THE MASTER OF THE STORM

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on June 10, 2020 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: June 10, 2020 from Luke 8:22-25

Theme: We can bear up joyfully under the storms of life because of what Jesus is to us in them.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

Click HERE for the live-stream archive of this Bible Study.

This morning, we come to a passage of Scripture that not only reports a true event to us, but also gives us a remarkable spiritual picture that we desperately need today.

It brings together some elements that give us the very essence of what it means to be in circumstances that are out of our control: disciples, a boat, a lake, and a sudden storm. It would be hard, in fact, to think of a better picture of circumstances that are ‘out of control’ than that. But it also adds another important element that needs to be considered to be just as much a part of the story as the seemingly-out-of-control circumstances. And that’s the presence and nature of our Lord Jesus Christ. He was in the boat—in the midst of those circumstances—with His beloved disciples. And that’s what makes this story such an important and practical lesson to us.

You’ll find it in Luke 8:22-25. We’re told;

Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out. But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. But He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!” (Luke 8:22-25).

This passage is always a relevant one. It teaches us a lesson that we need to learn repeatedly and be reminded of continually—and this is particularly so in the difficult circumstances in which we find ourselves today. It feels like a dreadful storm is raging around us—and that we are caught in the middle of it all with no ability to control the circumstances or predict the outcome. But we are not alone in the boat in this storm. And as this passage teaches us, we can bear up joyfully under the storms of life because of what Jesus is to us in them.

* * * * * * * * * *

Now; this story comes to us as one of a cluster of three stories that Luke tells us—all of which have to do with our Lord’s authority. The first is this story; and from it, we see that our Lord has authority as the Son of God over the circumstances of life. In it, He shows that He has authority over even the weather. The second is the story of the demon-possessed man who dwelt among the tombs in the region of the Gadarenes. We find it in Luke 8:26-39; and in it, we see that our Lord has authority over the spirit realm. He cast a multitude of demons out of the man and presented him whole and of sound mind. And then, the third is a story of a couple of physical healings—a story within a story. It’s first the story of how He went to raise the twelve-year-old daughter of the synagogue ruler from the dead; and of how He, along the way, also healed a woman who had suffered twelve years from an illness. We find this told to us in verses 40-56; and in these two stories, we see that our Lord has authority over even death and life.

So; the great theme of this section of Luke’s Gospel is the authority of our Lord—an authority He exercises over circumstances and natural forces, over the hostile supernatural entities of the spiritual realms, and even over life and death itself. We need to understand the great authority our Lord possesses over the things that are outside of our control and that touch our lives in powerful ways.

And so, this morning, let’s consider our Lord’s authority over the circumstances of life and the forces of nature. And let’s do this by looking carefully at the character and attributes of our Lord that He brings with Him into our circumstances.

The first thing we see about our Lord is that when it comes to the circumstances of life—even those that seem to us to be completely out of control—is that …

1. HE IS PURPOSEFUL.

We see this in verse 22. We’re told, “Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, ‘Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.’ And they launched out.”

Now; there was purpose in this trip. If we look on ahead, we can see that there was nothing else that He did when He crossed the lake except to meet up with the demon-possessed man of the tombs—whom He delivered and sent away well. So; we can say that when He told His disciples, “Let us cross over”; He had this poor man in mind; and it was as if this trip was for the purpose of going to him and showing mercy to him. But our Lord—who knows all things—also knew that along the way to the man, there would also be a storm that would fall upon the lake as He and His disciples were crossing it. He knew that they would be distressed and terrified; and He also knew that He would stand up and command the wind and the waves to be still. He knew all this—and yet, even so, told His disciples, “Let us cross over.”

We should understand from this that when our Lord leads us in life—when He is in the boat with us—the seemingly-surprising circumstances that we encounter along the way are not a surprise to Him. In fact, if we will pay careful attention, we’ll discover that they are necessary for His plan for us; because He is always purposeful in His leading. We never need to be frustrated by or afraid of this; because as the apostle Paul wrote;

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified (Romans 8:28-30).

Second—and perhaps to affirm His purposefulness to us—we see another thing about our Lord in the seemingly-out-of-control circumstances of life; that …

2. HE IS CALM.

We’re told in verse 23, “But as they sailed He fell asleep.” If we look backward, we will find that our Lord had a very busy time of ministry. Naturally, He was physically tired. But even so, His rest may have been intended to display His own peace in the midst of what seems like dire circumstances. We’re told, “And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy.” This storm came suddenly and unexpectedly—like many of the trying circumstances of life that fall upon us. And these were experienced fishermen and sailors. They understood clearly the danger that they were in. Mark tells us that the boat was “already filling” with water (Mark 4:37). Matthew tells us that the boat was “covered with the waves” (Matthew 8:23). In such a storm, there was very little chance of surviving in the water.

And yet, the Lord Jesus is at peace—sleeping at the stern on a pillow, as we’re told in Mark’s Gospel. He was in no panic. What a difference it would have made if they had simply kept their eyes on Jesus and saw that He was calm. Such calm brings its influence on others. I like what I heard one student at the seminary say about this passage; that because the Son of God was in the boat—and because that boat could therefore never sink—the disciples could have just relaxed and enjoyed the ride of their lives!

There’s no guarantee that we will not have unexpected trials suddenly come upon us. And in fact, there’s really no guarantee that we may not, at times, suffer loss in the storms of life. But this teaches us that, even in those kinds of seemingly-out-of-control circumstances, our Lord is at peace. He knows what He is doing. And we can share that peace with Him if we keep our attention upon Him, As the prophet Isaiah prayed in Isaiah 23:6

You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You (Isaiah 23:6).

Now; clearly the disciples did the right thing in going to Jesus. Verse 24 says, “And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, ‘Master, Master, we are perishing!’” One of the other Gospels has them saying, “Lord, don’t You care?” Perhaps they didn’t come in the right frame of mind; but they definitely did the right thing in coming to the right Person. We see this, thirdly, in the fact that …

3. HE IS SOVEREIGN.

We’re told in verse 24, “Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water.” What a strange scene that must have been! But what is interesting is that He rebuked both the wind and the waves. If you think about it, the wind was the cause of the circumstances; and the waves were the effects. And there’s an important lesson for us in this. Our Lord demonstrated that when He exercises sovereignty over our ‘seemingly-out-of-control’ circumstances, He has control not only over the causes of our troubles but also over the after-effects of it all!

And look at what happened as a result. We’re told this in verse 24 about the wind and the waves: “And they ceased, and there was a calm.” It wasn’t simply that, from that time forward, things began to get progressively better as the day went by. The calm was immediate and as sudden as the appearance of the storm. At His command, it all ceased.

This teaches us a wonderful lesson about our Lord; and we’re given a fascinating picture of it in the Old Testament—in Psalm 107:23-32—where we read;

Those who go down to the sea in ships,
Who do business on great waters,
They see the works of the Lord,
And His wonders in the deep.
For He commands and raises the stormy wind,
Which lifts up the waves of the sea.
They mount up to the heavens,
They go down again to the depths;
Their soul melts because of trouble.
They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man,
And are at their wits’ end.
Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble,
And 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;
So He guides them to their desired haven.
Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people,
And praise Him in the company of the elders (Psalm 107:23-32).

Do you suppose that the disciples would have thought of those words when this all happened? And just like it says in that psalm, oh that we would cry out to our sovereign Lord in such storms of life! He is completely sovereign over them.

Now; after Jesus had rebuked the waves, He rebuked His disciples. In verse 25, we’re told, “But He said to them, ‘Where is your faith?’” It was a gentle rebuke; but it revealed that they had placed their faith in the wrong things—in the weather reports; in the sturdiness of the boat; in their own abilities as fishermen. But they needed to have it in Him.

And this points us to one more thing that we need to see about our Lord in the storms of life …

4. HE IS GOD.

We’re told in verse 25, “And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, ‘Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!’” I suspect that their minds went to Psalm 107; and they remembered what it tells us about the power of God to calm the wind and the waves. They ‘feared’ with a holy and reverent fear because they realized Who He was. Who? He is the Son of God in human flesh. He is the Master of the storms.

Is your faith in Him?

* * * * * * * * * * *

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ; perhaps you are going through a storm right now in your life. Well; in every seemingly-out-of-control circumstance that may come upon us—in the sudden storms of life—let’s make sure that we are in the same boat with Jesus. He goes into the storms along with us. And He brings with Him all that is true about Himself—that He is purposeful in what He allows, that He is calm in all that happens, that He is sovereign over every detail, and He proves Himself to be God in the midst of it all.

Because of who Jesus is to us in them, we truly can bear up joyfully under the storms of life.

EA