Mark chapter 4. If you would kindly turn that up. Mark 4 and verse 40. Just over the page. He said to them, Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?
!
And the Lucas translation of that is, Why are you so dreadfully frightened? Can you still not trust me? Can you still not trust me?
And how often, sadly, the Lord has to say those words to his people, me included.
Well, as ever, it's so encouraging to be with you on a Sunday evening and to hear news of progress and much besides.
And it's always an encouragement to consider with you God's powerful word.
So we turn again to the Gospel of Mark, which is rather the Gospel of Jesus as told by Mark.
It's a special book for me. I think one or two of you will know. At least 35 years ago, I think it was, our staff at St. Helens started it together and were so encouraged by it that we decided to start a course for all the students who came to us from the various hospitals and student residences around.
And we found that even then, 35 years ago, they were astonishingly ignorant.
And so we decided that we would get them to study at least one Gospel before they left us.
And we chose this Gospel of Mark.
And we also thought that in doing that, we would introduce them to the real Jesus Christ.
So that was our aim.
And it's gone on ever since.
It's a very simple aim.
And I think it's been very effective.
And I hope it's led that they would know a great deal more than one Gospel and the person of Christ.
Actually, I remember very little of that beginning.
That course is still going strong.
But my stage of life, memory is not one strong suit.
As that great philosopher of life, Norman Wisdom, once said,
when you get old, three things happen to you.
Your memory goes first.
And I can't remember the other two.
So, because I can't really remember very much of that original study,
I've decided for my own nourishment and progress to revise Mark on my own.
And it's been a slow and delightful journey.
And I've arrived at chapter 4, verse 35.
And I found ahead of me, and I want to share with you some of the things I've found,
I found here a typical Mark section on miracles.
Four great miracles, making three sections.
If you like, the chapter division is not really very helpful.
I suppose the people who published ESV didn't have the authority to change the chapter divisions.
But I suppose, really, it should start.
Chapter 4, verse 35 should be the beginning of chapter 5.
So, this unified section contains three scenes.
First, of course, the furious scope.
Just watch it as I say this.
First, the furious storm.
4, verse 35 to 41.
Then, Legion.
This wretched poor man possessed by the devil.
5, 1 to 20.
And then, thirdly, the dead child and the sick woman,
which stand as one great miracle.
Or, there are two.
5, 21 to 43.
Now, these are, for many of you, I know, familiar stories.
But they have a unifying theme that runs through that whole section.
They tell of overwhelming destructive forces before which we human beings, whether in the 1st century or the 21st century, are absolutely helpless.
So, why does Mark tell us these stories?
And what is their message on the basis of our helplessness?
Well, we can be quite sure that there were many miracles that Jesus did.
I should think of hundreds, even not thousands.
Would you not think?
And he has chosen these with a purpose.
What is that purpose?
And what is his message?
Well, message number one, every Christian can recognize.
Mark has been plugging it from the beginning of his gospel.
And I'm not going to spend a lot of time on it.
You know it well.
It's the foundation of the Christian faith.
And Mark is recording how the disciples learned it until they came to a firm conviction about it.
And that is that Jesus is Lord.
He is none other than the God-man.
That with him nothing is impossible.
And that he possesses all authority in heaven and earth.
You knew that?
Of course you knew that.
That's fundamental to the Christian faith.
You can't be a Christian without believing it.
That is number one message in Mark.
No Christianity without Christ as a foundation.
We won't stay long on that.
But we'll just get the pattern of it quickly together before we go on to matter that is not quite so well known.
First let's look at the destructive forces of nature.
Chapter 4, 35 to 41.
I'm not going to look at all the details.
You know them well.
Here are elemental forces before which everybody is helpless.
Today as ever.
Just think of tsunamis sweeping away.
Homes and hundreds of people in Japan recently.
Think of hurricanes.
They know that better in the Midwest of America.
Think of earthquakes.
Perhaps we're more aware of these things in modern times because of communication.
Only this week I saw a picture of people in their cars racing away from a dark typhoon that was approaching.
Hoping that it would not overtake them.
Must have been a terrifying feeling.
The control I think of the forces of nature.
Then the restoration of suffering people.
And what we're being told by Mark in this very simple story is that our Lord had complete command over them.
Look at verse 39.
Just a simple word.
Peace be still.
For I suppose in colloquial English she looked down at the storm and said, shut up.
And an unheard of result.
The wind stopped.
The waves were calm.
I wonder how many of you are sailors.
I'm sure there are sailors here.
I was compulsively forced to go in the Navy for three years.
I quite enjoyed it.
And one thing you learn there, I was in the Mediterranean for three years, is that the wind can in fact stop suddenly.
But of course what never happens is that the waves are completely calm immediately.
The waves go on.
What is called the swell goes on.
And if you're a sailor and not a very good sailor, you will know that it is that that makes you ill.
It's not the wind.
It's the waves that will take two days to go down after a storm.
So here is an astonishing demonstration of the power of Christ over the destructive forces of nature.
Next, we look down, what, 20 verses of it again.
I won't look at the details.
It's the destructive forces of Satan.
Now you know as well as I do that he is a very powerful influence in the world.
Jesus tells us he's the God of this world.
So his power is very great under the sovereignty of God.
And Mark goes out of his way in a number of details to tell us what a helpless and hopeless situation the devil is talking about.
Just look at verses 3 and 4.
We won't look at it anymore.
He lived among the tombs.
No one could bind him anymore.
Not even with a chain.
For he'd often been bound with shackles and chains.
But he wrenched the chains apart.
He broke the shackles in pieces.
No one had strength to subdue him.
Mark alone mentions that.
But I think he wants us to know that this was an impossibility.
People have tried and failed.
Yes, the devil has people in his group.
And I think this story is meant to be an example of his power in the world.
I note that the increasingly apostate Church of England is removing any mention of the devil from the baptismal service.
And we're trying to remove any mention of sin.
It's very difficult to know what's left, isn't it?
Well, there's been an outcry about sin, but not about the devil apparently.
I think this episode stands for the reality of the world that Satan is the cause of all the misery.
That there is.
I've only got one cross-reference for you.
So keep a finger, if you will, there.
If you want to know what the devil is responsible for in the world today,
and you want it summarized in one sentence,
you'll find it in John 8, 44.
Will you turn to that, and will someone sing out to me,
in a loud voice, because I'm not only shrinking, but I'm getting death,
what are the two marks of the devil in the world?
In fact, I will give you a hint by reading the verse.
Verse 44, John 8.
You are of your father, the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires.
He was a murderer from the beginning, and he does not stand in the truth,
because there is no truth in him.
When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and father of lies.
What are the two things, please?
Lies.
Murder.
And murder, violence, death, terrorism.
Right.
Now, would you not say that those two things are actually right at the root of our modern world?
If you read the papers, or if you look at your television, you'll see them every day, won't you?
Imagine you could get rid of all the lies in the world.
The lies in your office, the lies in your paper, the lies that politicians tell.
And imagine you could get rid of all the terror, the fighting, the murder, the wars.
It would be a totally different world, but it's not going to happen.
Until Christ returns.
So, what did Jesus do?
He said, verse 8, come out of them.
That was all.
And the result was lovely, isn't it?
Verse 8, verse 15 must be a very favorite verse for all of us.
When the people came to investigate what had happened to this poor man,
they saw one who had been in the legion sitting there,
clothed, no longer naked, in his right mind, no longer insane,
and they were afraid.
And sitting peacefully, resting, as we were thinking of the children just now.
Almighty power.
The destructive forces of nature, followed by the destructive forces of Satan,
the devil, the demon, forget it.
The world of demons.
Thirdly, the destructive nature of sickness and death.
Which means that ultimately we all succumb to this great force.
And what is needed for that in the last section, which is verse 21 to the end,
all that is needed is that Jesus gives a gentle word,
get up, little girl.
And with a grasp of her hand, he helps her to her feet.
Verse 41.
Taking her by the hand, he said to her,
to lead her kumai, which means, little girl,
I say to you, get up.
And immediately the girl got up and began walking,
because she was 12 years of age,
and they were immediately overcome and astonished.
Would you know, please?
Impossible.
Now, in the light of these miracles,
which are carefully chosen by Mark,
these destructive forces overcome by the power of Christ,
an honest person is bound to ask the question,
which is the fundamental question of the early Mark's gospel,
chapter 4, verse 41.
And they were filled with great fear,
and said to one another,
who then is this?
Well, indeed, who then is this?
And this week I was reading a serious verse.
I often pick him up,
sometimes late in the evening.
It's lovely to have this very clear mind,
that your mind is feeling muddy and confused.
If you'd gone to Buddha and asked him,
are you the son of Brahma?
He would have said,
my son, you're still in the veil of illusion.
If you'd gone to Socrates and asked,
are you zeaths?
He would have laughed at you.
Listen to this.
If you'd gone to Mohammed and asked,
are you Allah?
He would first rent his clothes,
and then cut your head off.
Which is probably why a lot of working class young men
in this country like Islam,
because that's how it deals with its opponents.
If you'd asked Confucius,
are you heaven?
I think he would have probably replied,
remarks which are not in accordance with nature,
are in bad taste.
The idea of a great moral teacher saying what Christ said,
or doing what he did,
is out of the question.
In my opinion,
the only person who can say the sort of things
is either God or a complete lunatic
suffering from that form of delusion
which undermines the whole mind of man.
He was never regarded as a mere moral teacher.
He did not produce that effect on any of the people who met him.
He produced only three effects,
hatred, terror,
and adoration.
There was no trace of people
expressing mild approval.
When I first read that some years ago,
I thought,
no, that's not quite right.
It's apathy,
terror,
and adoration.
But now,
I've come back to the original.
Hatred.
Yes, hatred.
We're beginning to see that,
aren't we,
in our culture.
Not apathy,
but hatred.
Hatred of what he stands for.
Hatred of his moral stand.
Hatred of his claims to be the only way to God.
Well, now we come to the crunch
of what I want to say tonight.
So, if you've not been paying attention,
please be with me now.
We Christians,
like everyone else,
unlike the Lord,
are helpless
in the face of these great
universal destructive forces.
Because we believe in Christ,
because we've received and rested
in Jesus Christ,
as the children were taught just now.
And I trust that every one of us here
has received him
and rests in him.
We can't opt out of tsunamis.
We can't opt out of the world of terror
that is all around us.
And we're warned
that some of these young men
are coming back to this country
determined to do ill.
And we can't avoid
incurable sickness and death.
Every one of us will die.
So, how are we believers
more privileged than the unbelievers?
Well, in a sense,
sharing a common humanity,
we are not.
We live in this present evil age
and therefore these great
destructive forces
are destructive in our lives too.
Nevertheless,
certain great blessings are ours.
And this is where I want to ask you
to recall these,
if you can,
in the midst of a very destructive
and evil world.
We've been given
at least three privileges
that the unbeliever
doesn't have
faced with these destructive forces
all around us.
The first great privilege
that we've been given
in this fallen world,
full of destruction and evil,
is we have been given
understanding.
And this understanding here
in Mark
lies actually in chapter 3,
but I want you to wait a minute
before I tell you what it is.
I want to mention,
first of all,
a man called Mr. Christopher Mayhew,
who was the father
of one of the girls
who came to us
some years ago
at St. Helens.
He was a very fine man,
an agnostic,
but thoughtful.
He was actually
Secretary of the Navy
for a while.
I think you would call him
not an atheist,
but a questioning atheist,
agnostic.
And I recall him
articulating
the fundamental case
for agnosticism,
which is worth, I think,
getting clear.
What the agnostic,
with a certain amount
of goodwill,
will say to us
is something like this.
You Christians say
God is all-powerful.
You Christians say
that God is all-loving,
and we say yes,
yes, we do say that.
But if this is so,
Mr. Mayhew said,
and many follow him,
it is inexplicable
that he does not
abolish those things
that destroy
human happiness.
Therefore, he says,
I must conclude,
since he does not
do this,
and these destructive
forces are still
in the world,
and God seems to do
nothing about them,
he is asleep in the boat.
I conclude,
if he is all-powerful,
as you say,
then he is not
all-loving.
And if he is all-loving,
then he is not
all-powerful.
And from this dilemma,
said Mr. Mayhew,
there is no escape.
It is quite a powerful
attitude,
and thousands of people
in our country
have got stuck there.
Now, the answer lies
in chapter 3.
The fact that all such men,
however clever,
fail to take into consideration.
And I am not going to ask you
to look at it,
because I think everybody
knows what happens
in Mark chapter 3.
And that is that the
people of God
reject their Lord,
their Messiah,
their Savior.
And we now live,
therefore,
in a Christ-rejecting world.
It is more than
a Christ-rejecting world,
he has rejected them.
Chapter 3 is taken up
with the fact that
Christ has rejected
the people who have
rejected him,
and that he is making
a completely new start
in the world,
and therefore he appoints
12 apostles
on which he is going
to build his new church
and his new universe.
And therefore,
from chapter 3 onwards,
we have a remarkable
picture in Mark's gospel
of how this new universe
is going to be brought
into being.
I think Mark is the only
gospel who brings
the rejection of Christ
right down to the
beginning of his story,
rather than at the end.
So, when we get to
chapter 4,
we ask the question,
as these 12 men
go into the world,
to start to build
a new church,
which is going to be
the new Jerusalem,
which is going to be
the new heaven
and the new earth.
What is the weapon,
what is the equipment
that God gives them?
And you know
the answer to that.
In chapter 4,
the three parables
of the ser,
he gives them
the seed of the word
of God,
the power of the gospel.
That is all that
he gives them,
but it is sufficient
for them to begin
to build a new world.
But,
what does he give them
after that,
in this world
which is under judgment?
Though it's a restrained judgment,
our world is under judgment,
it's a world marked
by frustration,
by turmoil,
by suffering,
by all these things
that we've been thinking about.
Well, we've been given
understanding.
We've been given
understanding that
the reason why
this world is as it is,
is that it is
a world that has
rejected Christ.
He is here by
his Holy Spirit
amongst us,
thank God,
but he,
as we've sung just now,
is at the right hand
of God.
When we speak of Christ,
we will never talk
too literally
of Christ being here.
We talk of Christ
on the cross,
we talk of Christ
at the throne of God,
we talk of Christ
coming at the last day.
But we mustn't talk
of the real presence
of Christ here now.
He's here by his Spirit,
but he himself bodily
is at the right hand
of God.
And because this world
has said no
to its Creator,
and because the people
of God said no
to their Messiah,
we must live in a world
which is under
the judgment
of Almighty God
because of our attitude
towards his beloved Son.
We have been given
that understanding.
therefore,
when we open
our daily paper,
but of course we don't
now because we all
have these wonderful
machines that we don't
have to buy a paper
any longer.
But whatever you do,
whenever you listen
to what's happening
in the world,
I don't know how you do it.
It's all very marvelous,
isn't it?
The way we can listen
as soon as we should
be able to listen
to the news
on our watches,
I'm told.
Whatever you do
to listen to what
is happening in the world,
you have a clue
that other people
do not have.
that these awful things
that make you tremble
and step back
and say,
how could it be
like this in Sudan?
How could it be
like this in Libya
at the moment?
Which is a hell hole.
How could it be
like this in Iraq?
I know Christians
working in Iraq,
I know Christians
working in Sudan,
you probably do the same.
They're living in places
which in many ways
mark a hell on earth.
But they have the clue
and you have the clue
as to why God
allows these things
to continue.
Because it is a mark
of a world
under the displeasure
of a God
whose son we have
rejected.
And we cannot live
in this world
without realizing it
and knowing that
his hand is upon us
for judgment.
This is the explanation
of all the destructive
forces of nature,
the destructive forces
of the devil in our world,
lies and murder,
and the destructive forces
of incurable sickness
and death.
They all flow
from our rejection
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And we Christians
first and foremost
have been given
an understanding.
It's a wonderful thing
to have, isn't it?
A clue.
We don't know everything,
of course.
But we do have this clue.
We do have an understanding
of why God
acts as he does
in judgment
as well as salvation.
We do tremble.
We ought to tremble
because of these facts.
As the world goes by,
hardly aware
of this at all
and yet suffering
because of it.
Yes, a God
who is all-loving
and a God
who is all-powerful,
but a God
who is righteous
and will not allow
a world that has
rejected his son
and crucified him
to continue gaily
as though nothing
had happened.
We have been
given understanding.
Secondly,
we Christians
have this
extraordinary privilege
that we've been
given a task
to do.
I'm not thinking
of being a pastor
or a preacher
or anything of that kind.
You'll find this task
in chapter 5,
verse 18.
I love this little part
at the end of the story.
It's a fairly
unsettling thing
to have Jesus around
as you may have known
in your own life.
And the people
decided to ask him
to leave their region,
verse 17.
That's a picture
of our world, really.
And as he was
getting into the boat,
the man who had been
possessed with demons
begged him
that he might be with him.
And Jesus did not
permit him,
but said to him,
Go home to your friends
and tell them
how much the Lord
has done for you
and how he said
mercy on you.
And he went away
and proclaimed it.
This is one of the
very rare cases
in the early part
of Mark's gospel
when Jesus is in
heathen territory,
the cities of the
Decapolis.
It's one more of those
signs in early Mark
that the Gentiles
are one day
to be reached
with the truth
from a remarkable
early sign.
It represents a world
that rejects Jesus
and yet,
what happens?
He sends the man
who's been wonderfully
liberated to be a witness
amongst them.
It's just one of those
lovely little touches
that there the world
rejects him,
God is continually
sending those
who experience
his mercy
to go and tell
the heathen,
the Gentiles,
what God has done
for them.
That's your job
and my job.
Yes, no,
pastors aren't
accepted from this.
Pastors aren't allowed
just to go around
preaching as though
they didn't have
any part in it.
All of us
are to go back
to our own people
and tell them
what God has done
in having mercy
upon us.
Isn't that a great
and wonderful ministry?
That's the task
of every single Christian,
old or young.
We've been given
a deep understanding
of why the world
is as it is
and we've been given
a task of what
we are to do
in this heathen world
and amongst
heathen churches.
Everywhere,
in the darkness,
God commands
his lights
to shine.
That's what lights
are for in the darkness.
And I would say
the darkness
should not surprise you.
And the fact
that God lights
people's lives
so that they can
go and be a light
in that world
shouldn't surprise us
either.
God has given
us understanding.
He's given us
a task,
every one of us,
in this heathen,
godless world.
And thirdly,
God has given us
confidence in
his beloved son.
What a lovely,
lovely lesson that was.
We adults need it
just as much
as the children.
What is the first
work of God
the Holy Spirit?
It is to uplift
Christ so that
we put our trust
in him.
A saving faith
is a gift of God.
To believe in
Christ as Lord
in the midst
of a heathen world
is because the
Holy Spirit
is a work in you.
Do you believe
in Christ
with all your
heart?
Then the Holy Spirit
is a work in you.
That is his
particular joy.
Now that's the
force, isn't it,
of verse 40
in chapter 4.
Why are you
so frightened?
Do you
have no faith?
Have you no faith
any longer?
Are you not,
as we were taught
just now,
are you not
resting in faith?
No, they're not
resting in faith
at all.
Why?
Because he's asleep.
And therefore
they say these
words that the
other gospel
writers don't
like very much.
Don't you
care for us?
Well, that's
typical of all
of us, isn't it?
Every one of us
has said in
moments of despair
or difficult,
Lord, don't you
care?
And not Jesus
says, has your
faith run out
already?
Don't you care
even though I
seem to be asleep?
And that's often
the case, isn't it?
When these crises
happen in our
life and we
cry out to God,
it seems as though
the heavens are
brass and the
Jesus is asleep.
And they don't
trust him.
And they're
frightened.
And we're
frightened too.
The lesson
today for the
children is a
lesson for all
of us.
It is receiving
Christ, but it's
more than that.
It's resting in
him.
Well, we mustn't
be surprised.
These were
experienced fishermen.
And they knew
all about storms
and squalls and
forced ten winds
and all the rest
of it.
And they knew
that they were
dying and
perishing.
And therefore
they cry out,
don't you care?
And so do we.
And we receive
the rebuke.
Why are you
afraid?
Are you still
really unbelieving?
And that's the
message, isn't it,
of chapter 5,
verse 36.
Your daughter
stayed.
Why trouble the
teacher any
further?
It's quite
useless.
But overhearing
what they
said, Jesus
said to the
ruler of the
synagogue, do
not fear,
only believe.
Our precious
and gracious
God is saying
that to us
daily, isn't
he?
Don't be
afraid, only
believe.
And we
need that so
much because
we're so
afraid.
So, my
dear Christian
friends, this
evening, it's a
very simple
message we have,
isn't it?
The message the
children received
in the trials
that we
experience in
this present
age.
We can't opt
out any more
than the pagan
can opt out.
We're all in it
together.
But, as
believers, we
have understanding,
we have a
task to do,
and we have a
faith that should
sustain us
until the
Lord returns.
And then, if
you know, in the
book of
Revelation, there
will be no
more sea.
I always love
that symbolism,
because sea in
the Bible is
the symbol of
primal chaos and
the trials of
the righteous.
And there
will be no
more.
And there
will be no
more Satan
because he
will be thrown
into the
lake of fire
with the
beast and
the false
prophet.
And best
of all, no
more sickness
and death,
no more
mourning, no
more crying
or pain.
The old
order passed
away.
What a
prospect,
isn't it?
We don't
have it now,
but we do
have understanding,
we do have a
work to do,
and we do
have saving
faith in which
we can rest.
Amen.
God bless you.
Let's pray.