We always take note when Mike
sings a special. But equally on that, how carefully
he selects the music for every service. Brother Mike, we're
so thankful for you. Let's open our Bibles again to
Mark chapter 4. Mark chapter 4. The title of the message this
evening comes from verse 41 of our text. What manner of man is this? What manner of man is this? In verse 35, we see
this looks to be a special time with the Lord Jesus Christ and
His disciples. You see there it says, the same
day when He was come, He saith unto them, let us pass over to
the other side. And when He had sent away the
multitude, those that followed Him for just the crowd, as I
would say, just followed around because that was the thing to
do. There He was with His disciples.
And they load up on the ship. Matthew's account says that when
they entered into the ship, His disciples, They followed after
Him. And what comes next is certainly
not an accident. It's not a coincidence. It's
not what the news refers to as a natural disaster or Mother
Nature getting angry. It's God's providence. This storm
that's coming, God sent it. God sent it. Just as he did back
in Noah's time, when he promised he was going to send a flood,
and he brought that flood. In Jonah's time, we read back
in Jonah 1 verse 4, it said, the Lord sent out a great wind
into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest, so that the ship was
to be broken. All these things, all these things
that we see, they're at the Lord's hand. He sends them. They're
for the good of His people. It's to accomplish His purpose,
and it's for the good of His people. Turn to Isaiah 45. Many of these scriptures are
familiar. Turn to Isaiah 45. Look at verse
7 and 8 of Isaiah 45. He said, I form the light and
create darkness. I make peace and create evil. I, the Lord, do all these things. Drop down you heavens from above
and let the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open. Let them
bring forth salvation and let righteousness spring up together. I, the Lord, have created it. You know, God in His sovereignty, God in
His providence, God in His purpose, brings this storm here in our
text. We're getting ready to look at
it. Look at verse 37. It says, there arose, back in our
text, Mark 4, there arose a great storm of wind and beat into the
ship so that it was now full. You know, I can't I can't help
but wonder. We know that the Lord's disciples
were with him here in the ship. I don't know how I don't know
how big this ship was. Was it was it one where there
was a captain and a crew? And if so, what what was that?
What was that site like? Not just for his disciples, but
but those men that were just just happened to be there, just
happened to be there. They're going to see They're
going to see the power of this storm, but they're going to see
more so, they're going to see the power of God. Consider this evening. Consider
this, it's evening time. Christ and his disciples are
now on the ship and the Lord Jesus Christ goes back in the
back part of the ship, lays down his head to sleep. And this great
storm comes. The old writers, they talk about,
they say this was This was more than just a strong wind. This
was the equivalent of a hurricane passing through. Last summer,
me and Gene and Adam and all the boys, we were up on Lake
Erie and it was calm. It was calm. On one of those boats we were
on, the engine went out. I've got to tell you, the waves
just on a calm day, Hit that ship. It started rocking back
and forth. And they're pulling in the line.
And I'm thinking about trying not to embarrass the boys, but
grab them and like throw a life jacket on them. I mean, it was
scary. And it was a clear, sunny day. They're out there in the middle
of a hurricane. Here's our Lord asleep. Asleep
on the pillow. So they're in the middle of this
storm, the waves beating on the ship so that it was full of water. We read that there in the text.
It was full of water. Matthew says it was covered with waves.
Luke describes it. He says they were in jeopardy.
They were in jeopardy and they feared for their lives. Well,
they went to the master. They went to the master, the
Lord Jesus Christ, and they woke him and they said, Master, carest
thou not? Perish thou not that we perish.
Save us. Save us. We're going to perish
out here. Verse 39, He arose and He rebuked
the wind and He said unto the sea, Peace be still. The wind ceased and there was
a great calm. You know, even after a storm,
the waves carry on for some time, for days sometimes after a storm
passes. We read here The Lord spoke. He speaks to them in a great
calm. In verse 40, He said unto them, Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? Matthew says, O ye of little
faith. And Luke says, The Lord said,
Where's your faith? Isn't that where we find ourselves? Can't we quickly identify with
His disciples? How often in times of trouble
can we ask that question of ourselves? Where's my faith? Where's my
faith? Although the Lord has proven
Himself over and over and over again, how quickly, how quickly
we doubt, how quickly those fears settle in, Look back in Exodus
14. I often read about the children
of Israel and think, how is that possible? How could they be like
that? But then it's so easy to look at the children of Israel
and say, boy, we just like them, aren't we? Look at verse 10.
When Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes,
and behold, the Egyptians marched after them, and they were sore
afraid. Think of the miracles. Think
of the miracles that they had seen up to this point. And now
in this time when they're fleeing Egypt, here's the army of Egypt
marching against them. And the children of Israel, it
says they cried unto the Lord. They cried in a time of trouble,
they cried unto the Lord, and they said unto Moses, because
there were no graves in Egypt, you've taken us away to die in
the wilderness. Wherefore hast thou dealt with us so, to carry
us forth out of Egypt? Is this not what we did tell
you in Egypt, saying, let us alone, that we may serve the
Egyptians? It would have been better for
us to serve the Egyptians than we should die in the wilderness.
And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye none. Stand still and
see the salvation of the Lord, which he'll show you today. For
the Egyptians whom you've seen today, you'll see them again
no more forever. Listen, the Lord shall fight
for you and you shall hold your peace. Why? Why are we so fearful? Oh, ye of little faith. Well,
back in our text, look at verse 41. And they feared exceedingly,
and they said one to another, what manner of man is this that
even the wind and sea obey him? What manner of man is this? Now,
rest assured, I will not answer that question in its entirety
this evening. We'll spend eternity praising
Him. But I do think there's four or
five points here in this passage that I think we can find some
comfort in. What manner of man is this? And
to put it in perspective, to put it in perspective, I think
the first thing we need to ask is what manner of man are we?
What manner of man are we? The Jews, The Jews said this,
they said, we be not born of fornication. They said, we're
not, we're not. Modern preachers, they, false
preachers, say the same thing. Abby and I, not too long ago,
we heard a man that claimed to be a preacher talk about being
more like children, being more like children. Good, these are
the two words he used, and perfect. You just sit there and shake
your head, don't you? Good and perfect. Now that might be a true statement
in the ears of a proud grandparent. But in the sight of God, there's
only one good. There's only one that's perfect.
God's Word says, You hath He quickened. you hath he given
life that were dead in trespasses and sin." Every man, woman, and
child by nature is dead in sin. We're dead in sin. David, back
in Psalm 51.5, he said, behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and
in sin did my mother conceive me. A few chapters later, he
said, the wicked, they're estranged from the world. They go astray,
speaking lies as soon as they're born. That's us by nature, and
we get it honest. It comes from Adam. It comes from the fall. Romans
5, 12, wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and
death by sin, so death passed upon all men, for that all, all
have sinned. What manner of men are we? Sinners. Sinners. Dead and trespassers
and sinners. Well, what manner of man is this? What manner of man is the Lord
Jesus Christ? Well, first, when we see this
here in our text back in Mark 4, he's a man. He's a man. The Lord Jesus Christ was a man. He was back there in the ship
asleep. Why was he asleep? Same reason
we sleep, we grow weary. Through the day we get tired,
we lay down, we go to sleep. Throughout God's Word we see
that he grew tired, we see that he was hungry, we see that he
was thirsty, he wept. The Scriptures declare him, say
he was a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. He was born He died,
he suffered on the cross, but he had to become a man. As a man, he's able to sympathize
with his people. He was tempted and tried at all
points, yet without sin. He understands our weaknesses,
he understands our infirmities, our pains, our tears, our temptation. We read, unto us a child is born.
Unto us a son is given. He was a man. When you read this
back in the study, Hebrews 1.9, we see Jesus, who was made a
little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned
with glory and honor. He, by the grace of God, should
taste death. Every man, he should taste death.
Every one of his every one of his children. Turn to Philippians
2 verse 8. Being found in fashion as a man,
he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross. He was made a man to suffer and
die in the place of his people, in the womb instead of his people. And back to our text, part four.
Second, what manner of man is this? He's a man that hears the cry
of his people. You know, some of the old writers, they say
the disciples were complaining, and others say that they cried
out to him in fear, because they were in such peril. I don't know. All I know is they
were in a time of trouble and they went to Him. They went to
the Lord. They cried unto the Lord. Psalm 34, 15, we read, the eyes
of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears, His ears are open
to their cry. He hears the cry. You know, I believe false religion
would say under the disciples, works religion would say this.
You guys got it. You guys got to keep rowing.
You could get some more oars out and maybe row that boat a
little harder. Get out of the storm. Maybe get
a bucket. Everybody grab a bucket. We'll
bail this boat out so it won't sink. Maybe you just need to
believe harder. Maybe that's the problem. Remember what we read back in
Exodus? We just read that back there.
When they saw Pharaoh, they were sore afraid. They cried out to
the Lord. He hears the cry of His people. In Matthew's account, the disciples
cried out, Save us, Lord, or we perish. You're my only hope. You're mine. Who should we blame? There is no one, no one else.
David said this. He said, this poor man cried
and the Lord heard him and delivered him out of all of his troubles.
He hears the cry of his people. Third, he speaks peace. He speaks peace to the heart. False preachers declare peace
where there is no peace. My friends, when He speaks peace,
when the Lord Jesus Christ speaks peace, we just ran it down. There
was a grave. Turn back to Isaiah 41. beginning with verse 10 of Isaiah
41. Fear thou not, for I am with
thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy
God. I will strengthen thee, yea,
I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand
of my righteousness. Behold, all they that were incensed
against thee shall be ashamed and confounded. They shall be
as nothing. They that strive with thee shall
perish. I shall seek them, and they shall
not find them. Even them that contend with thee,
they that war against thee, shall be as nothing, and as a thing
of naught. For I, the Lord thy God, will
hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not, don't be afraid,
I will help thee. Fear not thou worm, Jacob, ye
men of Israel, I'll help thee, saith the Lord, and I'll redeem
her, the holy one of Israel. How often do we read the word,
I, just in those... How did the Lord God do all these
things? He speaks peace. He made peace.
He made peace through the blood of His cross. Listen to this. This is a familiar
passage. My sheep, my sheep hear my voice,
and I know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal
life. They shall never perish. Neither
shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them me
is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of
my hand. I and my Father are one." Isn't that comforting? Right there in his hand. He holds
us in his hand. And no man, no man can pluck
them out. Verse 39 of our text, our Lord
said he arose and he rebuked the wind and said
unto the sea, peace be still, peace be still. What's the results
when he speaks? The wind ceased, the air didn't
break. Why are we so fearful? Why are
we so fearful? What manner of man is He? What
manner of man is He? He's a man. Jesus Christ is a
man. He's a man that hears the cry
of His people. He's a man that speaks peace
to the heart. He is peace. Fourth, He's God. He's Almighty God. Look at verse 41. They feared
exceedingly and said one to another, What manner of man is this that
even the wind and the sea obey him? He's almighty God. He's the sovereign God. Here, in his divine nature, he
rebukes the wind and the sea. As a man, he sleeps on that pillow. But as God, he tells the wind and the waves The disciples, let me ask you
this. The disciples, they said, don't
you care that we perish? Now think about that. Don't you
care? Don't you care that we perish? How often do we ask that question?
How often is that on our heart? In times of trouble, in times
of of weakness, in times when the heavens seem to be as brass?
Lord, don't you care? Don't you care? The Lord our God, how often do we
need to be reminded that the Lord our God ever watches over
His people. Behold, behold, He that keepeth
Israel, He never slumbers and he never sleeps. He's sovereign
over his creation. He's sovereign, he's almighty
God. Sovereign in creation, sovereign
in providence, and sovereign in salvation. He worketh all
things after the cancel of his own. Micah, back in Micah, we
read that who is a God? Who is a God-like unto them? Then fifth, what manner of man
is this? He's a man that delivers his
people. He's going to deliver his people. Look back one more time at Mark
chapter four. Look at verse 35, where we're
starting. It says, in the same day, when
even was come, he saith unto them, let us pass over to the other
side. Keep in mind who's speaking here.
You know, we make plans sometimes and we have to change it. Something comes up, might say
I'm going to come over and may not show. Our Lord says here,
let us pass over to the other side. And he's speaking to his
disciples. There's this great storm. There's
this great storm. Sometimes that storm is trial.
Sometimes that storm is temptation. Sometimes that storm is fear,
doubt, whatever it might be. Any of these things that take
our eyes off of Christ. Take our eyes of his promise. Consider this, Bishop. Of all
that the Father had given me, I'll lose nothing, but I'll raise
it up at the last day. Our Lord said that. I'll lose nothing. I'll not lose
one. Where's our hope? Where's our
confidence? We're Guard Sheriffs. My brother
Dale used to tell a story, and I know you've heard this before
because he told it to us many times, about a captain that commanded
a ship going from England to New York. And on that particular
voyage, the captain had his family on board that ship. And as they
were traveling one night, this great storm hit the ship nearly
knocking it on its side. Anything that wasn't tied down
was spilled into the floor. People were getting knocked out
of their beds and scared, running back and forth. This little girl woke up, one
of those women, sat up in her bed. What's going on? Scared. What's going on? They
told her about the storm, and she asked one question. It's
my father on deck. It's my father on deck. To which they replied, yes he
is. She laid back on the pillow and
went right back to sleep. May we always be mindful. May
we always be mindful in the storm, when the ship's the heavy storm,
when that ship is covered with water. When those great storm
comes, our father, our father's on the line. It's his storm, it's his ship.
He's on the line. He orders and directs all these
things. I pray. I pray that He would
put away our fears and doubts and speak peace to us. Speak
peace to us, to our troubles. Look one more time. Look at Mark
chapter 4, verse 35. The same day when evil was come,
He said unto them, let us pass over to the other side. Skip
down to chapter 5, verse 1. What happened? They came over
onto the other side of the city. Just as he promised, just as
he told them. What manner, what manner of man
is this? I want to read one more scripture
to you. Colossians 1, given thanks. Colossians 1, 12, giving thanks
unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the
inheritance of the saints in life, who hath delivered us. He's delivered us from the power
of darkness and translated us unto the kingdom of his dear
Son. He's redeemed us from sin. He's
redeemed us from the law. He's redeemed us from his justice
and wrath by the blood of his Son. Drawn us out of that corrupt
state, drawn us out of our sin and shame and despair, and translated
us into the kingdom of his dear Son. Oh, what manner of man!