Preached Sunday, June 22, 2014 from Esther 5-7
Theme: We never need to panic in the storms of life if we go through them with Jesus.
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
Over the past while, we have been studying together from the book of Esther. And from it, we have been learning a lot about the fact of God’s sovereignty over the circumstances of life; and how He providentially directs those circumstances so that they bring about His good purposes for His people.
The sovereignty of God is, I believe, a truly life-directing doctrine. It’s something that should impact every area of our lives. But if we’re not careful, we may treat it as nothing more than a doctrine; and actually fail to apply it practically as we should. And so, I thought it might be good to take a brief break and think about how to put the the doctrine of God’s sovereign providence—which we’re learning so much about in Esther—into practical application. To do that, I ask that you turn with me this morning to Mark 4:35-41.
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Mark tells us of a very busy day that occurred in the live of our Lord and His disciples, as He taught the masses by the Sea of Galilee. He writes;
On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!” (Mark 4:35-41).
I love this story. And I believe that the message of encouragement that we’re meant to we draw from it is simply this: No matter what may happen in the storms of life—whether in terms of the uncontrollable world events that may occur around us, or the unexpected challenges that may fall into our personal lives and into the lives of those we love—we will never need to panic if we make it our commitment keep our focus on Jesus. He is, after all, the Master of the sea.
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Isn’t it interesting how often, in reading the Gospels, that we seem to encounter stories that involve a boat out in the midst of a violent storm? I’ve never had that experience. But I’ve talked to someone who has. They tell me it’s truly terrifying; because it’s a potentially deadly situation over which you have absolutely no control whatsoever.
In Psalm 107:23-32, we find a situation that almost seems to anticipate this miraculous story of our Lord. The words of this psalm, in fact, seem to me to be almost prophetic! Even so, it makes me a little sea-sick when I read what it says.
Those who go down to the sea in ships,
Who do business on great waters,
They see the works of the LORD,
And His wonders in the deep.
For He commands and raises the stormy wind,
Which lifts up the waves of the sea.
They mount up to the heavens,
They go down again to the depths;
Their soul melts because of trouble.
They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man,
And are at their wits’ end.
Then they cry out to the LORD in their trouble,
And He brings them out of their distresses.
He calms the storm,
So that its waves are still.
Then they are glad because they are quiet;
So He guides them to their desired haven.
Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people,
And praise Him in the company of the elders (Psalm 107:23-32).
Praise God that the wind and the waves are under His control! He truly is the Master of the sea. But because they’re not in any way under our control, it can be a terrifying thing to be tossed around in the midst of them. I think that a boat tossed around in the midst of the storm, then, is a perfect way to describe some of the trying situations of life in which you and I sometimes find ourselves.
I’m not talking here, of course, about situations in which we have some measure of influence on the outcome. If we’re doing something wrong and are suffering for it, for example, we can often make things better by simply obeying God and doing what is right. Or, if we have the foresight to see that something disastrous is about to happen, it may be that we have the capacity to take preventative measures and avoid trouble. But I’m not talking about that kind of situation.
Instead, I’m talking about the kind of situation over which you and I have absolutely no control whatsoever! I’m talking about those times when something arises that completely overwhelms us—something that tosses us around, and threatens to destroy us; and that we literally cannot do anything to bring it to an end, or influence its outcome. Like the psalmist says, our “soul melts because of trouble”, and we “reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man”, and we’re at our “wit’s end”. From a human standpoint, we are completely at the mercy of circumstances in such times—like a helpless boat tossed about in a storm.
Perhaps you’ve been in such a situation before. Perhaps you feel like you’re in one now. Or perhaps you’ll find yourself in such a situation soon. But I believe this morning’s passage gives us good news. If those situations come upon us, we won’t ever have to panic—so long as we keep our focus on the Lord Jesus—the Master of the sea!
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So; let’s look a little more closely at this passage.
To begin, I can just imagine someone asking, “What does it mean that Jesus was asleep in the boat in the midst of this terrible storm?” And I have a good answer for that. It was because He was very, very tired.
Look just a little ways backward in the fourth chapter of Mark’s Gospel, and you’ll see that it begins by telling us that Jesus “began to teach by the sea”. As it turned out, so many people had gathered around Him that he couldn’t even stand on the shore any longer. So, He got into a boat, pushed out into the Sea of Galilee, and taught people as they stood along the shore.
That’s one of the most endearing pictures we have as Christians of our Lord’s ministry on earth, isn’t it?—to imagine Him teaching the multitudes from a boat in the sea? And what a day of teaching it was! It was a time in which He taught them many of the parables we have grown to love—the parable of the sower and the different soils; the parable of the lamp under a basket; the parable of the seed that grew up overnight; the parable of the mustard seed. And what’s more, He often met alone with His disciples and explained everything to them personally. This, then, was a day of legendary teaching! And good teaching is exhausting work—especially when there are lots of people involved.
Our Lord was always about the Father’s business—whether it was healing people, or traveling, or ministering to individual needs, or preaching to great crowds. And so, at the end of this very busy day, “when evening had come”, He pulled His disciples close to Him and said, “Let us cross over to the other side.” (This, I believe, was because He had an appointment to keep the next day with the demon-possessed man in the country of the Gadarenes—but that’s in chapter five; and we should save that story for another time.)
Jesus was already in a boat teaching the people; and it would seem that He just remained in the boat and they set off “in the boat as He was”. And so, they left the multitudes along the shore and made their way to the other side of Galilee in the evening. And we’re told that “other little boats were also with Him”—which lets you know that the boat Jesus was in was also a little one.
Now; you might be tempted to think that, in the course of following the Lord Jesus, you’d never run into trouble. But if you follow Jesus for any length of time at all, it really doesn’t take long before you discover that that’s not true. The disciples were there with Jesus, right after a day of great ministry, when “a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling”. These were experienced fishermen. They knew what this could mean. It would be bad enough for the boat to begin to fill when the waters were calm; but for the boat to begin to fill with water in the midst of such a storm would—ordinarily—meant death! But the Lord Jesus—as if nothing was going on at all—”was in the stern, asleep on a pillow”. We’re told that the disciples “awoke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?'”
Now; stop for a moment. Have you ever cried out to God like that in the midst of one of life’s storms? Perhaps a terrible financial situation had fallen upon you. Perhaps you heard something serious from the doctor. Perhaps a tragedy struck your family, and you were utterly unprepared for it. Or perhaps you’re already at the end of your rope because of the multitude of life’s demands, and just one more thing came along than you had the physical or emotional resources to endure. Have you ever felt like crying out like they did? “Lord! Can’t You see what’s going on? Are You asleep? Don’t you care that I’m perishing?”
I believe our temptation to respond in that way is what helps define such times as the ‘storms’ of life. They are situations of crisis over which we have no control. We’re absolutely at the mercy of the circumstances and can do nothing in our own power to change them. And let’s be honest; we often do exactly what the disciples did—cry out to God in a state of panic and say, “God! Don’t you care?”
But the Lord Jesus does care. Look at what He did for those disciples. We’re told that “He arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” Actually, what He said was a bit stronger than that. He actually said, “Be quiet! Be muzzled!” Can you picture Him rising up from the pillow—perhaps with His hand out to the wind and the waves—shouting orders to the weather? And what’s remarkable is that the wind and the waves did exactly as He said. One word from Him, and the storm was over. In fact, we’re told that “there was a great calm”. The same word that was used to describe the windstorm was also used to describe the calm that came afterward—”great”. Ordinarily, even when a strong wind at sea dies down, the waves will be in motion for a while. But in this case, the waves came to an immediate and great stillness as soon as He gave the command. No one could fail to see that it was because He gave the orders!
And as soon as He rebuked the wind and the waves, He then turned to rebuke His disciples. “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” And once again, this passage surprises us. You would think that the disciples would then have been relieved. You would have thought that their great fear would be replaced by a great calm that was like the calm all around them. But no. They were Even more afraid after the storm was calmed than they were when it was raging! They “feared exceedingly”—or, as it has it in the original language, “they feared with a great fear”. And this time, they weren’t afraid of the weather. They were afraid of this Man sitting in the boat with them who could command the weather! “Who can this be,” they said, “that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
Who indeed? The Son of God—the Master of the sea who can command the wind, and the waves, and even all the circumstances of our lives that seem so out of our control. As someone has well said, “Fear Him as you should—and you’ll never need to fear anything else!”
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Now; what I believe this passage has to tell us is that no matter what the circumstances, no matter what the storms in life may be that toss our boat, we will never need to panic if we keep our focus on Jesus.
I suggest we should begin with what the disciples learned at the end. They held the Lord Jesus in an attitude of reverential awe and fear. They saw that He merely stood up, spoke a word of rebuke to the wind and the waves, and the wind and the waves obeyed. One word from Him, and a great tempest became a great calm. When it was all over, they said, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the waves obey Him!”—or, as some have translated it, “What kind of man is this?”
And I put it to you that we will never need to be in a state of panic in the storms of life . . .
1. IF WE REMEMBER THAT JESUS’ HAS COMPLETE AUTHORITY OVER THEM.
The reason the wind and the waves obeyed Him was because of who He is. He is the Son of God; and nothing is ever outside of His sovereign authority.
Think for a moment of the attitude the apostle Paul had in the book of Philippians. He wrote that wonderful New Testament letter, as you may know, while he was in a prison cell somewhere. He wasn’t entirely sure whether he would be released or executed. But he wasn’t in panic or despair over it. He could accept what happened either way. He was absolutely confident in the sovereignty of His Lord. His fellow Christians in Philippi were also suffering a “storm” of their own—a trial of persecution. But just think of the confidence he had as he wrote to them of his own experience; and told them,
For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith, that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again (Philippians 1:19-26).
And he went on to urge his Christian friends to have the same confidence in the sovereign Lord while in the midst of their “stormy experiences”:
Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God. For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me (vv. 27-30).
When things are out of our control, we only panic if we get our eyes off of the One who truly is in control!
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Now; it has always been fascinating to me to think of what it was that caused the Lord to rebuke His disciples. I certainly don’t believe it was because they woke Him up! But I don’t believe that it was because they were upset from being in a storm either. Our Lord certainly understands it when we have times when we’re fearful. And I most certainly don’t believe it was because they cried out to Him. In fact, I believe the Lord would want us to cry out to Him more often than we do! Rather, I believe what upset the Lord was the misplaced focus they had when they came to Him. They said something that it’s never good to say to the Lord Jesus—”Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
Do you remember that there was another time in the Bible when someone said such a thing to Jesus? Do you remember the story of Martha and her sister Mary? Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus—listening to Him teach. Martha, on the other hand, was busy in the kitchen—trying to prepare a meal for everyone. Martha was worried and bothered about it all. She was in a bit of a dither. And she came to Jesus and—in very similar words—dared to say, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?” (Luke 10:40).
When we’re in a state of panic over our circumstances, dear brothers and sisters, we should never say “Lord, don’t You care? Don’t You care that I’m going through this? Don’t You care that I have to do this or that? Don’t You care that I’m suffering?” Of course He cares! What a terrible thing it is to suggest that He doesn’t care! It’s an expression of having turned our focus off of Him and on to the circumstances. And I believe that’s why the Lord rebuked them as He did.
Do you notice that He didn’t say to the disciples, “Why are you so fearful? Don’t you know you’re in a very reliable little boat? Don’t you know that the wind will not blow strong enough to capsize it? And don’t you see that there are other small boats here? If you fall out of one, you can just swim to another. You’re in tough circumstances; but don’t you see the good points about your circumstances? Why can’t you think positive?” Instead, He first calms the wind and the waves—as if to show them what He can do; and then brings the matter back to His own sovereign power over the circumstances. “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” They forgot, in the midst of their circumstances, who it was that was that they should have been focusing on.
This should remind us that, in the midst of the storms of life, Jesus’ concern is never the storm itself. His concern is for our trust in Him. And it teaches us that we will never need to panic when we’re in the midst of the storms of life . . .
2. IF WE PAY ATTENTION TO JESUS’ CONCER FOR OUR TRUST IN HIM WHILE WE’RE IN THEM.
Perhaps you’ll remember another “boat in the storm” story. It was the one in which Jesus came walking to the disciples as they were rowing against the wind and the waves—trying frustratingly to get to the other side of the sea. They were terrified when they saw Him; but He told them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid” (Matthew 14:27).
Do you remember how Peter said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” So Jesus told Him to come; and he stepped out and walked on the water to Him. But the Bible tells us that
when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God” (vv. 30-33).
I suggest that we can walk on the waves above the storms of life—where Jesus Himself is—if we will commit to keep our eyes on Him by faith. But the moment we take our main focus off of Him, and put it on our circumstances instead, we will begin to sink under them.
How much better it would be if, in the midst of the storm, we run to Him and say, “Truly, Lord Jesus, You are the Son of God! Truly, You are the Master of the sea—and I trust You to be my Captain!” That would be exercising faith in Him—and that would be paying attention to the thing that He is most concerned to see in us.
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Now; there’s one more thing to think about. And to me, it’s fascinating. In the midst of this horrible storm—while the disciples were running about in a panic—the Lord “was in the stern, asleep on a pillow.”
I wonder what would have happened if one of the disciples had taken careful notice of that fact; and said, “Hey fellas; I know this all looks scary, but maybe there’s nothing to worry about after all. Look at the Lord. He’s asleep. He doesn’t seem worried. Maybe we shouldn’t be worried either.” This reminds us that we will never need to be in a panic in the midst of the storms of life . . .
3. IF WE EMBRACE JESUS’ OWN ATTITUDE TOWARD THEM.
Now; we need to be careful. That’s not to suggest that we should just adopt a ‘calm’ and ‘cool’ attitude about things in the power of the flesh. That would never do any good. The only justifiable reason we could have an attitude of peace would be because of the other things we’ve talked about in this passage. And if those other things are in their proper place in our hearts, then how wonderful that we can stop in the midst of our trials, look to our beloved Lord Jesus—the Son of God who exercises sovereign control over all things—sit as it were at His feet, learn from Him what His attitude is in it all, and be as much at peace about it all as He is.
When Jesus faced the terrors of the cross, He was calm and courageous. And before He went to the cross, He said,
“Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:32-33).
The Lord Jesus even gives us His own attitude of peace as an enabling and empowering gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, if we will simply accept it and rest in it. The Bible tells us that the fruit of the Holy Spirit is “peace” (Galatians 5:22); and that fruit is the peace of the Lord Himself. He told His disciples that night;
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).
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So, dear brothers and sisters; even though we don’t know in advance what trials or difficult circumstances may come our way, we won’t ever need to be in a panic about them. Even if we enter into the midst of very stormy times, those storms will never be stronger than our Lord, the Master of the sea. He is absolutely sovereign over the winds and the waves. He seeks that we keep our focus on Him by faith—and not on the circumstances themselves. And He invites us to partake of His own peace while He brings about His own glory through them.