord you do, we generally do.

[33:31] There's one thing having all the gospel knowledge about Jesus. It's quite the other actually following him. See, only the disciples follow Jesus on the boat.

[33:45] Only they get on with him. Only they carry on the journey with him. The crowd stops. The crowd who heard Jesus, who saw Jesus, they go no further.

[33:56] Dear friends, where are you? Are you still on the shore? And you hear Christ's words every week from his word.

[34:08] Not from the minister, but from his word. As we read it, as we break it down, you hear the words, the living words of God. And as it were, you see his work and his people.

[34:21] And you spend every week in this building and you hear it and you see it. And perhaps you enjoy these stories, you enjoy these accounts, you enjoy being here. But at the end of the day, you're still on the shore.

[34:35] You're not following Jesus as he carries on his journey. Don't waste all your life waiting on the shore. There comes a point where the boat is too far gone.

[34:47] The boat must leave and you will be left where you are, still on the shore. Christ goes on with the disciples. And note here that there's other boats with him.

[35:00] We'll touch this more in a second, but at the end of verse 36, there's other boats in the sea. Of course there is. It's a big sea. It's a fishing sea. It's one of the main fishing ports of the area.

[35:12] There's plenty of boats. And these boats, every one of them, will be caught up in this coming storm. And just note God's common grace as a storm gets raised up, as a storm begins.

[35:26] Then as Christ speaks to the storm, we'll see in a second, and calms the storm down, as Christ stops the storm in its tracks, these other boats who were fishing alongside, who were doing their daily business, they also benefited from the work of Jesus.

[35:42] God's common grace. God's common love. Now, Christian morals don't save anyone. No one is saved by being like a Christian.

[35:55] Those in the other boats didn't have Christ with them, but we did benefit from his work. Our island, our nation, over hundreds of years, has benefited, yes, over having a Christian influence in it.

[36:09] But being born in a Christian community, going to a Christian church, having Christian heritage, does not save you. These boats on the sea, they benefited from Christ's work in that they could then sail on calmly again after the storm was quieted down.

[36:28] But they didn't have Jesus on board. Only one boat had Jesus on board. Yes, we can be happy with the Christian influence in our life, and we praise God for the good Christian influence in our community over many years.

[36:42] But if Christ, as aware, is not on board, then it means nothing in the end. A storm arises, verse 37.

[36:55] A great windstorm arose and the waves were breaking into the boat. Great storms were common on the Sea of Galilee here. There's mountains on each side. As the wind, of course, travels down the mountain, it picks up and it picks up and the sea itself is left often extremely rough.

[37:18] If you've ever walked in a valley in Graver, most of Graver is in a valley. And you can be at our house on top of Graver, a family house, and there's no wind. You go down into the valley of Graver, into the glen Graver, and the wind is so strong you can hardly walk.

[37:36] Well, the mountains around the Lake of Galilee are tall, they're steep, and to this very day there's often great storms on that lake, on that sea, we should say.

[37:48] So a great windstorm arose and it gets wilder and wilder and the poor fishermen, these well-trained fishermen who have spent many, many years on their fishing boats, even they are getting scared.

[38:04] Even they are beginning to get terrified as the wind grows and grows. That brings us to our second point. For there are plenty of causes to fear. Plenty of causes, plenty of reasons to fear.

[38:20] Verse 38 and verse 39. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. They woke him and said to him, Teacher, do you not care that we're perishing?

[38:34] The storm rages. The disciples, of course, begin to panic. Again, these are fishermen. They know their stuff and if they're panicking, it must be bad. They're panicking so much and in their panic, of course, they search for Jesus.

[38:47] They go find Jesus. He's the Messiah. He's the King. He's the one sent from God. Why is this happening to us? If he's on board, then surely we shouldn't be in a storm.

[38:59] So they go find him in the panic. And we see in verse 38, but he was in the stern. That word, but there, it answers the obvious unasked question, which is, in this storm, where is Jesus?

[39:17] But he was in the stern. They're asking, where is he? Why isn't he helping? We had to find him. We can't find him. He's asleep, just tucked away in the stern of the boat.

[39:28] Just as they had, they had benches. You could kind of tuck yourself under one or beside one. He's tucked away just having a sleep. Christ is exhausted.

[39:40] Humanly speaking, he's been working every day. Humanly speaking, Christ has been doing solid, ongoing work. He is exhausted. He is fully human like us in all ways apart from sin.

[39:53] And he is tired. He takes his time to rest his body, to close his eyes and to rest. And they find him in the stern of the boat.

[40:04] And you can see the question in the air. You can sense the panic. Does Jesus not care about us? Does he not know the storm is going on? Just two things to note about Jesus asleep here.

[40:21] As we said, first of all, it shows his humanity. We're very keen, of course, so it should be, to speak of Christ as fully God.

[40:32] He is God. All his ways, he is perfect. All the power, he has eternal. And all his glory, and so on. But Christ is also fully human.

[40:46] And in his full humanity, he is like us. And he is exhausted. And he is tired. And he is taking a chance to rest.

[40:58] And for the Christians, that gives us such a wonderful glimpse, isn't it, into the person of our Savior. In his full divinity, in his full godliness, he is God.

[41:08] Full control over every atom, of every droplet of water, that is raging around them. That is true. We'll see that in a second. But in his full humanity, he is like us.

[41:19] After a busy few weeks of work, he's exhausted and taking the short time to rest. He knows what it is to be human. He knows what it is to be like us, brothers and sisters, in every way, apart from sin.

[41:34] It shows, it reminds us, he is human. But it also shows us his eternally sure faith. Christ is not worried.

[41:46] The storm rages, but he's not worried. He knows, we said, that the sea and the earth belong to him. He knows that God's plan won't be thwarted by any storm on the sea.

[41:59] He knows, as he goes through this journey, that he will accomplish his plans when it's his time to do so. So much so that he can take humanly, as it were, a rest.

[42:09] We know God does not sleep, but Christ in his whole humanity, he sleeps. He is in control, dear friends and dear brothers and dear sisters.

[42:21] More importantly, he is in control of the wind and the rain and the storms. Brothers and sisters, Jesus does know. Brothers and sisters, Jesus does care.

[42:34] And the truth is, although I might know you more each week, I will never truly know your story. Behind closed doors, we all have our own stories, our own family stories, our own personal stories, our own situations.

[42:50] And the truth is, don't come to this place waiting for me to give you a comforting word. Come to this place listening to God's word. And a reminder we have this day that even in the midst of the storm and the chaos, Jesus does care.

[43:05] Even if you find yourselves like the disciples, asking, do you not care, Jesus? Are you no longer listening, Jesus? Have you left me on my own? See, the answer is, he's there and he cares.

[43:20] And he's with you in his full humanity in that he knows what it is that you're going through. He's with you in his full divinity in that he is able to actually help. In his full humanity, he says, I know and I feel and I understand what you're going through.

[43:37] And his full divinity says, I know that, I see that, I feel that and I can actually help you. With his eternal power, he can actually help. And they ask Jesus the question that's on their minds.

[43:54] They wake him up and they say, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? As they question his, for them, obvious lack of care for them.

[44:07] It shows their lack of faith. Their lack of faith in the one that they are following. Teacher, do you not care for us that we are perishing?

[44:25] And look what takes place. He awoke. He rebukes the wind and said to the sea, Peace be still. The wind ceased as a great calm.

[44:40] Simple, clear, instant, no ceremony, no fuss, no faff. All things made through him, made for him.

[44:52] All of creation made through him, made for him. He is in full sovereign control of it all. Asleep or awake, it's all his. In his full humanity, he was resting in the boat.

[45:09] In his full divinity, he is calming the storm down exactly when he planned he would, in the way he would. And the disciples are then shown for their lack of faith.

[45:26] Dear friends, what separates Christian and non-Christian in our life experience? Sadly, we still in our culture have the thought that Christians are those who are somehow better behaved than non-Christians.

[45:45] Now, of course, in one sense that should be true. But what separates you, Christian, from you, non-Christian, in your day-to-day life? Your family still will get ill.

[46:00] Your loved ones will still, I'm mining with you, our loved ones will still pass away. We will still go through times of great financial and personal and health worries and so on and so on and so on.

[46:13] What's the difference? We all still go and weather the same storms together. What's the difference? Well, the Christian is aware on our boat we have Christ.

[46:27] We have Jesus, the creator, the saviour, the lord of all creation over us and with us and he's with us on our boat.

[46:38] And although we feel the storm, although we fear in the middle of the storm, he is with us and we know that all our fearing, all our doubting, all our worrying, all our terror that he looks after and keeps his people.

[46:54] It's a difference. We all face the same problems, the same worries, the same burdens, responsibilities. The one difference is we who know Christ know that he has us, that he keeps a hold of us and he promises to never let his people go, even the worst of the storms of this life.

[47:19] There's plenty of times we will face fear as Christians. And also there's plenty still to learn, just very briefly, verses 40 and verse 41.

[47:32] He said to them, why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith? And they're filled with great fear and said to one never, who then is this but even the wind and the sea obey him?

[47:50] Jesus in his love, he directly challenges, directly questions the disciples. He challenges their fear. Why are you so afraid?

[48:03] See, in one second, they believe in Jesus and they trust in who he is and his full sovereign power. And the next second, the second there's a bit of wind, a bit of rocking in the boat, they're terrified.

[48:15] They almost forget everything and they go back to being terrified, almost wee boys. These are seasoned fishermen, strong fishermen, their whole lives doing fishing and all of a sudden they're terrified and they become useless.

[48:30] He challenges their fear. How are you so afraid? Why are you so afraid? afraid? And the wording even in the Greek there, it's a lot more strong.

[48:41] The question is a lot more abrupt than we have it here in English. It's almost an exclamation mark after the afraid and after the word faith. Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?

[48:54] You have to read in that kind of way. He is questioning them, saying, you know who I am, you've seen my miracles, you've heard my teaching, and the second something goes wrong in life, all of a sudden, you're scared again, you're afraid again, you lose all your faith again.

[49:16] Dear reverend sisters, before we shake our heads at the disciples, we know ourselves that this applies to us. As we come to a communion season, we look back over the last six or so months perhaps, and we think of all the times we have as Christians, all the times we have found ourselves so terrified, so faithless, in the face of life's trials, and life's problems, and all the tribulations we go through.

[49:46] I know some here have gone through some hard things this past few months. And you turn and you face and you say, how am I so small and so weak in my faith?

[49:58] You think to this coming communion, you think, if I'm so small, I'm so weak in my faith, does Jesus still want me as one of his own? If I'm so quick to go back, if I'm so quick to fear, does he still call me his own?

[50:14] We see what happens. What happens on the boat? Well, nothing happens. Jesus questions them, he reminds them who he is by questioning them as to their lack of faith. He doesn't tell them to get out of the boat, he doesn't tell them to reach dry land to go their own way, no, he knows them, he knows their humanity, he knows their own limitations.

[50:38] Let's contrast for a second the second half of verse 41. We see this question as they ask one another, who then is this but even the wind and the sea obey him?

[50:52] Even the wind and the sea obey him. contrast that to the end of verse 38. Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?

[51:04] They go from lack of faith to being so filled with faith and wonder they are still realising they've got so much still to learn about who Jesus is, so much to learn as to his care and love and protection over them.

[51:21] They know who he is. They had knowledge of who he is but they had plenty of head knowledge but only now they are getting the heart knowledge.

[51:38] It's one thing believing who Jesus is, it's one thing understanding who Jesus is, but it's quite a different thing when life becomes rough as it were, when the waves and winds of life bathe up against the side of our boats, we then actually believe, or not, in who Jesus truly is.

[51:58] It can never just remain theory, it can never just remain the facts and figures of it all. If we are going to trust in Jesus, we must actually believe in who he is.

[52:13] Just as we come to an end, a word to our friends here and to those who as of yet can't say that you love or that you know Jesus as your saviour, not for a second am I saying that you also don't face hard days.

[52:31] And don't get me wrong, we're not saying that become a Christian and have an easy life of it. That's not what we've seen or said. That is not what the disciples experienced. Not one Christian here has experienced that.

[52:45] The gospel is not come and follow Jesus and have an easy journey. The gospel is not come and follow Jesus and have no more rocky days on the boat as you go through life.

[52:57] The gospel is come and have Jesus as Lord over you. Come and serve him, come and worship him, come and know his love and his care, his protection and his peace in your life.

[53:09] And you will still have plenty of rubbish days, plenty of rough days on the sea of life, but you have these days knowing that Jesus is with you. And because he is with you, you're boatly battered and you'll find yourself being tossed side to side.

[53:25] But he will keep you going. And you will reach finally the destination with him without fail. And we know that to be true.

[53:37] There's some Christians here and I know that you've had a life of such time, such pain. There's some here and some we know about in our village and close to us who have loved Jesus, who have followed Jesus for many years.

[53:54] And it seems that their lives are one constant painful reality after another. How can they know Jesus and love Jesus and still their lives look so painful and seem so hard.

[54:09] But when you speak to them, what do they say? He has kept me, he keeps me, and he will keep me to the end. Don't come to Jesus.

[54:24] Don't come to Jesus if you want, as it were, an easy life. A life without any more problems, any more worries. That's not the gospel.

[54:36] That's a gospel that works, that's a certain type of message, it sounds good, but the problem is, as we heard in the previous weeks in the parable of the sower, the second that life becomes difficult.

[54:47] If you come to Jesus and you think that means no more problems, no more worries, the second life becomes difficult, you drift away. Well, Jesus doesn't love me, obviously. Jesus doesn't care for me, obviously.

[55:00] What's the gospel truth? Jesus says that he was a man who faced tribulation and persecution and pain and misery, and we who follow after him will face the same.

[55:11] the Christian's hope is not the hope of an easy life. The Christian's hope is the hope of a life of peace because we have a saviour who loves us, who keeps us, who promises never to leave nor forsake us, who promises one day to take us home to be with himself.

[55:30] The Christian's life is not an easy life, but it is a joyful life. It's not an easy road, but it's a glorious road. It's not a time, it's not a joyful, fun-filled experience, but it's a peaceful, grace-filled, hope-filled experience.

[55:52] We have Jesus in the boat with us, and because that's through whatever storms of life batter against the side, and sometimes these storms are terrifying, we know that he's with us, and because he's with us, the boat as aware won't go down.

[56:07] He will keep us until the end, and take us safely to our destination as we sung in Psalm 107. Friends, waste no more time on this journey of life.

[56:22] Waste no more time without having Jesus alongside you, without travelling beside him. Every day you travel without Jesus is a day you've wasted.

[56:34] No matter how well you've done that day, or what incredible things I'm sure you're doing, and some here you are doing amazing things and working in life, and we praise God for all the good gifts he gives us, but every day without Jesus in your journey of life it's a wasted day.

[56:49] Waste no more days. Come and journey alongside him. I know what it is to have his peace, his protection, his love, and his care, to have him as Lord and Saviour over your life on this journey.

[57:03] It's about our heads in that, a word of prayer. Lord, we thank you for the gift of your word and the promise of it. Lord, we ask that even as we spend the short time in your word, that you would open up even some of the hearts here today, some here today who as of yet don't know and as of yet don't love Jesus as their Saviour.

[57:23] Lord, we ask that as they find themselves weathering the storms of life, they would no longer do so alone. They would do it with Jesus by their side, Jesus before them, Jesus behind them, Jesus looking after them as Lord and Saviour, taking them safely home to be with himself on this journey of life.

[57:43] Lord, we confess even as your people that oftentimes we find ourselves in fear, oftentimes we find ourselves crying out for help as we forget so quickly as to the power and the care and the love of our Saviour for us.

[57:56] Help us to grow in our faith, help us to grow in our peace as we look to Jesus more and more for all our salvation and all our hope. Lord, we ask you to forgive anything that was said not in accordance to your word.

[58:09] I give you praise that the power is not in the jar of clay who stands here or the power is in you as you speak through your living word. We pray once more, Lord, for the one who leads the worship, the sung worship, we give you praise for it.

[58:21] We can sing your word and know that as we sing it, your word is perfect and it praises you well. I ask the tune to sing. We ask the word for us as a congregation as we join together in sung worship.

[58:33] We ask for a reminder in our hearts that you're not listening as it were to our abilities but you're seeing our hearts and you're seeing as we join together of what our hearts truly are.

[58:44] I would truly worship in you just now. I ask all these things in and through the finished work of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, in his name and for his sake.

[58:56] Amen. Let's bring our time of worship to our conclusion by singing to God's praise. We can sing from Psalter and Psalm 93.

[59:13] Scottish Psalter, Psalm 93. We can sing verses 1 down to verse 5 of the whole psalm.

[59:26] Psalm 93 is on page 354 of the blue psalm books. Scottish Psalter, Psalm 93. The Lord doth reign and clothed as he with majesty most bright.

[59:37] His works do show him clothed to be and girt about with might. The world also is established but it cannot depart. Thy throne is fixed of old and thou from everlasting art.

[59:50] Psalm 93. The whole psalm to God's praise. The Lord of praise and love is he the majesty most of holy Lord steve among his heart and long to meet and hear about the night.

[60:36] The world is all so star-spangled banner yet wave.

[61:06] The world is all so star-spangled banner yet wave.

[61:36] The world is all so star-spangled banner yet wave.

[62:06] The world is all so star-spangled banner yet wave. The world is all so star-spangled banner yet wave. The world is all so star-spangled banner yet wave. The world is all star-spangled banner yet wave.

[62:18] The world is all star-spangled banner yet wave. The world is all star-spangled banner yet wave. The world is all star-spangled banner yet wave.

[62:30] The world is all star-spangled banner yet wave. The world is all star-spangled banner yet wave.

[62:42] The world is all star-spangled banner yet wave. Our cross for now.

[63:14] thy love in the world. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit pour you now and forevermore. Amen.