Mark 4:35-41
35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 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. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 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?”39 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. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
What is the worst storm you’ve ever been through?
How did the disciples react to this storm? And what did many of them do for a living? (They were fisherman: 1:16-19.) So how strong can we surmise this storm was? (These seaworthy fishermen were accustomed to storms on the Sea of Galilee and this one must have been fierce for them to fear for their lives.) The pillow in the stern was a large bag of sand that was used for ballast to keep the boat steady as the men were working. It was typically covered by a wooden platform that would have provided Jesus with protection from the elements.
Hebrews 2:14-15
Fear of death is the ultimate root of all fear. Whatever we are genuinely afraid of at its core, is a fear of something dying; a career, our reputation, our marriage, our relationships. All of it is rooted in the fear of death. That is the kind of fear that causes anxiety and torment. Fear and bondage go hand in hand and Jesus died to set us free from fear. Fear may to your door, but don’t invite it in for supper. Especially don’t invite it to spend the night. Fear will come in and take over. Before long, every decision will be based on fear instead of on your faith in God. “I would obey God, but….” Is an indication that you are making fear based decisions. That is why you cannot walk in fear and in faith. We also cannot walk in love and faith.
I John 4:18
18 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.
Fear will make you do or say things you would not normally say if you had been thinking clearly
But what about the consequences? After all, isn’t a little fear a good thing? NO
When God repeats himself we need to take notice. In the Word, God says “fear not” “be not afraid” or words to that effect 365 times. I don’t think that is a coincidence. We have a “do not fear” for every day of the year. I think we should pay attention to something like that, don’t you?
It is a violation of the commandments of Jesus
8But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
The word for fearful in the Greek here means to be full of dread. But isn’t a little fear a good thing? Do you see anything on the list in this verse that you would say that about? Really?
4. Dad’s story from the typhoon. A wonderful thing my father did was to write down his life story years before he died and give copies to each of his children and grandchildren. In the conclusion of those memoirs, he related some things that had made of great impact on his life. One of them was the following:
a. “The second experience has returned to me many times when I have been faced with a seemingly unsolvable problem. I think of the night in the typhoon off of Okinawa. I had fallen asleep in what seemed to be a hopeless situation. The winds exceeded 200 miles per hour, the waves were 80 feet high and the ship was rolling up to 43 degrees, and I was so seasick I had little desire to live! But I awoke to the most beautiful morning I have ever seen, or so it seemed to me. The ocean was calm and blue and sparkling in the early morning sunlight. I was told the storm had passed during the night, and we were sailing back to Buckner Bay. I resolved that from henceforth, though the night be dark, I would always anticipate the beautiful morning to follow. I also decided I could no longer place implicit trust in my knowledge of science, but realized that knowledge of science leads to the Creator of the Universe, and to His will revealed to us in His Word.