1. Facing The Great Storm
1.1. verses
1.1.1. 35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.”
1.1.2. 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him.
1.1.3. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.
1.1.4. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
1.2. Main Idea
1.2.1. Faith is much more than knowledge about Jesus, it is the living out of that knowledge. What happens here is an opportunity for the disciples to not only hear about the truth of the nature of the kingdom, but to trust it, live it, bet their lives on it. Such is the case for storms.
1.3. Outline
1.3.1. Note how often Jesus speaks of hearing in this chapter. That hearing is not just audible reception, but heart reception as made clear by verse 20
1.3.1.1. passage references
1.3.1.1.1. verse 3 - "Listen!"
1.3.1.1.2. vs 9 - "he who has ears to hear, let him hear"
1.3.1.1.3. vs 12 - "indeed hear but not understand"
1.3.1.1.4. vs 15 - "when they hear ..."
1.3.1.1.5. vs 16 "when they hear the word"
1.3.1.1.6. vs 17 "they are those who hear the word"
1.3.1.1.7. vs 20 "good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit"
1.3.1.1.8. vs 23 - "If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear"
1.3.1.1.9. vs 24 - Pay attention to what you har
1.3.1.1.10. vs 33 "as they were able to hear it"
1.3.1.2. Verse 20 is the key to understanding what Jesus meant by "hearing" - the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit
1.3.1.3. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” (James 1:22–25, ESV)
1.3.2. Having now heard Jesus taught all day about parables, about seeds, about the word, about bearing fruit from the word - Jesus gives them a word, a seed to trust and obey.
1.3.2.1. The word is verse 35 - "let us go across to the other side"
1.3.2.2. BTW - why? Why go to the other side?
1.3.2.2.1. Because Jesus was constantly moving in his ministry, as demonstrated in the previous chapters, moving from city to city.
1.3.2.2.2. He will cross the Sea of Galilee because on the others side is the country of the Gerasenes, and the first person he meets will be a demoniac man. Ministry, deliverance.
1.3.3. As they obey Jesus and head to the other side, a great windstorm arises, waves break in, boat starts to fill up
1.3.3.1. Make comments about Sea of Galilee and storms
1.3.3.2. Make comment about fishermen and the familiarity of this sea
1.3.3.3. Make comment about waves, boat filling
1.3.3.4. POINT: Some of the most difficult storms in life we face, that scare us, threaten us, consume us, are those storms that attack the very areas we are most confident, familar, gifted in. It's those storms that render us unable in the areas we are most able and shows us how truly unable we really are
1.3.3.5. ILL: Gives some example, or an illsutration, a personal story
1.3.4. As life is threatened, the disciples respond with any thing but faith. They not only question the circumstance, but they question Jesus, His love, His care.
1.3.4.1. It's an amazing thing verse 38a - "asleep on a cushion"
1.3.4.1.1. BTW - details here in this chapter are definitely eye witness account details
1.3.4.1.2. Why was he sleeping? Tired. What a beautiful picture of his humanity. He's exhausted
1.3.4.1.3. ILL: Preaching an hour is exhausting, preaching all day projecting can be life draining. So he's sleeping. He knows ministry awaits on the other side
1.3.4.1.4. How can he be asleep through all this? faking? Ever been asleep on an air plane with turbulence. Likely like that ... only with water :)
1.3.4.2. They come to Jesus and note the question - "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing"
1.3.4.2.1. “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” Matt 8:23-27
1.3.4.2.2. “Master, Master, we are perishing!” (Luke 8:24)
1.3.4.2.3. Note that while Matt and Luke records what we would expect - panic, plea for help, exhortation for Jesus to get up and do something - Mark records these inciteful words that reveal their heart, reveal the heart behind the plea and panic --- DO YOU NOT CARE
1.3.4.3. ** This story is not just about a GREAT storm the disciples are in, this is a story about the great storm that is in them.
1.3.4.3.1. What is this? This is the parable lived out (trials and tribulation)
1.3.4.3.2. This is about hearing - Jesus said "lets go to the other side" - will they believe that? Trust that.
1.3.4.3.3. ** How true is this! How often we attack God because we feel forsaken, unloved, uncared for, forgotten when life gets hard.
1.3.4.3.4. Ex. Job's wife - curse God and die
1.3.4.3.5. ILL: Other examples? - from Bible, real life
1.3.4.4. The issue of the kingdom, of His reign, is not just about authority, about sovereignty, about rule - it's about the fact that his reign is good news!
1.3.4.4.1. Do we believe this? even when that reign is hard, strange, different, unexpected, life threatening?
1.3.4.4.2. This is the issue of original sin, every sin, and this is the issue of faith - NOT JUST GOD's existence and God's ability, but God's character!!!
1.3.5. Please note the truth behind this GREAT STORM
1.3.5.1. This storm is not because the disciples are running from Jesus' command (ie Jonah). These disciples find themselves in this storm precisely because they obey jesus
1.3.5.1.1. Speak to this truth!
1.3.5.2. Jesus gives a command that guarantees a destination, but does not guarantee the journey to the destination
1.3.5.2.1. Speak to this truth!
2. Witnessing The Great Calm
2.1. verses
2.1.1. “And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” (Mark 4:39, ESV)
2.2. Main idea
2.2.1. We have heard so much about the power of the seed, the word, and here Jesus demonstrates that power. It presses us further into the issue of faith, that while faith is living out what we hear, it is not just DOING things to prove, but it is the state of being governed by the very nature of who jesus is.
2.3. Outline
2.3.1. Note what happens
2.3.1.1. Jesus stands and speaks to the storm. Who does that!
2.3.1.2. Rebuked the wind
2.3.1.2.1. PEACE!
2.3.1.2.2. Hush!
2.3.1.2.3. Be silent
2.3.1.3. Spoke to the sea
2.3.1.3.1. Be still
2.3.1.4. Wind stops, waves stop, sea becomes a great calm
2.3.1.4.1. ILL: personal story about waterskii... pain... early to get "glass" water.
2.3.1.4.2. This the calm
2.3.2. Jesus demonstrates he has power in his words
2.3.2.1. Note his words, not a prayer, not an incantation, but a rebuke, a command
2.3.2.2. Why is this possible? Cause he spoke creation - ex nihilo - so he has power to speak commands
2.3.2.2.1. Ref: Col - by him created
2.3.2.2.2. Ref: Hebrew - by him created
2.3.2.2.3. Ref - Gen - "let there be light" and there is light...
2.3.2.2.4. He speaks and it is so
2.3.3. Don't miss what Mark is doing!
2.3.3.1. All this chapter the key was not just listen, but listen to the word! The seed. It bears fruit. It is powerful and brings life.
2.3.3.2. Remember the parable of growth - vs 26-29 // "... he knows not how" .... "produces by itself" .... independent of the farmer. The kingdom of God is not dependent upon the power of it's citizens, but upon God. he says it it will be done. That's the kingdom. That's true power unlike anything we know. That's true sovereignty
2.3.3.3. And here, with situation beyond the disciples, Jesus stands up and speaks! Change happens!!
2.3.4. Application:
2.3.4.1. Why would we not go to Jesus in our storms? Why would we not trust?
2.3.4.2. Are we willing to take Jesus words "let's go to the other side" and believe that beyond what we see? Can we do that if we understand that His word spoken dictates his sovereign will and his sovereign will can never fail, never fall, never be altered?
2.3.4.2.1. Ex. Abraham -i will make a nation.. isaac ... and now crucify him.
2.3.4.2.2. What is faith? Faith is --- ok, then God will raise him from the dead!
2.3.4.2.3. The SPirit working faith in us presses us into the character of God, to undrstand him, to rest in that character. The greatest work we do is not the earningn of his love. That's a sham. Work in God's kingdom is allowing the truth of God to ditcate our actions, lives, emotions
2.3.4.3. The difference between the law and the gospel
2.3.4.3.1. THe law drives obedience with our self at view in the center
2.3.4.3.2. The gospel drives obedience with jesus at view in the center
2.3.4.3.3. Both drive obedience, but the gospel keeps our focus, heart, mind on jesus.
3. Experiencing Great Fear
3.1. `verses
3.1.1. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”
3.1.2. 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
3.2. Main Idea
3.2.1. What is more frightening being in a boat in a great storm is being in a boat with a great God. The disciples are brought face to face with who Jesus and they do what all people do, they fear!
3.3. Outline
3.3.1. QUOTE: Before Jesus calms the storm, they’re afraid— but after Jesus calms the storm, they’re terrified.
3.3.1.1. Why? Cause now they understand what great power is. It's not the storm, it's the man. Jesus!
3.3.1.2. They understand by .... life experience... the nature of the kingdom, of his reign.
3.3.2. Note we have moved from a great storm, to a great calm, to a great fear
3.3.2.1. Note what Jesus says to them - "Why are you so afraid?"
3.3.2.2. So in the storm they were afraid, after the storm they are greatly afraid
3.3.2.2.1. “And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” (Mark 4:39, ESV)
3.3.3. Remember that Mark's gospel is about understanding Jesus
3.3.3.1. “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” (Mark 1:1, ESV)
3.3.4. What do we learn about Jesus?
3.3.4.1. We learn that God's word has power - and who's word has power here? What does that tell us about jesus?
3.3.4.2. ILL: Ancients believed the seas were ruled by God's. So when Jesus stands up and rules the sea, what does this say about Jesus?
3.3.4.3. He is God
3.3.4.4. This is why they are afraid. he is not just a teacher, not just a king, his is not just a savior, his kingdom is not jsut the reestablishment of Israel --- who is this that rules over what is UNRULABLE? ... GOD!!!
3.3.4.5. *** What is this? This is the mustard seed, larger than all the plants!!! No kingdom can do this! Not to this day!
3.3.5. Very common response - fear and terror when you meet God
3.3.5.1. Ex. Isa 6
3.3.5.2. Ex. Peter - cast neet on other side, depart from me for I am a sinful man
3.3.5.3. Ex. Rev John fell as dead
3.3.6. Faith. What is faith? what does it look like when faith buds and blossoms in our hearts?
3.3.6.1. Say something about the common belief of "being close to God" --- emotionalism, love song worships, the endless cycle to find that spot of "love"
3.3.6.1.1. false notion of the heart, not about emotion but will, decision
3.3.6.2. Love from the heart is decision dictated by Jesus' character ... identity .. he is God
3.3.6.3. This is the root, the ground. ... live God cnetered lives. seek that.
3.3.6.4. Fear of God is good. Transcendant.
3.3.6.4.1. so many struggle ups and downs, sin and not sin ... because we don't know this. the issue is not are you strong enough to overcome sin, but have you really seen Jesus?
3.3.7. Do you know Jesus? The real Jesus?
3.3.7.1. That is the end result of this .. they hear ... and then they face ..the true nature of Jesus
3.3.8. And yet one of the main teachings of the Bible is that almost no one grows into greatness or finds God without suffering, without pain coming into our lives like smelling salts to wake us up to all sorts of facts about life and our own hearts to which we were blind. For reasons past our finding out, even Christ did not bring salvation and grace to us apart from infinite suffering on the cross. As he loved us enough to face the suffering with patience and courage, so we must learn to trust in him enough to do the same. And as his weakness and suffering, thus faced, led to resurrection power, so can ours. Keller, Timothy (2013-10-01). Walking with God through Pain and Suffering (p. 80). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
3.3.8.1. http://edhird.com/2009/08/23/pain-useless-intrusion-or-gift-of-god/
3.3.9. Conclusion // Knowing the Great Christ!!
3.3.9.1. This story should sound familiar - Jonah
3.3.9.1.1. Comparison to Jonah - boat, storm, crew about to die, main guy sleeping
3.3.9.1.2. Diff - there out of disobedienc,e here out of obedience
3.3.9.1.3. Diff - to save them jonah cast himself out to appease God and so save the crew .. here God just speaks
3.3.9.1.4. He calms the storm
3.3.9.2. Matthew says "one greater than jonah is here"
3.3.9.2.1. Why? Cause one day Jesus would calm the ultimate storm, the one that will take us and destroy us - sin, death, the wrath of God
3.3.9.2.2. In the storm, he can't just speak, for the storm is God himself, he will throw himself out a Jonah
3.3.9.3. Quote: CS Lewis - not safe but always good
3.3.9.4. God with us - Dan 3 - one like the sone of man in the fiery furnace
3.3.9.5. Yes great storms, yest great calm, yes great fear ... but know .. the storm of the cross allows us to never have to ask "don't you even care"
3.3.9.6. “I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!” (Psalm 34:1–3, ESV)
3.3.9.7. What Suffering Isn’t Think about a time when you suffered. Picture it. What thoughts ran through your head? More importantly, what did you believe about God, even if you never put your thoughts into words? Often, we think of suffering as proof of God’s absence or as displaying a flaw in God’s person, such as a lack of love (“If God loved me, he wouldn’t let this happen”) or a lack of sovereign power (“This is disastrous. How could God let this happen?”). But what if we realized that suffering assures us of God’s presence, bearing his mark of love upon us and displaying his sovereign control over every detail of our lives? Consider Paul’s words in Romans 8:16-18: The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. According to the Lord, suffering is precisely the opposite of how we often interpret it; it is evidence that God, in his tender love, has saved us and is changing us, by his wise sovereignty, to be glorified with Christ. If we realized this love in our day-to-day lives, if we viewed all of our suffering through this lens, it would change everything. As Ligon Duncan pointed out powerfully in his sermon at The Gospel Coalition 2015 National Conference, it would change how we endure. Suffering might instead become an impetus for rejoicing among God’s children.
3.3.9.8. Don Carson concludes, “The God on whom we rely knows what suffering is all about, not merely in the way that God knows everything, but by experience.” Keller, Timothy (2013-10-01). Walking with God through Pain and Suffering (p. 150). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
3.3.9.9. Read page 83 , keller In the days after losing our son, a friend told me that we would always “walk with a limp” from then on. Although our scars are not physical, the pain has left a mark on our hearts. But I like to think of these scars as unique marks of beauty and depth. Although our story does not end here— God brought four lives together in a miraculous and wondrous way to birth beauty from the ashes. We now enjoy the vibrancy of a life with two precious children, our nine-year-old daughter and a son, our miracle child, who is turning five this very week. We look forward to the day when we will be reunited with our first son in heaven, but until then, it is gratitude we feel for experiencing God in a very real and dynamic way, and we rejoice in the life he has given us. Keller, Timothy (2013-10-01). Walking with God through Pain and Suffering (p. 84). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
3.3.9.10. Berger says that the “unbearable tension of this problem brought about . . . by the Old Testament” is met with “the essential Christian solution of the problem.” And that solution is that “the incarnate God is a God who suffers. Without this suffering, without the agony of the cross, the incarnation would not provide that solution of the problem of [suffering] to which, we would contend, it owes its immense potency.” Berger then quotes Albert Camus, who wrote: “Only the sacrifice of an innocent god could justify the endless and universal torture of innocence. Only the most abject suffering by God could assuage man’s agony.” Keller, Timothy (2013-10-01). Walking with God through Pain and Suffering (p. 119). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
3.3.9.11. The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. According to the Lord, suffering is precisely the opposite of how we often interpret it; it is evidence that God, in his tender love, has saved us and is changing us, by his wise sovereignty, to be glorified with Christ. If we realized this love in our day-to-day lives, if we viewed all of our suffering through this lens, it would change everything.
4. Introduction
4.1. CS Lewis put it this way // “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain.” Keller, Timothy (2013-10-01). Walking with God through Pain and Suffering (p. 5). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
4.2. Keller put it this way // When pain and suffering come upon us, we finally see not only that we are not in control of our lives but that we never were. Keller, Timothy (2013-10-01). Walking with God through Pain and Suffering (p. 5). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
4.3. Kara Tippets put i tthis way //
4.4. Christopher de Vinck pu ti this way //
4.5. Paul Brand put it this way //
4.6. Paul put it htis way
4.7. david put it this way - ps 34:18 danger and all seemed lost, David concludes, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (v. 18). Keller, Timothy (2013-10-01). Walking with God through Pain and Suffering (p. 7). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
5. Pain
5.1. As Dr. Paul Brand argues in the last chapter of his book The Gift of Pain, it is because the meaning of life in the United States is the pursuit of pleasure and personal freedom that suffering is so traumatic for Americans. Keller, Timothy (2013-10-01). Walking with God through Pain and Suffering (p. 22). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
5.2. Victor Frankl, a Jewish psychiatrist who survived three years in the Nazi death camps, observed how some of his fellow prisoners were able to endure the horror and pass through it while others could not. The difference came down to what Frankl called meaning. The problem is that contemporary people think life is all about finding happiness. We decide what conditions will make us happy and then we work to bring those conditions about. To live for happiness means that you are trying to get something out of life. But when suffering comes along, it takes the conditions for happiness away, and so suffering destroys all your reason to keep living. But to “live for meaning” means not that you try to get something out of life but rather that life expects something from us. In other words, you have meaning only when there is something in life more important than your own personal freedom and happiness, something for which you are glad to sacrifice your happiness. 129 Keller, Timothy (2013-10-01). Walking with God through Pain and Suffering (pp. 70-71). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. Keller, Timothy (2013-10-01). Walking with God through Pain and Suffering (p. 70). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
5.3. A celebrated book by Andrew Solomon, Far from the Tree, examines the shock and response of parents who discover that the child born to them is not like them— but instead is deaf, a dwarf, has Down’s syndrome, is autistic, or is chronically ill or disabled in some way. Solomon presents a series of well-written and sympathetic case studies of families who have faced each of these conditions and more. These children always represent a crisis to the family into which they come, and yet Solomon’s bottom-line finding was: “This book’s conundrum is that most of the families described here have ended up grateful for experiences they would have done anything to avoid.” This, of course, fits far better with the ancient cultures’ understanding of “the sweet uses of adversity,” of suffering as not the interruption of a life story but as a crucial part of a good life. ~ Timothy Keller, Walking with God through Pain and Suffering
5.4. The doctor was dumbfounded and turned to the minister, urging him to “talk some reason into them.” Willimon of course knew that the couple needed to be given good instruction as to what lay ahead so that they did not take up their parenting of this new child with naïveté. But, he wrote, the couple was using reasoning, though it was a reasoning foreign to the doctor. In the dominant cultural narrative— reflected in the reasoning of the doctor—“ words like ‘suffering’ are unredeemably negative” because “it is important to avoid pain at all costs” since “our lives are [valued] by nothing more significant than our desires.” The couple, however, was thinking about life through the logic of the Christian story, namely the Fall and the redemption of the world through Jesus Christ, and in that story, suffering can be redemptive, a way of serving others, and a way of glorifying God. 148 Keller, Timothy (2013-10-01). Walking with God through Pain and Suffering (pp. 78-79). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
5.5. Naaman eventually turned not to wealth, technique, or expert power but to God himself. Instead of proudly trusting in his own or others’ expertise, he was called to the soul work of humility. As a result, he not only got a cure for his body but a new relationship with God and a soul infused with grace and joy. Suffering led to his salvation. This does not even begin to answer the question “Why does God allow so much evil and suffering in the world to persist?” Nor does such an example justify suffering. *** And yet one of the main teachings of the Bible is that almost no one grows into greatness or finds God without suffering, without pain coming into our lives like smelling salts to wake us up to all sorts of facts about life and our own hearts to which we were blind. For reasons past our finding out, even Christ did not bring salvation and grace to us apart from infinite suffering on the cross. As he loved us enough to face the suffering with patience and courage, so we must learn to trust in him enough to do the same. And as his weakness and suffering, thus faced, led to resurrection power, so can ours. Keller, Timothy (2013-10-01). Walking with God through Pain and Suffering (p. 80). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
5.6. Don Carson concludes, “The God on whom we rely knows what suffering is all about, not merely in the way that God knows everything, but by experience.” Keller, Timothy (2013-10-01). Walking with God through Pain and Suffering (p. 150). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
5.7. Dan McCartney writes: “Christ learned humanhood from his suffering (Heb 5: 8). [And therefore] we learn Christhood from our suffering.” 242 Just as Jesus assumed human likeness through suffering (Heb 2: 18; 4: 14– 15), so we can grow into Christ’s likeness through it, if we face it in faith and patience. “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Cor 4: 16– 17). Keller, Timothy (2013-10-01). Walking with God through Pain and Suffering (p. 152). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
6. Conclusion
6.1. Empowered to suffer well
6.1.1. Don't waste it
6.1.2. Romans 8 - tied to glory
6.1.3. Why? Cause there's a savior!!!!
6.2. Sociologist Peter Berger writes, every culture has provided an “explanation of human events that bestows meaning upon the experiences of suffering and evil.” Keller, Timothy (2013-10-01). Walking with God through Pain and Suffering (p. 14). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
6.2.1. But in the secular, with the pursuit of happiness ... foreign
6.2.2. When no explanation at all is given— when suffering is perceived as simply senseless, a complete waste, and inescapable— Keller, Timothy (2013-10-01). Walking with God through Pain and Suffering (p. 14). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
6.2.3. The end result is that today we are more shocked and undone by suffering than were our ancestors. In medieval Europe approximately one of every five infants died before their first birthday, and only half of all children survived to the age of ten. 18 The average family buried half of their children when they were still little, and the children died at home, not sheltered away from eyes and hearts. Keller, Timothy (2013-10-01). Walking with God through Pain and Suffering (p. 15). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
6.2.4. Brand - we were less equip
7. observations
7.1. Obedience is never a shield from suffering, Instead it may be a path to it.
7.1.1. Jesus promised this.
7.1.2. Note verse 35