Mark 4:35

On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side." Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?" And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!" (Mark 4:35-41)

Out on the storm-tossed sea, the disciples learned what no classroom could teach: faith must be tested before it can be trusted.

From the Bering Sea to the Sea of Galilee

I come from over a hundred years of commercial fishermen and merchant seamen—my great-grandfather, my grandfather, my father, and I all made a living on the sea. I worked up in the Bering Sea for years. Something interesting happens out there: you can be in terrible weather for a week or ten days, getting tossed around in a can of a boat, sleeping in a bunk with life jackets on one side and survival suits on the other—like sleeping in a taco—and you become used to it. It stops being a challenge and becomes just an irritation. That has something to do with our message this morning about trials and being tested.

The Classroom Before the Test

If we back up in Mark 4, before this exchange on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus is teaching in parables—stories that illustrate spiritual points—because He's getting ready to send the disciples out. He gives the parable of the sower, where seed lands in rich soil and multiplies, while other seed gets burned up or never thrives. He's using terms everyone understands, because in that culture nearly everyone farmed.

He gives the parable of the lamp: when Christ is in us, there is a light about us, and you don't put that lamp under a basket—you set it out so it illuminates the house. And He gives the parable of the mustard seed, so tiny yet growing into a great tree that becomes established. That's the lecture portion, the Bible college portion—what they need in their heads. But now class is dismissed. They know how it works, but they haven't worked it out. They haven't been tested.

Jesus Doesn't Divulge the Whole Plan

One of the things I appreciate about the Lord is that He doesn't always let me know the end game. Here He tells the guys to get in the boat, but He doesn't divulge that they're going to get in a tiny boat, think they're going to die, get accused of having no faith by the teacher they most respect—and then, when they finally beach the boat after a five- or six-hour ordeal, their reward is to go meet a chained-up, demon-possessed man.

Jesus doesn't tell the whole story because He's training these men. These twelve—one of whom will not make it—are going to be entrusted with the greatest story in the history of mankind: the gospel, the good news you need to come into a relationship with Jesus Christ and live with Him forever.

Pushing Men Into the Mission Field

Years ago at Maranatha Chapel, I led a men's group with a brilliant attorney named Randy Broberg. He's the gentleman with Parkinson's who thanks God for it, because it's given him the ability to preach and teach. Our study was heavy on application—we wanted the men to practice the Word, not just hear it, so they'd be better husbands, fathers, employees, and examples. We beat these guys up every week, and they kept coming back.

When we got to Mark 6, where Jesus sends out the twelve, Randy said, "We shouldn't teach this. Let's pile guys into cars, give them invitations to the Easter service, and send them into Carmel Mountain Ranch and Rancho Bernardo to confront people with the gospel in a kind way." So we loaded up the youth group's vans and suburbans, idling out in the courtyard. The men showed up expecting to read and talk. Instead we opened with, "And Jesus sent out the disciples—so here you go."

Not everybody made it to the cars. My friend Steve—six feet, 280 pounds of muscle, a former New England Patriot—looked a little scared, until he realized in those dark parking lots that people were more scared of him. Another guy who stuttered when nervous said, "Thanks a lot, Pastor—this is my worst nightmare, and it's coming to me at church." But they went out, invited people to church, and came back with war stories. Some told them to get lost; others were genuinely thankful; fellow believers gave them hugs. One guy even came back loaded down with See's Candy. They were blessed because they were being tested and tried. It's one thing to learn a concept in the holy huddle with your buddies. It's another to walk out into the mission field just outside those doors and actually do it.

When We Follow Jesus, Our Faith Will Be Tested

On the same day, when evening had come, Jesus said, "Let us cross over to the other side." A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat so that it was already filling. Just a note: these Galilean boats are horrible—slow, heavy, almost made to fill with water.

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

I've been to the Sea of Galilee—about fourteen miles long, three and a half miles wide at the crossing point, right at a wind-tunnel section. As a boat guy, I used to hear this story and think, "A freshwater lake? How bad can it be?" But the wind there compresses and creates a phenomenon called fetch. These waves come close together, with a lot of foam and spray; they don't give you a break, and they pour water into the boat. When I saw it firsthand, I realized—this is real. It really happened.

Calm Seas Don't Make Good Sailors

My youngest son became a captain on a sport fishing boat. He got home from a trip looking horrible, and I told him, "You look like hell." About forty miles out of Cabo San Lucas, everything went south—bad fuel filter, one problem after another—and he hadn't slept in four days. My wife and mom were saying, "Oh, poor kid," while my old man and I were high-fiving. I told him, "Calm seas don't make for good sailors. When things go bad on the ocean, you don't call the auto club. You fix it, or you sink and die." Those guys figured it out, one problem after the next. That's how you learn.

That's what Jesus is doing with these disciples. They aren't PhDs—they're fishermen and farmers, not the sharpest tools in the shed, but perfect for ministry. They're being trained for the Great Commission, and they'll take what they learn and make it relatable to people who struggle every day, just like you and I.

You Signed Up for Trials

Most of us here prayed the sinner's prayer: "Dear Lord, I am a sinner." You admit your guilt and your inability to reach heaven on your own. Then comes the hard part you don't realize at the time—you tell Jesus you'll follow Him all the days of your life. With that last line of the covenant, you just signed up for trials. Not problems for problems' sake, but the part where you actually have to go out and do it.

And you know what? It's awesome. I've had more fun as a man following Jesus than I ever did lying and not following Him. The disciples walked everywhere, took on nature and armies and kings for Jesus' sake, and lived amazing lives. If you're a Christian falling asleep at the wheel, you're just not engaged in the adventure—there's so much more out there for you.

When you said that prayer, did you get an automatic download of everything you needed to know? No—we didn't know anything yet, because we hadn't walked with God. Nobody wants to trust untested people or things. When I go to the doctor, I want to know it's not the first time he's put someone to sleep. When I go to a mechanic, I want to know it's not the first car he's worked on. You want someone tested and tried.

There's an old saying: the Titanic was built by professionals and the Ark was built by amateurs. In 1912, a woman named Sylvia Caldwell boarded that vessel, and a crew member, sensing her apprehension, said, "Don't worry, ma'am—not even God Himself could sink this ship." A day and a half later, 1,500 people died in those icy waters—an untested ship with an untrained crew that didn't even know how to launch the lifeboats. Pride goes before the fall.

Giving In to Fear Denies His Promises

Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the sea: "Peace, be still!" And there was a great calm. When we give in to fear, we deny that Jesus has the power and ability to fulfill His promises. When they got in the boat, Jesus made a statement: "We are going to the other side." That was a promise—not "we're going to the middle to drown and be in the papers the next day." The New Testament alone has over 700 promises to you and me. I'm not crazy about all of them—some say I'll have great tribulation—but they also say I will not perish, but have everlasting life.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7)

There's a bridge at Lake Hodges I ride my mountain bike over, with a drop underneath that messes with your head. Someone scratched "2 Timothy" into it. All you have to do to get across is ride straight and not freak out. Fear leads to an unsound mind. Fear is the opposite of faith.

A Fearful Age and the Boogeyman

My heart goes out to people who suffer from anxiety and fear. In the last ten years especially—I think because of the sheer amount of information we receive—we're more fearful as a society than ever. We live in an incredibly safe time compared to when Jesus walked the earth; our hospitals and emergency services are remarkable. Yet we're afraid.

Be honest—who grew up with the boogeyman? Did anyone ever get a positive ID on what he looks like? I've seen plenty of paintings of Jesus but never a good one of the boogeyman. He lived under beds and in closets—and somehow he only got me if I got out of bed and became a bother. He wasn't real then, and he isn't real now.

We have a term these days called fake news, and I agree with it—except fake news has been around for over 2,000 years. The devil is the author of fake news; he invented it. But we believe it, because what we tune into determines our outlook. Take The View—the show that recently called Christianity a type of mental illness. If you're getting your information there, no wonder you're scared.

The View Worth Tuning Into

The people who walked the earth in Jesus' day were an agricultural society. When it was warm, they didn't sit inside watching cable—they went outside, lay on the roof, looked up at the stars, and pondered God's might and creativity. That was their view: God's creation.

I visit a lot of sick and dying people, and it's a privilege. But when you see a lot of that, you need to get outside and be reminded that the Creator of the universe is in control. In the book of Job, the devil claims Job will deny God, so one by one he takes things away—and Job does not deny the Lord. Finally God speaks, and I love that it's reported with a bit of sarcasm:

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?... Who shut in the sea with doors, when it burst forth and issued from the womb;... When I fixed My limit for it, and set bars and doors; when I said, "This far you may come, but no farther, and here your proud waves must stop!" (Job 38)

Is it a stretch that the God who created all this controls the wind and the waves on the Sea of Galilee? Absolutely not—He formed it. And it's no different today: the trials and the things we fear most, God has covered.

When We Don't Believe God Remembers Us

"We are perishing," they said. We fear when we don't believe that God loves, cares, or remembers us.

Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink... Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?... Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow... even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. (Matthew 6:25-29)

Do you ever think God has forgotten about you, that He's too busy or doesn't have the attention span? You all know the verse: "For God so loved the world... whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." That's the greatest promise in the Bible to me. I wouldn't sacrifice my son for people—yet God sacrificed His perfect Son on a cruel cross, who rose again in three days for our sin. That proves He's paying attention. We need not fear; the cross should settle it.

Fear and Disobedience Are Close Friends

"Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?" And they feared exceedingly. Fear and disobedience are close friends. There's a cause-and-effect relationship between them: if we're so fearful that we won't do what God says, we're in disobedience; and when we're disobedient, we become fearful, expecting consequences—the same way we learned from our parents when we did something wrong. One day I thanked my dad for every whooping I got. You missed a few, but I'm good with that.

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve sinned and were in disobedience to the Lord.

Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself." (Genesis 3:9-10)

His view of the God he had walked with the day before had changed—not because God changed, but because Adam's position had changed.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. (1 John 4:18)

I promised not to give you a problem without a solution, and this one is easy. If you're fearful of God because you're in disobedience, or so fearful you can't move forward, you can fix it: stop, repent, apologize to God, accept His forgiveness—because you have it—and move on. God isn't far from you in that situation; you've moved far from God, and you can get right back.

We've Been Dead Before

We shouldn't fear death, because we have been dead before.

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air. (Ephesians 2:1-2)

We were dead before Christ—going the wrong way, with a limit on our lives—and now we've been made alive in Him, because we will not perish but have everlasting life. Remember that.

What We Should Actually Fear

In chapter five, the disciples reach the beach and meet a man with a demon. He comes to Jesus and worships Him, and when Jesus asks his name, he says, "Legion, for we are many." This man's life is ruined; nobody can chain or restrain him—crazier than anyone you'll meet on the streets of Escondido. They didn't have meth then, and he's still out there. He has experienced what it is to be thrashed by the devil, and Jesus gives a lesson in what we should truly fear.

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28)

The last part of the lesson for the disciples is to encounter what the world is subject to without Jesus Christ—a life ruined by the ravages of sin. You and I have the same message they had, and we worship the same God. Our mission today is no different than the men on that beach: go out into the world and make disciples. In that, you will be trained, refined, and you'll lead an exciting life. I wouldn't do it any other way.

The Only Unsinkable Vessel

On April 15, 1912, the Titanic sank. In Belfast, Ireland, where it was built, men and women wept in the streets, because so many were employed in its construction—and sixteen of the engineers, including the head engineer, were on that boat and perished. The following Sunday the church was packed, as it often is after a disaster. The pastor, Andrew Smith, taught on this very verse. I'll leave you with his words: "There was only one vessel in all of history that was truly unsinkable—the little boat occupied by the sleeping Savior. And the only hearts that can weather the storms of life are hearts with Jesus inside."

Closing Prayer

Father, I thank You for a morning that spurred a lot of conversation. I know there are those here gripped with fear who want to follow You but feel they can't—whether fear of getting out of a disobedient relationship or financial situation, fear of loneliness, or fear of death. Some of us have very real consequences bearing down on us right now. Lord, I ask that no one in this congregation would give in to that fear, that You would free them from it. Bless us here at Cross Connection, that we would be bold in our adherence to You, that we would abide in You and be bold in the community, going out to give a reason for the joy, hope, and faith within us as we go into this mission field we call Escondido. Bless my brothers and sisters by Your Holy Spirit, give them opportunities, and give them victory as they follow You. It is in Jesus' holy name we pray. Amen.