| Don't You Care if We Drown? |
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Replacing Fear with Faith Mark 4:35-41 35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” 39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” I love reading the stories of the interaction of Christ and His disciples. Though I am supposed to be becoming more and more like Christ, I more often see myself reflected in the disciples than the example of Christ. Here we find the disciples in the midst of a storm. The wind and the waves have taken control of the boat. About that time I’d be saying, “Who’s idea was this anyway?” I can’t help but feel that the disciples all worn out from fighting the water, rowing and bailing were thinking: “It was his idea and now he is sleeping!” The text makes a point that he was not just sleeping, but sleeping on a cushion. I think the disciples were getting just a little bit upset, maybe quite upset. Don’t you care if we drown? Have you been there? God, do you care? At this point in his time, his disciples had seen Jesus perform miracles: Mark 1 – Jesus heals a man with leprosy Mark 2 – Jesus heals a paralyzed man Mark 3 – Jesus heals a man with a deformed hand But this is new. Now they are faced with their own loss of life. The main point of this story is showing that Jesus has authority over all creation. Colossians 1:15 says that by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. As creator Jesus has authority over all created things. Starting here with the account of the storm, Mark recounts four stories showing Jesus’ authority over the natural elements, over demonic forces, over death and sicknesses. But the disciples don’t understand that at this point – all they know is they are about to drown. It’s easy to have faith when you are on the shore watching the storm. It’s easy to have all the answers when you are standing on the shore. Anyone can have faith when things are going well, but difficulties test our faith. Anyone can have joy in victory, but get twenty points behind and it’s only the first quarter. Where’s the joy? Anyone can have peace when things are comfortable, but... Jesus wanted them to learn peace in the conflict and faith in the storm. He wants us to go through life with a confidence that He is in control with a confidence that he will work through us, with a confidence that no matter what happens He will make us strong. God expects our faith to grow. Peter was one of those disciples. It is believed that Peter is the primary source of Mark’s gospel. Peter learned his lesson about faith. When he writes his first letter, I Peter, he says in chapter 1 that our faith is tested and purified by the difficulties we face just as gold is purified by fire, yet from God perspective our faith is more valuable than gold. For the disciples there are two reasons they are flooded with doubt. First, they have forgotten the experiences they have forgotten the miracles they have seen. It is important to realize that our faith grows through experiences. Many times the Old Testament recounts the miracles God performed for his people in delivering and providing for them. The purpose of these accounts is to build faith in God’s people. Not only had the forgotten the works of Jesus but they also forgot the words of Jesus. This story starts in verse 45 with Jesus saying: “Let us go over to the other side.” Jesus has told them where they are going but they have forgotten. In Acts 27, Paul is on his way as a prisoner to stand trial before Ceasar. A violent storm comes up and the ship is tossed for two full weeks. A angel of God appears to Paul and says: “Do not be afraid, You must stand trial before Ceasar ; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.” And in verse 25 Paul makes this statement: “I have faith in God that it will happen just he said.” It is important to remember that faith is built on God’s promises. Faith not built on a promise is presumption. Both the disciples and Paul have the word of the Lord, they have the promise but the disciples in the midst of the storm forget. Jesus spoke; the wind died and the waves became still and he turned to his disciples and said; “Why are so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” We can only read those words, but more is communicated in facial expression and tone of voice than in just words. Earlier this week we were talking around the table about the difference voice inflection makes. Four simple words such as, “The shirt is yellow” take on different meanings with voice inflection. You can say, the shirt is yellow, the shirt is yellow, or the shirt is yellow and each takes on slightly different meaning. Was Jesus angry, disappointed, amused? I don’t think he was rebuking his disciples as much as using this as a time for teaching. I find lessons for us as well. The first lesson is: Don’t face the storm in your own strength. When the disciples awakened Jesus what did they expect him to do? They were seasoned fishermen; they had been caught in storms before. They had done everything they knew to do. What were they expecting of Jesus? I think they were bailing as hard as they could and Jesus was sleeping. Yes, he’s their master but they are in a crisis: Grab an oar, get a bucket and start bailing, do something! We want to control what happens, if we don’t like what is happening, we are unhappy. One of my personality traits is a tendency to be sure of the outcome, before launching into a project. I spent a good part of the week working on the church’s annual budget. There is always more we want to do than resources to do it. There is more we want to with the facilities, with the youth, our children, staffing and all of it to grow the The disciples were battling the storm in their own strength and Jesus wanted to teach them not just for this storm but for every storm of life that he would be their strength. The second lesson I see: Acknowledge your emotions. The disciples were so focused on the wind and waves overcoming them that I’m not so sure they even realized they had been swamped with fear and doubt. Women operate on emotion, but men operate on information. One writer stated he was 40 years old before he recognized an emotion. That might be a bit of a stretch, but the truth is that in general, men are taught not to acknowledge emotion. Young boys are taught that men don’t cry. We don’t think of denying our emotions as not telling the truth, but part of being a man. USA Today reported on a survey about Americans telling the truth. According to the polls the it was reported that 81% lie about their emotions, I’m only surprised its that low. When’s the last time you asked your spouse or a friend, “What’s wrong?” and they replied: “Nothing.” I love the Psalms because they freely and honestly express life. King David wrote many of the Psalms and he openly says what is going on in life. Psalm 55:4 “My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me, Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me.” Psalm 34:4 “ I sought the Lord and he answered me and he delivered me from all my fears.” David didn’t deny his fear, he allowed God to deliver him from fear. We need to learn to acknowledge our emotions. Jesus spoke to storm and it ceased, in much the same way our words are important. A third lesson from this story is our need to Start speaking words of faith. It is so easy to become consumed with our problems and all we can think about and talk about are our problems. Looking again at Psalm 34:4, just as he didn’t deny his fear, David didn’t dwell on his fear, but declared God’s power over fear. In the midst of the storm have really listened to yourself? When was the last time you memorized scripture and took time to meditate on it? Here is a start with some great passage to memorize: II Timothy 1:7 Not fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline. Philippians 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Mark 10:27Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” Sometimes I think we believe it’s spiritual to have doubt. It seems humble to say, “I can’t do this or I can’t do that.” There’s a natural tendency to rehearse our problems over and over. How does God receive any praise for that? “Well, I don’t want to seem arrogant!” The difference between arrogance and faith is that arrogance says “I can do it myself” It’s the 15 year old that says “I can drive the car, just give me the keys!”. Faith on the other hand is courage, boldness, and confidence that God will work through me. Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith it is impossible to please God! Hang out with others of faith. Faith is contagious. Jesus spent intimate time with his disciples to reproduce his life in them. The transformation in the disciples is remarkable. Acts 4:13 – When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. In three short years the disciples was transformed from men with fear and doubt to men of faith. Their time with Jesus transformed their fear and doubt into courage and faith. Jude 20 tells us we can build up our faith in times of prayer. Jude 20 “Build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.” Hang out with Jesus – you’ll build your faith. Hebrews 10:25 tells us that we must meet together with other believer to maintain our faith. It says: “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another.” We usually don’t have as much trouble getting together with each other, but often have trouble being close enough with each other to build each others faith. We should be asking these questions: “Do I have close relationships that build up my faith? Do I build up others’ faith when I am around them?” Jesus intended that the process he demonstrated with the disciples was to be repeated over and over again. God wants us to build our faith because storms of life happen and they usually happen suddenly. Many of us not only accuse God of not caring but we blame Him for the storm. But the Bible teaches that the storms of life are good for us. They strip away things that have no real value. To face the death of a loved one or even our own mortality causes us to reevaluate what is important and to look for the eternal. When my brother Bruce first discovered he has heart problems, the doctor immediately scheduled surgery because if he were to have a heart attack, he would most likely not survive. He said that as he lay there in the hospital only 42 years of age, life suddenly took on new meaning. Faith took on new meaning for the disciples that day. The disciples fear of the storm was replaced with a fear of an awesome God. “Who is this man – even the winds and the waves obey him!” What was more awesome – the raging storm or the authority of Jesus to calm the storm? Tuesday was an incredible storm. I decided to walk to the church Tuesday morning. I stepped out of the house and there were just a few drops of rain, looking at the sky I figured it couldn’t rain too much and took off. By the time I got to Tesoro. I stopped to call my daughter for a ride. Standing under the eve of the building the lightning struck and I jumped back into the car wash for cover. When I got to the church we stood and watched the pounding rain – an incredible sight! But much more awesome is a God who simply by his word stopped the storm because he created all of nature. We must see and recognize the power of God to have godly fear. Lord, show us your power! Last Sunday’s scripture about the blind man told us the blindness was not because of sin, but an opportunity for God to show His power. This morning if you are experiencing a storm in life it is an opportunity for God to show His power. He may deliver you from the storm as he did the disciples or he may deliver you through the storm as he did for Paul the Apostle in the book of Acts. God is a God of love and power and he wants to demonstrate that in your life. Fear keeps us from accomplishing what God has for our lives. There’s a nagging doubt with each of us that questions whether we can be all God wants us to be? If you’ve been beat down with doubt and fear, God wants to replace that fear with faith. God wants you to win in this life. Psalm 128 is a beautiful promise to those who fear the Lord, those who have faith and obey him. This is an especially powerful verse for those who are here celebrating Father’s Day. Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways. 2 You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours. 3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your sons will be like olive shoots around your table. 4 Thus is the man blessed |
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