 Today we're in Matthew 8 verses 23 through 27. We've begun a verse by verse study through the gospel of Matthew We've arrived at chapter 8 and today we're going to be looking at a portion of scripture Where the Lord Jesus Christ is going to teach us something about how that he can calm the storm And so beginning at verse 23 reading to verse 27 Matthew writes Now when he got into a boat his disciples followed him and And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea so that the boat was covered with the waves But he was asleep Then his disciples came to him and woke him saying Lord save us. We are perishing But he said to them why are you fearful? Oh you of little faith Then he arose and rebuked the winds and the sea and there was a great calm and the men marveled saying Who can this be that even the winds and the sea obey him? Who can this be? Now Jesus has been ministering. Let me give you a context so that we can roll into our study He's been ministering non-stop and as you read your gospel as you notice that he's been traveling from place to place He's gone various places to teach the people the gospel of Jesus Christ in in Mark chapter 1 verse 28 That verse tells us that his fame has spread throughout all the region around Galilee And so his fame is spreading and his pace is incredible He's going from town to town. He's going from village to village and And there were times when the whole city would be gathered to see him again in Mark in chapter 3 verses 7 through 9 Mark said that Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea and a great multitude from Galilee followed him and from Judea and Jerusalem and Ida Mia and beyond Jordan and Those from Tyre and Sidon a great multitude when they heard how many things he was doing came to him So he told his disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for him because of the multitude less they should crush him So the Lord has been going from place to place village to village as he's been bringing his message and great crowds are beginning to follow him The people would gather in such great crowds that there would sometimes be Simply no room for them and this kind of life that he's living is Begun to upset even his own family because they couldn't understand him and what was going on Mark again tells us in chapter 3 verses 20 and 21 the multitude came together again So that they could not so much as eat bread, but when his own people heard about this They went out to lay hold of him for they said he is out of his mind He was so busy and so many people were showing up and he was working so hard They began to be concerned for him. What would drive him? Why was Jesus so busy? Well, the answer is very simple He was busy about his father's business There was a consuming zeal within Jesus Christ to perform his father's will to do so to the very end Hebrews 10 7 says it like this concerning Messiah Then I said behold I have come in the volume of the book. It is written of me to do your will. Oh God So this chapter this chapter Chapter 8 of Matthew has presented three miracles that Jesus performed We saw how he had cleansed the leper how he healed the Centurion servant and how he had healed Peter's mother-in-law and The result once again is that many came to Jesus for ministry This reveals that he has authority and it reveals that his authority is exercised as he ministers to the people when we got to verses 18 through 22 There Matthew had recorded a conversation between Jesus and two would be disciples and in that portion Jesus explained the cost of discipleship which he does very often in his teachings because the cost of Discipleship is something that needs to be weighed before you just say well. I'm gonna follow Christ In Matthew when we get to chapter 16 in about three years In Matthew 16 verses 24 through 26 it reads Jesus said to the disciples if any of you wants to be my follower you must put aside your selfish ambition Shoulder your cross Follow me if you try to keep your life for yourself You will lose it, but if you give up your life for me you will find true life And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world? But lose your own soul in the process Is anything worth more than your soul? So the Lord Jesus Christ is speaking concerning Following him and his disciples have when you read verse 23 It simply says when he got into a boat his disciples followed him Interestingly enough there were two others would be disciples that Jesus had basically challenged to follow him Neither one of them would do so both of them Refused to do so, but these people are following him There are a lot of people who will say to Jesus Christ. I want to follow you I Think about a rich young ruler He was recorded Concerning this man in various portions of the New Testament in the Gospel of Mark and Gospel of Luke He's also recorded in terms of his conversation with Jesus and this is a young man He was referred to as the rich young ruler because he obviously was financially well off He was young and he was a religious figure He was somebody who was regarded in a spiritual sense And so he had everything going for him during the time of Christ that that you would want Riches youth and spiritual status and yet he comes to Christ and he speaks to him and he says to him good master We know that you're a teacher come from God and begins to minister to him and speak to him concerning the fact that that Jesus Christ is well-spoken of and But he has a question that he wants to ask him and as he comes to speak to him He's asking a question concerning how he might have eternal life Jesus says, you know the commandments and he begins to enunciate some of those Commandments that relate to your relationships with people and all and the young man's response to him We all know is that he says them all these I've kept from my youth up. What do I still lack? I've got all of these things. I've got these advantages I've got my youth and I I've got spiritual status and and I've got riches and and I'm obedient obviously But but I'm still lacking something and that's when Jesus says sell all that you possess give to the poor and Follow me. You'll have riches in heaven and we're told that that he went away Greatly disturbed because he had great riches. That's when Jesus says how difficult it is for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle then for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven Why because he said for those who trust in riches There's no entrance because you can't trust in riches and Jesus at the same time and the cost sometimes For some the cost is not something they're willing to pay and we've seen that with the the two men who just approached the Lord Jesus Christ and He had said follow me and well first. Let me go and bury my father and all then I'll follow you No, you'll let the dead bury the dead and you come and follow me Well, they didn't but Jesus's disciples dead again as it says his disciples followed him Now this but this particular miracle takes place after the Lord has taken a long day to minister to people Mark chapter 4 verse 1 tells us that there was a great multitude that was gathered to him so that he got into a boat and Sat in it on the sea the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea Later on in the same chapter and mark chapter 4 verse 35 It says on the same day when evening had come he said to them Let us cross over to the other side and so without leaving this boat Jesus now orders the disciples to set off for the other side He wants to leave the area in order that he might continue to minister to other people He and his disciples are launching out towards the eastern shoreline of the sea of Galilee Again, it's not in order to get away from the pressure of the crowds because that's the reason he came He had said let us go into the next towns that I may preach there also because for this purpose I have come forth so he's not trying to escape the crowds. He's trying to reach more Now that's been a long day of ministry Jesus is exhausted and when you compare Luke's account in chapter 8 verse 23 Luke simply says as they sailed He fell asleep So there's the Lord Jesus Christ long day of ministry He's been in this boat most of the day He's ministered to large groups of people answered questions and done his ministry and Now as they're in this this boat and they're about to make it to the eastern shoreline of the sea of Galilee He's tired and he falls asleep According to verse 24 of Matthew chapter 8 suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea So that the boat was covered with the waves, but he was asleep in the cool of the evening a sudden storm strikes violently Shaking the water if you've been to the sea of Galilee or seen pictures of the sea of Galilee You'll note that the sea of Galilee is surrounded by hills. It's like a basin and Wind from the sea will blow through a cleft in them in the mountain and it meets the cooler air That's coming south from Mount Hermon And so the cool air makes contact in the basin with the warmer air and it can on occasion become very violent And so that's what's taking place as a tempest a very violent Storm on the sea and the waves begin to crash on the boat and as the waves begin to lift and crash onto the boat The boat is now being filled with water Now what we're about to see is the Lord Jesus Christ showing once again his authority You're gonna see how he has is going to show his authority over over nature itself But in order to develop this let me remind you of something that the scriptures teach The scripture teaches that in God's original creation man was created to have dominion in Genesis 1 26 God said let us make man in our image in our likeness Let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air over the Livestock over all the earth and over all the creatures that move along the ground So man originally was created to exercise dominion or authority to rule We know that originally the earth is productive and the earth is beautiful Genesis 1 11 and 12 says God said let the land produce vegetation Seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it according to their various kinds So it was the land produced vegetation Plants bearing seed according to their kinds trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds God saw that it was good so man was Originally created to have dominion the earth was productive and beautiful But both the earth and man became corrupt and the result is the curse In Genesis 3 17 through 19 to Adam He said because you listen to your wife You hear that man because you listen to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you You must not eat of it curse it is the ground because of you through painful toil You will eat of it all the days of your life It will produce thorns and thistles for you and you will eat the plants of the field by the sweat of your brow You will eat your food until you return to the ground since from it you were taken for dust You are and to dust you will return You see Satan you served authority and he became a ruler of Prince on the earth Remember what he said when he was tempting Jesus is recorded in Luke chapter 4 verses 5 and 6 It says there that the devil led him led Jesus up to a high place and showed him in an instant All the kingdoms of the world and he said to him I will give you all their authority and splendor for it has been given to me and I can give it to anyone I want to so if you will worship me It will be yours. I have authority I can give to you He usurped it from Adam through the temptation in original fall and Jesus didn't argue with him concerning that as a matter of fact Jesus calls him or refers to him as a prince of This age the prince of this world Paul calls him the God of this world God with a lowercase g meaning that he has authority and He got that authority by usurping it from Adam through deception of Eve But even though Satan has usurped authority from man God is still in control Psalm 59 13 says let them know that God rules Now as we've been going through Matthew Jesus God in the flesh has been demonstrating his authority He demonstrated his authority through his teaching. We saw that in Matthew 7 29 He demonstrated his authority and his power over demons. We see that in Matthew 8 16 He demonstrates it in his power to forgive sins when we get to Matthew chapter 9 Jesus now is going to be revealed as the Lord over nature and So as this is taking place again verse 24 a great tempest arose on the sea the boat Covered with waves. He's asleep verse 25 Then his disciples came to him and awoke him saying Lord save us. We are perishing But he said to them why are you fearful? Oh you of little faith Then he arose and rebuked the winds in the sea There was a great calm and the men marveled saying who can this be that even the winds and the sea obey him They're terrified They're afraid they're gonna drown no doubt the experienced fishermen believe that there was nothing that could be done to save them They're thinking like we would say today. They're thinking I'm gonna meet my maker But they have forgotten that they already have met their maker. He's there in the boat with them Now mark chapter 4 verse 38 gives us more insight and I want to develop this with you and This is really going to be part of the heart of what I want to teach you today and share with you today Mark 4 38 says it like this They awoke him and said to him Teacher do you not care? Teacher do you not care that we are perishing? Do you not? Care This is a question that people ask the Lord constantly. Do you not care God? You see me in danger, but it seems to me that you simply do not care It's a question that people who believe in God are actually prone to ask See we have we as believers that we read the Bible and we see how Jesus Christ can do so many things We see that Jesus Christ is capable of so much and we we read of times that he walked on water We read of times that he multiplied the fish in the lobes We we read about the times that he even raised the dead that he that he cleansed the leprosy He healed the sick he he gave psyched to the blind. He opened up the ears of the death We see this after Over and over again many times many times You'll see that the Lord is capable of doing things abundantly above all we could ask or even think and here We are as believers and we're going through something. That's very tough. We're having a real struggle in our life We're walking through a valley the valley of the shadow of death if you will and we were there and we're Starting to think God what's going on here? I believe in you. I've trusted you I've given up everything to follow you it seems to me that you don't care It seems to me that what I'm going through isn't something that has has got your attention and I'm just asking you a question I'm asking you a simple question and it's a question by the way that I know many of you have asked the Lord You have been at the hospital in next to your father or your mother and your or your aunt or your uncle or a child or a Dear friend and and you're asking God, please Lord, please intervene And it seems as if Heaven is brass and God's ears Not listening to you You're not alone in that by the way People who believe in God can ask questions like that Psalm 10 1 Why do you stand afar off? Oh Lord? Why do you hide in times of trouble? Psalm 13 verse 1 how long oh Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? Psalm 44 23 and 24 awake. Why do you sleep? Oh Lord arise? Do not cast us off forever. Why do you hide your face? and forget our affliction and our oppression Lord it seems as if you're ignoring us. Don't you care that we're perishing Lord? We're going through such tough times and such struggles Don't you care that we're perishing? Can't you see what's going on and? The disciples are there their experience many of them are experienced fishermen and as the waves are crashing into the boat and filling it They're afraid it's going to sink and yet there's the Lord Jesus Christ to sleep in the midst of all of their pain It seems that if God is not aware of what's going on and they begin to cry out and I know that we have to This question is asked not only by believers. It's also asked by non-believers a Non-believer will say well if God is so good, then why doesn't he act to help us in our time of need? Why is God so silent when we cry out to him? Well, it must be he doesn't care that we are perishing We all go through various storms. None of us being exempt from hard times And it's through these times that the Lord draws most close to us Psalm 16 verse 7 says I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel. My heart also instructs me in the night seasons My heart instructs me in the night seasons and we all go through night seasons and the Lord will give us counsel And it's when you're going through the night seasons that you actually draw on the things that you've learned in the past And you understand that God is not forsaken you before and he's not going to forsake you now You see in the times that we struggle in those night seasons that we endure It's times like that that we have a deeper understanding of the ways of God and we learn how the Lord actually does move I was talking in between service to a Man and a woman who are considering getting married and I said to him well He said I'm not sure if I want to get married it I he says I do we don't we're talking about it. We love each other We're having a nice conversation about marriage. He said I thought I'd speak to somebody who's been married to ask him What he thinks and I said I think it's great. I love being married, but it's not easy I mean the first year of marriage. I mean, it's a pretty tough, you know, my wife and I I told them I said, you know, my wife and I have never talked about divorce. She's never said I want to divorce him She said I want to kill him a few times or she's never said I want to divorce So I said you know what it's one thing to have a picture in your mind of what marriage is It's another thing for you to actually be married I said because you have within your marriage the good and you have the things that you didn't consider so good You brought into your marriage your mentality as to what will make a good marriage and all and then you have to work that out over the course of a lifetime And that's how it works. Is it worth it? I said absolutely. I said as far as I'm concerned I said Marie and I've had our conversations about this and that is very simply put that should my wife precede me Should she go to be with Jesus before I before I go to be with him? There's no other woman in my life There'll be no other woman in my life I don't plan on ever marrying again because I've already had the best marriage I would never want to have something other than what I have right now But it's been something we've worked on it's something that we've worked every day on for many many years now And the Lord has made it good but If you'd have told me the stresses of of being married this the stresses of having children and and the things we've gone through together Well, those are things that you can't even really realize that that are going to happen And there are things that occur in your married life that that that are challenges And and you get to the point where you have to make a decision and the decision is that we're better together than a Part we're going to stay together and we're going to see this through that's how it works in life Well, my faith in Christ is built and my marriage is built in my faith in Christ And there therefore I've learned through Jesus that that there are going to be hard times that I'm going to go through and That the Lord will be with me and that in those times of stress and in those times of Discouragement or whatever I can still cast my cares on him because he cares for me You see it's through these times that the Lord draws most close to us The storms we encounter give us opportunity to learn what trusting God really is Psalm 42 verses 7 and 8 reads deep calls into deep at the noise of your waterfalls All your waves and billows have gone over me The Lord will command his loving kindness in the daytime and in the night his song shall be with me a Prayer to the God of my life and in the night his song shall be with me God gives us songs in the night seasons of our lives It causes us to draw near to him in order to learn that he is always with us and he never leaves us Psalm 77 verse 6 says I call to remembrance my song in the night I meditate within my heart and my spirit makes diligence search songs in the night a few years ago somebody had asked me if I would write a book in and At one point I thought well, maybe maybe I will and They said can you write a song of write a book and and and I wrote the preface some of you have read this before I Wrote the preface and I was going to write the book and I chose not to But I called the the book was going to be called songs in the night learning to dance in the dark and There's a scripture Job 35 verse 10 Where it says but no one says where is God my maker who gives songs in the night? And So let me read to you a little bit. I'm trying to illustrate how the Lord is with us no matter what and how that God can God can see us through these storms in our life And there are lessons that we learned as we go through them that we would have learned no other way I wrote it. This was the introduction Some songs seem to speak deeply to your heart in a special way like deep calling and to deep The lyrics simply sink into your soul and are met with an understanding that rises from your core Though they may be heard for the first time there is an Unmistakable recognition like an old friend entering into the room and bringing shared memories with them I felt that kind of response the first time I heard Natalie Grant's song held Something inside me reverberated with understanding especially when I heard her broken heart as she sang when the sacred is torn from your life And you survive. I thought what an incredibly insightful way to put it the sacred is torn away But somehow you survive There are so many things that can become precious to us that over the span of a lifetime can actually become sacred to us dreams hopes ambitions Childish wishes that we pray one day will come true that we hold on to tightly Praying and working to see that they may one day come into being only to watch them one by one torn from our lives We stand helpless After someone who could care less about our broken dreams and shattered hopes Rips our innocence from us One by one we lose what once was sacred and begin to live as hollow people Somehow surviving as we attempt to survive the shame and rebuild what is left of our lives Some dreams die hard and when they finally die they leave scars in emotional pain that can haunt us over a lifetime And yet we survive But at one time we're sacred dreams Sometimes morph into nightmares that we daily find ourselves wrestling with we begin to shelter hurtful memories treating them like our favorite pets Even though they produce thoughts that result in sorrow and emotional pain that cannot be expressed in words Eventually this becomes the fabric of our lives Well, we are gradually convinced that this is all there is and all there ever will be Who told us we'd be rescued what has changed and why should we be saved from nightmares is more than a line in a song It is a question that we can grapple with daily Eventually we're asking why this happens to us who have died to live and we simply whimpered to God It's unfair The ironic thing is it really does seem to be unfair to those who have died to live for those who have honestly forsaken all to follow him It can some sometimes seem incredibly unfair We who have died to live started out by living a life with the purpose of honoring Jesus and the result was wave upon wave of sorrow upon sorrow We see children growing up in a home that has no time or love for the Lord excelling Prospering healthy successful. We wonder about that Why are they doing well when they do not love the Lord on the other hand our children may die at an early age Our hearts are crushed. They may injure us through unwise decisions breaking our hearts bringing pain while those who should have been our closest friends and Strongest support Became our greatest critics Leave in our side when we needed them most Abandoning us to hurt criticism and the judgment of those who should have understood grace and extended it to us We may begin to suffer with an insurable disease We find ourselves in constant pain We lose a husband or a wife to a freak accident tragic event unexpected illness our hearts break with sorrow Are filled with questions about the goodness of God? We stand next to a dying father Watching as his life slowly ebbs from him fighting back tears trying to make sense of it Needing to remain calm as we watch the most important man in our lives slip away from us Finally we find ourselves crying and thinking he's not going to make it He's leaving my mother alone for the first time in 53 years. He will not be at the wedding of my sons Daughters He'll never hold my grandchildren I'll never make him laugh again see a smile ask for his counsel Jesus. We're not ready to see him go Lord, it's unfair We watch helplessly as our mother suffers One illness after another for 58 years All the while asking God to touch her body and never seen him move to do so We wonder why some of the most ungodly people who have ever lived Seem to die peacefully in their sleep. I Became a Christian on December 27th 1970 over the years. I have walked with the Lord I've had many sacred things painfully torn for my life. I've ministered to countless Christians who have experienced similar pain Over time I've discovered that these experiences have shaped me into the man I am today and I'm beginning to learn to kiss the thorns that pierced my heart because the pain That they've caused has led my heart to become softened by my wounded healer My life is really no different than the average person Everybody has a story when it comes to disappointment and hurt This is a journey. I've been made familiar with and what I really want to do is remind all of us the words of the sweet psalmist of Israel David Who said though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death you are with me we walk through the valley every one of us But when we have a saving knowledge of Christ We do not walk alone for he's with us and he comforts us The one thing I'm learning and that I want you to know is this God is our maker. He gives us songs in the night and in him we can learn the fine art dancing In the dark The Lord He is our maker He will bring us through these things even though we cry and say how long oh Lord will you forget me forever? No, we will bless the Lord who has given us counsel our hearts will instruct us in the night seasons We will call remembrance the song in the night. We will meditate within our heart and the spirit will make a diligent search Jesus and John 1633 said it like this He said 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 And so as this is taking place in verse 26 he said to them Why are you fearful? Oh you of little faith? And he arose and rebuked the winds in the sea there was a great calm Why are you so fearful? That word fearful means to be cowardly or timid you've already seen so much Why are you so fearful now? You've seen Jesus could be saying to them the works that I've done From the walking on water kind of things that I do The cleansing of the of the leper the the restoring of sight to the blind the The restoring of hearing to the death You've seen my power over demons Why are you so fearful? Why have you forgotten what I've done in the past because what I've done in the past? I can do in the present and will continue into the future Why would you ask me such a question it would seem obvious why they were fearful they're about to perish There's a great storm that's arisen. There's waves that are covering the boat. It's filling with water They're in danger and yet Jesus thinks this is an important question to ask of them and It is important It's like he's saying you asked me a question a moment ago Now allow me to ask you one. Why are you so fearful? Why are you so faithless? Now at first we might not understand why he's so apparently confrontational Why would he be so upset and indeed he is I mean when he says this why are you fearful? Oh, you have little faith. That's not a pleasant thing to say Why would you be saying that? Well The answer is in reality before us Notice with me it's Jesus who sent them into the storm Storms and times of uncertainty actually are used by the Lord to teach us something We learn to trust each person who trusts in the Lord goes through storms that test them in every way And each storm we endure Strengthens our faith in him first Peter chapter 1 verse 7 says it like this these trials are only to test your faith To show that it is strong and pure it is being tested as fire test and purifies gold And your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials It will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world You see God wants to change fear into faith And the way he does this is by allowing us to be in a place where our faith is tested in order that it might be strengthened There's an interesting portion of scripture. It's found in John chapter 6 verses 66 through 69 It says from that time many of his disciples went back and walked with him no more Then Jesus said to the 12. Do you also want to go away? But Simon Peter answered him Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also, we have come to believe and to know that you are the Christ the son of the living God I Believe with all of my heart that if you haven't had this question posed to you You will if you're a believer in Christ You will hear this question once at least but many times over your your walk with Jesus You will hear a similar kind of question that will be whispered to your heart. It will come by the spirit And it's a question. Do you want to go away? Are you tired of being a believer? Are you tired of being a Christian? Are you tired of following Christ? Do you want to go away? Are you tired of the work that's going on right now? Are you tired of everything that you've seen? Are you tired of the world that you're living in? Do you want to go away? I believe that the Holy Spirit will ask that question to you. It's a deep question by the way Don't be surprised when it's asked It may come through a disappointment It may come when you lose a job to somebody who really shouldn't have gotten the job that you were more qualified for It may be when you're going through a marital struggle and you've tried your hardest to keep your marriage together And it's just not going to continue because that person your wit doesn't want to be married It may come when your children are giving you a difficult time It'll come It'll come when you're in love with somebody and they tell you they're not in love with you And you thought God brought you together and you go in your by yourself in your room and you're crying you're saying God I thought this is the one what's going on and Lord whispers am I not enough? Do you want to go away? You will be asked You will be asked in one form or another Do you also want to go away? Jesus is watching these would-be disciples who had been following after him He had just performed the miracle of feeding them and when people's material needs are met very often They think that God is just the best to follow But now he's not promising to continue feeding them materially and He says some things to them that they don't want to hear and they turn around they walk away That people do all the time right? Do you want to go away and Peter speaks to him and says to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. I've had that question asked many times in my life The very first time that was ever asked. I was reading the Bible And I was going through a difficult time And I picked up the Bible and I read it and I read this passage When Jesus asked that question do you also want to go away? And I prayed and I said to him as I close the Bible up in my hands I said Lord, where can I go? I've given everything up. I have no friends anymore I've been going to Bible college teach Bible studies, but I'm right now so discouraged and so depressed I don't know what to do and Then I opened up the Bible and continued to read and that's when I read the Apostle Peter's answer to whom shall we go? And I began to discover the healing power of God and how that you can walk through the valley of the shadow of death But he's with you. He never leaves you nor does he forsake you and my faith in Christ at that point began to deepen and I discovered that There's nothing so deep that I go through that. He's not deeper still And one of my professors was saying You've been praying that you want to be on fire for God But never forget that fire burns and fire consumes And that's exactly what has happened in my life for all these years is the Lord has taken me From one place to another and very often is going through shadows so that I can learn to dance when it's dark Trust the Lord No matter what? Lord don't you care that I'm perishing? Where's your faith? I've been with you up to this point. You think I'm going to abandon you now and Then he shows how strong he is in verse verse 26 when he arose and rebuked the winds in the sea and was a great calm and the men marveled saying Who can this be that even the winds in the sea obey him? Why would he be so confrontational while we need to remember that he had already said in verse 18 of this chapter that It says that that he gave a command to depart to the other side in mark 435 It says very plainly Jesus said let us cross over to the other side We are going to make it through the entire journey Jesus is saying I intend to make it through and so will you and as long as you are with me. You are perfectly safe That's why he could sleep He was going to make it Isaiah 41 10 fear not for I'm with you be not dismayed. I am your God. I will strengthen you Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand And he arises he rebukes the winds in the sea mark 439 tells us that Jesus said peace be still in other words Literally, he said be muzzled. He treated the wind as if it was a howling demon and he told it to be quiet and As he did so it instantly calm and these men who are drenched from the waves that were pouring into the boat are Sitting in absolute calmness and that's why they would say Who can this be that even the winds in the sea obey him? The answer he's the Lord of the earth, and he is the Lord of the sea Psalm 89 verses 890 Lord God of hosts who is mighty like you, oh Lord your faithfulness also surrounds you You rule the raging of the sea when its waves rise you still them Psalm 107 28 through 30 then they the sailors cried out to the Lord in their trouble He brings them out of their distresses. He calms the storm so that its waves are still Then they are glad because they are quiet and he guides them to their desired Haven With Jesus in the midst. There's never anything to fear If he said to you we're going to the other side You're gonna make it you will make it to the other side because as long as you're with him You are absolutely safe and you are guaranteed you who began that work will continue Keep that in mind Keep that in mind Jesus said let us cross over to the other side and we will make it being Confident of this very thing that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ You see it's easier to calm the storm of the sea than to calm their troubled hearts But the Lord is able to do both and as he did so naturally the response was going to be predictable Who can this be? He is the Lord of the sea and he is our Savior and he is with us And he would say look up your redemption draws near whole fast to Jesus Don't let go of his hand. He will walk you through and you will make it to the other side Jesus is with you