I give you all a warm welcome to
our worship here this morning. Let us ask the Lord's blessing,
let us pray. Lord God of heaven and of earth,
you grant us thy blessing as we gather for worship. May thy
spirit be amongst us and the power of God attending the word. Grant us a true spirit of worship. We thank Thee for Thy day, for
the gathering together of Thy people. Lord, do bless us here
at Cranbrook and Lord, bless each that gather with us here
or online. We ask Thee these things through
our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Hymn: 70, Tune: Churchill 19, Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God, the Gospel according to Matthew, and chapter
8. If you're joining with us with
one of our free Bibles, that's page 891 in the Ruby Bible, 891. The Gospel according to Matthew
chapter 8. When he was come down from the
mountain, great multitudes followed him. And behold, there came a
leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst
make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand
and touched him, saying, I will, be thou clean. And immediately
his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus saith unto him, See
thou tell no man, but go thy way, show thyself to the priest,
and offer the gift that Moses commanded for a testimony unto
them. And when Jesus was entered into
Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion beseeching him, and
saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home, sick of the palsy, grievously
tormented. And Jesus said unto him, I will
come and heal him. The centurion answered and said,
Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof,
but speak the word only and my servant shall be healed. For
I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say
to this man, go, and he goeth, and to another, come, and he
cometh, and to my servant, do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus
heard it, he marveled and said to them that followed, Verily
I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, that many
shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with
Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the
children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness,
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto
the centurion, Go thy way, And as thou hast believed, so be
it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in
the selfsame hour. And when Jesus was come into
Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid and sick of a fever,
and he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she arose
and ministered unto them. When the even was come, they
brought unto him many that were possessed with devils, and he
cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were
sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the
prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities and bare our
sicknesses. Now when Jesus saw great multitudes
about him, He gave commandment to depart unto the other side. And a certain scribe came and
said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou
goest. And Jesus saith unto him, The
foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the
Son of Man hath not where to lay his head. And another of
his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and
bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow
me and let the dead bury their dead. And when he was entered
into a ship, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose
a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with
the waves, but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him
and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us, we perish. And he saith
unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose and rebuked the
winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. But the men
marveled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the
winds and the sea obey him? And when he was come to the other
side, into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two
possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce,
so that no man might pass by that way. And behold, they cried
out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son
of God? Art thou come hither to torment
us before the time? And there was a good way off
from them, and herd of many swine feeding. So the devils besought
him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into
the herd of swine. And he said unto them, Go. And
when they were come out, they went out into the herd of swine. And behold, the whole herd of
swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea and perished
in the waters. And they that kept them fled
and went their ways into the city and told everything. and what was before them to the
possessed of the devils. And behold, the whole city came
out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they besought
him that he would depart out of their coasts. Lord, bless
to us that reading of his holy word and help us in prayer. Let us pray. Thou eternal, ever-merciful and
gracious God, who grant us Thy help and grace to bow before
Thy throne, we plead the precious name and blood of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ, O Lord, we come to Thee, in whom is our
breath, and who has the hand of all things here below, who
is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth
it not. Thou art the King of kings and
Lord of lords. We do pray for greater faith,
that we might have a greater realisation of Thy presence everywhere,
of Thy power, the power of Thy word, and Lord of the salvation,
that Thou hast wrought out, that Thou hast planned for sinners,
O Lord, we do thank Thee for that revealed in the Word. We feel sin within us. We see it all about us. We see
this fallen world. And Lord, Thy gospel is as a
light and as a beacon that shines forth in that darkness. Lord,
we seek that we might know it and that we might know that blessed
reconciliation fellowship and communion with thee. O Lord,
do help us here below, that those of us who have spiritual life,
that thou hast grant that we might take care to maintain and
to desire that it be maintained, that fellowship and communion
with thee. O leave us not careless and indifferent,
but Lord, may we ever be mindful of what time we actually spend
in Thy presence and hearing from Thee and Thou hearing from us.
O Lord, we do seek of Thee that as the great end of salvation
is God and sinners reconciled and that it shall be that Thy
people be with Thee for eternity. Lord, do grant that it might
be impressed upon us that the blessings of salvation known
here below result in that, in a communion, fellowship, in a
desire for it, in a striving that it be maintained, in prayer
that it be granted to us. O Lord, we do pray that Thou'd
remember us in this respect and do grant that Thou might hear
often from us and we hear often from Thee. Do forgive our many
sins and many iniquities, and do renew us unto repentance,
giving us a tender conscience, the fear of the Lord, and that
hatred of sin and love of holiness. O Lord, we pray thy blessing
upon us personally this day. It might be a day of worship,
a day of feeding under thy word. a day of the Son of Man upon
Earth, when Thou dost come and bless our souls. O Lord, do bless
that already attended to today, the services for Australia, and
we do seek Thy blessing upon the churches there, and also,
Lord, throughout this land, each of the churches. And Lord, do
remember those in Canada and America also. Be it there, brethren,
in Holland, we commit them unto thee, especially remember those
in bereavement and in great sickness, to grant, Lord, thy blessing
with them at this time, giving grace to help in their need,
healing where it is thy will, Lord, thy presence in the midst
of trial and affliction, Lord, that there might be those things
done that redound to thy all honour, and thy glory. We especially
pray that thou hast blessed thy people with that calm and peace
that only thou canst give in the face of adversity, storms
and tribulation. O Lord, we do pray that thou
wouldst help us as so often these things come upon us and stir
us up and such a storm within. O Lord, do save us, deliver us
and when we would sink, Lord, do lift us up. Lord, we pray
that Thou should remember us here as a church and people. O Lord, bless Thy word as it
goes forth and do grant that we might see many from this town
and the surrounding area come and be called by Thy grace here. O Lord, who work in this town,
we pray, answer the prayers of parents, grandparents, great-grandparents,
of those that may be still in this town and yet careless and
indifferent of the faith of those who've gone before, indifferent
to their own soul's need. O Lord, do be pleased to work
as thou hast given the candlestick in this place, that there might
be many come and fill this house. with hungering, thirsting souls.
Lord, pour out thy spirit. We need a spiritual reviving. Lord, we confess we are a nation,
a people that are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, that
we have everything that heart could wish and so have no need
for thee. Lord, do impress upon men, women,
children's hearts that there is more than just this life. that there is the need of the
soul, the soul that is under the sentence of death, soul that
must one day part from the tabernacle that it is in and then return
unto thee. Then all things here below shall
have ceased and we shall give an account unto thee as fallen,
lost, ruined sinners under condemnation. O Lord, do save us from the wrath
to come, and may many be alerted to their danger, and leave them
not to drift along through life's journey until they die, and after
with the terrors of the grave and eternity and hell. O Lord,
Thou art He alone in which there is salvation. You grant us faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ. We do say, Lord, that thou hast
blessed thy word to each today. Lord, do thou direct it and cause
that we might speak that which thou hast have us to speak. And
do send us, Lord, those supplies from above. Lord, help us as
we begin. another week, and grant us that
provision through the week. We thank thee for mercies over
this last week, many answers to prayer. Lord, we thank thee
for it. We pray, Lord, for those that
are in affliction of our brethren in the ministry to remember Jay
Brunt. We do pray thy healing hand upon
him. that he might be strengthened
and, if it is thy will, be able to go to America later in the
week. But, Lord, do grant healing for
him and help him be laid aside today and through the beginning
of this week. O Lord, we do commit him unto
thee. Lord, do be pleased to remember
thy dear aid servants, and do help them and do bless them.
Lord, we do seek then that Thou wouldst be with us here. Open
our mouth wide, do Thou fill it, and do grant, Lord, Thy word
graciously. We thank Thee for Thy precious
blood shed at Calvary. We thank Thee for that way of
escape made known unto us in Thy holy, sacred word. We pray,
Lord, that those that seek Thee according to Thy promise might
find Thee Those that are beginning in faith might be led on and
taught of thee. Lord, those that feel under the
law and under sentence and condemnation might be brought into gospel
liberty, those seeking direction might see it clearly from thy
word, and that there might be those who for the first time
ask, Lord, what must I do, and what way I should go? O Lord,
we bless thee for those who no longer consult just themselves,
but consult thy word, and make things a matter of prayer. Help
us so to continue to do. We pray for the children, the
young people, the rising generation, to be blessed and attended to
in young people's meetings in the last week. And Lord, do grant
that there might be amongst them those called and quickened by
thy grace. Lord, raise up from amongst them
those that shall tell to another generation the wondrous works
of God. O Lord, do help us then. We do
seek, Lord, to thank Thee for every temporal blessing, for
the rains that Thou hast sent upon the earth locally here,
Lord, for every good that Thou hast shown. We thank Thee for
Thou art a good, a gracious, a long-suffering God. We do pray
that Thou wouldst help us to look to Thee in all things. We
pray for those in authority over us. We realise how much affects
our lives, the laws that are made, the various things, the
decisions that are made by government. We thank Thee for the freedom
to worship as we have at this time, we pray as continuance,
we pray for wisdom for those in authority over us. Lord, we
would that they might be granted grace and that they might look
unto thee in all that they do. Lord, we mourn on account of
the abominations done in the land We pray that we might more
do so and not be hardened, that it might really touch us when
we see and hear the effects of sin and the godlessness in our
land. O Lord, turn us again. Lord, we are part of it and we
would confess our sins as a nation. Lord, do have mercy, we pray,
and lengthen out that time of freedom from war and freedom
from persecution We thank thee, Lord, for the freedoms that we
have. But Lord, do grant thy blessing
in such a day that there might be many called by thy grace. We pray thy blessing on the Bibles
that are taken from our Bible boxes and received through the
web offer. and that all who have received
them might be blessed through thy word, and that they might
be brought into true gospel liberty and established as thy people
and continue in thy ways. Lord, we ask now thy blessing
as we come to thy word. We ask through our Lord Jesus
Christ. Amen. The announcements, God willing,
I'm expected to preach here this evening at 6.30pm, on Thursday
evening at 7 o'clock, and next Lord's Day at 11am and 6.30pm. The collections taken during
August for this cause of truth, for support of the ministry,
£838.30, and for the free Bible Fund,
£70.55. Lord bless you in your giving
and may the Bibles be blessed that have gone forth. During
this last month, August, there was 31 taken from the Bible boxes
and the web offer 37 sent out, making a total of 68. Bible sent
during the last month. We give advance notice that at
the end of this month, it is a fifth Lord's Day, and on the
29th of the month, when we hope, if the Lord will, to have Mr.
Phil Buss preach to us, the collection on that day is for the Savannah
Education Trust. Hymn: 232, Tune: City Road Chapel 805. Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayer for attention to Matthew chapter 8, and reading
from our text, verse 26. It is the last part of this verse
that is upon my spirit. The whole verse reads, And he
saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose and rebuked the
winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. It is these words, and there
was a great calm. This is an account of a literal
happening with the Lord coming with his disciples on the sea
and a storm comes on that sea and we can picture the situation
with our Lord asleep and the ship covered with waves and the
fear of the disciples. They came to him and awoke him
saying, Lord, save us, we perish. And this is our text then, his
response when he awoke. He saith unto them, why are ye
fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose and rebuked the
winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. is no wonder the men marveled
at what he had done and the effects on the winds and the sea. This
is one of those times that we can clearly see the Lord Jesus
Christ as truly God and truly man. We see him asleep You might
say, so soundly asleep that he needed to be awaked. We see him,
wearied, like he was on the well in Samaria. But then we see the
real contrast, when just with a word he stills the waves and
the billows. Verily God, verily man, No confusion
of natures, but in one person. A great mystery
to us. Great is the mystery of godliness. God manifest in the flesh. Now you might say, well, how
can the word that we have here apply to us? Certainly we may have times that
we are also in a ship or on a boat. We also might be in a storm like
the Apostle Paul was. Three times he was shipwrecked.
A night and a day he spent in the deep. We think of Psalm 107. The picture there of the sea
and going down to the depths. rising up again, their heart
melted because of trouble. Then are they glad because they
be quiet, so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. What
we mentioned regarding the hymn we've just sung, Hymn of John
Newton. John Newton, the Lord, was pleased
to convert that hardened seaman slave trader during a storm. The Lord used those things but
it's not just on the sea that we have storms. It's not just
that which we need the Lord to still tempest and to bring the
calm. So this has an application to
many aspects in our lives, both natural and spiritual as well. There is a calm that is a dangerous
calm. In this world we are under the
sentence of death, and death is on the road. And as we are
going on, heading towards eternity is a solemn thing if we have
peace and calm, no trouble, no concern for us all, no alarm
at the state that we are in under the sentence of death and the
wrath of God. And that we have a calm and a
peace, just like is said of the wicked, that they say, peace,
peace, when there is no peace. like those in Jeremiah's day,
that he sought to warn them. But they said the enemy would
not come. There would be peace. There would
not be destruction in their city. There is a calm, a quietness,
a confidence that is wrong. Bunyan, in his Pilgrim's Progress,
he spoke of the character of ignorance. And he went through
life's journey, professing to be a pilgrim, but he hadn't come
through the wicked gate. He didn't know the Lord. He wasn't
living a life of faith and prayer, but he was living in the hope
that all would be well at last without a real foundation. And however much Bunyan's pilgrim
And his companion, hopeful, tried to warn him of his danger. He refused to listen and would
rather trust in the calm and peace that he had. And there's
many today, they do not want to hear the word of God for fear
that it shall unsettle them, unsettle their calm, take away
their peace and security. They'd rather be like the ostrich
that puts its head in the sand rather than face the danger and
think that because it couldn't see the danger, then all will
be well and right. So there is a calm that is not
a good calm. The context here, the contrast
here, makes the difference. When there is the storm first,
and what brings that on, and how the calm comes about. Our Lord said, in me you shall
have peace, in the world you shall have tribulation. At the
same time, the same people, knowing on one hand tribulation and knowing
on the other, or rather inwardly, a peace, a calm that the Lord
has given them. May we be delivered from a dangerous
calm and be brought to know a true calm and true peace that comes
through the Lord, through the power of his word. We're going
to look this morning at firstly the storms known by the Lord's
quickened people. And then secondly, prayer in
time of need. We have the disciples here coming
to the Lord, saying, Lord save us, we perish. And then thirdly,
the Lord's command and its effect. And there was a great calm, and
that was brought about by the Lord speaking, arising, rebuking
the winds and the sea. Firstly, the storms known by
the Lord's quickened people. I want to begin with the account
of Job. And the reason why is because
in the account of Job, is brought together, you might say, outward
trials and inward trials. The Book of Job begins with Satan
accusing Job of only serving God because God had hedged him
about and kept him safe. He thought that if The Lord permitted
all that he had to be touched, he would curse God to his face. So the Lord gave him permission. So we read how that Job, he lost
his herds, his flocks, his servants, his children, and later on his
health. He had all those things touched. Now, the reason why we think
of the Book of Job is because many that do not know the Lord,
that never will know the Lord, they also have these, we might
say, disasters, trials, calamities come into their lives. Satan thought if these things
came into someone's life, then instead of being converted, instead
of being brought to the Lord, they would, if they had already
been with the Lord, turn against him and go away from him. And in that, Satan knows what
many in this world will do. They follow the Lord for loaves
and fishes. They follow him as if he is an
insurance that they will get good jobs, good wealth, good
health. And when they don't, then they're
offended and think, well, they had a better life before they
were a Christian, before they followed the Lord. Most solemnly,
there are most wicked so-called pastors, the prosperity ministries
that tell people that the sign of God's blessing on them is
that they will have great riches. And these preachers have great
riches because they deceive the people into giving to them. And they have their jets and
their millions and everything and say, if you only believe
like we do, then you can have all these things. And covetous
man goes after it. In their thousands, they do.
Great auditoriums full of people listening to such blasphemy and
such evil words in the name of the Lord. But the Lord's people
are to know that their rest is not here, their riches are not
here, that blessing is above. And they will have then the trials,
our Lord speaks of it in Matthew 13, when he says of the hearers
that hear the word, those that receive it into stony ground,
they receive it for a while, have joy for a while, But then
when persecution ariseth because of the word, or tribulation,
afflictions and trials, then they are offended, they go back.
And so God's people, they do know, like Job did, those things
that you look outwardly and they're exactly the same as those that
are not the Lord's. They suffer the same famines,
the same car accidents, the same sicknesses, illnesses, They have
these things that are appointed unto man as part of the fall,
part of the tribulation that these things are to be passed
through. In the world, says our Lord,
he must have tribulation. And thankfully, he doesn't say
to us, now what would you like? What illness would you like?
What calamity would you like? What would we choose? If we looked
over all what, the millions of this world suffer. Some of them
we might think, how could they ever continue with such things?
But the Lord makes choice for us and it should be then when
we realise that to be more submissive and to more look for his blessing
and his presence with us in what he chooses should be our tribulation. Tribulation is great trouble. We cannot escape great trouble. We must have it. It is not a
mark against us. It's not a mark that we are not
the Lord's. It is evidence we are this side
of the grave. We're in the world that is not
our rest and the tribulation we must have. So Job had that. But instead of turning against
the Lord, He said this, he said, the Lord gave and the Lord hath
taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord. Shall we not receive
good at the hand of the Lord and shall we not receive evil? We're told that in all this that
Job sinned not with his lips. And the trial also was added
to then by his wife saying to him, curse God and die. Why do you still retain your
integrity? So then he had an additional
storm, trouble, a trial coming from his wife. Then he had that
which came from his friends. At first, his friends came to
him to comfort him. They saw his sorrow was great.
They sat with him seven days, and to comfort him. But later
on, because the trial continued, it didn't appear that the Lord
was helping him, they then surmised that there was a reason why. And they turned accusing. And Job had to say to them, miserable
comforters, I eat all. They mistook what the Lord was
doing for him. So in doing that, they added. So here was an additional burden,
a trial, a storm that the world would not know because they are
suggesting things that affect Job's faith. They're undermining
him. They are saying that God is dealing
with him for some sin, some thing that he'd done. And that was
not true. And yet, later on, Job then starts
to justify himself and to lay charges at God, and so it becomes
then a spiritual trial. That which is outward now has
an inward element, and God is sifting him. He's finding out
all about his own heart, finding out what is there, and it's only
when trials come that we do find out what is really within. Now I've used the illustration
before here, it's worth repeating, when I was an apprentice at a
hospital and mending the stainless steel trolleys that came from
the kitchen and we had to weld them up using a blowtorch and
they'd come from the kitchen, nice polished stainless steel.
Well, to weld them up, you had to apply the heat. And as you
applied the heat, out of that steel came a thick black goo. It was all of the oil from the
kitchens that had sunk into that metal. You wouldn't think it
was porous like a sponge, but it was stainless steel. And we
had to get all of that out first before we could start to weld
it together. And so it's not until the heat
of trials storms, tribulations, afflictions, not until they are
applied to us that we then start to see what is hidden, what comes
up, all of our anger, all of our replying against God, our
kicking against His hand, our lack of submission, our suspicions
as to the Lord's motives and what He is doing for us. And it was said of Job, by Elihu
later on when he spoke on the Lord's behalf, that he made excuses
for wicked men, or he, as it were, took their side. The language that he was using
was the language of those of the wicked. The trial, the fire,
shall try every man's work of what sort it is. And we must,
through much tribulation, we must go through these fiery triumphs. If need be, you're in heaviness
through manifold temptations. So with Joe we see outward, and
then we see because of the outward, not separated from it, there
then comes much inward exercise of soul, burden of soul, principally
because of what is stirred up with him as against the Lord
and the feelings that he had against the Lord. He didn't cast
the Lord away, he didn't go back, walk no more with him, but it
is a pain to God's children when they start to feel that difference
between them and their God and when they are angry, cross, they're
not calm, they're stormed and troubled within. And these things
can come very, very quickly. They can come through something
that comes unexpectedly on us. It can come through something
that we're walking through and have been for many, many years. And we think we're submissive. We think that we've mastered
it. We think we can cope with it.
And then suddenly, when we're faced again with the reality
of the same trial, it rises up, it storms within, and crowds
of thoughts come in as to what the Lord is doing, why we have
this path, what the Lord will do, and the unbelief and the
suspicions for the Lord. And then if men, if those have
been used to bring the tribulation, then we have that anger, or malice,
bitterness against those people. And it can come in a moment. In an instance, we walk through
a door. We can be one side. We think
immediate peace and not any thought of trouble. We can come through
a door and suddenly it hits us and suddenly it overwhelms us. And then we know what these storms
are that suddenly come. The people of God then will know
an outward and inward. Many of the Psalms are like this.
You have Psalm 34, when David was in fear of his life before
Achish, the Philistines, and he made out that he was mad to
escape out of their hands. They recognized him as the one
that had killed Goliath. But we read in Psalm 34, this
poor man cried and the Lord heard him. and saved him out of all
his troubles. The great trial it was outwardly,
but also it speaks of it inwardly, and there's a lot in that psalm
that is very prophetic of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. And so we would think even of
our Lord, that which is outward, you might say he suffered the
same as the two thieves with him. He was crucified, the same
as them. They were dealt with the same
in a physical way. But with him, the Father hid
his face from him. My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? With him there was the burden
of his people's sin upon him, the iniquities, the evils, the
vile sins he had laid on him, the iniquity of us all. Now what
we think, if we hated some vile thing and we were told to carry
it, or we'd be smited with it, or we had to be associated with
it. You know, the apostle Peter,
when he was told to arise, kill, and eat that which was unclean,
he refused. He said, I've never eaten anything
that is unclean, common, vile. He wouldn't do it. But what of
our Lord having to bear the sins of his people in his spotless,
pure, innocent body? There is that outward then and
an inward trial, an inward storm and trial. The people of God
know what it is when their own sinful heart rises up and creates
such a storm of vile temptations and affections, the old nature
rising up. Paul says, I keep under my body,
but his body tried to rise up. The good that I would, I do not.
The evil that I would not, that I do. O wretched man that I am. We have fallen, and it doesn't
take anything. We don't have to call forth evil. It comes forth. And the people
of God, they know what it is, they feel it, they smart under
it, and it causes such storms within, and of course that then
brings separation, brings sorrow, brings a real conflict with their
faith, their hope in Christ, and they feel at times to be
as like The picture here, overwhelmed. Overwhelmed and ready to sink
and ready to perish. Then there are Satans. With the
account of Job, we read very clearly of how Satan is observing
the people of God, how he hates them. He goes about as a roaring
lion, seeking whom he may devour. He goes as an angel of light,
deceiving. And often as he makes the sins
to be plausible and like baits when we go after them, then he
turns accuser and he accuses us of them. Our Lord Jesus Christ
was tempted by Satan. He had no sin in him, but Satan
could cast at him all manner of temptation. And some of those
temptations, they were actually Using the very words of God,
it is written, he shall give his angels charge over thee,
lest thou dash thy foot against the stone. And he, with that
temptation, would have our Lord cast himself down from the pinnacle
of the temple. Our Lord resisted those temptations. He says to his people, that he
will not suffer them to be tempted above that ye are able but with
the temptation make a way of escape that ye be able to bear
it but it can come in waves and storms of temptation to do this
or that and sometimes it's very hard to discern is it coming
from our own heart is it coming from outside from satan there's
no Sin to be tempted, but it is to go along with it. And really
it's best not to even worry about whether it comes from within
or not. Sin, whether it's tempted or
whether it's come within, is to be resisted. Resist the devil
and he will flee from you. And we are to mortify the deeds
of the body and not have them to rule over us. But these things
are constant adversaries and constant trials. Then there can
be storms concerning those things we trust the Lord has said to
us, appeared to us in. We think of Jacob being blessed
at Bethel, but then Laban changing his wages 10 times. The trials
that he had later in coming back with Esau threatening and how
that brought wrestling prayer in his trial, I will not let
thee go except thou bless me. We think of the trial that Joseph
had when the Lord revealed to him through dreams that one day
his brothers would bow down to him, and it was evident the Lord
had a plan, purpose for him, and yet what he had to go through,
We read in Psalm 105 that, until his time came, the word of the
Lord tried him. The Lord was with him, we are
told that. And the Lord was with the disciples
here, we're told that as well. But that storm that was within,
falsely accused, cast into prison, left forgotten by the butler,
all of these things, the things that are walked through that
can raise up such a storm, such a tossing to and fro. The description
we have of the Apostle Paul when he was literally in the ship
when they were in the hurricane, that they went some two weeks
not even seeing night or day, darkness and such tossings and
all hope of being saved was taken away. It wasn't until then the
Lord appeared to Paul and the Lord blessed. Paul. We have those
then outwardly, and we have that that is inwardly, in the workings
of sin, in the temptations of Satan, in the trial of our faith,
in those things that we pass through. We have the word in
Romans 8 verse 28, that we know that all things work together
for good, to them that love God, to them that are the called according
to his purpose. And Job, though in the midst
of his trial, he cries out, O that I knew where I might find him,
that I might come even unto his seat. Yet at the end of it, he
says, I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, that
now mine eye seeth thee, wherefore I repent in dust and ashes, abhor
myself and repent in dust and ashes. So these storms, the storms
known by the people of God, the tossings to and fro, the troubles,
the trials, those things that have a parallel here, which this
is an illustration to us and it is in those storms then that
we are brought to pray in the time of need. I want to look
at that secondly. The disciples here, they came
to him and awoke him saying, Lord save us, we perish. In the account in Mark, we read
them saying, Lord, carest thou not that we perish? Casting,
as it were, a slight upon him, what the thought that the God
of heaven and of earth didn't care for his people, didn't even
care when he was in the boat. Here in this account, it doesn't
mention that. But just, Lord, save us, we perish. But what a reminder, first, of
the need of prayer in such occasions. I spoke at the first about a
calm, a false calm. But we can also have, on the
other side, a fatalistic spirit and say, well, what will be,
will be. We must just put a good front on it, must make the best
of what we're in. We're the Lord's people. We're
going to be stoics. We can rely on the Lord's help
and the Lord's grace and almost be in denial as if, well, we're
not going to let these things move us or trouble us. But this
is a reminder that God's people, they're feeling people. and that
those storms and those trials, they are to pray. They are to
call upon him, call upon me in the day of trouble. I will deliver
thee and thou shalt glorify me. We may pray wrong. We may pray
as they did as recorded in the other account, almost blaming
the Lord and that he doesn't care. He might be like the Apostle
Paul and pray three times that the thorn in the flesh, a messenger
of Satan, be completely taken away. The Lord never meant that,
but he didn't ignore Paul. He gave him grace and Paul was
more happy with the grace than he would have been the trial
taken away. My grace is sufficient for thee. My strength is made perfect in
weakness. Therefore, rather glory in my
infirmity, that when I am weak, then am I strong. That was his
assessment of what the Lord had given him. But the Lord will
have us always to pray and not to faint, to have these things
bring us to him. So maybe a message, if you are
in storms, in troubles, tossed about, troubled, troubled in
your mind, full of care, anything but calm. May this be the Lord's
word to you to pray, to take it to the Lord, to bring it to
the Lord, not as it were, stew in it and turn it over and to
be filled with anger or wrath or resentment or kicking against
the Lord, but turn it into prayer. Come before the Lord like the
disciples did here, with an urgency even to awake Him, saying, Lord,
save us. We perish. No, the Lord doesn't
need awaking. He knows exactly where we are
and what we are. The Lord, exalted in heaven above,
His eye always sees. He is with His people. He knoweth
the way that I take. When he hath tried me, I shall
come forth as gold. What a reminder though, the Lord
will be inquired of by the house of Israel to do it for them. And we are to actually, like
they did here, not long prayers, but real prayers, we perish. I mentioned Jacob wrestling with
the angel. And you know, he told the Lord,
he said, Jacob, Esau comes, I fear him. I fear for the mother and
the children, the little ones. He told the Lord his fears. A
lot of prayer is telling the Lord what he already knows, unburdening,
casting our burdens upon him. And the Lord then meeting us,
as we call upon Him in our trouble, as we make known unto Him those
things that are so troubling us, the storm that we are in,
the trouble that we are in. May we be people of prayer. You
know, if we had all calm, we do not pray. But sometimes we
need to be really reminded that there are times when it is vital
that we call upon Him, that we cry unto Him concerning that
trouble, concerning that which storms and it may rise up again
and again and again, but how many times have we actually brought
it to the Lord and laid it before the Lord? I want to look then thirdly,
the Lord's command and its effect. We read, and there was a great
calm. It struck me as we were reading
this account, how many times the emphasis is
on what the Lord said. The first one is the leper. And the prayer, if thou wilt,
thou canst make me clean. And the Lord puts forth his hand,
touched him, saying, I will be thou clean. The word of the Lord
comes and he is clean. We think of the centurion, who
the Lord commended as having great faith. He says, he's not
worthy to come, for the Lord to come under his roof, but speak
the word only, and my servant shall be healed. And the Lord
commended such faith that believed that all it needed was his word. And you know, the Lord spoke
this world into existence. He commanded and it stood forth. It is by the word of the Lord.
It is in the gospel. That's why the word is preached.
That's why the gospel is preached. The word of the Lord is preached.
His word shall endure forever. Heaven and earth shall pass away.
The Lord said that the one that desired a miracle, that his brethren
might be saved from the wrath that he was in, he said that
Moses and the prophets let them hear them. If they will not hear
them, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
The power and authority is in the word. The word that came
to the Thessalonians was not in word only, but in demonstration
of the spirit and of power. And so it was here with the centurion,
So it was with Peter's wife's mother, and it is the word of
the Lord that is put forth with power. And so here he rises,
and he rebukes the winds and the sea, and there was a great
calm. We might think, how will the
Lord answer? How will the Lord appear for
us? will be by the command of the Lord, by the word of the
Lord. And many times with the people
of God, the outward trial remains the same. We think of the thief
on the cross, when the Lord blessed him with, verily, verily I say
unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise. The thief
was still on the cross, his hands were still pierced, his leg was
still pierced, he was still in agony, But here he had this sweet,
blessed promise and expectation to be with the Lord. And this
often is the case, the Lord speaking the word, in me you shall have
peace, in the world you shall have tribulation. Why was it
that Peter could be asleep, calmly sleeping, chains about him, guarded,
doors shut, And in the morning, he was going to be brought forth
and slain with the sword. And James had already suffered
that fate, but here was Peter quiet. Why was that? We know Peter had been told that
he should suffer crucifixion. And the Lord said, of what death? He should glorify God, and it
was not by the sword. But where the Lord gives peace,
the Lord gives calmness, then Man nor the devil nor any can
take it away. And here the Lord's power even
over nature, that which he had created, the seas, that which
he's made these things, he has power over them. The voice of
the Lord mightier than the mighty waves of the sea. And so when the Lord speaks,
then there was a great calm. He said at the beginning, the
danger of a false calm, a wrong calm, but the true calm is known
when there is the contrast. Where on one side there was all
of the trouble and all of the turmoil of mind and the fears
and troubles, and then the Lord speaks. The Lord brings his word. And then there was a great calm. And that is then linked with
the word. We know where that has come from. We know we couldn't give it ourselves. We know the Lord has given that
to us. The Lord has quieted the surges
of our mind. The Lord has, it may be even
in the presence and in the prospect of death, taken away that fear
and enabled us to lay calmly in his arms and await calmly
His will and His time and His purpose. And it is the Lord,
by His word, that commands that and has such effect upon His
people. May we know something about the
power of God that was put forth here, that which magnified and
glorified the Lord Jesus Christ. that which turned what otherwise
would have been such a trial, such bitterness, into that which
magnified the Lord and showed what He was in all His power
and His goodness. The tree cast into the bitter
waters, the meal that was cast into the pot that had death in
it, so that the waters could be drunk and the pot had no harm
in it. It is the blessing of the Lord
in the midst of these storms that then have this effect. And
there was a great calm. What a blessed end and description
of the effect of a blessing of the Lord. If you and I can say
this, maybe in testimony to a church or to the brethren, or maybe
those looking on, have seen a soul so distressed and so troubled,
and then notice and see the great calm and the great difference,
the great quietness. The Lord has come. He has quieted. He has stilled the waves and
the billows. of Psalms 107, then are they
glad because they be quiet. So he bringeth them unto their
desired haven. But here is a calm, as it were,
foretaste of that haven in the midst of the troubles, the storms,
their stillness, before coming to that haven to know something
of that calm. May we know it. May we know that
blessing. Dear friends, when the Lord does
this for his people, we can be sure of this. It will be inseparable
from the work of our Lord on Calvary. The precious blood that
was shed there. That peacemaking blood. Without the shedding of blood,
there is no remission. No peace for the wicked. but
sheltered beneath that blood, trusting in the blood. When I
see the blood, I will pass over you. And the Israelites, as they
trusted, could have peace while the destroying angel went over.
Rahab, while all the walls of Jericho fell down round about
her, she had peace as trusting in that scarlet line in the window
and the promises that had been made to her. It is through the
Lord Jesus Christ that the people of God have peace. It was he that spoke it here,
and it's he that brought it to Calvary, and he that will speak
it into the souls of all of those for whom he has suffered, bled
and died, and made their peace with God, reconciled through
our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. The Lord add his blessing. Amen. Hymn: 1102, Tune: Handforth 673. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you all now and evermore. Amen.