Date of Sermon Delivery: 29. October. 2023
Place of sermon Delivery: Delhi, India
Sunday Worship Service
Speaker: Brother Jatin
Title : Boat amidst the storm.
Bible : Mark 4:35-41
Key verse :39
Praise the Lord.
I welcome you all in the house of living God.
I hope you all are well and doing well in your life.
Last week was very heavy for me. After a call, I was very nervous. I did not understand what to do now.
But I kept trusting in our living Lord Jesus. He is really great; he answers the prayer of our tears because the value of those tears is too much for Him.
For everything, I thank the Lord for helping us take the right decisions at the right time.
I thank God for keeping brother Balram and brother Ajay safe. I believe Jesus will make them stronger in their faith and use them more for his kingdom, and I pray for brother Balram's fast recovery and his strong faith in the coming days.
Today I want to take your attention to the Bible Mark 4:34–41 (ESV), and the title of this message is “BOAT AMIDST THE STORM”.
35. On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.”
36. And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him.
37. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.
38. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
39. And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
40. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”
41. And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
Today we are going to see the disciples follow Jesus into a storm and, in the storm, learn something about Jesus, about ourselves, and about the storms we face in life.
Let us pray together.
Thank you, Lord, for bringing us closer to a new month.
We thank you for spending the last week with us.
We thank you for expanding our faith day by day through your words. We thank you for answering our prayer.
living God as we are going to listen to your word, Lord, talk to us, and help us to apply your word in our lives.
Keep us in your glory; we all pray in Jesus name, Amen.
In the Bible, Mark 4, Jesus was by the lake of Galilee, preaching to the people through the parable. Parable of the Sower, The parable of a lamp on a stand, The parable of the growing seed is the parable of the mustard seed.
After all, Jesus went to the boat with his disciples, and he showed them a miracle where Jesus calmed the storm.
Have you ever been in a storm?
I mean a real storm, where the lightning flashes.
Or where the thunder falls so hard that it feels like every window is going to break?
Or where the rain fall so heavily that you cannot see a foot in front of you?
In the same way, many times we see storms in our life.
Health issues, financial issues, broken relationships, losing someone, losing a job, or you suddenly hear some bad news.
But I want to ask you during the storm: How do you see God as caring or uncaring?
How do you see him as a good God or a bad God in your crisis?
Do you believe in him when things seem to be going horribly wrong?
Listen carefully. Storms in life have the ability to bring us to the surface of what is really inside of us.
Storms reveal to us whether we live by fear or by faith.
Storms reveal that our hearts are full of trust or doubt.
The storms reveal to us whether we run a long race or a short race in Jesus.
The way we react to God during a storm reveals the truth about ourselves.
Let us read again verse 35 & 36
35. On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.”
36. And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him.
1.STORM IS TEST.
During a storm’s life, we find what we really believe; it's reveal the truth about us.
This had been a busy and emotional day for Jesus. He started his day with a confrontation with some pharisees, who said that Jesus was possessed by Satan and therefore he was doing miracles. When his brothers saw him, they came to take him away because they thought he had lost his mind. The rest of the day he taught the crowds parables and privately explained them to his disciples.
Jesus had been teaching the disciples with what he said and did, but now Jesus would give them a practical test to see how much they had really learned.
Romans 10:17 says, So faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ.
When we hear God’s word through sermons, reading the Bible, studying the Bible, and discussing spirituality, it produces faith in us.
If I have a mango tree and I want to plant it,
Do I just put it on? No
I will try to find good soil, dig a nice hole, and put plants in it. From time to time, I will add water, fertiliser, care, and pruning.
What will happen if I do this?
I will get a mango fruit.
When I get the fruit, what should I do with it?
Should I keep it safe somewhere?
Maybe I will test its sweetness.
Likewise, the word of God produces faith in us, so will that faith remain like this? No
It will be tested.
It is not enough for us to learn a lesson or to repeat a teaching; but we must also be able to apply that lesson by faith.
This is one reason why God allows trials, difficulties, and storms to come into our lives.
Storms are tests and opportunities to show our faith in God.
In verse 35, Jesus said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.”
It is like other side of life.
On the side of the lake, Jesus had performed miracles, confronted the pharisees, and taught about God’s kingdom. The crowds were growing, and everything was looking good.
On one side of the lake, disciples faith and trust in Jesus had been easy, but on the other side, they were about to be tested.
On this side of the lake, things are going well, but on the other side, things are about to get tough.
If on the other side of life your good health is illness, how will you respond?
If on the other side of life, your favourite partner broke your heart, how would you respond?
If on the other side of life your favourite job is lost, how will you respond?
It is not that after we come to Christ, there will be no storm in our lives; there will be storms, problems, hard times, and sorrow, but I want to remind you that Jesus is with you in every situation, as he was on the boat amidst the storm.
2. Storms can happen suddenly.
37. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.
The Sea of Galilee is a small body of water; it is about 13 miles (21km) from north to south and 7 miles (11 km) from east to west. It is pear-shaped and surrounded by mountains. In it, storms can develop in minutes because of the warm air over the lake and the cold air that comes over the mountains, and when the cold air and warm air mix, it becomes a storm.
When Jesus was on boat with his disciples, there came a great windstorm, and that was so powerful that waves were breaking into the boat and it began to fill with water.
And when Matthew describes this event, he says a “violent storm arose (Matthew 8:24).
The word violent comes from the Greek word seismos, which means earthquake. For Matthew, it was like the sea was shaking.
This great windstorm and violent storm happen suddenly; that is the way life is.
One moment you are doing fine, and the next moment you start falling down.
One phone call, and you find yourself in the middle of a storm.
One conversation, and you are in a storm.
One action, and you are in a storm.
God does not try to trick us, and even though he is not trying to hide something, he is honest about the storms of life, as he says in John 16:33. Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows, but take heart, because I have overcome the world.
Storms of life are real, and storms happen suddenly, and those storms will test and reveal our faith and spiritual maturity.
3. Storms can force us to doubt God
38. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
39. And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
The sea was shaken, and great windstorms were blowing the boat in all directions. The waves were hitting the boat, and the boat was filling with water. The disciples, who were experienced fishermen and knew about the sea, also found it a fearful moment.
They were thinking that they were about to die, but there was Jesus, who was sleeping at the back of the boat.
So, the disciples woke him and said to him, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?
Many times, we get so scared during storms that we start questioning God.
Lord, as you can see, I have lost my job.
Lord, you cannot see; I have no money for these things.
Lord, do you not care about me? I have not much time remaining to pass this course.
But dear brothers and sisters, do not question your God; He is the God of everything. And everything is under his control.
Disciples were professional fishermen; they knew how to handle a boat during a storm, but this storm was violent, and they believed that they were going to die because of it. but they do not know that this storm will be the real classroom for their spiritual education.
It is one thing to sit in church service and learn something about God and our own selves, but it is another thing to learn something about God and ourselves when you lose a loved one, when you cannot afford your bills anymore, when your health is not good, or when your marriage relationship is not going well.
Some lessons can only be learned in the middle of the storm, but many times the storms in life will force you to doubt God.
But God never tries to deceive us with these storms; he never tries to hide himself, but God remains upfront and honest even through the storms of life.
4. Storms teach us about God.
39. And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
The way Jesus rebuked the wind can be an indication of who was behind the storm. In the same way Jesus rebuked the demon in Mark 1:25,
It could be that this storm was an attack by the kingdom of darkness to kill Jesus and his disciples.
It could be possible that this unexpected storm that came about right after they were in the middle of the sea was an attack by the devil himself. But whether it was of the devil or not, the result was the same: "Suddenly the wind stopped and there was a great calm.
Jesus commanded,” Peace! Be still, and immediately the storm obeyed.
Jesus had just shown his authority over nature itself.
They woke him up so he would also remove water from the boat or show some concern about the storm. But when Jesus rebuked the storm, his disciples began to learn more about who this Jesus really is.
They had yet to see him heal people and cast out evil spirits, but now they had seen his power more.
Dear brothers and sisters, when we are in the middle of a storm, God very clearly demonstrates who he is.
5. Storms teach us about ourself.
40. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”
During the night, when Jesus was sleeping, the waves started hitting up against the boat, and the disciples lost control. They began to fear; they could not believe Jesus was still asleep, so they went to him, shouting at him to wake him, and when he awoke, they said, Teacher, do not you care that we are going to perishing?
Jesus immediately rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Peace be still, and the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?
Disciple concern about drowning was normal, and Lord’s rebuked was not about their reaction to the storm but their reaction to Jesus in the storm.
They said, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?
Instead of asking for help, they were questioning Jesus. So their understanding of Jesus was not what it should have been.
They questioned his love, and this is the temptation when we become afraid, because when we are in a storm, we see God as less than he is, and we doubt his love and care for us.
And this is what the devil wants us to be.
So, in the middle of the storm, we learn about ourselves, and we can see our faith.
6. Storm stretches our faith.
41. And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
Up to this point, the disciples knew Jesus was special and unique and that God was working through him. but this event triggered a significant shift in their thinking about who Jesus really is.
Prophets of the past had performed many miracles, such as healing the sick, cleansing lepers, and even parting the Red Sea, but this feels completely different.
They started to see Jesus differently because this type of power was reserved for God alone.
Dear brothers and sisters:
Today morning, I want to ask you: Is everything good with you?
Even though the disciples were with Jesus, they still faced a great storm.
As long as we live in this life, there will be troubles, and sorrows in our lives, but it doesn't mean the Lord is not with us.
In the Old Testament, we see that the prophet Jonah was in a storm because he did not obey God, and here, his disciples were obeying Jesus, but they were in a storm.
So it is clear that storms can occur in everyone's life, but the matter is whether we have Jesus in those storms, because if we have Jesus in those storms, he will calm them.
Today our life situation would be different; some of us may be towards a storm, some in the middle of a storm, or some coming out of a storm, but learn from your storms.
In these storms, God is teaching us something about himself, about ourselves, and about the storms of life.
See the storms of life as an opportunity for God to display who he is.
Psalm 89:8-9 says (NKJV)
O lord God of hosts, who is mighty like you, O Lord? Your faithfulness also surrounds you.
You rule the raging of the sea, when its waves rise, you still them.
Here, the psalmist describes the power of God, his faithfulness, and how, when waves arise, he still them.
Storms come even when Jesus is in our lives, but the guarantee is that when Jesus is there, we will remain with Him, and Jesus will take care of us through all the storms.
So will you say that your boat is in a storm, or will you say that your boat is in a storm, but I am with Jesus, and he is with me? Then your boat will never sink.
May the Lord Jesus bless us.
Amen…
