What a great sermon we had Sunday when Bro. Crews was here. He taught out of Mark 4"35-41.
"Developing the Negative"
We as humans and Christians don't like the 'dark room' but God often puts us there, forcing us to trust Him. Jesus is the Master teacher, and He uses all sorts of ways to teach us. Sometimes He teaches us by His silence, by NOT answering prayer-taking us out of the classroom and on a field trip. These verses show how Christ called His disciples out on the stormy sea.
Look at what Jesus was doing while His followers thought they were bound to perish. He was sleeping on a pillow in the back of the boat during the storm. Remember these men were expert sailors. This storm was sudden, unexpected-like our storms, and it was severe. What did it take to wake up Jesus? It was not the wind and water, but the cries of His children. They asked Him if He even cared about them! Jesus slept, but He didn't oversleep, thank the Lord!
This story is about the storm of doubt in the disciples' hearts. In verse 35 the Lord had said they were going over to the other side, so they already had His word on it, yet they doubted when they saw the violent storm bearing down on them. That's just like us today, isn't it? he asked them why they had no faith? They were to trust Him. Since they'd already seen many miracles, shouldn't they have simply believed He would take care of them this time too? We must learn that God is Lord of all-everything-all the storms of life. Read Is 49:15-16. The Lord tells us 'I have graven thee on the palms of My hands'. He created each of us and He loves us with a love that human beings cannot comprehend. Jesus is a promise-keeper, and we can rest assured that every storm and trial is permitted for our good and His glory.
