40 He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"
Mark4:35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.
37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"
39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
41 They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"
Faith Hope and . . . the greatest of these is LOVE –
However, Faith and Hope also have an important place in our salvation.
What is faith? It is probably the most difficult component of our spiritual makeup.
“Religious faith is what we believe that agrees with the truth of the Bible and of the events and doctrines contained in it. . . .”
By grace you are saved though faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God,
Without faith there can be no forgiveness of sins, and no holiness of life; and they who are justified by faith, live and walk by faith throughout their lives here in this world.”
Heaven is something to die for. .
Heb 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Mark gives us a rapid view of the teaching ministry of Jesus as He used parables to help His followers to comprehend, but especially to His disciples to exercise the element of faith in their spiritual development.
Mark deals with some of the fiercest enemies of the soul: the storms of life, demonic activity and, death. Here we will look at THE STORMS OF LIFE
1 “That day. . .”
Mark 4:34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side."
His disciples had the advantage of being personally instructed in everything necessary for salvation.
That same day their understanding of faith would be put to the test.
A. Where Is Jesus When We Face Our Storms?
Jesus was asleep; he slept through a serious and life-threatening storm.
37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped
The hardened fishermen became alarmed at the fury of the storm.
Meanwhile. . .
38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion.
The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher,. . .
“Teacher”? How slow they were to learn what the Word of God says concerning the very situation that they were facing! (The greatest teacher we have is the Word of God.)
. don't you care if we drown?"
Put yourself in their shoes!
And what about the other boats? There were also other boats with him.
B. We Are Never Alone
When we face our storms, there are other people watching us and listening to us. What do they think about our “faith”?
Even as the moon has no light of its own; what we see from the moon is a reflection of the sun.
We are like a mirror-reflection of what is in our hearts When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we are a reflection of the holiness of God.
What people see in God’s people is their concept of the kind of God the Christians believe in.
Living in close proximity to other residents in our communities makes it important for us to be alert to the distractions and the reactions caused by our storms.
“What you are speaks so loud – they’re looking at your walk, not listening to your talk” Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
When we face our storms, there are other people watching us and listening to us. What do they think about our “faith”?
Even as the moon has no light of its own; what we see from the moon is a reflection of the sun.
We are like a mirror-reflection of what is in our hearts When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we are a reflection of the holiness of God.
What people see in God’s people is their concept of the kind of God the Christians believe in.
Living in close proximity to other residents in our communities makes it important for us to be alert to the distractions and the reactions caused by our storms.
“What you are speaks so loud – they’re looking at your walk, not listening to your talk” Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
2. To the rescue!
39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
There is no doubt that everyone of us here today, is facing a storm of some kind.
Do you believe that Jesus can calm your storm?.
He gave His disciples many parables to help them to understand what faith is and how to put faith to work.
40 He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"
Faith has to be put to the test. You will only know how strong or weak your faith is when you go through the storms of life. The greater the storm, the stronger the lesson and the better your faith will grow.
- Don’t ever give up, you’re on the brink of a miracle
- Don’t give up remember God is still on the throne
- Don’t give up, remember you are not alone.
- Jesus may be sleeping, but while He is with you in your boat, your boat will not sink.
3. No Faith!?
The importance of faith cannot be overstressed.
A living or saving faith not only believes the great doctrines of Christianity as true, but embraces them with the whole personality; will, emotions and intellect; and it becomes the source of sincere obedience to the divine will, displayed in life.
41 They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"
How do we face the storms of life?
A. “Who Is This?”. . .
We are much more educated about who Jesus is and what He is capable of doing than what His disciples were.
I can understand their terrifying experience even when and while Jesus was with them in the boat. But . . .
By being filled with the Spirit of holiness, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of God, we, being the temple of the Holy Spirit have every reason to believe that BY FAITH in His Word, we can face every storm of life because God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you’.
No matter how fierce the storm, he will be there for you.
But you have to go through some trials to prove to yourself that your faith is getting stronger so that you can believe that whatever you ask in the name of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour; . . . Listen to how Jesus puts it:
John 15:7-8 IF you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
The question is: How’s your faith? Do you believe that Jesus means what He says?
“I BELIEVE LORD, PLEASE HELP MY UNBELIEF”
By Pastor Ron Roux
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