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No claims of absolute originality are made for this material. As one man said, "I milk a lot of cows, but I churn my own butter." Please use these sermons as the Lord leads, but nothing on this site may be used for profit without my expressed, written permission!
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THE MASTER OF THE DEEP Intro: It had been a long and
difficult day for the Lord Jesus. The events of this day began in Mark 3:20. He had a confrontation with
the Pharisees, v. 22-30. His friends
and family thought He had gone crazy and tried to kidnap Him, v. 21; 31-35. Jesus also taught the
people in parables and He had spent time explaining His parable to His
disciples. During
the day Jesus sat in a little boat just off the shore of the Sea of Galilee. He
had used that boat as His pulpit as He preached to the great multitudes that
had gathered to hear Him, 4:1. When
the day was over, He called His disciples to set sail for the other side of the
lake. When darkness fell, the disciples were
making their way across that little lake. While they guided the boat, Jesus lay
fast asleep in the rear of the boat. He was weary from the business of the day.
This is one of the clearest portraits of our Lord’s humanity in the Gospels. I
praise the Lord that He understands our weakness. He is able to sympathize with
us when we get tired, Psa. 103:14. Most of our Lord’s disciples were used
to being on the Sea of Galilee at night; they fishermen, after all. Some events
would occur this night that would change their lives and their perception of
the Lord Jesus. This miracle is the first of four that we will be preaching in
the coming weeks. These four miracles proved to the
disciples, and to us, that Jesus Christ is Lord of all. They demonstrate that
He is the Master of every situation. That night, in that storm, the disciples
found themselves in the fight of their lives. They experienced the Lord’s power
to deliver them and they lived to tell the tale. I would like for us to climb
in the boat with them as they cross the Sea of Galilee. Their experience has
much to teach us today. There is a sense in which we are all
involved in a journey today. We are sailing toward an unseen port called Heaven.
As we sail, storms will arise and toss our vessel. Like the disciples, we often
think the storms are going to destroy us. I want you to know that your storms
were not sent to destroy you, but to develop you. Let’s join the Lord and His men as they make
their way across the Sea of Galilee. I want to point out some observations
from this passage and preach on the subject The Master Of The Deep.
I. v. 37 THE
POWER OF THE STORM A. Its
Suddenness there arose a great storm of wind
Storms like this are very common on the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee is
an unusual body of water. It is relatively small (thirteen miles long, seven
miles wide); but it is 150 feet deep, and the shoreline is 680 feet below sea
level. Because the Sea of Galilee is below sea level and is surrounded by
mountains, it is susceptible to sudden storms. Winds sweeping across the land
come up and over the mountains, creating downdrafts over the lake. Combined
with a thunderstorm that appears suddenly over the surrounding mountains, the
water stirs into violent twenty-foot waves. The sea can be calm one minute and violent
the next. These storms usually do not happen at night. So, these men did not
set out in a storm and they did not expect one either, but a storm came anyway! (Ill.
That’s the way life is too! Things can be fine one moment and the next, the
bottom falls out. One minute you can be enjoying fair weather and the next, you
find yourself in the middle of a terrible and horrible storm. One phone call,
one twenty-four hour period of time, one doctor visit, one tick of the clock,
and there you are, in the storm of your life. This shouldn’t surprise us. The Bible
says that the storms will come our way, B. Its Severity the ship was now full These
seasoned fishermen are frightened by the severity of this storm. The ship is rocking and reeling; it is full
of water and they are afraid it is about to sink. It was a violent storm and it
was night time too. They could not see where they were or how close they were
to the shore and the other ships around them. They were in terrible danger, and
they feared for their lives. (Ill.
When the storms of life come, they are often severe and cause us great anguish
and pain. The storms of suffering blow into our lives and devastate us with
heartache, heartbreak and turmoil. One problem will arise after another and
they will bury us under a blizzard of affliction. Many could testify about the
storms of suffering. Others face storms of sorrow.
Someone you love is called away by death and it leaves you grief stricken and
shaken by your loss. Sorrow touches every life! Jesus was in their boat and
they were still afflicted by a storm of sorrow. Still others are engulfed in a storm
of sin. When sin enters our hearts, it always comes in as a pleasant,
calm breeze. It promises us the best, but it soon displays its darker side. It
will rip through your life like a tornado leaving a trail of damage and
destruction that can only be repaired by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and
His forgiveness. Some are in that storm today! So, the storms come and they bring with
them fear, anxiety and pain. I just want you to know that there is no storm on
earth that Heaven cannot calm! There is no problem so great that Jesus cannot
fix. Bring that storm to Him and watch His deal with it!) C. Its Source Where did this storm come from? It may have
been natural, after all, as I have already shared; the Sea of Galilee was
susceptible to storms of this nature. However, it came at night and that was
extremely rare. God might have sent it for the very purpose of teaching these
men to trust in Jesus. Or, the storm could have been satanic in origin. When
Jesus calmed the storm in verse 39
and said “be still, it is the same word that is translated hold
thy peace in (Note: The storms in our own
lives can come from various sources too. Sometimes the storms are our own fault.
We do things that get us into trouble and we have to pay the price. If you
don’t believe me, just read the book of Jonah. We always reap what we sow, Gal. 6:7. Sometimes we cause the
storms. Sometimes God sends the storms. Why
would He do that? Sometimes He does it to discipline us and draw us closer to
Him. This was the case with David after he had sinned with Bathsheba, Sometimes Satan Is Allowed To Send The Storm.
Satan will whip up a storm in your life to defeat you and drive you away from
the Lord. He will do everything in His power to destroy you and your faith in
God. We have a real enemy, who is seeking to defeat and destroy God’s children
and he will do whatever it takes to accomplish that, I. The Power Of The Storm II. v. 35,
38 THE PROBLEM OF THE
STORM (Ill. The greatest storm that night was
not on the Sea of Galilee, but in the hearts of the disciples. This storm on
the sea whipped up a storm of doubt within them that threatened to drown them
all. While
the storm is raging around them, Jesus is fast asleep in the back of the boat.
They run to Him and wake Him up. The word “awaken means to rouse from sleep. It
was used to speak of a calm sea that was just beginning to be
agitated. I believe the Bible is telling that they went to where He
was sleeping and they began to shake Him to wake Him up. These men are
terrified and have lost all hope of ever surviving this storm. Lets examine
the doubts of these men today.) A. They Doubted His Goodness carest thou not They
accused the Lord of not caring about what they were facing. Why this doubt?
After all, they had already seen His compassion and goodness in action. They
had seen Jesus conquer Devils, Disease, and Depravity. Now, they are faced with a storm and they are afraid. They should have
known that a puff of wind on a little pond could not thwart sovereign
omnipotence! Do you know what their problem was? They were looking at
situations and not at the Savior. They had their thoughts on the facts and not
on faith. (Note: Before we got too hard on
these men; perhaps we should consider our own hearts. Have there been times,
when the storms are raging in your life, that you have questioned God’s concern
for you? You might not have said it out loud, but I am sure there have been
times when your flesh has cried, “Lord, don’t you care about what is happening
to me? Weve all been there at times! I just want you to know today that He
does care! He cares more than you could ever know, Heb. 4:15-16. He cares and He is doing something about the
situation, even though you might not see it now. Don’t question His concern, He
really does care!) B. They Doubted His Grace
we perish - Remember, it was Jesus Who had sent them out onto
the sea in the first place. These men had left everything to follow Jesus and
now He has led them into an impossibly dangerous situation. They are afraid the
Jesus is just going to let them all die. (Note: Jesus did not save you to
abandon you when the going gets a little tough. He is absolutely committed to
you and will never forsake you, Heb.
13:5. The word “leave means to let sink; the word forsake
means that He wont abandon you, desert you or leave you under
any circumstances. When the storm is raging; when your boat is rocking
and reeling; when the adverse winds are blowing; when the waves are crashing
against your vessel; He will not let you sink! He will hold you up and never
desert you under any circumstances. The Lord Jesus Christ is absolutely
committed to you!) (Ill.
The city of Jerusalem once felt forsaken by the Lord. Here is what they said
and what the Lord said in reply: “But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me,
and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a
woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son
of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of
my hands; thy walls are continually before me, C. They Doubted His Guarantee Let us pass over unto the other
side Jesus had already told these men what was going to happen. He told them before the journey started that
they were headed to the other side of the lake. If they had believed His words,
they could have shouted in the face of the storm. (Note: We act the same way! The
Lord has already promised us that everything is going to be all right, Rom. 8:28; Gen. 50:20; (Ill. A
young military officer and his young bride were married. They sat out on a
honeymoon voyage and while they sailed a violent storm began to beat against
their vessel. The young bride became very frightened by the storm but her new
husband was not afraid, and she became irritated with him because he wasn't
afraid like she was. After a while, he took his sword, pulled it out of its sheath, and put
the point of the sword on the throat of his new bride, and she looked up at him
and she smiled. He said, "You're not afraid?" She said, "Oh, no. I'm not afraid of a sword when it's in the
hands of one who loves me."
And then she got the point. You don't
have to be afraid of a storm when it's in the hands of one who loves you. There
is One Who rules over land and sea. There is One Who has the power to calm the
storms that arise in your life. You and I need not fear the storm when our
gracious, loving Heavenly Father is the On In control!) I. The Power Of The Storm II. The Problem Of The Storm III.
v. 39-41 THE PURPOSE OF THE
STORM (Ill. When they roused Jesus from
sleep, He began to work. As He did, they made some precious discoveries about
the Lord. These are discoveries that we need to know about as well. As we face
the storms of our lives, it will help us to know all we can about the One Who
rides in our vessel.) A. They Made Discoveries About His Power This storm that so
terrified these men posed no problem for the Lord Jesus. He rebuked the wind
and spoke to the sea. When He did, the winds fell silent and the sea became as
a sheet of glass. Just as easily as He had healed the sick and cast out the devils;
He was able to control the storm. The Lord we serve still has that same
power today, Matt. 28:18; Gen. 18:14;
Eph. 3:20. Your storm is no problem for Him! He can silence it with a word,
if He so desires. He may, however, desire to allow the storm to rage. When He
does this, He is well able to protect you in the midst of the storm. (Ill.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego – Dan. 3;
Ill. Daniel in the lion’s den – Dan. 6) B. They Made Discoveries About His Promises Just as He said,
they passed over, He still is! Everything He has promised
He will do, Rom. 4:21; Heb. 6:18. He
will not back away from any promise He has made in this book! C. They Made Discoveries About His Presence When the Lord is in
your vessel, you have an advantage. The Bible says in verse 36 that there “were also with him other little ships.
There were many boats on that sea that night, but only one contained the Lord
of glory. That boat was the place to be. As we sail on the sea of life, we need
to remember that we are all in this thing. We are all on the sea, we are all in
our boat, and we all voyage together. We need to be sure that Jesus rides with
us in our vessel. Having Jesus in your vessel makes all the difference. They
were able to call on Him because He was with them. They were able to see Him
move in power because He was with them. They were able to experience His peace
because He was with them. Is His in your vessel? If He isn’t, how do you
weather the storms that arise in your life? D. They Made Discoveries About His Purposes The storm taught
these men a lesson they could have learned no other way. It would have been
nice if they would simply have believed Him after seeing Him do all the great
things He did in chapters one and two. It would have been great if they
could have taken the things the Lord did for others and applied it to their own
lives. If they could have said, “You know, if Jesus can heal a leper, cure
Peter’s mother-in-law, cast out devils, heal that guy with the palsy and
forgive his sins, then I am sure that He can take care of this storm too.
But, they seemed unable to process that information and apply it to their own
lives. So, He sent them into this storm to teach them to trust Him. What about us? We have the Bible. It
tells us all the things He has done and can do. We have the testimony of others
around us. We have seen what He has done for them. We have even seen Him move
in our own lives. Wouldn’t it be great if we could just trust Him? We don’t, so
He uses the storms to teach us that we can lean on Him and trust Him to take
care of us. (Ill. When they arrived in Gadara they saw that
demon possessed man. I wonder if they doubted Him after the storm. When they
saw Jairus come for help for his daughter, and even when she died, I wonder if
they said, “I believe He can take care of this. I think the storm
increased their faith! That may have been the purpose all along. If it wasnt
the purpose, the Lord surely used it in that fashion. He does the same for us! When you come to Sometimes, He sends the storms to
educate us and to teach us to trust. His purpose is not to hurt us, but to grow
us. You can always trust the Lord to do right in the storms of life.) E. They Made Discoveries About His Peace While they are
fretting and fearing, what is the Lord doing?
He is sleeping! Why? He knows that
He is in the center of His Father’s will.
He knows that He will die on a cross and not in a shipwreck. He can sleep during the storm because He
trusts His Father to take care of Him. If a situation doesn’t rattle the Lord,
we shouldn’t allow it to rattle us either!
And, nothing rattles Him, Psa.
121:4; Psa. 127:1-2. F. They Made Discoveries About His Person When Jesus calmed
the sea, they were amazed and said, What manner of man is this? They learned that He is the One Who is in
control of every puff of wind; every angry wave and every storm. He is a good
man to know! He can corral the waves; lasso the winds and hog tie the storm. (Ill.
King Canute I of England) Do you know Him today? Conc: I don’t know the nature of your
storm, but I know Who can calm it. He is still the Master of the deep. ·
If it is a storm of suffering; He can ease your pain. ·
If it is a storm of sorrow; He can comfort your soul. ·
If it is a storm of sin; He can deliver you and set you free. Do you
need to hear Jesus say “Peace, be still to your storm? If
you do, bring it to Him and watch Him work.
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Copyright 2003 by Alan Carr |
