My God is in Control by Ed Pruitt

Mark 4:35-41

My God Is In Control
Sunday Evening March 23, 2003
Pastor Ed Pruitt

Before we read our text tonight I want to say that this is not a miracle for the multitudes of that time, it’s for his disciples that were with Him, and for us the readers of today’s time.

Mark 4:35-41
35 As evening fell, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.”

This statement is very important.

His intent is to go to the other side, not take them to the middle of the lake and drown.

If He says the other side, that’s where your going if He is in your boat!

The words, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.”

He is including Himself.

I am sure, this passed right over the disciples heads, for if they would have thought about it during the storm they may, not have been so fearful.

36 So they took him just as he was and started out, leaving the crowds behind (though other boats followed).

They took Him along!

This passage seems to indicate some arrogance by the disciples that they took Jesus along.

They were professional fishermen who were in very familiar territory.

The thinking was Jesus wants to go the other side, so we will take him.

“Just as he was” – This probably means he was exhausted.

After all, He fell asleep in the boat.

Here Jesus’ humanity is emphasized.

In a moment, His deity will be emphasized.

In the midst of his human exhaustion, Jesus wants to teach the disciples a lesson about faith.

37 But soon a terrible storm arose. High waves began to break into the boat until it was nearly full of water and about to sink.

The Sea of Galilee is about 690 ft. below sea level and surrounded by hills. Mt. Hermon, just to the north, stands over 9,200 ft. above sea level.

From May to Oct., strong winds often sweep through the narrow surrounding gorges into this valley causing extremely sudden and violent storms.

The Sea of Galilee is very large, but very shallow.

Just a little wind can make waves that are 6 feet high.

This storm probably had waves at least 10 to 12 feet high.

In this case, it was a storm so severe it took on the properties of a hurricane.

It was such a bad storm, that the disciples, some even professional fishermen on this very lake, thought they were going to die.

38 Jesus was asleep at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. Frantically they wakened him, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you even care that we are all about to drown?”

A great picture of the God-Man Jesus.

We can see in His humanity that He would be sleeping after an exhausting day.

The storm wasn’t waking Him up.

But notice that whenever the scriptures show us His revealed humanity, His deity is not far behind!

The disciples woke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?

Teacher gives an indication of their mistaken identity of who He really was.

They were about to find out in a minute just who they had on their boat.

Jesus could sleep through the storm, but not through their crying.

Jesus will always awake to help His disciples in the midst of a nasty storm.

All we have to do is call.

You see, the burden is on us to make the call!

39 Then he rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Quiet down!” And the wind fell, and there was a great calm!

Jesus stills the storm.
In the Old Testament such power resides only in God.

We can find it two places,

Psalm 65:7 You quieted the raging oceans with their pounding waves and silenced the shouting of the nations.

And in, Psalm 107:29
29 He calmed the storm to a whisper
and stilled the waves.

“He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!!”

I’m convinced we learn more about God and ourselves during the storm than after.

Storms, do not build character, they reveal character.

It’s only after the storm do we assess and then work and shore up on the areas of weakness.

That’s when we build.

Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

Notice that the object of their fear which was the wind, switched to what is the power of Jesus’ words.

40 And he asked them, “Why were you so fearful? Don’t you even yet have confidence in me?”

In the boat after the storm He asks

“Why are you still afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

They all were afraid because they all lacked faith.

Many of us are paralyzed by fears!

Fear of failure, fear of death, fear of the unknown, etc.

Either God is sovereign and in total control or He isn’t.

Now as we go on,
41 And they were filled with awe and said among themselves, “Who is this man, that even the winds and seas obey him?”

They were terrified and asked each other.

Who is this?

Even the wind and the waves obey Him!

Notice that the condition of fear had not changed but the object of their fear had.

Now their fear was focused of the identity of the person in the boat.

They were terrified and amazed at Jesus’ Power!

It is not until Mark 8:29 that the disciples make the statement, “Thou art the Christ.”
Although they may know Jesus is a great teacher, a great prophet or that He may be the Messiah, but at this time, they don’t fully understand, who He is!

I am afraid that there are people today who still don’t fully understand who He really is!

The disciples totally missed Jesus’ question, Why are you still afraid?

They were more caught up in their own questions.

They were more caught up in the works of Jesus and not in the nature by which it comes.

His dominion over the creation showed He was God.

Now what is all this trying to tell us?

As a disciple, I’m not exempt from the storms of life.

God has power over all of nature and even my circumstances.

If God wants you to die, why should you be afraid?

If they had believed Jesus really, was in control, and really, cared for them, do you think they would have awakened him?

Probably not!

This should be the example of our faith in the midst of the storms of life.

Embrace them because in them we find the “workings” of God.

Storms open the door for us to see the miraculous.

The result of all storms should be a greater understanding of who God is!

They should make us better worshipers and they should make us better witnesses!

What’s your storm? Are you afraid?

Where is Jesus on your boat?

Is He awake and calming your fears or is He sleeping because you are trying to do things on your own and not crying out to Him!

God promises that He will calm the storm, if we will just believe in Him.

When He calms the storm, He calms His child.

Listen to these scripture passages as encouragement:

Be anxious about nothing.
“Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love. (2 Tim. 1:7-8)

“The LORD is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The LORD is my strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Ps. 27:1)

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment.
But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”
(I John 4:18)

If God is for us, who can be against us?

I am sure if I were to ask the question, "how many of you have experienced storms in your life," every hand would be raised because that’s how life is.

Life has storms and no one is immune to them and yet in the midst of these storms, for the believer, there can be peace.

I am sure you have heard the statement before "God said it and I believe it and that’s good enough for me."

This is the way it should be but many times it isn’t.

There are people who can quote God’s Word and have memorized books of the Bible but when the rubber meets the road they have a hard time living what it says.

Maybe it’s because we don’t realize God’s Word is living and active like it tells us in, Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires.
It exposes us for what we really are.

But it will also accomplish in your life what it says it will accomplish if you just believe.

God’s Word has stood the test of time and is still the #1 best seller.

When the 9-11 attack came Bible sales soared because there is comfort in God’s Word.

I am equally sure that with this war going on people will once again be buying bibles and start going to church in large numbers.

It truly amazes me that it takes a crisis for people to start seeking God!

It also truly amazes me that God in His mercy is always there waiting for us with open arms!
No matter how we have treated God in the past, He is always there!

Wouldn’t it be terrible if God treated people the same way that some people treat each other!

And then look at it this way, if all the people of the world were to follow the greatest commandment of Jesus and love you neighbor as you love yourselves I am sure we wouldn’t be in a war today.

God’s Word has stood the test of time and yet many times we hear it and may even have it in our head and yet fail to apply it to our situation because it’s not in our heart.

It’s the same promise David writes about in the 23rd Psalms when he says "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil."

I know this is not easy but the word through is the key.

The word through means you will come out on the other side.

And then of course the Scripture that applies to us today and even more so to them is Matt 28:20 which says "And lo I am with you always even until the end of the world."

You see He is just as much with us now as He was with them.

The only difference is they could see Him and we can’t.

Jesus told them "let us pass over unto the other side" and we too will pass over to the other side no matter what the storm is if we will just trust in Him!

Fear is another thing that gives us trouble.

Paul wrote in 2 Tim 1:7 for God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and love and a sound mind.

A spirit of fear is very destructive, it causes worry, anxiety, panic attacks and depression.

Fear can happen to any of us, a phone call, an accident, a sickness can happen suddenly and before you know it your right in the middle of the storm.

Jesus was with them in the boat, the storm still came, which means that no one is immune to the storms.

Being a Christian doesn’t exempt you.

And secondly even after the storm begin Jesus did not wake up!

I mean they were bailing water out of the boat and it is rocking from side to side and yet He is still asleep which means we are not always instantly delivered when the storm comes.

You see storms help us to grow in our faith.

Isn’t that what James tells us, "count it all joy when you fall into various temptations" or also translated tested in different ways.

Count it all joy?

What are you talking about, what’s there to be happy about when hard times come.

We don’t want to be happy, we want to get mad and worry and be filled with anxiety.

No the joy isn’t because of the storm, but the joy is in the storm knowing that your faith is going to grow stronger after you come through it.

Have you ever known God to fail you?

Has there been a time in your life when God let you down?

No of course not.

So if He has never let you down before what makes you thing He is going to let you down now.

You see, what the disciples should have experienced, was knowing that when Jesus said they were going to the other side, they were going to the other side, safely no matter how great a storm it was.

Sure they would have to bail water out of the boat, but not with fear!

For they knew that Jesus was with them they were not going to drown!

But the disciples were a lot like many people are today, they were scared to death and so they woke Jesus up frantically saying, "Master don’t you care that we are all going to drown."

Now really did they think Jesus was going to drown.

I mean they had already seen Him heal the sick and cast out demons.

So when Jesus woke up He simply said unto the raging sea, three very important words and He only said them once and that was "peace be still" and the wind ceased and there was a great calm.

Now what did Jesus say to his disciples?
He said "why are you so fearful?"

That’s a good question that we need to ask ourselves sometimes, I mean if Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever and He knows our past, the present and the future.
He said in His Word I will never leave you or forsake you and lo I am with you always even unto the end of the world, then why are we so fearful?

Is it because we are not sure He is going to work everything out or do we think God is not working fast enough.

Listen to what I am saying God knows what’s best for your life and He is always right on time.

This doesn’t always mean we should sit around and wait for our deliverance from the storm.

God can direct us as to what to do.

God should not be your co-pilot as some bumper stickers say, but rather He should be in the drivers seat and you’re following Him not Him following you!

Jesus said to them was "how is it that you had no faith?"

I mean whatever faith they had they lost it.

If there is no faith then there is no hope and if there is no hope then there is nothing for you to hang on to.

I am sure you heard the story about George who was in the mountains taking pictures of all the beautiful scenery when he got to close to the edge and started falling down the side of the mountain.
On the way down he managed to get a hold of a tree branch and he started yelling for help, but no one came for he was all alone.

Then suddenly he heard a voice that said "George?" George said "is that you Lord?"
"Yes George it’s me."

"Do you trust me?" George replied.

"Oh yes Lord you know I do with all my heart."
"Do you have faith in me?"

"Oh yes Lord I would do whatever you say."

"Then George let go of the branch."

George said "what?" "I said let go of the branch."

There was dead silence when George yelled out, "is there anyone else up there?"

We say we trust God in the hard times but when it comes right down to it do we really?

Are we willing to let God do it His way or are we still trying to do it our way.

I like what Isaiah 26:3 has to say, it’s a very powerful scripture, listen to it.
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Did you hear that?

Perfect peace.
Does this just mean when the storm is not raging?

Paul summed it up quite well in Philippians 4:6 when he said,
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Jesus didn’t say you might have trouble, or you will only have trouble when you’re out of God’s will – He said you will have trouble.
Jesus is clear on the point that we will all go through trouble.

If your going through troubling times right now I have good news for you, your going through it.

We tell God show me and I’ll believe, He says believe and I’ll show you!

The peace that Jesus offers us comes only through a relationship with Him.

The world can’t give us peace and it can’t take away the peace that Jesus gives us.

It’s a peace based on our relationship with him not on our performance (how “good” of a Christian we are), not on our feelings, or our circumstances.

Are you asking God to give you life, liberty, and joy?

He cannot unless you are willing to accept the strain.

And once you face the strain, you will immediately get the strength.

Jesus could have prevented the storm.

He could have created us all with out any choice but to serve Him and Love Him, but He didn’t He has given everyone a choice.

God has given us a choice in the midst of all the hard times and with all the temptations we face to love Him and serve Him.

That’s what makes love – love it’s a choice.

In the storms of life is where we ask God, why?
What have I done to deserve this?

God is in control of everything and through every circumstance in our life God is working to draw us closer to Him.
But we all have a choice in every situation to turn to God or turn elsewhere.

Sometimes in the storms it seems as if God has turned His back on us, or has dosed off.

Without God we wonder how we can cope.

Too many people today are trying to cope with storms by turning to everything but Jesus.

We must take our concerns to God.

Jesus wants us to turn to Him not only in our moment of need but with everything.

A man was putting tin roof on his barn when all the sudden he slipped and began to slide down the roof.

He cried out to God to save him when no sooner he got the words out of his mouth a nail caught his pants and stopped him.

When he stopped he said, “never mind God I took care of it”.

The problem isn’t that God doesn’t perform miracles anymore the problem is we’re not looking for God to perform miracles.

We need to make sure we’re in the boat with Jesus.

This doesn’t mean we won’t face any storms.

I’m not saying that when we’re in the boat with Jesus that the storms will not be painful.

But I am saying when the storm hits, and they will for all of us, if we’re in the boat with Jesus we’re going through it.

Why would anyone want to go through this life in his or her own boat?

It’s too great a risk.

When you’re in your own boat everything that is valuable to you, your family, your health, your career, your friends are at risk of not making it through the storm.

Because sometimes only the one who controls the storm can get us through, and to add to the blessing of being in the Lord’s boat He will work all things out for our good.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

Sometimes he calms the storm.

Sometimes he lets the storm rage on and calms the child.

And now here’s the verse that sums it up quite well Mark 5:1
So they arrived at the other side of the lake, in the land of the Gerasenes.

And you too will make it to the other side no matter what the circumstances are if you are a true believer in Jesus Christ.

Footprints in the Sand:

“LORD, you said that once I decided to follow you, you’d walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why when I needed you most you would leave me."

The LORD replied: "My son, my precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."
 

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