Trevor S
Ferguson
July 18,
2015
Mark 4:35-39
35And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.
36And 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.
37And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
38And 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?
39And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
35And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.
36And 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.
37And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
38And 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?
39And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
Psalm 46:1-3,
10-11
1God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.
1God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.
10Be
still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I
will be exalted in the earth.
11The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.
11The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.
INTRODUCTION
Life is characterized by predictable periodic changes in
natural environment. We can predictably expect that there will be morning and
evening, sunrise and sunset, days, weeks, months, seasons and years. The order
is set, so that morning always comes before evening, night follows day, sunrise
follows sunset. The days of the week follow natural order, the seasons of the
year also follow in their order – spring, summer, autumn, winter. We can count
on this order. Similarly, in the human body there are predictable and
progressive developments throughout the life cycle. Given a stable environment
a baby will grow through the various stages from childhood to adulthood and the
body will function efficiently enabling us to perform the various activities of
daily living. This predictability in nature and in our bodies allows up to make
plans as we go from day to day, and even for the course of our life. When life
follows its expected course most of us are happy and comfortable.
From time to time however, unexpected and unpredictable
events crop up in our lives, and seemingly turn our lives upside down. All of
us in Jamaica are familiar with tropical storms and hurricanes. Every so often,
these monster storms invade our shores, threaten life and property, destabilizing
our lives, sometimes for weeks. We often worry about other natural events such
as earthquakes, which have the capacity to be even more destructive than
hurricanes. Then there are other events such as fire and floods, and even an
unexpected shower of rain which may steer our lives off course. In the human
body, our greatest fear is sickness, which often strikes unexpectedly. Added to
that are the various accidents (motor vehicles, planes etc.) that can cause
sudden death.
For most of us, we are at our best when life is comfortable
and predictable! But what do we do when the storms of life strike unexpectedly?
What so we do when life suddenly goes off course, and we are seemingly
powerless to make corrections? Many of us become flustered, distressed and
depressed. We live in fear that we may not make it through the storm! As a
result our blood pressures go up, we experience headaches and pain, and we find
ourselves unable to sleep at nights. Needless to say our fear only makes
matters worse.
Often in these situations we find it difficult to pray and
we keep asking God – Why? Why? Some of us begin to question the goodness of
God, as we reason that if God was working on our behalf we would not be
experiencing such turbulence in our lives!
I believe that many of us today are going through various
storms, and may be wondering how we are going to get through it. Indeed, as a
church we are currently going through our own storm, and many are worried
because we not in control of the situation. The word of God to us today,
however, is a word of encouragement. Despite the turbulence of the times, God
is saying to us - Be Still! I am with you! Be not dismayed, I will not leave
you! I will be your refuge and your fortress. I will be a present help, in this
your time of trouble. I will ride with you through the storm and at the
appropriate time, I will calm the storm. Be still, God is with us!
EXPOSITION
Let us look at the text in some more detail. The passage in
Mark 4 illustrates the common reactions that we display in times of storm, and
the power of God calm the storm. Psalm 46 is a song of praise, declaring the
power of God to keep us and protect us we wade through the various threats and
uncertainties that crop us in this life. Mark tells us that after Jesus had
taught the people from a ship on the Sea of Galilee, they set out in the
evening to cross over to the other side of the lake. Jesus (in his humanity)
was weary after a day of teaching and went in the hinder part of the ship and
fell asleep. Now the Sea of Galilee, also called Lake Tiberias is a landlocked
body of water; it is approximately 7 miles wide and 13 miles long, and located deep
in the Jordan valley. The lake is surrounded by mountains and its geographic
properties often results in sudden windstorms. These storms result in
turbulence and great waves which cause sailing to become extremely dangerous.
While the disciples were on their journey, one of these
great windstorms developed, with waves battering the ship, and filling it with
water. They were in imminent danger as
the boat could capsize or sink, either of which would result in certain death.
While all of this was happening Jesus was still asleep in the back of the ship!
The disciples therefore went to wake him, asking – “Carest thou not the we perish?”
I am sure that some of us can identify with situations like
this. Our lives seems to be turned upside down, we feel like we are in the
throngs of death and somehow we can’t seem to hear from God! Job had a similar experience. In the midst of
his great affliction Job declares:
“ Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat! … Behold, I go
forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot
perceive him: On the left
hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him:” (Job 23:3, 8-9)
What do we do in such situations? Job himself has some
answers. In Job 19:25-26, while still in his suffering he declares:
“For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see
God:”
Today we can be assured that the presence of storms does
not suggest the absence of God, or that God is not on our side. It does not
suggest that God does not care, or that he will sit back and let us perish. Jesus
is in the ship! He will get up, speak to the winds and the waves and restore
calm to our lives.
Brothers and sisters, let me remind us that in this life we
are not exempt from the storms; but we are assured today, that Christ is in the
vessel. With Christ in the vessel we can smile at the storm.
Psalm 46 is a powerful and assuring psalm. This psalm can give
us comfort and confidence when we face the storms, tests, and trial of this
life. Look again at verses 1-3
“God is our refuge and
strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the
earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the
sea; Though the waters thereof
roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the
swelling thereof.”
I like how this is rendered in the Message translation:
“God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we
need him. We stand fearless
at the cliff-edge of doom, courageous in seastorm and earthquake, Before the
rush and roar of oceans, the tremors that shift mountains. Jacob-wrestling God
fights for us, GOD of angel armies protects us.”
The word of God today is that when we are in trouble we can
hide and rest in God. Everything around may be in chaos and confusion, but God
gives us peace in the midst of all this. It does not matter how big the
problems are. God is bigger than our problems and he has the power to speak
into the situation.
So what do we do in the storm? Verse 11 has the perfect
solution – Be still and know that God is God! We can relax in calm confidence.
Everybody else may be getting flustered but we can stay calm. How is it that we
can be calm despite the turbulence? This calmness comes from the confidence
that we have in our God. Because he is God, he has control over the Universe.
Because we are his children He has our lives worked out for us. He will come
and save us before it is too late. He will speak to the wind and calm the
storms.
Let me stretch your faith a little further, for sometimes
we see deliverance only if things worked out the way that we desired. We need
to get to the point where we trust God so much that even if God does not
deliver, we accept his Sovereign will and remain unshaken in our faith! Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego modeled this in their response to Nebuchadnezzar:
“O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in
this matter. If it be so, our
God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he
will deliver us out of thine
hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve
thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”
Job also says it well: “And
though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see
God”
Our confidence in God is not limited to situations where he
does what we desire, but we are so confident that even if things do not work
out the way we expected, our faith will not be shaken. God is God, and whatever
God does is well done.
So while the storms rage and the tempest blow, we will be
still, because we know that God is with us. The Lord of host is with us. The
God of Jacob is our refuge!
APPLICATION/CONCLUSION
I challenge us today to lift our faith and rest in calm
confidence in God. Though we pass through the storm, God is with us. Though we
pass through the fire we shall not be burned. Let us trust in God completely. Be
still, God is with us!
mary@mail.postmanllc.net
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