Mark chapter 4, and let's read
our text. It's going to be verse 35 to
the end of the chapter. And the same day when the even
was come, our Lord said unto his disciples, 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
of the ship, asleep on a pillow. And they awake him and say unto
him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose
and 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? Now, our Lord preached in parables. He preached to us in parables. All of His earthly stories had
heavenly meaning. Everything that He did on this
earth had a spiritual significance. Every single thing. And spiritually
speaking, there is so much to see in the verses we just read.
So much. Spiritually, there is so much
for us to learn. But I want us to understand this
first. That really happened. That really happened. What manner of man is this? What manner of man? We're all here for a man, aren't
we? We're here to worship a man.
We're not here to worship a doctrine, are we? We're here to worship
a man. We're here to learn about a man.
We're here to see more of a man. We're here to get to know a man. What manner of man is this? In searching for the spiritual,
I don't want us to ignore the actual. The actual. That really happened. Now, we
see, we just read and we see what took place here. He was
in a ship. If you look with me at verse
1, it says, And he began again to teach by the seaside, and
there was gathered unto him a great multitude. And when our Lord
says great, He means great. There was a great multitude,
so that he entered into a ship and sat in the sea, And the whole
multitude was by the sea on the land. So he was in this ship
preaching and his multitude was on the shore. And when he was
finished preaching, he said to his disciples, let's pass over
to the other side. And during this trip. He went
to sleep. He went to sleep in this ship.
And a storm arose. They got out in the middle of
this great water and a storm arose. Verse 37 says, And there
arose a great storm. And when our Lord says great,
He means great. There arose a great storm of
wind. And the waves beat into the ship,
so that it was now full. Now, can you envision these waves
out in this ocean, these huge rolling waves, rolling to the
point that they are coming over the sidewalls of this ship, rolling
into the ship, overtaking everything. And this ship is now full of
water. Now, these men are sailors by
trade and they don't They don't just get afraid for no reason. These men realize this ship is
now full of water and they go to the Lord and they wake Him
and they say to Him, we are all going to die. This is it. And He stands up And he looks
out at these winds and the waves. And you can imagine these huge
waves, this boisterous wind. And he says to these huge waves,
peace, be still. And as soon as he says, peace,
be still, all of these waves go. And there was a great calm. And I can envision these disciples
looking at each other. And it's so quiet. It was so loud before. It was
so fearful before. And everything is so quiet. And one leans over to the other
one and says, what manner of man is this? I tell you what manner of man
this is. This is the God-man. This is the God-man. What manner of man is this? He created the wind, didn't He? He sets the course of the wind.
He is the one who created the sea. Psalm 107 verse 25 says,
He commandeth and raiseth the stormy wind which lifteth up
the waves thereof. He does that. He's the one that does that.
Everything is under the authority of His command. Everything. Everything. Let me show you something
in Isaiah 38. Turn with me over to Isaiah chapter
38. Isaiah 38 verse 1 says, In those
days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son
of Amoz, came unto him and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord,
set thine house in order, for thou shalt die and not live.
Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall and prayed unto
the Lord, and said, Remember now, O Lord, I beseech Thee,
how I have walked before Thee in truth and with a perfect heart,
and have done that which is good in Thy sight. And Hezekiah wept
sore. Then came the word of the Lord
to Isaiah, saying, Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord,
the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have
seen thy tears. Behold, I will add unto thy days
fifteen years. And I will deliver thee in this
city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend
this city. And this shall be a sign unto
thee from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that
he hath spoken. Behold, I will bring again the
shadow of the degrees which is gone down in the sundial of Ahaz
ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees
by which degrees it was gone down. Now, most everybody in
here knows how sundial works. There's a pole in the ground. And as the sun goes over the
sky, the shadow moves behind the pole. And that's how you
know what time it is. The sun is not moving. The earth
is. It's rotating. That's what makes
the sun go across the earth. And he said, this is how I'm
going to prove this to you. I'm going to make that shadow
go back 10 degrees. So he made the earth rotate backwards. Something like that. Something like that. What manner
of man is he? Who can do that? The God-man. The God-man can do that. Look
with me over at John chapter 6. John 6 verse 16 says, And when
even was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea, And this
is a different account from the one in our text. They went down
to the sea, verse 17, and entered into a ship and went over the
sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus
was not come to them. And the sea arose by reason of
a great wind that blew. So when they had rowed about
five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the
sea. What? walking on the sea, that defies
the laws of nature. That defies the laws of gravity,
doesn't it? Nature and gravity are subject
to him. It's all subject to him. I love
the poem that a man named William Cooper wrote. He said, God moves
in a mysterious way His wonders to perform. He plants His footsteps
in the sea. He doesn't step on it hoping
He doesn't fall in. He plants His footsteps in the
sea. And He rides upon the storm.
Everything is subject to this man. Everything. I'm not going
to have you turn. Back in Luke 24, that's where
the Lord was in Bethany. And as He blessed His disciples,
as He said, fear not, I'll never leave you, I'll never forsake
you. I'm with you always, even until the end of the world. I
am coming back. You go and wait for the promise
of my Holy Ghost. I'm coming back. As He blessed
His disciples, He was lifted up into the air through these olive branches
and they watched Him. as he's carried up into glory
and a cloud comes and... What manner of man is this? Look at one more with me. Go
with me over to Colossians 1. Colossians 1 verse 16 says, For by Him were all things created
that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers,
all things were created by Him and for Him, and He is before
all things, and by Him all things consist. This is the man who
came to save sinners." This is the man. This is the man who came to save
sinners. Now, do we believe he's able? Do we believe he's able? This
right here is the man, the one man who came to save sinners. Our Lord asked two blind men
who came to Him to receive their sight. He asked them, what do
you want me to do for you? And they said, Lord, that I might
receive my sight. And then He said, believe ye
that I'm able to do this. That was His question to you.
Do you believe that I'm able to do this? And they said, yea,
Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying
unto them, according to your faith, be it unto you. And their
eyes were open. Their eyes were open. This is
the man who came to save sinners. In our text, we're about to see
how that's done. We're about to see how this man
saves sinners. Now, in the story there in our
text, the problem for these men, the danger that they face, the
thing that's about to kill them, they went and said, Lord, we're
going to die, we're perishing. The thing that is about to kill
them is the wind and the waves, right? That's their problem. The thing that must be dealt
with is this raging water, and this water tells us something
about our natural condition. Go with me over to Genesis chapter
one. Genesis one, verse one says,
In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth, and
the earth was without form and void. And darkness was upon the
face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon
the face of the waters. That water represents the darkness
of our sin. That's what it represents. What's
going to cause these men to perish? The darkness of our sin. The deep depths of our own depravity. God sent a flood in the days
of Noah, didn't he? He opened up the heavens, he
opened up the earth, and that flood of water killed this earth. It represents man's sin and God's
judgment, doesn't it? His wrath, his judgment against
that sin. 2 Samuel 22 says, the waves of
death compassed me. All of these billows of death
compassed me. And that's where these men are.
That's where they are. These waves are overtaking them.
Outside of Christ, that's where you and I are. That's where you
and I are. Outside of Christ, that's where
we both are. Sinking deep in sin, far from
the peaceful shore. Now, let's go back over to our
text and see salvation. Mark chapter four. Salvation begins with the God
man's call. That's where it begins. Mark
four, verse thirty five says. And the same day when the even
was come, He saith unto them, let us pass over unto the other
side. He didn't say that to the whole
multitude, did he? He said, let us. All of us who are in this ship
here, let us pass over to the other side. Man by nature is
so consumed with right here, right now, this world that we
live in. All of a sudden, one day, the
Lord comes to a sinner and He says, let us pass over to the
other side. God comes to a man's heart and
He opens it. He opens his eyes. He opens his
ears. He opens his soul to the other
side. And all of a sudden, everything
here starts to go dim. Everything that was so desirable
is not quite as desirable anymore. And a man finally sees the other
side. I love the story of that deaf
man that came to the Lord. The Lord stuck his fingers in
his ears, didn't he? A deaf man came and he stuck
his fingers in his ears. He blocked out everything that
this world could interfere with and he said, be open. Ephetha,
be open. And that's exactly what our Lord
does for each and every child of His. He blocks this world
and He says, I am. Follow me. For the first time,
that child says, He is. Thy face will I seek. He said, let us, let us. Pass over unto the other side. This right here is not your continuing
city. This is not it. Look at the one
that has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. That's where
this whole thing starts in the life of a child of God. It starts
with His call. One day, God in mercy stops a
sinner down his path and says, no more. I am. What a wonderful
call that is. Verse 36, And when they had sent
away the multitude, and the truth of the matter is, if God ever
calls a sinner, they'll send away the multitude. They will
come out from among the people. Why will they do that? Is it
because they believe they're better than everybody else? Well,
God called me and He didn't call you. Not at all. They'll come out from among the
people because they need Him. They need Him. I need Him. That sinner will leave everything.
He'll leave everyone and he'll say, I must have Christ. I must
have Christ. That call, when God sends forth
that call, thank God it's irresistible. I must have Christ. Verse 36 says, And when they
had sent away the multitude, they took him. They laid hold
of him. Our Lord said, The kingdom of
heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force. I have to have him. I mean, I
cannot leave this world without him. I can't. I cannot. When the Lord wrestled with Jacob,
Jacob said, I will not let you go unless you bless me. Now,
Jacob, if you don't let go, I'm going to break your hip. I'm
going to break you. And you're going to walk the
rest of your days on this earth a humbled man. Jacob said, break it. I can't
let go. I cannot let go. I must have you. I must. Verse
36, And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him
even as he was. A true call from God is to see
Christ as he is, isn't it? A sinner doesn't all of a sudden
one day see gentle Jesus, do they? They don't see a man who
came and is trying to save his people, but he's not that successful. Nothing is subject to him. He
is hoping everything works out OK. They see him as he is. They see the God man. This is
the God man. We're talking about God. We're
talking about God. All things were made by Him.
I'm talking about God. High and lifted up. I must bow
to Him. I must bow to Him. It's a call
to see that salvation is on His terms, isn't it? It's all on
His terms. I'm the one who's drowning here.
I'm the one who's treading water. What do you mean, let him save
me? I'm the one who has nothing to
stand on, nothing. All power is in his hands. I
see that all power is in his hands. It's his will. It's his
choice. It's his work. Salvation is on
his terms. When God calls a center, that
center says, amen, I'm coming. When a center takes him. What
that means is that center realizes I'm not taking him, he's taking
me. He said, Peter, who do you say I am? He said, you're the
Christ. You're the Christ. I'm just happy to be with Him.
If He would have me and take me to Himself, I'm just happy
to be with Him, where He is, in the ship, along with all His
other little ships, all His people. I'm just thankful. Verse 37 says,
And there arose a great storm of wind. When God calls a sinner,
it not only causes that sinner to see who God really is, It
causes that sinner to see who he really is. He sees who he
really is, you know, people are not. Saddened by their sin, they're
not torn up over their sin, they're not lost, nobody's lost. Nobody's
lost. Do you need Christ? No, I like
him. Wouldn't mind living with him. But when God comes to a center
and when God reveals who God is, He reveals what man is. And all of a sudden, as soon
as He does that, that ocean, you know, it was all smooth sailing
up until now. Job was great, family was great, kids are great! All of a sudden, that smooth
sailing, those storms start rising up. Those waves start rising
up. mounding up the horror, the darkness,
the fear, the dread of my own sin. And as soon as a child of
God sees that, God reveals to his child the most glorious thing
he's ever seen in his life. This is the most glorious thing
a sinner could ever see in his life. Verse 37 says, And there
arose a great storm of wind And the waves beat into the ship. The waves of your sin and the
waves of my sin, that great storm of our sin, that sin that was
supposed to bring us down, you know, we're supposed to, because
of that sin, according to God's law, we're supposed to spend
an eternity in damnation because of that. It was supposed to bring
us down, all the way down. But those waves will not beat
into us because they beat into the ship. And that ship is Christ. That ship that our Lord said,
I put you in. Let's get into this ship right
here. And we're going to go out into deep waters in this ship.
And those waves are going to beat this ship. Verse 37, And
there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into
the ship, so that it was now full. In Gethsemane, our Lord sweat, as it were, great
drops of blood. All of the sin of His people
was pressed into Him. He drank every drop of that cup. He was full. Our ship was full. He hung on that cross beaten,
torn, marred more than any man. Verse 38 says, And he was in
the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow. He died. Explain that one. God died. He died. For the raging, stormy
sin of his people, he gave up the ghost. And in the midst of
the violence, in the midst of the beatings, in the midst of
the wrath from heaven, the judgment of God, there he lays. There
he lays. Verse 38 says, 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? Matthew's account words that
a little bit differently. In Matthew's account, they said,
Lord, save us. We perish. I've seen God. I've seen what He demands. I've
seen my own sin. I've seen what I deserve. And
now I've seen Christ. God has revealed Christ to me. Lord, save me. I've seen my only
hope. Save me. Do we have any other
hope than Jesus Christ? Well, I did straighten up and
fly right a few years ago. He's it. He's all I have. Save
me." That publican cried, God be merciful
to me, didn't he? A sinner. God be merciful to
me. Verse 39 says, and he arose. There he lays, suffering the
punishment, suffering the wrath of God while his people cry,
Lord, save us. Save us. And He arose. I love how the
two Marys who went to the sepulcher, when they left, they ran back
to the other disciples crying, He is risen. I can see those
two women. That angel told them, you go
and tell your brethren and he's going to meet you. And I can
imagine they didn't stroll on back. I can see those two women
running with all their might, hair flapping in the wind, hurrying,
crying. As soon as they see the brethren
crying, he is risen. The one we love. He is risen. Salvation has come. Verse 39, and He arose and rebuked
the wind and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. After our Lord
had risen, He entered into the room where His disciples were,
and that's the first thing He said to them, Peace be unto you. I've wondered before if that
will be the first thing I ever hear Him say. As soon as I see
His face, Peace be unto you. He said it twice. Peace be unto
you. Eight days later, He came back
to where they were. The first thing out of His mouth was, Peace
be unto you. Peace. Verse 39, And He arose
and rebuked the wind and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased. No more
sin. No more raging storm. Verse 39 says, and there was
a great calm. A great salvation. It's over. I mean, it's over. Whole thing's
over. Accomplished, it's ordered, it's
sure, it's finished, it's all finished. And now he says to
us, just like he said to them in verse 40, he said unto them,
why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? Rest. Just rest from here on
out, rest, just believe, trust. Verse 41, and they feared exceedingly,
and we fear him, don't we? We fear the Lord, we reverence
him, we honor him. The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom. Verse 41, they feared exceedingly
and said one to another, what manner of man is this? That is the grand subject of
every believer for the rest of his days. As soon as he sees
this man, as soon as doctrine, as soon as he gets past all that
and he sees this man, From that moment on, that's all he wants
to talk about. What manner of man is this? He's our message. He's the subject
of the message. He's life, isn't he? He's life. 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? They acknowledged that even the
wind and the sea obey him. Everything, everything is under
his control. And what they were saying is
the same thing we say, to God be the glory, great things he
had done. They saw it's finished, it's
over, look at what this man has done. I'm not adding anything
to it. There's no second step to take.
It's over. And it's an amazing grace. And
it's an amazing salvation. And we give Him all the glory
for it.