It's a most interesting portion of Scripture when we consider the circumstances. Now, these circumstances were not unique either to Christ or to the disciples. There are several portions in the Gospels that are quite similar, in that you have the Lord Jesus telling the disciples to get into a ship and to go out from the land, and they do so, and then they're caught up in a storm. That was the situation here. We read in verse 37 of Mark chapter 4, Now this, obviously from the wording, was a sudden thing. I'm sure when the disciples heard those words in verse 35, let us pass over unto the other side. They were not at all afraid to act upon that. They didn't say, now, wait a minute, Lord, there's a big storm brewing out in the middle of the lake here. Don't you think it'd be better for us to wait? No, it seems that that storm had not yet arisen because the words of verse 37 would indicate that. There arose It's a sudden thing, a great storm of wind. They were sailing along in that boat merrily, happily. And then there came this great tempest, this mighty storm, and the waves were such that they started coming into the ship. And we know that there's no problem when the ship is in the water, but there's a big problem when the water's in the ship. And that was their situation. so much so that the Bible says in verse 37, it was now full. The ship was taking on water to a large degree. And so, what we find in these circumstances, in verse 38, is that the Lord Jesus was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep, on a pillow. He was fast asleep. And they had to wake him up, It says, And they awake him and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? Now, if you were to compare the words of Matthew chapter 8 and verse 24, You have similar circumstances, as I indicated already. And behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves, but he was asleep. You find a similar record in Luke's gospel, chapter eight, where similar wording is employed. Luke chapter eight, verse 23. There the Bible records, but as they sailed, he fell asleep. And there came down a storm of wind on the lake, and they were filled with water and were in jeopardy. Now, if you notice what it says in Luke 8, verse 24, The wording is different from Mark's gospel. They came to him and awoke him saying, Master, Master, we perish. But the words that they employed in Mark chapter four were very different. Verse 38. They awake him and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? Now, before I come to that, I just want to again point out that trials are very much part of the Christian life. And the storms of life, as indicated by these natural storms, are things that we should expect. The storm in this instance in Mark 4 is typical or symbolic of trials that come upon the church and even upon individual Christians. You will have storms in your life. The church will have storms that it has to go through. Someone said the church of God is as a ship in a storm ever tossed upon the waves of this troublesome world. Now, in such a time, often questions arise in our hearts. And it may be something like this. Why is this happening to me? Why me? Now, if I might just stop here and give a word of personal testimony. At the beginning of January, as you well know, I had some routine blood work done. I was not expecting any problems. But when I got the blood work done, I went to see my own physician, my own doctor, and he was visibly shaken. I could tell when I talked to him that he was annoyed. And he told me to sit down. And he explained to me, using a lot of jargon and different numbers that have to do with your blood, that I had no idea what they meant. But he said, basically, your situation right now, as you have a chronic condition, based on these numbers, it is known as end-stage kidney disease. When he said that, I almost fell over. end-stage kidney disease. He said, there is this number, it's a GFR. It's supposed to be between 80 and 100. When you get down to something like 40, it's really serious. If it goes as far low as 20, it's very, very critical. Your number is five. I was shocked. And he told me about some other things, but immediately said, I am going to call a nephrologist at St. Luke's Hospital. That is a kidney doctor. But I can tell you, you're probably going to be hospitalized. So he called that nephrologist, who told him, don't even bother to try to make appointments for this man. Send him straight to the ER. He told me to go home and pack a bag. and expect that I would be kept in the hospital. I was completely blown away by this, absolutely shocked out of my mind. I didn't know what to think. And so here I was, making my way down to the hospital, stunned. I got there. I was admitted. I was immediately taken to a room and put on to an IV. And they started multiple tests through the following days. I was kept in, as you know, for 11 days. And I remember sitting there in that hospital room and thinking to myself, I haven't even got my wife to talk to about this. She would normally be so sympathetic and so caring and everything. I can't even tell her about it. And here I am. I'm grieving her loss still, and now my health is under severe threat to the point where he told me if I hadn't come when I did to get the blood work done, I could have collapsed at home and I could have died. So I began to think, I wonder, does the Lord now want to take me as well as June within the one year? And what an awful thing that would be for our girls and the grandkids. And I began to have a pity party with only one person invited to it. I was really low. I have to be totally candid about this. I was extremely low, very discouraged, very disheartened, and wondering, what on earth is God doing to me? Why is this happening to me? It's not enough to take my wife away. That's killing me. But then this on top of it. How much more does the Lord want to give to me? How could he make me feel any worse? So that's the kind of thinking that I was doing there in the hospital. And somehow, someway, I don't know who it was, I can't remember the circumstances, but either I was sent this in an email or I came across it on my phone. There was a sermon by Dr. Alan Redpath who many, many years ago was in the Moody Church in Chicago. He was a great missionary man. He founded the Capernary College in England that sent missionaries throughout the world many years ago. But the message was entitled, Master, Carest Thou Not That We Perish? And when I read that title, I teared up. And I thought, the Lord has given me this word. I know this is a word from the Lord for me. So I began to read that sermon. I'm not gonna preach that sermon, this is my own sermon tonight. But it was precipitated, it was certainly something that stirred in my heart as a result of Redpath's sermon. And everything that he said in that sermon, every question that he addressed was in my heart. It was like he had heard me say this, this, this, and this, and he was answering all those objections one by one. It was incredible. I could look up the sermon, and I'll show it to you. What a word that was. And I can tell you that day in the hospital, as I read that sermon, everything changed in my thinking. It was like I did a 180 in my thinking. I remember considering, you know, How foolish that was for me to think that the Lord doesn't care. Of course the Lord cares, but I'm in control of nothing in my life. I'm in control of absolutely nothing. I don't even have any say as to when I leave this hospital, but the Lord's in control. He's got a purpose in this. I don't know what it is, but I just know that he has a purpose. And I know that just as the Lord dealt with the disciples that day and that question that they asked, so the same type of question that was in my heart, the Lord would deal with that. So that's the background to this. There are questions that sometimes arise in our hearts, and I'm sure you're the same as I am, and if you haven't already been, someday you will be. when you face some sort of a crisis, whether it be a health crisis or something in your family or something in your life, and you'll be tempted to say, why is this happening to me? Does the Lord not care? When I read this, I thought about the person tried. The believer is in view here. Obviously, the disciples represent Christians. And the question is asked, why me? Why me? Well, we might as well say, why not me? Why not me? Because trials come, and they come to somebody. So why not me? But the person who's tried might say, why is this happening to me? You think about the period of the trial. Not just the question, why me, but why now? Why at this time? Why did it have to be right now that this came upon me? Because that was in my heart. And again, you have not only the person tried and the period of the trial, but the purpose of the trial. That's part of the questioning as well. What's the reason for it? What's the purpose of this trial? How is this for my good? And how is this for God's glory? That's the question that comes to our minds. Why? Well, here a question arose in the hearts of the 12 on the ship. Look at it again in verse 37 and 38. "'And there arose a great storm of wind, "'and the waves beat into the ship so that it was now full. "'And he was in 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?'' Lord, do you not care that we're dying here, that we're going to perish here, that the ship is going to sink here? Do you not care? That was the question. Now let's think about this question. In the first place, I would suggest that it was a fretful question. It's a question that was not asked in the right spirit, but there was in their hearts a spirit of murmuring and complaint. Master, do you not care that we're perishing? You can hear this, that it's a fretful question. They're annoyed. And aren't we apt to complain as Christians? Someone said we may complain because of the presence of one drop of affliction in what is an ocean full of mercies. The Lord's so good to us, But we don't think about all those goodnesses of the Lord. We think about the affliction and the trouble and the trial. That was the problem here. This was a fretful question. Now, I think about what happened in Scripture in another place that was quite similar to this. In the life of the home at Bethany, Mary and Martha and Lazarus. In Luke chapter 10, at the end of that chapter, we read, In verse 38, that as they went, he entered into a certain village and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered. That's a beautiful old word. She was fretful. She was annoyed out of her mind. She was in a tizzy, we might say. She was cumbered about much serving. She was so caught up with the meal and the preparation of it. And she came to him and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me alone, hath left me to serve alone? Bid her therefore that she help me. Notice this, dost thou not care? Master, carest thou not that we perish? Lord, dost thou not care? It was a fretful question also on her part. Now, didn't the Lord Jesus tell the disciples back in Matthew chapter 6 that they were to be anxious for nothing? They were not to be fretful. They were not to be worried about the future. Matthew chapter 6, from verse 25. Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor yet for your body, what you shall put on. When it says take no thought, that word could be translated anxious care or worry. You'll find it again in verse 27. Which of you by taking thought or by being anxious? Verse 28, why take ye thought for raiment? And once again in verse 31, therefore take no thought, anxious care. Again in verse 34, take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. We're not to be filled with anxious care about the future, what we're gonna eat, what we're gonna drink, wherewithal shall we be clothed. The Lord will take care of this. But this is the kind of questioning that goes on in the heart of the believer. Master, carest thou not that we perish?" This was a fretful question. Let me suggest, secondly, that it was a foolish question. Now, think about this. What are the circumstances? Well, it tells us there quite clearly that there was a great storm of wind, there was a great tempest, one of the other Portions in the other Gospels refer to it in that way, a great tempest, a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship so that it was now full. But notice this, and he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow. The Lord was in the ship, and the Lord was asleep. The Lord was very relaxed about the situation. He wasn't worried at all about the situation. He was fast asleep. But think of what they're saying. Master, carest thou not that we perish? Well, if they were going to perish, He was going to perish. But that could not be. And they should have known this. Because the Lord is the Lord of the wind and of the seas. He's the creator of them, and He's the controller of them. And so, this is a foolish question. Master, carest thou not that we perish? Because the Lord Jesus was still there. He hadn't left them. In fact, He was sleeping in the same boat, going through the very same storm. Whatever's happening in your life or mine, the Lord is with us. The Lord is well aware of what's taking place. We don't have to educate the Lord. I'm always amused when people, when they pray, tell the Lord about what they did that day, and, Lord, remember how I talked to this person, and then he said to me, and I said to her, and... You don't need to do that. The Lord knows. You don't have to educate the Lord about what you did today. The Lord knows what you did today. That's not prayer. That's just a spoken diary or a journal. That's not prayer. The Lord wants us to make requests. And here, the Lord had not left these disciples. He was very much present. And so why was this a foolish question? Well, it's a foolish question because of Christ's presence. Stupid for them to think that they were perishing when Christ was present. You know, the presence of Christ makes all the difference in our trials. He's there. Now, you may not feel him, you may not see him, but he's there. As well as Christ's presence, we have Christ's promise. The promise of Christ is to be always with us. And these disciples should have known that. The Lord Jesus wasn't going to forsake them. He wasn't going to leave them to their own devices, and neither will He do with us. The promise of Christ is clear. Hebrews 13, 5, He has said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. I'm never going to leave you alone. So this is a foolish question. Master, carest thou not that we perish? Not just because of Christ's presence, not just because of Christ's promise, but also because of Christ's power, which, of course, he illustrated in the aftermath of this when he stood up and he rebuked the wind. And he spoke to the sea, peace, be still, and the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. You know, it's interesting to me, the two things that are great here. In verse 37, there rose a great storm. And in verse 39, there was a great calm. A great storm, a great calm. Why? Because of the power of Christ. When they said, Master, carest thou not that we perish? Lord, we're perishing here. We're gonna die here. Did they not think that this was the powerful Christ who was able to raise the dead, and to make the blind to see, and to make the lepers clean, and to cause the deaf to hear? Think of the miracles that Christ had done in their presence. Think of His power manifested over and over and over again, and yet here they are, Master, we're perishing, do you not care? What a foolish question. Let us never forget Christ's power to change things. Never forget Christ's power to intervene in our situations. He can transform the whole thing. And then, of course, This is a foolish question because they could have been thinking differently if they'd had Christ's peace in their hearts. They didn't have that peace. They were in turmoil. But the Lord subsequently provided that peace when he said it, to the wind and the waves, peace, be still. There could have been that great calm in their hearts, if they had believed, but they were full of unbelief. So here's a fretful question. Here is a foolish question. But you have to understand as well that it was a fearful question. And when you're going through trials, and trials that are severe, there are often fears that come upon your heart. You wonder about the future. How's all this going to work out? How am I going to make it? How am I going to be able to survive this? So this was a fearful question. Look at verse 40. The Lord recognized their fear. He recognized that they were dead scared. Now, these are very experienced mariners. These are men who sailed the high seas and had been in some of the worst storms imaginable. But they're afraid. But he wasn't afraid. He's in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow. They had to wake him up. The Lord wasn't afraid. But they asked the question, Master, carest thou not that we perish? Because they were full of fear. You know what their problem was? They looked at the surroundings instead of looking at the Savior. And that reminds me very much of a couple of other portions. Over there in a couple of chapters, over in chapter 6, there's a different incident. Mark chapter 6, verse 50. And again, if we just get the context from verse 47, when the evening was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. Now, think of this. Verse 45 tells us that he constrained his disciples to get into the ship. It was the Lord that made them get into the ship in the first place. So he had brought them into those circumstances, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people. When he went up the mountain to pray, the Bible says in verse 47 of Mark 6, that when evening was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land, and he saw them toiling and rowing, for the wind was contrary unto them, and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. And when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out, for they all saw him, and were troubled." See this? They were afraid. And immediately he talked with them and saith unto them, Be of good cheer, it is I. Be not afraid. Again, in John chapter 6, we have similar circumstances. From verse 17 of that chapter, He entered into a ship, went over the sea toward Capernaum, and it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them. And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew. So when they'd rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea and drawing nigh unto the ship. And they were afraid. But he saith unto them, It is I, be not afraid. They had been looking at the surroundings, and not at the Savior. This is why we're fearful when trials come upon us. The scripture tells us in 1 John, fear hath torment. And there's no question that our fears often make us to say foolish things. It was a fearful question. Again, we can remark here that it was not only a fretful question, a foolish question, and a fearful question. It was also a faithless question. Carest thou not that we perish? This is tantamount to the disciples telling the Lord, Lord, do you not love us? Do you not care for us? Are you not interested in us? Master, carest thou not that we perish? It's a terrible thing when you get yourself into that state where you think the Lord doesn't care. You wonder if you're even saved. And therefore, you think, well, he probably doesn't care, because I'm probably not one of his. And of course, that's the voice of not only your own flesh, but the old devil. He loves to get in. and to kick you when you're down. When you're going through a time of trouble, Satan will make sure to exacerbate that trouble and make it look far worse even than it is. Carest thou not that we perish? How could they say such a thing? Because in Jeremiah 31 verse three, the Lord had said through that Old Testament prophet, The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore, with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. The hymn says, Loved with everlasting love, led by grace that love to know. How can we say, Lord, carest thou not when he tells us, Yea, I have loved thee with everlasting love? The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen could ever tell. And you know, the Lord has shown his care for us. Count your blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done. Think of all that the Lord has done for you in your life. And these disciples should have thought about that. What do you mean, carest thou not that we perish? Carest thou not? What about the Lord's works on your behalf? It was a faithless question because they did not remember his works. Think of the times when the Lord had fed them. You see, whenever they were gathered with the 4,000 and then the 5,000 and however many other thousands were there besides, the disciples also benefited from that. The Lord fed them. And not only did he feed them physically, he fed them spiritually, because he taught them. They were sitting at his feet, getting the best of instruction. Not only had he fed them, he had led them. He led them every step of the way through the years of his journeying there. But they didn't remember his works. They didn't think about His care for them. All they could think about was their present circumstances and imagining that the Lord didn't care. It was a faithless question. Carest thou not? Lord, do you not care? Imagine a Christian saying that to the Lord Jesus. You stop to think of what the Lord has done for you in giving His life for your salvation. Imagine saying to the crucified Christ, Lord, do you not care for me? When he has bled and died on your behalf, he's taken every one of your filthy sins upon himself and was punished for them that you might go free. He's opened up heaven to you. He's provided for you everlasting life following this life. And yet you would say, Lord, do you not care? What a faithless question that is. When we remember his works, how can we say such a thing? They did not recall his words. That's another thing. They didn't think about his words. Look here at verse 35. Mark 4, 35, and the same day when the even was come, he saith unto them, let us pass over unto the other side. He meant the other side of the lake, right? So did they think that the Lord was telling them, get into the boat, we're gonna go to the other side of the lake, and they weren't gonna make it? They weren't gonna go to the other side? Is that what they thought? Seemingly that is what they thought. But yet when you come to chapter five, verse one, it says, and they came over onto the other side of the sea into the country of the Gadarenes. Exactly what Jesus told them to do, get into the ship and go to the other side. That's what happened. They made it to the other side. Master, carest thou not that we perish? Sometimes, in our own folly, we think that the Lord is gonna let us go and we're not gonna make it to heaven. The devil wants to make you think that you're not gonna be in heaven. The Lord will let you go. That's an impossibility. It's an impossibility. Jesus could not have died for your sins, and at the same time, you eventually go to hell to be punished for those same sins. God is not going to demand payment for the same sins twice. And there is the assurance that we have that we're gonna make it to heaven. Jesus hath lived, hath died for me. That's the assurance that we have. His word tells us that he has suffered on our behalf. And he's made it clear, even as one of our hymns speaks of it. For this shall I find, For such is his mind. He will not be in heaven and leave me behind." It's not going to happen. We're not going to perish. Don't let the devil tell you you're going to perish. You're not going to make it. You're not going to get there. I remember when my mother was on her deathbed, she had a visit from two ministers, one of whom was Dr. Cairns, who has since himself gone to be with the Lord. And I remember him speaking very candidly to my mother. And at the time, I was kind of shocked by it. But since I reflected on it and thought, what great wisdom there was there. Addressing my mother right there on her bed, he said, Charlotte, in circumstances like yours, the devil loves to come in. And he loves to kick the believer while they are down. And when you're in very low health and you're about to pass away, Satan loves to come in with a final flourish to try to make the believer think that they're going to be lost. He said, I want to encourage you from God's word, that's not gonna happen. Because Christ has died for you. Christ has shed his blood for you. He has purchased for you a home in heaven, and that's where you're going. And it was a tremendous thing. And my mother died in great peace and great joy and told us and told the nursing staff in that hospice, I just want to go to heaven. Praise God for that. Master, carry us down that that we perish. You're not perishing. The Lord could have easily said, don't talk a load of garbage. Perishing. You're not perishing. I'm in the boat. I'm in control of this situation. And then he stood up and he showed that by just saying, wind and waves, be still. And there was a great calm. Think of that, those choppy waters, the waters coming into the boat, and all of a sudden there's a great calm because of his word. Christ is in control of every situation. And when I look at some of the companion portions to this, for example, Matthew 14 and verse 22, again, it illustrates that Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship. The word there is the same word that Paul used when he said, the love of Christ constraineth us. In other words, we're being impelled. They had no choice. They had no choice but to get into the boat. It was the Lord who led them there. But he says, and to go before him unto the other side. That was his promise, so to speak. And down in verse 30 of that same chapter, it tells us about Peter. When he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. The Lord had to reach out his hand. and catch him, and say, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Lord, Master, carest thou not that we perish? Of course the Lord cares. Of course the Lord cares about your situation, whatever it may be. Charles Weigel, I believe, wrote, does Jesus care when my heart is pained too deeply for mirth or song? If it wasn't him, it was some other great writer. Does Jesus care when I've said goodbye to the dearest on earth to me?" What's the answer? Oh, yes, he cares. I know he cares. His heart is touched by my grief. When the days are weary and the long nights dreary, I know my Savior cares. He does care. "'Casting all your care upon him,' Peter said." Isn't that interesting? Peter said. One of those who was there in the boat, one of those who said, "'Master, carest thou not that we perish?' he writes in 1 Peter 5, in verse 7, "'Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you.'" Well, Peter learned how foolish was that question that he asked, along with the rest of them. Do you not care, Lord? Of course the Lord cares. And we may cast all our cares upon him. May the Lord help us to do that. And maybe there's one listening to my voice tonight and you don't know anything about the presence of Christ in your life because you're not a believer. You don't have this assurance that Jesus cares and is looking after you because he's not, because you're not his. You need to come to him. You need to put your trust in him. You need to repent of your sins and believe the gospel and come to the one who cared so much that he gave his life on Calvary, a ransom for many. May the Lord bless the word to our hearts tonight and comfort our souls by these words, amen.