TO SURVIVE..WE MUST KNOW THAT JESUS IS ON BOARD (IN OUR SHIP)
Mark 4:35-4:41
It is fascinating to hear stories of people who have survived tragic events. Someone makes it out alive of a landslide. Someone survives a crash. Someone survives after days at sea. We are never promised to come out alive, but we can know survival in our hearts if we trust Jesus. There is spiritual survival for the believer. How can we survive in the storms of life?
The disciples were told to go over to the other side in Mark 4:35. Jesus was with them in the ship. They did not know, but their survival was due to the fact of the presence of Jesus in their vessel. How can we experience peace in the storms?
The answer is simple, we must have Jesus on board.
Many people are uncomfortable with Jesus in their ship. Many people want to run their own ship. They don’t want to answer to the Captain, they don’t want to take orders, they want to be at the helm and
chart their own course. SURVIVAL......HOW CAN WE SURVIVE in the year 2001? How can we endure
through the storms of this new year? How can we survive the temptations to quit our faith? How can we survive the pressures of everyday life? How can we survive in a stormy marriage? How can we survive criticism? How can we survive the bad news we will get this year? If YOU ARE hoping to go through life without pressure, without criticism, without
temptations, without bad news, without tragedy, then you are living on FANTASY ISLAND.
TO SURVIVE.....WE MUST KNOW THAT JESUS IS ON BOARD OUR SHIP.
I hope every person has ask Jesus to be the captain of their lives.
There are numerous ADVANTAGES OF HAVING JESUS ON BOARD!!!!
1) We are given a sense of direction and purpose to our lives.
“v.35 “let us go......other side”
Many people live day by day with no sense of purpose....Why am I here? Where am I going? Romans 8:28 “all things work together for good.....called according to his purpose.” Jesus gave the disciples directions. We can look in the Bible and we can see
that God has given us directions, a purpose for living. We have a purpose as a body of believers here in this community. We are to be a light for Jesus. We are to be an encouragement to one another. WE HAVE PURPOSE. In Jesus, I know why I’m here!
2) With Jesus on board, we are not only given a sense of direction, we are given the Assurance of Eternal Life.
No matter what was going to happen, Jesus’ message to the disciples were that they were going to the other side. In Jesus we have assurance that we are going to the other side. We are saved for all eternity. Not only is Jesus the Captain to give us a sense of direction, Jesus is also the anchor of our ship. He is the anchor that holds.
See Hebrews 6:19-20 Jesus is “an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, an which enters into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus”
“In New Testament times, they say the harbors of some cities would have a sand bar just outside the harbor. If a boat got there when the tide was out, it couldn’t get into the harbor. They would just take the anchor and throw it over into the harbor. It really didn’t
matter if the winds came and beat against the boat, because they understood that when the tide came in, the ship would follow the anchor right on into the harbor.
Jesus is our anchor. Jesus is in heaven, and if you are saved, you are going to heaven one of these days because Jesus is there. The anchor is the guarantee that one of these days the ship is going on into the harbor.”
2Timothy 1:12 “I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him”....We are kept by the power of God.
When we think of a storm, we must think about Noah. What a storm he had to deal with. Noah did not have to worry about falling out of the Boat. The Bible says “God shut them in.” I’m sure with all the waves, Noah must have fell down many times in the Ark.
Although he fell down, he never fell out. He was safe and secure in the Ark. We may get bumps, bruises, scrapes along the way, but our salvation is eternally secured. Jesus is our anchor.
With Jesus on board, we are given a sense of direction.
With Jesus on board, we are given the assurance of eternal life.
3. With Jesus on board, we are given stability in the unexpectant crisis of life.
Notice v.37 the storm came up suddenly. On the Sea of Galilee, cold air would come down from the hills which surround this huge body of water. The hot air rising would collide and immediately a storm would develop. Our storms can be a financial storm, a
business storm, a relationship storm, a storm of illness. News of a sudden death can come in one phone call. One phone call, and a loved one has unexpectantly died. The bad news from a doctor of a terminal illness. Suddenly, your whole life is turned upside down.
Notice, just because Jesus is in the ship, doesn’t mean no STORM will come. Many Christians wrongly think storms are only for unbelievers. That’s not true.
You can be in the very center of the will of God, and be going through a cyclone, or a hurricane of all kind of troubles. Disobedience can bring on a storm. Just look at Jonah. But so often storms are a way for God to make us stronger.
Jesus rises up and calms the wind....the storm ceases. The main storm Jesus was concerned about was the storm of fear in the hearts of his disciples. That’s the storm we are really talking about. We don’t have to look at the circumstances, we can just look to
the Lord Jesus. Fear is looking at the storm. Faith is looking at the Saviour.
Fear is looking at the circumstances, but Faith is looking at God.
Note....v.39 “and he arose.....” Jesus did not sink...He arose above the storm. When Jesus is recognized as Saviour and Lord in our ship, we can be sure of one thing... We are not going under, we are going above...We will rise above the circumstances of
life and experience peace.
4. When Jesus is on board, we are given a greater appreciation of Who this Jesus Is.
see v.41 “What manner of man is this,....”
We come to appreciate something of the magnitude and the awesome power of our Lord God!
Psalm 107:24 tells us that in the deep waters we see God’s power at work.
Only God knows what we will face this coming year. You and I can be assured of His peace.
Philippians 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
We can experience peace in the storm because with Jesus in our ship we are given
1) a sense of purpose and direction
2) an assurance of eternal life
3) stability in the unexpectant crisis that come
4) a deeper appreciation of Who our God Really is
