When Jesus Does A Thing That Only God Can Do

[0:00] Falling briskly on the open water can be a greatly exhilarating experience.! You take in the beauty of the sky, the water, the gentle motion of the waves.

[0:12] Or maybe you like the wind blowing in your face or coming in from behind blowing your hair. It just can be an amazing situation. It can be very relaxing.

[0:25] I remember very early in the dating experience that my wife and I had. We went for a leisurely canoe ride down Blackwater Creek.

[0:39] It was very enjoyable. Those kind of things can be great. People love being on a boat. Being on the sea, though, can be one of also the most terrifying of experiences.

[0:54] Songs have been sung. Stories have been told about such experiences. The old man in the sea. Moby Dick.

[1:07] The ballad of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Master and Commander. Or the movie The Perfect Storm.

[1:17] All of them can make you sit on the edge of your seat. Just knowing that the situation they're in is life and death.

[1:28] And for many of them, it ended up in death. Many of these accounts recount terrifying moments for people at sea.

[1:40] And the actions that caused them to experience them. Today's passage is something like that. It speaks of an experience our Lord and his disciples had at sea.

[1:56] Their thoughts and what was revealed about all of them. As they sailed on the Sea of Galilee. Let's look at Luke chapter 8 verses 22 to 25.

[2:09] One day he got into a boat with his disciples and said to them, Let us go across to the other side of the sea. So they set out.

[2:20] And as they sailed, he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake. And they were filling with water and were in danger. And they went and woke him, saying, Master, Master, we are perishing.

[2:35] And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves. And they ceased. And there was calm. He said to them, Where is your faith?

[2:48] And they were afraid. And they marveled, saying to one another, Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water?

[3:00] And they obey him. Let's pray. Father, I thank you for your word. Thank you for being able to read of a situation that you, Lord Jesus, and your disciples, the twelve, went through on this lake.

[3:20] Thank you that you opened up some of what was going on in your mind, some of what was going on in these men's mind. Thank you, Father, for what it teaches us.

[3:34] And, Lord, I pray that the two questions here would haunt us. Not in a bad way. But would be one of those things that sticks in our minds and brings us back to reality and brings us back to a right understanding.

[3:52] And I pray that you would be with us as we see what is pointed out in this passage. And may it do the work in our hearts that you called it to do. We ask that as Christians, we would see a more fuller picture of Christ.

[4:07] And those who don't know you would see Christ for who he is. And your spirit would bring them to trust in you today. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, we have here a situation where God has brought about a divine circumstance in the life of Jesus and his disciples for a specific purpose.

[4:29] Now, it's like so many things in our life. We're just going through life and things happen. And we don't see the divine setup. And we don't see the divine application.

[4:40] And we don't see the divine result that God has been doing and working towards doing all this time. But they're there because God is God. And we'll see this in this passage. But here, Jesus has been preaching.

[4:53] This probably does follow the verses that are before it. And Jesus has been very busy. Very busy. And he's human.

[5:05] We'll make a little bit of that more later in the message. But he's human. And he is exhausted. And so, in the course of all that's going on, in the course of God's plan, there is an exhausted, physically exhausted Savior who says, let's get in a boat and go to the other side.

[5:29] Now, if you think in light of the pleasant experiences of a boat, I've never slept on a boat. You wouldn't get me on a boat for that long. I can be on a boat. Well, I have slept on a boat. I slept on a cruise ship.

[5:40] I slept well. But I just picture it being great to sleep on a boat in ideal. I mean, I just love that, you know, just that little chop.

[5:52] And you could just hear the, you know, if you're close to the shore, you can hear the waves breaking. And that would just like, that would be like, ah, great place to sleep. But they decide they need to go to the other side.

[6:04] Jesus decides they need to go to the other side. And there is a reason for it. Jesus is not just acting willy-nilly. He has a purpose. And so they get into this boat and Jesus needs this rest.

[6:16] We'll see that Jesus' purpose is that he has a man to help on the other side. And we'll look at that next time, Lord willing. But he and the father have a purpose for the trip.

[6:31] It was a divinely ordained teaching moment for, what was it, eight, six of the disciples were fishermen.

[6:43] Experienced fishermen. Proud, I'm sure, of their sailing abilities. But anyway, he decides let's go across the lake, go across the sea, to the other side.

[6:56] And as I mentioned, the events on the way, Jesus falls asleep. He's tired. That reminds us that Jesus is indeed human. And I really want you to get a sense of that because these disciples, they've been seeing Jesus do some amazing things.

[7:13] But this is a man they can put their hands on. And I sure have. This is a man that they've seen eat. This is a man they've seen sleep.

[7:23] This is a man they've watched him. become exhausted. This is a man they've seen him as a man. And so, to watch him go to sleep, it's not like, you know what, is the universe going to fall apart?

[7:38] They didn't look at him as much God. In fact, we know from the situation of another boat situation where the Lord tells him to put down the net and Peter says, oh, we've fished all night but we've not got anything.

[7:53] But, because you've asked, we'll do it. And they do. And they put down a net and a catch so large that it starts to break the net. Peter's reaction is, depart from me, oh Lord, for I am a sinful man.

[8:07] So we know that there's already been teaching that's pointing the disciples to who Jesus is, but not all of them were there. And, and let's face it, when was the last time you got an important truth that stuck with you on the first try?

[8:28] I wish, I was that smart. But here they are again, Jesus is tired and he shows himself to be truly human.

[8:40] And so they began to cross the Sea of Galilee. It is something the fishermen were familiar with and frankly, they would be familiar with what they're about to face and probably would not have chosen to go across the sea during this time of year.

[8:57] It was probably what we would consider fall and that time of the year was dry, pretty warm and the Sea of Galilee is located 700 feet below sea level.

[9:11] We always think of the Dead Sea and that's much more below sea level but the Sea of Galilee is 700 feet below sea level. It's a freshwater lake and the Dead Sea is a saltwater lake.

[9:25] But the Sea of Galilee is, like I said, 700 feet below sea level but to the north and east or northeast of the Sea of Galilee is what's called the Golan Heights.

[9:36] I'm sure you've heard of that in the news. and that's a mountain plateau that is very high above sea level and most of the wind, most of the weather as here comes from the west or the southwest and so this didn't happen very often but every once in a while you know, if you're out about and it's storming and if you happen to notice wait a minute, the wind's out of the east you usually know there's a good storm coming wind coming from the east usually indicates that but this wind would in this case come from the east all from the Golan Heights make this tremendous dive from this plateau down to the bottom of this basin that is desert hot and so you have these cool winds coming from the heights of the mountain racing down the ravines clear down to the basin that the Dead Sea is in and it would create a storm now what we're facing here is not a thunderstorm there could be thunder involved but he says the winds came down upon the lake and that's what he's talking about these winds of the Golan Heights coming down and it would create a wind storm it was one of these kinds of wind storms it was it was a very dangerous situation it was near tornado force winds as I read one account one thing that was interesting about storms like this on a lake they were it was somebody talking about the Edmund Fitzgerald you who are older remember that song great song anyway they were talking about the Edmund Fitzgerald and how this huge ship super strong was busted up it was busted in two like a toothpick because storms on a lake are different than storms at sea out in the ocean the waves are regular out in the ocean but in a lake that's only seven miles wide there are all kinds of things that affect the waves and so you won't get a regular you know even if it's ten or fifteen foot swales you won't get regular you get very irregular waves come at you from all directions and so they're on this lake with this storm with near tornado force winds it was a real danger the possibility of perishing was real from the standpoint of people who normally sailed a boat and here are a group of fishermen with the other disciples and they recognized this is an awful situation and the disciples panic the worst thing you could imagine about being in a boat was about to happen they're taking on water they can't point the boat in a safe direction it's hazardous no matter what they're doing and they cry out in desperation master master we are perishing was what they did now what they're doing is not wrong in the midst of their need the disciples turned to the one they knew who could help they've watched him raise the dead they've watched him heal the blind they've watched him heal paralytics they've watched him cast demons out of people certainly they could he could help them and we can imagine that they maybe thought all kinds of different things maybe he can maybe he can make us to be at the shore immediately however they knew he was the one but they panicked and so here in the midst of this storm the Lord

[13:36] Jesus is roused by these panicked disciples and before he says anything to anyone else he meets their need and it says he rebuked the wind and it ceased and he rebuked the raging waves and they were calm now the measurements I'm going to give I don't know if they're true okay I wanted to make up a situation that you would relate to can you imagine what it would be like to be there gale force winds tear at you 15 to 30 foot waves crash over the boat that is probably 26 feet long and only 7 feet wide and these waves and this wind is doing its best to separate you from the boat to separate the boat from the surface of the water but the instant

[14:42] Jesus speaks the wind is gone I'm not talking about over five minutes we saw it decrease the instant Jesus speaks the wind is gone and if you've thrown a rock into a pond and watch the ripples you know it takes a few minutes for those ripples to make their way to the shore and die off but the bible says that the moment he speaks there's calm can you imagine being in that situation where you go with a realistic thinking that I could die right here to be in a situation where instantly there is no tornado force winds there are no 15 to 30 foot swales coming from you in every direction

[15:43] I I can picture them being dumbstruck I mean as much as they were in panic and you see they change it says they're terrified but their terror is not what it was it went in a different direction all of a sudden to go from being in desperate situation fearing for your life to go to instant calm just because Jesus said something it's just got to be baffling so Jesus comes he hushes the wind and he calms the sea and they're all just sitting there with their mouths open looking around going I just can't believe what happened the next question Jesus asks is a question

[16:46] I felt has haunted me all week because the Lord has in so many different situations repeated in my mind this question to me where's your faith where's your faith now this phrase implies not that they had no faith but that they had a deficiency of faith Jesus is not rebuking them for waking him he is not rebuking them for seeing the desperateness of the situation he's rebuking them for panicking in the situation they were failing to trust God in the storm they called out to Jesus wasn't that trusting him enough no because they assumed there was no hope they assumed that nothing can be done

[17:55] I don't think Jesus is saying that there should be no fear but our fear should never take us to the point of despairing what am I going to do you know that kind of stuff that happens at 2 30 in the morning you wake up and you think what did I just do yesterday what did I just get us into this past I'll just admit it this past couple weeks there have been a couple mornings I woke up at 2 30 and thought why did I just go in debt why did and God has been saying where's your faith we should always know that God is in control that was what the disciples failed to do they failed to be people now it was right for them to cry out to

[18:58] God it was right for them to know the seriousness of the situation and they could even be worried but it was the fact that they failed to believe that God was in control of the situation Psalm 46 verses 1 through 3 God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea though its waters roar and foam though the mountains tremble at its swelling to really see why Jesus rebuked them I think the best way to do it is to look at Jesus because Jesus got in the boat and he started out and he slept now you might say well he was so exhausted that he never knew what was happening granted he was exhausted but do you think you could be in a boat with that much wind and that much wave and that much water coming in and not know something was happening do you think you could push all that off and just say

[20:32] I'm tired unless you had an understanding of what was really going on see Jesus trusted God in the storm he trusted his father in the storm and he slept through it now I'm not saying that the disciples should have done nothing but they should have said God is in control God is sovereign in those kinds of situations where that which is around us overwhelms us makes us to begin to worry how is this am I ever going to be able to or am I ever going to come out of this or whatever thing we can imagine we need to be people who recognize that God is sovereign we should trust him to do his perfect will and show his steadfast love towards us we should always be understanding that he is in control and he will do his perfect plan it's not just true that God is in control when I think it's doable when I think it can be handled things in life are under God's control everywhere and we should rest in that thought even if it means it's our time for suffering or death

[22:14] Job 13 15 though he slay me I will hope in him yet I will argue my ways to his face really only the first part there though he slay me I will trust him Job struggled but at least at this point he was saying where I am though it isn't comfortable though it isn't good though it's not where I want to be God is still in control God will always do what glorifies him the most and what is the absolute best for us I'll reference we're going to read this passage later so I won't read it now but Romans 8 28 we all know that all things work together for good to them that love God to them who are the called according to his purpose and so we must be mindful in the situations even if we're in a boat with tornado force winds and waves that are swamping the boat and these guys even though experienced fishermen knew that if they were out of the boat and even if they could swim which they probably could they wouldn't have made it in that situation but God is in control he will always do what glorifies him the most what is absolute best for him

[23:42] I love a quote that General Stonewall Jackson said to one of his captains his captain was just getting on to Jackson for the way he would ride up and down the lines right in front of his troops and it's like General Jackson this is foolishness this is stupid and Jackson turned to him and said Captain my religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed God has fixed the time for my death I do not concern myself about that but to be always ready no matter when it may overtake me Captain that is the way all men should live and then all would be equally brave safe and equally trusting you and I are as safe in a boat like this as we would be in bed we're more safe wherever we are we are safe and the trial that you face now whatever wakes you at 2.30 in the morning or the middle of the day or whenever that time is that you tend to let things mow in your mind and you tend to let them run and you tend to let them begin to make you panic and think through things and wonder if you've done the right things you are as safe in that situation there as if all your needs were met and you were in the most comfortable bed with the most perfect security guards around you you are as safe no matter what happens so what does having faith during trials look like now

[25:34] I'm not trying to be flippant nor is Jesus showing off but Jesus gives us the best example I'll start in another spot here before we look at this passage what does it look like to have faith during trials it would be like looking at Jesus as he hungered in the wilderness through his temptation faith said my father will take care of me I don't see bread my father will take care of me but it's a long ways from a bread store my father will take care of me and he continues doing what he was doing when he went into the wilderness he continued to fast and he continued to pray and he continued to obey what the father had told him to do it would be like here in this passage it would be like Jesus sleeping in the storm did

[26:35] Jesus know the storm was coming certainly in his divine nature he did probably not in his human nature but the father had taught him that he is under his father's protection and it was safe for him to sleep in a boat in the middle of the sea where a storm could come as if he was sleeping on land faith for the disciples would have looked like putting it in that circumstance and that situation continuing to do what they were doing faith would have looked like the person who was piloting the boat continuing to do his best to pilot the boat the people who are bailing continuing to bail and all of them asking for

[27:39] God's help all the while knowing God is all powerful he's going to do his best for his own glory or do the best for his own glory and the best for the people that are in the boat the reaction the disciples should have had was Lord we don't know what your plans are but you know things are bad we're asking for your help we're asking for your protection and then resting in what God is going to do and does do I like the answer the three Hebrew children gave when the king said you need to bow down before this idol and they said no we're not going to do that our God can deliver us but if he doesn't and it wasn't said like oh we're not sure he will because we don't know if he's powerful enough it was we're not sure if he will because we don't know if that's his will and so they were willing to say in that circumstance in that situation

[28:50] I can trust God going into the flame of fire whether he delivers me from that flame of fire or whether that is now the time he has chosen to bring me to himself that's what trusting God in the trial would be like here I'm going to trust him to know what he's doing I'm going to ask him for his help I am going to keep doing the things he's called me to do and it is his pleasure to deliver me praise his name if it is his pleasure to cause me to suffer praise his name if it is his pleasure for me to perish!

[29:38] praise his name I want you to note I've said this but I'm going to say it again already note that Jesus met their need before he taught and rebuked them he never failed to watch over them because their faith wasn't large enough think about that their faith wasn't large enough and he didn't say well you guys I'm going to be okay but you're going down with the ship if you'd have trusted more you'd been alright but because of his covenant love when he woke up the first thing he did was meet their need even though they weren't trusting him he did not fail to watch over them because their faith wasn't large enough but he corrected them saying that their faith should have been large enough praise

[30:43] God for that how many of us would have been done if God waited for our faith to be big enough but he's been gracious and he's been good and he's been kind how should we react to trials 1st Peter 4 12 says beloved do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange were happening to you but as you're going through trials God expects you to go through trials with a clear view that your redeemer is divine he expects you to see him as sovereign he expects you to see him in all the fullness of his attributes including his steadfast love and mercy and his faithfulness to his own covenant the question where is your faith it's a question

[31:50] I hope rings in your ears regularly to convict us and cause us to repent of worry and over much fear as we go through the trials of life and instead to be people who trust in our divine redeemer's sovereign power I want to point out that Jesus slept during this storm that's an obvious fact I won't point out this to you though just as Jesus has lived a perfect life including resting in the sovereignty of God during his trials his perfect life has been credited to your account just like the twelve he may often ask you where is your faith and we may and do fail over and over and over again but as the father looks at us he sees a son who sleeps in a boat because he trusts his savior remember as he looks at us who trusts him he sees a son who sleeps in perfect rest in perfect peace trusting his father knows what is best and does what is best

[33:30] I don't want you to start building up this thought I'm a person who worries and God will never accept me God has already looking for those who know Christ God is already looking at someone who always trusts him who never worried and has done everything right that doesn't mean that you and I have the excuse or we've been allowed to worry no he said where is your faith it was a plain rebuke they were not to worry they were not to have over much fear they were to trust the God who controlled the winds and the seas what he expected of his disciples at that point was to repent of their lack of faith repent of their worry it is sin so so in all that we're shown here don't think well that excuses me

[34:33] God doesn't care worry is still sin it is something we need to confess and we need to remind ourselves of the sovereignty of God the promises of his steadfast love and care and ask God to help us to rest in him during trials we pray for people in the pastoral prayer all the time who are going through trials that just seem to never end and you and I have them they just look different maybe they're broken up into many different areas but we still have the same thing we have to be the same kind of people where we worry we then repent confess it and then seek to trust God through those trials so let me encourage you to be people who see the Savior for what he's done but also hear what he asks where is your faith where's your faith but

[35:40] Jesus wasn't the only one who asked a question the disciples asked a question who is this who is this because they were people who knew their Old Testament they knew Psalm 65 verses 5 through 8 by awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness O God of our salvation the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the far the seas the one who by his strength established the mountains being girded with might who stills the roaring of the seas the roaring of their waves the tumult of the peoples so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs what is that saying God is the one who stills the seas and makes people to be at awe at what he does you make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy they probably also knew psalm 89 9 you rule the raging of the seas when its waves rise you still them and then psalm 107 verses 24 to 30 they saw the deeds of the lord his wondest works in the deep for he commanded and raised the stormy wind which lifted up the waves of the sea they mounted up to heaven they went down to the depths this is speaking about the sailors their courage melted away in their evil plight they reeled and staggered like drunk men drunken men and were at their wits end then they cried to the lord in their trouble and he delivered them from their were hushed then they were glad that the waters were quiet and he brought them to their desired haven

[37:34] Jesus calmed the wind and the waves this made the disciples wonder who was this person in the boat with them they reasoned only God can control the winds and calm the sea and this man in the boat with us yes a man we touched him we watched him eat we seen him be exhausted he looks like a real man he is a real man only God can control the winds and calm the sea but Jesus just still the winds and calm the sea right in front of us therefore is Jesus God that's what they were wondering as they said who is this he looks like a man but he speaks like

[38:35] God he sleeps like a man but he commands the winds and the waves who is this yes Jesus is God this was hard for them to grasp even though he done so many amazing miracles including raising the dead healing the blind and the lame and all the things that he's done this one in the boat needed to eat and sleep they touched him how could this one be God because God is gracious and sent his son to take on flesh to live among us as one of us to suffer and die for us Christian we have a savior who knows what we're going through he's touched with the feeling of our infirmities

[39:39] Hebrews says you're tired he knows what that's like no sleep he knows what that's like people demanding you know the young mother all the kids do is scream mommy mommy mommy and they're always always touching me and I'm just like how can I ever get a minute to myself Jesus knows what that's like this one who knew all those things upholds the universe by the word of his power John one says he commands the universe and so Christian the more we come to understand that our savior is both human and divine the easier it will be to trust this one who controls both the wind and the waves and is touched to the feeling of our infirmities i'll end i'll almost end with this little bit longer reading of scripture romans 8 starting in verse 28 and we know that for those who love god all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose for those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son in order that he might be the first born among many brothers predestined he also called and those whom he called he also justified and those whom he justified he also glorified what shall we say to these things if god before us jesus who can be against us he who spared not his own son but gave him up for us all how will he not also with him graciously give us all things who shall bring any charge against god's elect it who justifies who is to condemn christ jesus is the one who died more than that who was raised who is at the right hand of god who indeed is interceding for us who shall separate us from the love of christ shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword as it is written for your sakes we are being killed all the day long we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered there is suffering no in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us for

[42:12] I am sure that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers nor things present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of god in christ jesus our lord!

[42:32] where's your faith? but you who struggle with where's your faith also hear the disciples say who is this?

[42:47] this is the god of glory taken on flesh for us revel in that rest in that go forth in that but I'll end with saying friend this jesus who showed himself to be god goes on to die on a cross for his people only jesus the god man could take your place as god he is of infinite value and able to pay for all your sins as he hung there on the cross jesus was also a man that as a man he might live a perfect life and earn a perfect human righteousness for those who trust in him and then as man die for our sins that's the savior that we see here had to sleep spoke the wind and waves to calm he went on to die because only he was able to do that work but he offers it to you if you will come and trust him by faith let's pray thank you father for your word i thank you for the things that stick out in scripture that your spirit puts in our ear like an earworm and i pray that this week and even going forward from this week the earworm of where is your faith and who is this would never be forgotten and lord may our hearts be quick to repent may our hearts be helped by your spirit to trust and rest in you and may our hearts also be in awe of this one who is god who is man for us i pray that you would work in our hearts be with those who don't know you that today they would see they need a savior and a perfect savior has been provided we pray your blessing in jesus name amen we're going to close by singing hymn number two oh worship the king and the response and this is just the response to the greatness of christ who is the god man let's stand as we sing hymn two miracle

[45:20] O worship of ye, O Lord has not found, O grateful we see, His power and His power.

[45:36] Our shield and we thank, through the ancients of Israel, Our good and his wonder, and our good and his praise.

[45:50] O tell of His pride, O see of His grace, Whose hope is the light, to stand on His face.

[46:05] Please share it so that the kingdom has come, And our peace is back on the wings of the storm.

[46:19] And the earth with His soul, our wonders untold, Almighty our God has found in our home, Has found His way, as by our changes to bring, And found His path has passed by on the Lord of the sea.

[46:49] From a merciful air, what's on can they slide? With reason in the air, His shine in the light, His streams from the hills, He descends to the plain, And sweetly disposed in the pure and the rain.

[47:19] And the children of God, and people as well, We need to be just, nor find Him to fail.

[47:34] Our mercy, our mercy, our tender, our work to begin, Our keeper, we tender, we tender, we tender and friend.

[47:50] O betterless fire, dear heaven of the Lord of the sea, Our angels divine, to the end of the fire, The number of creation The people of heaven The true and salvation John is good, our praise Now receive this benediction.

[48:26] May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. Amen. Amen.