Could you open your Bible, please, to Mark, chapter 4? And we'll look at a short passage at the end of Mark, chapter 4. This past summer, our church sent a mission team to the Dominican Republic. Part of that team was my own daughter, my daughter Rebecca. who I know had worked real hard in preparation. She was leading some of the daily vacation Bible school ministry, preparing a lot of materials for it and so forth, was very excited about the opportunity to serve the Lord there for that week. Shortly after they arrived on a Monday morning, We received word that about one third of that mission team, I think it was 12 to 15 people, about one third of them had already been taken ill. Probably had eaten something en route or maybe even just that morning for breakfast and didn't agree with them and they were quite sick. That was not pleasant news. As a pastor, I was concerned for the whole team, of course. I was also concerned for my daughter, knowing how frustrating it would seem to her to have had all this preparation and to be so eager to serve. Well, Lord, why are they sick? It doesn't seem like good timing at all. And so what did I do? Wife and I immediately started praying, praying that God would heal her, heal the rest of the team, enable them to carry on their ministry that week. And that just seems reasonable. That's how we pray. That's how we respond to crises that come up, to problems that come up. When troubles come, we pray, and sometimes we pray earnestly. Sometimes when we're really concerned about the trouble, we pray desperately for God to take the problems away. That reflects our general perspective, our instinct, that tells us that trouble is bad. Good times, that's how it ought to be. Things ought to be smooth, especially when you're serving the Lord. or when you are preparing to serve the Lord. We won't have a show of hands this morning to indicate how many have experienced the flu this winter. The flu, in the midst of a difficult semester, you're trying to do your best and you get sick. You're out for two, three, four days. Maybe you haven't had the flu, you've just had a bad cough and it just makes you feel miserable. Why does the Lord allow that? Why doesn't He just help us to get better right away? And so we pray. And we fully expect God to respond. We expect God to care. Of course, He does care. And He does respond. But there's another aspect to that scenario that we need to understand from Mark chapter 4. Here the message is very clear in an episode in the lives of the disciples that Jesus is the sovereign Lord. He's the sovereign Lord over nature, the story is going to tell us, and he's also the sovereign Lord over people, all people, including you. He's also the sovereign Lord over circumstances. all circumstances, even bad circumstances. He's the sovereign Lord. What does he expect of us then in response to that truth? We're going to see it in this passage. It's portrayed by the disciples themselves. Not a strong emphasis of the passage, but it is where it ends up. The disciples decided to trust the Lord. They saw Jesus in a different perspective on this occasion than they'd ever seen him before. And they came to realize, I think this is supposed to impact how we live. This is supposed to impact how we think. Passage begins in verse 35. Mark tells us that the same day, and this is a day that has been recorded throughout this fourth chapter, it's been a long day. Jesus and his disciples have been very busy, and they have ended the day sitting in a boat as Jesus was teaching the crowd of people along the shore. Now, sitting in a boat doesn't sound very challenging, but when the sun is hot, When the day is long, this was a tiring day for them. And so Mark tells us that the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, let us pass over unto the other side. Now, you already know from your familiarity with this passage what is going to happen once they begin to make their way across the Sea of Galilee. And picture this going from the northern shore, the vicinity of Capernaum. The other side could have been a number of different directions. But in this case, we find out a little later, they ended up in the southeast corner of the lake. So almost across the longest stretch, about a 13-mile trip for the disciples that evening. And you know that there is a storm on the way. Let's already just put that into everyday terminology for us. What's on the way? There's trouble on the way. There is a bad circumstance, so bad the disciples were fearful that they were about to lose their lives. But remember, Jesus is Lord of circumstances. And already here at the beginning of the account in these next few verses, Mark wants it to be clear to us that the Lord designs your trials. And already I have to apologize. I know that you're looking right now at a slide that says the Lord allows your trials. That's how I submitted the PowerPoint a few days ago. But last night, middle of the night, I woke up and was having a little trouble getting to sleep again. So I started thinking about the sermon. And that usually puts me to sleep pretty quickly. But it didn't this time. I found that I could think through the passage and think through the outline, trying to compare the two. I'm always trying to make sure that the message that I bring really matches the text. And that is when it occurred to me, the Lord allows your trials? That's a little weak. This passage actually says it more strongly than that. I think it says it better then to express it this way, the Lord designs your trials. It's not just that he steps back and lets them happen. He is taking an active role in deciding exactly what trials you are going to experience here in your life, how many of them will come in what might seem to be rapid succession, and how it's all going to turn out. He's got it all planned. The Lord designs your trials. And this day, apparently, there is a storm on the way, and it was a storm that the disciples needed to experience. Without even knowing there's going to be a storm coming, the disciples were hoping they were just going to be able to go home. I mean, they're hungry, they're ready for dinner, ready for a good night's rest, and that's when Jesus announces that, end of verse 35, he says, let us pass over unto the other side. What? Now? Pass over to the other side. They knew how long a trip that was going to be. Why now? That's a good reminder for us that very often trials seem to come at just the wrong time. Why now? The general answer to that is that Jesus has a purpose. He's got a plan all marked out. And just as the disciples that night needed to experience a storm, so when your storms come, shouldn't be shocked and ask, why now? Why this? Why me? Instead, the assumption ought to be, I don't know why, but Jesus has a purpose. And I know he designs every storm, every trial that I experience. And just like us, in our experience with trials, we don't very often get any explanation as to why. He doesn't even provide an explanation for his disciples. He just says, let us pass over to the other side. No indication about a storm, doesn't warn them, you better get your raincoats. Just let's go to the other side. Now verse 36 adds another important element to the storms of life. And that is that Jesus is always present in the storm. Every journey has a purpose and he always joins the journey. He didn't say, you all stay in the boat, take off, I'm staying here. He never stays there. Wherever his plan takes you, whatever is in store for you on any given day, he's there. He always joins the journey. So verse 36, when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. Even as he was just means they didn't go back for provisions. Even as he was without any other preparation, they just turned around, headed out to the open water. Now there's one other small part to verse 36 that is perhaps a little puzzling. Why do we need to know this? Mark observes that there were also with him other little ships. Why do we need to know that? I actually think that's specifically there for those of us who are readers of God's Word who were not there at that moment. This tells us there's an eyewitness source for Mark, and most people think it's probably Peter. Peter took note that there were other boats. I think this is helpful for us. In this way, you might already be thinking, yes, all right, so Jesus is always with me, but for the disciples, they could see him. He was sitting right there across the boat from them. It's not quite the way it is for us, is it? But Mark tells us, but there were also other little boats, maybe a little smaller than the one Christ and the disciples were in. And they didn't have Jesus sitting across the seats from them. In the midst of that storm, they couldn't see him at all. But they're expected to trust him as well. So it doesn't matter if he's actually physically with us today, if you can see him visibly. He's there. He cares. And you're supposed to trust him. Well, Jesus is present in the storm, but verses 37 and 38 tell us the disciples' experience is actually not so different from ours. Because though he is present in the storm, he seems to be absent. Verse 37 tells us that there arose a great storm of wind and the waves beat into the ship so that it was now full. A great storm. This is actually a characteristic of the Sea of Galilee. To appreciate the topography, I'd like to describe that the Sea of Galilee and the part of Israel north of the Sea of Galilee is almost like a large canoe. A canoe that at the top end, at the back end, is very tall, very high. It has sides around it as well, and just scooped out in the middle. And at the front end, it just kind of levels off. Now that's actually, that last part's not too much like a canoe, but you've got to picture a canoe with no front to it, just the back part that is high, because that's Mount Hermon. Mount Hermon, 9,000 feet high, almost always snow covered. There are mountains on either side of the Sea of Galilee. Tiberias on the west, the Golan Heights on the east. And when the cold air comes swooping down from Mount Hermon in the north and channels right through these mountains on either side of the Sea of Galilee, and on the Sea of Galilee, it's typically warm and humid. That air is then going from 9,000 feet above sea level to 800 feet below sea level. When that air mixes in, it produces violent storms with almost no warning whatsoever. Apparently that's what they experienced on this occasion, a great storm of wind. This is not a rainstorm. Don't be picturing thunder and lightning. This is just a ferocious wind. The wind is so high that it is kicking up waves that are washing right over the boat. That storm appeared to be dangerous. Very often our storms can seem life-threatening. I'm not sure I can survive this one. You ever had that feeling? Well, a storm appears to be dangerous and where's the Lord? On this occasion, he was in the back of the boat, but he's doing something very disconcerting. He's sleeping. This is actually the only occasion in the gospel accounts of Jesus ever sleeping. It shows up in one of the other gospels as well, but it's the same event. Not that he didn't sleep other times, but it's the only time that the scripture tells us he was sleeping, because see, that's an important point for us today. He was there, they could see him, but it didn't look like he's paying attention. It wasn't that often how it seems in our experience with trials. It's not that our theology has gotten all mixed up. We know he's always aware. We know he always cares. But at the height of the storm, it doesn't look like it. It can look like you are all alone. It can look like the situation is hopeless. And the Lord He seems to be oblivious. And you can wonder, does he even know? If you get all the way in despair to the point of asking, does he even care? Now you're where the disciples are at that moment. And so they ask him, in verse 38, he's on the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow, and they awake him and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? Actually, the way they expressed that question was very precise. What they want to express to the Lord is that they haven't given up on him. They really expect the answer to their question to be yes. Their confidence in his care is not in doubt. It's just that it doesn't look like he cares at that moment. It's as if they said, Lord, we believe you care, but it'd be really nice if you showed it right about now. Don't you care that we perish? It's not hard to think of circumstances in life in our day that can seem like this. You get news from home that a family member has cancer. Or you get word from the business office that your school bill is overdue. Maybe you've got more of a perpetual trial in your life, and it's the roommate you've been trying to get along with all year long. That can be a trial. Well, the Lord designed that trial. The Lord designs every trial. He has a purpose, and He does care. Knowing that He cares, that's comforting. Knowing that your problems are part of God's greater plan, that's encouraging. But the lesson of this passage continues. Let's move on to verse 39. where the advance in thought here moves from the Lord designing the trials to the Lord controlling the trials. He's always in control. Now, they have just asked him to do something. In fact, they have insisted that he do something about this. If you really love us, Lord, you will do something about this storm and you'll do it now. Jesus responded to that prayer. Verse 39, he arose and rebuked the wind and said unto the sea, peace be still. Really difficult for us to imagine that moment. To picture ourselves in just a raging storm of wind where you can hardly hear each other cry out in fear. And to go from that to complete calm, quiet. Apparently it was just that dramatic. The wind ceased and there was a great calm. Now if you had been there at that moment, what would be your likely response? I can just imagine one of the disciples shouting out, yes! That's what I'm talking about! That's exactly what we wanted to see, and they're doing fist pumps all around the boat. This is just a celebration. But one person is not celebrating. Instead, Jesus turns to the disciples and no doubt with a stern look issues a rebuke. the sting of his words we need to feel this morning. He says in verse 40, why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? What Christ is expressing by those questions is that every trial has two options. Two options. One of them is that we can insist that the Lord stop the problem, that he heal the one that is sick, that he send a check in the mail. And he can do that. But there are circumstances in which that's not what he wants to do. Apparently, with this rebuke, that was not what he wanted to do on this occasion. Rather than stop the storm, what was the other alternative? To keep them safe through the storm. to see them land on the other side and thereby prove, I would maintain from this passage, thereby prove his greater power. That is, it takes more power for Christ to sustain his people through the storm than it does for him to stop the storm. Sustaining us through it ought to be what we find really impressive. So often we don't want to even give him that opportunity. So another factor here, and that is before Christ stopped the storm, that boat was probably making record time across the water. But when the wind stopped, they still have to cross the water. Now they have to take out the oars. Now they have to start working. See, we slow down our spiritual growth progress by insisting that Jesus stop the storm. Verse 41, storms show what Jesus can do, but they also show who Jesus is. The disciples respond in fear. You might think, well, why be afraid now? The storm's over. Well, they realize there's something other than the storm to be afraid about. Verse 41, they feared exceedingly and said one to another, what manner of man is this that even the wind and the sea obey him? See, this is the key Christological lesson of this passage. Why be afraid now? Because it makes a whole lot more sense to be afraid of the one who controls the storm than to be afraid of the storm itself. In other words, to be afraid to tell the Lord that he has to stop this trial. This just cannot go on any longer. Do you really want to be telling the Lord what to do? This episode proves that Jesus is God. The God who loves you. The God who designs all your trials to accomplish His purpose for your good should be a fearful thing to tell that Lord what He has to do. You see, the right response is, whatever you want, just sustain me through it. This is actually the passage I was preparing to preach that next Sunday, the very week that our Dominican team became so sick. About halfway through the week, I started putting two and two together here, what this passage was saying, what I was doing, praying that the sickness would stop. Now, I continued through that week to pray that the team members would get better. But I realized I had to add one more thing. Lord, if you decide it's best for them to be sick and to try to carry on their ministry depending on your strength, if it's best for you to sustain them through the sickness, then your will be done. That's where he wants us for every trial that we experience. Let's bow for prayer. Father, we thank you that you will graciously forgive us when our faith falters. Father, forgive us for our lack of faith in the midst of our trials. Help us, Father, with whatever trial might be going on in the lives of these students. Father, help them to trust you. Help them to expect that You can sustain them through the storm. In Jesus' name, amen.