Good Morning Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
We have an AWESOME Father and Brother in Yahweh and Yeshua Hamashiach. What other god or person is so loving that in order to meet the perfect standard of justice, which is righteousness, they are willing to give up themselves as payment for us. Yes, our Father and Brother, in order to meet the standard of righteousness, used their love as payment for us. Now, do you think you are valuable to God? Absolutely!! He gave the most valuable of His creation, Jesus Christ, for us.
In the Gospel of Mark 4:35-41, Jesus and the disciples are in a ship passing from one side to the other of the Sea of Galilee, after hours of preaching and teaching. V37 tells us there was a great storm. Where do storms originate? From the curse. They were not God’s original creation.
Mark 4:37
And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
There is a LOT in this verse for us. First, a storm arose. Not just any storm, but a great storm of wind. Where did we say storms originate? Yes, from the curse which is of Satan, its father. Why is there a great storm? Let’s look at a quick list of reasons, not exhaustive:
- Christ was in the boat. Who did Satan want to destroy the most? Yes, Christ. What an idiot Satan was and is. I wish I could have seen the look on his face in hell when Jesus resurrected.
- The disciples were in the boat. Satan wanted to destroy them as well. He could see Jesus was training these men to operate as He did. This is the last thing Satan wanted to have happen.
- Christ had just preached and taught many truths of God to a huge crowd of people. In other words, the Seed had been released into the hearts of the crowd. The Seed being the Word. Satan knew this was causing and going to cause him great headaches. He couldn’t allow this to continue.
- Where was Jesus headed? To the country of the Gadarenes. What happened there? Jesus cast out the legion of demons from the Mad Man of the Gadarenes. This disrupted Satan’s economy along the sea shore and surrounding area. Yes, Satan needs money, too. Plus, Jesus performed another sign and wonder which strengthened His message. His Word had even more impact as a result.
As we further study v37, we see “the waves beat into the ship, so that it was full.” This literally means the waves were so large, so ferocious, that the ship filled with water faster than the disciples could bail it out. They were in the process of being sunk. Where was Jesus? “In the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow:.” Many people mistake the ship for a row boat and always ask how Jesus was not about to drown sleeping. Ships rise up toward the front and hinder ends meaning the ends are higher than the rest of the ship.
Notice the disciples reaction in v38:
Mark 4:38
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?
The disciples are in fear, in terror, at the thought of drowning in the sea. And, they are angry with Jesus at sleeping through all of this. How dare He sleep like this when we are about to die. Now, let’s dwell here for a minute. When the disciples woke Jesus and stated, “carest Thou not that we perish,” were they addressing Him as the Son of God or as just another man whom they needed to help them bail water? V41 gives us the answer:
Mark 4:41
And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?
The fact Jesus was able to rebuke and calm the wind and sea scared them silly. And, you can see by their words, they didn’t awaken Him thinking this is the Son of God, and He can control the wind and sea by His Words because He created them. They were angry at Him for sleeping while they needed another set of natural hands bailing out the water. They saw Him as just another man. Or, in other words, they saw the Word of God as just another word of man – no different, no power, no belief. They put no value in the Word.
How do these verses relate to us as Believers? Are you going to have storms in life? Yes, Jesus made it very clear in John 16:33 we would have storms or tribulations (trials):
John 16:33
These things have I spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
However, Jesus also says, “be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” The Greek word for “be of good cheer” is “tharseo’.” It means, “to be of good courage or of good cheer.” Further, in-depth definition is, “the living out the inner confidence that is spirit-produced.” In other words, your inner confidence, or faith, is spirit produced by you ingesting the Word of God continually and it exuding from you as confidence or faith by decreeing His Word in power and authority.
The Greek word for “peace” used in John 16:33 is “Eirene.” It essentially means, “God’s gift of wholeness.” Security, safety, prosperity, and felicity.
The Greek word for “have overcome” in John 16:33 is “nikao.” It means, “to conquer, prevail, subdue, overcome, victorious.” Jesus conquered Satan and his entire demonic, worldly, natural, carnal system. He has placed Satan and his system under His feet. Satan bows before Christ – AND YOU AND ME – if you believe it, if you think, act, and speak as Christ does and as He has commanded us to do. Satan and his system are under our feet. Do you know how to command him? With the Word of God decreed in faith. I can promise you he is under my feet!
Notice in Mark 4:37 how Satan operates against you: he brings storms, he beats against you by bombarding you continuously with negative, evil, carnal, anti-Word of God thoughts, and if you allow him to do it, he will destroy you. How do we combat this which occurs daily in our lives? What was Jesus doing? Yes, resting in His Father. Jesus wasn’t up running around like a mad man shouting, “bail for your lives or we’re going to die.” Or, “look at how bad this storm is, I’ve never seen anything like it, it is terrible, it is going to destroy us.” Why give any credence to a lie? But Larry, it’s not a lie, you can see the storm, you can feel the winds, you can see the water. Yes, I see the physical fact that Satan is coming against me, but I know the spiritual Truth that Satan has been defeated by Christ, and Christ gave me the same power and authority He has. Did Jesus jump up and start praying to God, His Father, saying, “Father, please help us by calming the storm and the waves.” No! Why, because His Father told Him to take charge and speak to the “mountain” (Mark 11:23). His Father told Him to do and say what His Father does and says. And, Christ has told us to do what He says and what He does (John 14:12).
We are to speak to the storms in our lives with the Word of God in faith. God doesn’t tell us to ask Him to do it – He has given us the power, the authority, and the Blessing to do it ourselves. If you ask God to do it, you’ll never have success. God cannot go against His Word. He told YOU to do it. He can’t do it because His Word has tied His hands. Either you step up and speak to the storms of your life with God’s Word, in faith, or your ship, on this earth, will sink or be ship wrecked. In either case, this is not God’s will for you. His best for you is to take His power and His authority, which He has given to you at your salvation, and take charge like the “more than a conqueror” you are. Do you value God Word, God’s Promises, God’s Truth – or are they just words to you to be said with no thought, no power, no belief – hmmmm…..reminds me of a lot of places I’ve worshipped or have observed services where rote, man-made words are spoken over and over – the traditions of men, the rudiments of the world (Col 2:8) with no meaning, no power – yet blindly it is done day after day, week after week – and nothing ever changes. Only the actual Word of God has any power:
John 6:63
It is the Spirit that quickeneth [makes alive]; the flesh profiteth nothing [wisdom of the world]: the Words that I speak unto you, They are Spirit and They are life.
Blessings to you and your families in the powerful and authoritative name of Jesus Christ.
Larry