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Sep 25, 2022

Life of Fear and Amazement

Life of Fear and Amazement

Passage: Luke 8:22-25

Speaker: Matt Petty

Series: Wisdom Of The Master

Category: Sunday Sermons

Keywords: church, worship, faith, jesus, wisdom, sunday, god, sermon, bible, gospel, hope, life, holy spirit, fear, anxiety, doubt, believe, christianity, storm, bible study, fear of god, trusting god, self improvement, book of luke, live music, fearless, livestream, burnt hickory baptist church, burnt hickory worship, how to overcome fear, storm of life, fear and amazement, in awe of god, bible wisdom, fear and doubt, let go of fear

Do you have a healthy fear and love for Jesus? That’s what we seek to answer as we look into the gospel of Luke at more wisdom from the master. We study chapter 8 when Jesus calms the raging storm and, in an instant, everything is calm. The disciples were struck with fear, not from the storm, but from the master who could calm it just with words. We examine our faith as we gather principles from Jesus like fear does not drive out love, and when we rightly fear Jesus, we have no need to fear anything else. Ask the question today: God, where is my faith? Are you full of fear and doubt? What reminders from today’s sermon are resonating with you? As always, we are here for you, and if you’ve got questions or want to take the next step, then reach out today – burnthickory.com/next

You know, as a pastor, very few things just kind of get me surprised and rattled, especially on Sunday morning. But I had one just a few minutes ago that made me laugh and I thought, Hey, why not tell everybody about it? I was up on the student ministry hall. I was doing the Lord's Supper with classic service, and one of the students came walking out of the cafe and I was like, Hey, good morning. And they looked me dead in the face and said, I don't know you. I love it. I loved it. It was like, Why are you talking to me? Oh, I love it. So, I introduced myself to him and it was fabulous. By the way, if I don't know you, my name is Matt. I, I get to work here and it's really a cool place to work, so thanks for having me this morning. Oh, that's great.

Over the last couple of weeks, we've been walking through the Gospel of Luke, and we have been watching Luke just give us some wisdom from the master. So, we've kind of named this series all around the teachings and the event of Jesus and what Jesus has done for us. And we said, we're going to be marching through a lot of the things from Luke. And when you study Luke and I mean actually all of the Gospels, one of the things you see and that you realize when you see all these miraculous things that Jesus does is you have to realize that those miraculous things take miraculous power. They take this huge power. And the reality is, it's not a power that any mere man can possess. It's not even a power that a little "g" god can possess. The reality is these things that we're watching can only be done by God. In this morning's account, I absolutely love how this account shows the power of Jesus. The power of Jesus. And actually, the whole book of Luke. When we started this series, I challenged you. If you could maybe spend every week looking through maybe a chapter and a half of Luke. And if you've done that, you have been watching the power of God. At Jesus' birth, we saw the power of God. We saw the Angels and the Magi, Mary and Joseph see the power that is in this child. We watched the disciples see the power of Jesus, and they're drawn to this power. We saw Satan even get to see this power when Jesus was tempted in the desert already. And then we get to see all these many people who are healed and cured, and demons are cast out and Jesus is displaying his power.

Well, this morning's event, we are going to show Jesus has even power over the wind, the waves and the storms. And I love this view of Jesus because it shows us that he even has power over the planet. His power over the planet. So, here's what I wanted to do today. I want you to ask yourself all through this message, how am I going to respond to that kind of power? If you have a copy of Scripture, we're going to be in Luke Chapter eight today. Luke Chapter eight is where we're going to land today. And as you're finding that, I want to show you a couple of artistic paintings of the story that we're going to look at today of Jesus calming the storm. I just know that sometimes a mental image helps burn things in our mind. Here's the first one I want to show you. This is Rembrandt's rendition of The Storm. It's Rembrandt gave us this kind of picture that was in his mind as an artist. The disciples are in the boat, the sail is being ripped. Jesus is in the bottom in the very back, and they're all in this incredible panic moment. I don't know who this guy is on the far left, kind of in the middle, but he looks like he's just floating in the air and about to take a dive into the ocean. But you can just see the terror, the fear, the might of the water in the waves. And in my mind, I've always pictured this event with this mindset until this week, and I saw another painting of this event. Here's the second one I want to show you. The second rendition is Jesus after he calmed the storm. You see, many of us, we love to see this through the eyes of just the absolute mayhem. But I want to challenge you today to change your mind set a little bit in this event. And let's see it like this.

Now, let's talk about this for because I love it. I'm no art critic, but I love the fact that they're putting the sail back up. They're ready to travel with Jesus. I don't know who that is on his knees at the front, kind of hands in the air to Jesus. But, you know, he's like, I don't even know what to say right now because this guy is God. The other guy's like, Hey, come over here and let's just look in awe. And then he got the one random in the back, like still baling water. I don't know what he's doing. If Jesus can take care of the storm, I don't know why he keep bailing water, but we're going to give him a pass on that. But I love the calmness, I love the reverence, I love the awe that is in their faces. And everybody is struck by that. God is in the boat with them. God is in the boat. And that's what this story is about to show us. That Jesus after He stills the storm, the disciples are in absolute awe and absolute reverent fear, and they're surrendering their loving on who Jesus is. Now, stick with me for a second, because I want you to let this sink in. Disciples had already seen Jesus heal people. They'd already seen Jesus literally raise someone from the dead. They saw Him teach people. But now they're seeing Jesus with power over everything on this planet, which is an incredible timely illustration for them. First of all, because they're already in a boat, right? I mean, it's timely for them to see this. They're in the boat. They're on the water. Jesus is showing them that they're God. But this is also not just a timely illustration. It's a timeless illustration.

Go with me for a minute, because think about this. No matter how far technology advances, we're never going to control the weather. We're not. But what is the Bible showing us here? 2000 years ago, it has shown us that we are no better at controlling the weather today as we were back then. But God can because he is all powerful. You know, at the moment that Jesus did this, that their love, and their trust level went through the roof. You know, when he did this, their fear level exploded because they are realizing this is no mere man.

So, here's the question for the morning. Write down your notes. Do I have a healthy fear and love for Jesus? Do I have a healthy fear and love for Jesus? Now don't let one of those slide. There is fear and there is love. And here is what I'm proposing this morning through Scripture. Both of them have to be present if we're going to be a maturing follower of Jesus Christ, they have to be and they run concurrently. We're going to walk through the story this morning and we're going to see how God can and will still the storms in our lives. And we're going to see how we have to live with this incredibly reverent fear, but this incredibly intimate love for who he is. Luke Chapter eight follows the same story that Matthew Chapter eight and Mark Chapter four follows. All three of those gospel writers Give us this account. I'm going to weave in some information from the others to help us tell the story and get it to stick in our minds. And I think this is one of the most underrated miracles in the whole Bible because it is incredible. So, we're going to watch this healthy fear and how we should respond to Jesus in our life. Luke, eight, verse 22 Here's what it says. It says One day Jesus said to his disciples, Let us go over to the other side of the lake. Now we're going to kind of walk through this line by line. Now, Luke doesn't tell us, but Matthew and Mark tell us that this is the sea of Galilee. Lake Gennesaret, if you would.

It's the same one, depending upon who is talking. It's the same lake. Now, on one side of this lake and on the top was Jewish territory, on the other side was Gentile territory. These guys are in the boat, heading to and toward the other side. We're going to see that next week in our story. Now, they could have walked across the top. They were in Galilee. They could have taken a little stroll over to the Gergasa. We're going to see that next week. But Jesus wanted them to go in the boat. A couple of reasons. Number one, there was this huge crowd that was following them. And Jesus knew that if I could escape into the boat, they could get a little bit of a rest time. The paparazzi was out, right? Kind of gives you a mindset of what's going on. They could get away from people a little bit. They could have a rest time on the way to where Jesus had their next appointment already set up. Right. But also, Jesus knew that he wanted to teach them something. This is no happenstance that this is happening. Nothing happens in the disciple's life or Jesus's life that was not filtered through a plan that Jesus already had in place. So, they're in the boat already. And Luke says this one day. Now, Luke doesn't give us any indication of what this day had, but if you go back to the other gospel writers, you see that this day was not just a regular day.

Jesus had taught from sunup to sundown. He had taught many parables. In fact, he taught so many, he kind of got frustrated that the people weren't following him, how he thought they should be following him. On top of that, in the evening time, he got frustrated. He backed off, ended up in the Disciples House, teaching them what the Bible says, and I quote many more things. So, he continued to teach. That evening, Jesus decided, Hey, I got to break this party up. We have got to get to the other side. I got an appointment with a demon man later on next week and we've got to get over there. So, he tells them we're getting in the boat and let's go. But we also got to see that the Jesus is tired, he's gassed from the day. You say what? Jesus is tired? Yeah, he's tired. I mean, it's one thing to dig a ditch and get tired. Amen. That is tiring. But some of you know this, it is another thing to literally teach from sunup to sundown, answering people's questions, debating people's issues and healing people all day long. You probably don't know that one, but you might. But you know, Jesus is tired. He's gassed. In this moment. It'll wear you out mentally, physically, emotionally. I am going home. Probably to take a nap today. It's just how it worked in Jesus’ life. He's tired, but. But in our minds, isn't it hard to see Jesus as being tired? But he is. Why? Because he is fully man. Listen, this is not part of the message.

But it hit me this morning. Jesus gets it when you're just gassed. He does. He understands. Jesus understands when you are just worn out. And actually, he might even say to you, one of the best things that you can do for your discipleship career is to take a good nap, right? That is what we're about to see Jesus do in the story. He's tired. Verse 22. So, they got into the boat, they set out, and as they sailed, he - Jesus fell asleep. Not only is he tired now he's snoozing, right? He is out in the boat. To which I can attest that is a great place to sleep. Amen? A little rocking in the boat, and I am going to sleep. He's asleep, by the way, for you Bible trivia people, you might need this at some point. It's the only place in the Bible that it describes Jesus sleeping right here. But he slept every night. All right. He, well except for the night he was praying. He was God, but he was man. He slept. The Greek here points to not just a little nap. The Greek here says that he is in a deep sleep of exhaustion. He's done. He is worn out. It's kind of like going on a mission trip with the students here, right? You're there for two weeks. You are working. You're working, you're working. You get on that airplane coming back home and it looked like somebody gassed the plane. I mean, everybody on the plane before the wheels are off the ground are totally slobbering on themselves out asleep. So, they tell me because I'm right there with them. That is what is happening right here. He is on the boat. He's asleep, but he's the guest of honor, which means they would have had a pad on the back of the boat somewhere. Mark tells us he has a pillow and he's out. The Son of God, Jesus and his human body, go with me, he's exhausted. He's sleeping. But Jesus in his divine nature, goes to sleep. Catch this even though he knows the storm is about to hit. Now that's important right there. He goes to sleep knowing that he has already called the storm to come on to their location. Why? Because he knows that he's God and he knows at any minute when the storm comes that he can wake up and he can still the storm and he can show these boys in the boat he is God, and they should love him.

Keep reading. I love it. Verse 23, watch this. A squall came down on the lake. So, the boat was being swamped and they were in great danger. Now, look, this is no Lake Altoona thunderstorm, all right? That is not what's happening here. The Greek word that is used here is where we get our word. The word for squall is where we get our word hurricane. This is a massive storm. In fact, in Matthew 8:24, when Matthew tells us, he says that it is a seismos megas. So, you can translate that in Greek. All right. You're a Greek scholar. That just means a magnetic, huge mega seismic storm that is booming down out of the mountains. That's what it literally means. Luke says. It came down out of the mountains. Now, why would that be important? Well, if you know where the Sea of Galilee is, you know, this is what happens. The Sea of Galilee. Let's talk about it for a minute. The Sea of Galilee is 680 feet below sea level. It is the lowest freshwater lake on the planet. The mountains that surround this sea, some of them Mount Hermon, reaches 9200 feet. Now, here's what happened. For those of you who love the Weather Channel, what happens is the cold air that rushes off the mountains, rushes down the mountains through the valley, hits the Mediterranean, warm air in the bottom of this little valley below sea level. And because the Sea of Galilee is so shallow, the warm air is being hit by the cold air and it rises up storms that are absolutely incredible. In fact, some homework today, go home on YouTube. Later. Go home and YouTube Sea of Galilee storms and watch what happens on this lake. It goes from complete calm. We took our trip to Israel last year. We were on the Sea of Galilee, and it was 100% glass. But in 5 minutes it can be ten-foot waves. Even to this day. That's what's happening in these waters. And the disciples are panicked, which says a lot. If you know who the disciples are. Right? Why? Because the disciples are fishermen that are from this area. They grew up on this water. They were pros, it being on the sea. They were fishermen. They're no weekend warriors that are out there getting scared like we are, right? When the waves get going. This is Captain Sig in Deadliest Catch panicking a little bit. That's exactly what we're seeing. Those of you who didn't get that, ask someone else. Here it is at a glance. It seems like the story is a little bit ironic, right, that these guys are in great danger, that the disciples are absolutely in danger, and the savior Jesus is sleeping in the boat.

It seems so ironic until you see what happens and the lesson that Jesus wants to teach them and teach us. Keep going in the story. Verse 24 says The disciples went and woke him, saying, Master, master, we are going to drown. Now, in my mind, this isn't in the Bible, right? But in my mind, I can just see him over there going, All right, who's going to tell them? All right, who's going to wake him? He's not going to be happy if you wake up. He said he was tired. I can see it probably being Andrew because he was kind of the one that was always getting that. So, I can just see him sneaking over to Jesus a little bit is not the Bible, but I just see him sneaking over here to Jesus. Going, excuse me. Jesus, I know you're resting. I know you got, like, rest going, but we're going to die. We. We need you to do something. Is that how the story went? No, that is not what the Bible says. The Bible, if you read this, he says, Master, master, we are going to die. Listen, there's passion in those words. You might not see it, but there is there's emotion, there's panic, there's fear. And in fact, if you read every account of the story, you will see that all the disciples are screaming it wants to Jesus. In fact, Mark uses the idea where all what He is hearing is. Teacher, do you know that we're perishing? He's like, You better do something. The ship is going down. Matthew uses the word, Lord. He's like, Lord, save us. We are going to drown. Luke uses the word master. Does that mean the Bible made a mistake? When one is thinking it says teacher, one says Lord, one says this master. No, that means that pandemonium is going down. And that's what they're remembering is happening. Everybody is screaming out to Jesus because they're freaking out in fear. And I'm sure there's some other sailor words that are being thrown at this very moment in their lives.

He wanted to show them something. It's not in the Bible. I can just sense it though. Jesus being woke up and, in my mind, he smirks a little bit. I don't know why, but he does. He has a little smirk in my mind, it's not in the bible, it's what's on my mind. Because he knows they're walking into the lesson that he wants to teach them in this very moment. They're walking into it and watch what he wants to teach them. Watch verse 24, he got up. He rebuked the wind and the raging waters. The storm subsided and all was calm. Now there's a whole lot right here. Watch closely. Jesus. From the from the seat of authority. Right? The pad of authority on the back of the boat. He stands up and I can just see him. I don't know if that was hands, but my mind he did. I can just see him go still and he calms everything. And what does it say he did? He rebukes the wind, the water and the storm. Now rebuke in Greek is the same as it is in English. It literally just means to call out something that is under you. You have an employee that is messing up and you need to correct them. You are rebuking them. If you have a son or daughter, probably not us, but other churches, that is not doing well at the moment, and you need to correct them. You are rebuking them. Jesus rebukes the weather like a rowdy toddler, right? He has no big words, no magic formula, no wand or anything. He just stills the storm. And if you think about it through a skeptic's mind, I mean, when he heals people, they're going, yeah, but modern medicine does that.

You know, when he raises people from the dead, they're like, Yeah, but kind of CPR and those little electric paddles, they, they do that for people. But no one, not even in a skeptic's mind, can do what he's doing right here. Even in 2022. He's staying the storm. Nobody can do that but God. But even to get a little bit better, I don't know if you caught it or not, but not only did Jesus still the storm, he did it immediately. Immediately Think about it like this. He sends away the wind, he sends away the clouds, sends away the rain. Sends all that away. And in an instant, he makes the sea go back to calm and glass. Now, look, that doesn't happen. I don't know if you've ever been in a storm. It takes a little bit for the waves to go away. Just modern physics tells you that. But Jesus said, hey, just to show you that I'm in control, and then I did this. I am going to make every bit of this go away in an instant, which is what he can do in all of our lives. In one instant he turns, and he stills it. Then watch what Jesus says.

This my favorite part. Verse 25. He says The disciples. He says, Where is your faith? He asks the disciples. Now, that's a question we've got to ask every single day. In fact, write this question down. You've got to ask this every day. God, where is my faith today? Where is my faith today? Another way to put this is God. What am I placing my faith in right now? What if that was your driving to work question every morning? Every day? God, I got this going on. I got this going on. I got all this going on. But God, what is it that I'm going to hang my faith on today? You know, in the story by the story, you know, the disciples were scared. I mean, come on. This was a seismic event in their life. You know, they were scared when the storm hit. We saw that. Right. But I want you to see something real closely. I want and we're going to spend a minute talking about it because is going to show us our posture of what it should be to Jesus. They're scared when the storm hit. But I want you to see verse 25 after Jesus stilled the storm watch. In fear, verse 25, in fear and amazement. Circle those two words. We could have done the whole morning with those words right there. In fear and amazement, they asked one another, who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him. Now watch the details. Jesus calms the sea, right? They are freaking out, calms the sea. But now if you read it closely, and if you read through Mark's account, you will see that they are more fearful now than they were before Jesus calmed the sea.

But it's a different kind of fear. It is a fear of reverence. It is a fear and amazement of who it is that they are standing in the presence of. Look, it was a fear when the storm was hitting, right? Their life was on the line. They thought they were going to die. But now their fear elevates a little bit. Why? Because there's a greater fear when we're standing in the presence of Jesus. But the difference is that's a healthy fear. You do know that it is healthy for you to fear Jesus. Not out of a terrified fear, but out of a holy reverence and awe and respect. See in fear and amazement, they asked, Who is this guy? He sleeps when we're in trouble. He waits and calms the storm. He doesn't call on anybody else to do this. Who is this? And it's easy for us to answer. This is God. It's God. And listen really close. If the weather obeys him, if the storm obeys him, if sickness and death obeys Jesus, then who am I to not live my life in fear and amazement and submission to the one that has saved my soul? That's the point of the whole story. That's the point. So, here's what I want to do this morning. I want to give you the point to this miracle is that he is worth fearing and holding in reverence. But I want to give you some things about fear this morning that will help you and I understand the story. Here's number one.

I want you to see this. This can elevate your faith and elevate your trust in Jesus. Number one, I want you to see this. There is a good and necessary kind of fear. There is a good and necessary kind of fear. Contrary to what some people think, the New Testament does not cancel out us fearing God. It doesn't. Now, I know a lot of us, we live like it because we think recovered in grace and we no longer have to fear God. But there is a difference here. The fear of God now is us living in the awe the A-W-E of who God is. I mean, here's the deal. How can you really understand the power of Jesus and not feel that kind of healthy fear? You can't. It's the point of the story. One of the best examples of this that I thought of this week and all of Scripture is in Revelation chapter one. Revelation Chapter one. Obviously, it is a vision given to the Apostle John of the Book of Revelation. It is a warning for us. It is a message to us. Revelation chapter one is where John meets the glorified the fully glorified Jesus. Remember that? John comes into his presence. Now, if you remember a whole lot about John and Jesus, John was Jesus's BFF when they're on this planet, right? They were always together. He was in the inner circle. I mean, actually, John even had the audacity to call himself the one in whom Jesus loves.

That takes some guts right there to write that down in the Bible. But John does, right? He writes it many times. John is the one who reclined on Jesus's chest at the Lord's Supper. Now, look, that's a close friend. I got some close friends, but that isn't happening in my friendships right now. Right? That was Jesus and John. Now, when Jesus and John have this encounter, when John meets the gospel Jesus, how does John meet Jesus? Does He run up to him and give him a bro hug? I mean, does he get him a fist bump? Does he say, hi, how are you? Shake his hand. Let me give you John's own words. Revelation 1:17 Watch them. Watch the meeting. Here's what John says. When I saw him - that's Jesus - I fell at his feet as the dead. Fell at his feet as if dead. Now, that's not a figure of speech. When John saw the glorified Jesus, he thought he was going to die. He was in the presence of the glorified Jesus. I mean, look, I feel like we have lost this concept of fearing God.

I feel like we've lost our churches. I feel like we've lost it in our worship. I feel like now, Jesus is just this homeboy. He’s, our pal. He's the shepherd that snuggles up to us. Right? With the long, flowy, locks of hair with a baby in his hand. I feel like that is all that we see Jesus as. I mean, here's the deal. So, as a result of that, we just kind of halfway sing worship, we halfway read and consume the Bible. We halfway devote ourselves to the body of Christ. And we sing songs about his presence. But here's the deal What if Jesus actually showed up in his full power? What would be our response? I guarantee it wouldn't be hey Jesus, what you up to, buddy? No, it would be ohhhh. On our faces. You know, when you picture yourself busting through the gates of heaven, running up to Jesus, giving him, no no no. It is in full reverence and full respect on our faces before the King. have you ever thought possibly the reason that God doesn't blow us away with His Spirit every week when we come together in His presence is because none of us really desire it? You ever thought about that? And we don't have a healthy fear for Jesus. Look Church, Jesus rebuked the wind and it obeyed him. He commanded the sickness, and it came out of people. He spoke to demons. We're going to see that. And they surrendered. So, who am I to be flippant about disobeying Jesus? It's the point of the story, but people in churches do it every single week. We think he's like, Yeah, I know that's what Jesus wants, but I got this thing going on right now. I know that's what Jesus wants, but I'll get serious about that when I get a little bit older. I know that's what Jesus wants, but I got so much going on with work and so much going on with the kids and the sports deal. Or I'll get serious about that later. Or how about this? You know, I just kind of prefer my own sexual preference and not what God has called me to live. That's the point. Do you realize who you're talking to when you say that? He's the one who stands up in the boat with one word and controls everything around him. And he's the one who wants to give you life. That's Jesus.

Luke says the disciples looked at him with this great awe and this great fear, and that is the starting point to our love and devotion for Christ. Number one, there's a good and necessary fear, but number two, fear does not drive out love. This one is quick, but it's important. I want you to see this. Fear doesn't drive love out. In other words, they're not mutually exclusive. In fact, they work congruently together to make each of them more strong. You see, whenever you talk about fearing God, people will always object and say something like, Well, we're not supposed to fear Jesus. I mean, he is meek and he's tender and he's peaceful. He puts kids on his lap for goodness’s sake, and yes, he is all those things.

But here's the deal. When we have a healthy awe and fear for who Jesus is, it makes all of those things even better. Do you know why? Because we see power under restraint. Power under restraints. You say Matt, what is power under restraint? Power under restraint is when Jesus went to the cross and instead of calling down legions of angels to take care of all the people that came in his contact, he submitted himself to the bloody cross, which is what I deserve and you deserve, which is the hell that we all deserve. And he gave his life for me. And now when I see that power under restraint for me, that now gives me access to the Kingdom of God, my love and my respect all meet in the middle for who Jesus is. That's what He's talking about. True worship and true devotion are a mixture of fear and love. It's a mixture of both. You can't have one without the other. You can't have one and not the other. We could say that intimacy grows from our awe of who God is. Why? Because all is us looking at the power and the bigness. Intimacy of God is us realizing that He has paid the price for us. This is Romans eight. Therefore, there's no condemnation for those who in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit who gives us life has set you free. Here's the principle true worship and devotion is a mixture of fear and intimacy. It's a mixture of both. And true disciples have both. Here's the deal. One without the other will not work. It can't if you have a fear of God, but you have no intimacy, a love of God that's just going to make you a brash religious person.

So, all it's going to do, there's no warmth, there's no closeness. But on the flipside of that, if you have an intimacy, quote unquote, but you don't fear God, here's what that's going to do for you. It's going to make you casual in your faith. Your obedience is always going to lack your comprehending and compromising of God's truth is always going to be present, and there's going to be no passion for the worship and being involved with the local body of Christ. It is not going to happen. Both have to be present. Fear doesn't drive out love. Here's number three. Number three fear principle. When we rightfully fear Jesus, we have no need to fear anything else. Man, This is my favorite one right here. When we rightfully fear Jesus, we have no need to fear anything. That's why. Because when you realize how powerful Jesus is, when you realize how much Jesus wants to be with you, and when you realize that Jesus is in your boat. You realize that no matter what this life throws at you, it does not matter. It doesn't matter. You're not going to be afraid of anything else you see in this event; Jesus rebukes the wind and the wave. We saw that right? But in a sense, you can kind of feel him looking at the disciples and rebuking them as well. You can kind of feel that. But what would that rebuke be? Because when you think about it, I mean, their fear was a little bit legit, right?

I mean, when you're about to die, it's okay to be a little bit scared. Right. But what would Jesus say to them? Jesus says, Hey, listen, if I'm in the boat, you're going to be okay. That's what he says. If I'm in the boat, here's what he said. Your fears are irrational. If I'm in the boat, Jesus says, even here goes to the extreme. Even your fear of death is irrational. That's what Jesus is saying to the disciples. If Jesus, man catch this, if Jesus was in this boat, was He going to let this boat sink? Think about that one for a minute. Know why he had to go to the cross? He had already told them he was going to the cross. This boat was not going to sink. Same is true for our lives. If Jesus is in the boat, our boat is not going to sink. You see, here's the deal. Because the disciples didn't understand the power that Jesus had over the storm, they feared the storm. Because they didn't understand. But if they were to fear Jesus and understood his power more, they would not have been afraid. There would have been no worry in their lives. You do know that worry only comes from two places in a believer's life. So let me give it to you real fast. Number one, fear and worry comes from forgetting the power of Jesus. And that's a legit deal.

We forget the power of Jesus. We're human. We forget things. But number two, it comes from doubting Jesus's commitment to us in the storm. That's the only places that fear and worry can come from in a believer's life. So next time you start worrying about something, am I forgetting the power of Jesus or my doubting Jesus commitment to me? It's got to be one of the two. And here's the point of this. The point of this that Luke is using and Jesus is using is this There's a storm coming. That's the point. I can almost promise you that you are one of three people in this room. Number one, you're a person that you all have just come out of a storm. Number two, you are a person that is in the middle of a storm. Or number three, you are a person that is stepping into a storm. It is the rhythm of our lives, isn't it? Amen. That's where we live. We are either in one, we're coming out of one or we're about to get into one. So, Luke tells us this story to show us that, hey, if the water's filling, and the bills are mounting, the marriage is climbing. The problems in our kids’ lives, there's issues at work. All this stuff is happening. How am I going to make it?

I'm going to make it by knowing that Jesus is in the boat. That's how I'm going to make it. But here's the problem. Most of us or a lot of us, we live like Jesus is just sleeping and we'll even say that to him something God, I don't know why you won't do something right here. So let me finish this with four incredible truths that I want you to bank on this week that will help you in the storm. Number one. Four reminders. Number one, Jesus’ promise is with you. It's with you. It's what the story shows us right? You say what? How would you know that? Well, in verse 22, we didn't spend any time on it, but in verse 22, Jesus looks at the disciples and he says to them, We are going to the other side of this lake. And listen, when Jesus says you're going somewhere, you're going to get there. Jesus' promise is over your life. Does it mean there's not going to be storms? No, no, that's not what it means. But here's what it does mean. His promise is in your life. His promise to sustain you, his promise to keep you, his promise to love you, his promise to save you. And no matter what this world throws at you, his promise is in your life. His promise was for them. His promise is for us. We can hold on to the promises of who Jesus is. Number two, Jesus' presence is with you. If His promise is good, His presence is great. Do you know why? Because he's not going to leave you. He's not going to forsake you. He's not going to walk away from you. He's not going to jump out of the boat when you're not looking. If you have given your life to Jesus, his presence is in your life. Now for these guys, it was a little bit evident, right? Yeah. That's the dude sleeping in the back of the boat.

But for us, it's the Holy Spirit. It's dwelling inside of us; it's dwelling in us. And now when we live with full awe, our fear of who God is. Healthy fear. And when we live in full intimacy of who God is now, we are looking at Him and we're saying, Jesus, I know you're with me and I know you're not alone. And that is us being awoken to who he is. His promise is with you. His presence is with you. The story showed us that. So as a result, number three, Jesus' power is with you. His power is with you. You say not me Matt. Oh yeah. If Christ is in your life, his power is in your life. The same power that calmed the storm, the same power that rose Christ from the dead is available to you. How? When we live in awe and intimacy. When we live with full respect and full love. His power channels through our life. Look, you need to hear this. You don't have to do this on your own. You do realize they were swamped on their own? That's how a whole lot of our lives are. I know it, man. I live right there. I live right where you are. It's the power of God. The power of Jesus that can get us through it. Promises with you, the presences with you, the powers with you and just because we're good Baptists, Jesus' peace is with you. His peace is with you now. This is why that every single one of us needs to take a breath on. That the peace of Christ can rule and rest in your life.

It can, no matter what is happening around you, the peace of Jesus. You know, Jesus has got some peace. He's asleep in a storm. Amen. He is out, and the boat, is about to sink. And look, and if Jesus is resting in the storm, that's a good indicator for those of us that know Jesus that we can rest in him. We can rest. We started off with this question. Do I have a healthy fear and love for Jesus? And listen, this week, would you please spend some time saying Jesus where am I? Where am I in my reverence, fear, and awe of you? Am I treating you like you are the authority? And in my loving, you like you have loved me? Have you woken up the power of Jesus in your life? Sometimes that's what he's waiting on. Just for us to ask, you know the real people who are woken up in this story. Yeah, it was Jesus physically, but it was really the disciples in their faith. So, this week, ask yourself do I have a reverence for Christ, or am I just flippant in my faith? Lord, Jesus. God, this morning, as we walk into this moment of decision, God, I'm just praying that you move in our souls. God, I know these guys in the boat were changed forever.

In fact, we see that through all of the gospels. That these people built your church because they knew you were God. Lord, I'm just not sure we live up to that expectation. God show us today that we should live with full reverence for you, fear for you. But also show us that our love and intimacy flow out of us knowing who you are Lord Jesus. God, there's somebody in this room that needs to get saved today and give their heart to you. I pray in these next couple of minutes, you save them. God lead them to just step out from their seats. Come out to the corner of this room where the next steps sign is. And just look at me and say, I need Jesus today to move my heart. God, you'll save them, you'll give them life, you'll come into their hearts, forgive them of their sins. They got to take that step. Got I pray for others today that are just dealing with some heavy heaviness. God, there's some storms going on in families in this church. God, just show them today that you are there to be called on God. I pray that even today they may step out from where they are and look at one of us and just say, Would you just pray with me today? Move in our hearts Jesus. Moving in this church Jesus. That we may live with honor and love. It's in your name.

Amen. Let's stand and sing.

Follow Along with the Message

Life of Fear and Amazement

 

QUESTION: Do I have a fear and love for Jesus?

Luke 8:22
One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.”
Luke 8:22–23
So they got into a boat and set out. 23 As they sailed, he fell asleep.
Luke 8:23
A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.
Luke 8:24
The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”
Luke 8:24
He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm.
Luke 8:25
“Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.

QUESTION: God, where is my faith ?

Luke 8:25
In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”
3 Fear Principles from Jesus

1. There is a and necessary kind of fear.

Revelation 1:17
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.

2. Fear does not love.

Luke 8:1–2
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

PRINCIPLE: True worship and devotion is a mixture of fear and .

3. When we rightly fear Jesus, we have no need to anything else.

Fear and Worry Come From:

1. the power of Jesus.

2. Jesus’ commitment to us in the storm.

4 Storm Reminders:

1. Jesus’ is with you.

2. Jesus’ is with you.

3. Jesus’ is with you.

4. Jesus’ is with you.

QUESTION: Do I have a fear and love for Jesus?

Additional Notes

 

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