Arrival: Mighty God | Part 2

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We exist to awaken this generation to new life in Christ.

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Well, last week we kicked off our new series Arrival, A Weary World Rejoices.

And it's been a wearying season, hasn't it?

I mean, just as the restrictions have come back and things are shutting down, uh holiday plans have been augmented, travel has been canceled.

It's it 2020s just felt like um like one wave after another just keeps hitting us and hitting us, and we barely have time to get our head above water to catch our breath.

And I think in the midst of all this, we're wrestling with this question: Is God big enough to handle?

And whatever your blank is, is God big enough to handle 2020?

Is God big enough to handle the COVID crisis, the economic uncertainty, the the national division?

Is God big enough to handle the health uh crisis in your life or with your loved one?

Is God big enough to handle the problems in your marriage or in your relationships or the betrayal that you've gone through, the loss of friendships over this season, the heartache and pain and depression and anxiety, the loss of job?

And you see, when we answer this question, it's so important because how we answer it determines whether we run to God and find him a refuge and strength, or if we run from him, trying to handle it on our own, trying to figure it out, overwhelmed by the moment, looking for something to just satiate, perhaps numb just to get through.

Here's what's amazing about Advent.

Advent means arrival, and it's at Advent that we're reminded of the God who is at work even when things around us aren't working outright.

Advent reminds us of the God who's in control even in the midst of a world spinning out of control.

See, a weary world rejoices because of the arrival of Emmanuel, God with us.

And Isaiah, the prophet, he tells about this Emmanuel, God with us.

He prophesies about Jesus who is to come, and he tells us there's these four character traits, these four descriptions, that in him we find confidence and we can celebrate and rejoice no matter the circumstances.

And Isaiah says it this way for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be on his shoulders, and we shall call him wonderful counselor.

Christina talked about that last week.

If you missed it, go back and listen to it.

Mighty God, that's what we're talking about this week.

Everlasting Father.

Chris is gonna talk about that next week, and we'll close with Prince of Peace.

A weary world rejoices because of Emmanuel God with us.

And what you need, what I need in this moment in the middle of the messy 2020, is we need a mighty God.

That word mighty is can also mean champion, hero, one who has the power to bring about the victory.

A mighty God.

You know, when we think about Jesus, we don't often think about him as a mighty God.

Last week, as Christina was talking about wonderful counselor, we we we understand Jesus as the wonderful counselor who's humble and gentle of heart.

We we we recognize Jesus as this, you know, faithful friend and companion, and you know, who's often we can kind of talk about him as my buddy, and there's this casualness.

But you see, Jesus, he's not just an amazing man.

He's not just an amazing man, a good man, a great teacher, a miracle worker, one sent from God.

Jesus is the almighty God.

And when the storm rages, when when the life is falling apart, what we need is Jesus, the Almighty God.

And what I want to do with our time is help you understand and see Jesus as the Almighty God and experience Him in this way, this Advent season.

And to do that, I I want to take you to Mark chapter four and five.

And in Mark chapter four and five, we actually see four series of events in the life of Jesus that that unveil or reveal Jesus as this mighty God, that he's more than just an amazing man.

He is the almighty God of the universe.

And we pick it up in Mark chapter four, verse thirteen.

It begins this way.

That day when the evening came, he, being Jesus, said to his disciples, Let us go over to the other side, leaving the crowd behind him.

They took him along just as he was in the boat.

There were also other boats with him.

A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat so that it was nearly swamped.

Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion.

The disciples woke him up and said to him, Teacher, don't you care if we drowned?

And that's the question in the middle of storms that we ask of God.

God, don't you care?

And next week we're going to talk about that question.

God, don't you care?

Our perfect heavenly Father.

Well, Jesus got up, rebuked the winds, and said to the waves, Quiet, be still.

Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

And he said to the disciples, Why are you so afraid?

Don't you, do you still have no faith?

Now notice this, verse 41.

They were terrified and asked each other, Who is this?

Even the wind and the waves obey him.

Jesus is not just an amazing man.

Jesus is the Almighty God.

Jesus has the power over nature.

He spoke, and with the word the wind ceased, and the waves calmed.

Now, there's a lot that we could pull from this text.

And in fact, we're going to circle back to it in our final week, the Prince of Peace.

But in this moment, I just want us you to notice the response of the disciples.

They're in the middle of the storm, and now remember, they're professional fishermen.

They've been on this the Sea of Galilee thousands of times.

They've been through storms before, and they're afraid for their lives.

They're thinking they might drown.

But then did you notice that the disciples didn't wake up Jesus to calm the storm?

Because if they did, they wouldn't have been terrified when he calmed the storm.

The disciples woke up Jesus to bell water.

Don't you care?

We're trying to save each other here and to bell water.

And in that moment, you saw at the end, and they were terrified, and they asked this question: Who is this?

Even the wind and waves obey him.

You see, the disciples knew Jesus was an amazing man, a miracle worker, anointed one sent from God.

And in this moment, they knew only God had the power over nature itself.

Only God could steal the wind and the waves.

And they're in the boat with God Almighty, and they're afraid in that moment.

Like, who is this man?

You know, that revelation was so instrumental in my own prayer life.

Of where am I asking Jesus to bell water when he has the power to calm storms?

Where am I asking little things?

God, I just need to get through.

I just need to get by.

If you could, would you, might you?

I'm not sure if you would.

And he is the God Almighty to calm the storms.

Your God is stronger than any of the storms of life.

Stronger than the loss of your job, a crisis with your friendship, a relationship fractured, a global pandemic, economic uncertainty, national division.

Jesus has the power over nature.

Your God is stronger than the storms of your life.

And Jesus, notice this, has the power over the demonic, over the spiritual realm.

When they got to the other side of the lake, the Sea of Galilee, Jesus got out of the boat and a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him.

That's an odd greeting, by the way, not one that I would want.

This man lived in the tombs, and no one can bind him anymore, not even with a chain, for he had often been chained hand and foot, but he had torn the chains apart and broke the irons with his feet.

No one, notice this, was strong enough to subdue him night and day among the tombs and in the hills, he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

That's a terrible neighbor, by the way, too.

When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him.

He shouted at the top of his voice, What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?

And even the demonic demons shudder at the name of Jesus, recognizing the Almighty God.

And we learn from the text that this man is not just possessed by one demon, but by many.

They call themselves Legion.

And he's crying out to Jesus to not torture us, but if you would just send us into this herd of pigs, there's a herd of like 2,000 pigs in the field by.

And Jesus says, that's fine.

And they go from that man into the pigs.

And the the text says that the pigs stampede and they go down the steep ravine and they end up drowning in the lake.

Now the workers who were working with the pigs run into town and tell everybody what had happened.

And they come out and they see the man who they could not control, the man who was too strong for them to withhold, sitting in his right mind, clothed, talking.

And they it says that they were terrified and they pleaded with Jesus to leave.

You see, Jesus has the power over the demonic.

Friends, the spiritual world is just as real as the physical and visible world.

And followers of Jesus, we have a spiritual enemy, Satan and his adversaries, who are seeking to destroy you.

They're seeking to undermine and still your joy.

They're seeking to kill your peace.

They're seeking to destroy the relationships in your life, to sow division and discord and distrust, to tempt you down a path that will ultimately undermine your very good.

And then when you bite on the temptation to shame you and to tell you you're no good.

This is why Peter would say it this way in 1 Peter 5:8, be alert and sober a mind.

1 Peter 5:8

Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

Be alert, be aware, don't be uninformed.

And do you know when a lion hits its prey, when they're most vulnerable, when they're isolated from the pack?

Are you isolated from community?

Are you not in a group?

Are you not engaged in God's word daily?

You're vulnerable.

When you're stressed out and alone, when you're overwhelmed, you're vulnerable.

Be alert.

You're you have an enemy, but we do not need to be afraid.

First John 4, 4 says, Greater is he, speaking of Jesus who is in you than he who is in the world.

Greater is the one, the one who spoke, and demons flee, than the one who is in the world.

And so we do not fight for victory.

We fight from victory.

You might feel defeated in this season, but you are not defeated because of Jesus.

This is why James 5:7 would say it this way: resist the devil and he will flee.

James 5:7

He will run.

Why?

Because Jesus has the power over the spiritual realm, over the demonic.

Your God is greater than all the forces of evil.

And so there's no need to be afraid.

The enemy, the enemy has a loud bark, but his teeth have been taken out.

He don't got a bite.

And now for some over this season, you've opened yourself up to the work of the enemy.

For some in this season, maybe you've dabbled in the new age and the cold.

Maybe you've allowed habitual sin, anger, and bitterness to get in, where you've given the enemy a foothold into your life, and where you would cry upon the name of the Lord Jesus, and he will bring freedom in your life.

Jesus has the power over nature.

Jesus has the power over the demonic.

And then we see Jesus has the power over sickness and disease.

Well, the people said, Hey, Jesus, um, we're not sure what's going on.

You go away from here and he says, Okay, so he gets back into the boat.

They go to the other side.

When he shows up there, a man named Jarius, he was a synagogue leader.

He he comes to Jesus and he just pleads with him, his daughter's sick.

Would you come and heal my daughter?

And as Jesus is on his way to heal his daughter, it's the text says a large crowd followed and pressed all around him.

And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for 12 years.

She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and spent all she had.

Yet instead of getting better, she grew worse.

When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak because she thought, if I just touch his clothes, I'll be healed.

Immediately her bleeding stopped, and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

Now notice this, verse 30.

At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him.

He turned around in the crowd and he asked, Who touched my clothes?

Now the disciple was going, Jesus, there's so many people around you.

Everybody's touching.

He's like, No, who touched me?

Somebody, he's like, they're like, Come on, Jesus, this is crazy.

And then the woman comes forward and she begins to share.

And it says that she was afraid, but she told the whole truth in her story.

And Jesus says this to her, daughter, next slide.

Your faith has made you well.

Go in peace and be cured of your disease.

Jesus has the power over sickness and disease.

And this one's hard, isn't it?

This one's hard because there's times when God heals.

And then there's times when he doesn't.

I've seen God do supernatural healing.

I I've been actually in third world countries and praying for people and seen someone who's crippled be able to walk and a person who's blind gain sight.

I've seen my own daughter have supernatural healing where she had an intestinal disease at six months, and we're going to all these specialists, uh, six months of age, that is, and all these specialists and our church fasted and prayed together.

And the night before she was to have surgery, God healed her, and the doctor's like, there's no explanation.

I've seen God supernaturally heal.

And then I've prayed for healing.

And I've also seen that there's no healing coming, and I don't know why.

In fact, some of our closest friends in the whole world have been going through, and we've been praying for our friend, and she's been needing healing for four and a half years, and we've fasted and we've prayed and we've anointed oil, we've done everything.

We've we've we we are praying nonstop, and God hasn't healed her yet.

And I don't know.

I don't know why God hasn't healed her yet, but here's what I do know.

I do know that my God is mightier than the suffering and pain in this world.

I don't understand his ways, but I do know that he is mightier than the suffering and pain in this world.

And with the things I do not know, I bring those to my wonderful counselor.

To the stuff and the questions of my heart and soul.

I come to my wonderful counselor who says, like Christina said last week, come to me.

Weary and heavy laden.

Your God is mightier than the suffering in this world.

Jesus has the power over nature, over the demonic, over sickness and disease.

And finally, Jesus has the power over death itself.

The text goes on and says, While Jesus was still speaking to the woman, that is, some people came from the house of Jarius, the synagogue leader.

Your daughter is dead, they said.

Why bother the teacher anymore?

Can you imagine that moment as a dad?

You went and got help, and help was on the way, and then he stopped to help someone else.

And in helping someone else, your daughter died, and now all hope is gone.

I mean, you can only imagine the heart of expectation that you're gonna receive your daughter back, and now it's disappointment and devastation.

Overhearing what Jesus uh what they said, Jesus told them, do not be afraid and just believe.

Do not be afraid, just believe.

And if you've been noticing all throughout all four of these stories, this is the theme that God is inviting us into.

Don't be afraid.

The disciples in the boat, why are you so afraid?

The presence of the Almighty God is with you in the boat.

Don't be afraid, just believe.

Lean in, put the weight of your trust of your life on me.

The woman she reaches out though, trembling in fear, believing that if she just touched the hem of the cloak of Jesus, she would be healed.

And he says, daughter, your faith has healed you.

Don't be afraid, don't be concerned, don't let worry overcome you.

Just believe the Almighty God has the power over death.

When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion with the people crying and wailing loudly.

All the professional uh mourners had shown up.

He he went in and said to them, Why all this commotion and wailing?

The child is not dead but asleep.

But they laughed at him.

You see, to the author of life, death is but sleep.

And so after he put them all out, because that's what you do, the people who laugh at you, he took the child's father and mother and disciples who were with him, and went in there where the child was.

He took her by the hand and said to her, Talitha Kaum, which means little girl, I say to you, get up.

Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around.

She was twelve years old, and at this they were completely astonished.

At the word of Jesus, he spoke, and at his word, death is reversed and life ushered in.

Jesus has the power of death over death.

And he didn't come just to raise one person to life.

He came to defeat sin and death once and for all.

You see, at the cross, Jesus took on and overcame our biggest problem: sin.

Sin is the reason we experience the pain and the devastation in our world, the brokenness and all that is wrong in this world.

And he took that on and it was nailed to the cross.

And in the grave, as he was buried, he took on our biggest fear.

Your biggest fear, my biggest fear is to be abandoned and alone, to be isolated and kept in darkness.

And he was abandoned and alone in that cold grave, and he took that on.

And at the resurrection, he defeated our greatest enemy, death itself, so that the apostle Paul would say, Where O death is your victory.

But thanks be to God who leads us into victory.

Jesus has defeated the crave.

Defeated the finality of the grave.

See, the worst this world can throw at you has already been taken care of by Jesus.

This is why followers of Jesus lived with such confidence and courage in the face of persecution, in the face of death itself, why they would risk their life for the least of these.

Because the greatest thing, the greatest enemy had been defeated by Jesus.

Death itself.

See, the worst of 2020 can throw you has already been conquered by Jesus.

So the question is God big enough to handle your blank.

In fact, I want to leave you with this picture.

And if you wouldn't mind doing this with me in your home or wherever you're watching, would you take your hands and hold them like this?

Just look at them.

What in your life do you have a tight grip on?

What in your life are you worried and concerned?

Where when you try to answer that question, is God big enough to handle it?

You grab a hold of it and you're just like, I'm so fearful, I'm so worried, I don't know.

Is it maybe it's your marriage, maybe it's your kids, maybe it's uh a fractured relationship, maybe it's your health, maybe it's the future, maybe it's your emotional well-being, and just you're holding on so tightly, and you go intellectually, I get that God can handle this, but I'm still trying to handle it myself.

And I want you to do this.

I want you to let it go like this, and to open your hands and cup them.

And this picture is twofold.

One, one in where you say, God, you're not only big enough, I'm gonna let you handle everything.

Here it is.

And the other is scripture actually tells us that that Jesus has us in his hands, and nothing can snatch us or take us away.

Like he's got you right here in his hands, and he can handle it.

Would you bring it to him?

Would you bring your fears and your concerns?

Would you turn toward the Almighty God, Jesus your Savior, and say, God, I can't handle it.

Would you handle this?

Would I give my concerns, my worries, my fears, my relationships to you?

Right now, just hold your hands open.

Heavenly Father, we ask that you would encounter each person as they listen to this afresh.

The Almighty Savior of the world, who has the power over all, and who cares for us.

Would you give him your cares, your concerns, the things you're trying to handle?

That you might experience your mighty God, a refuge, and a strength.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.