The Presence of Jesus

Thank you. Well, good morning, Redeeming Grace Church. Morning. It's so good to be with you this morning and have the privilege of opening up God's word.

I was encouraged by that song, Be Thou My Vision. Nearly almost 18 years ago, we had the privilege of planting

East Point Church down there in East Point, Georgia by the airport. And Be Thou My Vision is one of our founding hymns.

In fact, if you come into our foyer area of the church, you'll see on our wall the first stanza there, to Be Thou My Vision.

So I feel like I'm home this morning. Yes. I'm thankful to have my wife,

Allison, and my youngest daughter, Presley, here with us. And I enjoy preaching the word, and so it is a privilege this morning.

It was great to get to meet Ben down there with the CELFs. And so I want to point you to Jesus.

That's our slogan at East Point Church, pointing people to Christ. And that's what I hope to do this morning.

If you would turn in your Bibles to Luke 8, Luke chapter 8.

I will be beginning in verse 22 and read down through 25.

After I read, I will then pray for us, and then we will jump in. I'm reading from the

ESV Bible this morning. Luke 8, and the word of God reads as follows.

One day, he got into a boat with his disciples. And he said to them, let us go across to the other side of the lake.

So they set out. And as they sailed, he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger.

And they went and woke him, saying, master, master, we are perishing. And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm.

He said to them, where is your faith? And they were afraid.

And they marveled, saying to one another, who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?

This is the word of the Lord. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, you are a great, mighty, and an awesome

God. We praise you this morning with our lips. We praise you with our whole beings.

We praise you with our attention to your word this morning. We pray for your help, that by Holy Spirit, you would indeed illuminate the eyes of our hearts, that you would unclog deaf ears this morning, that you would open blind eyes, break up hard hearts, that we might hear

Jesus, see Jesus, receive Jesus, the one in whom we hope,

God, the one who is our vision. Meet us now this morning. Do it for your glory and for the good of your people.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. I have been on a fair share of boats in my time.

I've been on fishing boats, and pontoon boats, and motorboats.

But here's the thing about being on boats. I must admit that to this day, each time

I get on a boat, there is a small amount of trepidation within me, because I'm very much aware of the unpredictable nature of water.

There is a vastness, there is a vastness and a depth to the sea, and even some lakes that can even unnerve the most experienced navigator among us.

Well, in our text this morning, we are going to see that the disciples experienced that unpredictability in a most extraordinary way.

Most of us have working knowledge, some working knowledge of the details of this interaction between Jesus and his disciples on the

Sea of Galilee. It is a familiar text to us. It's a familiar account because it resonates with us.

We all know the feeling of fear in the midst of a storm, both literally and figuratively.

There is a famous painting by a well -known artist, Rembrandt. Familiar with this painting?

Rembrandt depicting this account. In his painting, Rembrandt goes into great detail, and he seeks to convey the emotions and the realness of what he thought was taking place on the sea that evening.

I believe if we had the gifts of Rembrandt, we could all paint an equally vivid and accurate depiction of what it might have been like to be on the boat that evening.

Why do I think that? Why do I believe that? Because most of us, no doubt, figuratively speaking, have been on that boat.

In fact, Rembrandt, in his famous painting, actually painted himself into the sea.

He put himself in the boat. Because every human being knows what it is to be on a boat in the midst of a storm.

Some of us, dare I say, are on that boat right now.

The boat you are on is rocking, and it is reeling, and you are being deluged with wave after wave, believing that at any moment, you might indeed perish, just like the disciples thought they would.

And so that is why I believe this account isn't just for the disciples who walked with Jesus. I believe that it is also for the disciples that walk with him now.

Jesus wants you to be comforted, too. He wants you to be strengthened as well.

So let's dive in to see what Jesus, our Lord, has for us this morning.

Prior to our text, the other gospel writers tell us that Jesus had been teaching in parables all morning and all afternoon.

It had been a long day for Jesus, and he was tired.

And we know he was tired, because as soon as he got on the boat, Luke tells us that he fell asleep as soon as they pushed away from the shore.

But he knew he had an appointment to get to on the other side of the lake. So even though he was fatigued, they began the journey.

And during the journey, it turns out there would be a lesson for the disciples.

Isn't that a common occurrence in his ministry? Jesus is constantly teaching, constantly utilizing every opportunity to point his disciples to his glory and to give them another opportunity to trust him.

So just a quick aside, in light of this, I want to remind you, brothers and sisters, that God is always working.

He is always working. Let me say that again so it sinks in real good.

God is always working. He doesn't waste your experiences and circumstances that you find in your life.

He doesn't waste them. Everything that you are going through, all the various trials and the joys in your life.

Yes, that very thing you are experiencing this morning, God is using it to show forth his glory, and he is using it to give you another opportunity to trust him, to trust him, to prove over and over and over again that he is faithful despite our faithlessness.

Don't ever forget that. Don't ever forget that, that life is not random. Life is not random.

God doesn't do random. It is purposeful. It is providentially ordained by a good and loving

God. He doesn't waste anything. Remember that in the midst of your storms.

But that's just an aside. Back to our account. Let's get into the text. So Luke says in verse 22 that one day, he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, let us go across to the other side of the lake.

So they set out. Now, this is indeed what Luke is doing. He is giving us some orienting information, setting the scene for us.

He is giving us a location and the characters that are involved in this narrative.

But I want you, I want to call attention to the fact, to a fact that I believe is crucial to understanding the overall lesson

Jesus is going to teach his disciples. Notice, Luke says that one day,

Jesus got into the boat with his disciples. When I was younger, and I wanted to go various places, my parents, as I do with my children, were quick to ensure that I wasn't going alone.

Amen? Amen? Who, who are you going with, they would ask. Make sure you take someone with you was their admonition.

Why this emphasis? Why would they do that? Well, well, well, it stems from the principle that there is strength in numbers.

Amen? Right? If you find yourself in trouble, then there is someone there to help you.

Brothers and sisters, as the disciples got in the boat that evening, they were not alone.

And I don't mean that they had each other. We might be quick when

I say they were not alone, you might think I'm speaking about the other disciples that were with them. No, what

I mean is that they had Jesus with them. They had Jesus with them.

Jesus was in the boat. Listen, as Christians, it is crucial to our peace and our encouragement to remember that you and I are never alone.

Jesus is with us. Jesus is with us. That's what he told his disciples in Matthew 8 and 20.

And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.

That is a promise from Jesus. And guess what brothers and sisters, he never breaks his promises.

Jesus is with you. He's with you. I know,

I've been there. I know sometimes it just doesn't feel like it. Doesn't feel like Jesus is with you and it feels like you are alone and you don't have any help.

But can I encourage you this morning to not let your emotions betray you. Don't let them lie to you.

You and I are never alone because Jesus promised to be with us.

And he is. And he is. The disciples that evening, as they set out from the shore on that boat, had the physical presence of Jesus with them.

And that was going to prove more life -changing than they could ever imagine. The presence of Jesus always does.

It means something. There are truths associated with the presence of Jesus that are clearly displayed in this account that I think will encourage us.

And so, and so, that is what we are going to explore this morning. What does it mean to have

Jesus with us? That's what we want to look at. But first, but first I want to tell you what it doesn't mean.

Now, what it doesn't mean. The presence of Jesus doesn't mean the absence of trouble.

Luke tells us that as they were sailing along, that a windstorm, a windstorm came down over the mountains that surrounded them and descended on the lake.

And the wind began to stir up the water. And in no time, waves began crashing upon the boat and large swells of water started to cause the front of the boat to bob up and down.

And they were taking on water faster than they could bear it. They were in trouble.

And they thought that at any moment it would be the end. They were going, this was going to be their last time on the sea.

Wait a second, wait a second. Wait a second, they were in trouble? Wait a second, wait a second. What do you mean they were in trouble?

I thought Jesus was on the boat with them. What do you mean they were in danger of perishing on the water?

Listen to me. Yes, yes, yes, yes. Jesus was with them.

And yes, he is with us. But it doesn't mean the storms won't come and the waves won't rock and reel our boats.

No, the disciples were experiencing a real storm. It was a real storm. This isn't just, this isn't a parable.

This is a real storm that they were experiencing. Real wind was blowing. They were tired and wet and full of fear.

Their anxiety was through the roof. They were in a real, they were in real pressing trouble.

We've been there, haven't we? We have felt the same emotions.

I know I have. I know I've felt those emotions far too often than I care to admit.

But like Peter tells the dispersed saints, we shouldn't be surprised by these trials.

We live in a world that is full of trouble, a world that has radically been affected by sin.

So there's trouble. Jesus promised this in John 16. He said that in this world, you will have trouble.

You will. All brothers and sisters, just because we have the presence of Jesus, it doesn't mean that we won't experience pain and hurt.

The storms, they still come. There is no invisible force field around churches that keeps them from storms affecting them.

Christians don't walk around in a bubble. Sadly and tragically, bullets riddle

Christian schools. Homes of faithful believers get flattened by hurricanes.

Saints go bankrupt and get diagnosed with cancer. God's children suffer loss.

They fail tests, have difficult marriages. Just yesterday, I sat, was sitting with a couple, been married for several years, missionaries in fact, having a hard time remembering.

All of us can testify to the fact the presence of Jesus doesn't make you immune to trouble.

But guess what? Here is what we always need to remember.

Yes, we have trouble in this world. And that trouble may trouble us, but our trouble never troubles

Jesus. Our trouble never troubles Jesus. Notice that while all of this in the boat is going on,

Jesus is sound asleep. That is just amazing to me. I don't know about you, but I'm amazed at that, that Jesus is asleep.

He was experiencing good sleep. You know, that REM sleep.

How, how could Jesus be sleeping in the midst of all this going on?

Waves crashing and wind blowing and disciples are distressed because what troubles us doesn't trouble

Jesus. Matthew 11, 29 and 30 says, he says, take my yoke upon you and learn from me.

For I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls.

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Ah, our trouble, it doesn't trouble

Jesus. He is never troubled by that which burdens us.

And please note that because he is not troubled doesn't mean he doesn't care.

It doesn't mean that he doesn't care. That is what one of the disciples thought. They see

Jesus asleep and Mark recalling the same event says that one of the disciples came to him and said, and cries out, does he not care that we are perishing?

Brothers and sisters, we have to remember that Jesus is not emotionally charged like we are.

He is not excitable like us. He doesn't worry like us. Those things don't need to be present in order for him to demonstrate that he cares.

His presence is the confirmation of his concern for you. Of course he cares.

Of course he cares. He wouldn't bid us to come and lay our troubles down at his feet if he didn't care.

He wants us to tell him about our troubles. And that is the second thing the presence of Jesus means.

The presence of Jesus means you have a person to take your troubles to.

You have a person to take your troubles to. Luke 8 and 24, and they went out and they went and woke him saying, master, master, we are perishing.

The disciples, they were in trouble and they needed help. So they turned to the one who was not troubled in the midst of the storm.

They took their trouble to Jesus. Oh, this is one of the wonderful blessings of knowing that Jesus is with you, amen?

Amen, that you have a person ready, willing, and able to help you.

You don't have to go anywhere. You don't have to go to church or visit your prayer closet.

Wherever you are, you can call on him. Disciples did right.

They did right in the midst of the storm. They had no other hope. They were desperate.

They went to Jesus for help. How about you?

How about you? So, who is your default when you need help?

Do you go to Google? Do you go to a friend? Do you go to your pastor?

Oh, good option. But what's your default? Do you go to Jesus?

Do you go to Jesus? I think we as Christians should be without excuse in this regard.

Because even, brothers and sisters, even unbelievers in the midst of trouble have some sense of where to take it.

You've heard, perhaps, you did it yourself before becoming a follower of Christ. Some tragedy hits, some difficult circumstance has them fearful, and what do unbelievers typically do?

They often try to cry out to God. They try to call on Jesus.

They do this because deep down, they know that there has to be a higher power that can intervene.

If unbelievers know how to do this, if unbelievers do this, how much more us, who have the eternal

Son of God, who loves us and cares for us. He's with us.

So call out to Jesus. Call out to him. Call out to him. Not your friend, not your pastor, not the internet.

Drop to your knees and call out and say, Master, Master, I am perishing.

That needs to be our default. And when our boats are rocking, and they often do,

I'll cry out to Jesus. And if it feels like you're perishing, say,

Master, Master, Master, I am perishing.

Listen, Jesus needs to be your default when you have trouble because as David says in Psalm 46 and one,

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Hallelujah. I ask you again, is Jesus who you turn to when you are in trouble?

If not, why don't you? Perhaps you don't turn to him for help because you think he is not listening.

Well, that's a false, that's false according to scripture. Psalm 34 and six, this poor man cried, and the

Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The Lord hears, he is not deaf to his people.

Maybe you don't think he is willing to help you with your trouble. Well, ask the leper in Matthew eight who wondered the same thing.

In Matthew eight, two and three, and behold, a leper came to him, and knelt before him saying, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.

And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him saying, I will be clean.

And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Jesus hears, he's willing.

All your reasons for not taking your troubles to Jesus, to the

Lord are not valid reasons. But perhaps the greatest reason we don't take our troubles to Jesus is because we don't think that he is able.

We assume, we assume our trouble is impossible for him to do something about.

Oh, this is foolish thinking. This is a trick of the enemy.

It is a lie. It is a trick of the enemy. When we are in trouble, we must never forget what the

Psalmist in Psalm 121 says. My help comes from the

Lord who made heaven and earth. Who made heaven and earth.

Think about that for a moment. I know we say, when we look at, when we read that verse, we say and focus on my help comes from the

Lord. But it is the second clause that gives this its punch.

Your help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.

The one who made the birds that fly and the fish that swim. Your help comes from the one who set the stars in the heaven and gave the sun its brightness.

Jesus made the heavens and the earth. Therefore, and here is the point, what is your trouble to him?

For nothing is impossible with God. He made the heavens and the earth.

What is your trouble to him? He owns the cattle on a thousand hills.

What is your trouble to him? The disciples, the disciples were about to experience that nothing is impossible with God.

They were about to experience this truth in living color. Because the presence of Jesus means you have

God with you to help you with your troubles. When Jesus awoke and saw the wind blowing and the sea raging, he rebuked both.

And in an instant, the storm ceased.

But I don't know if we read this account, when we read this account, if we fully grasp the miracle of it all.

Because this was a miracle. This is a miracle. This is a miracle. You see, the storm didn't just kind of die down and stop completely, right?

It didn't just die down like you see. You're outside in the midst of a storm and you see the clouds passing over and you can kind of see the rain lighting up and the wind kind of not be as strong, but the trees and the wind stopped blowing a little bit.

No, no. No, it didn't just, it didn't just die down.

It stopped completely. One minute, no, no, no, no, no, not one minute, no.

Actually one second it was raging and the next second there was peace, peace, peace.

Jesus with a word, Mark says, Jesus said, peace be still.

And in an instant, their trouble was gone. In an instant, their trouble was gone.

Nothing is too hard for God. The impossible becomes possible. He is able.

That is why we take our trouble to him. Whatever your trouble, big or small, take it to Jesus.

He is the one who made heaven and earth. And in one word, one word, your life full of turmoil and full of anxiety can be at.

And Jesus woke up and calmed the storm. And this left the disciples in awe.

They were in awe, as we all would have been. Look at verse 25.

And they marveled, saying to one another, then is this, that he commands even winds and water and they obey him.

They rightly assessed, they rightly assessed that Jesus standing before them was revealing himself to them in a way he had not done so before.

He wasn't simply a rabbi or a prophet. He was the one true

God made flesh. And he was present with them. Jesus indeed was no ordinary man.

That is what struck fear in them. Listen, listen, we have all prayed for it not to rain.

I know I have. I'm a golfer, I like to golf. And so on the days that I get a chance to go out and golf, if I hear that there's rain,

I pray that there will be no rain. We've all prayed that there would be, that it would not rain.

However, Jesus didn't just utter a prayer. Jesus utters a command.

And there was no hoping or choice in what he said.

What he said happened immediately. The winds and the seas obeyed him.

The disciples had never seen anything like this. They had heard of Elijah praying for the rain to stop, but to command the wind and the waves to cease, this was the prerogative of God.

God. God. We see this in several places in the Old Testament, that it is

God who controls the weather. But one of the clear, the other clear demonstrations of this prerogative took place in the life of Jonah.

In Jonah one and four, right? But the, it says, but the Lord hurled.

Jonah's trying to run, right? From Nineveh, from going to Nineveh. In Jonah one and four, but the

Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea. And there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up.

That storm that Jonah faced, it wasn't random. It was sent and controlled by the hand of God because he is sovereign.

His sovereign authority is over the weather. Psalm 89 .9

tells us this. You rule the raging of the sea. When its waves rise, you still them.

It's the prerogative of God. And therefore, the disciples, right?

They see Jesus with a command, stop the wind and stop the seas from raging.

And they are right to ask, what manner of man is this?

I love what one commentator says about the act of Jesus calming the storm.

He says, and I quote, much that is wrong on earth can be corrected. There are mothers who can dry tears, repairmen who can fix machines, surgeons who can remove diseased tissues, counselors who solve family problems, et cetera.

But it takes deity to change the weather. That was part of the purpose of the storm.

That was part of the lesson. It's part of the lesson. Jesus was revealing to them his divinity, his glory and power in a real and tangible way.

Have you ever thought about your trouble in that way? Have you thought about your challenging circumstances in that way that God is using the storms in your life to reveal to you in a tangible way, his glory and his power to perhaps make them cease?

To remind you again and again that he is God and you are not.

Think about that for a moment. When you're in trouble and you call out to the

Lord and he answers and rescues you out of the trouble, who gets the glory?

Who do you praise? Well, I must return to Psalm 34 again.

Listen to what David says in Psalm 34, two and four. My soul makes its boast in the

Lord. Let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the

Lord with me and let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.

Glory belongs to the Lord. My son had been praying.

We had been praying for something that he was looking for an answer from, looking for relief from. And the

Lord answered that prayer and delivered him from all his troubles and his issues and he answered the prayer.

I believe it was the Lord that answered the prayer. We had been praying. I believe prayer works. And so the Lord answered that prayer.

And he texted me all excited. And I said, you did it, son. You did it.

And he immediately texts back. He said, no, dad, God did it.

And I said, yes, I received that correction. I received that correction, son. Indeed, God did it.

Soli Deo Gloria, right? To God be the glory. To God be the glory.

The glory belongs to Jesus. That is what we are declaring.

That the glory belongs to Jesus. Oh, these storms and troubles that suddenly and seemingly without warning that descend upon our lives are being used by God to give us a greater glimpse of his glory.

They allow us to see his power and his concern for us so that we can go on and say like David in Psalm 34 and eight again, oh, taste and see that the

Lord is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

We also said that the, that God wanted to give the disciples another reminder, another lesson on faith, on faith.

After calming the storm to settle their fears and worries, Jesus looks at them and says to them, where is your faith?

That's what he asked. Where is your faith? It was a humbling question for them, to them,

I'm sure, because it is a humbling question to me as well. The question from Jesus speaks to the heart of their trust or lack thereof in him, in him.

They had been with him for some time. They have been with Jesus for some time. They had seen his miracles and heard his teachings.

They had experienced his authority over the physical world. Did they not trust him?

Why the fear? Why the worry, disciples? Jesus was with you.

Jesus was with them. My brothers and sisters, I hope you hear the twinge of rebuke for us.

Are there troubles, the troubles of your life causing you to despair? Are the storms causing you to lose hope?

Jesus asks you this question. Where is your faith? Where is your faith this morning?

Not faith in some tangible feeling or object. Not faith in your bank account or the doctor's.

Not faith in a friend or even in a church. Talking about faith in Christ, faith in Jesus.

Where is your trust in the midst of your storms? Is it the one who gives you this comfort?

In Psalm 23 and four, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil for you are with me. Amen.

Brothers and sisters, we have already established that the presence of Jesus doesn't mean the storms, the storms won't affect us.

But we have the assurance of the presence of Jesus who will be with us in the midst of the storm.

Where is your faith? Where is your faith? As little children, we sang that song, right?

With Christ in the vessel, we can smile at the storm.

We can smile at the storm as we go sailing on. We can smile at the storm.

How strange that might seem, but our trust is in the one who controls the wind and the sea.

With Christ in the vessel, we can smile at the storm.

So don't despair. So don't despair, believer. Don't despair.

For even if your trouble should cause you to lose your life, if your faith is in Jesus, the one who has the power to calm the sea, then all will be well.

Then all will be well, well with your soul because his power is not only demonstrated in his ability to calm the storm, but it is also in his power and his ability to defeat sin and death, which he did and he accomplished on the cross.

And that is why for those who trust in Jesus, even if sorrows like sea billows roll, and brothers and sisters, they do.

Sorrows like sea billows, they do roll. I like to say when it rains, it doesn't just pour, it monsoons, but even in the midst of our storms, we can say with assurance, it is well.

It is well with my soul. Let's pray. Oh, Heavenly Father, you are the sovereign

God of the universe. You are awesome and magnificent.

You are great and awesome. All glory and honor belongs to you.

And in our sinfulness, in our indwelling sin, we lack faith, oh

Lord, to trust you in the midst of our troubles and our storms, even when you have demonstrated over and over and over again, your faithfulness, oh

Lord. We, like the disciples, find ourselves fearful and worrying, but you have sent

Jesus to be our help, the one who is not troubled by our trouble.

Help us to trust in him, to turn to him, to believe in him, to calm the storms of our lives, to grant to us peace in the midst of the storm.

Only he is able to cause us to smile when the seas are raging, because we know that with Jesus, all things are possible, even, even, even unto death.

But those who are in Christ are no longer destined for wrath, but we are destined for salvation in Jesus.

We thank you for him. We pray that all, I pray that all here, under the sound of my voice, would know