TRUSTING IN THE POWER OF JESUS
Matthew 8:23-34
FOLLOWING JESUS
V:23. " And when he was entered into a ship, his
disciples followed him."
A. We are in our best position when we are following Jesus.
1. We are in a
position of learning, grow and development,
2. We are in a
position to experience the grace and mercy of God.
3. Following
Jesus put us in a position to witness His power and glory.
B. Jesus will never lead us to an place that will not be
beneficial to us.
1. Following
Jesus will lead us to the needs of others.
2. Following
Jesus will lead us to our duty to love and
be
compassionate to others.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SEA
OF GALILEE
C. The disciples followed Jesus into a ship in the Sea
of Galilee .
1. The sea of
Galilee is a lake 13 miles long and 8 miles wide,
2. It is a fresh
water lake, fed by the Jordan river and underground
springs.
a. The Sea
of Galilee provides 70 percent of the fresh water for Israel
3. The sea is 600
feet below sea level and bounded on one side by
a Mount
Herman
4. This is
important because when the cold air from the top of the mountain
meets the warmer
air in the valley, violent storms occur
in the sea.
5. In addition,
the Sea of Galilee is in an area where there are
earthquakes.
6. Many of the
teaching and miracles of Jesus was around the sea.
7. His home base
was near the coast of the sea in the
town of Capernaum
THE HUMANITY OF JESUS
V:24. " And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the
sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep."
A. The word tempest is from the Greek word seismos which is where we get
word earthquake.
1. Perhaps there
was a underwater earthquake that cause the violent waves in
the sea.
2. In 1985 during
a drought in the area, the water level of the sea dropped
exposing a mud
flat where a fishing boat was discovered in the mud, dated
2000 years
old. It is 27 feet long and 7.5 feet wide.
a. The boat
stands 4.5 feet high.
b. This may be
the type of boat that Jesus travel on across the sea.
3. A wave 4 to 5
feet high would cover the boat.
B. The fact that Jesus was sleeping in the ship show His
Humanity.
1. He was both man
and God.
2. Jesus through
His human nature could identity with all the problems
we face.
3. With one
mission complete, Jesus did not hesitate to embark on
next mission which was on the other side
of the sea.
a. The job of
a Christian is never done.
b. There will
always be people that need the gifts that God has given us.
4. Jesus had been teaching all day, followed by
healing a large crowd
casting out
demons. He would have been tired, so He fell asleep in the boat.
GOD HAS NOT GIVEN US THE SPIRIT OF FEAR
V:25. " And his disciples came to him, and awoke him,
saying, Lord, save us: we perish."
A. The disturbance in the sea, tossed the small ship around
with wave coming
over the deck.
1. The disciple
may have thought the ship would be overturned by the wave or
filled with
water and capsized.
2. To them it was
a life and death situation.
3. They found themselves in the middle of a
storm with Jesus on board,
B. In the Bible three are at least three types of storm
that God put men through.
1. There are correcting storms .
a. Jonah was
put through a correcting storm.
b. God sent
him on a mission to preach repentance to Nineveh
c. Jonah
didn't like the violent attitude of the people of Nineveh
he boarded
a ship going in the opposite direction.
d. As a result
of his disobedience, God put Jonah in the belly
of a large
fish for three days until he came to his senses.
2. There are
protecting storms
a. A storm that
is designed to protect you from something worst.
b. After
feeding 5000 men, not including women and children, the
men decided
to force Jesus to be their king.
c.
Jesus sent His disciple across the sea of Galilee where they face a
storm in the night.
3. There are perfecting
storms.
a. Storms
designed to teach us to trust God.
b. The storm of
this text was a perfecting storm
C. Having a relationship with Jesus will not prevent storms
in your life.
1. The storms of
life will teach you to call on Jesus.
2. The storms of
life draws us closer to God in prayer.
3. We must learn
to trust God in all situations.
BUILDING YOUR FAITH
V:26 "And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye
of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there
was a great calm."
A. The disciples had two problems
1. First, they
were fearful.
a. Fear is a
normal human emotion
b. God has not
given us the spirit of fear, but power love and sound
mind.
c. Fear come
from Satan.
d. Fear is
designed to rob us of the peace of God, our sanity and self control.
e. Fear is
designed to keep us bound to the uncertainties of life without hope.
f. Fear made
the disciples irrational, accusing Jesus of not caring about their lives.
B. Second, they
had little faith.
1.They had witness the power of Jesus healing
all manner of diseases.
2. They had
heard Jesus preach the Word with power and conviction.
3. They were
following Jesus because they believed He was the Messiah.
4. Their
confidence in Jesus in times of trouble
was weak.
5. They failed to
see Jesus resting confidently during the storm.
C. The storm was designed to show the power and authority of
Jesus over nature.
1. The storm was
designed to teach the disciples to trust Jesus in times of
trouble.
2. Jesus not only
calm the seas and the wind, but He change the climate.
3. If the storm
resulted from the cold air from the mountain top
colliding with
warmer air in the valley, Jesus pushed the cold air
back to top of
the mountain.
3. If the storm
resulted from an earthquake, Jesus seal the earth and reversed
the forces
from the earthquake.
GODS AMAZING GRACE
V:27. " But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of
man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!"
A. Even though Jesus was their Messiah, they didn't know who
he really was.
1. They left all
they had to follow Jesus, but they didn't know that He was God in the
flesh.
2. They asked " what manner of man is this?".
3. They saw Jesus
as Mary and Joseph's son who did miracles.
4. Calming the
wind and the waves was a different power than healing
to them.
B. Why did the disciples not marvel at the instant healing
power of Jesus?
1. Perhaps, they
had seen Jesus heal many time, and they just saw it as
His special
gift.
2. We should
never cease to be amazed at the smallest thing God does
daily.
3. Can you
explain the miracle of the digestive system of the body?
a. If so, can
you explain how the body knows what to uses and
what to
discard?
b. Can you explain the process the body uses to
break down food
to be
used in individual cells?
JESUS' AUTHORITY OVER SATAN
V:28. " And when he was come to the other side into the
country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out
of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way."
A. The Lord deals with the devil each day in different ways
for each individual.
1. The Lord will
come to you rescue when you don't know to ask for His
help.
2. When you follow
Jesus, He will lead you to people who need help.
3. Jesus brought
His disciples to a grave yard where two violent, and
destructive men needed redemption.
a. The grave
yard is not the place that you and I would go to do ministry.
b. None
believers live in the grave yard of life.
c. None
believers live in a place of darkness and a place of no hope.
4. The disciple
had just experienced a storm, where Jesus was their hope.
a. The devil
may have been in that storm on the sea trying to
prevent
Jesus from getting to the grave yard,
b. The grave
yard was just another storm.
c. The grave
yard is place where Gospel can bring hope.
d. The grave
yard is a place where the Word of God can bring
light.
5. In the grave
yard was two men who had been kicked to the curve.
a. There was
no ministry going on in the grave yard.
b. These men
had been left to the devices of the devil.
c. These men
were blocking the road to the grave yard.
6. Jesus had been
dealing with demons all day.
a. In Capernaum
b. On the sea
of Galilee, He dealt with the demons on the sea.
c. Now on
other side of the sea in Gergesenes He
was met by
a host of
demons in two men.
d. One storm
gets you prepared for the next storm.
THE DEVIL KNOWS JESUS
V:29. " And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have
we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us
before the time?"
A. Unlike the disciples, the demons knew who Jesus was.
1. They called
Him, "Jesus, the Son of God".
2. If the devil
know Jesus as the Son Of God, we need to get to
know Him as
the Son Of God.
3. The Lord does
not have but one way of dealing with demons, that
is to condemn
them and cast them out.
4. There is no
redemption for demons.
B. Demons know they can't exist where God is.
1. When Jesus show
up, demons got to go.
2. Demons have a
sense of time.
3. They know that
they will cast into the lake fire after the second coming of Christ.
4. The demons
statement, "before the time" is a reference to the judgment day.
C. The only way to deal with demons is with Word of God.
1. Jesus showed
His authority over demons at start of His ministry, after
his baptism in
the desert.
2. In the desert,
it was with Word that Jesus did battle with the devil.
STUFF THAT HINDERS YOUR PRAYERS
V:30-31. " And there was a good way off from them an
herd of many swine feeding.
31 So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out,
suffer us to go away into the herd of swine."
A. If the swine were being raised by Jews, it was violation
of God's law.
1. Pay attention
to Jesus authority over the devils.
2. The devils had
to get permission from Jesus to enter swine that He declared
unclean.
B. The whole town was under the influence of the devil
because they were in sin
raising swine
and neglecting teaching of God's laws to their people.
1. The whole town
neglected the welfare of the two down cast souls
in the grave
yard.
2. The Lord has
His eye on all those He created.
3. Even though one
may be neglected and in the worst situation, God can
make Himself
known in their lives.
4. The text teaches
us that we have to overlook a persons circumstances
to see the
soul within.
a. The Lord
had compassion on two men who may not have had anything
to do with
their circumstances.
b. Some people
are the way they are because they no
better.
A LOST FOR GOOD
V:32. " And he said unto them, Go. And when they were
come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of
swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the
waters."
A. God punished the devils and the city.
1. The devils thought
they had a home in the swine, but they ran into lake and
drown
themselves.
2. The town was
punished for raising swine in violation of God's Law.
B, Sin affects every one.
The good and the bad.
1. The whole town
was affected, men women and children
2. They lost their
livelihood.
DON'T GIVE UP ON JESUS
V:33-34. " And they that kept them fled, and went their
ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the
possessed of the devils.
34 And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and
when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts."
A. Sometimes God has to get rid of some stuff out of our
lives for us to see the light.
1. The initial
reaction is anger and frustration at the lost.
2. When we live
in darkness, we react in darkness.
3. Our attachment
to stuff blocks our view of God's goodness.
B. The whole city could not see the goodness in the recover
of two lost souls.
1. The pigs were
more important to them than the recovery of men.
2. They got angry with Jesus and told Him to leave their
country.
3. They were like
any other community Jesus visited,
a. They had
their sick and they were walking in darkness.
b. They gave
up the opportunity to be healed and redeemed
over the
lost of pigs.
5. They were in
the presence of the light of the world, but chose
darkness.
Rev. M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor Of Greater Macedonia
Baptist Church
For more lessons follow me on facebook and visit
my blogs: revmmitchell.com and goodnewsrevmitc.blogspot.com
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