11-04-07 #Disciple Bible Study Titled: Series 3 "The Other Side" "Who Is This?"

[Disciple]

“THE OTHER SIDE”
#3-“Who Is This?”
Mark 4:39-41

Intro

In the previous two messages of this series we have talked about going to the other side.

In the first message I asked you three questions. What will you leave behind? What will you take with you? What kind of impact will you make?

In the second message we looked at the sleeping Savior. We saw that when the crisis time came the Savior was close by and he had the power to overcome the storm.

In this message tonight one of the focuses is on the fear of the disciples. They are fearful for their very lives. Most of us would think the fear of the disciples is quite understandable. But not that Jesus doesn’t agree with us here- “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith.

Ill- John Ortberg in his book, ‘If You Want To Walk On Water, You’ve Got To Get Out Of The Boat’, talks about fear. He says that one of the most oft repeated phrases in Scripture is “Fear not” he goes on to say that he believes the reason this is so often repeated is that fear is the number one reason people are tempted to not do what God asks us to do.

Ill- Have you ever been afraid and yet not really know or understand your fear- the 82nd Airborne Rangers train at Ft. Bragg, NC- the division commanding general was inspecting the paratrooper trainees and he come to a tall, lanky farm boy- the recruit was standing proudly at attention, his jump wings and boots shined perfectly- the general spotted a loose thread and scowled- he said, “Trooper, your fatigue jacket is frayed.’- the young recruit was upset and yelled back at the general, “Sir, beggin’ your pardon, Sir, but this here airborne jacket ain’t ‘fraid a-nothing...Sir”

Do you have fears today that you are allowing to keep you from doing what the Lord wants you to do? The Lord is calling you to come to him so he can save you, but you have a fear that you might not be able to make it, so you are refusing the Lord. The Lord is calling you to go to the other side in your personal walk with him and stretch your faith, but you’re afraid because you don’t know if you want to pay the cost. The Lord is calling to take your commitment to the next level- start attending more of the church services- increase your giving to giving 10% (a tithe) to develop a deeper prayer life-to use the talent and gift he has given you

After Jesus miraculously calms the storm the disciples have another fear. It comes in the sense of awe and wonder—They ask ‘who is this?’ This is a question that we need to ask and answer in our lives. When you come to really know who Jesus is, our view of him, ourselves and other people changes. So let’s note some answers to this question, ‘Who is this?’

I. A Powerful God

We are reminded of the great power demonstrated by our Lord that night. This was a very severe storm that arose on the Sea of Galilee. And keep in mind who was in the boat, these are experienced fishermen. These are men who have no doubt been through all kinds of storms at sea and they had never seen anything like this.

Jesus speaks to the elements and they obey his words

What a great and powerful miracle Jesus performed that night. You do realize that Jesus is here doing what is proverbially impossible. He speaks to the wind and the waves and they obey him- Jesus turns a raging storm into a calm with just a few words, ‘Quiet! Be Still!’

Ill- Yet many are skeptical of the miraculous- little Danny came out of the Sunday School with a wild excitement- he was trying to find his mom or his dad- he finally saw his dad and rant to him- grabbing his arm he said, “Man, that story of Moses and all those people crossing the Red Sea was great!” his dad said, “Well, tell me about it”- Danny started, “Well, the Israelites got out of Egypt, but Pharoah and his army chased them- so the Jews ran as fast as they could until they got to the Red Sea- the Egyptian army was getting closer and closer- so Moses got on his walkie-talkie and told the Israeli Air Force to bomb the Egyptians-while that was happening the Israeli Navy built a pontoon bridge so the Jews could cross the Sea and they made it”- dad said, “Is that the way they told you the story”- and Danny said, “Well, not exactly, but if I told you the way they told it to us, you’d never believe it, Dad.”

With Jesus Christ there is nothing that is impossible. Do you really believe that today? There are no stormy passions too strong for Jesus to tame. There is no language so vile and foul that Jesus cannot sweeten it. There are no tempers so rough and violent that Jesus cannot change them. There are no habits so disgusting that Jesus cannot take them away. If the Lord Jesus Christ can speak to the wind and the waves and they obey his word, can you imagine what he can do in your life, if you will only submit to him and his will?

Jesus is a powerful God who wants to deliver you from the storms of your life-

1 John 4:4

When you are in Christ and you really know who he is you have his power working in you and you have overcome



II. A Patient God

Have you ever messed up on the job?

Has someone ever lost all patience with you because you messed up? Have you ever lost patience with someone because they failed in some way?

Here we have the example of twelve men who really messed up. And the bad thing about their failure is that these guys should have known better- They had been with Jesus- they had seen Jesus doing miracles. They had watched as Jesus cast out demons- they watched as he healed the sick- they knew about how God loved and cared for them. But now when they are put to the test in this storm, they have forgotten about the miracles- they’ve forgotten how much he cares.


Mark 4:38

They’re thinking only of the present danger. This shows us how faith and fear are incompatible. You cannot have both fear and faith, one dispels the other. The disciples are afraid and their faith is gone

We need to note how Jesus responds to these men and their failure. The Lord deals with them gently, he has tender mercy for them. He makes not threats of casting them out because of their failure, he doesn’t rebuke them strongly. Instead he asks the touching questions, ‘Why are you so afraid?’ ‘Do you still have no faith?’

In this place today are a lot of people who have failed. There are a lot of people here today who have fears, including me. But let’s consider how the Lord feels about us and what he has done.

Ps. 103: 12-14

John 6:37

1 John 1:9

The Lord knows all about your failures. He knows all of your fears. He is aware of every weakness you have, he knows all of the defects of your faith. And in spite of his knowledge about us, he loves and he is patient with us and he will not throw us away.

And why is the Lord so patient with us?

2 Pet. 3:9

He is patient because he wants to save you from sin and death

III. A Providing God

Some may think that Jesus is rebuking the disciples when he asks them ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’ I see in these words a teaching and an encouragement from Jesus. He is trying to keep them from making the same mistake again.

The answer to their need is right there in the boat with them. Jesus is able to provide the safety and the deliverance that they need. In fact, can you see through the Scripture that all they needed was in the boat with them all the time? Jesus was right there, he had never left them. But in their fear they had forgotten that Jesus was all they needed. So many times in our lives when we encounter difficulties and storms we also forget that Jesus is all we need.

We can trust the Lord to take care of our needs.

Phil. 4:19

2 Pet. 1:3

The disciples failed to really know who Jesus was and so they were afraid. We need to come to know Jesus as he really is, the Son of God who not only wants to forgive our sins but also wants to provide for our needs, do not let your fears override and overrule your faith

Ill- Dr. Stanley Jones has written the following- “I am inwardly fashioned for faith, not for fear. Fear is not my native land; faith is. I am so made in the machinery of life; faith is the oil. I live better by faith and confidence than by fear, doubt and anxiety. In anxiety and worry, my being is gasping for breath- these are not my native air. But in faith and confidence, I breathe freely- these are my native air. A Johns Hopkins doctor says, “We do not know why it is that worriers die sooner than the non-worriers, but that is a fact.” But I, who am simple of mind, think I know; we are inwardly constructed in nerve and tissue, brain cell and soul, for faith and not for fear. God made us that way. To live by worry is to live against reality.”

Conc.

He was a professional thief, his name stirred fear. He terrorized the Wells Fargo stage line for 13 years- from 1875 to 1883 he is credited with stealing bags from 29 different stagecoach crews and he did it all without firing a single shot. His reputation was the only weapon he needed- a hood hid his face- no victim ever saw his face- his name, Black Bart.
Fear has kept many of us from experiencing all that God wants for us and has for us. We can compile a long list of our fears, fear of death, fear of failure, fear of tomorrow. We cower, fearful, without joy and peace. Our enemy wants to keep up in fear- but Jesus says to us ‘do not be afraid’ – we don’t have to live in fear.
By the way, as it turns out, Black Bart wasn’t anyone to be afraid of either. When
Black Bart finally was captured, they found that he was a mild-mannered druggist from Decatur, Illinois. He always went to his robberies in a buggy because he was so afraid of horses he couldn’t get on one- his name was Charles E. Boles- the great bandit who never fired a shot, because he never once loaded his gun-

Are you fearful? Are you letting your fear of failing keep you from answering God’s call on your life? Come to the Lord and you will discover that Jesus is a God of great power to overcome what scares you- he is a God of great patience who will be gentle and tender with you. He is a God who will provide your every need because he really wants you to make it

Will you come to the Lord today?