So we're in week six of our series, The Jesus
Way, where we've been trying to find the way
of Jesus. What does that way look like? How did
Jesus live? How did he act? How did he talk?
We've been looking for the way of Jesus in the
Gospel of Luke, the good news account of Luke.
And today we're talking about... The powerful
way of Jesus. You know, I feel like the last
couple of weeks I've been challenging you a lot.
There's been a lot of, you know, we need to do
and we need to be type of things, messages. But
today, this one is one that is not necessarily
a challenge for you to do something, but more
of a challenge to trust in something. And so
what I mean by that is we're going to be talking
about, as we did last week, the authority of
Jesus, but not just his authority over law, his
authority over tradition and scripture. We're
talking about his rule, his power over all creation.
And this is important because if we misunderstand
the power, the power of Jesus, the power that
he possesses, the power that he has, that he
has always had, if we misunderstand that power,
we will misunderstand how to follow him. And
what I mean by that is I think for far too long
the church and Christians have tried to just
like make Jesus just the Jesus of the book, the
one that's on the paper, just the words of Jesus.
And we've intellectualized being a follower of
Jesus. have taken out the spiritual aspect of
it, the power that Jesus possesses and the power
that Jesus has entrusted to us. And so I want
us to understand the power of our king. Because
if we can understand just how powerful he is,
then the things of this world will not seem as
depressing. They won't seem as terrifying. We'll
be able to hear rumors of wars and we won't fear.
We'll be able to deal with the stresses of life
and we won't collapse because we know who our
king is and we know his power. And if we can
trust in his power, then we will be able to fully
obey regardless of what circumstances come. So
let's start today in Luke chapter 8, starting
in verse 22. In Luke 8, verse 22, and remember
if it's underlined, I want you to read it with
me, and it may be a little hard to see, so just
if you hear other people start talking out loud,
you also start reading out loud, okay? One day
he got into a boat with his disciples, and he
said to them, let us go across to the other side
of the lake. So they set out, and as they sailed,
he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on
the lake, and they were filling with water and
were in danger. And they went and woke him, saying,
Master, Master, we are perishing. And he awoke,
and he rebuked the wind and the raging waves,
and they ceased, and there was a calm. And he
said to them, Where is your faith? And they were
afraid. And they marveled, saying to one another,
Who then is this that he commands even winds
and water, and they obey him? I want us to read
that last question that the disciples asked out
loud. And so read this with me. Who then is this
that he commands even winds and water and they
obey him? You see, that's not just a random question.
It's kind of the hinge of this whole section
in Luke. Because before that, Jesus' question
to them, where is your faith, reveals the issue.
The storm was very real. So you've got to know
that these guys, they were fishermen. They likely
knew this lake. They knew these storms. They
knew the weather patterns. And they knew exactly
how dangerous it could be to be on the lake when
this storm, this type of a storm would come.
So they knew exactly how real the danger was.
But the deeper issue is their trust. Who's on
the boat with them? Jesus, the guy that the chapter
before just declared himself as Lord, declared
himself the Son of God. They've seen him work
miracles. They've been following him for a while
now. They've seen his teachings. They've seen
his great deeds. And they know he is on the boat
with them. But they're doubting. They're fearful.
Luke says they were filling with water and were
in danger. This isn't an exaggeration. They knew
exactly what was happening. But what was Jesus
doing? He was sleeping. Jesus wasn't anxious.
Jesus wasn't pacing the floor of the boat. He
wasn't panicking. He wasn't shouting out instructions.
He wasn't telling everybody, just calm down,
calm down. He was asleep. You ever watch a baby
sleep? My favorite thing that I do every night
is after the boys finally fall asleep, sometimes
it's 10 minutes after bedtime, sometimes it's
two hours after bedtime, but I will wait until
they fall asleep because I'm not going to sleep
with them awake because that's terrifying. So
I'll wait until they're asleep, and I'll go to
their rooms, and I'll make sure they're covered
up. I'll give them a kiss. I'll pray over them
really quick. But I love to just sit there and
kind of watch them for a little bit. And I don't
know if any of you have done that with your kids,
but I love to just, it's kind of creepy when
you say it out loud. I love to watch my kids
sleep because they're so peaceful. It's not like
during the day when they're running around being
crazy, when they're running around crying and
when things happen and the world is ending and
they want mommy. It's not like those moments.
It's the most peaceful sight you could ever see.
And that's what I picture. When I think of Jesus
sleeping on this boat. Because, and you know
this, sometimes you watch your children sleep,
but you're thinking about the bills that still
need to be paid. Or you watch your children sleep
and you think about the people in your family
that are suffering. Or you watch your children
sleep peacefully and you think about the wars
that are happening. And you think about the unrest
that's happening. And you think about the danger
that's happening. I can remember when we lived
in Montgomery. Montgomery. Notably, not a very
safe place to live. Luckily, we lived in a safer
part. But I would sit there and watch them sleep
and think, somebody right now is being murdered.
Peace in the midst of all the chaos of this world.
And that's what I think of when I think of Jesus
sleeping on this boat. But the disciples, they're
freaking out and they're waking him up. They're
crying, Master, Master, we're perishing. We're
about to die. And he gets up and he rebukes the
wind. He rebukes the waves. And instantly, Scripture
says, the storm ceased and there was a calm.
You see, the powerful way of Jesus isn't frantic.
It's authoritative. Because even creation, even
the deadliest of storms, obey him. And to that,
to all of their freaking out, Jesus asks, where
is your faith? Where's your trust? Why are you
worried? Do you not know who's in the boat with
you? The king of the universe, Jesus is looking
at them and he's like, I created these waves.
I created the wind. You are in my presence and
you're worried about a storm? Where's your faith?
And I want to be very clear. This is not us saying
that, you know, we're supposed to deny the storm.
It's not us saying we should pretend that the
storm isn't there. It's just saying we need to
trust the one who rules over it. And so we move
on to the next scene of this gospel account where
Luke answers the disciples' question of who is
this man? Who is this that commands the winds
and commands the waves and they obey him? Who
is Jesus? He answers this question in his next
story that he tells. The disciples and Jesus,
they land in the country of the Gerasenes. This
would be Gentile territory. So remember... The
disciples, Jewish background. Jesus, Jewish background.
They go to Gentile territory. These are people
that are not like them. Okay, so they go, and
immediately when Jesus gets off the boat, a man
meets them. But this isn't a normal man. This
isn't a man like you and I. This is a man like
my three -year -old. He is demon -possessed.
This is a crazy man. This man lives among the
tombs. Because he can't live in the city with
other people because they're civilized and he
is not. This is a man who wears no clothes. He
wears no chains because they tried to chain him
up. They tried to bind him up and he broke free.
There is nothing that they could do to subdue
this man. So they put him out into the area with
the tombs. And this man runs up on Jesus and
the disciples. And when he sees Jesus, he cries
out. What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son
of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment
me. Now, the first thing I want to say is the
demons recognize exactly who this is. But this
man wouldn't have met Jesus at this point, at
least not according to the story. So somehow...
This man knows who Jesus is, and it's not the
man's knowledge, it's the demon's knowledge.
The demons recognize that they are in the presence
of who? The Son of the Most High God. They know
who they're dealing with. They know the power.
You don't tell someone, don't torment me, if
you don't know the danger they possess. And so
Jesus asked the man his name, and he says, Legion.
And this would be referring to the Roman legion.
And if you're familiar with Roman history, a
Roman legion, 5 ,000 people. And so he says legion
for we are many or for many demons had entered
into the man. So think thousands of demons are
possessing this man. And the demons begged Jesus
not to send them into the abyss, but into a nearby
herd of pigs. And at his word, they go. And then
the pigs run off the cliff and they drown themselves.
It's a really weird story, but it shows you the
power of Jesus. The storm obeyed him. The demons
who outnumbered him and his disciples by a long
shot, the demons feared him and now obey him.
See, the powerful way is not threatened by darkness.
It commands it. The powerful way, the way of
Jesus doesn't look at the dark things of this
world, the evil things of this world. It doesn't
look at these things and tremble. It causes them
to tremble. And so when Christians walk around
in fear, when we walk around with anxiety about
what's going on in the world, when we look like
that, the world looks at us and say, I thought
you worshiped the powerful God. I thought you
worshiped a God that commands winds and the waves.
I thought you worshiped a God that could cast
out thousands of demons from a man that the spiritual
realm trembles in his presence. And so when we
walk around with fear, the world looks at us
like, are y 'all sure that you follow the one
you claim to follow? Because if he is almighty
God, what are you worried about? What are you
fearful of? So after making, after helping the
demon -possessed man, they go back to Galilee.
So they go back to Jewish territory. And when
they get there, they're met by a huge crowd of
people welcoming them because these people want
to experience Jesus. I mean, do you all believe
me when I say the world is hungry for something
more than what the world has offered? The world
wants to know Jesus. Even these people that would
have doubted him, it wouldn't be good or natural
for them to believe that he is the Messiah. They
wanted to experience his teaching. They wanted
to experience his healings. And so they gather
in masses and they're there and they're welcoming
Jesus. And then among this crowd, a synagogue
ruler named Jairus comes and he falls at Jesus'
feet. Now Jairus has a problem. His daughter
is dying and he wants Jesus to help. He wants
Jesus to heal his daughter. And so he falls at
Jesus' feet and he cries out and he asks him
to come heal my daughter. And so Jesus agrees
to go with him. But on the way, a woman who had
been bleeding for 12 years, can you imagine one
issue just constantly being with you for 12 years?
And maybe you've had that. Maybe it's a cancer
or maybe it's a sickness. Maybe it's a lifelong
disease that you've had to deal with for a long,
long time. This is what this woman is dealing
with. She's been dealing with this bleeding,
this hemorrhaging for 12 years, and she touches
the edge of Jesus' garment. And Luke tells us
that she had spent her life savings, everything
she had, every dollar she had, she spent it trying
to go to doctors to be healed, but none of them
could heal her. 12 years of suffering, 12 years
of social isolation because bleeding was seen
as unclean among the Jews. But she touches Jesus.
Well, she doesn't even touch him. She touches
the edge of his clothing, and she's healed immediately.
And Jesus notices something and he says this,
someone touched me for I perceive that power
has come out from me. And when she realizes she
can't hide, she comes forward, she comes forward
trembling and she tells her story. She tells
him about how she had tried and tried and tried
to be healed and she'd been dealing with this
and everything that she tried didn't work, but
now she's been healed by touching him. And then
Jesus says, daughter, your faith has made you
well. Go in peace. Her faith, her trust, her
belief that just touching the edge of his garment
could make her clean, could heal her. Her faith
made her well. All of a sudden, her life is restored.
She can now be a part of society. She can now
live and work and not have to worry about spending
every dollar she has on healing because she has
trusted in the Messiah. Now, her faith didn't
create power. This is not one of those things
where it's like if you believe, if you believe
the power... will be with you. It's not that
her faith created power. It just connected her
to it because faith trusts in the authority of
Jesus and it depends on his power, not our own.
It's not our abilities. It's not anything we
can do or say. It is simply the power of the
most high God. And Jesus proclaims that her faith
made her well. And while he's talking to her
and to the crowd, somebody shows up with some
pretty bad news for Jairus. It's news no parent
ever wants to hear. They tell him, your daughter
is dead. Don't trouble the teacher anymore. Essentially
saying, hey, it's over. There's no need for him
to come to our house. There's no need for him
to try to do a miracle. It's over. You see, the
people telling Jairus this, they don't believe
that Jesus commands life and death. They don't
know. that he could, if she is really dead, raise
her from the dead. But Jesus hears and he responds.
He says, don't fear, only believe and she will
be well. That's underlined and y 'all didn't
read that with me. So let's try that again. Do
not fear, only believe and she will be well.
Believe, trust, have faith and she will be well.
But they just told him she's dead. She's gone.
It's over. Believe and she will be well. And
so they go to Jairus' house where everyone is
already grieving. They're already mourning because
they believe she's dead. And I'll tell you, I
believe she was dead. But Jesus says, do not
weep for she is not dead, but sleeping. And you
know what happens when you're asleep? After the
sleep is over, you wake up. She's not dead. She's
just sleeping, and she's going to wake up. That's
what Jesus tells them, and they laugh. Can you
imagine laughing at the Messiah, laughing at
Jesus? But they don't know. I mean, they know
he can heal people of sickness. They know he
can heal people of paralysis. They know he can
cast out demons, but can he raise someone from
the dead? They laugh at this because it seems
obvious that she's dead, and if she's dead, death
is final. But Jesus does his thing. Verse 54
says, You see that? We just talked about how
the winds and waves obey him. And we recognize
that the demons fear and obey him. And now death
obeys him. The powerful way is authority. over
chaos. It's authority over fear. It's authority
over the spiritual world. It's authority over
disease and it's authority even over death. So
let's answer the question that the disciples
asked again. Read it with me. Who then is this
that he commands even winds and water and they
obey him? Do you know who he is? He's Lord. He
is almighty. God. He's powerful. God. He rules
over everything. Jesus was there at creation.
He was there to make it all happen. And so if
he is able to create it, he is able to fix it.
It's kind of like when I was little, I would
be really bad. And I had this problem and I've
noticed, I keep picking on Peyton, my three -year
-old, because he's kind of like me. I had this
problem where I talked back, and Peyton is starting
to do it, and I found myself wanting to say this
the other day, but I thought he's three, and
if I say that, he'll go to school, he'll repeat
it, and I'll get defects called on me. But my
mom used to say this to me. She used to say,
I brought you into this world, and I can. And
Jesus brought us into this world, and he can.
And he can also bring us back. Jesus commands
life and death. He has power. over it all because
he created it all. He was there at the beginning
and he will be there at the end. And guess what?
He will be there for eternity because he is almighty
God. And so if Jesus has authority over chaos,
demons, disease, and death, then the question
is not whether he is powerful. The question isn't,
does he have authority? The question becomes,
what are we going to do with that truth? Because
every question demands an answer. And when you
find an answer, you have a responsibility. I
have a responsibility to respond accordingly
with that answer. And so if Jesus is powerful,
if he's almighty God, what are we going to do
with that truth? Because in Luke chapter 8 and
in chapter 9, nobody encounters Jesus' power
and stays the same. Nobody encounters the amazing
works of Jesus and stays the same. So I've got
a few points for us. And the first one is we
have to trust in his power. If he is almighty
God, if we believe that he is, if we believe
he has power over all things, we have to trust
in that power. In the middle of the storm, he
asked the disciples, where is your faith? To
Jairus, he says, don't fear, only believe and
shall be well. He acknowledges fear. He acknowledges
that there are things in this world that will
cause us to lack faith. He acknowledges that
there are things that will cause us to struggle
because faith is not pretending everything is
fine. Faith is actually choosing to trust in
Jesus' authority over our reality. It's choosing
to trust that he has power over everything in
this world that may cause us to fear. You see,
when the storm hit, the disciples, they panicked.
They panicked because they understood the danger
of the waves more than they trusted the Lord
that was in the boat with them. But I thought
this was interesting. If you'll notice in that
story, Jesus had already said, let us go across
to the other side of the lake. If Jesus said
they were going across, you know what I choose
to believe? They were going across. If Jesus
said... they're going to the other side of the
lake. They are going to the other side of the
lake. So we have to trust in his power because
we have to take him at his word. I believe this
to be true. What Jesus says will be, will be.
And if Jesus says we're going to the other side
of the lake, I believe we're going to the other
side of the lake. Now let me make that a little
bit more practical. If Jesus says your sins can
be forgiven, Let me rephrase that. If Jesus says
your sins are forgiven, do you know what I believe
happens when you confess and ask for forgiveness?
Your sins are forgiven. If Jesus says there's
coming a day where you're going to live with
the Father in heaven for eternity and it is going
to be a splendor, it is going to be a place of
abundant life for eternity. If Jesus says that
will be, do you know what I believe? That will
be. If Jesus says there is a place where there
will be no more sorrow, there will be no more
suffering, there will be no more death, there
will be no more war or pain, there will be no
more agony, do you know what I believe? That
will be. Because I have to trust in Jesus. I
have to trust in his word. And the second thing
is we have to live like we trust him. I said
it earlier, far too many Christians, far too
many of us, we live like we don't really believe
that Jesus commands life and death. We don't
really believe like he commands the storms. We
act like we don't really believe that when he
says we will have eternal and abundant life,
that that is true. Far too many of us act like
death is final. Far too many of us act like this
world has power over us. But the truth is, Jesus
has power over the world. And so we have to live
like we believe that to be true. You know, the
man who had been possessed by demons, he begged
to go with Jesus. He begged him, take me with
you. But what did Jesus tell him in Luke chapter
eight, verse 39? He says, return to your home.
And what? Declare how much God has done for you.
Now you declare what God has done for you in
more than just words. Maybe you've heard somebody
say your life may be the only Bible someone ever
sees or reads. People look at your life, they
look at the way you walk, they look at the way
you talk, the way you act, the way you respond
when things get bad, when life gets hard, they
look at that. And that declares one thing or
another. It either declares that God is almighty,
powerful God over all things, or it declares
that I am scared to death because I don't have
the power. I don't have connection to the God
of power. And we're told that the man, the demon
-possessed man, he did just that. He went back
and lived differently because he had personally
encountered the life -changing power of Jesus.
Because now fear, isolation, and darkness, they
no longer rule over him. And if we really believe
that Jesus has authority, if we've experienced
his power, it should show up in how we live.
It would look like us not panicking like everyone
else does when culture shifts. It would look
like us not collapsing when hardship comes and
we don't find ourselves enslaved to the sin of
this world. We don't act like sin has authority
over us because we know that God has authority
over sin. Living like it means praying first
instead of worrying, obeying when it's costly,
standing firm when fear is loud. It looks like...
When the storm comes on the boat, instead of
running around panicking and freaking out, or
in our context, running to Walmart and buying
a bunch of milk and bread, we hang tight. We
sit on the couch and we watch it play out. I
grew up on the beach in South Mississippi, and
we got hurricanes a lot. I mean, I went outside
and played football during Hurricane Katrina.
It was great. Not great. A lot of people lost
their lives. But I always loved hurricanes. I
loved storms. But I also recognized when I was
little that people freaked out over hurricanes.
But you know what happened after Katrina? I noticed
this. After Hurricane Katrina, the freaking out
kind of died down a little bit. And maybe it's
because I was a little more aware. But we would
get like these little hurricanes, and I always
called them just little storms. We'd get these
little hurricanes. It'd bring a lot of rain.
It'd bring a lot of wind. And yeah, trees would
go down and everything. People would lose power
for a day or two. But guess what? They weren't
that bad. So when Eliza and I first got married
in 2020, we moved down to Mississippi so I could
work at the church there in my hometown. And
our first year there, we get a hurricane. And
Eliza, storms freak her out. She's watching the
weather. She's listening to the weather. She's
like, we need to get this. And I'm like, no,
we don't. And she's terrified. She's like, Donovan,
we need. And she even said, we need to go to
my parents' house in Georgia. And I'm like, I'm
not driving all the way to Georgia for this little
storm. And so. What happens? We stay there because
I told her, I know these storms. This is nothing.
And the rule is if it's cat three or lower, you
stay put, right? So we stayed put. And what happened?
The storm was nothing. That's what I think of
when I think of what we need to do when the world
is caving in, when everything looks crazy, everything
seems like it's reason to freak out. We need
to look at it and say, this storm isn't big enough
to worry about. And I'm not saying you discount
the dangers of life. I'm not saying you act like
these things aren't scary because they are. I'm
not saying you don't act like these things hurt
because they do. What I'm saying is let it hurt
and then remember who your God is. It's kind
of like... when my four -year -old, Easton, he
gets hurt. He'll fall. He falls all the time.
He's the clumsiest kid in the world. I'm going
to attribute it to him not knowing how to deal
with how big his body is. So he falls all the
time and he'll look at me as if he wants me to
give him permission to cry. And I'll say, get
up, buddy. You're tough. When this world pushes
us down and we look to God and we look for him
and we say, God, give me permission to cry. God
looks at us and says, you're tough. Not because
you are, but because I am. And if I am and I'm
your God, you've got this power connection. Don't
let this make you stay down. So live like our
God is powerful. Because if God has authority
over death, then fear should not ever get the
final word in our lives. Suffering should not
get the final word in our lives. Pain, worry,
doubt should not dictate how we live. And of
course, if we've experienced the power of Jesus,
we should have no choice but to share it. Luke
chapter 9 shows us something very relevant to
this. After demonstrating his authority and showing
his power to the disciples, Jesus calls the 12
that he had chosen together. And here's what
it says he does in Luke chapter 9 verses 1 through
2. He called the 12 together. He gave them power
and authority over all demons and to cure diseases.
And he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom
of God and to heal. You see, Jesus reveals his
power. And then he shares his mission. The powerful
way. The powerful way isn't something we keep
to ourselves. It's not something we hoard. It's
not something that we keep in this room. It's
not something we keep in our homes. It is something
that we proclaim, that we declare, that we share.
You see, we may not raise the dead. We may not
cure diseases. We may not cast out demons, but
we absolutely can proclaim the one who does.
We may not command storms. We may not be able
to make the winds and the waves calm, but we
can tell of the one who does. We may not cast
out demons with a word, but we preach the one
who makes them tremble. And so today I ask this
question. Are you trusting in Jesus? Are you
trusting in his power? If you've never trusted
him, if you have just lived a life of worry,
a life of fear, a life of doubt, a life of suffering,
and you've been just trying to do it on your
own or you've been trusting in other people other
than Jesus, I'm asking you to trust him now.
If you've been trying to survive your storms
alone, I'm asking you to bring them to Jesus
and let him calm them. If you've placed your
faith in anything other than the almighty power
of God, I'm asking you to move your faith. to
the only one deserving of your trust. You see,
the powerful way begins with faith in Jesus.
It begins with faith in the one who rules over
everything, over all of the fears, all of the
pain, all of the doubt, and yes, even the sickness
and death. The powerful way begins with faith
in the Lord who rules over everything you could
possibly fear. And that's the gospel truth. If
you are struggling, if you are holding on to
your own doubts, your own worries, your own fears,
whatever it is that you are dealing with and
you have been dealing with it on your own, I'm
begging you, don't do that. Bring it to the foot
of the cross. Give it to Jesus. And we as a church
family would love to do that with you. We would
love to walk with you as we all try to live like
we trust in the power of God. And let me do this.
so that you can understand what I mean by we.
If there's been something this week that has
caused you to either fear, worry, or suffer,
can you raise your hand, please? This is a safe
space. The church is as safe a place as there
is. Okay, so you see all those hands that were
raised. If you're in that boat and you need...
the church's prayers, the church's care. If you
just need somebody to walk alongside you, this
room is full of people that have been suffering
too. Do not feel like you're alone. Whatever
it is you need, know that you can come safely
and securely as we stand and as we sing.