The One in Control

But as we get into this passage today, and it's blowing my mind this week thinking about Jesus here,

let me tell you about my mobile phone provider.

And just so you know I'm not showing preference to mine, we'll just call them a phone voter, okay?

When I first signed on the dotted line with my mobile phone company,

I remember there was a big slogan emblazoned at the top,

and it just said, power to you.

And it stroked my ego, I remember thinking, yes, yes, love that, power to you.

Now, it was British writer Norman Douglas who famously said

that you can tell an ideals of a nation by its advertisements.

Take that in for a minute.

You can tell the ideals of a nation by its advertisements.

You see, here's the thing that I reckon my mobile phone provider and all the big companies have figured out pretty quickly about the human heart.

And it's this.

Particularly for us, I think, if we're living in the West today, we know this to be true.

It's that deep down, every single one of us on one level or another, we're all control freaks.

We want to have comfort cells in our world.

We want to have every base in our life covered.

And yet, despite all the bubble wrap that we try and put around ourselves,

we try and put around those that we love and the things that we care about,

how often does life, and I wonder if this was true for you last year,

as my American friends would say, how often does life curveball us?

In other words, things happen in our lives that we just don't see coming at all.

And whoever you are here today, if there's anything in your life right now,

as you think about the year past, as you think about the year to come,

if there's anything going on right now that makes you fearful,

and it makes you nervous and anxious,

then we need, our souls need, the man who's at the heart of this passage today.

Now, my one aim is to help us see that we can rest in the truth that we are not in control

when we embrace the one person who is in control.

Jesus Christ, this man who we'll see here is so totally committed to his people.

He's totally committed to you this morning, if your trust is in him.

He's totally committed to you.

And he's totally committed to teaching his people things about them and about him

in order that he would woo our hearts closer to who he is and trusting in him.

You see, the Jesus School of Faith has got many classrooms.

In the Gospels, as you read them, and as you read the early chapters of Mark,

as you get up to this point, you see Jesus, he teaches people

in everyday places through everyday things.

We see him at a well.

We see him in the grain fields.

We see him beside the sea.

We see him in the synagogue.

We see him walking with people.

But as well as many classrooms, the Jesus School of Faith has many crucibles.

They always say, don't you, that when you want to see what somebody really believes,

see how they respond in a moment of crisis.

Right?

Think of it, boys and girls, if you're like me in your bath.

Right?

Ines, do you take a bath at night?

No, you don't.

There you go.

Well, our girls take a bath at night.

And I'm always reminded of this every time I look in and I hold up the sponge.

The sponge.

Boys and girls, think about it.

How do you know what's in a sponge?

Or adults, think about it.

How do you know what it's absorbed?

How do you know what it's soaked up?

How do you know what it's taken in?

There's only one way to find out what's in a sponge.

It's what comes out when you squeeze it.

And that's exactly what happens to the disciples today, isn't it?

It struck me when I was reading this through.

I wonder if you've ever thought about this before.

That Jesus could easily have left the disciples on the shore,

given them a pair of binoculars,

and said, why don't you watch on from the shore while I calm the storm?

He could have done that, couldn't he, if you think about it?

But he takes them with him.

Why?

Because they are about to learn lessons in this boat,

and their character is about to be moulded in ways that it just wouldn't be otherwise.

So I've got three really quick invitations for us today,

and they're tied to the three questions that the people in the scene ask Jesus.

So come with me to verse 35, and let's get into this drama together.

And Jesus says, do you see verse 35 to his disciples?

He says, let's get into the boat and go over to the other side.

Now, do you see how the initiative is all of Jesus here?

It's important to see that the disciples didn't get lost at sea.

It's not like the sat-nav failed, or as once happened to Alex and I in a canoe,

a rudder gets stuck at the wrong angle and you can't go anywhere.

Jesus said, we're going from here and we're going to there.

He's initiated this whole encounter that's about to go down here.

From the get-go, do you see how Jesus is in complete control of this situation?

And at some point in the journey, they get caught up in this huge storm.

And in addition to the description of the furious squall,

and I just love that phrase,

when a storm is described as furious,

here's what convinces me this was a huge storm.

It's what the men in this boat did for a job.

So many of these guys are fishermen.

They always say, don't they, that when the professionals say don't panic,

you normally know that you don't need to panic.

I take it that's why they had Chris Whitty on our screens every single day

during the COVID pandemic saying, it's okay.

But see, when the professionals start panicking,

that's when you sit up and you pay attention, don't you?

Here are fishermen panicking.

And yet strangely, all this time, will they go into survival mode?

Do you see Jesus, verse 38, what's he doing?

And this is hugely profound in ways that I just hadn't really thought about before until this week.

What is he doing? He is sleeping.

Notice the eyewitness detail there.

He's sleeping, but he's sleeping on a cushion.

So they're drowning and he's napping.

And here's where we get our first question.

And it's from them to him, verse 38.

And I don't imagine they asked it quietly.

I don't imagine they asked it philosophically.

I imagine they screamed it and they say,

teacher, don't you care if we drown?

It's not so much a question as it's an accusation, isn't it?

Do you not care?

Do you really love us?

Why would you take us all the way out here only for this to happen?

Because remember that these are the same disciples that Mark has just told us at chapter 3

are the ones that Jesus has chosen to come and be with him.

And more than that, these are the disciples that are making the trip that Jesus told them to make.

So we can understand their question.

So here's the first thing I think the invitation that we need to see this passage makes to us.

Here's the first one.

Friends, never believe in a cold-hearted Jesus.

See, the very reason he's in the boat.

More than that, the very reason that he's in the world.

More than that, the very reason that this gospel will end with him going to the cross

and dying for them and rising again is because of his commitment to and love for them.

Now some commentators, I remember that I read, said of this scene,

what a ridiculous question for the disciples to ask.

I would just custard pie that thought and say it just strikes me as a very human question to ask.

I love, one of the things I love most about the Bible is it's filled with people who are just like me

and who lose it and who panic and who fret.

Jesus is sleeping while they're panicking.

You see, for Jesus to sleep, this is more than just that he was just tired.

Although being fully man, he is.

He's not sleeping because he's not panicking.

Now maybe you can think of it like this.

Boys and girls, I don't know where your bedroom is at home,

but our kids, their bedroom is upstairs.

And our bedroom is downstairs.

And one of the reasons for that is really simply so that those guys will sleep well at night.

Because they know if anybody comes into that house,

they have to go through us before they get to them.

And it's true, isn't it, of us as human beings.

We sleep best when we know we're safe.

Jesus here, as a full man, is showing us the perfect example of human trust in a sovereign God.

A sovereign God who remembers Psalm 121 that we read at the start.

A sovereign God who neither slumbers nor sleeps.

A sovereign God who is keeping his people.

Jesus doesn't sleep because he's trusting in the one who is in control of all things.

And as God, he's showing us that we can sleep because he's in control and he's not panicking.

In other words, to get to us, ultimately, death needs to get past him first to get to us.

I love this in the words of Charles Spurgeon.

He put it like this,

The sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which the child of God rests.

His head at night, giving perfect peace.

Dear friends, know that just because Jesus is seemingly inactive,

it doesn't mean that he's ceased to be the one who is holding the stars in place.

Just because he is seemingly inactive doesn't mean that he's ceased to be the one that is giving you and I breath

every single minute of every single day.

There is wonderful comfort for us to be found in a sleeping Savior.

Now, you might be here today and you're asking,

Why?

Why did something happen in my life?

How do I know this God cares?

Listen, let me lovingly just say to you,

there might be so many possible answers to that question.

Some of them might be to do with stuff that we've done.

Some of them might just be to do with the reality of the fact that we are living our lives

in a world that is east of Eden,

which is another way of saying in a world that is broken and is groaning

and is longing for its creator to renew it.

But among those possible answers,

if your trust is in this Jesus,

the answer cannot be

that he has dropped the ball.

The answer cannot be

that he doesn't love you.

And you say,

How can I know that?

Well, it's ultimately, isn't it,

that we can look to the place

that these disciples will look for their answer to that question.

Isn't that amazing when you read

the pastoral epistles particularly?

When you read John and Peter speaking,

two men that would have been in that boat,

when the topic comes up of

how do we know God loves us?

They don't say

God showed his love for us in this,

that while we were at sea,

he calmed it.

No, no, no.

They say,

How did God show his love among us?

He sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sin.

His precious blood covered all of our wrongs.

We can look ultimately today

to the same place that these disciples will look

for the ultimate answer to that question.

We look to the cross.

The place,

and we've got to see the bigger picture here,

the disciples understand

that how God showed his love to us

wasn't in just calming

our present situations.

No, no, no.

It was by dealing with our eternal security.

This Jesus is right now

at the Father's right hand

making intercession for us.

Friends, if you're struggling just now,

remember those two rights.

Right now, right hand.

That's where he is.

He is interceding for us.

He is representing us.

He is praying for us.

He is holding us.

And underscoring the gospel

is the affirmation that Jesus loves us.

But in the text,

you see how this same Jesus wakes.

And don't miss the utter absurdity

of what happens next.

Jesus doesn't grab a bucket

and join in the frantic bailing out of water.

That's what I would have expected him to do.

No, Jesus speaks to the sea.

Now take that in.

He speaks to the sea.

Is that not just plain strange?

If this fails,

then it is time for the men

with the white straitjacket

to come and collect this man.

He speaks to nature.

No hocus pocus,

no rhyme and riddle.

Jesus just utters three words.

Quiet, be still.

And the wind died down.

And the sea was completely calm.

See, the relationship

that Jesus has with creation

is the same as the one

that you and I have

with our Alexa.

Isn't it?

Alexa, play the best of the Beatles.

Alexa, what's the weather like tomorrow?

Alexa, what's the capital of Armenia?

We speak to Alexa

and Alexa does.

If you want to go for Siri,

you can have Siri as well.

We speak, it does.

What's going on here

is Jesus speaks and creation does

is that creation is really simply

recognizing the voice of its creator.

The headline on the Galilee News at 10

is that God's in the boat.

And taking the bigger Bible story here

in the same way that in Genesis 1

that God spoke and things happened,

here is Jesus,

the second person of the Godhead,

the one through whom all things were made,

and he's being true to form.

And maybe just another angle on this,

again, I've just not seen before

until I thought about it this week.

Maybe the sea in this day

is more than just the physical sea.

It represents evil.

And it's just this little foretaste that we get

that this same Jesus will,

one day,

he will make all things new.

One day when he returns,

he will speak

and evil will be banished.

And he will say,

not be still,

but he will say,

be gone.

And so we get the second question

and it's verse 40

and it comes from him to them.

He says,

why are you so afraid?

Do you still have no faith?

In other words,

your view of me

is still way too small.

And so here's the second invitation

that this passage makes to us today

is don't settle for a small scale Jesus.

In our heads and in our hearts,

do we end this year

with him in our minds

as just a slightly souped up,

better version of us?

Is he in our minds

like one of those lucky mascots

that we used to take into the exam hall

when we were young?

We'd rather have him on our team

than not on our team.

He calls his followers here

to replace faithless fear

with fearless faith.

And let me be clear

that this is not about us

upping our spiritual game for Jesus.

As good as many of the things

that we will plan to do this year,

probably we will talk about them

over the next 24 hours or so.

Bible in a year plan,

wonderful idea,

get involved in that.

Attending more things,

wonderful idea,

get more involved in that.

But this is not about us

upping our spiritual game for Jesus.

There's a man called Sam Albury.

I don't know if the quote on the screen,

apologies for that.

But he always said this

and it's just made such a profound

impact on my life.

He said,

we need to understand

that Christian maturity

in the Christian life

is not about realizing

that we need Jesus less.

It's about realizing

that we need Jesus more.

Wouldn't that be a wonderful thing

to pray this year?

Lord Jesus,

help me see that I need you more.

Have we settled

in our understanding

of who we think this man is?

Let me just say,

it's the thing about

the Christians over the years

who've made the biggest impact on me.

Do you know what it is about them

that connects them?

It isn't their sorted lives.

It wasn't their impressive lectures.

It wasn't and isn't

their spectacular gifts.

It's the people

who I can look at today

who are a lot older in life than me

and I can tell by the way

that they walk and they talk

that they've never stopped growing

and they've never stopped

learning things about Jesus

that blows their minds.

As we watch the disciples here

get a glimpse of Jesus' full glory

as they encounter him

in all his majesty,

let's never settle

for a small scale Jesus.

And so the third and final question

comes at verse 41

and it's from them to them.

They say to each other,

do you see,

who is this

that even the wind

and the waves

obey him?

And so here's the third invitation

really quickly

is not to miss out

on a life-giving Jesus.

For the question that they ask,

it's not only the big question

that dominates

the first half of Mark's gospel.

Let me just say

it's the biggest question

that any of us can ask in life

to do wrestle with,

to do battle with,

to get our heads around.

Who is this man?

Do you see at the start

how the disciples

are fearful of what's out there?

And at the end of this scene

they are fearful of what's

in the boat.

It's a lovely little fear contrast,

a fear swap, isn't it?

At the beginning of this scene

they are fearful of the storm.

Now at the end

they are fearful of Jesus.

And it's not a fear

that causes them

to run away and hide.

It's a fear

that compels them

to come close

and delight.

See, to fear God

is to be magnetically drawn in

like a paper clip

to a magnet

to savor the beauty

of our three-in-one God.

and to find yourself

in that place

where you can honestly say

that upon no one else

am I placing

the direction of my eyes

nor the affections of my heart.

And the Bible would say

that that place

is where true wisdom

is to be found.

The fear of the Lord.

As we wrap this up,

do you know

there will be so many times

this year, friends,

when you and I

will realize

that we are not in control.

Despite all the things

that the world sells us

and tells us,

we will not be in control.

There will be things

that will happen this year

that we will say

we just did not see that coming.

But we can trust the heart

of the one

who is in control

of all things.

The one who is so committed to us.

The one who loves us

so, so much.

And let's be like

the disciples here.

Let's allow the fear,

the fear

to gaze our eyes on

this Jesus.

You know, just as we close,

let me tell you

about one of my best friends.

His name is Hamish.

Studied with him at university

all the way through

for many years.

He remains to this day

one of my dearest friends.

He's one of the kindest

and the most intelligent people

that I think

I've ever met in life.

He was actually

one of the first people

back in 2019

who I heard of

that suffered

and got COVID.

And sadly as well,

he's one of the first people

that I heard of and knew

that suffers

still to this day

with what they call

long COVID.

And that,

plus a few other

health issues in his life,

have meant that the past

three or so years

of his life

have been so incredibly tough

for him and his family.

What was initially

just a period

of being signed off work,

it turned into

he's just going to have

to be off work completely.

That's where he is

still to this day.

But I remember speaking

to him early on

in the days of his illness

and he said,

do you know what?

It's just like

that kid's book.

We're going on a bear hunt.

He said,

this kind of stuff,

do you know what?

I can't

go over it.

I can't go under it.

I'm just going to have

to go through it.

But I know that this God

has got me.

And so Hamos,

he set up a WhatsApp group

for updates on his health.

Tons of people

in this WhatsApp group.

It's one of those groups

where you can't respond

because it just tires them

having the same conversation

with so many different people

because people genuinely

love him and want to know.

So he sends updates

on this group.

But every time I read

this WhatsApp group,

I'm struck by two things

that he asks us to pray for.

Two of the same things

every time.

And here's the two things.

He said,

would you pray

that I would be honest

in my weakness?

And secondly,

would you pray

that I'd be aware

of God's faithfulness?

And I take it

that somebody

who's learned

that in the storms of life,

the best place to be,

when you don't understand,

when it's out of your control,

the best place to be

is looking at the one

who's in control

of the wind and the waves.

You know,

we used to sing this song

at Boys Brigade

when I grew up.

It's kind of gone

out of fashion a little bit,

but I always love it

to come back to it

because it's a wonderful challenge

and a wonderful assurance.

It says this,

will your anchor hold

in the storms of life

when the clouds unfold

their wings of strife?

Will,

when the strong tides lift

and the cables strain?

Will your anchor drift

or firm remain?

We have an anchor

that keeps the soul

steadfast and sure

while the billows roll,

fastened to the rock

which cannot move,

grounded firm and deep

in the Savior's love.

Why don't we pray

as we close our time together?

words of Psalm 121,

I lift up my eyes

to the hills.

From where does my help come?

My help comes from the Lord

who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved.

He who keeps you

will not slumber.

Behold,

he who keeps Israel

will neither slumber

nor sleep.

And so, Father,

we're so thankful today

that we can trust

our uncertain tomorrows

to you,

the God who knows

the end from the beginning.

Father,

thank you that that is not

a truth that comes to us

this morning cold.

It's a truth that comes

to us this morning

wrapped in affection and love.

So, Lord, I pray,

Father,

that this morning,

whatever is going on

in our lives,

I pray that your Spirit

would be at work

in our hearts.

Would he be bringing

that sense of conviction

that we need to,

maybe even for the first time today,

respond to who Jesus is?

Father,

would he be bringing

that sense of assurance

and comfort

that truly our lives

could not be in better hands?

So, Father,

as a church family today,

we would pray,

Lord,

as we step into another year,

looking back on your faithfulness

this year to us

and certain of your faithfulness

to us in the generations

to come,

Lord,

that you would help us

to be a church

that's grounded prayerfully

in a true dependence

on who you are.

So, Father,

we thank you

that you love us

and we pray these things

confidently

because we pray them

in the powerful

and in the strong name

of Jesus.

Amen.