May the Lord help us now as we
turn to the reading of his word if we can go to the gospel according
to Mark chapter 4 and verses 21 to 41. Mark chapter 4 verses 21 to 41
and Jesus here is teaching by the seaside. And he said unto
them, Is a candle bought to be put under a bushel, or a basket,
or under a bed, and not to be set on a candlestick? For there
is nothing, nothing hid which shall not be manifested, neither
was anything kept secret, but that it should come abroad. If
any man have ears to hear, let him hear. And he said unto them,
take heed what you hear, with what measure you meet it shall
be measured to you, and unto you that hear shall more be given.
For he that hath to him shall be given, and he that hath not
from him shall be taken, even that which he hath. And he said,
so is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into
the ground, and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the
seed should spring and grow up. And he knoweth not how. For the
earth bringeth forth fruit of herself first the blade, then
the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the
fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because
the harvest is come. And he said, Whereunto shall
we be likened unto the kingdom of God? Or with what comparison
shall we compare it? It is like a grain of mustard
seed, which is then sown into the earth, and is less than all
the seeds that be in the earth. And when it is sown, it groweth
up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great
branches, so that the fowls of the earth may lodge under the
shadow of it. And with many such parables spake
he the word unto them. as they were able to hear it.
But without a parable spake he not unto them. And when they
were alone, he expounded all the things to the disciples.
And the same day, when the evening was come, he said unto them,
Let us pass over unto the other side. And 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. And there
arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship,
so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part,
or the back part of the ship, asleep on a pillow. And they
awake him and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
And he rose, and he rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea,
Peace be still. And the wind ceased, and there
was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are
you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?
And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, what
manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? Well, before we go into this
passage, I'll just say a short prayer. Dear most gracious and
ever merciful Lord God, we thank thee, Lord, for the reading of
thy word. We do pray, Lord, that we may listen and understand
and help us, Lord, to study this passage. We do pray, Lord, it
may be a benefit to each and every one of our souls, Lord,
that thy word may feed us. We pray, Lord, for thy presence
amongst us. For Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.
For those who take notes, the title of this message is The
Prayer in the Storm. Well firstly a little story many
years ago myself and my younger brother Will and I were out on
a boat on a lock in Scotland. We were heading back to the shore
after going to some shops on the other side and behind the
hills where we were heading there was a dark black cloud heading
towards us. And as we neared the shore the
wind started to pick up and the rain was coming down. and we
pulled the motor up and we started to row towards the beach but
at this point the hail was now hammering down and as I was rowing
I slipped on the floor and fell back and one of my oars fell
into the lock the wind was now blowing us back out into the
sea We tried lowering the engine back into the water, but it was
failing to start. Everything we were trying to
do was going wrong. We were at the mercy of the storm.
Those who have been to Scotland before will know that storms
can just come in very, very quickly. And you feel completely helpless.
Yet the Lord caused the propeller to snag on a rope as we were
being blown out and it anchored us and we sat there until the
storm blew over. I don't remember praying in this
situation but my mum, she was on the seashore and I spoke to
her this morning and she was audibly shouting unto the Lord
that we would not perish in the sea. and thankfully God was good. You may have been in similar
situations in your own life where everything seems to be going
wrong, you're in a desperate problem and you feel helpless
and everything you do fails. Well you know the sea is a fearful
place and it's unpredictable. It's estimated 300,000 people
perish in the sea every year. Well, several of Jesus's disciples,
they were fishermen. They would have been brought
up at the sea and they would have known it like the back of
their hand. But this trip they were going to go on was different
to any other trip they'd been on. So if we turn to Mark chapter
4 and verse 35, we'll go through these few verses. And the same
day, when the evening was now come, he saith unto them, let
us pass over unto the other side. We see him in this little verse
asking his disciples, let us pass over unto the other side. This was no fishing trip. They
didn't need to load up their nets and their bait. But they
did have one special guest. They had the Lord Jesus Christ.
Maybe on this trip they'd never felt so confident that everything
was going to go fine. They were heading out onto this
trip knowing that they had this man with them who they'd witnessed
many miracles with. They must have felt everything
is going to go okay. So there they board their ship.
And when they had, verse 36, they now send dispersed the multitudes,
they send them away. And took him even as he was in
the ship, and there were also with him other little ships. Well here we have obedience the
disciples have been commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ to go
on to the other side so they pack up and go. They were currently
on the western shore of Galilee which is a very densely populated
place and as we see in verse 1 of chapter 4 the vast crowds
and he began again to teach by the seaside and there was gathered
unto him a great multitude so that he entered into the ship
and sat in the sea and the whole multitude was by the sea of the
land there was that many people there crowding onto the shore
to give him space they had pushed the boat out and there the Lord
Jesus preached through these parables. Over the other side
of the Lake Galilee it's a lot quieter but it was a very special
reason why they were doing this trip and it was the salvation
of one man. If we read in chapter 5 we will
see in verse 5 about a man and also at night
and day he was in the mountains and in the tombs crying and cutting
himself with stones but when he saw Jesus afar off he ran
and worshipped him this was a man who had been cast off by his
community and there he was then sent up into the mountains. No
one would want anything to do with him. But Jesus was making
this special trip to see this man. We often refer to it as
the man of the mad Gadarene. And Jesus cast the demons out
of him and sent him on his way. But this journey was so important
for this man because this man was going to then spread the
gospel. if we read in verse 19 of chapter 5, we will see this
man he wanted to come back with them. But howbeit Jesus suffered
him not, but said unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell
them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath
compassion on thee. And he departed, and began to
publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him,
and all men did marvel. Jesus, he was only here for a
short while, none of his trips were wasted. But this trip may
have been a battle for the disciples, but it was necessary for them
to make this journey to spread the gospel. Verse 37 of chapter
4. And there arose a great storm
of wind and the waves beat into the ship so that it was now full. The Sea of Galilee is really
a very, very large lake. And it's also very prone to sudden
storms. It sits there in the Jordan Rift
Valley, about 690 feet below sea level. And as the winds rip
along that harsh environment, the wind funnels down through
the valleys and slams straight into that sea. But I'm sure these
experienced fishermen were doing everything they could to battle
that storm. They would have been used to the storms. I'm sure
they were making sure the boat was facing the right direction,
bailing out all the water, battling it on to save their little boat.
And we as humans, we experience many storms in life. It could
be problems with family, maybe health problems. It could be
financial problems. Your life can even change from
a phone call, an email, a text message. Maybe you lack confidence,
maybe you worry, maybe you struggle with anxiety. Maybe you battle
with addictions, alcohol, drugs, gambling. Maybe it's even lack
of assurance of your faith, not knowing if you are one of his.
or the worry that God feels so far away in your life. All these
are waves and sometimes they come in one after the other.
But we can see that Jesus, he is not fearful. Verse 38. And there he was in the hinder
part of the ship, asleep on the pillow. And they awake him and
said unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? Well,
the hinder part of the ship is where the rudder is, or nowadays
where the propeller is. It's at the back of the ship.
It's the part of the ship where you have full control. And we
see him asleep in his humanity. But in his sovereign deity, he
is in complete control of that ship. He is steering it wherever
it needs to go. And we do not see him in any
panic mode. He has full control of that boat
and full control of that storm. We see him asleep on the pillow.
It's quite a sweet illustration. We, as humans, can all relate
to that. We want to get comfy. We sleep
on a pillow. He's a tired man. He's busy.
He was always on the go. And as we see what he's been
doing all that day, preaching and teaching, and ministers like
Keith and David will know what it's like, how exhausting that
is. And we need to remember he came
in as humanity. We also read in the book of John
where Jesus became tired but also for another reason in John
chapter 4. We see him there in Samaria. John chapter 4 and verse 6. Now
Jacob's well was there. Jesus, therefore, being wearied
with his journey, sat thus on the well, and it was about the
sixth hour. There cometh a woman from Samaria
to draw water. Jesus saith unto her, give me
a drink for his disciples were gone away into the city to buy
meat there again it wasn't a wasted journey it was for a reason but
there he was tired of that walking we see him there in his humanity
tired he's thirsty he asked for a drink the disciples have gone
to buy meat he's hungry And last time I did this Bible study,
we briefly looked at the day in the life of Jesus. He was
a man who was full of labour. He didn't waste his life away.
And he'd been preaching by the seashore all day. You could imagine
the desperate crowds demanding and asking for miracles of healing.
Many asking them questions. Pharisees wanting debates. And
all these things, they tire you out. But he was calm in the storm,
asleep on the pillow. The disciples in the hover hand,
they were extremely fearful. But eventually after battling
all they could to save their boat, they finally do the right
thing and they come to Jesus. Verse 38, and we will see at
the end, and they awake him and they say unto him, Master, carest
thou not that we perish? How often are we like this? How
often we try to battle the storms in our own life and problems
in life and last resort, when everything seems to be sinking,
we then go to Jesus in prayer. They realize this is too much
for them to handle. They might look big, strong fishermen
on the outside, but we should never, ever be too proud to pray,
never be too proud to go and find Jesus. Of course, he cares
for them. If you are one of the Lord Jesus
Christ, he cares for you. In 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse
7. Casting all your care upon him
for he careth for you. This verse to myself was the
first word God ever spoke to me and he's used it many, many
times in my life to calm storms. And there is no storm too big
for us to go through if we have Jesus in the hinder part of our
ship. Verse 39 of chapter 4. And then he arose, he wakes up,
and he rebukes the winds and says unto the sea, Peace be still. And the winds ceased, and there
was a great calm. Jesus here, he uses the same
power he used to open the Red Sea. He used the same power he
used to steal the river of Jordan. He used the same power he used
to make the sun go ten steps back. Nature obeys his voice
instantly. Jesus he has the authority over
creation. He has the authority over the
chaos, the storms, the tsunamis, the tornadoes, hurricanes are
all at the tip of his fingers. and how it instantly obeys, how
different we are. Maybe the Lord is asking us to
come and do something, and there we just deny him. We carry on
with our own life, where nature is instant, all these things
are in his control. He's also at complete control
of the storms in our life, and we need to trust him. And sometimes
it may seem confusing, as James, our pastor, mentioned the other
day. He was talking something about Job and crying out, I don't
know what you're doing with my life, Lord, but I trust you.
I was texting a friend this morning, a Christian friend, and he said,
Lord, even if you take my life away, I've trust you, you've
got this. And we need to be able to be
in that position in life. And with an answer prayer, a
storm in our life can be calm. whether it's a word laid on our
heart, a still small voice in our ear, Jesus can calm the storm. Verse 30, 40. And he said unto
them, why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?
Well, why are these men so fearful? Jesus said to them, let us pass
over to the other side. This means that they will get
to the other side. Jesus wasn't going to be drowned
in a sea. And maybe there are times we
are like this. Maybe we doubt our salvation.
Maybe we have been converted and been baptised and maybe we
doubt our assurance of salvation. And we look back thinking, am
I really one of his? Philippians chapter one and verse
six, we read, being confident of this very thing, that he which
have begun a good work in you will perform it on the day of
Jesus Christ. That means that whatever you
are going through in life, He has got you on to the end. Maybe
they thought, we are doing God's will, we are being obedient and
we are passing over to the other side, so everything is going
to be okay. But just because you're doing the will of God,
it doesn't mean everything will be smoother. Storms continue
to arise. I remember often chatting with
James and Elsie in Kenya when they had given up everything
here because the Lord told them to go. But it didn't mean every
door just flew open. There were constant battles,
constant doubts, and still those things continue. But this is
the life of a Christian. You can just be safe and stay
in the harbour of life and not venture out into following Jesus
Christ. Because when you follow in Christ,
he is out there on the high seas. And now, in verse 41, they fear
exceedingly. And said one to another, what
manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? Well, they now fear his miracle
more than they do the storm. These men had witnessed many,
many miracles, but this one was different. They saw his sovereign
deity at its full extent, that even the wind and the sea obeyed
him. they feared the power of God,
which is a good thing. And in our lives, we need to
have the fear of God. In Proverbs 9.10 and a few areas
in Proverbs, we read of the fear of God. Proverbs 9.10, the fear
of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of
the holy is understanding. The fear of God is essential
for every one of us who is a believer. The fear of God helps us to act
in obedience. It motivates a believer to live
a life which is pleasing to him. We should never go into life
confident. We should always have the fear
of God. Because there are times in life where things may seem
calm. And that's where our faith can maybe almost be weak. We
think we have everything just fine. But then there are the
times of storms. And this is where he questions
their faith. How is it that you have no faith? Faith is a strong
belief and trust in God. We can all know the Bible, we
can study Christianity, we can be the greatest theologian in
the world. You can go to church every Sunday, every weeknight,
but it doesn't mean you have faith. You will only have faith
if you know the Lord Jesus Christ. and the more we know Jesus the
more we trust him the more we trust that he is in the boat
with us no storms but maybe their faith was just tiny we see just
in a few verses before in verse 31 when he speaks about the grain
of mustard seed It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when
it is sown to the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in
the earth. But when it is sown, it groweth up and becometh greater
than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches, so that the
fowls of air may lodge under the shadow. And faith it grows
in storms. Storms teach us to trust him.
But having faith is equally as important as fear. The fear of
God brings us to our knees. And through faith, we pray to
him. We trust that he is hearing our prayers and he has got this.
And the Lord Jesus Christ, God, our creator, has made this way
of prayer for us to connect with him. And don't leave it until
you're sinking before you call unto him. And here we are gathered
at a prayer meeting. The prayer meeting, and often
David will refer to this, is the powerhouse of the church.
Everything how a church functions is through the unity of Christ
in prayer, being like-minded. We need to pray to glorify the
Lord Jesus Christ. We need to pray to hold each
other up through the storms of life. Our pastor was preaching
last Sunday about being born of four, holding each other up
and encouraging each other that he is in the boat with us. Just
close with this verse, verse 23 in our passage. If any man
have ears to hear, let him hear. Amen. May the Lord help us once again in
singing hymn number 148 from hymns of worship. From every stormy wind that blows,
from every swelling tide of woes, there is a calm, a safe retreat,
it is found beneath the mercy seat. Hymn number 148 from Hymns
of Worship to the tune 409. On every swelling tide of woe,
There is a cover sacred tree, Tis found beneath the mercy sea. where Jesus sheds the oil of
gladness on our heads. A place that all beside may see,
it is the blood-stained mercy seat. Is a spot where spirits blend,
Where friends hold fellowship with friends. Though sundered far, by faith
we've been, And time and sand, same old and
old, And hand comes down of souls to greet, And crown re-crowns
the mercy seat. Let my hands forget the skin
My sun be turned and cold and still This bounding heart forget
to beat If I forget the moon