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Thank you, Brass, for playing for us this morning. Now let's open the Word of God together

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to the book of Mark, the fourth chapter as we look at the end of this passage dealing

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with the majesty of Jesus Christ as Master. We have read already the account as Luke records

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it, but let's look once more at the incident as Mark records it.

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And on that day when evening had come, he said to them, Let us go over to the other

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side. And leaving the multitude, they took him along with them, just as he was, in the

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boat. And other boats were with him. And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves

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were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. And he himself

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was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they awoke him and said to him, Teacher, do

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you not care that we are perishing and being aroused? He rebuked the wind and said to the

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sea, Hush, be still. And the wind died down, and it became perfectly calm. And he said

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to them, Why are you so timid? How is it that you have no faith? And they became very much

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afraid and said to one another, Who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey him?

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Do you ever get weary and exhausted? I can hear someone say yes, and that reminds me,

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there's just about time for my weekly nap. Well, let me encourage you to try to stay

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awake a few more moments. However, let me tell you that Jesus knew what it was to grow

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weary, and we see an example of that here. Mark uncharacteristically notes that it was

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on that very day when evening came that this incident took place. And what a day it had

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been. It seems to have begun with a fierce confrontation with some of the religious leaders

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from Jerusalem who accused him of being demon possessed and blasphemed the name of the Lord.

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In the midst of all of that, his brothers and his mother arrived on the scene, apparently

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wanting to take him home because some people were saying that he was mad, that he was beside

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himself, that he was actually mentally unbalanced. And apparently so that he would not any longer

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put himself forward in such a disgraceful way, they came to get him. Jesus did not go

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with them. But rather he left the house that he was in and went to the seaside there to

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teach to them. After a while, our Lord apparently returned to the house to be alone with his

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disciples and there he explained the parables that he had told to the multitudes and taught

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them additional parables. Finally, after a long and exhausting day, evening came and

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Jesus ordered his men to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. That was the only way

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that he could get away from the crowds of people. He got into this boat which was apparently

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a rather large fishing vessel, not one of the smaller rowing vessels, but a larger one.

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And he went to the back of the boat to the stern and there he fell asleep with his head

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on the leather cushion that was often used by the steersman of the boat. This is a reminder

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to us that it is no sin to grow fatigued and weary in the Lord's service. It is no failure

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to become exhausted in the Lord's work, but let us never grow weary of the Lord's work

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itself. Jesus knew, of course, when the boat left the shore what was about to take place

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in the middle of the sea. In fact, it was all a part of his curriculum for that day.

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And he might show his majesty as the master to his disciples. The majesty of Jesus Christ

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is expressed in this title given to him by the disciples, Master. It is the title that

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is used on our third banner as you count back from the left side or the right side as you're

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seated. You will notice that our ladies who did it pictured the waves boisterous and then

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calming to an absolute stillness, capturing for us the essence of what it was that he

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did to prove that he was the master. The truth is that every one of us serves some master.

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The question is what or whom. Now there might be someone who would protest, claiming that

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he is free from serving anyone or anything, but such a person actually is self-deceived,

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for if no one else he serves himself, which is the most confining perhaps of all slaveries.

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And so the question I want us to think about today is this, who is your master? I hope

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that Jesus Christ is, because he is a worthy master. Indeed as we look at our text today,

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I want you to notice with me several qualities of the master that are displayed for us. In

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the first place, Jesus Christ is the sovereign master. The sovereign master. We need to talk

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about this term master for just a second as it's found in the New Testament. Actually

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there are seven Greek words that are translated master in various English translations. One

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of them is the word didoskolos, which simply means teacher. It is the word used here in

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our text in Mark chapter 4. Another one is the familiar word to us in English, rabbi.

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It is a word that was a respectful address of Jewish teachers in that day. In some translations

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it is brought into the English as master. Then there is the word katharetes, guide or teacher.

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Kubernetes, which is a pilot or the steersman of the ship's governor. Then the word despates,

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a very strong term that means an absolute sovereign, a king or an owner. And it likewise

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is used of our Lord and translated master. Then there is the word kurios, the word that

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means Lord. It is one who exercises power, yet likewise is used of our Lord. Ephesians

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6 verse 7, Colossians 4 and verse 1. It is most often however translated Lord in the

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English. Then there is finally the word epistates, which means a chief or a commander, an overseer.

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The emphasis in this word is not upon what one says, but what one does. It is the authority

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that one has in his deeds. Now it is interesting to me that as Matthew, Mark and Luke record

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this incident, each one of them records the disciples as calling Jesus something different.

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Mark says they said didoskilos, teacher. Matthew says they called him kurios, Lord. And Luke

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says they called him epistates, master. So the question might be asked, which one did

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they actually say? I think the best answer is probably all three. For in the consternation,

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the confusion, the anxiety of that moment, undoubtedly they were all speaking to him

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and perhaps all three of those terms were used. The emphasis is certainly though upon

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the authority of the one that they were speaking to. Lord, master, teacher, don't you care

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that we're perishing? The expression of the sovereign lordship of the master is seen in

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several realms right here in our context. We see it for example in chapter five, the

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first part of the chapter, the first 20 verses in fact, that he is sovereign over the realm

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of the demons. They must answer to him. He is able to say come out of the man and they

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must respond to that because he is master ultimately even of the dark side of Satan

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and the demon spirits. We see him in verses 25 through 34 as master of the realm of disease

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and sickness. A woman simply touches the hem of his garment and she is immediately healed

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of a hemorrhage. Jesus being aware that someone had touched him in faith, immediately stopped

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and said who was it that touched me? And trembling, she came forward bowing before him, recognizing

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that he was the master and had displayed it in curing her disease that she had had for

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many years. We see in verses 21 through 24 and then resumed in verses 35 through 43 that

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he is likewise master of the realm of death. For here is a little one that has died, a

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young girl, and Jesus comes into her presence and he simply says to her little girl, I say

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to you arise and immediately this little girl who is an adolescent rose from her deathbed.

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Then we see in our text that he is master over the realm of nature. This is not the

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only time that this happened. There was another time when Jesus calmed the storm. That was

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the time we looked at last week when he walked upon the waters and came to them in the middle

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of the sea. A different incident than this. There was the time when he spoke to the fig

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tree and said to it, no more shall any man eat of you. And the very next day the disciples

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and he were walking by that same tree and they noticed that it had dried up overnight

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from the roots because he had cursed it. He is lord and master over the realm of nature.

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There's only one realm that resists his word and does not immediately obey and that is

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the realm of humanity. Our race is out of sync with all of the rest of God's creation.

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For humanity resists the word of the master and will not immediately obey him. Something

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that even the demons and the devil must do. But Jesus Christ is nonetheless the sovereign

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master. And the scriptures tell us that one day every knee of every person in the human

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race will bow to him and acknowledge that he is master, kurios, lord, to the glory of

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God the Father. Jesus Christ is the sovereign master. Whether or not a man or woman or young

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person acknowledges him as personal master, he is nonetheless master of everything. Secondly,

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Jesus Christ is the sage master. As I said before, he knew this storm would come. The

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Sea of Galilee is located 682 feet below sea level. It is not unusual for violent storms

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to descend swiftly upon that body of water, some five miles wide and 15 miles long. The

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wind sweeps across the plateaus surrounding this basin and then drops and tumbles into

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the Galilee basin. Or other times it comes roaring down from the heights of Mount Hermon

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to the north and into that same basin. It is very hot around the Sea of Galilee. The

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hot air rising under the heat of the sun is displaced by cool air coming below and it

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is frequent that storms such as this come to it. Black clouds and violent gusts of wind

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stir up the sea into a raging monster that is able to swallow up vessels and fishermen.

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Jesus knew that this storm was coming. He was the perfect meteorologist. But the language

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suggests something more may have been involved here than the customary tempest that they

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were used to. The language suggests, and that's all we can say, that this storm may have been

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demonic in its origin. For in response to it, our Lord rebuked the wind. It is interesting

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that he would speak to the wind and rebuke it. And the suggestion in that word rebuke

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is anger. He rebuked it with anger. And he said to the sea, be muzzled. Hush! Be still.

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Be muzzled as you would put a muzzle on a wild dog.

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Turn back with me to Mark chapter 1 and look in verse 25 where Jesus rebukes a demon and

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uses very similar terminology. This demon said to him through the man that he had possessed,

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what do we have to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you

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are, the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, same word, saying, be muzzled. Be still

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and come out of him. And the demon responded and did so. And so our Lord uses the same

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terminology on this occasion as he speaks to the wind and to the waves, leading us to at

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least conjecture that this storm was more than one of these normal storms, that this

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was a demonic storm attempting to destroy him. But he allowed the storm to develop because

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he had a wise purpose in view. In the first place he wanted to test the faith of his disciples.

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What did they believe? And how much of all of this teaching that he was giving did they

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really understand? There's only one way to find out. Put them through an exam. And so

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our Lord, the sage master, arranged for an exam on the Sea of Galilee. But he also purposed

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to show his power, thus underscoring by a parable of deed the parables of words which

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he had spoken. So that like a seal upon his authority, this miracle gave his words deeper

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relevance to them. I tell you, it's great to know that God never wastes any of our experiences.

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We can be assured that every storm or every calm has some divine intention. That's why

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James tells us that when we are in the midst of a trial and we lack wisdom, we can ask

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that of God. We must ask in faith. But God does not hold back wisdom when we need it

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in the midst of trial. Wisdom to understand how to respond as God wants us to. He is the

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sage master. Will you believe that in your experience? Whatever the storm is that threatens

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your vessel, will you believe that God has a purpose in it? He does. Jesus Christ is

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thirdly the sympathetic master. It is interesting to note that the noise and furor of the stormy

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tempest did not awaken our Lord. He slept right through it. Can you imagine sleeping

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in a tumult like this? Even the hardened fishermen who were with him were scared out of their

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wits. They were sure they were going to die. Men who were used to the ocean. And here is

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their master sound asleep in the midst of the storm. But rather it was the trembling

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touch of his disciples that immediately roused him from the pillow. Isn't that interesting?

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What the storm could not do, the touch and the word of his disciples immediately did.

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Does this not remind you of a mother who perhaps sleeps through the noise of a thunderstorm

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that rages outside and yet when the baby whimpers and cries, she is immediately awake and poking

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dad in the side and saying the baby needs help? No. Not really. Not really. This is

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the way our Lord was. Immediately when they touched him, he was awake to their need. Now

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this does not mean that Jesus is asleep and unaware of your predicament until you provoke

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him to be interested and involved. That is not what this story is teaching. But it does

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illustrate for us the concern that he has for what causes us alarm and consternation.

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We were asked the question this morning, does Jesus hear when we pray? Does he really care?

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And the answer came back, yes, and he is able. Our Lord is a sympathetic master. Finally,

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Jesus Christ is the scrutinizing master. With the amazing miracles still causing their minds

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to be filled with wonder, Jesus gently rebuked them. Look at verse 40. He said to them, why

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are you so timid? The word is cowardly. How is it that you have no faith? Please understand

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that the disciples did not awaken him to calm the storm. There is no indication that they

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said to him, Lord, wake up and tell the sea to be quiet. No. They woke him up to protest

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his seeming indifference to the fact that they were all about to die. Lord, what is

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going to happen to the teaching that you have been giving to us? Lord, what about the kingdom

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you said is coming? Lord, what about your mission? It's going to be imperiled and we're

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going to die. But you see, that was just the point. That was the test. Jesus wanted to

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see whether they believed he would do what he said he would. Could a storm destroy his

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purpose and defeat his plan, which he had already begun to teach them? What did they

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believe about it? In fact, their awakening him was unnecessary. Had they passed the test,

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they would have allowed him to sleep and gone on across the lake. You say, but that's too

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much. What do we expect of them? Faith to believe what Jesus had said? That is not too

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much to expect. And our Lord did expect it. G. Campbell Morgan wrote these words regarding

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this text, I do not think that his waking and ending the storm was the value of the

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lesson to them. I think the chief value of the day's experience was its revelation of

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the fact that there was no need to wake him. They certainly did learn that in days of stress

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and strain and storm, if they cried out, he would end the storm. Yes, but the deeper thing

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they learned was this, that no storm can wreck the program of God. That though all hell be

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let loose and though it have power over elements and events and the hearts of men and the passions

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of the world to stir them into a storm and wreck the apparently frail bark where Christ

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lies asleep, it is all useless. If he be there, all is well. That is the chief value of what

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occurred on this day. Our Lord was scrutinizing their faith. What do you really believe about

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me? They were absolutely astonished. And whereas they were afraid of the wind and the waves,

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a greater fear now overcame them in the calm. Do you notice that? Actually two different

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words for their fright here. They feared a great fear, it literally says in verse 41.

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The picture is edged with awe and wonder. It brought them back to the very roots of

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their understanding of who this man was and what their relationship to him was. And they

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blurted out, who is this man? Now understand that he had chosen them as the twelve a few

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months before this and they had been with him during that time. And for more than a

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year before that, they had walked with him on and off. At least most of them had known

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him for as much as almost two years by now. They had seen him heal many sick people and

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deliver many who were demon possessed. They watched him raise a young boy from the dead

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who was being carried out to be buried. They had witnessed many miracles of our Lord but

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now in the Sea of Galilee with it perfectly calm they were terrified of this man and they

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said who is this person? It brought them right back to their understanding of who he was

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and what their relationship to him was. This chapter in their discipline curriculum, discipleship

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curriculum had a profound impact upon them. This event drew them to a deeper understanding

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of his Lordship and it excited a desire in them for a more intense discipleship than

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they had known before. Jesus Christ is regularly, systematically and purposely ordering the

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course of your life into stormy tests just as he ordered this boat into the storm. He

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does this in order to scrutinize the depth of your discipleship and to create within

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you a more intense desire to understand who this man is that you call master. He is ever

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at the heart of the storm and because that is true we may learn to be quiet and to smile

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at its threat. Does he seem to be asleep and indifferent? He is there and the best response

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as Morgan suggests to us is not to awaken him with urgent alarm but simply to go on

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with our eyes of faith focused on him believing that he will do what he said he would whatever

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the circumstances say otherwise. Jeremy Taylor said we are far safer in the middle of a storm

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with God than anywhere else without him. The majesty of Jesus Christ is in this designation

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master but he is not satisfied until he has made us understand its full meaning in majesty

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and until we have responded in faith and with a proportionate surrender to his lordship

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in our lives. The fact that he is master is relevant in every ordeal of life but never

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more so than in the storms because it is then we prove whether in fact we trust him as master.

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If he is truly in the vessel we may smile at the storm. Panic is unnecessary. Alarm

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is unworthy if he is the master. The songwriter put it this way, no waters can swallow the

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ship where lies the master of ocean and earth and skies. This incident seems to say to us

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that the greatest danger is not in the storm but it is in the unbelief that persists in

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our hearts. That is where the real danger is. And the greater challenge to our lord

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is not to quiet the elements of circumstance but it is to root out that unbelief and to

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see born and developed in its place a mature faith that can call him master and lord and

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not be alarmed in the storm. Nathan Fousher is a strapping young man, six foot five inches

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tall, weighs 200 pounds. He has just finished his senior year in Warroad, Minnesota and

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was the leading defenseman on the hockey team. Three days ago he was to have been admitted,

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appointed rather to the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs where he

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was assured a place on their hockey team. However, last December because of some symptoms

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Nathan went to the doctor and received word back that he was a victim of Hodgkin's disease,

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a form of cancer that strikes about 7100 Americans every year. He underwent chemotherapy and

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radiation therapy to attack it and Hodgkin's is a disease that frequently goes into remission

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but he missed his appointment to the academy. Nathan and his parents are Christians. His

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parents said you always think that this is not going to happen to your son but we've

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accepted it. We're going to have to go through it together. We're a close family. We're

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going to accept whatever God has in his plan for Nathan and for us. As a young man Nathan

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was told that his family would support him in hockey if he would keep his grades up and

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at least in the middle of the year, his senior year, he had a 3.77 grade average and if he

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would attend Awana. And during the years that he was involved in the program he memorized

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over 600 verses from the Word of God and this last year was a leader in the Awana program

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in his church. One of the verses that he had memorized was Psalm 86 verse 1 that says in

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the Living Bible paraphrased, bend down and hear my prayer oh Lord and answer me for I

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am in deep trouble. And these are the words of this young man, this teenager. Psalm 86

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verse 1, yeah, that one has really hit home lately. I've gone back to that quite a few

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times. I was raised in a Christian home with a firm belief in the Bible and Jesus Christ.

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Tying into this Hodgkin's thing I believe that he has a plan for my life and this is

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a way of pointing me in the right direction. Here's a young man going through the storm

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but his eye is on his master. Is your eye on your master? Who is your master? It's

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the storm that really tells us who the master is. And if it is Jesus Christ it exposes where

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our faith really is. Do we believe what he has said? He will do. When we understand who

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he is the only proper response our hearts can make is to surrender and to say oh Jesus

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Christ you are my master. And in the midst of this storm I'm watching you. And with

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that eye of faith on him he will bring you through. And he will accomplish his purpose

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in that storm and deepen your understanding of who this man is and what your relationship

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to him needs to be. Let's pray together. You may be in the storm or you may be in a

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calm today but I bring you back to the question asked a couple of times in this message. Who

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is your master? Is it Jesus Christ? Do you truly know him as your savior? Have you trusted

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him as an act of faith in your life? I hope so. And if you've not done that I would hope

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that today you would. Even right now. And let him redeem you and save you from your

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sin. And if you have made that profession then let me ask you what does it mean that

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he is your master? Do you resist him in areas of your life where he is leading? Do you fret

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about the circumstances he is allowed to develop? Oh friend understand he is a sympathetic,

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compassionate master. He is also a wise, sage master who in his sovereign plan and purpose

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desires to scrutinize your faith to see how deep it really is. And that very point where

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you're struggling with him today is the test. Will you let him be the master of that realm

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of your life? Will you let him bring stillness and calm to your soul even in the midst of

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stormy circumstances? I hope so. In just a moment we're going to sing a closing

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hymn and when we do if you're someone who needs prayer and you need someone who can

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have a time with you personally praying I'm going to invite you to slip out from where

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you're seated and come to the front. And here to kneel and we have men and women who

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can come and have a word of prayer with you and seal this decision in your life to make

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Jesus Christ the master of every realm. Father in heaven I pray that as we come to the climax

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of this service in our response that none of us would harden our hearts but we would

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all with yieldedness and surrender declare in truth and in faith that you are master

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and Lord. Amen.