Sunday Sermon Matthew 8:23-27

Good morning and welcome to FCC. We are glad that you have joined us today here in the sanctuary and online to worship God in Spirit and in Truth, one verse at a time.

We have come as far as Matthew 8:23, so let us open our Bible’s there and see what the Lord has planned for us.

Matthew 8:23–25 NKJV

Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”

Matthew 8:26–27 NKJV

But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

Prayer

Lord Heavenly Father, thank you that we can gather today to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. We all come today as empty vessels, needing a fresh refilling of your Holy Spirit, please meet us today where we are at , and Lord bring hope where hope is needed, healing to broken hearts, grant freedom to the captives, and help us to grasp the greatness of the riches we have in you. May you Father give us understanding of your love toward us and may you teach us to trust, especially in the midst of the storms of life. Remove all distractions so that we can receive we meekness your implanted Word. Thank you for hearing our cries.

In Jesus Name, We Love You! Amen!!!

Review

Last week was mother’s day, and we looked at the life of Hannah, a mother who no matter what life threw her, kept her eyes on the Lord, persevered in prayer, and thus the Lord blessed her with her son Samuel, which means the Lord heard!

A few weeks ago we looked at Jesus healing the outcasts; a leper, the centurion's servant, and a woman, and the cost of discipleship.

We learned that God uses the foolish things of the world, to confound the wise, and that Jesus came to heal those who need a physician, but yet there are tow type of disciples: the curious and the committed and today we are going to take a look at the committed.

These are the disciples that got into the boat with Jesus, to head to the other-side.

Matthew 8:18 NKJV

And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side.

Jesus was worn out church. He had preached a sermon, traveled down the MT of the Beatitudes, healed a multitude, and now commands the disciples to get into the boat to go to the other-side.

Here we see Jesus giving an imperative to follow him, but notice that He says let us depart for the other-side.

I believe whole-heartedly that when Jesus calls us, or invites us, he will always call us to the other-side at the moment of salvation, but also during our time as his disciples.

When he calls us, it may or may not make sense, but the key is faith and obedience, because his plans are always strategic and better than what we may have planned for ourselves. He is the Way, may we follow him when he calls....

Matthew 8:23 NKJV

Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him.

Notice that Jesus got into the boat, and his disciples followed him.

Is it always this easy to follow Him?

I might suggest that there are times when it is easy and times when it is very difficult.

Like Juan and Emily and there move. God called, and they are following.

They are taking a leap of faith, uprooting from what they know, and going to the to the other side.

I am guessing there might have been apprehension, and maybe even confusion. But when these types of smokes screen clear and we hear God’s voice we need to follow by faith for:

Hebrews 11:1 NKJV

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

It is important for us to get that obedience, is better than sacrifice.

The disciples are following Jesus, therefore, the disciples are being obedient.

Matthew 8:24 NKJV

And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep.

Are you kidding me Jesus? Really, we follow you and you take us into a storm???

This narrative is in Matthew, Mark , and Luke. Which means by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be confirmed.

You know what this means? It means that storms are coming. It’s not if they come church, its when they come. Because they are.

Some of us sitting here today are in the midst of a storm. It may be a rain storm, a snow storm, or even a hurricane, but nevertheless, we are in a storm.

How many of you are in a storm?

It is said that you are either in a storm, coming out of a storm , or heading in to a storm.

Certainly church, there are periods when there is now winds blowing and everything is calm. But as we all know, this can change in a blink of an eye.

Storms come into our homes and can reap havoc , if we do not turn to the Lord by faith. They can rip apart families and homes and leave destruction in their paths.

The storms of life come in all shapes and sizes, some come in the area of our physical health, some come in the area of our finances, some come at work, and some are at home in our marriages, with our neighbors for various reasons.

And it doesn’t mean that we are in sin or even being disobedient, they just show up and the meteorologist did not even see it coming church!!!

Notice that this storm that the disciples are in happened suddenly, like it came out of nowhere! The text implies that it was unexpected. Sorta like when we are traveling down the road and our transmission goes out even though we had Kevin or Judys son change our fluid as recommended.....

There arose a great tempest. In Luke and Mark it says a great windstorm, but they add the waves beat on the boat and the boat was filling withe water.

Tempest- seismos- a violent weather condition at sea; possibly with emphasis on the wild and confused motion of the sea resembling an earthquake to those on a boat. A shaking commotion or earthquake that cause one to move to a fro in shock.

A harassing or vexation that causes trouble...

Seismology-the branch of science concerned with earthquakes and related phenomena.

We also get the word seismic from this.

What a picture as to what is going on in our story. This is a violent weather condition church that these boys have never seen.

The picture you see here, is Rembrandt’s rendition of our text he painted in 1633. Actually, it is my understanding that if you look at this painting in detail, that he put himself right next to Jesus which is where we all need to be.

Sadly, this painting was stolen in 1990 from a museum in Boston and has yet to be recovered.

Matthew 8:24 NKJV

And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep.

Storms were common on the Sea of Galilee and I have heard of waves being anywhere from 8-10 feet high, and some scholars say even up to 20 feet high.

Why is this?

Well keep in mind that the Sea of Galilee, where this story takes place, is six hundred eighty feet below sea level. Directly to the north,9,280 feet above sea level, is Mount Hermon, which gets really cold. So what happens is this: Cold air descends from Mount Hermon through a small ravine in the northern part of the valley, which funnels into the Sea of Galilee. As the cold air strikes the hot air below, it creates turbulence, and storms can erupt in seconds.

Storms can erupt in seconds, not on on the Sea of Galilee, but in our lives as well.

Sometimes, the storms in our lives are brought on because of our choices and even our sin.

Look at Jonah, God called Jonah to evangelize Nineveh and Jonah ran from God, was disobedient, got on a ship and a storm arose.

Jonah was thrown off the ship and spent the next 3 days in the belly of a whale.

Praise God his mercies are new every morning.

Jonahs storm was a storm of correction church, not instruction like the story we are in with the disciples.

We must not be like the Pharisees or the legalists who will call some one out and say you are in a storm because of your sin, because we are not God.

But, we should let our brothers and sisters know if they are stooped in sin, that if they continue like Jonah, the Father who loves them might disciples them.

Hebrews 12:5–7 NKJV

And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.” If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?

Hebrews 12:8–11 NKJV

But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

The Lord disciplines and instructs those he loves church,

So Jesus is sleeping, in the stern of the boat. The waves are crashing and Jesus is resting in the Father’s love and peace.

Exodus 33:14 NKJV

And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Psalm 4:8 NKJV

I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Psalm 23:1–2 NKJV

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

Jesus knew these scriptures church and we should as well.

There are countless other texts about Him giving us sweet rest church, but it is not only when things are peaceful, but even when the waves are raging we can rest in his arms like Jesus is here. For his word promises that he will lead us beside still waters and restore our souls.

There once was a King who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The King looked at all the pictures, but there were only two he really liked and he had to choose between them.

One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror, for peaceful towering mountains were all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.

The other picture had mountains, too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky from which rain fell and in which lightening played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all. But when the King looked, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest in perfect peace.

Which picture do you think won the prize? The King chose the second picture. Do you know why?

'Because' explained the King, 'peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace.'

This is the only place in all 4 gospels where we Jesus sleeping. He was exhausted and we see his humanity come out.

The Son of Man was not just sleeping church, but in his rest he was still teaching them

Jesus was fully man here church, but in a moment we will see him arise and exercise his deity over nature.

Matthew 8:25–26 NKJV

Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

Perishing- apollymi- to die v. — to pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life. To utterly destroy, kill, and exterminate.

The disciples did not wake him to calm the storm, but rather to let Jesus know they were going to die church!

And you know your in trouble when fishermen who spent their lives on this lake cry out to a carpenter for help.

Know that several of these men have seen many storms, but never one like this.

But this was not just some carpenter, but rather the Son of God who came to seek and save that which was lost.

They cried out in the midst of a storm they have Lord save us!!!

The storm of instruction, crushed their pride. For pride goes before destruction church.

Once their pride was gone, they cried out to Jesus to help.

For it is our pride, that stops us from acknowledging the Lord in the midst of our storms.

Some of us sitting here today, need to cry out toe Jesus like the disciples, for we need him to arise in our lives.

And there are others of us, that need to simply say, Lord save us, for we have yet to come under his Lordship.

Don’t forget church that Jesus commanded them to get into the boat and depart for the other side.

He did not say, get in the boat so you can drown.

Which are you?

Matthew 8:26 NKJV

But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

The Lord is omniscient, it means he knows all things.

He knew there was taking them into a storm, but he also knew he needed to teach them a lesson or two.

Where the storm came from we do not know, some speculate and say it was Satan.

But even it was, The Creator of the Universe as power over Nature.

Fear will paralyze us church, while faith causes us to press on.

Jesus did not say they had no faith, just little faith for God gives every man a measure of faith, therefore, they had some church, they had some.

The bigger issue was trust!

They wanted him to do something; he wanted them to trust him! There is no place in true discipleship for fear—which itself arises out of lack of faith (disbelief). The Greek word for “afraid” (deiloi) means “cowardly fear.” The disciples were acting like cowards when they should have acted with faith in their teacher. Despite all that the disciples had seen and heard thus far, they still had not grasped that Jesus was himself God.

Church, often our souls are troubled because we feel there is a problem where God can’t or won’t work.

When we truly understand who God is, however, we will realize that he controls both the storms of nature and the storms of our troubled hearts.

Jesus’ power that calmed this storm can also help us deal with the problems we face.

Jesus is willing to help if we only ask him.

May we Never discount his power even in terrible storms.

When Jesus arose in Mark, he said peace be still.

In the Greek, it means to be muzzled!!!

The Lord desires us to have peace church and he desires to calm the storms of our souls.

Matthew 8:27 NKJV

So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

Jesus had preached the greatest sermon ever preached, healed the multitudes, and just calmed the worst storm the disciples have ever seen and they say, “Who can this be?

They were yet to believe he was the Messiah church, but they knew he was not like the other men.

Jesus was preparing them for the storms they would go through as his disciples, the storm of Jesus’ crucifixion, of persecution, and the storm of martyrdom.

They knew Psalm 107 church:

Psalm 107:23–28 NKJV

Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters, They see the works of the Lord, And His wonders in the deep. For He commands and raises the stormy wind, Which lifts up the waves of the sea. They mount up to the heavens, They go down again to the depths; Their soul melts because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits’ end. Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble, And He brings them out of their distresses.

See storms come into our lives, when normal weather patterns are disrupted church, for living in normal weather patterns is easy, but the true test for us all is when these normal patterns are disrupted and turbulence comes.

For we are creatures of habit church...

Will we like the disciples and the psalmist cry out to Jesus, “Lord save us!” Will we reach out to him and others in the midst of our storms.

What does it take to bring us to our wits end??

For Jesus slept, but Jehovah arose church, and he desire to arise in all of our lives!

The Lord desires to calm the storms of our hearts church, the question is will we call on him!!!

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you for your boldness to teach us that storms of life are coming, that it is not if they come, but when they come. And thank you for the promise that you will arise when they come when we call upon you name. Father enable us to humble ourselves under your mighty hand so that you will lift us up, higher and higher. Thank you that you did not turn the disciples away for having little faith but rather taught them valuable lessons on trust. Lord, teach us to trust and help us to live our faith out loud this up and coming week!

In Jesus Name, We Love You!!! Amen!!!

Isaiah 43:1–2 NKJV

But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.

For I am the Lord your God!!!!

The Lord Bless You!!!

Your Mission Starts Now!!!

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