Sermon # 962
Title: The Ruler of the Storm
Text: Mark
Subject:
Christ's Control of all Earthly Troubles
Date: Sunday Morning -
Introduction:
At the end of a
long and busy day our Lord and his disciples boarded a small ship to cross over
the
....The Lord Jesus agreed to save him before the world
began.
....For more than thirty years, Christ had lived for that
poor Gadarene, to establish righteousness for him, by
his representative obedience to God.
....Soon the Son of God would die to redeem this poor soul.
....And now the time of love had come, when this wretched
man must obtain mercy and grace.
As "he must
needs go through Samaria" to save the Samaritan woman at the time of
mercy, so now he must needs go over the sea to save the maniac of Gadara. So our Savior said to his disciples, "Let us
pass over unto the other side." His labor for the day could not end until
he had spoken peace, pardon and eternal life to this chosen object of his
grace.
Oh, may this be
the day of grace for some of you! As I preach the gospel, may the Son of God
call some of you to life and faith in him by the power of his Spirit. Perhaps you have come here today possessed by the
devil himself, as this Gadarene was. If God is
pleased to do so, he can bind the fiend of hell by the word of his power and
take possession of your heart by his almighty grace. If he does, before you
leave this building, you will find yourself "sitting" at the Master's
feet, "clothed" with the garments of salvation, and in your
"right mind," trusting Christ alone as your Lord and Savior. Savior,
do for some sinner here what you did for that Gadarene
two thousand years ago. Be gracious. Save some. Do it for the honor of your own
great name.
But before our
Lord and his disciples reached this wild Gadarene,
they had to cross the
carest
thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the
sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm."
Then he gently reproved his fearful, unbelieving disciples. And the story ends.
This brief event
in the earthly life of our Savior is recorded by the Holy Spirit three times.
He intends for us to remember it and learn by it. The story is written for our learning
and admonition, that we might be prepared for the storms of life.
Proposition: It is easy enough for us to see the storm, the
wind, the waves, the tossing of the ship, and the threat of death; but we ought
to focus our attention on the Lord Jesus Christ, The Ruler of the Storm.
Divisions:
What does God the
Holy Spirit mean for us to learn from this story that he has recorded for us in
his Word? Let me show you five things:
1. Following Christ will not shield us from the storms of
life.
2. Our Divine Savior is a real man.
3. There is much evil and sin in the strongest believers.
4. The Lord Jesus Christ has the power to calm your storm.
5. Our great Savior is a very tender Master.
I. Certainly, the Spirit of God has recorded this event to
show us that Following Christ will not shield us from the storms of life.
Here are our
Lord's chosen disciples, the first believers of this gospel age, men who had
forsaken family, friends and livelihood to follow Christ. They were saved men.
They were true believers. But suddenly, without warning, they are in the midst
of a howling storm. The fear of death seizes their hearts. And it looks like
death cannot be averted by any means.
What these
faithful men experienced that evening all faithful men and women experience in
this world. "In the world," so long as we are in this world,
"you shall have tribulation." Though you are a believer, though you
follow Christ, you will have your appointed share of sickness and pain, sorrow
and weeping, vexations and disappointments, partings and separations,
bereavement and death. Our Lord never promised any of his children in this
world material prosperity, bodily health, financial success, domestic peace,
earthly ease, or longevity of life. He does promise us...
His
Presence (Isa. 43:1-4; 41:10; Heb. 13:5)
His
Grace (II Cor. 12:9)
A. Whatever the storm is that you have to endure, though it
seems to threaten your very soul, if you believe the gospel, Page 3
you may be assured of these three
things regarding it.
1. It comes to you by the
hand of your
heavenly Father (I Sam.
2. It is
designed of God to do you good (Heb.
3. The Lord
will sustain you and see you through it to a good end (Ps. 107:7).
Child of God, leave it to the Lord your God to determine what is best for
you. Be assured that he is too wise to make a mistake, too good to do wrong and
too strong too fail. "All things are of God." And he does all things
well.
B. The gospel of God does not offer sinners health,
happiness and prosperity, but salvation and eternal life in Christ (John
As God's
ambassador, it is my joy and privilege to offer salvation and eternal life to
any sinner in all the world. If you do but trust the
Lord Jesus Christ, I promise you, upon authority of God's Holy Word, that you
shall never be condemned, that you have eternal life in Christ. But if I
promised you that faith in Christ would bring you a longer life, increased
wealth, or a happy home, I would be lying. If you trust Christ, you have in
him...
1. Full
redemption and complete forgiveness (Eph. 1:6).
2. Perfect
righteousness (Rom.
3.
Everlasting acceptance with God (Eph. 1:6).
Blessed be God,
faith in Christ shields us from the wrath of God! But following Christ does not
shield us from the storms of life. If God gives you faith, he will give you
sorrow in this world (Phil.
II. This event on the
When the waves
began to break upon the ship, we read that the Lord Jesus was "in the
hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow." He had labored all day for
the good of men's souls. He had preached repeatedly. And he was physically
exhausted. This is written to show us his manhood.
What
condescension! The Son of God became one of us. He is a real man, as fully God
as though he were not man, yet as fully man as though he were not God! (See
Phil. 2:5-8; II Cor. 8:9).
I find great
comfort, satisfaction and delight in the eternal Godhead of Jesus Christ. He is
God the eternal Son! Were he not God, he could not be our Savior. He who
undertakes to be the Mediator between God and men must be God. But I find equal
comfort, satisfaction and delight in his manhood. Were he not a perfect man, he
could not be our Savior. Someone once said, "God could not suffer and man
could not satisfy; but the Page 4
God-man both suffered and satisfied." We rejoice to
know that the Lord Jesus is both. He is God and man in one glorious Person.
Therefore he is "able to save un the uttermost
them that come unto God by him," and he is able understand, feel and
sympathize with the experiences of his people in this world (Heb.
Try to get hold of this - Because Jesus
Christ is a real man, like us, bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh, he is a
sympathizing High Priest, one who is touched with the feeling of our
infirmities. Child of God, your Savior knows what you are going through. He has
been there! And he is touched by that which touches you (Heb.
Are
you in need? So was Christ in this world!
Are
you alone? So was Christ when he lived here!
Are
you misunderstood, misrepresented, slandered and persecuted? So was the Son of
man when he was here!
Does
satan tempt you and offer
horrid suggestions to your mind? He also tempted the Lord Jesus when he was in
the wilderness!
Do
you ever sense that you are forsaken by God? Your Savior was forsaken by God
for you!
I want so much
for us to see this - Our Divine Savior is a real man. He lived as a real man.
He was tempted as a real man. He suffered as a real man. He died as a real man.
He arose as a real man. He reigns in heaven as a real man. He is coming again
as a real man. And this man is our God!
III. Thirdly, the Holy Spirit has recorded this event to
show us plainly that There is much evil and sin in the
strongest believers.
We have a
striking proof of this fact in the conduct of these disciples. When the storm
began to toss their little boat, in fear and unbelief, they awoke the Lord
Jesus and spoke sharply to him, saying, "Master, carest
thou not that we perish?" They should have known better. They should have
believed more. They should have trusted him more. But fear has no logic. You
cannot reason with fear. These poor men heard the wind, saw the waves, felt the
waters beating upon them, and they quickly forgot all that they had seen and
heard.
I offer no excuse
for any man's sin, yours, mine, or theirs. But I do want to help God's saints
if I can, even when they stumble and fall through unbelief. Even the greatest
examples of faith in the Bible had horrible fits of unbelief.
Abraham,
the father of the faithful, the friend of God, acted with fear and unbelief
before Abimelech.
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David,
the man after God's own heart, the giant slayer, was overtaken for a time by
fear and unbelief. He said, "I shall one day perish by the hand of
Saul" (*I Sam. 27:1).
NOTE: Sometimes the Lord leaves his children for a season,
like he did Hezekiah, so that we might know all that is in our hearts (II Chron. 32:31).
Why does God so
plainly and constantly show us in his Word the sin and unbelief of the most
shining examples of grace and faith the world has ever known? Why is it
necessary for me to talk so plainly about my sin and yours? Let me show you
four reasons.
A. We need to be constantly reminded that salvation is by
the grace of God alone (Eph. 2:8-9).
Christ is our
only righteousness! Our acceptance with God is only upon the merits of his dear
Son (I Cor.
B. We must be constantly reminded that in our flesh there is
no good thing (Rom.
In my flesh there
is nothing good, no potential for good, and no possibility of good. My flesh,
like yours, is sin, produces nothing but sin, seeks nothing but sin, and loves
nothing but sin. Someone said, "Sin is my nature. Sin is my name. Sin is
my middle name. And sin is my sir name." And he was right!
C. We need to learn to be patient and forbearing with one
another (Gal. 6:1-2).
Do not conclude
that a person has no grace because he has much sin. There are spots upon the
face of the sun. But we do not despise the sun for its spots. We overlook the
spots and enjoy the light! There is much dross surrounding every nugget of
gold. But who refuses the gold because of the dross? There are flaws in the
finest diamonds. But a never saw a man throw a diamond away because it had a
flaw. Should we not cherish God's people as much?
God, make me
quick to see grace and slow to see sin in my brethren. When we see sin in one
another, we ought to overlook the fault of the flesh and rejoice in the grace
of the Spirit. Why is that so hard for us to do? Let us forever be rid of that
self-righteousness and pride that cuts off and excommunicates brethren when
they are overtaken in a fault.
D. And when we sin, we need to know that we have an Advocate
with the Father (I John 2:1-2).
There is much
evil in the best of men, much sin in the most faithful saints, and much
unbelief in the strongest believers. But we have a faithful, almighty,
righteous Advocate in heaven, whom God always hears.
And he pleads with God for the non-imputation of sin to us.
IV. Surely, the Spirit of God has recorded this event upon
the Page 6
The winds blew.
The waves arose. The ship tossed to and fro. The disciples were horrified. But
then, the Lord Jesus Christ "arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto
the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was great calm."
Here is the Lord God, displaying his total sovereignty! Here is a Savior you
can trust."He maketh
the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are
still" (Ps. 107:29). Doubt anything else, if you must, but, O my soul,
never doubt the power of Christ!. He has all power.
And he who has all power is able to do all things.
A. Jesus Christ can speak peace to sinners overwhelmed by
the storm of God's wrath.
B. Christ can speak peace and calm the storm that terrifies
your soul this hour.
C. The Son of God can speak peace
and calm the storm that is raging in your heart, even when he leaves you in the
stormy sea.
Even if he does
not, at the present time, take away the storm, he can and will give you peace
in the midst of the storm. This is what I am saying, "Cast your care upon
the Lord, for he careth for you" (I Pet. 5:6-7).
The Lord Jesus Christ can calm your storm. Trust him.
V. And this story has been recorded upon the pages of Holy
Scripture to show us that Our great Savior is a very
tender Master.
What tenderness
we see in our Lord's response to his sinful, unbelieving disciples. There is
not a word of anger, not a threat of punishment, or a hint of disgust. He
simply asked them two questions, not to hurt them, but to help them. "Why
are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?"
A. Let all the world know that the Son of God is full of
mercy, love and grace.
His sinful
disciples prove it!
B. Let all the world know that
Jesus Christ will never cast off his people because of their sins.
His
grace is immutable!
He
does not charge his own with sin!
He
will not deal with us upon the basis of our sins!
C. Let all who profess faith in his name follow the example
of Christ (Eph.
Be
gentle with young believers.
Be
gentle with weak believers.
Be
gentle with fallen believers.
Be
gentle with inconsistent believers.
Be
gentle with old believers.
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Application:
Carry this story
home with you. Meditate upon it. And ask God the Holy Spirit to graciously seal
these five lessons to your heart.
1. Following Christ will not shield us from the storms of
life.
2. Our Divine Savior is a real man.
3. There is much evil and sin in the strongest believers.
4. The Lord Jesus Christ has the power to calm your storm.
5. Our great Savior is a very tender Master.
May
God give us grace to trust him in all things.
May
God give us grace to follow our Lord's example.
AMEN!