Our dear congregation, belonging to the Lord Jesus Christ, we are in the time of year, here in this part of the world at least, where storms can often form. Sometimes storms, especially storms with lightning and thunder, can be kind of fun to watch, fascinating to watch. At least when you can watch them from a safe place. Maybe some of you like to do that. You like to watch storms. There's something, isn't there something about watching A storm, something like that, something that you can't control. That's so fascinating with their power. But storms can also be frightening, can't they? Especially when you're outside in one and there's not only lots of lightning and thunder, but also severe winds. That can be very dangerous. It can be downright terrifying. It can seem like if you're in a situation like that, there is nothing, there is no one greater than the storm. Maybe you've never experienced that. Maybe you've never been in a terrible storm like that yourself. But there are also other things in life that can feel a lot like that, can't there? There are things that can seem or that are really out of our control. You know, you could receive a diagnosis. It could be cancer. Or you could experience a stroke. Or you could experience an accident that results in a serious injury. You could suffer from panic attacks, anxiety, depression. There could be oppression of some kind that you experience in your life. There could be trauma from something that has happened to you in the past. It could be financial troubles. It could be division and conflict and fighting. It could be the abandonment of a spouse. It could be temptation. It can be addiction. There can be a troubled conscience. There can be guilt or shame. There could be feelings of doubt or fear. It could be persecution for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are so many things in life that can feel like a fierce storm. It can be overwhelming, even downright terrifying. And it can seem like in those times that there is nothing, there is no one greater than the storm. But there is. There is someone who is greater than all these storms. There is in fact someone who is greater than even an actual literal storm. Yes, even in the worst storm there can be. That is what the event in our passage this morning, Mark 4, verses 35 through 41, makes so very clear. And it's a very interesting passage filled with quite a bit of detail under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that Mark records, which makes it sound almost as if he himself had been there. And probably Peter, who was there, had told him all about it. And it's a confirmation, isn't it? All these little details that are in there, it's a confirmation. This really happened. It had been a long day. Jesus had been sitting in the boat, teaching, sitting in a boat in the Sea of Galilee, teaching the crowds that were gathered on the shore. Great crowds near Capernaum on the northwestern shore of Galilee, in the north of Israel there. And later he had explained these parables to his disciples. But now the day is done. It's evening and Jesus wants to go across the sea to the eastern side. And so he tells his disciples in verse 35, let us cross over. to the other side. And so after they send the crowd away, they take him in the ship as he is, tired after teaching so much of the day. And we're told that there were other little boats with them. Another one of those interesting little details points to this being told by someone who had actually been there. And so they take him in the boat As he is, and the boat here was probably, scholars tell us, about 25 feet long, and 7 or 8 feet wide, and about 5 feet deep, and it would have low sides in the middle. And so they're crossing this sea, and at some point, a great windstorm comes up. This still happens today in the Sea of Galilee. It's apparently a feature of the geography of the sea and of the landscape around it, and that there can be these sudden fierce storms. And that's what happens. And so there comes this literally, actually, literally, it says in the text, a great whirlwind, or you could even translate a hurricane. And the waves, they crash one after another into the ship so that the ship is being filled with water. And they're in danger of sinking. But where is Jesus? He's in the stir. He's in the back of the ship sleeping on a pillow. The disciples are desperate, and they wake him up, and they say to him, teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? What does Jesus do? He gets up, doesn't he? And he rebukes the wind. He says, to the sea, peace be still. And what happens? The wind stops, and there is a great calm. The sea suddenly becomes as smooth as glass. And Jesus then turns and says to his disciples, why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? And the disciples, we read, they have no answer. Instead, we read in verse 41, that they feared exceedingly and said to one another, who can this be, that even the wind and the seas obey him? Well, the message of this passage is clear, isn't it? It's telling us, it's calling and encouraging and urging all of us to be filled with holy awe of the Lord Jesus Christ and to trust in him, even in the storms, because Christ is greater. So that's what we hope to see with God's help this morning. Our theme is Christ is greater than the storm. And we'll note three things from our text that demonstrate that. First of all, his confidence despite it. Secondly, his command of it. And thirdly, his concern in it. Christ is greater than the storm. We see that first of all in his confidence despite it. Children, what was Jesus doing while the storm was happening? Well, he was sleeping. Verse 38 says that he was in the back part of the ship, in the stern there, asleep on a pillow. Now, it's understandable in one sense that he had fallen asleep, because Jesus is a real human being, and his sleeping here confirms that. Jesus had worked a long day. He had sown the seed of the gospel all day, just like the man in the parable that he spoke in verse 26 and following. And so he was tired, just like you and I would be tired after a long day of work. And so like that man in that parable, he falls asleep. And so that isn't so surprising. But what is surprising is that Jesus kept sleeping, even while the storm was raging. I don't know about you, but when a thunderstorm usually happens at, or when a thunderstorm happens at night, I don't usually keep sleeping. I usually wake up, especially if it's close, if it's a loud one. But Jesus doesn't do that. And remember, this isn't just a little thunderstorm. This is a violent windstorm, this is a whirlwind, a hurricane. And he's not in a house on solid ground. No, he's in a ship. He's on a boat. The wind is howling, and the sea is raging, and the ship is going up and down like a roller coaster. It's rolling up and down violently. The waves are crashing against it over and over, filling it with water. The disciples are yelling in panic and in terror. Would you be able to sleep in that kind of a situation? Not likely. But Jesus does. That's not just exhaustion. That's not just tiredness. That is confidence. Jesus is confident despite the storm. And what a confidence it is. Think for one thing about the completeness of it. The storm is raging. They're in danger of sinking. And what is he doing? He's doing nothing. Nothing. He's not bailing water. He's not giving orders to the disciples. He's not gripping the steering oar with white knuckles trying to steer the ship through the waves. He's not wringing his hands in anxiety. He's not even praying. He's sleeping. It's interesting, this is the only event in the gospels that we're told of Jesus sleeping. Of course, he slept more often, but this is the only time we're actually told about his sleeping. And doesn't that emphasize his greatness, his confidence, that even in this storm, this great windstorm, he can sleep. It doesn't worry him. It doesn't bother him in the least. That's not just a little confidence. That's not even a lot of confidence. That is supreme. That is complete confidence. That's what Jesus has despite the storm. How can that be? How could Jesus sleep in a storm like that? How can he have that kind of confidence when his very life seems to be in danger? That's the question we should be asking, isn't it? And the answer really goes back to the very beginning of Mark, what we read in the very first verse of Mark, Mark 1 verse 1. We read these words, the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. That's who Jesus is. God himself confirmed that when Jesus was baptized and the Holy Spirit came down like a dove on him. God said then, thou art my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. And that's what Mark's gospel is all about. And that's the answer here. That's the answer to the complete confidence of Jesus despite the storm. It's that he's more than just a man. He's more even than just a strong man. He's the beloved Spirit-anointed Son of God. He's divine, in other words. He's God Himself, and He's revealed that all through up to this point already in Mark. He's revealed that through His preaching and His teaching. He's proved that over and over again by His miracles, by His casting out demons, by His healing the sick, by His cleansing the leper, by His Forgiving the sins of a paralyzed man and then proving that he has the power to do that by healing him. He's proven it by his asserting himself as Lord of the Sabbath and healing a man on the Sabbath with a withered hand. Even the demons earlier in Mark chapter 3 have confessed him as the son of God. That's who he is. He's divine. He's God himself. And that is why Jesus in his human nature. can keep sleeping even in the fiercest storm. It's not just because his father is sovereign over it and he fully trusts him to take care of him, that's true, but it's because he himself is sovereign over it. It's not just because his father is greater than the storm. It's because Jesus himself is greater than the storm. He's completely confident despite it. And that was true of him in this storm. And that means it's true of him in every storm. Also the storms you've been through or are going through. You may be worried and frightened and overwhelmed by them, but Jesus isn't. There is no storm in your life that he cannot handle. There's no storm that can worry or frighten or overwhelm him, because you see, he's still the divine son of God. He always has been from all eternity, and he always will be to all eternity. And he has not lost any of the confidence that he had here in this storm. You can trust him. You not only can, but you should. Where else will you go? You see, the confidence of Christ is not just a complete confidence. It's absolutely unique, isn't it? Verse 38 in the original actually emphasizes that. It emphasizes that word, he. So you could translate it like this. But he himself was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. He and he alone was sleeping. No one else was. No one else had the kind of confidence that Jesus had. In fact, everyone else on that ship was sure that they were doomed. The second part of the verse makes that very clear. Verse 38, the disciples awoke him and said unto him, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? All the disciples were sure that they were dying. Their lives were over. They have no more hope. Maybe for a while they have been trying to deal with it on their own. We're not told, but you can imagine it, can't you? You can imagine Peter, do you see him there, trying to bail water out of the ship, but it just keeps pouring in, and so he cries out to one of his friends, to James or to Andrew, to come and help, but they have no help to offer. In fact, they only add to Peter's fear. They tell him, Peter, watch out, there's another huge wave coming, watch out! And Thomas, what does Thomas do? What does Thomas say? It's no use. We're going down. John starts maybe to head Peter's way to try and help, but then that huge wave that Andrew had warned them about all of a sudden comes and knocks him off his feet and almost throws him overboard. Maybe James or some other disciple said, Peter, you're doing it all wrong. Let me show you how to do it. But it makes no difference. Someone, one of them screams, we're dying. And then it's chaos. Everyone takes up the cry. We're dying. We're perishing. Everyone that is except Jesus. He's still sleeping. How different he is from everyone else. He's the only one who has complete confidence despite the storm. What's it telling us? Well, it's telling us, isn't it, that he is the one We need. He's the one we should trust. He's the one we should look to also in our storms. And yet, how slow we can be to do that, can't we? We try to manage the storms ourselves, whether it's a painful providence or whether it's a guilty conscience, whatever it might be. We try to deal with it ourselves in our own way. We try to solve it ourselves. Maybe we go to other people to help, but do we go to Jesus? Have we gone to Him? Are we looking to Him? Am I? Are you? Are you looking to Jesus truly in repentance and in faith? Are you living in holy fear and awe of Him? Are you trusting and obeying Him? When we are, there really is nothing to fear because he is greater and because he does care, even when it feels like he doesn't. That's what it felt like to the disciples. They didn't understand how Jesus could keep sleeping. They didn't understand why he was doing nothing. They thought he just didn't care. Teacher, why do you not care that we are perishing? Do your prayers ever sound like that? We can have such hard thoughts of Jesus sometimes, can't we? Especially when the storms are raging and keep raging or get worse even. I've had those thoughts. Do you not care, Lord? Yes, he does. Even when it seems like he's doing nothing. That's not a sign, actually, of his lack of care for us or for what's happening in our lives. No, it's a sign of his confidence, a confidence that's complete, that's absolutely unique. It's not a sign that you can't trust him. It's a sign, actually, that you should trust him. Even in the storm, even in the valley of the shadow of death, to who else will you go? Who else has such confidence? as he does. He alone is greater. Or maybe you say, but how do you really know that? I mean, confidence is one thing, but is he really in control? Does Jesus really have power over the storm that I'm in? Well, that brings us to the second way that our text shows us he's greater than the storm. It shows us not only his confidence despite it, but also his command of it, or his command over it. We see this in verse 39, as the storm is raging, the ship is almost about to sink, and the disciples have come to Jesus, who's been sleeping, and they wake him up, and they say to him, Master, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? And what happens? Does Jesus right away rebuke? His disciples for their hard thoughts and words toward him? No. He bears with them just as he bears with us so often for our hard thoughts and words toward him. And so what does he do then in verse 39? And he, Jesus, arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, peace, be still. And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. Well, children, what does that tell you? Is Christ greater than the storm? He is, isn't he? That's what this verse is showing us. It's showing us Christ's command of the storm and what a command it is. It's almighty. All he does is speak a few words. Think of that. He gets up, he rebukes the wind, and he says to the sea, peace, or you could even translate, hush, be still. That's it. That's all he does. He just tells the storm to stop and it does. The storm obeys his word. It's like what Psalm 33 verse 9 says of the Lord. He spoke, and it was done. Jesus speaks, and it is done. The storm stops. He rebukes the wind, and it stops just like that. It doesn't just slow down, but it stops. It goes from being like a fierce hurricane. You can just try to imagine what it would sound like, a fierce howling wind, and it goes from that to nothing, no wind at all, not even the whisper of a breeze. Still. And so does the sea. One moment the waves are crashing into the boat, and the next moment there is a great calm. The sea becomes like glass. It becomes completely still. There's not even the slightest ripple. And how did that happen? by the word of Jesus. There is nothing. There is nothing too hard for him. His command of the storm is almighty. And you know that's still true today. Still true today. Jesus hasn't changed. He cannot change. He will not change. And sometimes we need that reminder, don't we? Sometimes maybe even often we need to remind ourselves, as one hymn puts it, to be still my soul. The waves and winds still know the voice of him who ruled them while he lived below. How different, how different would things be in the lives of God's people if they remember that more when the storms are raging? How different would things be in your life? in my life, maybe we would be a little bit more like what little Firebird learned to be in a children's story that we have at home. Firebird was a little bird, a bright little Oriole, and he loved the sunshine. He lived for it, in fact. On sunny days, he would fly up to the highest tree he could find, and he would just bask in the sunshine. But when the rains would come, Little Firebird would whine and complain, and he would say, why, mama? He'd ask. Why does God let the storm take the sun away? And his mama, she would always smile and say, well, Firebird, you'll know someday. And you know, finally, the day comes. A huge storm rolls in, and Firebird complains again. But this time, his mom, she nods toward the clouds, and she tells him, Firebird, the answers are up there waiting for you. but you're gonna have to fly on up there and see it for yourself. Well, you can imagine, children, how scared Firebird was. But he went. And as he went, as he flew into the storm, if you've ever been in an airplane, you know what that's like to fly into the clouds. And the storm is even worse. And the storm gets worse and worse around Firebird. The lightning is flashing incessantly all over. And the thunder is crashing and booming all around. And the wind is howling fiercely. And he's about to turn around. But then all of a sudden, all of a sudden, what happens? He breaks through the clouds, and children, what do you think he saw? You've been in a plane before, you know, don't you? He sees the sun. See, then he realized God never let the storm take the sun away. It was still there, and that changed, actually, Firebird's life. He still loved the sunshine, but now he also learned to rejoice in the rain, even, and not to whine and complain and panic when the storms came. He learned to be calm, he learned to be content, yes, even to be joyful. Why? Because he knew the sun was still there. And so is the almighty power and rule of Jesus Christ. It's still. Even in the worst storm, it's always there, even when you can't see it. All power, all authority has been given unto Christ in heaven and on earth, and no storm, no matter how great, no matter how fierce, can take that power, that authority away from him. And so when you belong to him, when you are united to him by faith, When you are living in that way of repentance and faith in Him, what a comfort that is, because it means you are safe. The flip side, of course, is also true. For you who don't belong to Him, who are not living in the way of true repentance from sin and faith in Him, as long as you continue in that way, then Christ's almighty command of the storm cannot be comforting to you. It means you're not safe. You're not safe at all. And that's a solemn warning. So the question really for all of us this morning as we consider Christ's command of the storm is where am I in relation to Him? Do I belong to Him? Am I living in the way of repentance from sin? Am I looking to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith alone for salvation from my sin? Oh, when you are, then you are safe. No, He might not take every storm away. He may even lead you into the storms or let them get worse, but he will not let any storm ultimately harm you. In fact, he will use it for your good. I know it can be hard sometimes to believe that, especially when the storms are sudden or severe or loud and long. It can be hard to believe. We can't understand it. It can seem impossible that this can somehow be for our good. But it is. It is because it's under the command of Him who is our faithful Savior. Remembering that can help us, like Firebird, not learn or learn rather not to whine complain or panic so much in the storm, but it can help us to learn to be less anxious, to be calm, to be more content, yes, even to be joyful in them. Because then you know you can trust Him, even in the storm. His command of it is almighty, and not only that, but it's also all-inclusive. Did you notice that Jesus has command of not just the wind, but also the sea? He rebukes each of them separately. Mark's account actually highlights that more than the other parallel accounts in Matthew and in Luke. He rebukes each of them separately, and each of them immediately does what he says. You know, if he had just had command of the wind, The water, what would the water have done? It would have continued to roll and to be violent for some time, right? If you've ever experienced being on a lake, you know that when the wind dies down after a storm, the waves still continue for a while. But that's not what happens here. The sea immediately becomes calm. At the same time as the wind, he has not, he has almighty command of both the wind and the waves. His command is all inclusive. He's greater than every storm and than every aspect of each storm. Well, shouldn't we trust him more then? Do we? Do our lives reflect that? I read a quote from J.C. Ryle recently that put it so well that I can't help but pass it on here. He says this, Christ can speak peace to wounded hearts as easily as calm troubled seas. He can rebuke rebellious wills as powerfully as raging winds. He can make storms of sorrow abate and silence tumultuous passions as surely as he stopped the Galilean storm. He can say to the heaviest anxiety, peace be still. The flood of care and tribulation may be mighty, but Jesus sits upon the water floods and is mightier than the waves of the sea. The winds of trouble may howl fiercely around you, but Jesus holds them in his hand and can stay them when he lists or when he wishes. And so the real question for us then is not can we trust Jesus? But are we? Are we trusting Him? As Ryle writes in another place, with the Lord Jesus Christ, nothing is impossible. No stormy passions are so strong, but He can tame them. No temper is so rough and violent, but He can change it. No conscience is so disquieted, but He can speak peace to it and make it calm. No man ever need despair if he will only bow down his pride and come as a humbled sinner to Christ. Christ can do miracles upon his heart. No man ever need despair, he continues, of reaching his journey's end if he has once committed his soul to Christ's keeping. Christ will carry him through every danger. Christ will make him conqueror over every foe. What though our relations oppose us? What though our neighbors laugh us to scorn? What though our place be hard? What though our temptations be great? It is all nothing if Christ is on our side and we are in the ship with him. Greater is he that is for us than all they that are against us. Should we not then trust him and fear him? Are we? Are you? But maybe you still struggle. If he really is greater, then why doesn't he make the storm I'm in go away? Well, that brings us briefly to the last thing we see in our text that shows us he's greater than the storm, and that's his concern in it. Look with me here at verse 40. Jesus has just calmed the storm, and then he turns to his disciples, and he says this, verse 40. Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? Now, Jesus isn't saying here that his disciples were not believers. They were, except for Judas Iscariot, of course. The problem is not that they had no faith, no trust in him at all. The problem is they had no faith in him in this storm. At least, that's what their actions were showing. And that's Christ's concern here. And doesn't that concern show us how much greater than the storm he is? I mean, think of how focused it is. He's not fazed at all by the storm. He's concerned only about their faith. That's all he's concerned about. In the words of the commentator Richard Phillips, it was faith that Jesus was interested in. He did not comment on the terror of the storm, for it was no surprise to him. He did not even boast regarding his wondrous work. What drew his notice was what the storm revealed about their faith. And that's the same with us too. Jesus is not worried at all about the storms that you and I go through. His concern isn't the storm. It's our response. Now, fear, of course, is normal. But the question is, where does our fear lead us? Does it lead us to faith? Does it lead us to resting in Christ, to resting on his word, on his promises? Or does it keep us from faith? See, that's the focus of Christ's concern here. It's faith. He's calling his disciples, and he's calling us to trust him. And don't we have every reason to? Think not just about the focus of his concern here, but also his encouragement in it. You notice how he speaks to his disciples. Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no Doesn't the very way he asked these questions encourage faith in him? The disciples had accused Jesus. They thought he didn't care for them. Their faith was lacking. But it shouldn't have been. Shouldn't. In light of all that they had seen and heard Jesus do and say. They had seen his power. They had seen his love and his healing the sick and his casting out demons. And just that very day, these disciples whom Jesus himself had called to be with them and to be his ministers, whom he would soon send out, just that very day, Jesus had assured them of the successful growth of God's kingdom, as we read in those parables. And so they should not have been so fearful. They should have had more faith. They should have had more trust in Christ in the storm. There was every reason to. That's what Christ is saying with these questions. He's making them think, you see. And he's saying that to us, too. Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? You see, we have even more reason, don't we, to trust him, to trust him than the disciples did. Because in our text, Jesus, he hadn't yet died and risen again. But that's what would happen, that's what did happen. The disciples didn't know anything about that yet, but we do. We know that Christ went and died, and he died on the cross. And that there he suffered the worst storm of all. He suffered the storm of God's righteous wrath. in the place of every sinner who trusts in Him for salvation from their sin. And when that's you, when you have trusted in Christ for salvation from your sin, then you can know that you'll never have to suffer that storm. That storm of God's wrath, because He, Christ, suffered it for you. He took your guilt, He took your shame upon Himself, and He came, He submitted to being brought under the curse and wrath of God. And He suffered it, but He didn't just suffer it. He didn't just suffer that storm. He came through it. He didn't just die in the place of sinners, but he also rose again. And now, even now at this very moment, he is seated at the right hand of God as king over all. And so you can know that. You can know that he will also lead and help you through every storm that you may experience in this life. That's the encouragement in his concern in the storm. Let's not forget that. When we're afraid, let's remember. When we're afraid in the storm, let's remember Christ is greater. Let's fear and trust him, how great he is. And the response of the disciples in verse 41 confirms that, doesn't it? What does it say? And they feared exceedingly. They were filled with awe. And they said to one another, who can this be? that even the wind and the sea obey Him. They saw His command of the storm, and they were overwhelmed with amazement, and with awe, and with fear of Christ. And rightly so. Rightly so. I mean, who can do something like that? Only God. And yet that's What Jesus does, he does what only God can do because he is God himself. That's what Jesus wants them and that's what Jesus wants us this morning here to realize so that we might fear him, so that we might trust him at all times, yes, even in every storm. Who can this be that even the wind and the sea obey him? The answer to that question, is obvious. The real question is, what are we doing with him? What is our response to him? What are we doing with Jesus Christ, this one who is greater than the storm? What are you doing with him? Amen. Let us pray. O Lord, we do give thanks for your word. And for this passage in particular, which shows us the glory of, something of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord Jesus, as we reflect on this, Lord, we do bow before you and we do say with the disciples in awe, knowing also the answer, who can this be? That even the wind and the seas obey. Lord, as we go through life and we go through storms as churches, as individuals, we pray that this passage would encourage us to not have hard thoughts of you. Lord, to commit all these things into your care, to trust you. even in the worst of storms, that you are in control, and that you do care, and that you will bring us through by faith in you until the day that we come to the place where there will be no more storms, where the sea will be as glass, and we will worship you and see your glory. We ask, O Lord, that you would keep us and preserve us as you have promised to do. And that you would bless this word also to those here who are not yet converted, that they would see the greatness of Christ and bow the knee in submission to him. We ask it all in Jesus' name alone. Amen.