Our verse this morning for our
thoughts is Mark chapter 4 and verse 38. The title that I've
given to our sermon is, Carest Thou Not That We Perish? Mark chapter four and verse 38
reads, and 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? It is a great blessing to have
the Lord Jesus Christ in the vessel of our life's experience. When I was young, we used to
sing a chorus. With Christ in the vessel, we
can smile at the storm as we go sailing home. We used to like
that chorus because as children we would all be sitting on the
seats together and we could sail home as we sang the chorus. but it's remained with me. And
that's the beauty of choruses, even as we teach our children,
even as we indoctrinate them with the doctrines of scripture
and the simplicity of the language in its most basic forms. But
we are able to teach them of the wonder that there is, the
loveliness that we enjoy as we know that Christ is in our lives,
that he is there to help and to sustain and to protect us. He is in our vessel as we sail
home together. He is in our lives. We see his hand in our successes
and in our failures. We see his presence with us through
trials. And if we know that the Lord
Jesus is our Lord and Saviour, we have everything and we lack
nothing. If you know this morning that
the Lord Jesus Christ died for you, you are blessed indeed among
men and women. I was pleased that our brother
read the portion of scripture that he did this morning, that
portion from Romans chapter 8, and in verse 32 there, he read
it to us. He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? Heirs and joint heirs with Christ,
freely give us all things. If He has given us Christ, if
He has given us His Son, if He has put His Son through that
experience for you and for me, how can we be disheartened? How can we not rejoice? For He will freely give us all
things. He's given us the best. then
he will give us all things in the trail of that wonderful gift
of Christ and salvation. The three gospel writers that
we have in Matthew, Mark, and Luke all make reference to this
incident in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ and his disciples.
The account of the Lord crossing this little patch of sea in order
to take his disciples into the land of the Gadarenes. and the
miracle that followed the way in which he came into this land,
and we didn't read the passage in Mark chapter 5, but the miracle
that was performed there of the casting out of the demons from
that demoniac called Legion. is also spoken of in the other
passages. So this is a familiar account.
It's an account that each of these gospel writers, Matthew,
Mark, and Luke, felt the necessity to present to us. And though
the language is slightly different, the descriptions have small variations,
there is a very clear and unsurprising fullness in the accounts that
we are given. There is a similar theme, there
is a similarity of language. But there are slight differences
and I want to touch upon some of those differences this morning
and I want particularly to think about the things that were said
in that boat as these men crossed this piece of water and were
brought under the storm that occurred. In Luke chapter 8 and
verse 24, you don't need to turn to it, I just want to tell you
what the words were, but feel free. In Luke chapter 8 and verse
24, The words that were spoken by the disciples in the board
on that occasion were these, Master, Master, we perish. In Matthew chapter eight and
verse 25, the words that are spoken are these, Lord, save
us, we perish. Slight difference. In Mark chapter
four, verse 38, which we've read together this morning, the words
spoken are these. Master, carest thou not that
we perish? Slight difference in each one. And I see in these different
statements a gradual ebbing away of faith and confidence. in the Lord Jesus Christ on the
part of the disciples. Or perhaps it's different levels
of faith in different individuals who spoke different things. Either
way, I want to draw our attention to some of the lessons that these
words bring to us. It would seem that Luke's account
sounds a little more like the Lord is being informed of what
it is that's happening to the disciples. The Lord has come
into the ship, he has gone to sleep in the ship. He's at the
back of the boat, he's put his head down, he's on a pillow,
he's a weary man, and he has gone to sleep. And in Luke's
account, which as I say sounds like information that is being
conveyed, the disciples appear to be realizing that Christ is
asleep. And one can imagine, as it were,
in one's mind's eye, the words going between them. How can he
sleep through this? Master, Master, we perish. They're informing the Lord of
the situation that they're in. They're calling out to him in
his slumber. They're calling out to him in
his sleep. Master, we perish. Matthew's account's a little
bit more insistent. It reveals an element of faith. It goes beyond the simple conveying
of the message to the Lord that these men are in danger. Here
it appears as a man who realizes that he is in need of help and
there is a certain urgency in the cry that goes forth from
this disciple or indeed from the group of disciples as the
terror, as the gree of their situation begins to dawn upon
them. There is a call for deliverance
in this man's cry. There is a call for salvation.
We have moved from merely arousing the Master to our predicament,
to crying out for his immediate and for his urgent help. Lord,
save us! We perish. Save us! Mark's account reveals an altogether
different sense. There is an other element to
this shout that goes up. Indeed, I'd like to suggest to
you this morning that there is rather a dark undertone to that
cry that went up from the boat in Mark's account. There is,
as it were, a rebuke of the Lord. There is a suggestion of indifference
on the part of the Lord. Perhaps there is even an attempt
to coerce the Lord into action. Someone on that boat that afternoon
shouted something at the Lord Jesus Christ. albeit in the terror
of the moment, that revealed a deep-seated doubt, a failure
to grasp who the Lord was and understand what he was doing. Someone on that boat shouted,
Lord, we're dying here and you don't seem to care. There's faith in it, but there's
doubt in it. He said, you could if you would,
so why not? Believers are not immune from
outward trial or from inward doubts. And faith is something
that is living and growing. And we must be careful, both
for ourselves personally and those with whom we have fellowship,
those for whom we have responsibility, to be aware that faith is often
weak and small and stretched and difficult to lay hold upon,
and that while there are those who perhaps in the boat shout,
Master, Master, we perish, waken him up, tell him we're here,
tell him to look at the difficulty, or who say, Lord, save us, we
perish. There are also those, and there
will be those, and I dare say it will be the experience of
each of those who are the Lord's people, that the time will come
when we will say, Lord, don't you care anymore? Have I been
mistaken? Am I wrong in this? I'm dying
here and you don't seem to care. I can't see you. I can't hear you. You're not
with me. Where are you? Asleep in the
back of the boat. I'm dying and you don't seem
to care. It had been a tiring day for
the Lord, and it was not yet over. It appears that this was
the early evening or late afternoon. The Lord had been engaged in
preaching all day. He'd been sitting in a boat.
These parables that we took the time to read this morning from
Matthew chapter five had been largely the content of his ministry,
but he had been preaching all day. He spoke to great crowds. Let me just say to you that those
of you who don't preach Don't ever underestimate how burdensome
and wearisome and tiring preaching is, both in its preparation and
in its delivery. There is a physical dimension
to preaching, as well as a mental and a spiritual dimension. And
it is a wearying task. So you need to remember to uphold
your preacher. If you value your preacher, you
uphold him, you help him, you support him, and you remember
that he is as engaged for you in the preparation of the ministry
as you are as engaged in your own work and in your own labours. And when you come home from work
at the end of a working day and feel tired, He too is a tired
man as he has been labouring in the things of God. And there
comes times in the experience of all ministers when they go
through the trials in their own lives also, which you are susceptible
to, perhaps more so as they stand in the front line between God
and man. I was reading recently of a man
who was speaking to his congregation and he said to his congregation,
perhaps some of you feel that the word this morning really
wasn't very helpful to you or there wasn't very much in it
for your soul's nourishment. Well, I'll tell you what to do.
You go home and you get down on your knees and you ask the
Lord that he'll give your minister something next week that will
sustain your soul. You see where the responsibility
lies? We all have a duty as we gather together to worship the
Lord, to seek his face. It had been a tiring day for
the Lord as he was engaged in this ministry. He had spoken
in parables to the multitudes, and then he had gone on to expound
that meaning, the doctrine in these parables to his disciples. Verse 34, we read it. Without
a parable spake he not unto them. And when they were alone, he
expounded all things to his disciples. I like that word expounded. I've got a passion for words.
I like words. I like to know where words came
from. The etymology, the way in which
it's built up. expounded. You know what that
carries? You know the sense of that word?
He beat it out. He smashed the nut in order to
get the kernel within it. He smashed the shell of the parable
in order to expose the doctrine that was at the heart of it. It was as if here is gold And
he took a hammer and he beat out that gold until it shone,
until its beauty, its brilliance, its splendor was most visible. He expounded to them. And that's what the preacher
has responsibility to do, is he expounds the Word of God.
He is taking the Word of God and he is breaking it up in order
that that nourishing heart might be a blessing to those to whom
it is distributed. I think it's lovely that the
Lord, as he broke that bread at the side of the sea and fed
the 5,000, gave it to his disciples, that it might be distributed
liberally. It is the Lord that gives us
any spiritual gift, any spiritual understanding that we possess.
but he graciously hands it to his disciples that they might
distribute it to the people who wait hungrily to receive it. The exposition of the word of
God is a principal part of the local assembly's worship and
we ought always to value it together. Never think that it's easy stuff
but come with a desire to apply yourselves to hearing the word
of God expounded and taught and know that it is a special blessing
that the Lord gives to his people. But, but, The teaching is only
a part. For the teaching, as necessary
as it is, essential as it is, is taught to us in order that
we might then apply it in our experience. This is not an end
in itself. The preaching, the teaching,
the doctrine is not an end in itself, but it is conveyed to
the people of God that they might grow by it, that they might develop
in their own souls, that they might deepen in their own understanding,
and they might put into effect the lessons, the applications
that are given in their own daily lives. It is one thing being
taught the truth and it is another thing experiencing the truth. There are many who are taught
truth who never experience it. Ask the Lord that he will teach
you in your soul and give you the opportunity to experience
the doctrine as well as merely hearing it. The life of faith
must be a mix of doctrine and practice. There is a schoolroom
and there is a workshop. Truth is not an end in itself,
but it is the key to the enjoyment and the comfort of the Lord Jesus
Christ. As we know him better, so we
will be able to fellowship with him more purely, more deeply,
more blessedly. And therefore we study together,
we expound the Word together, we hear the Word with appetite
and eagerness together in order that that Word might draw us
closer to Christ, might teach us more of Him and give us a
greater understanding and awareness of Him. Now I trust you see where
we're going with this. The last few words in this little
account that we read was this. What manner of man is this that
even the wind and the sea obey him? These disciples had sat
with the Lord all day. They had heard the parables and
then he had expounded them to them. He'd broken them up. He'd
given them the clear teaching. then they had to experience something
in order to fully grasp who this man was. John chapter 8 verse
32 we read these words, you shall know the truth and the truth
shall set you free. The knowing of the truth And
the liberty and freedom that that truth brings to us is the
experience of knowing that one who is the deliverer and the
redeemer. If ye continue in my word, then
are ye my disciples indeed. Anyone can make a profession
of faith. Anyone can do it. And very many
people do. You have so many churches all
around, and these churches this morning will be full of people
who have a profession of faith. But the parable of the sower,
which the Lord had taught to these people, clearly shows that
when the gospel is preached, when the good seed of the word
goes forth, it has a different effect upon men and women. There are differences. The seed
may well be sown, but there will be wayside hearers. There will
be stony ground hearers, there will be hearers whose lives are
full of thorns, and there will be a choking of that seed. And there may be an appearance
of gross, there may be an evidence to some extent of interest in
these matters, but the reality is that in only a fraction of
the cases is there a fruitfulness that flows from the teaching
and the preaching of the Word of God. So the Lord says, you've
got the light, don't put it under a bushel. Don't put it under
a bed. Don't put your candle under your
bed. Don't put your candle under your
bed. You'll set the bed on fire. But you don't hide your witness,
there's a practical aspect to this. There is an outflowing,
there are lessons which have to be learned, and there are
practical aspects that have to be worked through. In verse 35,
we read, at the same day when the even was come, he said unto
them, let us pass over unto the other side. The Lord said to
his disciples, let us pass over unto the other side. Why would
they do that? Well, there was a demoniac across
the water that the Lord Jesus Christ had to go and heal. There
was an elect child of God over there that he had to deliver
from the grip of Satan. But there was also a lesson to
be learned by the disciples. He had revelation to bestow to
them also, and he had a miracle to perform for them. The Lord Jesus Christ was tired.
We might suppose, too, that the disciples were tired. Trials,
difficulties do not come. if and when we are fit for them. That's not the way it works.
If that were the case, the trial would make us proud. Right? If we were up for it, if we were
fit for the trial, then we would accomplish the problem. We would
deal with it. And that would make us self-confident. It would increase our own esteem
of our own abilities. It would make us proud. They
don't come when we're ready for them. They don't come when we're
fit for them. We must pass over to the other
side. And in that passing, It's like you move across an
open window with the light behind you and the enemy outside. You pass across and suddenly
you're a target. Suddenly you're seen, suddenly
you're obvious. Suddenly that trial comes, that
arrow is fired, that spear goes forward, and you're the target.
And when that happens, when that trial comes, it's when we're
exposed, it's when we're passing over, it's when we are out in
the open. And so the storm came when they
were out in the open, when they were most vulnerable, when they
were most exposed. Yet we have to go through these
trials. We have to learn what it is to
be in the storms. We have to know our limits. We
have to discover our own hearts. We need to know that in our own
souls, Though we be the disciples of the Lord to whom these things
were all expounded, there is exactly the same problem as dwelt
in that man on the other side of the shore who was full of
demons, who was the demoniac who had to be delivered. And
in that old man, there are so many demons. There are so much
wickedness that has to be laid, that has to be slain, that has
to be removed. And the disciples had to learn
these lessons too. They had been told about the
Lord. They had seen the way in which
the Lord taught the doctrine, but we have to learn with them
that there is fear and there is doubt and there is unbelief
in our hearts even as believers that has to be extricated, that
has to be dealt with and removed. The Lord Jesus was not caught
out by the storm. He was not surprised by its intensity. We've already established He
is the all-knowing, omniscient, omnipotent God of all eternity. He was not caught out or surprised.
Like all the events and circumstances of life, like all the providences
of life, everything that happens serves His purpose. Do we believe
that? It's the truth. Everything that
happens in this world serves his purpose. Even the wicked
serve his purpose. Even the devil serves his purpose. Every trial, every persecution
that comes upon the church, that comes upon individual believers,
serves his purpose. Do you believe it? You've heard
it. Have you experienced it? You've
been taught it. Have you tasted and seen that
the Lord is good? Or maybe you've just been told
about it. We will never learn Christ by another man's experience. Sooner or later, we have to learn
him for ourselves. Sooner or later, the theory has
to be tested for you and for me. In Ephesians 4, 20, we're
told, ye have not so learned Christ, not just in theory, if
so be that ye have heard him and have been taught by him as
the truth is in Jesus. If you are to know the truth,
if you are to know what it really is to trust Christ, then you
will be put through the mill. You will be exposed on the lake. You will have to pass by, cross
over that open window, be exposed, be vulnerable, and feel the trial
and the persecution of this life. Verse 37 tells us, there arose
a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship so that
it was now full. The other gospel writers explain
this slightly differently. They use words for the wind and
for the waves, but the suggestion is, when we read these portions
together, that it seems as if the wind and the waves were coming
from all directions. Indeed, it seems as if the wind
was coming from above them. Now, we normally get the wind
from one direction or another. Where I live, we say if the west
wind blows, it's going to rain. If the north wind blows, it's
going to snow. If the east wind blows, then
we'll get a chill wind. And if the south wind blows,
well, that's usually the time of the year that we get the best
weather. It comes from a direction and we anticipate what the weather's
going to be like by the direction from which it comes. And here
we see the wind blows against this ship, but it seemed to blow
from above them. It seemed to blow right down
into the very ship. It seemed to be all around them.
It seemed as if the waves were coming up on each side. It seems
as if there was going to be an overwhelming of that ship. Well might these men cry out,
Master, save us. We do right to tell the Lord
of our predicament. When we see the challenges coming,
we do well, like the disciple in Luke, to say, Master, Master,
I'm going to need your help in this situation. Or like that
one in Matthew, it is essential that we know where the source
of our salvation is going to come. Lord, save me or I perish. And true growth occurs when that
old man rises and must be slain again. So it is that there will
come times, even in the lives of the Lord's people, when the
doubts will be so great that we actually even begin to wonder
whether the Lord has any interest in us. Do you care that I'm going
through this? Do you care that I'm facing this? You could stop this. You could
solve this. You could bring this to an end
in a moment, and yet you withhold. Why is that? Is it that I have
no interest in you? Is it that you have no interest
for me? Is it because I'm not one of
yours? Does he care that we perish? Is he asleep to all the danger
that we are in? Personally? Individually? As
his church? Are our lives of no importance
to him? Is our well-being of no worth? Am I really his in this world
of sin? and unholiness and iniquity.
We are at the beck and call of so many powers and forces and
winds that buffet and blast and blow and chill us. I don't know,
it could be our economic circumstances, it could be problems at work,
it could be problems with the family and the children, it could
be in the church that we have difficulties and trials, it could
be in our own soul that we're feeling a deadness in our spirit,
it could be be the politicians that are around about us, and
they seem to be passing laws that just are going to undermine
and take away any standard of uprightness that we have left
in our country. And we lament these things, and
we are concerned for these things, and we say to the Lord, Lord,
save us. And it doesn't seem to be that
we are finding an answer to those problems. Then the devil comes
and he says, well, are you really his? The devil comes and he says,
well, maybe he's not interested in you. And we begin to doubt. Do you care, Lord, whether we
are saved or whether we are lost? When the towering waves crash
in upon our vessel, when the winds blow with their chill and
their ferocity, when we are tired and we are weak and we are weary
and we are doubting and we are faithless, do you care, Lord,
whether we are saved or not? Look at verse 39. And he arose and rebuked the
wind and said to the sea, peace be still. The Lord Jesus Christ
opened his eyes. He lifted his head from off his
pillow. He stood up. He stood up with
a majestic and an authoritative stance. He reproves the wind. It's as if to say, you wind,
my servant, the wind, you've done enough. Stop, don't overstep
the mark. Don't go too far. You've served
your purpose, now cease. The Lord speaks with authority.
He says to the sea, peace, be still. You know, I believe there
was a miracle there as well. When the wind stops when you're
on the water, it takes a while for the waves to subside, doesn't
it? And then the calm comes. Not
here. Peace, be still. He takes it away. There was an
immediate calm. There was an immediate calmness
there on the water that day. It can be tumultuous. It can
be boisterous. It can threaten with shipwreck. It can threaten with loss of
life. It had raged but it had raged
only to the point at which the lesson had been learned. Now
it was no longer required, and now it would be taken away. An instant calm and stillness,
for the fear of the disciples, not a life had been lost. There
was not a man hurt on that boat. There was some pride that was
hurt, There were some lessons that were learned. There was
a degree of humility that was imposed upon these men. And there
was a trust in Christ reinforced because of the experience in
that boat. Does the Lord Jesus Christ care
for his people in the midst of their trials? Yes, he does. Has he redeemed us from the curse
of the law? Yes, he has. Has he represented
us in the courts of heaven? Has he stood before his father
and said, these my people are mine? Has he stood personally
to represent us as our surety, as our substitute, and taken
that debt of sin? Yes, he has. These are the lessons
that we learn. This is the doctrine that we
receive, but we have to come into the experience of these
things, and we have to trust him in our lifetime, in the providences
of this world, and to know that this is the case. Did he take
our part? in that eternal covenant? Yes
he did. Does he speak for us now in the
presence of God as our advocate? Yes he does. Does he care whether
we live or die? If we perish or not? Yes he does
and you can trust in that and you can go forth in the trust
and in the light and in the confidence that that brings. Hebrews 13
verse 5 he says, I never leave you, I shall never leave you
nor forsake you. Did you ever notice that there
were other boats present on the lake as well? Mark's the only
one that tells us that. Matthew and Luke don't mention
the other little boats that were there in the storm along with
this boat in which the Lord was in. I don't know who they were. He just says there were other
little boats. Maybe it was other disciples. I don't know how big
the boats were. Were all the disciples in one boat? Any pictures
you see of these boats, any of the archaeology that brings up
boats from the first, second century around this time, they're
generally very small boats. Maybe just a couple of men in
them at any time. Maybe this was a bigger boat,
I don't know. I don't know whether all the disciples were in here
or just a few. Maybe some of the disciples were
in other boats. Maybe these were other hearers
who just wouldn't go home and they wanted to follow the Lord
across the lake and hear him some more. Maybe it was traders,
maybe it was fishermen, maybe it was merchants heading across.
They were not alone. On the sea that day, they were
not alone. There were other boats with them
in that storm. I think those other little boats
are you and me. That's what I think they're meant
to represent. They're the other little ships. And in our time, we don't have
the benefit, the blessing. of the presence of the Lord Jesus
Christ with us, not the physical presence as these disciples had. We don't see the Lord as they
saw him. We cannot hear his ministry as
they heard it. They were all in the storm together
as the church is throughout history. These storms will rage against
the people of God. But there was only one boat,
there was only one time, there was only one place where the
Lord was actually present physically with his people. They did not have the comfort
of his immediate presence. In the midst of the storm, they
did not hear his words with their own physical ears. John chapter
20, verse 29, the Lord says to Thomas, because thou hast seen
me, thou hast believed. Blessed are they that have not
seen and yet believe. Christ loves us with an everlasting
love from which nothing separates. He loves us so much. That He
will do for us in our lives, in our little ships, all that
He has done. Shall He not freely give us all
things? All that He has done forever
in the experience of the church will be our experience also. Did he not liberate his people
from captivity and send them out free, that Old Testament
people? He will liberate us and send
us out free. Did he not feed them in the wilderness
and refresh them daily with his presence in dry places? So he will feed us in our wildernesses
and in those dry places. In our dry places, He will be
our refreshment. He gave nations for His people,
and He will give all men He will hold all men accountable for
every single thing they do or say against His church and against
His people. He will give countries for His
church. He will raise up kings. in order
to deliver his people and he will cast them aside when he
is finished with them for the sake of his people. He will heal
sickness, he will restore strength, he will ease pain, he will bestow
that life that we require. What he did in type for Israel,
he will do in reality for spiritual Israel. And I could try to Unfold
or describe or specify incidents in your lives in which you will
be called to experience trials. But they're all going to be different.
They'll be different for you and they'll be different for
me. but the principle, the doctrine, the teaching, whatever the experience
might be, the doctrine will hold good and it is the doctrine which
will go with us into the experience of those trials and give us the
confidence that indeed the Lord does care that we perish and
the Lord will deliver us from all our troubles. It is a small thing for the Lord
Jesus Christ to calm the storm for us. It is a small thing.
He is almighty God. Our lives are small and inconsequential. Our troubles are sometimes big,
but it would be a small thing for him to solve it immediately
and take it away. Why does he not? Is he asleep? Is he asleep in the back of the
boat? Our God knows everything. He never slumbers, He never sleeps. Does He delay? It is for our
good. It is to teach us the lesson.
It is to put into effect that which He has taught us. Verse
40, He says to the disciples, why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith? Do you not know what we've just
gone through? Why are you so fearful? Have
I not taught you that I am God? Have I not led you into understanding
that you are my precious, honourable people, that I love you with
an everlasting love, that you are more dear to me than your
children are to you? Do you not know that? Do you
think I'm going to abandon you? Do you think I'm going to leave
you? Remember when I was young listening to a song and it went
something like this. Why should I worry? Why should
I fret? I've got a mansion builder who's
not through with me yet. May the Lord bless these thoughts
to our hearts. Amen.