In the Storm With Jesus

Summary of sermon by Erlo Stegen, 10 February 2013

Matt 8

18 Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side.

19 And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.

20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

21 And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

22 But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.

23 And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him.

24 And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.

25 And his disciples came to him,and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.

26 And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.

27 But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!

Here we see the Lord Jesus getting into the ship with His disciples. During that time, at any time there could be between 30-40 boats at the shore. Most probably Jesus entered into a boat belonging to one of His disciples.

Although it seems like a simple story it has profound implications. When you read this story you can only bow down before Jesus as Lord. Intellectuals and academics cannot fathom the depth and greatness of a story like this from the Bible. So great is the height and depth of it that the human mind cannot fathom it.

As they were on the sea of Galilee a huge storm arose. Jesus was asleep. Jesus was God Himself, but in human form, taking on the weakness of our humanity. He is known as the One Who sleeps not. But here we find Him in a deep sleep, which just shows to what extent He took our weaknesses upon Himself.

The Bible says He feels our sin as it hurts Him. We cause Him pain by our sin.

When you lie, is sexually promiscuous, you forget that God sees all. His eyes are like a flame of fire. You don't realise the pain you cause Him. Next time you sin, remember the pain and grief you cause Him.

They were terrified by the waves and thought they were dying. While they were so afraid, He was occupied by His purpose on the earth to die for you and me. The sin of man troubled Him and that is why He came.

Zechariah 5

1 Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll.

2 And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.

3 Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it.

All your sin is written on this scroll! All the sin of the world is written on it. All is recorded on it. No wonder it's such a huge scroll.

Martin Luther once saw satan coming to him with a scroll and told him to read. When he finished he took out a second and a third, and all his sins were recorded on it. Satan asked him if he recognised what was written on it for it was all his sins. (Do you realise that all your sins are recorded, written patiently down day by day?) Luther asked him if there was another scroll, and satan answered that it was all. Then Luther took out a red pen and wrote over each scroll, "cleansed by the Blood of Jesus Christ".

Are your sins covered by the Blood of the Lamb?

Jesus breathed upon His disciples and said to them, "receive the Holy Spirit". He told them that if they forgave someone their sins then they would be forgiven, but if they retained them then they would be retained (John 20:23). This doesn't refer to the "name it and claim it gospel", but rather that a man of God is in tune with heaven and knows what has already been determined in heaven.

So too you must have that relationship with Jesus in heaven before you can pronounce any forgiven. Forgiveness starts in heaven.

We are proud by nature. Confession of sin breaks the proud heart. Your sins are recorded from your youth, and remain unless blotted out by the precious Blood of Jesus.

That's why the Bible says he who confesses and forsakes his sin will be forgiven and obtain mercy (Prov 28:13).

There's the true story of an old man who was very sick but couldn't die. Then he remembered, as God showed him, how he as a young farmer one day at the border fence of his farm, shot a huge buck on the other farm, just on the other side of the fence, and pulled it through. After he made this right he could die in peace.

Blessed is the one who has Jesus in his "boat", his life, and call upon Him in distress.

Everything might seem calm in your life, but the storm could come upon you suddenly. If you have Jesus in your boat you need not fear, but if not, woe to you for all your fears will come upon you.

When Jesus is in your boat death becomes gain to you. jesus-storm5.jpg (82146 bytes)

Jesus calmed everything by a word and it amazed his disciples. Jesus will cover and protect you by His wings. Without Him, woe to you.

When Jesus is with you, your great desire is to shun sin.

Note that even though they had Jesus with them in the boat, they still had to face a storm. But Jesus in the boat made all the difference.

Seek after holiness. Shun the lust of the eyes, of the flesh and the pride of life. Be sanctified, seek His holiness more than anything else. Remember there's no sin that will not be uncovered.

Have you surrendered all to Jesus?

One said to Jesus, "I do want to follow you but first want to bury my dead". But Jesus said to him, "let the dead bury their dead, but you follow Me". So too with you, make the decision today to surrender all and follow Jesus.