Matthew pt. 24 - Jesus Calms the Storm

We're Matthew Chapter 8. So Matthew has been walking us

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

through. So we see the genealogy of

Jesus, the birth of Jesus. We see the mystery of John the

Baptist. We see Jesus comes to be

baptized. We see Jesus goes into the

wilderness. We see Jesus comes back.

We see Jesus delivers the Sermon on the Mount chapter 5-6 and

seven. Jesus was showing what is the

Kingdom really like? He had already been telling

people repent, so we know that that's part of the Kingdom.

The the Kingdom message is one of repentance.

What else does this Kingdom really like?

Is this guy going to show us what anything's like?

Oh, does he ever? Over and over he keeps showing

healing, healing, healing, deliverance, deliverance,

deliverance. Repent, repent repent.

We see the goodness, the kindness of God all all

simultaneously. It's not one or the other.

It's not God's just good to me. But he doesn't call me to

repent. God is good to me.

Therefore he calls me to repent. He's not taking something away

from me. He is giving me something higher

and better. And Jesus continues to bless.

Jesus continues to reveal what the Kingdom really looks like

through his explicit teaching and through his ministry,

through the way he's living. And remember Matthew's motive in

writing this gospel. Who did Matthew write this

particular gospel for? Was he writing it to Gentiles or

was he writing it to Jews? He was writing it to Jews.

So over and over we see throughout the the Gospel of

Matthew, he's going to continue to say as it was written.

He continues to do that over and over and over.

And Boden hit that a few weeks back whenever the someone was

healed. And then again he said this was

to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah.

So he keeps showing the Jews he goes, hey, remember this

prophecy about the Messiah And the Jews go, yeah, we know about

that. And Matthew goes, this is that

the Jews can go, whoa. And Matthew keeps going this,

this is that. This is that.

Over and over and over and over and over.

Hey, this is the Messiah, the one who calls himself the son of

man from Daniel Chapter 7, who is, who is enthroned with the

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

ancient of days. So Matthew is writing this

gospel to show Jews that Jesus is the Messiah.

And now the passage that we come to today, Mark and Luke also

record this. So we're going to read the

passage now. Matthew, Chapter 8, verse 23

Matthew 8:23–27

through 27. 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 are

perishing. And he said to them, Why are you

afraid, O you, of little faith? And he rose and rebuked the

winds and the sea. And there was a great calm And

the men marveled saying, What sort of man is this, that even

the winds and the sea obey him. Lord, would you please bring us

more revelation of Jesus today to show us exactly what sort of

man, what sort of God you really are, that we would see and know

your nature, your character, your will and your design.

Even better in Jesus name, O God's people said Amen.

So remember what was the lead up in this moment?

Jesus gave everybody a test. And the passage we looked at

last week, now in verse 18. Now when Jesus saw a crowd

around him, as you read your word, as you read the Gospels

over and over and over, whenever you see a crowd around Jesus,

he's getting ready to sift them out.

It's just the opposite of what we would think.

This is the moment to capture momentum.

You know, that's that's what the ministry teaches us, right,

Alex? Like this is the moment you got

to capitalize on this. And Jesus sees all the crowds

and goes, how can I sort these people out?

He goes, hey, I'm going to the other side of the lake and

they're going, This is a test, right?

Well, is Jesus trying to get rid of people?

No, but the test is to draw you nearer to him.

The test is not intended to push you away.

The test is intended to actually draw you nearer, in a deeper

devotion and a deeper love and a deeper faithfulness.

And yet you get to cast your vote.

Are you going to make the journey, the the many, the many

mile journey around the sea? Or are you going to go?

This is where I get off. Hey, I was a big fan of the

miracles though. Jesus, keep it up.

Thank you for healing me. Thank you for healing my family.

Thank you for healing. Like everybody who came to you,

it was awesome to be a part of, but now it's going to cost me

something. When it cost you something, I

was a big fan of it, Jesus. But to be your disciple, if it's

going to cost me something like it's been real, appreciate it.

That was the difference we saw between the crowd and the

disciple. Well, which am I?

Well, you get to cast that vote. You get to determine churches

are filled with both crowd and disciples.

It feels safe to be in the orbit of Jesus, but being in the orbit

of a planet is not the same thing as being on the planet.

So a lot of times I can be comforted by being I'm around

it. I'm around Christendom, I'm

around Christianity, I'm around faithful Saints, All good

things, obviously. And yet it could potentially

provide a false comfort to me. I could be falsely comforted and

go well because I'm around it, because I hear it, because I see

it, because I've experienced it, or because my mom and dad were

so faithful or because my spouse is so faithful, Or maybe I think

my pastor is so faithful. All good things.

It can bring me a comfort to say I too am so faithful.

Well again, I get to cast my own vote.

So Jesus had been sifting out the crowd and one man steps up

and says I'll follow you wherever you go and Jesus

doesn't wink at him and go, good for you.

Jesus raises the bar again and goes well.

It's going to be challenging. It's not going to be

comfortable. It starts with discomfort and it

ends with agony on the cross. And then he says take up your

cross so Jesus doesn't say, man, let me make it as easy as

possible. I just want to make the easiest

on ramp for everybody. Jesus is just not good at

building a ministry. Like he needs to read more books

and listen to more podcasts. And then he would know not to

say obnoxious things to people like eat my flesh and drink my

blood to sift out the crowd. The disciples like, no, we have

Lord, this was our chance. Jesus going, I know what I'm

worth. I want to see if they know what

I'm worth. Do you know who I am?

Do you know what I'm worth? So now this is the culmination

of that, he said, let's go to the other side.

And now this is the moment of it.

They get in the boat. His disciples followed him.

So Jesus has been teaching with power and authority, and there's

a lot of things we're going to see out of these verses today.

But the the most obvious thing that we need to acknowledge that

every hearer of this text and every reader of this text would

always get out of it first and foremost is that that everything

has to obey Jesus. There's a lot we'll get from

this passage, but the first, most obvious thing is this.

Jesus has power over nature. This is the thing.

So there's many allegories that we'll get out of this, and there

will be many times, and I'm going to, and I'm going to

preach it that way to you this morning as well, that the Lord

will get you through your storms.

But that is a secondary application to the primary thing

that Matthew was communicating and that Jesus was even

revealing in that moment. So we've seen over and over,

sickness obeys Jesus. Injuries obey Jesus.

Disease obeys Jesus. Demons obey Jesus.

Disciples obey Jesus. And the wind and the waves and

nature itself obeys Jesus. The Jews reading this, the

Gentiles, like you and me reading this, everybody has to

continually recognize, I have to reckon with with this man now I

have to cast a vote on him. I cannot call this person a good

moral teacher. Jesus seems like a good guy who

taught some nice things. What are you reading?

You're not reading the Bible. Where did you get that from?

Well, I saw it on the Internet. Well, OK, well.

But. But Jesus doesn't leave you to

wonder who he is or what he's about.

He continues to show that he is dominant over everything.

All authority in heaven and earth belongs to him.

He'll tell us that explicitly at the end of Matthew.

So Jesus teaches with authority. He acts with authority and all

that we've seen him do is to show love and to reveal the

Father's goodness and bring deliverance to needy people like

us. So let's look more closely.

In verse 18, he gave orders to go to the other side.

Here we have the explicit will of God.

What did Jesus want to have happen here?

He wanted to go to the other side.

Let's not get fancy with it. It's pretty simple.

This is the will of God that the disciples can confidently trust

in. If Jesus says you're going to

the other side, guess what you're going to do?

You're going to the other side. Whether it's a lake, whether

it's the trial, whether it's death.

When we crossover the river and we go to the other side and

we're in the presence of the Lord, you can take it to the

bank. And then in verse 23, when he

got in the boat, his disciples followed him.

Mark gives us more clarity in his gospel and says there were

other boats. So remember, there were other

disciples who followed Jesus faithfully from the beginning.

We know this also from the book of Acts.

Whenever Judas's spot needs to be filled, we had 12 disciples.

One of them was a traitor who went to hell.

And now we need to replace his spot.

Who are we going to do it with? The disciples said it needs to

be someone who was an eyewitness from the beginning.

There was other eyewitnesses from the beginning.

Yeah, there were. So Matthias was.

Then they prayed. And then, funny enough, they

cast lots. It's such a funny story to me.

You think they're going to pray and they'll be like, oh, we all

just know who it is. And they're like, they prayed

and they're like, let's draw straws, OK, Matthias, because

the Lord cast the lot. The Lord reveals who who it

comes to. So we know there were there were

other disciples. Others go in boats.

Others probably went around. But then the crowd leaves and

Jesus is able to say, hey, my disciples can draw near to me.

My disciples can follow me closely.

So His disciples followed him. Those who he had called up to

that point joined him in a boat. But other disciples followed as

well. Some got in other boats, Some

began the journey around the lake.

But disciples follow Jesus. What can we take from that?

That one's pretty direct, isn't it?

That one's a bit on the nose. Disciples follow Jesus.

There's no such thing as a Christian who doesn't actively

follow Jesus. And following Jesus means

obeying Jesus. We should go where the master

goes. I want to I want you to turn to

the book of Ruth. Ruth is in the Old Testament.

Joshua judges Ruth. We're going to look at

determination to follow. We're going to look at

faithfulness to follow Ruth, Chapter one.

So a couple of contexts here. So Naomi has two sons.

These sons are married to her daughters in law, and her sons

die. Now her daughters in law are

here and they're trying to determine what to do.

So Naomi, verse 8. Naomi said to her two daughters

in law, go return each of you to her mother's house.

May the Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the

dead. That means my sons and with me

the Lord. Grant that you may find rest

each of you in your house, in the House of her husband.

Then she kissed them and they lifted up their voices and wept.

And they said to her, no, we will return with you to your

people. So these women were not Jews,

but they're saying, Naomi, we want to be with you, with your

God and with your people. But Naomi said, turn back my

daughters. Why will you go with me?

Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husband's?

She's saying I'm not giving you any more sons.

I'm not. I'm not giving you any more

husbands at this point. Turn back my daughters.

Go your way, for I am too old to have a husband.

If I if I should say I have hope.

Even if I should should have a husband this night and should

bear sons. Will you therefore wait until

they were grown? She's like why?

Why would you stay with me? I have nothing to offer you.

I have nothing to give you. What's she doing?

She's talking him out of it. This reminds me of Jesus.

Hey, we're going. I'll follow you anywhere Jesus

goes. Let me push.

Let me push back on that a little bit.

Let me give a little bit of challenge here.

We wait till they're grown. No, my daughters, for it is

exceedingly bitter to me. For your sake, that the hand of

the Lord has gone out against me.

Then they lifted up their voices and wept again.

And Orpa kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to

her. So one daughter-in-law says, OK,

I'll leave. She kisses her goodbye.

They they're weeping. It's all tragic.

But Ruth says, no, I'm not leaving.

And she said, see, So Naomi, Naomi is saying to Ruth now see

your sister-in-law is going back to her people, and to her gods

return after your sister-in-law. But Ruth said, do not urge me to

leave you or to return from following you.

For where you go I will go. And where you lodge, I will

lodge. Your people shall be my people.

And your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and

there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me, and

more, if anything, but death parts me from you.

And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she

said no more. Ruth was a stubborn woman for

the glory of God and for faithfulness to God.

She she actually has the incredible privilege of becoming

the great grandmother to King David because of this, because

of what she does here. If you're the great grandmother

to King David, do you know who else that makes you an ancestor

of the privilege and the honor of being the ancestor of the man

who calms the storm in the boat because of her faithfulness.

To say, I won't leave, I won't separate, it is going to cost

me. What might it mean?

I don't know what the future means, but I know I don't want

to be separated from you and your God.

I know I don't want to be separated from the Kingdom.

This is what faithfulness looks like and faithfulness always

looks like Extremism to the unfaithful.

The unfaithful will always call the faithful extreme.

They will. The unfaithful always call the

the faithful fanatical, excessive, off the deep end.

Just a little bit too out there. Spoken like lukewarm.

Spoken like an unfaithful. Are you condemning?

Not at all condemning. Are you judging?

Absolutely. Of course.

I'm making a judgement, a clear understanding of the difference

in things. That's what judgement is.

But everyone can be that faithful.

So we're not condemning Orpa. But Orpa missed out, to say the

least. To return to her people into

into her gods. Will we see Orpa in the Kingdom?

I don't know. Will we see Ruth?

Absolutely. The great grandmother of King

David And more importantly, an ancestor of the man who calms

the storm in the boat, the man who calls his disciples, but the

man who also tests his disciples.

Hey, I'm going over here. Will you follow?

Yeah, I'm in. I'm all in.

And this is what we were supposed to be told when we

first came into the Kingdom. Some of us were given a gentle

on ramp and praised God for faithfulness and and the fact

that we can grow. But the gospel as it was

preached by Jesus and the disciples was not as slow on

boarding that you would then reveal more commitment to

people. As time and years went on Jesus

called people to the cross from day one.

He never did a bait and switch. He was always very sincere,

always very plain. Always saying it's going to cost

you everything. Hey, if you don't hate your

father and mother you can't be my disciple.

And they're like, what? I'm out of here.

Hey, if you don't take up your cross and follow me, you can't

be my disciple. Modern interpretation.

If you don't get in the electric chair, just like I get in the

electric chair To to what? To crucify your flesh and to

follow me, then you can't be my disciple.

So he was never unclear about it.

He was always saying I require complete allegiance and total

faithfulness. Lord, I'm afraid I can't do it

perfectly. Do it faithfully.

You won't do it perfectly, but you can do it faithfully.

You can't do it perfectly, but you can do it faithfully.

The Christian life is 1 marked by repentance, not by

perfection. So we continue in faithfulness,

right? How many spouses in here are

still married? Have you been perfectly faithful

to keep all of your vows that you made on the wedding day

perfectly? Have you?

Perfectly, Because I haven't. And yet, Natalie and I still

have good fellowship and a solid marriage.

Our marriage hasn't evaporated because we didn't keep our vows

with perfection, but we did keep them with faithfulness.

We have been faithful to one another continually, and in the

same way. As we walk with our master, he

remembers that we're just dust. And yet he has set his affection

upon us, and he has filled us with his spirit, and we actually

have. He gives us the desire and He

gives us the power to walk with him.

This is not a white knuckle faith where I'm holding on for

it to your life. But there is a determination

that comes even from the Spirit of God.

He is the one who empowers. He is the one who quips so that

I can even follow him faithfully.

So we want that attitude of Ruth, not the attitude of the

crowd that says this is where I get off.

But like the disciple who follows anywhere, the disciple,

the disciple doesn't have any limits that he places, hey

Jesus, your Lord here, But you're not Lord here.

That's not how a disciple thinks.

It's not how a disciple acts. Jesus your Lord everywhere.

That's not how Lordship works. Jesus is Lord or you are Lord.

Those are the possibilities. No, He's Lord in all these other

areas. I'm just Lord.

Here. Also known as Jesus isn't Lord,

so Jesus is Lord or your Lord. So is there anything in your

life that Jesus can't have? Is there somewhere that you that

you've determined not to follow him?

Jesus knows that we won't carry a cross if we can't make it

across a lake. If we can't walk around the lake

to meet him there. Well, I'm going to have to do

this and that. What about this one about that?

Settle it for yourself. Let the dead bury their own

dead. It's going to be uncomfortable.

He just made that promise, and it gets very uncomfortable very

quickly. Of course.

Let your prayer be what the scribe told him in the previous

verses. I will follow you wherever you

go. Let your prayer be like that of

Ruth. One with sincerity, one with one

with devotion. She cast her whole vote right

here. She didn't say like, hey, let's

go for a few months and see what happens.

You know, like, don't don't send me off.

Let me try this thing out. She was like, there's no

testing. May the Lord curse me.

If anything other than death separates you from me, ever.

I'm going with you. Don't.

Don't tell me to try. And don't try and get me to

leave again. Naomi.

Don't try and talk me out of it. I'm all in and Naomi goes.

OK, then. All right.

It looks like you're here to stay.

Did the Lord honor that? Did the Lord bless that?

Yes, he did. Go back to Matthew 8, verse 24

Matthew 8:24

and behold there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the

boat was being swamped by the waves.

But he was asleep. What do we see here?

Following Jesus does not mean that we will not face storms,

and all the Saints said, duh, following Jesus doesn't mean

that we won't face storms. Jesus already told everyone that

in the Sermon on the Mount he says everybody's going to get

storms. The faithful and the unfaithful.

That was how he finished the sermon on the Mount.

The obedient and the disobedient.

They experienced the same storm. So don't be surprised St. when

you find yourself in a bad storm.

It was promised. But it was also promised that

with that when the storm is gone, you will not be.

That's the distinction. The man who builds his life on

Christ's words. That means obedience to him when

you build your life that way. Storms are still coming.

I can't believe the storm is coming.

I build my life on the word. No, the storm's still coming.

We're also getting the storm. Why?

Why? Why?

Why? Because we live in a fallen

world. It's a simple answer.

It's a truthful answer, and it's enough.

The scripture oftentimes doesn't go into the details.

Why did this guy have a demon? Why was this person sick?

Why were these all? Jesus healed him, Jesus

delivered him. We're given the conclusion.

Oftentimes we're shown the will of God, but we're not showing

all the all the particulars. Where did this storm come from?

Theologians love to pick this verse apart and argue about the

storm. Some argue that this was a

supernatural event. There's some, there's some

particulars in here that I think they they, I think they take,

and I think they take some extremes and take some liberties

that aren't there. This was a demonic thing.

Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't, but the Lord didn't see fit to

explicitly tell us. So I just go, it was a storm.

Like it's weather happens and this thing was coming up.

But I look at the conclusion of the thing.

I look at where it's going. I look at what actually happened

with it. So the Bible doesn't tell us

that God sent it. The Bible doesn't tell us the

devil sent it. The Bible doesn't tell us the

disciples deserved it. It just was.

So what matters more than why was there a storm is the fact

that Jesus calms the storm. We don't get in depth

explanations of why this person was sick or leprous or paralyzed

or demon possessed, but we do get the will of God revealed for

those situations. And I I want to know why.

Like I ain't mad at you for wanting to know why.

I'm just saying I don't know that you're going to get a why I

don't know that you will. And the the the simplest why

that has always comforted me and I've always found it to be in

the scriptures is the devil is bad.

The world is broken. Joe Michael is stupid.

You add those things up, you can come up to to all kinds of

things. And I just go, I I don't know.

I just know he's faithful like that's that's the that's a

simple and Safeway for me to be a sheep.

Aren't you a little sheep? Absolutely.

The sheep of his pasture. Bah.

Like he's the shepherd. He's in charge.

He's he's the head. I'm not And I and I'm is this

supposed to comfort me? I've heard somebody say that

before and I go, I didn't say it's supposed to or not supposed

to do anything. I'm just telling you it's where

I land. It's what I see.

And it's where I live. So I just say I trust in the

shepherd. Though I walk through the valley

of the shadow of death. God help me to not fear evil.

Because you're with me. You're with me in this storm.

You're with me in this valley, you're with me.

And you still prepare a table for me, even the presence of my

enemies. What's his will?

What's to lead you beside still waters?

It's to restore your soul. It's to make you lie down in

green pastures. So this is where he's taking

them. This is what the will of God

wants. Notice what the disciples don't

say. They don't say.

Where did this come from? Why is this happening to us?

We live in a fallen world. Things go wrong.

Simple enough. Notice what they do say.

Save us, Lord. We are perishing.

That's the response in crisis. That's the response in the

storm. Why?

Why? How about Save me?

Save me, Lord, I I'm scared. I'm afraid you have little

faith. Yes, God.

But I still know where to go. I still know who to come to.

Why does he, Why does he say that they have little faith?

Well, Mark gives us more context of what they said to him as they

woke him. They didn't only say wake up.

We're perishing. They woke him up and they said,

don't you care that we're perishing?

And many believe, and I believe that that's what Jesus was

rebuking. Don't I care.

Don't I care. So it's just what the leper said

earlier. Lord, if you're willing, if

you're willing, if you care enough about me, I know you can

do anything. Well, no, nobody's ever going to

say that God can't do something. No one would ever say that.

A heretic says that. So everybody agrees God can do

something. But the leper says, but if

you're willing and Jesus goes, well, let's answer that right

now. I am.

And the disciples wake him up. Lord, don't you care?

We're going to die. We're drowning.

And he goes, you have little faith.

Don't I care. Peace be still.

And instantly. And the Greek there makes it

very plain. There's a different word from

what we would use in English, that it was an instantaneous

calm so that it wasn't like. And over the next 30 minutes the

storm moved on. Now the storm obeyed the words

of Jesus, just like all creation obeyed the words of Jesus.

Remember it was by him that all things were created.

It's by him that all things are held together.

He is pre eminent. That is the response in the

storm. Save us, Lord.

We are perishing. That is the right response in

your storm. Save me Lord.

Save me Lord. Save me Lord.

God is so good and so loving. Even though Jesus rebukes them

for being afraid and for having little faith and and for

doubting his goodness, and even though they were amazed that he

calmed the storm, they went to Jesus for help.

They did do that, right? They didn't just say what are we

going to do when Jesus wakes up and goes hello me.

He didn't have to do that. They did go to him and they went

to him in the moment of their need.

So who you put your faith in matters more than the size of

your faith. Guys, we talked about this at

the round table Friday night. Is there something to grow in

your faith? Absolutely.

Absolutely there is. Because over and over, Pete,

Jesus, repeat, rebukes people for little faith.

So we can't, we can't gloss over that.

Over and over, Jesus rebukes people for a little faith and

yet no matter what happens, keep getting in the boat that Jesus

is in. Well, do I have this faith or do

I have that faith or do I have this?

Just go where Jesus is. Get in his boat.

Get in his boat. Don't get hung up.

Don't get caught up on your faith.

Just get focused on the person of Jesus because that is the

source of faith. So faith isn't something that

you cultivate on your own in a vacuum all by yourself.

I'm just going to go be alone and get faith.

No, you're not. Faith comes from the word of

God, and in particular also the Word of God made flesh.

So the closer you get to Jesus, faith is a byproduct.

Faith isn't something to be chased and pursued.

Jesus is the one to be pursued and faith will come as you

pursue Jesus. Faith comes from hearing the

word of God, from being with the word of God and having the word

of God inside of you. So by all means, grow your

faith, grow your faith, but no matter what, keep getting in the

boat that Jesus is in. And that means follow wherever

he leads you in life and go to him as the deliverer for any

storm that you're in. And in the meantime, between the

start of the storm, that's the beginning moment.

That's where we go, Whoa. I did not see this coming.

And by the way, why did these fishermen get surprised by a

storm? These guys are seasoned.

These dudes have been out on the sea many times.

This place is set. The lake is set below sea level

by quite a bit and surrounded by mountains.

So you actually can't see the horizons, you can't see what's

coming. So storms could come in pretty

quickly, and a lot of strong wind can come off the mountains.

To this day, the Sea Galilee can be a very rough place.

It's it's not that big of a of a lake, but waves can get up to

around 20 feet. So very significant.

Their boat was not, you know, it wasn't a kayak.

I mean at least 13 men fit in it and one man was asleep in it in

a very rough storm. So there there's some details

there that we don't know that that don't matter that much.

But they get in the boat and this storm rolls up.

But in the meantime, between the start of the storm and his

deliverance, what? What should I do in the meantime

when I'm waiting? What do we do?

We talked about peace, but what else do we do?

How? How do we get to that place?

James tells us what to do. Consider it pure joy when you

face trials of many kinds. What?

Why would I do that? Here's why.

Because you know that the testing of your faith produces

perseverance. Ah, so I'm being matured in

this. Is that an?

Is that a claim that everything bad that always happens is the

will of God for perseverance? No, but that is the that is the

claim that the Lord says. But I will in everything.

In everything. I will mature you.

I will grow you. Because you know that the

testing of your faith produces perseverance.

Let perseverance finish its work.

That you may become mature and complete, not lacking anything.

That's James 1/2 through 4:00. So Saints, God gives us answers

for everything. Not only does he say, yes, I am

your deliverer, but he also says, And in the meantime count

it all joy. No, no, no, Lord, Just go to the

delivering part. I'm going to be miserable and

accusatory and grumpy until you deliver me.

And he says, well then, but that's not that's not what I

want for my disciples. That's not the way of the

Kingdom. I actually want you to say,

Lord, I trust your deliverance. And also in this challenge, help

me to lean on you more. Help me to persevere.

Make me mature. Help me to suffer.

Well. Is it the will of the Lord that

I I should suffer? I don't believe so.

And yet help me to suffer well. Help me to be faithful.

Why? As the suffering servant was.

As the Son of Man was faithful. Faithful.

But this is unjust. Remember who you're talking to.

He knows what injustice feels like.

So if you can suffer faithfully, then, then you get to be counted

worthy, to suffer for the name. Then you get to be just like

this is unjustice comes from the enemy or this is the brokenness

of the world. Yes.

And that's why your Lord wants to deliver you from it.

And yet he says, hey, but I'm also enough.

I'm also enough for you. I'm also here with you.

You're not alone. You're not alone.

And you don't. And you and you're not the kind

of person anymore who can only thrive because everything's

going your way. That that was us before Christ,

before Christ. I needed everything to go my

way. And then I would say I'm

thriving and in Christ. You just say I'm thriving

because I'm with Christ. You're in the valley of the

shadow of death. Yeah, but the shepherd's with

me. You're in a terrible storm.

Yeah, but the masters over there, Well, your masters

asleep. That means I should.

That means that maybe I should be at rest, too.

If he's. If he's resting, surely I can

rest. He ain't worried.

Why should I worry? If I can?

If he's with me now, if I look around and I don't see him, Then

I need to change something. There is a repentance that's

needed in my life. There's not an abandonment of

the the master has never abandoned his sheep, the

shepherd has never left the flock.

But but through repentance I can immediately turn and come back

to him in verse 26. And he said to them, why are you

afraid? Are you of little faith?

Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was

a great calm. We see that Jesus is dominant

over everything. There is nothing he doesn't have

power over. Verse 24 said there was a great

storm. Now there is a great calm

brought on by a great savior. He did miracles for the leper,

for the mother-in-law, for the centurion, for the masses, for

the disciples. Do you wonder what his answer to

you is? I see you did this and this and

this and this and this and this and this.

I wonder, Do you really? Do you really have to wonder?

He is all powerful and he is all willing believe the word of God.

If he did it for them, He'll do it for you.

Jesus even makes this point back in the sermon on the Mount, he

said. But if God so clothes the grass

of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown

into the oven, will he not much more clothe you?

Oh, you of little faith. So what do we see here?

So his willingness to provide food for birds and flowers for a

field is evidence. According to the perfect logic

of Jesus. That is evidence of his

willingness to provide food and clothing for you.

That was his proof. Like, that's a very that's basic

reading comprehension. This equals this.

If this, this is an if then statement, then you should also

see that his miracle working power for others is evidence of

his willingness to provide miracle working power for you.

Your God is the same yesterday, today and forever.

He's no respecter of persons. The centurion wasn't special.

The leper wasn't special. You're not special either.

Take comfort and know that we are all special because he has

set his affection upon us and he does provide his miracle working

power. And he loves to glorify his

name. He loves to deliver people from

evil. It's why he told us to pray it,

and it's why we should expect it.

It's an expectant prayer. We don't pray, Fingers crossed.

Saints God do it. I don't.

I don't know if he wants to, but I'm.

I'm asking him to, but I don't really know if he wants to.

How could anyone know? How could you really know what

he wants to do? Well, look at what he's done.

Look how Jesus reveals the Kingdom.

He preaches the Kingdom. He shows the Kingdom.

He teaches the Kingdom. He reveals the Kingdom God has

miracle working power that he wants to show to you.

And now verse 27 And the men marvelled, saying, What sort of

man is this that even wins? And see obey him.

Demons obey him. Sickness obeys him, Disciples

obey him, but now wins. And see obey him.

Jews hearing this letter, reading this letter would have

gotten the picture. We need to get the picture as

well. All authority in heaven and on

earth is his. The disciples had feared the

storm, but now they have a different kind of fear.

It's a fear of the Lord. It is an honor.

It is an all. It is a reverence.

What sort of man is this? I mean this is a momentary shift

from panic and chaos. Him rebuking the storm.

The instantaneous calm. The water lies down.

The wind stops. This thing just obeyed him.

He just told the weather what to do, and they're going.

I've seen him, I've been following him.

I've been listening to him, obviously.

And now I'm going. This is still wild, this is

still powerful, This is still amazing.

They made enough of the mark on the disciples, of course, Like I

said that three of them recorded this in their Gospels.

Who is this? Let's answer that question.

It's God. That's who he is.

Jesus is God, the only one who can command the weather, and

we'll see next week as the boat makes landfall.

What does he do right away? Blessing, restoring, and setting

people free again. That's what he does.

He calls people to himself and he changes them.

He says Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men.

Follow me and I'm going to turn you into something different.

Don't just follow me and keep being the same.

To follow me will transform you into something different.

The process will do it. But most importantly, there will

be a miracle moment. Greater than any storm that's

been calmed in nature. Greater than any leper that's

been healed. Greater than any physical

miracle that we have seen. Greater than any physical

miracle that we're going to see. The Saints.

I want your faith high. I want your expectations sky

high. I want them set on Jesus, on the

cross, and on His stripes for miracles.

I want the Lord to move through us that way.

And yet the greater, more powerful miracle is the new

birth. It is the person who was dead

and now is alive. I really want to see a dead

person raised from the dead. Me too.

The Lord does it, He tells His Saints.

Carry my word, carry my power. You'll do the works that I do in

greater works. And yet the greatest work is

still to see somebody go from death to life, the new birth.

Somebody who loved their sin. Not to just raise a carcass.

This carcass is now breathing again.

The person is back. That's a miracle.

But what about the person who had, who had wrong desires,

brokenness and soul hatred towards God, To have love,

repentance, beauty and goodness restored in their spirit, To

actually be made one with the Father through Christ, through

the blood of Jesus. This is the the most powerful

miracle that we could ever experience.

It's it's to To compare it to a storm wouldn't even do it

justice. What we experience outside of

Christ isn't a storm. It's death.

And it's something that we can't deliver ourselves from.

We have to be saved. There has to be a hero, and his

name is not you. There has to be a Lord, and it's

not us. Well, what can I do?

You can't do anything apart from believe on the name, believe on

the name of Jesus, believe on the name of the Son who the

Father sent. Because God so loved the world

that he gave his only Son, so that whoever would believe in

him would not perish but would have everlasting life.

God didn't send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but

that the world might be saved through him.

Why, The world was already condemned by default.

That's our standard. That's our setting.

But through repentance, putting our faith in the name of Jesus,

the one who took your sins, he got punished for everything

you've ever done. The Father treated him as an

enemy so he could treat his enemies like a son.

This is the gospel. It is the entry point that leads

to all the other things. But we're not chasing things.

We're just following Jesus. Just keep getting in the boat.

Where is Jesus? Calling you Saints, The Holy

Spirit speaking to you? What is it?

It's a subtle thing in life. Maybe it's a big thing in life.

Maybe scared. I'm afraid.

He doesn't Afraid He's going to call me to India.

Maybe he's calling you to India. Maybe he's calling you to send

that text message and make that apology.

Maybe he's calling you to invite that person to breakfast.

Maybe he's calling you to start that Bible study at work.

Maybe it's India. I don't know.

But the disciple says, Lord, I'm yours.

I'm holding nothing back. The disciples like Ruth to

Naomi. I'm clinging to you.

I don't know what it's going to cost.

It doesn't matter. I've cast my vote.

It's settled on this day and this moment.

I'm in. Count me in for the name of

Jesus, for the suffering of Jesus, for the cross of Jesus.

I want it all. I want it all.

Why? Well, because I know what he's

worth. I know who he is.

God, would you bless and strengthen your Saints right

now? Would you encourage and bring

revelation? Would you bring health and

healing? Would you bring repentance?

Would you bring clarity? God help us to get into that

boat. Help us to cross with you to the

other side. That we wouldn't be a part of

the crowd, but that we would be a disciple as close to you as we

could possibly get, trusting on you, leaning on you.

For those of us who are in storms right now, God forgive us

for our our slowness. Forgive us for doubting your

goodness for questioning. Do you even care what I'm going

through? God, are you even with me?

Do you even care? God forgive us.

We repent of our unbelief, forgetting your nature and

character. We humble ourselves right now

and we just say, God save us, We're perishing, Lord save us.

We put all of our hope. We put all of our eggs in one

basket. All of our trust, all of our

expectation. If we will be delivered, it will

be by your hand. There is no other way.

And no matter what God, let perseverance have its perfect

work in US, mature us, grow us, disciple us, discipline as us as

sons. Who you really love, we thank

you for it. God And now the Lord bless you

and keep you. The Lord make his face shine

down upon you and be gracious to you.

The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you great

peace. In Jesus name.

Amen.