The Amazing Authority of Jesus Christ

You know, one of my favorite features of the Gospel of Matthew is how it starts and how it finishes.

It's got bookends.

And Matthew chapter 1 starts with Jesus being identified as Emmanuel, God with us.

Matthew 1 · chapter mention

And then at the end of Matthew chapter 28 in the Great Commission,

Matthew 28 · chapter mention

Jesus is commissioning all of His disciples of all time to go make disciples of the nations.

He says, go baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Teach them to observe all that I commanded you.

And then He drops this promise on us.

And lo, I am with you always.

So the Gospel of Matthew starts with God with us and ends with God with us.

God is with you, Christian.

He is forever with you.

He's with you today, and He's with you tomorrow, and He's with you on Inauguration Day,

and He's with you all the way through.

So there's never been a point throughout your day in which Jesus has not been with you.

Now, if you're not a Christian, you haven't bound the knee to Jesus,

you haven't responded to Him in repentance and faith,

Jesus' promise to be with you doesn't mean much, does it?

You need to realize that He does promise you one thing,

and that is to one day be your judge.

And so please listen as you learn something of Jesus today.

Now, if you are a Christian and either you're young or you've been away from the Lord

and you're coming back and you have a diminished view of Jesus,

you have a little view of Jesus, an atrophied view of Jesus,

this promise that Jesus is with you,

that might not mean much to you either.

And so what you need is a big dose of the real Jesus.

Now, if you're a Christian in the room,

and you have a growing realization of all of who Jesus is

in all of His authority,

you've come to the point of realizing that this promise,

that I am with you always,

it makes all the difference in how you go about your day.

He's with you.

He's with me.

Emmanuel, in all His unrivaled authority,

goes with you, Christian.

He's with you.

So you're not walking into school alone tomorrow.

You're not stepping into your place of employment by yourself tomorrow.

Emmanuel's with you.

If you're going to go to your doctor's office

and you realize there's bad news waiting,

you're not going in by yourself.

If you're a parent who's struggling with parenting

and things can go crazy,

you're not alone.

If you're a mom and you're entering the laundry room

with a 20th load of laundry,

you're not alone.

You're not alone.

And it's not just us personally.

Whatever we encounter as a church,

who knows what 2017 holds for us?

The Lord knows.

And whatever we encounter,

He is with us.

He is the storm pacifier.

He's the demon defeater.

And He promises

to be with us.

If you would open up your Bibles to Matthew 8,

we're going to be looking at verses 23-34,

which is a little bit of an adjustment.

I was going to try to tackle

all the way through 9-8 this morning,

but yesterday in writing,

I realized there's no way.

And so this morning,

the passage we're looking at

contains two distinct episodes

from the life of Jesus,

and we're traveling with Jesus.

Matthew has us getting in a boat with Him

in Capernaum,

and we're going to cross the Sea of Galilee.

And while we're crossing the Sea of Galilee,

Jesus does something marvelous.

He's the storm pacifier.

And then when we land on the other side,

the east side of the Sea of Galilee,

He does something amazing as well.

Two demon-possessed men come out to Him,

and He does something extraordinary.

He's a demon defeater.

So, and then next week,

what we're going to do is

we're going to get back in the boat with Jesus.

We're going to come back to Capernaum,

and we're going to end up in this crowded house

where these people bring this paralytic to Jesus,

and once again, He does something phenomenal.

He's the sin forgiver.

So the next two weeks,

we're going to be traveling with Jesus,

and in each episode that we see Him,

He is going to exercise His authority

in a frankly amazing way.

This morning,

as we look at Him calming a storm

and casting out demons,

I want you to remember

that this same Jesus

that we're looking back on 2,000 years ago

is the same Jesus that is with you today.

We're going to travel with Him,

but He's traveling with us.

Jesus has unrivaled authority

over nature and demons,

and He leverages that authority for you

as He expands His kingdom of disciples

on this planet.

He's all authoritative.

He's all authoritative over nature.

He's all authoritative over the demonic world.

And He's with you always.

So let's look at episode one.

On the sea with Jesus,

the storm pacifier.

Read with me verses 23 through 27.

Could just imagine being on this 27-foot

Galilean fishing boat with Him.

And when He got into the boat,

His disciples followed Him.

And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea

so that the boat was being swamped by the waves.

But He was asleep.

And they went and woke Him, saying,

Save us, Lord, we're perishing!

And He said to them,

Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?

Then He rose and rebuked the winds in the sea,

and there was a great calm.

And the men marveled, saying,

What sort of man is this

that even winds and sea obey Him?

In verse 23,

Jesus gets into the boat,

and His disciples follow Him.

In verse 18,

we read that He has just told His disciples,

Get a boat ready.

And then there's a couple guys that come up to Him.

They want to follow Jesus.

This is what Billy preached on last week.

And he's like,

Okay, there's a cost to following Me.

And then in verse 23,

He gets in the boat,

and He's followed by His disciples.

And what lay before them

was the crossing of the Sea of Galilee.

And where they were going,

it would have taken about two hours

to make the crossing.

And like I just mentioned,

they're most likely in a 27-foot

Galilean fishing boat

that had one main sail to it.

So it wasn't row, row, row your boat.

It was set your sails.

And just by way of reference,

the Sea of Galilee is 13 miles long,

8 miles wide,

roughly 64 square miles.

Just as a point of reference,

Geneva Lake and Lake Geneva,

that's about 8 square miles.

And so the Sea of Galilee is 8 times larger.

Now, in verse 24,

you read these two words,

And behold.

And behold.

These two words are

some of Matthew's favorite words

to signal something vivid

is about to happen.

And in the three episodes

we're going to look at

over the next two weeks,

Matthew uses this introduction

to And Behold five times.

There's a lot to behold.

It's a way that Matthew

keeps the narrative moving,

and he keeps the emphasis going.

And in verse 24,

Matthew writes,

And behold.

There arose a great storm on the sea

so that the boat was swamped

by the waves.

Another thing you need to know

about the Sea of Galilee.

The Sea of Galilee

is 600 feet below sea level.

And so, in one sense,

it's like a big pothole

with water in it

in the middle of the ancient Near East.

And so what would happen is,

as the hot air would rise

over the Sea of Galilee,

what would take place

is the desert air

would be pulled in

and drawn down.

And so when that air

was drawn down,

it creates winds,

and those winds

would come upon

the Sea of Galilee

and churn that baby up.

And so when we read,

And behold,

there arose a great storm

on the sea.

Storms weren't that surprising

on the Sea of Galilee.

It was the intensity

of this storm

that was unusual.

And Matthew uses

a very interesting Greek word

to describe the intensity

of this particular storm.

He says,

And behold,

there arose a great storm.

Now that word,

it's the word seismos in Greek.

Do you hear the word seismic?

It's a word that generally

you describe earthquakes.

The waves of an earthquake

that happened

when there's a move

and play tectonics

and waves of earth

are sent out

and a seismograph machine

registers the waves.

There are waves.

Big waves

on the Sea of Galilee.

The swamping of this 27 boat

means that there were

high crests and low troughs.

They were rising up

and dropping down low.

Now I used to own a sea kayak

and I would bring that mama out

onto the Lake Michigan.

And I brought it out

a couple times

when it was windy and wavy.

And man,

was it scary.

You'd be going up and down

on these five to seven foot waves.

You'd go down,

you couldn't see anything

and then you'd come back up.

Waves would come in behind you

or you'd paddling out

and it comes right at you.

When you drop down,

your whole inner being

drops with you.

Or maybe

you've been up

to the Wisconsin Dells

and you've been

in one of the wave pools.

I know when my family

and I would go

to the wave pools,

we would get as close

to the wave maker

as possible

to experience

the greatest sized waves

possible.

And there was always

this sense of happiness

and fear

because I'm kind of

holding on to my babies

and we're all squealing

with delight

but we're very aware

of these lifeguards

looking to jump in

and stop the wave maker

whenever someone goes under.

You know what I'm talking about?

What the disciples

were experiencing

on the Sea of Galilee

was a far greater intensity

than any wave pool

you've ever experienced.

How do you know?

Well, if you look

at verse 25,

you read that

they eventually

seek Jesus.

They wake Him up

and say,

we are perishing,

do something.

But what you've got

to realize is

we don't have land blubbers

in the boat.

At least four

of the men on the boat

who were disciples

of Jesus,

they were fishermen.

Simon,

Andrew,

James,

John,

they grew up

on the Sea of Galilee

fishing its waters.

They knew

this body

of water

and they're

freaking out!

So if you were

on that boat

and you have

these weathered fishermen

freaking out,

what do you think

it's going to have

an effect on you?

Fear can be contagious,

can't it?

You don't have to be

on a fishing boat

in a crazy storm

in the Sea of Galilee

2,000 years ago

to know what

overwhelming,

disorienting fear is.

many of you

this morning

came into this building

and you're exercising

seismic circumstances

of life

that are

stirring up

fears in you.

But look

who's asleep

on the boat.

Verse 24,

and behold,

there arose

a great storm

on the sea

so that the boat

was being swamped

by the waves,

but he

was

asleep.

Mark's gospel

tells us

that Jesus

was asleep

in the stern,

the back of the boat

on a cushion.

Now,

why was Jesus

sleeping?

How could someone

be sleeping

through this?

Well,

to be the son

of man

and to be teaching

and preaching

and healing daily

will take something

out of you

it turns out.

But,

is that all

that explains

his ability

to sleep

in these seismic waves?

Yes,

he's physically

exhausted,

but there's more.

The simple answer

to how this man

can sleep

so soundly

in the midst

of this

seismic storm

is that he knew

who he was.

And he knew

the work

that God had

for him

wasn't complete yet.

He's not threatened

by this storm.

He's not afraid

that the boat

is about to disintegrate.

He's not concerned

that the lives

of the disciples

were in jeopardy.

He's fully aware

that he is in

appointment with

two demon-possessed

men on the other

side of the lake.

He's asleep,

fully knowing

who he is

and the work

yet to be done.

But evidently,

his disciples

aren't as clear

on who he is

as he himself is.

They're freaking out.

Verse 25,

they wake him up.

They say,

save us,

we're perishing.

In Greek,

it's only three words.

Lord,

save,

perishing.

It's a stark contrast

between two states

of being.

Jesus is asleep

and his disciples

are frantic.

So they wake him up

apparently to make him

aware that they are

perishing.

And Jesus responds

with two rebukes.

The first is to the disciples.

Look at verse 26.

He says,

why are you afraid,

O you of little faith?

That word afraid

that Jesus uses there,

it carries some sense

of cowardice,

of timidity,

of a fearful shrinking back.

He's like,

why are you so timid?

And then Jesus puts

his finger on

the source of their timidity.

You of little faith.

D.A. Carson

in his commentary

sums up

it very well

by saying,

either fear

will drive out

your faith

or faith

will drive out

your fear.

And since these disciples

had such a little faith,

they were being ruled

by fear

in their hearts.

Very aware

of the seismic

circumstances

they're in the middle of.

But Jesus says,

O you of little faith.

Faith in what?

Faith in Jesus.

Jesus is essentially

rebuking them

for not trusting in Him.

He's like saying,

why are you freaking out?

Do you know who I am?

Apparently not.

And after that

comes the second rebuke.

Jesus gets up

and verbally rebukes

the winds and the sea,

the waves.

He commands creation.

And creation

immediately

and completely

obeys.

Then He arose

and rebuked the winds

and the sea

and there was

a great

calm.

In the Gospel of Mark,

Mark actually records

the words Jesus said,

Peace,

be still.

And instantaneously,

there was a great peace.

A great calm.

You had just heard

the dripping of the water

off the disciples

in the boat.

Jesus exercised

His authority

to accomplish His will

and it happened

like that.

This whole episode

moves from a great

storm

to a great peace

because of

the great authority

of this great man.

And in verse 27,

we see the great effect.

The men on the boat,

they marvel.

It's the same word

used of Jesus'

response to the centurion

in Matthew 8, 10

when Jesus was amazed

at the centurion's faith.

These disciples

are astonished

at the authority

that Jesus has

over creation

that has just been

demonstrated right

before their eyes.

What sort of man

is this

that even the winds

and the sea

obey Him?

When the disciples

got in the boat

with Him

in Capernaum,

they didn't realize

fully

who they're getting

in the boat with.

But this episode

demonstrates to them

the scale

of His authority

and it shows us

to us

as well.

When many of us

first start following

Jesus,

we're just happy

to have our sins

forgiven.

We know that He died

and He was raised,

that He's God

in the flesh,

but we don't

fully realize

the scale

of His authority.

These men

put words

on the awe

that they are experiencing.

So when you encounter

the storm pacifier,

it makes sense

that you would

marvel at Him.

That you would have

this sense of awe.

They're left asking,

who is this guy?

That He can do that?

The key word here

is in verse 27.

It's the word obey.

Even the winds

and sea obey Him.

Obedience implies

authority.

Who is this guy?

This is the guy

who has authority

over the winds

and the sea.

He has authority

over all creation.

This past December

in getting ready

for Christmas,

we preached through

John 1,

Colossians 1,

Hebrews 1.

It all points

to this huge,

great Savior

we have in Jesus.

And one of the things

that got repeated

through it is

Jesus is the agent

of creation.

He created it all

and He sustains it all.

And on account of that,

He is able to,

with just words,

bring peace

to a crazy storm.

He is authority

over all creation.

And it doesn't stop here.

You see,

what happens here

in the Sea of Galilee,

it's like a little appetizer.

It's a little preview

of what Jesus is going to do

when He comes back.

When He comes back,

He is going to set free

all creation

from its bondage

to decay,

to corruption.

In 2 Peter 3.10,

we learn that

when Jesus returns,

He's going to recreate

the heavens and the earth.

When He comes back,

imagine Him coming back

and saying,

peace be still

to the whole cosmos

and everything is made right.

No more cancer.

No more flooding.

No more wildfires.

No more earthquakes.

What we see Jesus

doing on this boat

in the middle of

the Sea of Galilee

is Him exercising

His authority

over creation.

What does that do in you?

It should cause your heart

to rise.

It could cause your heart

to rise with hope.

Here we are

looking at something

Jesus did way back then

and it's having

an effect on our hearts

to rise in hope now

for something

that's going to happen

when Jesus comes back

in the future.

Jesus has presently

authority over all

all of creation.

He is

the storm pacifier

and He is awesome.

Now,

you may have come in here

and you could have fallen

into that OU

of little faith category.

Maybe,

maybe the seas,

the storms of your life

have driven out faith.

This morning,

I just want to remind you

that the storm pacifier

is with you.

Who He was back then

is who He is right now

and He has promised

to be with you

in your circumstances.

There's nothing

that you're experiencing

right now

that is overwhelming

your Lord and Savior,

Jesus.

Nothing.

There's nothing in your life

that is not under

His authority.

All things have been

put under His feet.

Jesus is the storm pacifier.

He has authority

over it all

and He should inspire

awe in your heart.

That's who's with you.

Let's move to episode two.

To the other side

with the demon defeater.

Verses 28-34.

And when He came

to the other side

to the country

of the Gadarenes,

two demon-possessed men

met Him

coming out of the tombs

so fierce

that no one

could pass that way.

And behold,

they cried out,

What have you to do

with us,

O Son of God?

Have you come here

to torment us

before the time?

Now a herd of many pigs

were feeding

at some distance

from them

and the demons

begged Him saying,

If you cast us out,

send us away

into the herd of pigs.

And He said to them,

Go.

So they came out

and went into the pigs

and behold,

the whole herd

rushed down the steep bank

into the sea

and drowned in the waters.

The herdsmen fled

and going into the city

they told everything

especially what happened

to the demon-possessed men

and behold,

all the city

came out to meet Jesus

and when they saw Him,

they begged Him

to leave

their country,

their region.

A little surprising

turn of events there,

don't you think?

Now,

in verse 28,

Matthew just brings us

quickly to the shores

of the east side

of the Sea of Galilee

to the country

of the Gadarenes

which is Gentile country.

We're not told

of anything that happens

in the boat

in between

after Jesus calms the sea

and when they arrive

and so just imagine with me

a possible scenario.

And by the way,

before I share this with you,

this is hypothetical

and I know

that telescopes

were invented

in the 1600s

just to let you know that.

The disciples

are still in awe

at what Jesus

has just done on the sea.

And from thinking

that they were about to die,

they now realize

they need to come

ashore somewhere.

So Peter

pulls out his telescope

in order to

start scanning

the shore

of the country

of the Gadarenes.

Jesus asks Peter,

Peter, what do you see?

Peter responds by saying,

well, hey,

I'm looking up

from the shoreline

and I see a bunch

of tombstones.

It looks like

there's a cemetery there,

Jesus.

Should I veer left

or should I veer right

of that?

Because we're not going

to land anywhere

near that, right?

Jesus says,

you make a beeline

right to those tombstones.

Peter's still looking

through his telescope.

He still looks through

Jesus.

I see a large herd

of pigs

relatively close

to where we're

supposed to land

and we all know

that pigs are unclean

animals and we shouldn't

be close to them.

Keep on target,

Peter.

Jesus, you know

that the

Gerardines,

it's Gentile country.

There's Gentiles.

Come on,

Jesus.

Stay on target.

Jesus,

I'm just kind of

focusing in on the

tombs right now

and I see two naked

crazy men running

around.

They're probably

Gentiles too.

They're all cut up.

Oh,

and Jesus,

they have seen us

and Jesus,

they are starting

to make our way down

to where we're going

to come ashore.

Peter,

my father,

has an appointment

for us today

with these two men.

Jesus heads straight

for the demonic

den of death.

that's our Savior.

The country of the

Gadarenes

is a part of the

Decapolis,

a ten-city

Gentile region

and Jesus has already

encountered a Gentile

in the centurion

earlier in Matthew

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8,

but now he goes

to Gentile country.

And in verse 28,

these two demon-possessed

men,

they come to meet

him.

And when he came

to the other side

to the country,

the Gadarenes,

two demon-possessed

men met him

coming out of the

tomb so fierce

that no one could

pass that way.

They were coming

to meet him.

Now,

Matthew doesn't go

much into demon

possession,

but we do know

that there are

fallen angels

who will control

men and women

in a destructive

manner.

Demons are set

against the purposes

of God.

And we read that

there are two men

here in Matthew's

account,

and if you're

familiar with Mark

and Luke,

they only speak

of one man.

And so the way

to explain that

discrepancy is just

by saying there's

most likely two men

there,

just one was more

prominent than the

other.

And we also read

that they came

from the tombs.

These guys lived

among the dead.

And to be among

the tombs,

a Jew would be

repulsed by that.

The demons who

were possessing

these men were

seeking to defile,

distort,

destroy these men.

This is modus

operandi of demonic

activity.

Demons seek to

distort and destroy

the image of God.

Now,

they must have

been,

this cemetery

must have been

by a path,

because apparently

they would not

let anybody go

on this path.

We learn from Mark

that they had

superhuman strength,

that several attempts

had been made to

bind and shackle

these men,

but they were

unable to subdue

them.

And here they are

making a beeline

to Jesus.

Verse 29,

and behold,

the people

they cried out,

what have you to

do with us,

O Son of God?

It's very ironic.

These disciples

know who Jesus is.

Coming right off

of being in the

waters,

and his disciples

not being too

clear on who

he is.

The Son of God.

What have you to

do with us,

O Son of God?

Have you come here

to torment us

before the time?

The time is a

reference to

judgment.

judgment.

These demons

are aware of the

one who's just

come ashore is the

one who will

eventually judge

them and cast

them into the

lake of fire.

That's what they

know.

They know quite a

bit about Jesus,

and they're wondering

why he has come.

Has he come to make

them suffer before the

time of judgment?

And in verse 30,

if you just notice,

Matthew just kind of

puts a little narrative

piece of information

in our minds.

He lets us know

that there's a

herd of pigs

within eyeshot.

And Mark again

tells us it's a

herd of 2,000 pigs.

It's a large herd

of pigs.

They're considered

an unclean animal.

And so what you

need to understand

in this episode

is that we have

got a major pileup

of unclean stuff.

Demons,

Gentiles,

tombs,

pigs!

Are you kidding me?

And Jesus goes

straight at it.

Jesus is definitely

on the other side.

But the other side

is not outside.

His saving purpose.

He must be there.

He meant to be there.

In verse 31,

the demons beg Jesus

to send them

into the herd of pigs.

It appears as though

they knew they were

going to get cast out.

And so they're saying,

hey, send us over

to the pigs.

And why they would

prefer pigs,

we're not told.

But evidently,

demons can possess

an animal.

And at this point,

I would just like

to make a pastoral note

that this explains

a lot about cats.

Back to the text.

Back to the text.

Notice that the demons

begged Jesus.

Jesus isn't begging

the demons.

The demons are begging

Jesus.

And this begging

is a clear demonstration

that the demons

are actually under

the authority of Jesus,

the Son of God,

who just pulled up on shore.

Jesus is all authority

over every demon.

Every demon,

including Satan.

Do you know why?

He's God,

and He created them.

So in verse 32,

with one word,

go,

Jesus exercises authority,

casts out these demons,

and allows them

to enter the pigs.

So He accomplishes His will

by His authority

immediately.

The demons come out.

They occupy the pigs

with devastating results.

They destroy

this herd of 2,000.

They rush headlong

into the Sea of Galilee

and drown.

And there's no question

that this would have been

a huge financial loss

for whoever owned

these pigs.

2,000 pigs.

In verse 33,

having seen everything,

the herdsmen

who are riding herd

over these pigs,

they bolt.

They run into the town

and they tell everything

that happened.

Guys,

you wouldn't believe it.

Our 2,000 swine are dead.

The crazy guys,

they came down.

This guy came up on a boat.

He cast out the demons

from them.

They showed up in the pigs.

They ran down the hill.

They drowned to death.

They were out 2,000 pigs.

What are we going to do?

And everybody's like,

let's go check this guy out.

It would have been

a mix of shock,

outrage,

amazement,

fear.

Nobody has been able

to subdue

these demon-possessed men.

In verse 34,

like the demon-possessed men

in verse 28,

there is this coming out

to meet Jesus.

And behold,

they come out

to meet Jesus.

They're seeking Jesus.

But unlike the demons,

they don't know who He is.

All they know is that

He's cast out these demons

and now their pigs

are floating

in the Sea of Galilee,

dead.

Dead.

But they beg Jesus.

Please leave us alone.

You turned our world

upside down.

Please get out.

We don't want you here.

Please leave.

You've cost us too much.

Please leave.

The key word

in verse 30 and 34

is the word beg.

Begging reveals authority.

The demons beg Jesus

because He's authority

over them.

And in verse 34,

the Gentiles beg Jesus.

They have this sense

that this man

is unlike anyone else

that they've ever encountered.

He's brought peace

to craziness.

They don't know

that He's the Messiah,

but they do know

that He has now upended

their financial world.

Instead of being seen

as the peacemaker He is,

He's probably seen

more like a troublemaker.

So fearing Him,

they beg Him to leave

and they do.

One would think

that such a display

of authority

over the demonic world

would result in joyous,

welcome,

and humble submission.

Oh Lord, boy,

man, these guys were crazy

and you cast them out.

You are unlike

anybody else we know.

We come,

tell us everything you know.

We will follow you

wherever you go.

No, the townsfolk

don't want His authority.

It's costing them too much.

Jesus is the demon defeater.

What we see Him doing here

is just a foretaste

of that final

and forever victory

that He will bring about

when He casts

the whole demonic world

into the lake of fire

when He comes back.

and He's with you.

The storm pacifier

is the demon defeater

and He's with you.

But we can't miss the fact

that He has a tendency

to turn worlds upside down,

doesn't He?

There are collateral costs

to following Jesus.

The Gentiles

in the Gadarenes,

Garadines,

got experience of that.

The deliverance of these two men

cost them 2,000 swine.

That was the collateral cost.

For those Jesus delivered,

it cost the community

2,000 pigs.

And they didn't want

any more of it.

It makes you have

to ask the question,

okay,

were these townsfolk,

were they happy

that these men were delivered?

I'm guessing that they were.

Do they think

that it was worth

2,000 pigs

that they lost?

It doesn't seem like it.

It cost too much.

Get out, Jesus.

Jesus,

what would happen?

What would happen

in 2017

in our city

if there was

a clear,

sustained outpouring

of God's Spirit

on the city of Kenosha?

People from all walks of life

coming into,

encountering the living Christ,

repenting,

believing,

meeting with Him,

following Him,

lives would be changed.

Worlds would be upended.

And there would be

collateral costs.

People who have found

life in Christ

coming out of a variety

of destructive lifestyles.

Would we make room for them?

Would we make space

for them here?

Would we incorporate them

into our body,

into our life groups,

into our youth groups,

into our children's ministry?

Would we find

meaningful ways

to come alongside

of these people

to help them find shelter,

help them find work,

transportation,

food and clothing?

Would we do that?

when the risen Christ

moves to dismantle

a demonic stronghold

and there are

demonic strongholds

in Kenosha,

when He moves,

there will be

collateral costs.

It will affect us.

Would we do something like

these townsfolk did?

Jesus,

this is too much for us.

It's too much for us.

We're glad you're

delivering people,

but it's too much

of an inconvenience

for us.

It's too much

of a cost.

Stop delivering people,

Jesus.

It's too messy.

No way.

No way.

If Jesus would move

in such a way,

and we pray that He does,

we would make space.

we would bring in.

We would learn how to

come alongside.

It's about His work.

It's about His glory.

It's about Him

delivering people.

The point of this story

is that Jesus has authority

over all things.

And He's shown that authority

over nature.

He's the storm pacifier.

He's shown that authority

over demons.

He's the demon defeater.

He was that then,

and He is that now.

Jesus isn't a hard tyrant

who uses His authority

for personal gain.

He is the Son of Man.

He is the suffering servant

and the King of kings

and the Lord of lords.

And He exercises His authority

with a servant's heart.

And nowhere is this more clear

than when the Son of Man

humbly went to the cross.

For sinners like you and me,

He exercises authority

to forgive sins.

What I want to point out

to you right now is this.

That the blood He shed

on the cross

not only forgives sin,

it sealed our pardon,

it also seals the promise

that He is with us always.

So yes,

He is the storm pacifier.

Yes,

He is the demon defeater.

Yes,

He's awesome.

Yes,

He upends worlds.

And yes,

He is with you.

He has bound Himself

to us

and sealed it

with the blood

of the cross.

He is with us

always.

Now,

if He is all that

and He is all that

with us,

do you know what that

means for us?

We've got nothing to fear.

Even when our worlds

get upended,

even if He should move

in profound ways,

we fear not.

He's with us.

Christian,

there will never be

a point in time

when Jesus

is not

with you.

Jesus says

at the end of Matthew,

I am with you

always.

Even to the end

of the age.

Let's pray.

Lord Jesus,

we have gotten

a glimpse of you

this morning.

You are the glorious

Christ.

We've seen you

calm the storm.

We've seen you

cast out demons.

You're marvelous.

You turn worlds

upside down.

And we love it.

You're awesome.

Lord Jesus,

would you press this

into our hearts

today that

that you are this

and that you are

with us this way.

God,

would you help us

to leave this building

today in the confidence

that you'll never

leave us

nor forsake us.

we would ask

that Lord Jesus

that you would

pour out your spirit

and that God,

you would assault

the demonic strongholds

in our city.

God,

set the prisoners free

and would you

add them to our number.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.