Worship - Sunday at 10:30AM
Bible Study - Wednesday at 6:30PM
2007-01-07 Communion Dedication - Baldwin Christian Church
MISPLACED FEAR
Mark 4:35-41
35. And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.
36. And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.
37. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
38. 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?
39. And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
40. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
41. And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
Can you hear fearfulness in their words as they wake Jesus up and plead with Him saying, "Master, carest thou not that we perish?"
All this day, Jesus had been sitting in a boat, teaching parables to people gathered at the seaside. He taught these same folks the parable of the sower, how we need to trust God's word, not allowing His work in us to be hindered by the distresses and cares of this world.
Notice how their perspective of fear changed in verses 39 and 40. They went from fearing the wind and waves to fearing the One who brought peace to it all. They were people like you and me; regular folks, who thought their worst problem was what they could see, hear and feel (their predicament), but Jesus gave them a wonderful gift of perspective that night on the sea. Now they could see their greatest problem was not the circumstances facing them. Now they could see this man was their real problem. How? This man Jesus had power to remove all they were afraid of, and He was asking them why they were afraid of the circumstances. This man Jesus had shown them how their fear was proof of their lack of faith. Now they could see that their greatest problem was their unbelief in His word.
Whose idea was it to cross the sea? In verse 35, we see it was Jesus' idea. He said, "Let us pass over unto the other side."
Philippians 1:6
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
God's word tells us to be confident, the opposite of fearful. In Revelation 21:7-8, He tells us that the fearful are not overcomers; the fearful will not inherit the kingdom of God, but the fearful will inherit their place in the lake of fire.
It was getting dark that evening when they got in the boat, a dangerous time to cross the Sea of Galilee, as the winds begin to sweep down from the snowy heights of Mount Hermon. It was a time for knowledgeable sailors to be anxious, to be afraid, but Jesus wasn't. He was taking a nap after a long day preaching. He trusted in His Father's protection.
John 15:7-8
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what
ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye
bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
The Father's will for you is that you bear much fruit. Your effort, your part in this is to be good ground for the seed of His word to grow in, fearing only Him.