Amen. Matthew chapter 8. As we mentioned this morning, our subject for tonight is faith instead of fear. Faith instead of fear in our text is the verse 26. And he saith unto them, that is unto his disciples, Why are ye so? Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. Before the Lord Jesus stilled the storm and the sea of Galilee, We read here of the Lord doing something that we never read of him doing before or after this miracle. Look there at verse 24. And behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves, but he was asleep. We never read of the Lord Jesus, either before or after this miracle, being asleep. This is the only time in the Lord's earthly ministry that we read of him sleeping. And this surely teaches us that the dear Savior filled his days not with sleep or slumber, but with service. And often his nights, his night hours, were spent in supplication and prayer. As we read in Luke 6 and verse 12, And it came to pass in those days that he went out into a mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God. So there were nights in which the Lord didn't sleep either. There was little sleep in the daytime for the Lord Jesus. Because Acts 10 verse 38 tells us that the Lord went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil for God was with him. Christ going about and doing good, he had no time to sleep. For the night cometh, he said, when no man could work. And yet there were times when, for instance, the psalmist David, because of his afflictions, thought that the Lord was asleep. For he cried, Why sleepest thou, O Lord? Arise, cast us not off forever. Psalm 44 verse 23. And yet the Lord Jehovah is always awake. Therefore, he's always aware of our afflictions and he's always aware of our tribulations and trials. For David later said, Psalm 121 verse 4, Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither sleep nor slumber. So it is unusual then to read about the dear Savior sleeping. But we must remember something, that the Lord Jesus is God's And he's not only God, he's also man. And being man, the Lord often was tired, was thirsty, was weary, was hungry, being man. And so being man, we read here, that he slept. And as the God-man, he had spent a long day ministering to the multitudes as we read here in Matthew 8. And there in verse 16, when the even was come, so he'd been ministering to the multitudes all day. Now we read, when the even was come, they brought on to him many that were possessed with devils, and he cast out the spirits with his word and healed all that were sick. And verse 18, Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to part unto the other side. And so here he is working all day, and now when the evening has come, he's still working. Because they bring unto him many that were possessed with devils. And he cast out the spirits with his word and healed all that were sick. All who were brought to him that night, he healed every single one of them. We see him working, we see him ministering to the multitudes through the day right up until when the even was come. So it is no wonder then that having entered the ship, and we are told elsewhere in Mark's gospel, the disciples took him even as he was. That's a strange expression. The disciples took him even as he was. They took him even as he was tired and weary, as he was at the end of the day of ministry. They took him even as he was and entered into the ship. So it is no wonder then that having entered the ship, we are told by Luke, as they sailed, he fell asleep. And we see that while he slept soundly, A storm raged about him and his disciples, yet the Saviour still slept in the midst of the storm. Well, there is the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, because the disciples couldn't understand how the Saviour slept, even through the storm. And they were afraid. They awoke him, reading verse 25, and his disciples came to him and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us, we perish. And he saith unto them, why are ye afraid or fearful? O ye who live and fear not, then he arose and rebuked the wind and the sea, and there was a great calm. There we see for these disciples in this storm, their hearts were filled with fear instead of faith. And that's what we want to consider tonight. In the midst of the storms of life, it is faith that we need instead of fear. That's what the Lord was teaching the disciples. They ought to have faith and where there is faith in him there is no fear. So let us consider this miracle of his stilling the tempest and see what happened, what took place in the events surrounding this miracle. I want us to notice first of all the disciples and their preparation before the storm. The multitudes of people had been surrounding the Savior all day and it was now evening. It was time now to get into the ship and depart on to the other side. Verse 18. We see first of all the suggestion to the disciples Now according to Mark and Luke, the Lord said to the disciples, let us pass over onto the other side. It was more of a suggestion. Let us pass over onto the other side. But Matthew here states, when Jesus saw great multitudes, he gave commandment to depart onto the other side. The words of Christ may have sounded like a suggestion, but to the disciples, as far as they were concerned, it was a command. We know what a suggestion is. We can suggest to someone about doing something. It's only a suggestion, and they can either take it or leave it. They can never accept our suggestion or reject it. But here we see the disciples, that while Mark and Luke tells us that it was the suggestions of the Lord to pass over on to the other side, the disciples accepted it as a command. In other words, no matter what the Lord said, Whether it may have appeared like a suggestion, these disciples accepted it as a command. In other words, the disciples knew that no matter what the Lord said, it wasn't a matter of them either taking it or leaving it, accepting it or rejecting it. the way we may do with someone who makes a suggestion to us, as far as the disciples were concerned, it was a command. And whatever the Lord tells us, and whatever we read of him in the Bible, and whatever exhortation we are given, and whatever word comes to us, and to us it may appear more like a suggestion, never let us look upon it as a suggestion. but to look upon it as a command. It may not have thou shalt or thou shalt not, but whatever the Lord says, we are to obey his word. And we should take every word that comes from the Lord as a command. And a command is to be obeyed. Just as Ruth responded to Naomi's suggestion, let us say to the Lord, all that thou sayest unto me, I will do. That's the attitude we are to have regarding the Lord's Word. Whether it may appear to us as a suggestion or not, we are to take it as a commandment. All that thou sayest unto me, Lord, I will do. So we have the suggestion to the disciples. Then we have the steps of the disciples. We notice here that before the Lord entered the ship and the multitude was dismissed, the Lord had spoken to two men. upon the subject of discipleship. We read there in verse 19, And a certain scribe came and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee, whithersoever thou goest. But the Lord said unto him, Foxes have foals, the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man is not where to lay his head. In other words, the Lord pointed out to this scribe, there's a price to pay. There's a sacrifice to be made. Are you willing to be a follower of me, knowing that while the animals have their holes and the birds of the air have their nests, I want you to know the Lord is saying, the Son of Man does not wear to lay his head. So there's no glamour attached to being a follower of me. We notice again. And another of his disciples said unto him, verse 21, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus saith unto him, follow me. And let the dead bury their dead. So here we are given the report of two men. One said, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. The other said to him, follow me. And we do not read whether or not those two men did follow Christ. When the Lord pointed out to the first man, their sacrifices to be made, and pointed out to the second man, you need to follow me, you need to put me first, and let the dead bury their dead. And it is interesting then, when we come to the Lord entering the ship, we read in verse 23, and when he was entered into the ship, His disciples followed Him. The others may not have followed, but His disciples followed Him. When this was all laid out before those two men, there is no mention of them ever being followers or becoming followers of Christ. Were they not willing to make the sacrifices? Were they not willing to surrender their all? Were they not willing to suffer for Christ? But when he spoke to his own disciples and said, let us go over on to the other side, and they took Christ into the ship, we're told his disciples followed him. His disciples followed him. So his disciples were indeed true followers. That's what it is to be a disciple of the Lord. It's to follow Him. Not to follow the world. Not to follow the suggestions or the teachings of men. It's to follow Him. And when the Lord entered into the ship, the disciples followed Him. Revelation 14 verse 4. regarding those who are in heaven. John said, These are they which follow the Lamb, whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. They follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. And here the Lord said to his disciples, let us get into the ship and go to the other side. And they followed him. Wherever the Lord was going, that's where the disciples were going. They followed him, whether so ever he went. These men were true disciples. They followed the Lord, whether so ever he went. Reminding us of the words of the psalmist 37 in verse 23, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and he delighteth in his way. The disciple delights to follow the Lord. The disciple delights to walk in the Lord's ways and to obey the Lord's word. So we see the suggestion and the steps of the disciples. Next we have the storm and the disciples. It would appear that the master and his disciples were no sooner in the ship and started rowing to get to the other side than a storm broke upon them. Verse 23. And when he was entered into the ship, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great tempest. As we pointed out, it seems as though they were no sooner into the ship than the storm broke upon them. So we see from regarding these disciples, this storm was unexpected. I have no doubt that the disciples did not expect a storm, certainly a storm of this force and power. to come down upon them and come upon them so suddenly. Most of them were fishermen. They had fished in Galilee before. They had met storms before, faced them before, but nothing like this. And it came upon them suddenly. According to Luke, the Lord and his disciples had sailed a short distance when the storm came down upon them. So they were going and everything was calm. Then suddenly the storm came. It reminds us of the storm that the Apostle Paul faced and the experience that he had over there in Acts 27. There is Paul, a prisoner, and the other passengers on the ship were prisoners as well, and the great ship Alexandria. And a storm broke upon them, the storm Eroclodon. But look at how the time was spent before the storm came upon them. Look at verse 13 of Acts 27. And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence they sailed close by Crete. Mark the words, the south wind blew softly. Everything was calm. There was nothing to fear. The south wind blew softly. Verse 14. But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind called Jeroclodon. And when the ship was caught and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive. But the point we want to notice tonight, things were going well at the beginning of the voyage. The south wind blew softly. You could say that here in Matthew 8. They had entered into the ship and it was after they had sailed As we have already pointed out according to Luke, the south wind blew softly. Then suddenly down came the storm. Isn't that the way it is sometimes? For us, the south wind blows softly. And everything seems to be going well. And then suddenly and unexpectedly a storm bursts upon us. Consider also that the disciples were doing the will of God. The Lord had told them to get into the ship and they followed him. They were obeying the Lord and his word. And there they find themselves Being in the center of the Lord's will, they also found themselves in the center of a great storm. And this teaches us that when we fully follow the Lord, we will still have storms to face. And we can be sure that when we fully follow the Lord and are sold out to him, we'll go through many a storm, many a storm of opposition. You'll not stand for the Lord fully and completely and not face opposition. Think of the opposition that the Apostle Paul faced. Think of the storms that he was called upon to go through. In 2 Corinthians, And there in chapter 11, 2 Corinthians 11, there we read in verse 23, Are they ministers of Christ? I speak as a fool, I am more. In labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths often. Some storm. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes, save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods. Once was I stoned. Thrice I suffered shipwreck. A night and a day I have been in the deep. In journeyings often, in perils of water, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, In perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, Paul faced many a storm. In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold, and nakedness, and beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches." There you have the storms in Paul's life. He followed the Lord fully. And when we follow the Lord fully, Storms will come our way. The storms of opposition, we can be sure of that. As well as this storm being unexpected, this storm was unusual. It was obviously something the disciples had never experienced before. Certainly the fishermen among them would have been used to storms, but nothing like this. Matthew here records, Behold there arose a great tempest in the sea. Mark describes it as a great storm of wind. Mark 4 verse 37. Luke says there came down a storm. That's how each of the three evangelists described this storm. But there is another word that is used to describe the power and the force of this particular storm. When the Lord arose and stilled the tempest, look at verse 26 of Matthew 8. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose and rebuked. Mark the words. He rebuked the winds, not the wind. He rebuked the winds. and the sea and there was a great calm and verse 27 but the main marvel saying what manner of man is this that even the winds plural obey him this teaches us that the winds came from every direction this wasn't just a wind as we would talk When there's a storm, we say there's a high wind blowing today. We don't talk about winds. But the disciples spoke about winds, and the Lord himself spoke about winds. And so the wind came, the wind of the storm came from every direction, more than one wind. That tells us this was an unusual storm. But there is a lesson there. When the winds came upon the disciples from every direction, isn't that how it is with us sometimes? Our troubles come upon us, it seems, one after the other. And they come from every direction. And how often have we said, it never rains but it pours. It was in the midst of this storm that the faith of the disciples was severely tested. And in the storms of life, that's when our faith is tested also. So we have noticed then the preparation, the disciples and their preparation before the storm. Next we have the disciples and their panic in the storm. We learn now just how the disciples behaved when this storm broke upon them. We must first of all look at their wisdom. They did something that was very wise of them. We see how wise they were when this storm broke upon them. Look at verse 25. The Lord was asleep in the ship. In verse 25 we read, And his disciples came to him and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us, we perish. The wise thing they did was the disciples came to him. That's what they did in the midst of the storm. Was that not a wise thing to do? In the midst of the storm, they came to him. In the midst of their trouble, in the midst of the tempest, they came to him. Those storms that we face in life may take different forms, but we should follow the example of these disciples and do what they did and go to Christ. If you go over in Matthew, chapter 14, John the Baptist has just been beheaded. John the Baptist's disciples are troubled. The disciples of John the Baptist went and got the body of John and gave it a decent burial. And then what did they do? Matthew 14 verse 12, and his disciples came and took up the body and buried it and went and told Jesus. They did the wise thing. They did the good thing. They went and told Jesus. When this storm came upon the disciples on the Sea of Galilee, they went and told Jesus, when our storms come upon us, let us do the same. Let us go and tell Jesus. As the hymn writer has put it, if the world from you withholds of its silver and its gold, and you have to get along with meager fare, Just remember in his word how he feeds the little bird. Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there. If your body suffers pain and your health you can't regain, and your soul is almost sinking in despair, Jesus knows the pain you feel. He can save. and he can heal. Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there. Leave it there, leave it there. Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there. If you trust and never doubt, he will surely bring you out. Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there. Well, the disciples did the wise thing to start with. They went and told Jesus. But unfortunately, the disciples didn't trust the Lord to bring them out. Because we have seen, after we have seen the wisdom of the disciples, we see next their worry. That's a familiar word, isn't it? And how we worry. When they did go to the Lord, there the Lord was sleeping. He certainly wasn't worried about the storm. We see what they said in verse 25. They said, Lord, save us. We perish. In Mark we're told, Master, carest thou not that we perish? Luke then records, Master, Master, we perish. If you put those three phrases together, you get the thought that the dear Saviour was sound asleep And they came to him and said, Lord, save us, we perish. And he didn't awake. Then they said, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And then they said to him again, Master, Master, we perish. In the three references, we find the word perish. Lord, save us, we perish. Master, carest thou not that we perish? Master, master, we perish. Here we see in the midst of the storm that the disciples thought the worst. They couldn't have come up with anything worse than that, than to say, we perish. over and over again, they thought they were going to perish. Worry and fear had taken hold of them and they believed that they were going to perish. They thought the worst. And we are no different from those disciples. When everything seems to be against us, indeed that's what we say, when Joseph wanted to see Benjamin. And the other brothers came and told their father Jacob that the man wants to see Benjamin. And Jacob said, all these things are against me. And sometimes we say that too. When things aren't going well for us, we say, all these things are against me. Well, we all know, instead of all things being against Jacob, all things were working for him. Just as Joseph told his brethren when he made himself known to them, what you did to me, He says, you meant it for evil. God meant it for good. And as Paul says in Romans 8 and verse 28, for we know that all things work together for good. To them that are love God, to them that are called according to his purpose. So we have their wisdom. They went and told Jesus. That was the wise thing to do. Then we have their worry, because they didn't leave their burden with the Lord. Next, we notice their words. We've already quoted Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But the one I want us to focus on is what Mark records. He tells us that the disciples came to the Lord and awoke him and said, Master, carest thou not that we perish? Here they spoke against the Lord. Here their words were rather harsh. They spoke against the Lord because things were not going their way and they believed they were going to perish. And what do we find? They blamed it on the Lord. They blamed the Lord for not caring. It's a terrible thing to say, carest thou not? And again, in his time of trouble, David cried in Psalm 44, verse 24, wherefore hidest thou thy face? and forget us our affliction and our oppression. Blame the Lord for hiding his face. Blame the Lord for forgetting him and forgetting his affliction and his oppression. And how is it that when troubles come our way, we panic, we think the worst, and we say some foolish things about the Lord? Has the Lord forgotten me? Has the Lord forgotten to be gracious? Does the Lord not care about me anymore? Carest thou not, Lord, that we perish? They couldn't perish. They could not perish, that could not happen. That was impossible for them, for that to happen, because the Lord was in the ship with them. The Lord was there with them. And we're told by Mark, where the Lord had lain down to sleep. Mark 4 verse 38, in the hinder part of the ship, that's where he lay down and slept. the hinder part of the ship. The hinder part of the ship is the stern of the ship. And who is it that occupies the stern of the ship? None other than the pilot of the ship or the captain of the ship. They couldn't perish. They had the Lord with them. And they had the Lord, their pilot or their captain, in control of the ship. He was in the place of control. And when we think of it, in our storms that we are called upon to go through, listen, the Lord is in control. He's the captain of our salvation. No need to worry, no need to panic, no need to fear. What did the Lord himself say? In Mark 11 verse 22, a very pointed and straightforward statement, the Lord said, have faith in God. Have faith in God. Thus far we have considered the disciples and their preparation before the storm. The disciples and their panic in the storm. And then we have the disciples and the peace after the storm. If only the disciples had stopped to think, since they had the Lord with them in the storm, everything would be all right. We often think about those who do not have the Lord with them when their storms burst upon them. They wonder how they can get through, and where they find comfort, and where they find help and solace in the midst of the storms of life. But the child of God has Christ in the vessel with them. And as the chorus says, with Christ in the vessel, we can smile at the storm. We might find that difficult to do. But we ought to remember we have Christ in the vessel. We are not alone. He is the captain. And we see now what happened when the disciples woke the master. Verse 26, he saith unto them, why are ye fearful? O ye of little faith. Then he arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. We notice first of all that this peace was brought about by the Almighty. Christ is the Almighty. I noted a word here that I hadn't basically noticed before. We notice in verse 24, and behold, there arose a great tempest. You can underline the word arose. There arose a great tempest. Now go down to verse 26. And he saith unto them, why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose. So in verse 24, we have a great storm. In verse 26, we have a great Savior. A great storm arose in verse 24, but in verse 26, a great Savior arose. And what did the great Savior do? The Savior rose and conquered the storm. He is the Almighty. This was a great storm. This was a great tempest. It terrorized the disciples. And yet the Lord arose. And the disciples acknowledged that, for in verse 27 we read, And the man marvels, saying, what manner of man is this, that even the winds, the winds, we pointed out, the winds and the sea obey him? He arose and conquered the storm that had arisen upon the disciples. He is the Almighty, you see. There's not a storm that the Lord cannot conquer. There is not a tempest, there's not a force of hell, and there are those commentators who believe that the devil, Satan, was behind this storm. If that is so, there's not a force in hell that the Lord Jesus cannot rise up and conquer. And he can defeat and conquer the storms in our lives as well. No wonder the Lord said to his disciples, why are ye fearful? When they had with them in the vessel the one who is the Almighty. Praise the Lord. As well as the Almighty, we notice the arrival. The arrival Read the last verse of our reading tonight. But the main marvel saying, what manner of man is this that even the winds and sea obey him? We ended our reading there. We could easily have read on. The next verse says, and when he was come to the other side, he came to the other side. Mark puts it this way in chapter 5 verse 1. and they came over onto the other side. There was never any doubt of the Lord getting the vessel over onto the other side. No, they didn't perish. They didn't drown. They arrived safely on the other side as the Lord said they would. As nobody said, verse 18 now when jesus saw a great multitude about him he gave commandment to depart onto the other side in mark 4 and verse 35 mark records it as follows let us pass over onto the other side well if the lord said they would pass over onto the other side then they would There was no doubt about them reaching the other side. There's no doubt of us reaching heaven. We'll get there. We'll have to go through many a storm in this life. And that's what the Lord said. When the Lord said in Mark 4, 35, let us pass over onto the other side. Do you know what those words mean? Let us pass through onto the other side. And so the Lord told the disciples, he didn't just say to them, let us pass over onto the other side. He said, let us pass through onto the other side. In other words, Christ, who is God, knew all about the storm. And he says, let us pass through. We'll pass through the storm. The Lord knows all about our storms. And praise his name, he'll bring us through. No need for those disciples to be frightened. No need for them to be fearful. The Lord had promised to bring them through. to the other side, and he did. He's the God-man. He slept in the ship because he's man, and he stood and he conquered the winds and the sea because he's God. Isn't it great to have God in the vessel with us? The Almighty, the arrival, and the amazement. The disciples were amazed at what they had just witnessed. From verse 27, but the men marveled. What manner of man is this that even the winds and the sea obey him? In other words, the Lord knew all about the storm. Of course he did, he's God. And he said he would bring them through the storm to the other side, and he did. But what we notice here is that the disciples learned something about Christ that they hadn't known before. They didn't know that Christ could still the storm and still the tempest. They learned more about him through the storm. In our storms, we learn more about Christ too. But not only that, not only did the disciples learn more about Christ, they learned more about themselves. They realized that their faith wasn't as strong as they thought. And when the test came, they panicked and thought they were going to perish, when all the while the Lord promised, I'll bring you through the storm. So let us have faith instead of fear. May the Lord bless His word to our hearts. Let's bow in prayer. Our dear loving God and eternal Father, we bless Thee for the Word. May we receive encouragement and comfort from it. We know, Lord, it's hard in the midst of the storm to trust and obey. We know it's hard for us to have faith and trust Thee, Lord, to bring us through. But, O Lord, increase our faith. Increase our trust in Thee. Lord, may we take to heart the words of the Saviour when he said, have faith in God. Lord, write this word upon our hearts, not only for tonight, but in days to come. May we remember what happened on the Sea of Galilee. May we remember that we do have Christ in the vessel. and Christ is God, and He's able to conquer any storm because He is the Almighty. So, Lord, be with us now as we part the one from the other. Be with us, Lord, throughout this week until we meet again in Thy house. Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be our abiding portion now and forevermore. Amen.