What to Fear Mark 4 35 41 Tim Ingrum

Well, good morning everyone good to see you here. Welcome to Faith Bible Church Of Sacramento, there's another we're I understand from last week. There's quite a number of you watching online and That's what a blessing that is and what a pleasant surprise To that to see that the Lord is working.

Even if you're not able to or still have concerns about coming out we we know that that we have another means of Reaching out and thank you. We thank the Lord for that ability. I wanted to announce this morning.

Keep penny Emmett in your prayers. She went into the hospital yesterday. Just a little disoriented and. But it would appear she's stable and doing a little better today. So Just pray that She could recover from that.

And whatever is ailing her and that she might be able to find her way back home. But that God would be there caring for her as we know he will. We The Canes are not here today. The family went south for Janet's father's memorial funeral service.

So pray keep them in prayer for their travel mercies back. Thank you for those that were praying for for we had my mom's memorial yesterday and that was God's hand was in it all the way and The gospel was proclaimed and we think thank the Lord for that and I also ask that you would pray for Richard.

I think the service is Saturday. For his brother who passed away. So, let's remember Richard and prayer as well, it's just a you know life and death it's it's part of the walk it's part of God's plan and.

But and you can provide a comfort and be our comforter, but it's it's still hard. So We know that. So and I'm gonna introduce a little later here. We have Tim Ingram. That's gonna be our guest speaker today Pastor elder from River City Grace, so we look forward to hearing what the Lord has laid upon your heart.

So at this time, let's go to the commit our time to the Lord in prayer. Lord God, we thank you father for gathering folks here this morning and for those that are tuning in Lord. We just call upon you Lord to guide us to rip to direct us to lead our worship father.

The Holy Spirit would be present that we would be Sensitive to his leading that we would Be changed people that we would hear things that would alter and change our life. That it would be that we would be sanctified that would further our walk with you father that we would be engaged in In in this worship this corporate worship together father.

We should do that all the time Lord. But this morning we just call upon you to help us in that endeavor. Help us to rest in the assurance that you have provided us in the truth of the gospel father. Thank you for that.

And so again, we dedicate our time to you that we would honor you and every everything that we do that the songs would be edifying and That you would be praised father because you are worthy of our praise.

We thank you in Jesus name. Amen. Barb you had a I'm supposed to add but I would like to make it a little announcement here, too. So.

The 14th of November we will start back with our ladies Bible study. Also, I Think Deb and Lozana They both have sheets that give a list of things that are needed not only for men and for women But for the mission, so the reason that they have these slips and that they're going to give them to you today is Because in lieu of Christmas gifts that we had exchanged before amongst the ladies We're going to bring these things Together at our Christmas tea on the 12th of December.

So and that's a Saturday and it'll be at 10 o 'clock Here in the church. So these are things that I thought it would give you a little over a month Collect a little bit of week and kind of keep it all together.

They do not have to be wrapped at all and So then after the Christmas get-together we will take them down to the mission and you'll see from the paper the things that are Needed for women and for men and for the kitchen itself at the mission.

Would you stand together with me as we sing a shelter in the time of storm?

We'll sing four verses times about the fact. Do you have peace with God. And that's.

Do you believe in God and you can have peace with God he loves. To have peace with individuals, but then we say do you have the peace of God? In other words when you're going through a time of trouble.

Do you have his peace comfort you this song?

We're saying is wonderful. Peace. I appreciate.

Victor and Barb they pick some really high ones today, didn't they? It's good in heaven. We'll all have just melodious voices. It'll be beautiful. First scripture reading this morning if you'd open your Bibles to Psalm 107.

Psalm 107 we're gonna be reading from verse 23 to 32. Psalm chapter 107. Thanksgiving to the Lord and his great works of deliverance. So I'll begin at 23. Those who go down to the sea and ships who do business on great waters.

They see the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep. For he commands and raises the stormy wind which lifts up the waves of the sea. They mount up to the heavens. They go down again to the depths.

Their soul melts because of trouble. They reel to and fro and stagger like a drunken man and are at their wits end. Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble and he brings them out of their distresses.

He calms the storm so that its waves are still. Then they are glad because they are quiet. So he guides them to their desired haven. Oh that men would give thanks to the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men let them exalt him also in the assembly of the people and Praise him in the company of the elders.

May God bless the reading of his word. Well, as you know, we've been wanting to pray for our country. All the things that are going on. Let me find a verse for you here 2nd Chronicles 714 if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves.

And pray and seek my face and turn from their like wicked ways. Then I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sins and heal their land. That of course is our hope that is our desire. We know we have strayed as a nation far away from that.

But God is not surprised. He is still Lord over all he is still guiding the affairs of man and We can be assured in that we do not need to fear. But we certainly have much to pray for do we not and so I'd like to To pray at this time and you pray along with me in your hearts.

To our Lord. We have an election day coming up here on Tuesday. We could probably call it more of like an election month, you know, it's not a day anymore. So but it is what it is and but it has it's very substantial.

So anyway, let's go to the Lord in prayer. Lord God we come before you father as humble people or knowing and trusting all in only you. For father you are our guide. You are our shepherd in whom we need not fear.

Lord, we can mess confess before you Lord our shortcomings for we have failed as a nation in Maintaining and keeping our assurance our trust of you that we have Gone astray in many ways to follow the affairs of man.

And puts oftentimes our trust in them rather than our trust in you. But Lord, we must put our trust in you alone that men are fallible. They will stray as as we all can Lord. But we have the assurance of the grace that you have offered each one of us.

Your word says that blessed is the nation whose God is in the Lord. May that be our hearts desire today Lord as we think upon the condition of our country or we pray for the president the vice president the Congress Lord every person in leadership in our state government and our local governments father.

Lord, may you surround those folks that are not believers Lord with with People that can point them to the cross people that can tell them that this is true wisdom. This is the truth and not man's affairs might not man's.

Just random ideas, but father that we are anchored and we can be anchored in the truth of your gospel message father. So we pray for folks around the country. Pray for every believer that we would uphold our government and those in government and Positions of authority father and prepare us Lord for what is to come after the election.

Lord, we know your will be done. But help us to be gracious and patient no matter what happens father. Because you were there every moment every breath is a gift. So may we cherish those gifts? Be what it may that we are prepared for the storm and That Lord we can hold on to you.

So Lord, we thank you give us peace and rest in our lives father. And give us strength. As we call upon you or we commit this week and every affair to your care. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.

When I saw the scripture that Tim had picked to be read. I thought of singing the Navy hymn though, but. Since a couple of us are from the Navy, right. And but I thought better kept my men on track. So if you stand together with me, we'll sing till the storm passes by.

Often says his name is Artie and he says I've said Myself and then he's quote scripture or something. Well, sometimes we need to talk to ourself and remind ourselves. It's a time that the Lord gives us peace.

So peace be still.

Jesus Calms the Storm on the Sea of Galilee

Well at this time I'd like to introduce.

Pastor elder Tim Ingram from River City. Grace. We met each other probably ten years ago or thereabouts and I don't know if you were married or you were in the process of Engagement or is that about right?

When what year were you married put you on the spot? Okay, okay, so it was little yeah, but we're blessed to have Tim with us this morning. And Tim, would you come forward and share with us what the Lord has placed on your heart?

Thanks so much Harold and church body at Faith Bible. It's a privilege and a blessing to be invited here and I bring greetings from River City grace.

We.

Love you and are grateful for your co-laborers in the gospel we pray for you regularly. Faith Bible Church as with other like-minded churches that we know are proclaiming the gospel of Christ and just so glad that he's named and known here and It is a privilege to be here to open up the Word of God with you and preach the unsearchable riches of Christ this morning.

I also bring greetings from as Harold mentioned my wife. We have a two-year-old and a two-month-old now, so they greet you as well and and Would have been nice if circumstances were such that they could be here this morning.

But I've known John Cain for a few years in all of our interactions. He's always been such a warm and encouraging brother, and I trust that the Lord's used him to bless all of you here during his time here.

So let me read the passage and as you see and as you've heard we're gonna be Looking at Mark chapter 4 verses 35 to 41. So if you please turn there in your Bible Mark chapter 5 35 to 41 I'm gonna read that passage and then pray.

No, this is Jesus by the way is the he here in verse 35 on the same day when evening had come He said to them his disciples. Let us cross over to the other side now when they had left the multitude they took him along in the boat as he was and other little boats were also with him and A great windstorm arose and the waves beat into the boat so that it was already filling but he was in the stern asleep on a pillow and They awoke him and said to him teacher.

Do you not care that we are perishing? Then he arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea peace be still and the wind ceased and There was a great calm. But he said to them. Why are you so fearful?

How is it that you have no faith and They feared exceedingly and Said to one another who can this be? That even the wind and the sea Obey him. Let's pray Father we thank you for this word about your son that you have spoken.

We know that as you said elsewhere in Mark you say this is my beloved son. Listen to him. It's our Earnest desire this morning that our ears would be opened by the power of your spirit to listen to him.

That we would have soft hearts ready to be worked on by you. Please help me to be faithful to your scriptures and to be clear Work your mighty and gracious purposes among your people this morning. We pray all this in Jesus name.

Amen. Now I hate to get things off on this foot.

But.

Do you do you ever have? Morbid daydreams about different ways to die. What it would be like you kind of think about. What would the experience be and sometimes I imagine What it would be like to die by drowning.

Drowning now when I was a youth at some point I watched a TV show where they were talking about if you're an Alaskan crab fisherman and you're on the boat and The the the rope that holds the pots, you know the crab pots are like the big boxes that they drop to catch the crabs and if the rope snags your foot and as the Pots going down it drags you over the side and down you go and there's there's like no way they could help you if that Happened and they and they went through and talked about like every minute what's happening to your body as you drown as you kind of shut Down it's a blow-by-blow.

Now that really stuck in my memory as you can imagine it haunted me. I thought what a horrible way to go. It really made it seem so vivid and besides a crab fisherman There are many other people in history who have died in the sea think of sailors whose ships were sunk in naval warfare.

Think of many sailors just in storms whose ships have gone down and they've perished at sea set adrift in the roiling waves. What a scary and cold and dark way to go. Can you imagine how these disciples felt in this moment as they're in that little vessel and it's taking on water during this great storm on the Sea of Galilee that very fate was only moments away from them and As professional fishermen you can be assured that they had thought about what it would be like to drown.

Well, how did we get to this point? Up to this point in Mark chapter 4 Jesus has been teaching the crowds and his verse 1 of chapter 4 tells us he got into a boat By the seashore to address the teeming throng that had come to see him now.

He's been speaking throughout chapter 4 in parables. Which is a teaching tool that Jesus used to illustrate spiritual truths with concrete pictures from everyday life but as that discourse goes on in chapter 4 We see that the the parables and the audience's response to the parables.

Pointed to this theme of different ways of listening to Jesus different ways of responding to him. So there's one group that we could call Outsiders. These are the people who hear a parable and they don't understand.

But they don't care enough to dig deeper. They don't care enough to find out more. But then there's another group we could call insiders and this would include Jesus's 12 disciples and others who Care enough to ask Jesus for more light and more clarity on what he means by his parables.

So the parable discourse is is showing us these two different ways of listening to Jesus. Now all of that closed in in verse 34 just before our passage. So here in verse 35 and spanning all the way through chapter 5 Mark is going to show us three different Demonstrations of Jesus's power and authority over various enemy forces.

Here in our passage. He takes on a storm on the Sea of Galilee. So he's taking on nature. Then in chapter 5 verses 1 to 20, he takes on an army of demons and Then on verses 21 through 43 of chapter 5 he takes on disease and even death itself.

Jesus confronting various enemies. So the setting for our passage as you've heard is a storm on the Sea of Galilee. So the narrative left off before all the parables in verse 1 of chapter 4 with Jesus in a boat.

He got in the boat to teach from there to the crowd on the shore. So then in verse 35 after a day of teaching Jesus probably wanted to get away from the crowds and get some rest. He's already in a boat.

So he goes hey to his disciples. Let's set out and go to the other side of the sea which is in verse 36 what they do. But then as they're on the water a storm strikes and really that Creates the conflict that drives along the rest of the narrative.

The rest of the story is driven by this. What's going on with this storm? What's gonna happen? So here's the main point of this whole account the main point of all we're going to see this morning. Jesus rules unruly nature.

So do not fear only believe. Jesus rules unruly nature. So do not fear only believe and we'll unpack that statement in three stages. Three stages and like a bad report card. It's gonna be three F's. Okay, we have three F's this morning.

The first F is a fact here's the fact Jesus rules unruly nature. Fact. Jesus rules unruly nature now. We see unruly nature, of course in the form of a violent storm, which threatens to kill not just anyone but Jesus himself on this boat.

So why we might ask is nature unruly. Well, we know that ultimately it's the fruit of a fallen and cursed and groaning world. You see back in the garden when Adam sinned God responded by cursing not only mankind but with him all of creation has been placed under a curse and is groaning under the weight of that curse and To really appreciate the effect of what Jesus does here.

We need to understand how the first century Jews would understand the sea. We need to get inside their shoes a little bit and understand what the sea would mean to them in short. It was a place of chaos disorder and terror.

Now this is the Sea of Galilee which we call a sea and the text calls a sea. But it's we might also call it a large lake. But the effect is the same it was enough of a body of water that it could produce the same fearful effect of pure danger.

Now this idea stretches all the way back even to the second verse of the Bible. After God had created in verse 1 of Genesis 1 the initial raw materials of heaven and earth. We're then told what the scene was like in verse 2.

It says the earth was without form and void and Darkness was on the face of the deep and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. So the first created thing Was this great formless sea that God made and it was disordered and unruly and chaotic and then over the first six days the creation account in Genesis 1 we see God gradually ordering and.

Filling.

That empty and formless Creation he separates the waters and the sky and the land and he makes creatures to inhabit each of those realms. So that's the creation account. It's first this Unorganized mass of stuff and then six days of ordering and filling.

But it doesn't end there. Generations later when the earth has filled with violence and corruption what does God used to destroy all of mankind and save Noah's family. A deluge of waters. A flood in One sense the the flood especially coming after the creation account in Genesis.

The flood is like a decreation and recreation. Because the earth goes back underwater kind of reversing the gears of the creation week empties out all the life and then the waters part and and life starts anew again and Moses I'm sorry Noah and his family leave the ark with the animals and life begins again.

It's almost like a new creation. So in the flood essentially the oceans have taken over the whole world for God's judgment. But even that's not the end of it and throughout the Old Testament especially in some poetic passages the sea is used to represent a Dangerous and chaotic enemy that God alone can subdue and our scripture reading this morning We just heard moments ago out of Psalm 107 is perhaps the clearest place to see this and I want to read part of that again because it's so well describes the peril of the sea and again the Old Testament Jewish Background here that the disciples would be thinking the peril of the sea and God's sovereign rule over it.

So I'm gonna read again Psalm 107 part of our passage. We read earlier verses 23 to 30. Those who go down to the sea and ships who do business on great waters. They see the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep.

For he commands and raises the stormy wind which lifts up the waves of the sea. They mount up to the heavens they go down again to the depths. Their soul melts because of trouble. They reel to and fro and stagger like a drunken man and are at their wits end.

Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble and he brings them out of their distresses. He calms the storm so that its waves are still. Then they are glad because they are quiet. So he guides them to their desired haven.

So the sea is deeply dangerous, but did you notice in that passage that it's the Lord himself whose power both Stirred up the storm and then calmed it. It's the Lord who stirred up and stilled the stormy waters.

He's sovereign over it from beginning to end. Now if you've ever swum in the ocean You can relate a little bit with the way that these first century Jews would have thought about the ocean. Now we think of it as a fun place to go have a vacation by the beach and go splash around and swim.

But don't you get at least a little feeling of danger every time you get into the ocean? Like a little sense of this is a wild place. This is the wildest frontier that you and I ever meet, isn't it? We're stepping into this massive body of water.

This sea kills many people. I don't know maybe hundreds a year maybe more and Has done for all of human history. There are sharks. That's something that's always on my mind. Sea creatures that can kill you.

There are strong and violent waves that can dash you against the rocks if you're in the wrong place. There are currents cold depths. There's darkness. There's mystery. It is a wild place, isn't it? Then how exactly does Jesus demonstrate his authority here?

Well, they answer the question. It's worth considering what the disciples may have expected when they awoke Jesus. Every one of this what did the disciples expect? All they say is do you not care that we are perishing in verse 38?

Now they might be implicitly kind of sort of asking him for help in some way and. But based on their reaction in verse 41, it's clear. They don't expect anything like what he's about to do. So they're waking him up for some kind of help, but they don't expect what he's gonna do.

What did they expect? Well, there are some parallels between this account and Episode back in the book of Jonah you may recall in chapter 1 There is a storm remember when the Prophet runs away from the mission God gave him to proclaim repentance and judgment to Nineveh and he takes a ship onto the sea and a storm rises up and Jonah is sleeping and the Sailors come to wake him up for help.

Hear any echoes and they say this. What do you mean sleeper arise call on your God? Perhaps your God will consider us so that we may not perish. And I think that's pretty much what the disciples had in mind here, too.

You're a man of God a prophet. Do you notice how they call him teacher? Which on the one hand is an honorific title, but on the other hand kind of a thin one, isn't it teacher? They're essentially saying prophet.

Okay prophet God sent teacher doesn't God listen to your prayers prophet. Didn't he listen to Elijah's prayers and then withhold rain? Maybe he'll listen to your prayers like he did with Jonah. Well, it wasn't Jonah's prayers.

It was Jonah getting thrown off the boat and Save us from this storm. They probably want him to pray for help. So this is why Jesus is action in verse 39 is so mind-boggling. For the disciples, he doesn't wake up and pray.

He doesn't wake up and call for the manager. He doesn't wake up and seek help from God up there who controls the wind and the waves down here. What does he do in? Verse 39. He talks to the wind and the waves.

He talks directly to them and he says and and it's a little crude but more literally we could say be quiet shut up to the waves in the wind and The wind and the waves obey him they do what he says. Now the verbs that are translated rebuke and be still.

Are they also appear together back in chapter 1 verse 25 when Jesus is casting out a demon. He rebukes and says be still to a demon. It's the same verbs here in verse 39 and so for that reason some interpreters think that that implies that there may be demonic powers behind the disorder and the danger and chaos of nature.

Now to us that idea might sound a little bit strange. That might sound weird that might be partly owing to the fact that we are Western moderns and we are in a culture in a worldview that tends to look for scientific and natural Explanations for things that's kind of our knee-jerk.

But ancient people were much quicker to ascribe spiritual agency to things like storms and even the Bible itself confirms that in some places. Do you remember when in the book of Job when Satan gets God's permission?

To strike Job with afflictions and God gives Job permit Satan permission. What means does he use. He uses human raiders and thieves fire from the sky and a great wind storm? So there is biblical precedent for demonic power even satanic power behind Storms and whether or not that's happening here in chapter 4.

We can't ultimately know. But the point is the same. God alone is Lord over all other powers natural powers demonic powers human powers. God alone talks to the wind and the waves and they obey and Here's Jesus Not asking God to do what he himself can't do.

But doing what only God can do ruling the unruly chaos of nature. He's doing the Psalm 107 thing that the Lord Yahweh does. You see he's not just a man sent by God. He is that. But he's more. He is God himself in the flesh.

And this is the mystery of Christ's incarnation that God The Son has become a man joining the divine and human natures in one person. So he gave up nothing of his deity, but only added the nature of humanity to it in one person so the same human Jesus who Amazingly he's limited.

He's weak. He's exhausted from a day of teaching and So he's sleeping through this storm because he's a tired man. He's the man who wakes up and Divinely rules the storm and commands the wind and the waves with the word of his power.

This is Jesus Christ. Philippians chapter 2 puts it like this Who that is Jesus being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. But made himself of no reputation taking the form and that word that that word form there means nature not just outward appearance taking on the form or nature of a servant a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men and.

Quote.

He didn't become anything less than fully God, but yet he took on full humanity including human weakness and limitation. So this narrative presents a crucial fact about Jesus he's the Divine Son who rules unruly nature.

So far so good, but that fact is in all that we're supposed to learn here from this passage. His interaction with the disciples following his calming of the storm is supposed to raise the important question of our response to him.

So that leads us to our second stage. Our first stage was fact. Jesus rules unruly nature. Now second stage is faith. We respond by trusting him faith. We respond by trusting him now in verse 40 Jesus gives us the moral of the story the big payoff and it comes in the form of two questions.

That rebuke the disciples because of how they had rebuked him. You see he says why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? Now that's the same as saying it's just another way of saying if you had faith.

You wouldn't have been afraid. You see that if you had faith, you wouldn't have been afraid. Now we see their fearful reaction in how they rebuked Jesus in verse 38 when they said do you not care that we are perishing?

They are rebuking him in their fear. So, how does that display a lack of faith when they? Spoke to Jesus that way. Now in the disciples defense. We should point out and we may argue that they did in fact display some measure of faith.

They went to Jesus. They did in fact display some measure of faith in going to him and it seems unlikely that they woke him up. Simply to scold him on their way to their watery death. What's wrong with you?

You're asleep. It seems like there's some measure of trust like he can do something for us. It seems like they were seeking his help as we said before maybe his prayer to cry out to God for them. But they certainly didn't expect him to command the storm itself.

They certainly didn't expect that and that's because they really didn't yet understand who he was. They don't yet get who he is. So when Jesus challenges their faith, he's implying what their faith is supposed to be in.

Namely him.

Jesus.

According to his full identity as both the God sent man the teacher and God himself divine and human. Of course, they believe in Jesus as a man. They're following him. They've answered his call. He says follow me and they're following him as a teacher.

They must think he's worth following but they don't yet get who he is. Do they? They failed to believe all that he is he is the Son of God who is God himself. Now we the readers know this better than the disciples do because unlike the disciples We were at Jesus's baptism back in chapter 1 of verse 11 of Mark.

When he was baptized and the father said to him you're my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. We've been let in on that the disciples are having to sort of figure it out as they learn more and more about Jesus.

But digging a little deeper. What is the nature of this faith that they're supposed to have in him? Now from elsewhere in Scripture We know that faith in Jesus saving faith is a very black and white thing.

You don't kind of have it. It's binary. It's like an on-off switch. You either have it or you don't. You either trust him and have eternal life or you don't and you're condemned in your sin. So that's the way it is objectively but in our experience Can't it seem very different?

It can seem like there are all these degrees of faith. There are all these degrees of Coming to trust in him truly and that's what the whole gospel of Mark spends a lot of time Focusing on a lot of ways.