Let's turn back to Luke chapter
8. The Lord Jesus and his disciples
were in a boat crossing a lake to get to the country of the
Gadarenes. Now, what I think is glorious is one of the Lord's
elect was on the other side of the boat or the lake. That man
who was possessed with a demon. And the Lord's going to go over
and get him. The Lord always gets his people.
Aren't you thankful for that? I'm so thankful the Lord came
and got me. Thank God for that. Well, the Lord had fallen asleep.
It had been a long day and as a human, he was exhausted from
the day's labors. And suddenly while he was asleep
in the ship, The scripture says a storm, a whirlwind, maybe a
tornado or a hurricane of some kind came down. And Matthew's
account says something arose, a great shaking arose. Maybe
an earthquake took place at the same time. I don't know, but
I mean, water filled the ship and they were in jeopardy. They
were in danger, but the Lord remained asleep. Isn't that glorious to think
about? Think how worried you'd be if you were in that condition.
I would be scared to death. What's going to happen? But the
Lord just lays there asleep. You know what? He never worried.
Not once. You see, he's in control of everything. He could sleep through the storm
and the disciples were terrified. In Matthew's account of this
story, we read where they said, Lord, save us. We perish. In Mark's account it says, Master,
carest thou not that we perish? They were making an accusation
against the Lord. Carest thou not that we perish? Luke's account says, Master,
Master, we perish. Now, what I thought about was
sometimes we feel as though we're in a raging storm, ready to perish,
and the Lord doesn't care. How many times have you felt
that way? I felt that way many times. The Lord didn't care. He sees me floundering. He sees
me in the storm and he's not helping me. He doesn't care. The disciples felt that way and
they were so wrong in feeling that way. He that spared not
his own son. Would you say he doesn't care?
But delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him freely
give us all things? Now, never think the Lord doesn't
care. He does. Cast all your cares
upon him, for he careth for you. But thus they reacted, Lord,
don't you care? Turn with me for a moment to
Matthew's account. Hold your finger there in Luke and look at Matthew's
account. I thought this was very interesting. I don't think I'd
ever really noticed this before. Verse 25, and his disciples came
to him and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us, we perish. And
he saith unto them, why are you fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose and rebuked the
winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. Now, I think
this is very interesting. I would think if they would have
said, Lord, we're perishing, the first thing he would do was
take care of the winds and the sea and then rebuke them. That's
what I would have thought. He'd say, rebuke the winds and
the sea. But he deals with the bigger problem first. O ye of
little faith. Where's your faith? Why are you so fearful? In Mark's
account, he said, how is it that you have no faith? And in Luke's
account, he says, where is your faith? It's most certainly not
in operation now. Now, why were they fearful? If
you were in the boat with the Lord in the boat with you, Even
if he's asleep, would you have any reason to fear? None at all. And the fact of the matter is
he is in the boat with you right now. And you have no reason to
fear. Now, when he said, why are you
so fearful? Oh, you little faith. This was
the fear of mistrust and unbelief. I want to ask a question. Has
the Lord ever given you a reason to doubt him and to mistrust
him? He really hadn't, has he? He's
never given you one reason. Do we doubt his sovereignty?
There's only one reason that wind is raging and the sea is
so, because he willed it. Do we doubt His power, His omnipotence? You know, the one thing that's
necessary for sovereignty is omnipotence. Sovereignty is meaningless
without omnipotence, the power to make your will come to pass.
The reason those waves were raging, the reason the tempest came down
is because He willed it. It was His sovereign will. He
had power and control over everything that took place. I love to think
of our Lord when, when, When he was crucified, when they drove
the nails in his hand, the only reason it took place is because
he willed it to take place. Why he couldn't, when death came,
it couldn't take him until he gave it permission. That's how
controlling he is, how glorious he is. Has he ever given us reason
to doubt him? Do we doubt his wisdom? His wisdom
has ordained this storm. It's for your good, ordered by
God and for His glory. Do we doubt His love? He came
to die for me. Greater love hath no man than
this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Doubt His grace? Paul said, you
know, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. I love that. You know,
there's one of those, you knows, Paul, you just have, you know,
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich yet for your
sakes, he became poor that you through his poverty might be
rich. Carest thou not that we perish? Yes, he cares, but he rebuked
them first. Go back to our text in Luke chapter
eight. He rebuked them for their unbelief. And then we read in verse 24,
and they came to him and awoke him saying, master, master, we
perish. Then he arose and rebuked the
wind and the raging of the water and they ceased. And there was a great calm. Now, can you imagine witnessing
to this? Being in a storm. a hurricane,
a tornado, an earthquake, whatever it was, something major was going
on. The water was filled with it.
And he says to the wind, peace, be quiet, be silent. He says
to the waves, be still. And all of a sudden, it was like
the water was placid. You couldn't even see a ripple.
You couldn't hear any noise. Can you imagine how they freaked
out when they saw this? I would have freaked out. And
they said, what manner of man is this that even the winds and
the sea obey him? Now we have a striking view of
both the humanity and the deity of Christ. He's asleep in the
ship. He's tired. He's worn out. He falls asleep. He even sleeps
through this raging storm. There we have the humanity of
the Lord Jesus Christ. But how clearly we see his deity
when he says, peace be still to the raging waves in the wind. And there's a great calm. Only
God can do that. And the Holy Spirit lets us know
what they were feeling at this time. Verse 25, and he saith
unto them, where is your faith? And they being afraid. They're afraid. Now the word
fear here is a different word than the word used when he said,
why are you so fearful, O ye of little faith? That was the
fear of mistrust and unbelief. Here we have the fear of God. This was the first response. They were afraid. Now, the circumstances
were good now. The sea is calm, the wind, the
waters come out, they're safe now, but their first response
is they were afraid. Now, this is the fear of God. Let me show you scripture in
Psalm 130. This is the fear of God that's
the beginning of wisdom. Oh, may the Lord give us grace
to see this. Psalm 130. David says, Out of the depths
have I cried unto thee, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice. Let thine
ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If thou,
Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand but There is forgiveness with thee. And what does it say next? That
thou mayest be feared. Now this is the good kind of
fear. This is the fear of God that's a response to the gospel.
There's forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. It
is perfect poverty alone that sets the soul at large while
we can call one might our own. We have no full discharge. But
let our debts be what they may, however great or small. As soon
as we have not to pay, our Lord forgives us all. There is forgiveness
with thee, that thou mayest be feared. When we see that, we'll
fear the Lord and we'll have a true reverence and respect
for his person. A fear of sin because it's against
him who forgave us. A fear to look anywhere but Christ
only as everything in our sight. Aren't you afraid to look anywhere
but Christ? I'm afraid of sin because it's against him. I'm
afraid of it. And I'm afraid to look anywhere but Christ.
When they saw, after the circumstances were good now, the scripture
says they feared. They were exceedingly, Mark's
account says, they were exceedingly afraid. You know what, if you
see that the Lord has forgiven you for Christ's sake, not for
your sake, but for Christ's sake, you know what it's gonna do to
you? It's gonna make you afraid of Him. I don't mean that in
a bad sense either. You'll just have such fear and
respect for His person, awe at His person. But look what it
says next about Him in our text, verse 25. And they, being afraid,
wandered. They were all struck at his greatness. There's no limit to his sovereignty. billows His will obey. There's
no limit to His power. He controls the weather. This
mysterious person, they were in awe of Him. They stood in
awe of the Lord. And you know, there's no better
place to be, is there, when the Lord gives us the grace to simply
stand in awe of the greatness and the glory of His person.
And look what they said in verse 25. They said, In their fear, in their awe,
what manner of man is this? For he commanded even the winds
and they obey him. Now, what amazes me about this
question is I know the answer. You do too. I know the answer. What manner of man this is that
even the winds and the sea obey him. This is the one who thought
it not robbery to be equal with God. Now, if any man made a claim
like that, if I stood up and said, I'm equal with God, you,
you ought to throw me out, throw me out and let me get run over
out there on Todd's road. I mean, that's, that'd be for any man
to make a claim like that, but the God man. He thought it not
a thing to be grasped for, to be equal with God. This is the one of whom it said,
in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead in a body. This is the one of whom the father
said, awake, O sword, smite the shepherd, the man who is my fellow. That's what God said of this
man. The man who is my fellow, my equal. The one whom God said
to him, thy throne, O God. God, the father says to God,
the son, thy throne, O God, is forever. A scepter of righteousness
is the scepter of thy kingdom. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter
one. Let me read just a couple of
New Testament scriptures. describing the Lord Jesus Christ,
the one who even the winds and the sea obey. In Hebrews chapter
1, verse 1, God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake
in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these
last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir
of all things, by whom also he made the worlds. He made the
sea and the wind, and they must obey their creator. Who, being the brightness of
God's glory, and the express image of his person. If you see what God looks like,
all you'll see is Jesus Christ. He's the express image of his
person. So much that he said to Thomas,
he that has seen me, hath seen the father. His name shall be
called the mighty God, the everlasting father, the prince of peace.
And he is the one who upholds all things. by the word of his
power. That last breath you took, you
know why you took it? Because he willed it. And if
he is pleased, he can make that your last breath. Everything
is in his hands. He upholds all things by the
word of his power. And look what he did. When he
had by himself purged our sins, he sat down. Why? Work was finished. on the right hand of God from
henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool,
is what it says in Hebrews chapter 10. But it says here, being made
so much better than the angels as he hath by inheritance obtained
a more excellent name than they. Now, I want you to think about
that statement. When he by himself purged our sins. You know what
that means? That means they're purged. That
means they're put away. That means they've been cleansed
and he did that before you were even born. That shows how complete
his salvation is. When he by himself, let's look
at another passage of scripture, Colossians chapter one, what
manner of man is this? Colossians chapter one. Verse 14, in whom we have, Colossians
1.14, in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness
of sins, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn
of every creature. Verse 16, 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. Now, understand this. I don't understand it, but I'm
saying it. I don't understand it, but you know, there's all
kinds of principalities, there's powers, things you and I don't know anything
about. There's spiritual wickedness in high places. There is satanic
delusions. There is satanic work. I guarantee
you, wherever the gospel is preached, he's at work. There's such thing
as spiritual wickedness in high places, but listen to this. It's
all in his hand and nothing happens without him. Don't you love it
that way? All things were made by him and
for him. And he is before all things,
and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body,
the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he might have the preeminence for it. Please
the father that in him, in him should all fullness dwell. What manner of man is this? Well,
he's the one who is called in 1 Corinthians 1, the Christ,
the power, and the wisdom of God. Christ is the wisdom of
God. Now, what a name. I mean, how
wise is God? Christ himself is the wisdom
of God. He is the wisdom in that God
has made a way. He's so wise that he's actually
made a way to be just, absolutely inflexibly just, and yet justify
folks who are unjust in and of themselves. Christ is the wisdom
of God and he's the power of God to execute that so that God
actually justifies those who are unjust. Isn't that the gospel
we believe now? To him that worketh not, but
believeth. On him that justifies the ungodly. His faith is counted for righteousness.
Now that's the gospel. Christ is the wisdom as to how
that can be. God can look at me right now,
and I'm aware, I'm conscious of my own sinfulness. I don't
know half of it, I don't know a millionth of it, but to some
extent, I'm conscious of my own sinfulness. But do you know that
when God looks at me, he sees nothing but that which is holy,
unblameable, and unreprovable. He says, thou art all fair my
love, there is no spot in thee. How can that be? Christ, the
wisdom of God. Christ, the power of God to make
that so. What manner of man is this? The
one that the father said, this is my beloved son. in whom I'm
well pleased. And if I'm in Christ, God is
well pleased with me. What manner of man is this, that
even the winds and sea obey him? Well, he's the man who appeared
to our first parents after the fall and preached the gospel
to them. He is the one who appeared to
Abraham and gave him the promises, I am thy shield and thy exceeding
great reward. He's the man who wrestled with
Jacob. Lord will not want to preach
on that Wednesday night. I've been thinking about it.
You know, Jacob didn't wrestle with the man. The man wrestled
with Jacob. He brought him down. And he gave
him a new name. That's the Lord Jesus Christ.
He said, I've seen God face to face and lived. He knew this
was God. He brought Jacob to this place.
I love this. You know, Jacob was wrestled
with him and he brought him to where all he could do is cling.
That's it. And say, I will not go except
you bless me. That's the Lord Jesus Christ.
Would to God that he wrestles with me and brings me down to
where all I can do is cling. And say, I will not let you go
except you bless me. This is the one who appeared
to Moses in the bush that could not be consumed. The fire, it
burned, but it never was consumed. Why is that? Because the Lord
Jesus Christ could not be consumed by the wrath of God. The wrath
of God couldn't consume him. He consumed the wrath, to where
there was none left. And now there's no condemnation
to them that are in Christ Jesus. He is that one who appeared to
Joshua. Paul read this the other day,
and I just love thinking about this,
where he appeared, Joshua sees this man with a drawn sword.
And he said, are you for us or against us? He said, neither. But as the captain of the Lord's
hosts, am I come, the son of God. And you know what he did?
He quit asking, are you for us or against us? He fell down on
his face and worshiped. And the man said, take your shoes
off, Joshua. This is holy ground. This is
the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the man that controls
the winds and the wave. This is that same one Isaiah
saw. he said in the year that King Uzziah died and that's very
significant. Do you remember what happened
when King Uzziah died? King Uzziah was a good king.
He's somebody that the Lord had blessed and all of a sudden the
scripture says his heart was lifted up with him in pride and
all of a sudden he thought he could come into God's presence
without a priest and the priest he tried to offer up incense
to God on his own without a priest doing it for him and the priest
tried to stop him and said this appertains not to the Uzziah but Uzziah
in his pride as soon as he lit the fire of the incense that
only the priest could do, leprosy covered him. He ran out of there
and Isaiah no doubt loved King Uzziah. He was a man that God
had greatly used, but he saw at this time, God is holy. God is unapproachable. I'm going to have to have Christ
approach him for me. In the year that King Uzziah
died, I saw also the Lord high and lifted up. If you ever see
the Lord, that's how you see. High and lifted up. And his train filled the temple. This is he who Daniel said, when
I saw him, my comeliness turned to corruption. This is he who
took upon him the form of a servant. and was made in the likeness
of men." Don't you love just thinking about the greatness
and the glory, the excellency of His person, the Lord Jesus
Christ, and that He's made Himself known to me? That I have just
a glimpse of who He is? This is just a little glimpse,
I realize that. But I have a glimpse of who He is. I know the answer
to that question. What manner of man is this that
even the winds and the sea obey Him? This is the God-man. The Lord Jesus Christ. The one mediator between God
and men, the man, Christ Jesus, who as a man proved himself to
be God. Don't you love the way he could
bring matter into existence that was not there before? As a creative
act, only God can do that. Don't you love the fact that
the demons had to grovel in his presence and they weren't even
allowed to move? They couldn't go from one place to another
without his permission. Sufferers to go into the herd of swine.
They couldn't even make a move without him giving them permission.
What control? The winds and the sea obey him.
He gives sight to the blind. He raises the dead. This is the
God-man. What manner of man is this that
even the winds and the sea obey him? I love when Pilate came
to him at the time when he seemed in least control. And you think
about that. I mean, he's arrested. He's getting
ready to get crucified. He's got all these soldiers. He certainly
didn't seem to have any control at this time. And Pilate begins
to question him, and he says, answerest thou not me? Pilate,
you know, he disrespected, he thought the Lord was disrespectful.
He said, do you know who I am? Don't you know that I have power
to crucify you and I have power to release you? And I would love
to heard the way the Lord said this. You have no power at all
over me. except it be given thee from
above. You see, this is the God-man,
the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the one who never sinned
and put away sin. Listen to this scripture from
Hebrews chapter 10. But this man, this man, after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down. on the right hand of
God from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his
footstool for by one offering. He hath perfected forever them
that are sanctified. That's what he did by his one
offering. Oh, what a glorious man. This is the one who came to save
sinners who's called the sinner's friend. Now, what manner of man
is this? That even the winds in the sea
obey him. The one who is mighty to save. The one who can say, peace be
still to the raging in your soul, and there will be a great calm. He's the same one who said, and
listen to these words, May God give me grace to hear him. He
said, come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and
I will give you rest. He's got the will to do it and
he's got the power to do it. He said, take my yoke upon you
and learn of me. He didn't say learn about me.
He said, learn of me. And he said, for I am meek and
lowly in heart. Now, if you come to me and expose
to me what you're really like, I'm just self-righteous enough
to think, what's wrong with him? But not the Lord. You'll find
him to be meek and lowly in heart. He said, take my yoke upon you
and learn of me for I'm meek and lowly in heart, and you'll
find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden
is light. What manner of man is this? He
who is altogether lovely. If it were in my power to change
any part of him, I wouldn't do it. He's altogether lovely. What manner of man is this? The
one that God made Lord and Christ. I love that scripture in Acts
chapter two. God hath made this same Jesus. whom you crucified, both Lord
and Christ." Next time somebody says, make Jesus the Lord of
your life, say, He already is the Lord of your life. You might
not know it, but God made Him Lord and Christ, and you're in
His hands. What manner of man is this? The
one of whom I say with Thomas, my Lord and my God. He's my Lord. He's my God. Pilate brought him out before
the crowd and he said, behold the man. May God give us the
grace to do that. And then he said, behold your
King. What manner of man is this that
even the winds and sea obey him? The God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ,
the only and the complete and the sufficient savior of sinners,
the one who said, him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast
out. Let's pray together.