Green states, no mercy seen,
Are there on eagle's wings we soar, And sin and since more
let the moon Good singing. Good song. Kind of an Irish tune, isn't
it? Would have liked to have heard
Bill Clark sing that. All right, back to Mark chapter 4. I'm just quite sure this will
be profitable to you, and if you came here needy, I believe
it will be a blessing. This is the story, as we read,
of the Lord and his disciples sailing through stormy seas. Now, every word is significant. I'm not trying to make a play
on words. We can be guilty of that, for
cleverness sake. Nevertheless, every word of God
is significant. That's how we know this is God's
Word, because every word is right in place and has a deeper meaning
than just on the surface. Verse 35, And the same day, when
the evening was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto
the other side. The same day. Now, we've been
studying this chapter, and there's much that has taken place in
this one day. And we started this chapter a couple,
three weeks ago, I guess. But it seems like minutes, doesn't
it? Same day. Doesn't it seem like
just this morning that we were here? Doesn't it seem like we
were just here on Sunday? I'd almost like for you to close
your eyes and just, and tell you when you wake up it'll be
Sunday. It will be, if the Lord doesn't return. Same day. The
years, the days, the moments are fleeting. This life is a
vapor. That's why the scripture says
today is the day of salvation. Today. Because it's just flying
by like that. Every day. Today. Tonight. When evening was come. Same day
when the evening was come. The latter part of the day. Now
I believe, really believe, that we are in the latter part of
the latter days. I'm certain of that, just certain. So this is as it were, the evening. All right? And he saith unto
them, same day the evening was come, our Lord Jesus Christ said
unto his disciples, now this is all between him and his disciples,
and he says unto them, Let us pass over to the other side. What do you say? Hmm? How about it, Dan? The master
bids us. Let us pass over to the other
side. The other side. Are you ready? We've got to go through some
trouble, so, but that's where we're headed. The other side,
many are already there. They've gone through some trouble
too, but they've passed on, and they're there. They're there,
many, and from our midst here. Let's join them, shall we? Verse
36, it says, And now when they had sent away the multitude,
They took him even as he was in the ship. They sent away the
multitude. Again, every word is significant.
The vast majority of the people that had been following him were
sent away. But these chosen disciples, the
ones he'd chosen, were with him. They want to sail with him. They
want to go to the other side with the Lord. The vast majority
had been passed by, had been sent away. Right? And what mercy. Think about it, people. Just
a little group here. Look at this. I couldn't help but, I was making
my apology, but think, look, I've run off several already. I really do think that every
time I do something like this. You think of God's mercy to this
little flock, huh? The vast majority of this world
has no interest in this gospel, none. They've been passed by.
But God chose me. God called me by His grace. God
chose me to be one of His disciples in His little ship, to be with
Him, to pass over with Him. But as we're going to see, The
life of a disciple is not smooth sailing. It's not all smooth sailing.
Every one of these disciples married with Christ through this
storm. There wasn't a one of them that
missed this storm. All right? It says they took
Him. They took Him. Who took who? We're going to
see that. Who was taking who? It says, and that may have thrown
you a little bit, they took him even as he was in the ship. Now,
that's significant. He never got out of that ship.
Look back in verse 1. This whole story starts, the
whole day starts in verse 1 of chapter 4. He began again to
teach by the seaside. There was gathered under him
a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship at the first
part of the day. He got in this ship, this little
boat, and his disciples got in with him. He said, shove off
a little bit. They went out away from the shore because there
were so many people. They got out away from them, out in this
boat, and I imagine he stood up and preached to the people
on the shore while he was in the ship. He never left it. He
stayed in it all day, and that's significant. Is it not? Our Lord
came to us. Our Lord has been with us from
the beginning, from the beginning. And this is our hope of glory,
isn't it? Christ in you, hope of glory. Well, it says they
took him, but we're going to see how that, though they appeared
to be doing all the sailing and the rowing and whatever, they
were not controlling that ship at all. They were not in charge
of that ship. The Lord was. They never were.
All right, read on. It says that they took him, even
as he was in the ship, and there were also with him other little
ships. Other little ships. You know,
the Lord's church is made up of little ships. This is a little
ship right here. This is a little ark, isn't it?
This is a little ark. We've come, we resort to this
little ark here to be fed like Noah's animals. Noah, who is
a picture of Christ. But we come here, and this little
ship, Noah had just had seven passengers and animals. And God's church is made up of
little ships, little local assemblies all over. But they all have this
in common. They're all with him. You see
that? They were all with him, other
little ships. And they all went through these
seas. They all went through the same stormy seas. This little
church here, little church in Franklin, little church in wherever,
Cherokee little church in Santo Domingo. Faces look different,
but they're all the same. They're all God's people, new
ships, traveling stormy seas with the Lord's wisdom. They're
all going to get through it. They're all headed to the other
side. They all have the same destination. All right, verse 37, And there
arose a great storm of wind. A great storm of wind. Turn with
me to Exodus chapter 15. Exodus chapter 15. A great storm
of wind arose, it said. Now, modern man would explain
this in such a way that the jet stream was moving in from the
west and met a cold front from the east. collided with warm
air from the north and thus producing precipitation in the south, and God blew this wind. Man will go to great lengths
to explain away God, won't he? Scripture just said there arose
a great wind. What is this wind? Moses tells
us this in his song. This is the song of Moses in
Exodus 15, and it says in the Revelation that all of the people
in glory know the song of Moses. Do you remember that? In Exodus
15, verse 8, Moses says, With the blast of thy nostrils the
waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as a
heap. So this wind is the blast of his nostrils, as it were.
David said this, "'The voice of the Lord is upon great waters.'" That's what God did, to make
this great war. Just a little breath from God
tore them all up, stirred up the seas. Now, you remember this. Do you remember when we studied
the passage where it thundered? Remember, our Lord spoke out
loud to the Father and said, Father, glorify Thy name. And
the Father spoke from heaven and said, I have both glorified
it and will glorify it again. Well, we saw and we heard what
He said, but others said it thundered. Others just, all they heard was
thunder. Now, every time we hear thunder,
I hope, We'll think of that. Truly, I hope you'll think of
that. These things take place to make
believers conscious of their God. Whenever it thunders, you
think of that. God's glorifying His name. Whenever
we see the clouds, remember? The clouds are the dust of His
feet. Lo, the Scripture says, He cometh with clouds. Whenever
we see clouds in the sky, don't just think, well, they're cumulus.
They're serious. Notice the dust of his feet.
He must be stirring his feet. He's about to come again. Think
of that. Be conscious of our God. Whenever
you feel the wind blow, the next time you feel the wind blow,
think of that. It's a blast of his nostrils.
Yes, it is. And the wind is often Well, the
wind is referred to in Scripture as the Holy Spirit, is it not?
That's what spirit—I'll not go into the Greek meaning of it,
but that's the very word, wind. The wind, Scripture says, which
bloweth where it listeth. That is, the wind bloweth where
God purposes it to blow. The winds blow according to the
magnitude and the direction that God purposes for them. God's
wind. God's Holy Spirit, whatever God
brings about. The Spirit of God brought this
great storm upon his disciples. The magnitude of the storm and
upon whom it came was of the Lord. Right? There were other
seas, there were other oceans at this very day that were calm.
But not this one. Not this one. The Lord brought
this great storm upon his disciples. Now, for our comfort, we're going
to consider this. This is for your comfort. I'm
not even going to furrow my brow tonight. This is for our comfort. We're
going to see that whatever the disciples went through, the Lord did to them. Everything, Nancy, they went
through. The Lord was with them. Without comfort. Scripture says
in Hebrews 4, in all points, he's tempted like as we are. Think of anything. Think of it. He went through it. He himself,
Scripture says, was compassed with infirmities. And so a great
storm arose. And the waves, read on, verse
37, the waves beat into the ship. The waves beat into the ship.
They weren't little lap, lap, lap, you know, on the side of
the boat. These were great waves. The waves beat into the ship.
That's how high they were coming overboard. Big waves. And you know how waves are. Wave
after wave. Wave after wave. Waves never
seemed to end. These were big waves. And they
began to fill up that ship. Now, most of us are not called
on to go through what, say, Job went through. Oh, my. Read the story. Wave after wave.
They no sooner told him some bad news till worse news came.
I'm sure Brother Henry, he thought, can it get any worse? And it
did, until everything's gone. Now, most of us are not called
on to go through what Job did, or Abraham in the latter days,
because these men were used greatly by God. You see, that's generally
the way it is. Those that are used greatly are
those that are examples. at the forefront go through a
greater trial. Nevertheless, in a lifetime,
you, in a lifetime, every one of us, every believer, in the
course of a lifetime, wave after wave after wave of trouble will
come upon you. And it could be. Wave after wave
of trials and troubles come upon every believer in the course
of a lifetime, and it could be that the biggest wave, like Abraham, is saved until the latter days. The biggest wave is at the last. Now, it says that these waves,
these huge waves, began to fill up the ship so that it was now
full. The ship was full of water. They all thought, they all knew,
we can't take any more water. We can't take any more. Look at Psalms 3 with me. I didn't
know if we were going to have time. We're moving right along
here. Let's make time. Psalm 73. This is some of our,
one of our favorite Psalms. Psalm 73. This is David. is just opening up his heart
here and telling about his own feelings here. David says, he says he was envious of the
foolish. Verse 3, I was envious of the foolish when I saw the
prosperity of the wicked. Verse 4, they don't have any
trouble. No bands in their death. Their
strength is firm. They seem to be steadfast. Verse
5, they're not in trouble as other men. They don't seem to
be plagued like me. So they're full of pride. Down in verse 10, it talks about,
I believe, God's people. God's people return hither back
to God or return from this world in the waters of a full cup. The world doesn't seem to have
the troubles that believers have. It seems like just the waters
of a full cup are wrung out to them. I couldn't help but think
of our Lord when he said, the cup that I must drink, are you
able to drink it? Waters of a full cup are wrung
out to God's people. Why? Why do God's people go through
a life full of troubles? Why? Well, partly, it's so that
we'll get our fill of this world. So we'll find here no continuing
sin. We won't want to stay here. If
you don't have any trouble, if it's all just not—if the disciples
were sailing on smooth seas, they might—well, let's not be
in such a hurry to get to the other side. This is kind of nice. Take a little nap here. So that we'll get our feel of
this world and mostly though, that's partly the reason, but
mostly it's so that we will learn to trust our Lord. That we will
be built up in this faith. Trial of your faith. Trial of
your faith. Work with patience. Patience,
experience, experience, hope. Hope in who? Hope in the Lord. Trust in Him. We'll see that in a moment. It
builds faith in Christ. The tougher trials one goes through,
the more trust they have in the Lord who gets them through it.
All right? So the boat began to be full. The ship began to be full. Go
back to the text. Back to the text in Mark 4. It was now full of water. Verse
38, this is remarkable. He, Christ, was in the hander
part of the ship asleep on a pillow. Once again, every word is significant. He was in the hander part of
the ship. Well, why wasn't he up at the
bow of the ship? Why wasn't he up in the front
of the ship? Why was he at the hinder part of the ship? Well, any sailors in here? Folks, the rudder is in the back of the ship. You know what a rudder is? Every
ship has a rudder. And what controls that ship is
the rudder. Did you know, folks, that every
helm, you heard the old term, the helm, captain's at the helm,
H-E-L-M, the helm is always at the back of the ship. The captain's
quarters. Look at these old sailing vessels.
You'll see these big boats of schooners and so forth, and ships
of the line and all that. You'll see these, you'll see
this little, little bulge on the stern of the ship up high. It's a little higher than the
reef. It's a little bulge and there's windows across the back.
That's the captain's quarters. The captain's quarters is always
on the back of the ship. He naturally went back to the
back of the ship. That's where the captain is. The hinder part of
the ship. That's where the captain is.
That's where the rudder is. But he was asleep on a pillar. But he was asleep on a pillow.
Wait a minute, wait a minute. Was he now? Well, yes, he was. Or was he? Psalm 121 says, He
that keepeth Israel, but neither shepherds nor sheep. That's amazing. That's puzzling.
He was asleep, but no, he wasn't. I don't understand that. The
Lord died on Calvary's cross, didn't He? Or did He? God can't die. There was a man asleep in the
back of the boat, but the Lord was at the helm. Huh? There was a man that died
on Calvary's tree named Jesus, but the Lord was sitting on the
throne. He was asleep on a pillow. But
look at this. This is for our comfort. Look at Hebrews 5. Hebrews
chapter 5. Turn over there. You need to
see this. This is wonderful. Hebrews 2. Hebrews chapter 2. Our Lord was resting. Our Lord
was back there resting. Undisturbed. Completely. Barbara, totally resting. Completely undisturbed. Unmoved. Undisturbed. Resting. not in the least bit worried
about one single thing. That boat is doing this. I've
been in one. It was heeling left and right,
waves crashing, rocking this way, that way, full of water. Everybody in it was wet. Now, don't forget this, people.
Our Lord was a man. Our Lord was a man, and as a
man, he had to live by faith. Yes, he did. Our Lord, as a man,
as our representative, he had to live by faith for us, by faith. What is faith? Complete trust
in God. Total dependence upon God to
keep him, to provide for him, to protect him. We've noted together,
we've noted together that the Lord never did a miracle on his
own behalf, did he? The Lord never did a miracle
on his own behalf. The devil tempted him one time
that way, didn't he? If you be the Son of God, command,
you're hungry, aren't you? Command these stones to be made
bread. I can't do that, Brother Henry. Can you? Can you produce bread
from a stone? Yeah, from a stone? I can't. He didn't. He could, but he didn't.
Why? He had to know what hunger was.
He had to depend on his God to provide his bread. And God did. God did. Provided him everything. What he did here, he's going
to do on behalf of the disciples. He's sleeping, Jerry. He's not
worried. He's sleeping. But the disciples
don't. And what he did when he finally
hushed that storm, he did it for them, because they were scared
to death. He wasn't. He's asleep. And really, if Ada just said,
well, Let's just go to sleep. It would have been all right,
wouldn't it? But it's full of water. It can't
go down. It's impossible. It's impossible. Look at Hebrews 2. But our Lord,
as a man, lived by faith, trust, dependence upon his father as
a child. Look at verse 10. It became Him. It was becoming to Him. This
is just like Him. That's what that means. It's
something becoming to someone. Well, that looks good on you.
That's becoming to you. That's fitting to you. That looks
good on you. Well, it was just like Him to do that. It's becoming
to Him, for whom are all things, by whom are all things, in bringing
many sons unto glory. God became a man. He became,
now look at it, the captain of their salvation. It's just like
a captain. to lay his hand on the wheel,
you know, to come down here in person and go through it himself.
Our Lord, our God pities us. How does He pity us? He knows
our brain. How? Because He was made a man. He became a man. He became flesh
for us. Look at chapter 5, Hebrews chapter
5. Look at verse 2. He can have compassion on the
ignorant. on them that are out of the way,
because he himself was compassed with infirmity. Look at this. This is wonderful. Verse 8 and
9. Though he were a son, the Son of God, yet learned he obedience
as a man by the things which he suffered. He didn't have to
suffer anything. He didn't have to go through
anything like that. He didn't have to go through that. But
he did. Why? Because I go through it. And as the captain of our salvation,
He goes through whatever we go through. And so it says He was
made perfect. He's just perfect. He's the perfect
captain. He's the perfect man. He's the
perfect captain. He's the perfect Savior. He's
the perfect One. He became the author of eternal
salvation unto all who obey Him. Captain, my captain! Everybody
needs a captain. Everybody going down. Call on
him. He'll arise for your help. Our
captain went through the greatest storm. Isn't that the captain
you want? Don't you want a captain that's been through—what if some—oh,
you're on a big sailing—they just don't make captains, Brother
Henry, out of fellows right out of—what's the naval academy? Minneapolis. I just don't make
a captain out of a fellow right out of Annapolis. No sir, but
you got to earn those. What are they? Bars. You got to sail a few seas. You
got to be a third lieutenant, a second lieutenant, a first
lieutenant. You really got to start as a
swabbie. Don't you? Start at the bottom. Our Lord
said, take my yoke upon you and learn to be a meek and lowly.
He started as a babe. As a babe, he became a young
boy. Twelve-year-old boy. Twenty-year-old
man. Eighteen-year-old. Eighteen-year-olds
go through trouble sometimes. Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen.
Tempestuous life. Twenty-one. Thirty. The family
to ten, too. Big family. Mouths to feed. Five thousand. He went through these things.
He's perfect. He's just perfect. He became perfect. Perfect man
for the job. To see his people through. He
went through the greatest storms, weathered the roughest seas,
and as a man, he had perfect faith. As a man. Perfect faith. He's sleeping. in the midst of
a greatest storm, hurricane. Is that faith, Brother
Henry? were sailors. These men were
sailors by trade. All of them but Matthew. I bet
Matthew, when the first wave hit, he thought, oh no. Right? Matthew and whoever else was
not a sailor. There was a few of them. But
Peter and James and John and Andrew, Philip, they were all
fishermen, you know. They'd been on some rough seas.
And this was the big one. This was the big one. White squall. They thought they were goners.
This was the one to end it all. Our Lord was asleep on purpose. See, our Lord wasn't asleep. He neither slumber nor sleep
as He's not tired, but He knew weariness. I noted to you before,
before he went to the cross, he went without sleep for about
three days. We just can't do that. Our Lord
did. He went without sleep for about three days before he was
crucified. But our Lord went to sleep on
purpose. Why? Our Lord allows this storm
to get more and more severe, more and more severe. Because,
listen to me, when they get through this big one, when they get through the big
one, ain't nothing much that's gonna
bother them too. Right? They get through this big one, everything else will feel like
a little Just a little breeze. Right? They won't be quite so
fearful when the wind starts picking up. Yeah, we went through
a really rough, our Lord got us through a really rough one.
Wind blows, they won't be, oh no. And so they could, you know,
cheer fellows like Matthew. Landlubbers, you know. Greenhorns. It's all right. Believe me. We've
been through some rough sea. This is not bad. You'll get through
it. I know. Lord, you'll get us through it.
All right, now I want you to picture
this. All right, this really happened. This really happened. These are
real stories about real people like you and me going through
real troubles now. This was a real scene. I wish
I could paint this picture like it really happened. And
they're sailing along. They had sailboats back then.
You couldn't row across the sea of Galilee. They had sailboats.
They were sailing along. And the Lord just—they're sailing.
They're the sailors, and he let them, you know, do their jobs. And the Lord quietly just slips
away, unbeknownst to them. He just kind of slips off. He
slips into the hinder part of the ship. And he goes to sleep. They continue sailing and working. The winds begin to blow. The
winds begin to pick up. Their sails are up. That boat
heels over like this. And the wind, they like wind.
But not too much wind. And they're going along, and
it really starts to blow. And, boy, the boat's really heeling
over. So when it gets real bad, you
strike sail. You've got to bring them down.
You've got to just let the boat go. But they're working. They're manning the ship. I'm sure they forgot about the
Lord. A storm comes up and they're working real hard. They're striking
sail. I bet you Peter took over. You bet? I bet you Peter started
shouting orders. Self-proclaimed captain, you
know. Thomas, grab that iron. Philip, strike that sail. Matthew, do something. Don't
just sit there. Bail water. Water's coming in
the ship. Cook alive, men. Batten down
the hatches, tie them together, just chaos starts to take place. Take all the sails down and batten
them down and tie themselves off. This is what you do in a
big storm. That boat is rocking and they're bailing water, trying
to get the water out of the ship. They're working their best to
keep this boat afloat. They've got to do everything
they can to keep the boat afloat. If they don't, they're going
down. Oh, really? You know, yeah, do what you can. Do what you're supposed to do.
Go to work. Get up early, man. Get on the
job. Support that woman. Do what you're
supposed to do. Whatever your hand finds to do,
do it with all your might. That's your responsibility as
a man. Take care of business. Do your job, do it well, that's
your job, but you ain't keeping the boat afloat. Huh? Do what you will, but the
Lord's running the ship. The lot is cast into the lap.
There's one man, he's in charge of the storehouse. Oh, I wish
I was sailing. Somebody's got to be down there
cooking or something. Man up there sailing, I wish
I was sitting in the galley. Anyway, they all got jobs to
do. Do what you do, do it with all your might. They all need
it. But not a one of them controlling
that ship, none of them. All working together, but it's
the Lord. The lot is cast to the left, but the whole, H-W-H-O-L-E,
the whole disposing thereof. It doesn't say some of it. It says
the hope, doesn't it? Even the lot was cast into your
lap. That's up to the Lord. Well,
they've had about all they can take. And when they've had about
all they can take, they start thinking about the Lord. I know
they got busy sailing and all that. First, everything was fine. They were laughing, cutting up,
you know how fishermen do. Cutting up, poking wind picks
up. And then they start working.
Finally, they forgot about the Lord. But when it got real bad, to a man, Every one of them,
two of them. Where's the Master? Where's the
Lord? And it doesn't say who this was
that said this. Probably Peter. But look at it. Look back in our text, Mark 4.
One of them, or two of them, or maybe all of them, went back
in the back to find it. In verse 38, it says, And they
awaked him. They awoke him and said unto
him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?" Master, why are you sleeping? Don't you care? We're about to
go down. It wasn't that foolish thing
to say. The charge of the lawyer was not carried. Well, he chose every one of them. He had been providing for them
from the beginning. This was all his purpose, his
design. Everything. He's the one who
was in charge and told them, we're going to open. He's the
one that told them to trust him, but they got all upset. And like
David back there, that's Psalm 73, and David, David began, he
began to envy the foolish," he said. I envied the people of
the world. I'd look around me, and they'd
have all this, but he was working so hard to just make ends meet.
It doesn't seem like he's getting ahead. The world, the wicked
world out there doesn't give God a thought, and they've got
all more to make than he can. And he was envious. He was jealous
of them. That's what he said. I was envious of the prosperity
of the wicked. They're not in trouble like I
am. He said, down in Psalm 73, he said, maybe this is all in
vain. Maybe my religion's in the bank."
David, man, you're talking like a fool. And then he said, until,
David said, until finally I went into the sanctuary. That is,
he went to God's house. And what did he hear that changed
his mind? The same thing you and I hear. God's Word. telling
who God is on the throne, and who God's people are, and what
God does for them, and what God's purposes are for them, and the
trial, and the tribulation, and all these things. Yet, as David
said, he ended up saying, I was so foolish. He said, I was so
foolish. How could I be so foolish? He
said, why, the Lord has laid hold of my hand. He's determined my ways for me.
The Lord is in charge here. Later on, later on, the disciples,
after the Lord rose from the grave, remember when He, this
is in Luke, I believe, in the last chapter of Luke, when He
came back to them and He upbraided them, He says, O fool, O fool, and slow to believe. Why are you so slow to believe?
I was with you three and a half years, providing every need. Did you lack anything? He asked
him, Did you lack anything while I was with you? He said, Every
man said nothing, Lord. Not one. Do you remember the
sea we went through? Do you remember that storm we
went through? Did we get through it? Yes, we did, Lord. We sure
did. Not one man was lost. Not one
man went overboard. Peter jumps. Did he go down? Did Peter go
down? Peter! No, Lord, I didn't. I'm
here to tell it. Do you lack anything? Have I
ever done you wrong? Have I ever let you down? Have
I ever failed you? What minute of your lifetime
that I've been with you? Have you lacked anything? Not one minute. Everything you've
been through, did you get through it? I've heard believers going
through trials that I don't know if I can get through them. Maybe.
Maybe. That's some fool, an old fool
who's slow to believe. That's what we are. We're like
the fool out there who doesn't even believe God. What good is
our faith to us unless we exert it? I believe. Help my unbelief. Help my unbelief. And you only
need faith when you're going through a trial. That's when
you need it the most. Well, look at verse 39. They
said, Master, don't you care? I'd like to stay right there
a while. Doesn't he care? I wonder if anybody in here has
thought that for a moment when you were going through something.
Why is the Lord doing this to me? Why is he doing this to me? Every one of us, if you've gone
through any kind of trial, you've thought, why? That's like saying,
Lord, don't you care? Why are you doing this to me? That's why he's doing it to you. Because he does care. And that
can't be explained, really. It really can't. Well, go on. It says that he
arose, verse 39, and he arose. Our Lord arose from the grave
to rebuke sin, hell, and death. Our Lord rose for our to rebuke
our trouble, and he will arise from his throne some day to rebuke
the world and take us all. And it's going to be like that,
and I said, it's going to be like that. And the moment that twinkled
in my eye, today is the day of salvation. The Lord's coming
back today. Yes, He is. We're going to hit
the shore. There's another story of them
in the boat, and it says they were in a storm, and they were
at the shore. You remember that? It's like
they woke up, and they were on the shore. That's what it's going
to be like, Sam. We're going to wake up and we're
going to be back. It was a rough storm, wasn't
it? Well, I guess. I don't hardly remember it. Verse
39, He arose and rebuked the wind, and sat under the sea. Peace. Our Lord said this a lot, didn't
he? He says this as much as anything,
peace. We just looked at that, didn't
we, in John 20. The first thing is that peace be unto you. He
said it again, that peace be unto you. Thomas wasn't there.
Thomas came, he said, peace be unto you. The Lord arose from
his sleep, peace be unto you. He's the prince of peace. He's the one that bought the
wind, Dan. He's the one that bought the wind, yeah? And he's
the one only that can still it. Peace, be still. He rebuked the
wind and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And that raging ocean
was reduced to a farm pond. That raging sea that they thought
was going to go down. Oh, and it says, look at this,
and it says, and there was a great calm, not only on the ocean,
but in their hearts. Their hearts before, you know,
they were full of fear, and they were just, oh, you've been through
it, haven't you? And they were just full of turmoil.
For believers, there's a great calm after the storm. Yeah, I know there's a calm before
the storm, but for believers, there's a great calm after the
storm, a great calm, so that you'll see, the Lord got me through
that, didn't he? He sure did. I thought I was
a goner, but he got me through it. Great calm. Great peace have
they who love thy word, and nothing shall offend them, and run them
off." Read on. It says in verse 40 and 41, I
close with him. Now, he said unto them, Why are
you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? Why are you so fearful? How is
it that you have no faith? He asked them two questions,
and they end up asking the questions. But why are you so fearful? And we need to ask ourselves
that. We really do. Now, our Lord knows our frame. He does. He really does. He knows why
we're fearful. Because we're flesh. He knows
that. But yet, we need this rebuke,
don't we? Don't we need this to ask ourselves,
why am I so fearful? Do I believe God? Do I trust
God? Do I really believe that there's
a God on the throne? Do I really believe that he's
ordered all things concerning me and they're sure? Do I really
believe that He gives unto us eternal
life and none will perish? Don't you care we perish? Do
I really believe that He said they shall never perish? Nothing will be their undoing.
Nothing, no matter how great the storm. Do I really believe
that? Why are you so fearful? Why am I so fearful? Trust the Lord. Great peace obey
the trust in Him. How is it that you have no faith?
Faith comes by trials and things, and Word comes by hearing, hearing
by the Word. How much have we heard? How much
have we seen? How much have we experienced?
Any of you 70 years old? Charles, back there, 70-something.
You ladies, son, in your 60s, 50s, 40s, you've come this far. Life's about over. I'm not picking on you, but if
I was 70, I'd be saying it about me. I'd have perfect faith. Huh? Huh? Why are you so fearful? You've
come this far, man, are you 50? Yeah, I know you are. You look it. Fifty? You only got about twenty
more years, buddy. What are you worried about the
next twenty for? No, don't worry about the next
twenty. Fifty years. Seventy years are
gone. It's over, Henry. It's over.
Your life is over. The Lord got you. Oh, it doesn't
matter. Everything! Huh? You're still
right there. Been there as long as I've known
you. Were you there before I came
here? Right there in that seat? Why are you so fearful? Why is
it that you have no faith? To all that the Lord has brought
us, tell me that if I get to be sent down. Rebuke me like
that, if I get fearful like these disciples. How is it that you
have no faith? He's proved himself. We sing
that song, How I've Proved Him, over and over. He's just proved
himself to us. Well, they asked him a question,
or they asked themselves a question. It says they feared exceedingly.
What they feared was, well, like us, we ought to fear
not believing him. How could we be so foolish? How
could we be so unbelieving, faithless? And they feared him, too. This
is such power. Why would I not trust him? I
fear not trusting Him, don't you? I fear dishonoring Him by
faithlessness. I fear going through something
and not honoring Him. They feared exceedingly and said
one to another, they asked one another this question, What manner
of man is this that even the wind and the sea
have praised Him? We really had more life than
they did at this time. You know it? We had more life
than they did. They hadn't been with the Lord
long. Long enough, but not very long. And they were going through
some serious storm. And we would have been the same
way. We would have been the same way. Fearing for our lives, in
spite of all that the Lord had shown us, His power, His Godhead,
his glory, his care, his provisions, himself. We've been right there
with him, afraid, doubting, fearing. And we know what manner of man
this is. They're learning. They're learning.
This is no mere man. It's with them and the ship.
And so we really have more faith, more life than they do, Margaret. We sure do. We see how it's going in. They
didn't know before they went through that storm. We can go
right to the last verse. They made it. We don't have faith, Margaret.
We can go right to the last chapter and say, look here, I made it.
Can't wait. Look here. I made it. There I
am, right there in Revelation, there I am, there they are, all
the faithful, standing in the back in front of His throne,
all that believe, whosoever believe, chief of sinners, Mary Magdalene,
thief on the cross, they're all there. Why not me? There I am,
I made it. Just like He said, sir. Where
is my faith? All right. Let's sing a closing
hymn. 517, Jerry, 517. On Jordan's stormy banks I stand. Pastor Whistler, 517. I think
this is fitting. Stand with me. On Jordan's stormy banks I stand. Cast a wishful eye to Canaan's
fair and happy land where my possessions lie. I am bound for
the promised land. I am bound for the promised land. And go with me. Let's pass over to the other
side. That's what that chorus is saying. Let's pass over to
the other side. Who comes? Okay? Come now with
me. Verse three. No chilling winds nor poisonous breath can
wreak death for sure. Sickness and sorrow, pain and
death can't be feared no more. I am bound for the promised land,
I am bound for the promised land. The wind is blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing,
blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing,
blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing,
blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing,
blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing,
blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing,
blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing,
blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing,
blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing,
blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing,
blowing, blowing, blowing ♪ And I see my daughter sitting
beside me ♪ ♪ And I'm so proud of her ♪ ♪ And I'm so proud of
her ♪ ♪ Tell me, is love as proud as being a couple? ♪