The Jesus Way: Finding The Way of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke | Donovan Rillion | The Powerful Way

So we're in week six of our series, The Jesus

Way, where we've been trying to find the way

of Jesus. What does that way look like? How did

Jesus live? How did he act? How did he talk?

We've been looking for the way of Jesus in the

Gospel of Luke, the good news account of Luke.

And today we're talking about... The powerful

way of Jesus. You know, I feel like the last

couple of weeks I've been challenging you a lot.

There's been a lot of, you know, we need to do

and we need to be type of things, messages. But

today, this one is one that is not necessarily

a challenge for you to do something, but more

of a challenge to trust in something. And so

what I mean by that is we're going to be talking

about, as we did last week, the authority of

Jesus, but not just his authority over law, his

authority over tradition and scripture. We're

talking about his rule, his power over all creation.

And this is important because if we misunderstand

the power, the power of Jesus, the power that

he possesses, the power that he has, that he

has always had, if we misunderstand that power,

we will misunderstand how to follow him. And

what I mean by that is I think for far too long

the church and Christians have tried to just

like make Jesus just the Jesus of the book, the

one that's on the paper, just the words of Jesus.

And we've intellectualized being a follower of

Jesus. have taken out the spiritual aspect of

it, the power that Jesus possesses and the power

that Jesus has entrusted to us. And so I want

us to understand the power of our king. Because

if we can understand just how powerful he is,

then the things of this world will not seem as

depressing. They won't seem as terrifying. We'll

be able to hear rumors of wars and we won't fear.

We'll be able to deal with the stresses of life

and we won't collapse because we know who our

king is and we know his power. And if we can

trust in his power, then we will be able to fully

obey regardless of what circumstances come. So

let's start today in Luke chapter 8, starting

Luke 8 · chapter mention

in verse 22. In Luke 8, verse 22, and remember

Luke 8:22

if it's underlined, I want you to read it with

me, and it may be a little hard to see, so just

if you hear other people start talking out loud,

you also start reading out loud, okay? One day

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, and as they sailed,

he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on

the lake, and they were filling with water and

were in danger. And they went and woke him, saying,

Master, Master, we are perishing. And he awoke,

and he rebuked the wind and the raging waves,

and they ceased, and there was a calm. And he

said to them, Where is your faith? And they were

afraid. And they marveled, saying to one another,

Who then is this that he commands even winds

and water, and they obey him? I want us to read

that last question that the disciples asked out

loud. And so read this with me. Who then is this

that he commands even winds and water and they

obey him? You see, that's not just a random question.

It's kind of the hinge of this whole section

in Luke. Because before that, Jesus' question

to them, where is your faith, reveals the issue.

The storm was very real. So you've got to know

that these guys, they were fishermen. They likely

knew this lake. They knew these storms. They

knew the weather patterns. And they knew exactly

how dangerous it could be to be on the lake when

this storm, this type of a storm would come.

So they knew exactly how real the danger was.

But the deeper issue is their trust. Who's on

the boat with them? Jesus, the guy that the chapter

before just declared himself as Lord, declared

himself the Son of God. They've seen him work

miracles. They've been following him for a while

now. They've seen his teachings. They've seen

his great deeds. And they know he is on the boat

with them. But they're doubting. They're fearful.

Luke says they were filling with water and were

in danger. This isn't an exaggeration. They knew

exactly what was happening. But what was Jesus

doing? He was sleeping. Jesus wasn't anxious.

Jesus wasn't pacing the floor of the boat. He

wasn't panicking. He wasn't shouting out instructions.

He wasn't telling everybody, just calm down,

calm down. He was asleep. You ever watch a baby

sleep? My favorite thing that I do every night

is after the boys finally fall asleep, sometimes

it's 10 minutes after bedtime, sometimes it's

two hours after bedtime, but I will wait until

they fall asleep because I'm not going to sleep

with them awake because that's terrifying. So

I'll wait until they're asleep, and I'll go to

their rooms, and I'll make sure they're covered

up. I'll give them a kiss. I'll pray over them

really quick. But I love to just sit there and

kind of watch them for a little bit. And I don't

know if any of you have done that with your kids,

but I love to just, it's kind of creepy when

you say it out loud. I love to watch my kids

sleep because they're so peaceful. It's not like

during the day when they're running around being

crazy, when they're running around crying and

when things happen and the world is ending and

they want mommy. It's not like those moments.

It's the most peaceful sight you could ever see.

And that's what I picture. When I think of Jesus

sleeping on this boat. Because, and you know

this, sometimes you watch your children sleep,

but you're thinking about the bills that still

need to be paid. Or you watch your children sleep

and you think about the people in your family

that are suffering. Or you watch your children

sleep peacefully and you think about the wars

that are happening. And you think about the unrest

that's happening. And you think about the danger

that's happening. I can remember when we lived

in Montgomery. Montgomery. Notably, not a very

safe place to live. Luckily, we lived in a safer

part. But I would sit there and watch them sleep

and think, somebody right now is being murdered.

Peace in the midst of all the chaos of this world.

And that's what I think of when I think of Jesus

sleeping on this boat. But the disciples, they're

freaking out and they're waking him up. They're

crying, Master, Master, we're perishing. We're

about to die. And he gets up and he rebukes the

wind. He rebukes the waves. And instantly, Scripture

says, the storm ceased and there was a calm.

You see, the powerful way of Jesus isn't frantic.

It's authoritative. Because even creation, even

the deadliest of storms, obey him. And to that,

to all of their freaking out, Jesus asks, where

is your faith? Where's your trust? Why are you

worried? Do you not know who's in the boat with

you? The king of the universe, Jesus is looking

at them and he's like, I created these waves.

I created the wind. You are in my presence and

you're worried about a storm? Where's your faith?

And I want to be very clear. This is not us saying

that, you know, we're supposed to deny the storm.

It's not us saying we should pretend that the

storm isn't there. It's just saying we need to

trust the one who rules over it. And so we move

on to the next scene of this gospel account where

Luke answers the disciples' question of who is

this man? Who is this that commands the winds

and commands the waves and they obey him? Who

is Jesus? He answers this question in his next

story that he tells. The disciples and Jesus,

they land in the country of the Gerasenes. This

would be Gentile territory. So remember... The

disciples, Jewish background. Jesus, Jewish background.

They go to Gentile territory. These are people

that are not like them. Okay, so they go, and

immediately when Jesus gets off the boat, a man

meets them. But this isn't a normal man. This

isn't a man like you and I. This is a man like

my three -year -old. He is demon -possessed.

This is a crazy man. This man lives among the

tombs. Because he can't live in the city with

other people because they're civilized and he

is not. This is a man who wears no clothes. He

wears no chains because they tried to chain him

up. They tried to bind him up and he broke free.

There is nothing that they could do to subdue

this man. So they put him out into the area with

the tombs. And this man runs up on Jesus and

the disciples. And when he sees Jesus, he cries

out. What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son

of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment

me. Now, the first thing I want to say is the

demons recognize exactly who this is. But this

man wouldn't have met Jesus at this point, at

least not according to the story. So somehow...

This man knows who Jesus is, and it's not the

man's knowledge, it's the demon's knowledge.

The demons recognize that they are in the presence

of who? The Son of the Most High God. They know

who they're dealing with. They know the power.

You don't tell someone, don't torment me, if

you don't know the danger they possess. And so

Jesus asked the man his name, and he says, Legion.

And this would be referring to the Roman legion.

And if you're familiar with Roman history, a

Roman legion, 5 ,000 people. And so he says legion

for we are many or for many demons had entered

into the man. So think thousands of demons are

possessing this man. And the demons begged Jesus

not to send them into the abyss, but into a nearby

herd of pigs. And at his word, they go. And then

the pigs run off the cliff and they drown themselves.

It's a really weird story, but it shows you the

power of Jesus. The storm obeyed him. The demons

who outnumbered him and his disciples by a long

shot, the demons feared him and now obey him.

See, the powerful way is not threatened by darkness.

It commands it. The powerful way, the way of

Jesus doesn't look at the dark things of this

world, the evil things of this world. It doesn't

look at these things and tremble. It causes them

to tremble. And so when Christians walk around

in fear, when we walk around with anxiety about

what's going on in the world, when we look like

that, the world looks at us and say, I thought

you worshiped the powerful God. I thought you

worshiped a God that commands winds and the waves.

I thought you worshiped a God that could cast

out thousands of demons from a man that the spiritual

realm trembles in his presence. And so when we

walk around with fear, the world looks at us

like, are y 'all sure that you follow the one

you claim to follow? Because if he is almighty

God, what are you worried about? What are you

fearful of? So after making, after helping the

demon -possessed man, they go back to Galilee.

So they go back to Jewish territory. And when

they get there, they're met by a huge crowd of

people welcoming them because these people want

to experience Jesus. I mean, do you all believe

me when I say the world is hungry for something

more than what the world has offered? The world

wants to know Jesus. Even these people that would

have doubted him, it wouldn't be good or natural

for them to believe that he is the Messiah. They

wanted to experience his teaching. They wanted

to experience his healings. And so they gather

in masses and they're there and they're welcoming

Jesus. And then among this crowd, a synagogue

ruler named Jairus comes and he falls at Jesus'

feet. Now Jairus has a problem. His daughter

is dying and he wants Jesus to help. He wants

Jesus to heal his daughter. And so he falls at

Jesus' feet and he cries out and he asks him

to come heal my daughter. And so Jesus agrees

to go with him. But on the way, a woman who had

been bleeding for 12 years, can you imagine one

issue just constantly being with you for 12 years?

And maybe you've had that. Maybe it's a cancer

or maybe it's a sickness. Maybe it's a lifelong

disease that you've had to deal with for a long,

long time. This is what this woman is dealing

with. She's been dealing with this bleeding,

this hemorrhaging for 12 years, and she touches

the edge of Jesus' garment. And Luke tells us

that she had spent her life savings, everything

she had, every dollar she had, she spent it trying

to go to doctors to be healed, but none of them

could heal her. 12 years of suffering, 12 years

of social isolation because bleeding was seen

as unclean among the Jews. But she touches Jesus.

Well, she doesn't even touch him. She touches

the edge of his clothing, and she's healed immediately.

And Jesus notices something and he says this,

someone touched me for I perceive that power

has come out from me. And when she realizes she

can't hide, she comes forward, she comes forward

trembling and she tells her story. She tells

him about how she had tried and tried and tried

to be healed and she'd been dealing with this

and everything that she tried didn't work, but

now she's been healed by touching him. And then

Jesus says, daughter, your faith has made you

well. Go in peace. Her faith, her trust, her

belief that just touching the edge of his garment

could make her clean, could heal her. Her faith

made her well. All of a sudden, her life is restored.

She can now be a part of society. She can now

live and work and not have to worry about spending

every dollar she has on healing because she has

trusted in the Messiah. Now, her faith didn't

create power. This is not one of those things

where it's like if you believe, if you believe

the power... will be with you. It's not that

her faith created power. It just connected her

to it because faith trusts in the authority of

Jesus and it depends on his power, not our own.

It's not our abilities. It's not anything we

can do or say. It is simply the power of the

most high God. And Jesus proclaims that her faith

made her well. And while he's talking to her

and to the crowd, somebody shows up with some

pretty bad news for Jairus. It's news no parent

ever wants to hear. They tell him, your daughter

is dead. Don't trouble the teacher anymore. Essentially

saying, hey, it's over. There's no need for him

to come to our house. There's no need for him

to try to do a miracle. It's over. You see, the

people telling Jairus this, they don't believe

that Jesus commands life and death. They don't

know. that he could, if she is really dead, raise

her from the dead. But Jesus hears and he responds.

He says, don't fear, only believe and she will

be well. That's underlined and y 'all didn't

read that with me. So let's try that again. Do

not fear, only believe and she will be well.

Believe, trust, have faith and she will be well.

But they just told him she's dead. She's gone.

It's over. Believe and she will be well. And

so they go to Jairus' house where everyone is

already grieving. They're already mourning because

they believe she's dead. And I'll tell you, I

believe she was dead. But Jesus says, do not

weep for she is not dead, but sleeping. And you

know what happens when you're asleep? After the

sleep is over, you wake up. She's not dead. She's

just sleeping, and she's going to wake up. That's

what Jesus tells them, and they laugh. Can you

imagine laughing at the Messiah, laughing at

Jesus? But they don't know. I mean, they know

he can heal people of sickness. They know he

can heal people of paralysis. They know he can

cast out demons, but can he raise someone from

the dead? They laugh at this because it seems

obvious that she's dead, and if she's dead, death

is final. But Jesus does his thing. Verse 54

says, You see that? We just talked about how

the winds and waves obey him. And we recognize

that the demons fear and obey him. And now death

obeys him. The powerful way is authority. over

chaos. It's authority over fear. It's authority

over the spiritual world. It's authority over

disease and it's authority even over death. So

let's answer the question that the disciples

asked again. Read it with me. Who then is this

that he commands even winds and water and they

obey him? Do you know who he is? He's Lord. He

is almighty. God. He's powerful. God. He rules

over everything. Jesus was there at creation.

He was there to make it all happen. And so if

he is able to create it, he is able to fix it.

It's kind of like when I was little, I would

be really bad. And I had this problem and I've

noticed, I keep picking on Peyton, my three -year

-old, because he's kind of like me. I had this

problem where I talked back, and Peyton is starting

to do it, and I found myself wanting to say this

the other day, but I thought he's three, and

if I say that, he'll go to school, he'll repeat

it, and I'll get defects called on me. But my

mom used to say this to me. She used to say,

I brought you into this world, and I can. And

Jesus brought us into this world, and he can.

And he can also bring us back. Jesus commands

life and death. He has power. over it all because

he created it all. He was there at the beginning

and he will be there at the end. And guess what?

He will be there for eternity because he is almighty

God. And so if Jesus has authority over chaos,

demons, disease, and death, then the question

is not whether he is powerful. The question isn't,

does he have authority? The question becomes,

what are we going to do with that truth? Because

every question demands an answer. And when you

find an answer, you have a responsibility. I

have a responsibility to respond accordingly

with that answer. And so if Jesus is powerful,

if he's almighty God, what are we going to do

with that truth? Because in Luke chapter 8 and

Luke 8 · chapter mention

in chapter 9, nobody encounters Jesus' power

and stays the same. Nobody encounters the amazing

works of Jesus and stays the same. So I've got

a few points for us. And the first one is we

have to trust in his power. If he is almighty

God, if we believe that he is, if we believe

he has power over all things, we have to trust

in that power. In the middle of the storm, he

asked the disciples, where is your faith? To

Jairus, he says, don't fear, only believe and

shall be well. He acknowledges fear. He acknowledges

that there are things in this world that will

cause us to lack faith. He acknowledges that

there are things that will cause us to struggle

because faith is not pretending everything is

fine. Faith is actually choosing to trust in

Jesus' authority over our reality. It's choosing

to trust that he has power over everything in

this world that may cause us to fear. You see,

when the storm hit, the disciples, they panicked.

They panicked because they understood the danger

of the waves more than they trusted the Lord

that was in the boat with them. But I thought

this was interesting. If you'll notice in that

story, Jesus had already said, let us go across

to the other side of the lake. If Jesus said

they were going across, you know what I choose

to believe? They were going across. If Jesus

said... they're going to the other side of the

lake. They are going to the other side of the

lake. So we have to trust in his power because

we have to take him at his word. I believe this

to be true. What Jesus says will be, will be.

And if Jesus says we're going to the other side

of the lake, I believe we're going to the other

side of the lake. Now let me make that a little

bit more practical. If Jesus says your sins can

be forgiven, Let me rephrase that. If Jesus says

your sins are forgiven, do you know what I believe

happens when you confess and ask for forgiveness?

Your sins are forgiven. If Jesus says there's

coming a day where you're going to live with

the Father in heaven for eternity and it is going

to be a splendor, it is going to be a place of

abundant life for eternity. If Jesus says that

will be, do you know what I believe? That will

be. If Jesus says there is a place where there

will be no more sorrow, there will be no more

suffering, there will be no more death, there

will be no more war or pain, there will be no

more agony, do you know what I believe? That

will be. Because I have to trust in Jesus. I

have to trust in his word. And the second thing

is we have to live like we trust him. I said

it earlier, far too many Christians, far too

many of us, we live like we don't really believe

that Jesus commands life and death. We don't

really believe like he commands the storms. We

act like we don't really believe that when he

says we will have eternal and abundant life,

that that is true. Far too many of us act like

death is final. Far too many of us act like this

world has power over us. But the truth is, Jesus

has power over the world. And so we have to live

like we believe that to be true. You know, the

man who had been possessed by demons, he begged

to go with Jesus. He begged him, take me with

you. But what did Jesus tell him in Luke chapter

eight, verse 39? He says, return to your home.

And what? Declare how much God has done for you.

Now you declare what God has done for you in

more than just words. Maybe you've heard somebody

say your life may be the only Bible someone ever

sees or reads. People look at your life, they

look at the way you walk, they look at the way

you talk, the way you act, the way you respond

when things get bad, when life gets hard, they

look at that. And that declares one thing or

another. It either declares that God is almighty,

powerful God over all things, or it declares

that I am scared to death because I don't have

the power. I don't have connection to the God

of power. And we're told that the man, the demon

-possessed man, he did just that. He went back

and lived differently because he had personally

encountered the life -changing power of Jesus.

Because now fear, isolation, and darkness, they

no longer rule over him. And if we really believe

that Jesus has authority, if we've experienced

his power, it should show up in how we live.

It would look like us not panicking like everyone

else does when culture shifts. It would look

like us not collapsing when hardship comes and

we don't find ourselves enslaved to the sin of

this world. We don't act like sin has authority

over us because we know that God has authority

over sin. Living like it means praying first

instead of worrying, obeying when it's costly,

standing firm when fear is loud. It looks like...

When the storm comes on the boat, instead of

running around panicking and freaking out, or

in our context, running to Walmart and buying

a bunch of milk and bread, we hang tight. We

sit on the couch and we watch it play out. I

grew up on the beach in South Mississippi, and

we got hurricanes a lot. I mean, I went outside

and played football during Hurricane Katrina.

It was great. Not great. A lot of people lost

their lives. But I always loved hurricanes. I

loved storms. But I also recognized when I was

little that people freaked out over hurricanes.

But you know what happened after Katrina? I noticed

this. After Hurricane Katrina, the freaking out

kind of died down a little bit. And maybe it's

because I was a little more aware. But we would

get like these little hurricanes, and I always

called them just little storms. We'd get these

little hurricanes. It'd bring a lot of rain.

It'd bring a lot of wind. And yeah, trees would

go down and everything. People would lose power

for a day or two. But guess what? They weren't

that bad. So when Eliza and I first got married

in 2020, we moved down to Mississippi so I could

work at the church there in my hometown. And

our first year there, we get a hurricane. And

Eliza, storms freak her out. She's watching the

weather. She's listening to the weather. She's

like, we need to get this. And I'm like, no,

we don't. And she's terrified. She's like, Donovan,

we need. And she even said, we need to go to

my parents' house in Georgia. And I'm like, I'm

not driving all the way to Georgia for this little

storm. And so. What happens? We stay there because

I told her, I know these storms. This is nothing.

And the rule is if it's cat three or lower, you

stay put, right? So we stayed put. And what happened?

The storm was nothing. That's what I think of

when I think of what we need to do when the world

is caving in, when everything looks crazy, everything

seems like it's reason to freak out. We need

to look at it and say, this storm isn't big enough

to worry about. And I'm not saying you discount

the dangers of life. I'm not saying you act like

these things aren't scary because they are. I'm

not saying you don't act like these things hurt

because they do. What I'm saying is let it hurt

and then remember who your God is. It's kind

of like... when my four -year -old, Easton, he

gets hurt. He'll fall. He falls all the time.

He's the clumsiest kid in the world. I'm going

to attribute it to him not knowing how to deal

with how big his body is. So he falls all the

time and he'll look at me as if he wants me to

give him permission to cry. And I'll say, get

up, buddy. You're tough. When this world pushes

us down and we look to God and we look for him

and we say, God, give me permission to cry. God

looks at us and says, you're tough. Not because

you are, but because I am. And if I am and I'm

your God, you've got this power connection. Don't

let this make you stay down. So live like our

God is powerful. Because if God has authority

over death, then fear should not ever get the

final word in our lives. Suffering should not

get the final word in our lives. Pain, worry,

doubt should not dictate how we live. And of

course, if we've experienced the power of Jesus,

we should have no choice but to share it. Luke

Luke 9 · chapter mention

chapter 9 shows us something very relevant to

this. After demonstrating his authority and showing

his power to the disciples, Jesus calls the 12

that he had chosen together. And here's what

it says he does in Luke chapter 9 verses 1 through

Luke 9:1–2

2. He called the 12 together. He gave them power

and authority over all demons and to cure diseases.

And he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom

of God and to heal. You see, Jesus reveals his

power. And then he shares his mission. The powerful

way. The powerful way isn't something we keep

to ourselves. It's not something we hoard. It's

not something that we keep in this room. It's

not something we keep in our homes. It is something

that we proclaim, that we declare, that we share.

You see, we may not raise the dead. We may not

cure diseases. We may not cast out demons, but

we absolutely can proclaim the one who does.

We may not command storms. We may not be able

to make the winds and the waves calm, but we

can tell of the one who does. We may not cast

out demons with a word, but we preach the one

who makes them tremble. And so today I ask this

question. Are you trusting in Jesus? Are you

trusting in his power? If you've never trusted

him, if you have just lived a life of worry,

a life of fear, a life of doubt, a life of suffering,

and you've been just trying to do it on your

own or you've been trusting in other people other

than Jesus, I'm asking you to trust him now.

If you've been trying to survive your storms

alone, I'm asking you to bring them to Jesus

and let him calm them. If you've placed your

faith in anything other than the almighty power

of God, I'm asking you to move your faith. to

the only one deserving of your trust. You see,

the powerful way begins with faith in Jesus.

It begins with faith in the one who rules over

everything, over all of the fears, all of the

pain, all of the doubt, and yes, even the sickness

and death. The powerful way begins with faith

in the Lord who rules over everything you could

possibly fear. And that's the gospel truth. If

you are struggling, if you are holding on to

your own doubts, your own worries, your own fears,

whatever it is that you are dealing with and

you have been dealing with it on your own, I'm

begging you, don't do that. Bring it to the foot

of the cross. Give it to Jesus. And we as a church

family would love to do that with you. We would

love to walk with you as we all try to live like

we trust in the power of God. And let me do this.

so that you can understand what I mean by we.

If there's been something this week that has

caused you to either fear, worry, or suffer,

can you raise your hand, please? This is a safe

space. The church is as safe a place as there

is. Okay, so you see all those hands that were

raised. If you're in that boat and you need...

the church's prayers, the church's care. If you

just need somebody to walk alongside you, this

room is full of people that have been suffering

too. Do not feel like you're alone. Whatever

it is you need, know that you can come safely

and securely as we stand and as we sing.