“Peace, be still!”
Mark 4:35-41
Credit is given at the end of the sermon.
“One of my favorite commercials of late has been the “Mayhem” commercials by Allstate. Mayhem is everywhere. It is the teenager texting, the storm blowing a tree on your house, the person in a hurry that doesn’t put out a grill at a tailgate event and blows something up. The point of the commercial is that you cannot escape the mayhem in this world, so you need good insurance to protect you.
Life is full of mayhem, and we have no control over the weather, other people, our health. It’s so relatable to us...
There will be times in life:
where it seems hopeless,
where it seems like there is no escape.
When facing those times come, we need to REMEMBER:
God is big enough to see you through any storm life throws at you,
The only question is, will you have the faith to trust God in the STORM?
35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!” Mark 4:35-41 (NKJV)
The disciples have been with Jesus:
as He is teaching the crowds some parables,
He has been teaching all day.
on the Northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, at Capernaum.
Jesus is standing up in the boat and teaching the people on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.
THESE MEN ARE GOING TO FACE A CHALLENGE THAT WILL TEST THEIR FAITH
Smooth sailing Mark
“On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling.” Mark 4:35-37 NKJV
It had been a long day:
They left the crowds Jesus had been teaching
They were ready to rest
They made plans to cross to the other side of the lake
But their plans were interrupted by a Storm:
It was no small storm
The boat was tossed about and slammed by waves
And it began to sink
Interrupted plans come in a 1,000 unwanted flavors
Maybe found out there was nothing “Golden” about the Golden Years.
You worked hard to get ahead and one bad thing led to another and now you are broke and broken
Maybe a surprise baby changed what the rest of your life looks like
Your spouse died, and you are left growing older alone.
Illness has taken the place of health
When Smooth Sailing turns to Rough Waters:
We might think we’ve done something wrong
Is God mad, doesn’t He care anymore?
Why is God letting this bad thing happening to me?
Be encouraged:
God is not mad at you
We all face storms in this life
Think of who is in the boat with the Disciples:
The disciples are in the boat with Jesus
And the storm still came,
They were bounced around, soaked and scared.
Jesus was with the Disciples
And if you are a Christian, HE IS WITH YOU TOO!
Even in the midst of a STORM
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1
When people or preachers:
try to tell you that if you follow Jesus,
you will not experience troubles, suffering or pain,
They are lying…
Storms are coming, make sure Jesus is in your boat.
Rough waters
“But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” Mark 4:38 NKJV
I’m reminded of a line from the Theme song for Gilligan's Island:
“The weather started getting rough, The tiny ship was tossed,”
Can you picture the scene:
where the little boat was beaten
And the waves crashed?
Can you hear the thunder and see the lightning?
We can imagine the picture, but we can’t experience the TERROR
Of the people on the sinking ship.
Were the disciples ever in danger?
Was something going to happen that would surprise Jesus?
The disciples ask “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?
Of course Jesus cared!
They came in doubt:
Why are you going to let us die?
Don’t you love us?
This is terrible, don’t you care??
Do you even know that we are about to drown?
And there are times we come to Jesus the same way:
As if He doesn’t love us
Or that He doesn’t care
Or that somehow He is not aware of our
Fear, Pain, struggle, exhaustion
Here are the disciples:
the men who walked with Jesus,
watched Him perform miracles,
they listened to His sermons
They are in the boat with Jesus!
The waves are crashing, the boat is sinking
You might they would be calm
in the midst of the storm.
The disciples think they are about to be fish food
Where is JESUS!
He is ASLEEP!
Are you kidding me,
Jesus is ASLEEP as these men are about to plunge into the depths of the Sea of Galilee!
Let’s be honest, how many times have you felt Jesus was asleep at the wheel when you were in the midst of your storm?
The disciples are in FREAKING OUT!
“We’re all gonna die!” They scream
So what now?
They wake Jesus up.
Then not only do they wake Him up, they proceed to say,
“Teacher! Don’t You care that we’re going to die?”
Jesus calms the rough waters
“Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.” Mark 4:39 NKJV
Jesus got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!”
The wind ceased, and
there was a great calm.
Jesus spoke:
And the wind stopped,
the sea IMMEDIATELY became as smooth as glass,
A GREAT CALM
God’s word is powerful!!
Everything in all creation exists because God SPOKE IT INTO EXISTENCE!
Psalm 33:9-11 (NKJV)
“For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast.”
God’s word is powerful
Notice this:
Jesus saved them by His word…
In God’s Word are the words of life
The story of the Cross of Christ,
The offer of salvation to the world through the blood of Jesus
Jesus saved them from the STORM by His Word:
Can I be so bold as to say that some of the storms we face
Would be smaller to us if we were to be in God’s word more faithfully?
That we spend more time listening to the storms that to listen to the words of JESUS
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27
Are we listening and obeying the Word of God???
Jesus calming the storm reminds to us:
God is not limited by the Laws of nature
He is the creator, and even the waves and weather obey His word.
Jesus calmed a storm:
that terrified seasoned fishermen
Ever notice how people can kinda predict weather, but no one can CAUSE weather?
But we remember that with God nothing is impossible.
Jesus calmed the storm. Now Jesus has some tough words for the Disciples, and the Disciples come to a deeper understanding of the identity of Jesus.
Evaluation time Mark 4:40-41
“But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
Once the storm was calmed:
Jesus turns to His disciples as asks them why they were fearful?
“Uhh Duh we almost died here…”
They had forgotten who was in the boat with them.
Jesus REBUKES them for their fear:
- The real threat to our faith doesn’t come from a RAGING STORM
- The real danger is doubt and fear
Jesus asks them, How is it that you have no faith?
After all the miracles Jesus has done,
they are still of small faith
The Disciples had more fear than they had faith!
We have to increase our confidence in God:
As our level of confidence in God grows,
our faith will grow and we will be able
to experience true peace even in the middle of a storm
Invitation:
When Jesus is our Lord and savior:
There is no need to panic…
There is no cause to fear…
Jesus is bigger than the storm..
When Jesus is your captain – your ship is unsinkable!!!
Do you hear me church?
Even the wind and the waves obey him!!!
Hebrews 12:27 “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”
There are no storms in heaven:
What we need most is not long life on earth, but the salvation of our souls.
Jesus saved the Disciples from the storm, and
He can save you from your sins.
“Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,” Hebrews 9:27 (NIV)
Turn to Jesus now, while there is still time: Jesus is waiting for you...
Credit: I came up with the outline, but I leaned heavily on this sermon:
https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/god-is-big-enough-to-see-me-thru-the-storm-jeffery-anselmi-sermon-on-jesus-calms-the-stor-199043?ref=SermonSerps
The introduction “Mayham” is from:
https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/jesus-calms-the-storm-russell-pettus-sermon-on-jesus-calms-storm-232416?ref=SermonSerps
Closing is adapted from:
https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/unsinkable-dr-fred-w-penney-sermon-on-faith-237890?ref=SermonSerps
