As Preached by Pastor Tony Evans
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Let me tell you something. God doesn’t do miracles just to show off. He does the supernatural so that His name will be known. And they say who in the world is this, the thing is too many of us still got Him in a manger somewhere. 72 million of us don’t know who we dealing with here. Who then is this? That even the wind and the sea obey Him. It doesn’t work, this religious thing, this Christian thing, it doesn’t work. That’s what the disciples are saying it’s not working. I’m not getting victory, I’m not being delivered, I’m not I’m not I’m not, it’s not working and i tried. And they want to know why? He does’nt just just bless you? For you, He blesses you for His name, His glory, your impact, your testimony, your ministry. God, just doesn’t want to do miracles that exclude You, He wants to do miracles that include you; you are part of a miracle.
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Jesus has been teaching all day. He’s been teaching the crowds, preaching the big sermon. And then He takes His disciples aside and it gives them a private word. He says in verse 33, of mark 4, with many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far is they were able to hear it and He did not speak to them without a parable. But He was explaining everything privately to His own disciples. So He calls His disciples aside after teaching the big crowd and says, Let Me speak to you, and let Me give you some stories that will give you spiritual truth for you to apply your life and He gave them some inside information. Beginning in verse 35, He tells his disciples I want you to get on the boat. And let us go, verse 35 says, to the other side.
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Leaving the crowd they took Him along with them in the boat just as He was and the other boats were with Him; so let’s get something straight, as we start our journey. The disciples are smack dab in the will of God. Jesus said get in the boat, they got in the boat after the sermon, they listened to the word, He say get in the boat, they got in the boat and they are doing exactly what they were told to do. They are perfectly situated, not only are they in the will of God, Jesus is in there with them. Cuz it says Jesus got in the boat too. So life can’t be better than having church here in the world, and Jesus joins you in the boat. So Jesus is in the boat, they’re going away over to the other side. But while in the will of God and on the boat with the Lord, there is a problem. The problem is described in verse 37, there arose a fierce Gale of wind. And the waves were breaking over the boat so that the boat was already filling up.
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Now many of these are professional fishermen, so they know how to handle water, boats and storms. So when professional fishermen get scared, you know is a big deal; This is a major lilac. And so they’re caught in the storm while being in the will of God. So the first thing that you need to know is that in the will of God it does rain. What tells you whether you’re in a God, out of God’s will is did you do what He tells you to do? But whether you did it or you didn’t do it, you can still be in a lilac. That is a tumultuous situation. The other thing you need to know about this lilac is its merciless. That is it comes down on you and it seeks to consume you. The boat was filling up, the wind was blowing at such speed that it threatened to take them on, anybody ever been in a situation that looked like it was going to take you under? there it was gonna drown you, that it was going to overwhelm you?
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A storm, this kind of trial is an unexpected circumstance that invades your life that threatens your very existence. We’re not talking about a headache or two things here. We’re talking about a situation where your life is on the line, where you don’t know if you’re going to make it or not. And I tell you something else about a storm; a storm is always designed to increase your faith and give you a deeper experience with your God. Storms aren’t pleasant. They are uncomfortable and sometimes they can be life threatening. But they always come with a purpose. So here they are in a crisis, they’re in this crisis and the crisis was threefold. They actually three storms are carrying here. Let me walk you through the three storms.
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First of all, there is a circumstantial storm, the lilac, I say one more thing about this circumstantial storm and that is, it was a storm over which they could exercise, no control. You can’t control the wind, you can’t control the sea, you can’t control the rain, you can’t control the spinning of the turmoil, you can’t control waves billowing up and going, you can’t control that; That is out of your control. So you can be in the will of God and a storm and absolutely be able to do nothing about it. Because you can’t control the lilac, its circumstances that produces a helpless and sometimes the feeling of a hopeless scenario. So that’s storm number one.
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That leads to storm number two. Storm number two is that they were terrified. We know that they were terrified because Jesus is going to say to them, why are you afraid in verse 40. So they weren’t scared, they were scared; Now we’re talking terrified. So now we not only have a storm of circumstance, we have a storm of emotion, because their emotions have driven it up and they are scared about the doctor’s report, scared about the Financial struggle, scared about the relationship, direction, scared, whatever it is that you can’t control that’s causing your emotions to be uprooted is your lilac. Because it’s something so big, so deep and so devastating, you can’t control it. So the first storm of circumstances out of their control. The second storm is their emotional instability because of the uncontrollable circumstance. But there’s a third storm here.
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We’ll call it a theological storm. Because not only was the circumstance out of control, and now their emotions responding to that circumstance. They now have a spiritual storm, a theological storm, because the scripture goes on to say that they woke up Jesus and said in verse 38, Teacher do you not care that we are perishing? see, that is spiritual storm. Because their circumstances were out of control, and their emotions have gone crazy. Now they question whether what they have been believing is true. If the truth be told, and you will tell the truth and shame the devil. There aren’t many of us who haven’t questioned God, who haven’t said, I’m not sure I should be believing this anymore. I’m not sure I could should be continuing this, because what I’m hearing on Sunday, and what I’m experiencing on Monday, don’t match.
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I heard the preacher say that you care. I don’t see you caring for me. So what I heard about you and what I’m experiencing, don’t match and I’m not sure this is real, because verse 38 says Jesus Himself was in the stern asleep on the cushion; They shook him and they said, Don’t You care? Because if You care we wouldn’t even, even if you were tired, we wouldn’t have to wake you up. You got to get wet like we get wet, the boats flipping and flopping you like it’s flipping and flopping us, and so they’re in the storm, they’re struggling, Jesus asleep. And they had a question where you? do you care about me? You cared about me, I wouldn’t go and be going through this like this. Don’t you care? How bad was it? That we are perishing? So this is major.
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We think we’re gonna drown out here and die. I’m gonna die. Jesus just talk The disciples that just come from church so to speak, and now they’re under pressure; And it’s tough, because Jesus care about my pain, my finances, my loneliness, my hurt, my depression, because I’m in His will and I feel all this. And so they wake Jesus up. Verse 39, Jesus gets up, and He rebukes the wind and says to the sea, hush be still.
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What I got from my father he was tremendous example cuz he preached and taught. So that example also got a powerful value of the Word of God, how powerfully valuable and how it took first place, over everything. I mean, everything was to be judged, Everything was to be managed by, everything was to be viewed through, the Word of God. Now so I think, my view of Scripture and my view of the word, the currency of the word power of the word, the accuracy of the word, the supremacy of the word, all of that came from from my father. And he just learned it as a lay person. So I just guess the word is the dominant thing.
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Don’t forget, Peter was leapers and two, but either 3000 to 5000 rights, right? So you can put them on a sense people who fall in the policy were educated. But Peter, Peter was a fisherman, right? and the law used him in the law uses you and it has used you, and how you get where you are today, Only the Lord knows you are work onthe waterfront. Well, that’s what I made my living and whatnot. So, some days we didn’t work very much. But I did other things to to try to raise my family up. Yeah. I don’t eat fish, or Yeah. But there’s a reason I don’t eat fish. And you eat some of them did you? well I am because I had to, well that all we have; and they got all these little bones in. Herrings and sometimes they only work one or two to two days had to go down to the unemployment office for my family to survive and to come a long ways.
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You met my mother, your wife was going home, but yes, he was sitting on the steps and was playing football and whatnot. And so you know, talk with her and whatnot. And that was it was it fell in love and whatnot and so You know, just just thank you for almost every week you appreciate almost every charge so, and teaching and doing the best I get how long you’ve been doing it for me it gets saved and 919 59 then a Bible study, teachings and so forth over the years, three years. I can’t name them all. And everything is Thank the Lord. You see, the way that the lower Africa go? What did you think about what’s happening in the world right now? Oh, the world is in a predicament. And like my daughter said that it seemed as though the Lord has forgotten all about our country, America. I’m talking about all countries, right? But all countries in a terrible state.
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You see, these these people can take they can’t see Christ and they don’t want the Lord to say the same, but yet they don’t know Christ. spinnable so I just prayed Lord telling you to pray. That’s what I do. We’ve got to continue to preach the gospel, and to continue to instruct our children as best we can. That the Word of God is right. When the Lord said if I were disallowed from the earth, I will draw man unto me. What’s your favorite Bible passage? Unlike fabulous from the earth that will draw to magnetic force? Draw man and to me that’s an interesting one. I might have to write that title back the magnetic force of God, I haven’t heard that one. know that’s a good way to put it. I will draw them in and to me, okay, now shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus. The God has raised from the dead, thou shall be saved. Did you ever want to give up? Did you ever like it was too much? No, I never give up. Because I had cried so much. He didn’t give up People want to have their own way to the only thing to do is to continue to pray and preach. To move worthy every day.
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What do you want to leave us with? What do you want to leave behind? What are some of the thoughts you would have? If all the family was gathered here and you were just talking to us? kids, grandkids, great grandkids, what would you say? I tell them study the Word and allow the Spirit of God to lead you because without God’s Spirit person is not saved. Remember, if the end the church aware, if you do not have God’s Spirit in them, and then not born again, the names are not written in the Lamb’s book of life. You did not call it spend eternity with Christ. Greatest doors With 22, great grandchildren. great grandchildren. One great, great, great, great, great, great to get to. Okay, so you got plenty of you can’t even keep up with them all now I can’t is now generation. So as you think of your own own families, we want to think of the generational impact of this kind of gathering. That we can have this gathering because of him and and so I’m all honor to be your son that we will forever be great. course, a little bit more.
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I want to get more wanting to tell you all about it one of these days, I’m going to tell you all about it. Just short, short. That’s already in unless I get my hamburger getting mo So Jesus is asleep. They wake him up when they wake him up. He speaks to the circumstance that was causing the crisis. So don’t let it be said your crisis continues. Because you never took the time to wake the same up. And so Jesus now turns to His disciples why Are you afraid? Verse 40? How is it that you have no faith? Why are you afraid? And why do you have no faith? Oh, I don’t know Jesus, maybe it’s cuz we’re getting ready to die. Because in verse 35, Jesus said, Let us go to the other side. Not let me go to the other side. We don’t make it to the other side. You left us excited to get in the boat with me. But when the circumstances showed up, they overrode what I said. In other words, your problem overrode my promise. So you were now living in light of the problem, no longer living in light of the promise. And when you live in light of the problem and no longer in light of the promise, the problem will dominate you, and it will totally erase the fact I ever made one.
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God never wants your circumstances he doesn’t want you to denied him. A stone is a stone. You don’t call it a sunshine day. A stone is reality, but he never wants your circumstance to Trump His Word. Not only does he not want your circumstance to Trump His word, he doesn’t want your circumstance to Trump his presence because he’s on the boat too. And so Jesus speaks to the problem and when he speaks to the problem, there is a circumstantial change. Verse 41, says they became very much afraid. When they were in the lilac. They were afraid. When they saw who they were dealing with, they became very much afraid. In other words, we afraid and wrong Thing see we let our circumstances scare us. He says when you know who you dealing with you’ll be less afraid of that and more scared of me. Cuz shot if I could tell them if I could tell the storm to calm down you What can I do with you if I’m ticked off at you I shut you down shut you know if you’re gonna be scared, then what you need to be as scared walk your fear on the beach boy who I am not what the circumstance is. Because once I get up, all I gotta do is talk to it.
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Has anybody here ever seen God talk to a situation? You know, it was out of your control. Nobody you know you can help us you didn’t have money to buy your way out of it. And when God said something, haven’t spoke to it, and boom, suddenly, immediately out of nowhere, that thing changed. So it’s more important By faith, get Jesus dealing with the circumstance, then you living in fear. Don’t be scared of the wrong thing. When Jesus’s humanity his sleep, His deity stays awake. Who then is this? They went on a journey of discovery trials as inconvenient and as painful as they are on a journey of discovery of who you’re dealing with. because too many of us still got him in a manger somewhere too many of us simply too many of us don’t don’t know who we dealing with here. I mean, he’s tired, so we gotta go to sleep. Because he’s human. He gets up and he puts the lilac to sleep cuz he’s got good Cut the human we, we call this in theology, the hypostatic Union the hypostatic Union means two natures in one person unmixed forever. two natures in one person unmixed favour. So he’s both human and divine. See, so God fertilize the egg of a woman he fertilize the egg of Mary without a male sperm so that the Holy Spirit would provide the divine and Mary would provide the human so that the human and divine would be mixed in one person without sin forever. That’s a hydrostatic union. So, so one minute he starts the The Bible says he said I first but the next minute he walked on water and and, and stop and storms and stuff.
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One minute he says i hunger the next minute taking sardines and crackers and making a folk Moby Dick sandwich to feed 5000 men not counting women and children over 20,000 people One moment he died on the cross. Another moment he raised info from the dead what manner of man is this? He says, and we have a high priest who is able to sympathize with our pain. How can you sympathize with my pain cuz I’m human. So I can feel what you feel the way you felt it. But I’m divine. See, when I go to you or you go to me that’s human human. I may be able to sympathize but not be able to fix it. But when you deal with the god man, you’re dealing with somebody who can feel it and fix it. See if your if your obstetrician as a man who’s delivering your baby he can fix it. But he can’t understand it. Because your male obstetrician has never know what it’s like to be pregnant, know what it’s like to be in labor and know what it’s like to give birth. Now he can, he can fix it, but he can feel it. But if your obstetrician is a female, who also has children, they can feel it and fix it. Because they know what it feels like to be pregnant. They knows what it feels like to be in labor, they knows what it feels like to deliver, but because of their training, they know how to help you and nobody feels like wow, they help you.
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All a man can do is lie and say I know how you feel that the next pregnant woman that has a baby and the doctor said I know how you feel so I stopped lying doctor. I hear for your lies. You don’t know how I feel. But a woman with a baby knows how you fail. But that training is enabling her to fix it. God says cuz I’m a man. I know how veal, but because I’m God, I can do something with it. What manner of man is this? That even the circumstances nature obeys him, that nature has to succumb to him. If you have a lot of lack and if you don’t have one, keep living. You will. God wants to take you to a place of understanding in him that you’ve never been before. So let me tell you something. God doesn’t do miracles just to show off. He doesn’t do the supernatural the flex his muscles. He does the supernatural soul that his name will be known. Some issues are too big for you to handle by yourself. That’s why you need community. That’s why you need people around you to help you move stones you can move. That’s what church is supposed to be. He doesn’t just bless you for you. blesses you for his name, his glory, your impact your testimony, your ministry, not the redeemed of the Lord say so when you get your supernatural, you better open up your mouth. You better declare the greatness of your Gods because only your Gods can go on to your grades and raise you up and give you life. You better give Him the glory to His name.
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