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When Fear Has You In Its Grip, part 2

When Fear Has You In Its Grip, part 2
Mark 4:35-41

There is 1 personality trait we all share. It shows itself in different ways; it might show itself through a television remote control, or it might show up through the one right way to parent and discipline children, or it might show up when it comes to making financial decision. All of like to be in control. We all want control of something in our lives. Because of this 1 shared personality triat...every person here shares 1 common fear. It’s true, we all fear the same thing. Do you know what it is? Every one of us share one common fear…we are afraid of losing control. If we lose control over a situation, then we cannot control the outcome. If we cannot control the outcome, then something bad will happen. We must maintain control because we are afraid of what could happen. Some are afraid of a spouse cheating or leaving; some fear losing a job; some fear of not having enough money; some fear death; and since we don’t know if we can handle it if that fear strikes, we exert efforts – lots of efforts – to keep control. Behind this fear is the question – I don’t know if I could handle it if that happens. So we react with this common solution - I must do everything I can to keep control of my life.

Our fears are real…but our vision is skewed. We see how real and big our fears are, but we fail to see how much bigger God is compared to our fears. God is bigger and stronger than anything we fear. Everything obeys God. But, when we fail to see God as bigger than our fears, we confuse our inability to control outcomes with God’s inability to control outcomes. Sometimes we doubt God’s ability to do something; sometimes we doubt God’s sensitivity and concern over our life. So we conclude, if God cannot or will not take action, we must exert our control to manage the outcome.

Jesus’ 12 apostles demonstrated this fear of losing control for us, so we can learn from them. Please turn to Mark 4:35-41

Our current study is about fear. We have entitled our current series – when fear has you in its grip. As you think about the title, consider how bad fear causes you to try to take control of situations, but good fear causes you to give control over to God. Today, is part 2 of our series.

Mark 4:35-41 “That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

We find Jesus and the disciples at the end of a very long day of teaching to crowds of people. To escape the crowds and get a brief rest, Jesus wanted to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee is about 12 miles by 7 miles. As they were making their way across the Sea, Jesus fell asleep. Following an entire day of preaching and ministering to the crowds, Jesus’ exhaustion knocked him out. This is a demonstration of Jesus’ humanity. Jesus was both fully God and fully human. Here we see a sign of his humanity. Jesus slept, disciples rowed.

Then…“A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.” Storms came up suddenly because of the surrounding hills and the winds. The storm probably had 10-12 foot waves, and these professional sailors thought they were going to die. The Greek word for squall can also mean whirlwind. In this case, it was a storm so severe that it took on the properties of a hurricane. The waves were lashing at the boat and filling it faster than they could bail out the water. The disciples were experienced boaters, but they were even terrified of losing their lives. Inch by inch, moment by moment they were going down as the boat filled up with water. They believed they were perishing as the boat was filling up.

Have you ever come to a time in your life when you thought that’s it, that’s all I can handle; this boat is going to sink? What storms are you experiencing? While the apostles are actually facing a literal storm, we are facing emotional, spiritual and physical storms. Our storms often are no less serious. The storms of life are real; they hurt; they cause us to cry; they cause us depression; they can cause us to lose hope and happiness. What storms are you experiencing? Do you feel lost at sea? That is, do you feel like you don’t know if you are in God’s will, and God will not make himself known to you to direct your paths. Being lost at sea can be deadly. You can lose hope of being found, you get lonely and depressed and finally you want to give up. (What storm are you facing – physical sickness, bad marriage, divorce, loneliness, death of a loved one, financial, stress of life’s hectic schedule

Did you know that your reaction to the storm will manifest your fears. First, consider the apostles’ reaction to their storm on the sea. The boat was filling up with water as the waves crashed into the boat. Inch by inch the boat was filling up. As they fought the storm and tried to bail out the boat, Jesus slept. When they could stand it no longer, they abruptly and rudely yelled at Jesus to wake him up. They said to Jesus these words of rebuke – “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown.” The disciples’ fear manifested itself. They had lost control; these professional sailors could not manage the outcome of the boat in this storm; they feared for their lives. With Jesus sitting right beside them the fear demonstrated that either they did not believe he had the ability to help them, or that he did not care enough to help them. Now consider yourself, You believe in Jesus, you know the Holy Spirit dwells and lives within you – picture it – Jesus is in your boat; Jesus is in your life; in your house, at your work; in your car; Jesus is everywhere you are. Yet, why does he appear to be asleep when the storms of life are striking against you? How you react when the storm rages against you will manifest your fears. When you are caught in the grip of fear, your fear will be one of two kinds – 1) the fear that God is impotent and unable to help you, or 2) God is callous and does not care that you are caught a raging storm.


•    FEAR #1 - You are afraid because you don’t believe God has the ability to help you?

When we find ourselves in the midst of a raging storm, we can forget who Jesus is. Did you notice when the disciples said, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown!” They called Jesus teacher – they did not call him Master, and they did not call him Lord. What can a teacher do about a small boat in a hurricane storm…nothing. But, what can the Lord of the Heavens and the Sea do about it? “He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.” The sea immediately calmed down. When you are caught in a raging storm, you must remember that Jesus is no mere teacher. Jesus is no mere historical person; just as CS Lewis said, Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic or he is Lord. If you believe Jesus is Lord, then the Lord of heaven and earth can do anything. There are no limits when it comes to health, no limits for your family, no limits for your career, there are no limits…period.

•    When the storm is raging against you, you may manifest a second fear. FEAR #2 - You are afraid because you don’t believe God cares enough about you to help?

The second fear is that Jesus does not care that we are in a storm.. “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” The disciples were mad at Jesus’ careless attitude. They were sinking and he was sleeping. Don’t you care Jesus? Do you doubt that God is aware of your needs? We think that when the storms of life sweep over us that God does not care or he is asleep and insensitive to our needs. We wonder why God seems to be asleep at the wheel while we are in peril. Who said that in the boat that night, we don’t know for sure. But, it usually is a safe bet to say Peter because he was known for letting the comments rip. It is interesting to note that when Peter later writes an epistle he penned these words. 1 Peter 5:7 – “Cast all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you.” Jesus could sleep through the storm, but he could not sleep through the disciples’ cries. Jesus is calm and patient in your storm and it may appear to you that he is asleep, but he cannot and will not sleep through your cries. For our Jesus is a sympathetic high priest, he appreciates your struggles. For our Jesus is our shepherd who knows his sheep. He would leave the 99 to save the 1 lost sheep.

We all want to be in control of some area of our life. We exert control because we are afraid of what would happen if we did not manage the outcome. We can’t trust our spouse or anyone else with that area of our control. If you can discover those areas and expose them to this truth, then you may find God’s solution. There are two solutions to overcome these fears: 1) fear God more than you fear the storm, and 2) embrace the storm so that you stop trying to steal God’s control.

•    First, Jesus calls us to fear him more than we fear the storm. God wants us to realize that we should hand control over to him rather than us trying to keep control.
After Jesus miraculously calmed the violent storm. The disciples reacted to the “sleeping teacher” who could not help and who did not care for them. They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” They feared the greater fear; the storm frightened them, but Jesus terrified them even more. They feared the storm, but the storm’s wind and the waves obey Jesus. This was not fear of being harmed but reverence for the supernatural power of Jesus. The only thing more terrifying than having a storm outside the boat was having God in the boat. Consider your areas that you are afraid to lose control over. If that fear terrifies you, just imagine the one God who is greater, stronger, bigger than that fear. Fear the one who can control the situation. Don’t confuse your inability to control an outcome with Jesus’ ability. Jesus can control outcomes, if you fear him more than the situation.
•    The second way you can overcome your fears is by embracing the storms of life that are headed your way.

You see storms coming your way, and you begin to exert more and more control in an attempt to manage the outcome. But, God desires you to simply embrace the storm. Why? Because God shows up in storms. With no storm on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus would have slept all the way across…an uneventful day. But, because the storm struck, the disciples got to see Jesus stand up and demonstrate that He is God over all nature. What do you want – do you want the uneventful life, or do you want to see God show up, do you want to see God prove his love for you, do you want to see the glory of the greatest God in the world? Just imagine in the Garden of Gethsemane if Peter could have controlled the situation with a sword. What if Peter could have stopped the Roman soldiers from taking Jesus that night. Jesus told Peter to embrace the storm – Peter put down your sword, it is the will of God that Jesus be taken and die on a cross. By embracing the storm, Jesus died, but he also rose from the dead and saved us from our sin. Or consider Mary and Martha calling Jesus to heal their dying brother Lazarus. Jesus purposefully waited days to go to them so that Lazarus would die. Jesus embraced this storm of the death of Lazarus for which Jesus wept. But, he did this so he could show up and raise Lazarus from the dead. The storm of Lazarus’ death created an opportunity to see the power Jesus has over life and death. Stop trying to be in control of everything because you are afraid of losing control. Will it be alright if you lose control? First, you were never in control. Second, by embracing the storm, you will see God show up and do awesome and incredible things in your life.

Conclusion – A little girl was walking him from school one day when the neighbor’s dog got loose. The dog viciously and violently attacked and mauled the little girl to the point where she was unrecognizable. The following week, that little girl’s friend was walking down the street hand in hand with her daddy. All of the sudden, the little girl heard dogs barking and she clung to her daddy’s leg with great force. The dad’s heart started to beat faster and faster. Just when the dad thought she would begin to cry and plead to go home because she was afraid, the little girl looked at the dog and then looked at her daddy and said I was going to be afraid, but I know you will protect me. You think a certain situation would strike terror in your kid’s heart and just when you think they are going to doubt they turn and say I will not be afraid because I know my daddy will protect me. Just imagine how your heavenly father feels when you run to him in the time of a terrible storm.

You need to remember in the midst of a storm who is in your boat. You are not alone, Jesus is in your boat with you. Remember who Jesus is; he is not impotent but He is the Lord of heaven and earth. There are no limits to Jesus’ power. Secondly, you must remember that Jesus is not callous and insensitive, but he cares about you. Don’t impugn his character as a incompassionate God, for He created you, He is shaping you for something greater, you can cast all your cares on him.

Call to Worship – Psalm 29

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