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April 15, 2022 12:00 am
When Jesus essentially asked his followers, “Are you listening to me?”, He was serious. And to prove His point, Jesus gives his disciples a test. Will they still trust Jesus when hope seems lost, and Jesus is asleep? If you’ve ever felt like Jesus is sleeping when you’re struggling, if you’ve ever found your faith lacking, take heart from two lessons we learn from Jesus on the Sea of Galilee.
This song from Psalm 89 memorized in the connected thoughts is great messianic slob who is as mighty as you will you will the raging sea when its waves rise, you still got there, God rules the wires in the still that way.
What Jesus just must be this Messiah's creator God test would they still trust Jesus went hope seemed lost. What if they were in a crisis. But Jesus was asleep with a still trust him.
If you've ever felt like Jesus was sleeping when you were struggling, or if you ever found your faith lacking.
You'll take heart from today's message.
There are two lessons for you to learn from Jesus on the Sea of Galilee. This message is called when your boat starts to sink here. Stephen, my favorite devotional offers. Now with the Lord by the name of war.
Where's the rights academic truth doesn't change our lives.
Active truth does. It's one thing to learn some new biblical truth, but another to put it into practice through truth you learn must become truth you live one of the best times to discover if if you're really living what you're learning is when something unexpected happens in life you can call those unexpected events, spiritual pop quizzes that take place just like in class when you're in school when the teacher finds out if you were listening or doing your your reading assignment.
Teacher suddenly announces everybody put your book on the floor and take out a sheet of paper and terror strikes your heart so you as slowly as possible lower that book to the floor turn to that page of the assigned reading, and as we learn this skimmer fast speed read and then you take that quiz you can feel the tension rising, but your books down to got a piece of paper slowly after that season of unexpected events happen in the lives of the disciples, by the way they been listening to Jesus preach for several hours and during his sermon he has repeatedly asked the question, are you listening he let his ears to hear, let them hear that's a nice way of saying are you listening or is it going and want air and out the other but if you were here last towards day when I told the story the preacher shut the box in the boat within one year. Yeah you enjoyed that, that you are way too much fact, a couple of days ago I got a picture from a guy watch the sermon evidently from another state and he's posing beside a bucket just shot any road underneath it. The bullet went in one ear and out the other. I love it when the main point of my sermon is so memorable, but that really really want us. The main point is the audience that Jesus really listen is the message taking Jesus is been preaching several parables from a little fishing boat. They pushed it off shore just a few feet and is using that boat is pulpit is probably the largest crowd.
He will preach to Dave sort of huddled there in mass on the seashore. The gospel of Mark informs us that this day is coming to a close and now Jesus wants to get to the other side of the lake. He's going to deliver. We call about the madman of that there will get their next study, but that's where he wants to go, so he finishes preaching and he says farewell to the multitude they push away from the shore and head out across the lake.
Now think they don't know it yet. But Jesus is about to give them a pop quiz.
He's about to take them into an unexpected event to find out if they been listening, so let's watch it happen. Go to Luke's gospel now were in chapter 8, and we've arrived at verse 22 Luke chapter 8 verse 22. The Bible says one day he got into a boat look just sort of condenses it into one event, he got into a boat with his disciples and he said to them let us go across to the other side of the lake so they set out the Sea of Galilee is in mine here. It's only about 13 miles long, 7 miles wide. This is this is how to several of these disciples. They know this lake like the back of their hand and you'll notice Jesus said, let let's go to the other side and keep in mind he didn't say let's let's go to the middle of the lake and drown. He said let's go to the other side were the even listening to that number 23 gives us the interesting perspective here as they sailed he fell asleep his exhausted.
He is, he's eternally divine and yet at the same time entirely human because hungry he gets thirsty he suffers pain, stiff joints, weariness, the need for a nap. And by the way, Jesus is not faking this and that is not lying there with one eye open in essay I want to watch the guys respond to this note.
He's out he's out is not protected. He really is one that he really does feel our infirmities because he was fully human.
Hebrews 415 delegates account gives us one of the most interesting displays that I wanted to quickly hear of his two natures human and divine human nature, though unfallen sinless and divine so his physical weariness. Here is a picture of his manhood ever going to see a picture of his omnipotence is divine influence over nature. So here we have in this text and insight into his incarnation in a moment is this is still the storm with the display of divine power, but first he's asleep in a weary body, one author writes of this tax weakness and omnipotence do not clash that coalesce in perfect harmony with the Mr. verse 23, get in a windstorm came down on the lake and they were filling with water and were in in danger we stopping tell you that every time the fishermen got into a boat on this lake. They knew the risk this this lake was 700 feet nearly 700 feet below sea level, surrounded by mountains and they they create these. These were themes created finals, as it were, were that Eric would rush down those mountainsides and onto this this lake that cold air rushing down.
I would collide with the warm air on display and it would create hurricane conditions are really without warning every time they got into a boat on this like they knew that Matthew's gospel accounts. You compare it says the boat was covered with way. Mark's gospel account lets us know that in no time. There boat is small I have in Israel seen the remnants of one of these typical first century fishing vessels that was really surprised. Hopefully report remarkably preserved.
I couldn't believe how small it was.
How primitive the construction I would not have gotten that boat to go across the swimming pool at the YMCA.
Frankly, I can imagine that on the lake.
Then there don't get this picture they're not out here on the Mayflower. There out here in a glorified robot glorified new it's writing hello you got all these men here there caught unexpectedly in the night in hurricane conditions and it's all it's almost surprised to Jesus is asleep. By the way, that's what we tend to think he's doing when were out in the middle of our storm.
He must be asleep. We would say that aloud certainly in church, but we pray like he needs waking up like you need some details that evidently he's overlooking. Or maybe he doesn't know what were going through. I mean, the Bible says that he knows every sparrow that falls to the ground so maybe he's so busy counting you thousands of sparrows that are dying.
He doesn't realize were about to maybe worse yet he knows but he didn't care. He doesn't care if I can in Mark's account. That's exactly what the disciples say to him master do you not care. We are perishing. They said hello. Do you not care is easy to criticize the disciples and in a nice comfortable room like this for failing this pop quiz in hours or fade their trials, but what's our faith and trust doing in the unexpected, difficult, dangerous, painful, life-threatening situations of life Lord, do you know are you aware do you even care is of the haunting words of the poet. Inspired by this text. He writes does anybody know where the love of God goes when the waves turned minutes for two hours. Finally in desperation.
Verse 24 says and they went and woke him saying master master. We are perishing birds were as good as dead here and he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves and they ceased, and there was a call that only point out a couple keywords here, although there was a tremendous amount of superstition in rabbinical teaching the binary storm is a devil or demon in in on this occasion it may very well been true.
Satan may very well have been behind this. He may been at work.
That's because the word of rebuke is the word the Lord uses every time he encountered a demon in the gospel of Luke. It's quite possible when I told her sure, but it's quite possible that Satan wanted either to destroy the disciples or or perhaps at least hinder Jesus from getting to the other side, while where that man needed deliverance.
One author put it this way that this work for rebuke is the perfect word to describe an authority figure, bringing a subordinate back in the line that's that's the word here. You don't you don't rebuke an inanimate. They don't have a mind you'll get onto the wind or the way so the indication here. Is there something going on behind the other gospel accounts tell us that Jesus stood and they actually give us his words and he says, be still, literally, you could rendering harsh muscle stop. It and the response is immediate, that the tense of the verb is for this response means that the wind immediately stops blowing Jesus effectively says to the waves play dead and like an obedient dog immediately lies there to get the picture here.
The disciples in this little boat. These storms will create waves some 20 feet high and there's another 20 footer coming to work there and they crouched down and they cover their heads in their arms. But then I wait doesn't crash over them. They looked up in the sea is like glass. Everything is immediately still with us when somebody took the paddle over here in the baptistery again God in their you know sloshed around them and moved all around the water. All moving and then we all set. Stop that water would remain moving for some time, but not here. If we had somebody turn off the air conditioner in here because we evidently do not believe in heat in the winter, but even when it's turned off to take a while to feel it moving right now. The miracle of this is it just that the storm is gone. The miracle includes everything settles like that see's now verse 25 the Lord looks at them and said to them where's your faith. Now I give you this perspective here. This is a gracious response. First of all I just awakened from a nap. How gracious are you, what we will go there, but it any rate, he's gracious.
After he gets and doesn't scold them. He doesn't say you okay you flunk this quiz faith 101 start over. No, he just he just asked them what your faith go not you have any but when you go see the problem with the unexpected test in life isn't that Jesus goes missing our trust in Jesus goes missing. The problem isn't that Jesus stops looking after us.
The problem is we stop looking unto Jesus without response, the Lord is going to allow the disciples to marvel not at their lack of faith but at the demonstration of his power.
Verse 25,000, and they were afraid that is in all marveling saying to one another, who then is this seems of like this yet then is this, that he commands even when Zen water and they obey him. 11 every time I read this verse on convicted all over again that the wind and the waves are better disciples than immediately to see if they recognize the voice of their Creator and immediately obeyed. That's the challenge is one of the reasons the Lord gives us pop quizzes along the path to show us where we need to begin learning, listening and living so let's listen. Let's learn and let's prove that we did by the way we live only wrap it up with a couple of thoughts that I want to make hereby waive application first.
The Lord uses desperate situations to demonstrate his deity in rightly that's a week catching most clearly we miss his care and power in the normal events of of lifelike I can't help but wonder if somebody in the boat had this song from Psalm 89 memorized and they connected the dots. This great messianic Psalm who is as mighty as you oh Lord, you rule the raging sea when it's waves rise, you still did anybody connect the dots. There, God rules the way that he can still that way. What Jesus just did while he must be this Messiah's creator God. I don't misunderstand. Here Jesus doesn't always quiet the storms of life. Most of these men are going to die as martyrs see Jesus doesn't eliminate every storm, but he guarantees his presence in every storm. He might not call the waves and the wind but is able to call our hearts.
The Lord uses desperate situations to demonstrate his deity. Secondly, the Lord uses desperate situations to develop his his disciples. As I read I read this account and you know what I wonder. I wonder why the disciples didn't wake Jesus up 15 minutes earlier.
I mean, why did he wait when I told why that didn't mean I can't guess. Could it be that they waited until the last minute because of the obvious it's it's obvious. Many of them were fishermen. They knew this like did experience storms before this was their turf. There's likely saying we got this Jesus sleep. Maybe one or two of them might've thought.
We don't know, maybe they thought you Jesus is the carpentry and spent a lot of time on the lake.
We know boat worked with his hands with wood, stone, so were on our turf unit J John water were working to get through this until they realize they can't dictate the tense of the verb indicates that it is at that point, when they're sure they are going to die, but they wake him up white.
They wait so long.
Here's here's what I think the Lord is doing. Jesus is taking them to the place of their competency to teach them to trust in his sufficiency without me.
Jesus is you can do a few things.
You're good at away without me you can do what nothing gonna take you to the place where you've got it button down laser rearing control these things over here are probably not that thing take you right in the middle of that thing swamps. The boat so that we learn to trust in his sufficiency. Don't miss the graciousness of the Lord here there with his disciples just like he is with you and me when they woke him up and they said were dead were going to die.
Did you notice that Jesus does not tell them to come back later when they have a little more courage to let me keep sleeping and and and you need to go work on your want versus you brush up on your you're forgetting some basic stuff way I can have your faith is stronger then come to know it into the come to meet your weakest point and moment in the Lord gets up and he graciously intervenes and then uses it as an opportunity to not only reveal who he is with who they need to become as they can listen and learn and live some this one or two more things that are obvious in if if you happen to be in a boat like the disciples, and you probably are right now some unexpected trial tragedy difficulty some sorrow something painful when your boat starts to sink.
Here's the obvious go to Jesus. I mean is so obvious we miss it and only 50 minutes longer go to Jesus little songs is telling all about your trouble, your anxiety, your fears dead-end. You can even take that implied accusation that he must not care about you or you would not be in the Sphinx can handle he did with he must not care until Lord we are perishing that you don't care and what they learn. Dots that did occur to me that when he's an old man. One of these fishermen was out here by the name of Peter right casting all your care on you can do that. Why, because he cares does care always will for you. So glad you tuned in today. This is a nine part series and will be bringing you the rest of it in the days ahead. Wisdom for the heart is produced by wisdom international. If you're new to our ministry welcome were glad you found us here on your local Christian station Stephen Devi is our Bible teacher for these daily messages.
In addition, Stephen is also the president of shepherd's theological seminary Shepherd seminary is equipping and training pastors and Christian leaders for a lifetime of service, but even if you don't feel called to full-time Christian ministry, shepherd's theological seminary can equip you to better understand God's word. You can study online right where you live is also a very unique one year program where you can relocate to this area for a year. During that time you would study God's word experience authentic community growing discipleship take a trip to Israel and do some study there and earn your Masters degree in theological studies. You can do all of that in one year we had college students, participate right after college, but before entering the workforce we had retired people come into this program something like this sounds interesting to you, we'd like you to learn more if you navigate to our website and then scroll to the bottom of the page. There's a link to shepherd's theological seminary where you can learn will find us online at wisdom. Online.that's wisdom online.do that today.
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