that show us he's not just a baby, but the ruler of all nature. Mark chapter four, starting in verse 35, just a few verses here, but this is the word of the living God. Mark 4.35, on the same day, when evening had come, he said to them, let us cross over to the other side. Now when they had left the multitude, they took him along in the boat as he was, and other little boats were also with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke him and said to him, teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? And then he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. But he said to them, Why are you fearful? How is it that you have no faith? And then they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, Who can this be? that even the wind and the sea obey him. So far in the reading of the word of the living God, may that word dwell in us richly. Let's approach the throne of grace once again, let's pray. Father, we have sung your praise and read your word and given to you part of what you have blessed us with. And now, Father, we would worship by hearing and hearing by the word for this is how faith comes and how faith is built up. So we pray father for the one who speaks for those who hear that together we might honor and glorify your name. We ask your blessing in Jesus name. Amen. A few years ago, there was a commercial on TV for some imitation butter. And a woman would say, it's not nice to fool Mother Nature. Well, I can tell you a couple of things. First of all, that's not butter. Doesn't taste like it, doesn't melt like it. It's not the real thing. But I can also tell you this, if you didn't know, there is no Mother Nature. But Jesus, who created nature, is the ruler of all nature, the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the only Redeemer of God's elect. He's the eternal Son of God, who became man, and so was and continues to be both God and man in two distinct natures and one person forever as our catechism says. I think we can get to a place where we sentimentally see Jesus as that little baby born in Bethlehem and forget who he is. And here we have this evening boat trip. Verse 35, on the same day. It was a busy day. If you go back and read the earlier part of the chapter. It began on the shore in verse 1 of chapter 4. He was teaching a great multitude. And he gets in a boat. They push out just a few yards from the shore. So that he has a platform to teach. And this whole scene after giving these parables, giving this teaching changes. It moves to a private setting where Jesus explains the parables in more detail to his disciples. And then evening comes and Jesus says, let's cross over basically Everybody who looks at these details thinks that to the Gadarene side of the Sea of Galilee. Sea of Galilee is a freshwater inland lake. It's about, I can't even think about this in perspective, but it's 13 miles long, seven miles wide, But it's 680 feet below sea level. It sits in a bowl of mountains. Capernaum, the side they were on, is crowded. These crowds have been pressing in. The other side had these steep cliffs, and there were less people. For whatever reason, not surprisingly by the way, Jesus needed rest. And he says, let's cross over. And there's this boat. Who are these guys? Well, we know that the first four that are named as apostles were fishermen. Boats were not strange to them. They were navigators. Some people have described the kind of boat that they got into. It was probably 25 or 30 feet long with one mast. It was able to carry about 12 or 15 people and the fishing equipment. And what are we told there? Some other smaller boats were also trying to keep up with the boat that Jesus got into. What happens? Well, in verse 37, a great windstorm. Cold winds from the top of the mountains comes down onto the warm lake water, produces what we call a squall. Violent winds whip the waves of this lake. And the waves were, we're told, filling the boat with water. raging seas, strong winds, a tempest. It's very interesting that even when you're close to Jesus, storms may arise in your life. The way some people talk about Jesus is as if you were a Christian, if you had Jesus, there'd never be a storm. There'd never be anything that would rock the boat. Pun intended. But even for true Christians, to use the vernacular again, life is not always smooth sailing, is it? Even though we're close to Christ. Even though we're real believers. Sometimes the wind kicks up. Jesus is sleeping in the back on a pillow of the boat. It's a very interesting picture. They all get into the boat that he said, let's cross over and off they go. I mean, it's 13 miles long. How long does it take for a single masted 25 foot boat to go 13 miles? I don't know. I'm not a sailor, but it takes enough time for him to find a place in the boat and he goes to sleep. What a picture of confidence and trust. The master of all things is not worried. But there's something else about what takes place here in the boat and Jesus going to sleep, and that's the manhood of Jesus. I don't mean the machismo. I mean the humanity. He needs rest. That's why He told the guys to get in the boat. We're going over there because we need to get away from this crowd for a little bit. He needs food. He gets weary. Brothers and sisters, thinking about that ought to give you some confidence. This is the Christ who saves you, who knows what you go through. And his pillow, I suppose we could speculate. There's actually a couple of commentaries trying to speculate what this pillow was. Who knows what this pillow was? But it's in a fishing boat. I don't think it was my pillow from Mike, you know, on TV. But there's this headrest and he is reclining somewhere in the boat with his head on something and he's asleep in the middle of the squall. And then they woke him up. These experienced sailors are in fear of their lives. Do you think that these guys who fished on this very sea hadn't seen a squall before? But have you ever been in a storm? On a boat? In the ocean? Anybody? You have? God bless you because You ever watch the Deadliest Catch? I watch that show and go, no, never. Well, they make a lot of money. I don't care. I'm not doing it. I've been on maybe two little cruises between Maine and Nova Scotia, and between Boston and, where does it go, Martha's Head or Nantucket? One of those. Whichever one. I've been on those little boats. I've avoided cruises. I've never been on a little boat in a storm. Closest I came to it was in Bar Harbor. A friend of mine wanted to go see his girlfriend on the other side of the harbor, and we got in a small motor boat, and the waves were bigger than the boat. We kept going up and then down and up and then down. I didn't like it. So I'm not doing it again. These guys are there and they're afraid. Brothers and sisters, panic can make even strong men say and do things they regret. What do they do? They question the loyalty and the love of Jesus. Do you not care that we are perishing? That's what they ask him. They wake him up and say, what's going on here? Don't you even care about us? These sailors are asking the carpenter that they've known for help. They've watched him do all kinds of things, but they only have a little bit of faith. They did wake him up. Brothers and sisters, a little bit of faith, still faith. And you might feel sometimes that your faith is weak, that your faith is little. I remind you when Jesus said a mustard seed size of faith is enough. You know what he's saying? If you have any faith at all, you've got enough faith. After all that he's already done for you, do you doubt that he's able to handle this? Isn't this what we ask when they say cancer? Lord, don't you care about us? This is too big for us? You think the problem that you're going through is too big for this, Lord? Don't you know what kind of tempest we're in, Lord? What kind of storm? After all he's already done for you? You doubt that he can handle where you are right now? What's very interesting is that Jesus is not upset by the storm. They are, but Jesus is not. He knows what to do, and he can do all that is needed. Brothers and sisters, sometimes it may seem to you like Jesus is uninterested in your problems. He's asleep. in the back of the boat. What would I say to you? Well, cry out to Him, just like they did. They woke Him up. Plead with Him. And He will arise. Verse 39, Then He arose. He stands up in the storm-tossed boat, and He rebukes the wind By the way, I want you to note that he doesn't stand up and say, I rebuke you demon of wind. He doesn't stand up and say, I rebuke you evil spirit of wind. He commands the wind itself, not some spirit that was moving. What kind of confidence should we take from that? You realize that the natural forces of life on this planet were put into place on purpose? Yes, the planet has fallen. And the earth has fallen and cursed. But do you think anything, any earthquake, any tsunami, any forest fire, any hurricane, any storm is out of God's control? A couple of places in the Puritans where one guy talks about, you know how you can see the dust in a sunbeam sometimes in a window? One guy was saying not one of those particles falls to the ground except exactly where God wants it to. Snowflakes, I don't really care about the snow that much, don't like it that much, but it's fascinating to watch it fall. One of the Puritans was talking about the snowflakes. Not one of them, not one, falls to the ground except exactly where God wants it to. I'm still curious how even under the trees, look way back up there in the trees, there's still snow on the ground. In spite of all those limbs and all those, there's still snow on the ground. That boggles my mind. Not one of those things is out of his control. Jesus asserts his authority over the elements of nature. This is not a breeze that's blowing. This is a tempest. This boat is rocking up and down, filling with waves. And he stands up and said to the sea, hush, be still. Now, normally when the wind dies down, sometimes the sea is still churning for a while. It takes a little bit to get back to normal. But it's pretty interesting that this says, the wind ceased and there was a great calm. The one who spoke all things into being. There's not a thing that was made that Jesus didn't make. That's what the Bible tells us. He speaks, and those things listen. Brothers and sisters, there's a great deal of confidence in this, that we ought to have in our Christ. There's that baby in the manger, and here's the ruler of all nature standing in the boat. Hush, be still. And the waves stop. Great calm. The wind stops instantly. Some of the commentators say, you ever been on a lake where it was smooth as glass, not a ripple? Maybe that's what happened. And what does he say to them? Why are you afraid? They had accused Jesus of not caring. Let's not make too light of that. They wake him up and they say, what's wrong with you? And I want you to note that he doesn't chastise them for it. That's pretty interesting, isn't it? He just asked a question. Why are you so fearful? Why are you faithless? There's nothing impossible with God. Nothing impossible with Jesus Christ. Couldn't we say that to you? Why are you fearful? I have to admit, these days, I find myself having to go, why am I fearful? What's going to happen to our country? Doesn't it seem like we're slouching towards Gomorrah? Culturally? Economically? It does. It feels like we're slouching towards the end. Why are you so fearful? Doesn't Daniel say the mighty God puts kings up and puts them down, rules over the affairs of men? Are you already getting worried about the midterm elections in November? Why are you fearful? Nothing is impossible with Jesus. The real question is verse 41. They feared exceedingly, now what are they afraid of? You get it? You see what they're afraid of now? Not the wind. They just watched Him calm the storm. And they say, who can this be? Who can this be? In fact, the Greek there, and they feared exceedingly, literally could be translated, with great fear they were afraid. They're not afraid of the great fear, they're not afraid of the womb now. But they are in awe, in reverence, in wonder. in amazement, all rolled up into one place in what they just saw. They have seen Jesus control crowds. They've seen Jesus defeat sickness. They've seen Jesus forgive sins. They've seen Jesus banish demons. But this, the wind and the waves, obey at his command? You know, there are people that can fix all kinds of problems. Mechanics can fix machines. Moms can fix boo-boos. Doctors can occasionally, not so much these days it seems, fix bodies. Plumbers Fixed pipes, aren't you grateful for that? But brothers and sisters, no man can fix the weather. The most that man can do is watch the weather. Don't you get a kick out of that? The weather girl, the weather guy, the weather person on TV. They're not responsible for the weather, you realize that, right? They're just pointing at a map and saying, oh look, it's raining. I can do that. And with the right computers, you can say, oh, there's snow coming. But the most that we can do is watch the weather. It takes God to change the weather. Do you remember some years ago when the founder of the 700 Club got all kinds of flack for praying that a hurricane would not hit North Carolina or wherever it was? We pray to the God who can change hurricanes. Who can this be? What's on display in this boat is the power, majesty, control, and by the way, patience. Again, I remind you, he doesn't chastise the apostles. He does ask them, where's your faith? But he doesn't chastise them. They had seen something amazing. Who can this be? Guess what? The answer is not given. Jesus doesn't say some theologically astute answer like Shorter Catechism 21, the Son of God and two distinct natures, one person forever. Jesus doesn't give them an answer. I remind you that Job didn't get an answer. Jonah didn't get an answer. Do you know when it comes to God, why is almost never a good question? Too many negatives in that or something. You shouldn't be asking God why. That's God's business. Wherever you are right now is God's will. You're not out of God's will. But the fire burned to the ground. I don't know why that was God's will. But the doctor said, I have this incurable thing. You're not out of God's will. The focus of this event, brothers and sisters, is not the wind and the waves, not the boat, it's Jesus. He commands the winds and the waves. The question is, what will you do with Jesus? Troubled soul. tossed around by the winds of your own sin and your own nature. Hear the word of Jesus. He says, peace, be still. It's Jesus who speaks pardon to your soul, forgiveness for your sin. Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. The winds know it. The seas know it. Only the creator could tell the creation what to do. Only Jesus can hush the storms of your life. It may seem like he's asleep. You may wonder, why am I in this condition? Why hasn't the Lord done something different? But whatever those storms in your life, Jesus is in the boat. He's in the boat. He's right there. Maybe the real issue is that you need to cry out to him. I'm perishing in sin, oh Lord, save me. It's only the voice of Jesus that will bring a great calm to that struggle that you're having with sin. The peace of God which, what? Passes all understanding. The storms of temptation, Jesus commands to be still. The rage of temper can be stilled by His voice. The failure that's so prevalent in our lives, the setbacks can be calmed by His Word. No conscience is so troubled that Christ can't bring it peace. No sinner so desperate, but if you come to Him asking, He can do a miracle of peace in your heart. If Jesus Christ is for us, who can be against us? Nothing. Not even the wind and the waves. It's interesting that they forgot some of the miracles so recently done. Again, the earlier part of the chapter, theological teaching, they forgot that. And Jesus doesn't yell at them. He doesn't berate them. No, the tender mercy not deserved is shown by Christ. Brothers and sisters, He knows your weakness. He knows your failures. He knows your lack of courage. but whosoever comes to him for help will find grace to face the storm. No, no, there's no mother nature, but there is Jesus. Standing in the midst of your stormy life, the ruler of all nature, what does he say to you? He says, peace, be still and know that He is gone. That calm is worth asking Him for. Let's pray together. Almighty Father, we do come to You and often are coming in the very midst of a boat tossed to and fro by the events of our daily lives. Father, may we recognize that these things don't take you by surprise. They don't worry you. You have complete control over every aspect, every direction that that wind is blowing. And Father, if it suits your will, you can say, peace, be still. Calm the turmoil. that's in our heart, in our mind. Father, we bring our needs to you. We even would say that we have little faith, increase our faith, that we might trust that you're in the boat. You're right there with us. You haven't forsaken us. You're not a God who is far off. You're very near. You have all power. all glory, all majesty, because you're the maker of all things. Father, may we come to Christ in faith in the midst of the storms so that we might give him glory. We ask you to hear us for his sake. Amen.