We have been on Luke for a long time. As youre finding Luke 8, I want you to think about something here. As you look at the life of Jesus, you see Him deal with all the things human beings deal with. You see Him becoming hungry; you see Him thirsty; you see Him tired; you see Him tempted. You see Him deal with a range of human emotions that you and I face. You see Jesus angry when He cleanses the temple, when He deals with the hardness of heart of the Pharisee. Hes angry. We see Him grapple with the emotion of sorrow and sadness as He reflects on the death of his friend Lazarus-as He laments over Jerusalem having rejected Him, while He prays in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Greek uses the strongest word for sorry there is. We know He was happy. He was a man who went to weddings, feasts, and festivals. We know He celebrated life, so joy and happiness was an emotion He exuded. One emotion you never see Jesus deal with, never see Him encounter-a very human emotion you never see Him have…Do you know what it is? Fear. You never see Him afraid. Even though He is in a fearful situation, twice in asserting His deity, they tried to stone Him. You see Him threatened; you see Him in the Garden, and theyre coming to arrest Him. That should cause fear, right? But instead, He goes to meet them and find them. They dont find Him. We see Him willingly go to the cross. Jesus is encountering these intensely fearful situations, and yet, there is a calm demeanor. There is a peace about Him. Even in the midst of the storm were going to face here, we dont see the fear. Why is that? Were going to talk about why that is today and how we can have just a taste of what Jesus had. We know that fear is normal; fear is something we will have the rest of our lives. Were not going to say, Okay, well listen to this sermon, and well never have fear again. No, thats not true. Fear is a part of our experience. Sometimes, fear is a healthy thing. There are some fears that are good fears. Were not talking about those. Were not talking this morning about phobias or irrational fears. What we are talking about is living in habitual fear, perpetual fear. God does not want us to do that. In fact, no command was given more frequently than the command, Do not be afraid. God does not want you to live in a state of perpetual fear. So lets look at Luke 8 (page 1024 of pew Bibles) and see some principles that will help us as we struggle with fear. Verse 22, One day Jesus said to his disciples, Lets go over to the other side of the lake. So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, He fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. In other words, the boat was going to fill up with water, so it would become a submarine. Then, they would be out on the lake with no boat, no life preservers-because they werent invented yet, and it wouldnt matter how good of a swimmer you are, youd drown. When I was in Sweden, I read the obituary of my grandfather who was a wonderful swimmer; he drowned in a storm on a lake. It doesnt matter how good you are; youre going to perish. So, they are frightened. So they went and woke Him up and said, Master, Master, were going to drown! Although, it was probably something more like this: MASTER, MASTER!! WERE GOING TO DROWN!! Im guessing. He got up and rebuked the wind and raging waters; the storm subsided… Now, thats not what they expected. They expected maybe Hed say a prayer. Maybe, Hed help bail water, I dont know, but they certainly dont expect Him to speak to the elements. Yet, thats what He does. Im sure they certainly dont expect the elements to obey the sound of His voice instantaneously; yet thats what they do. It says immediately, all was calm. It had been raging life-threatening [waves]. He speaks the words, and immediately it was calm. Weve never experienced that in our day. Weve seen storms subside. Weve never seen it go from raging to calm in a moment, especially after somebody told it to. Theyre shocked. Jesus says to them in Verse 25, Where is your faith? He asked His disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him. This morning, were going to look at three questions that are asked in this story; three questions that are probing; three questions we would do well to ask ourselves as we seek to endure storms and to calm fears in our lives. Two of the three questions are here. The first question is another account of this story that we find in Marks Gospel. So, keeping your place in Luke, I want you to momentarily turn to Mark 4. You know when two people tell a story, sometimes theyll give different emphasis, or theyll fill in gaps the other one doesnt say. Nothing in here contradicts Luke. Its just that Mark gives us additional information; he fills in some gaps of some things that were said that Luke does not tell us. Its a short story, so were going to read it a second time through. Verse 35 (page 994 of pew Bibles), That day when evening came, He said to His disciples, Let us go over to the other side. Leaving the crowd behind, they took Him along, just as He was, in the boat. There were also other boats with Him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, or the back of the boat, sleeping on a cushion. I want to pause right there for a second. I just want to conjecture a little bit here. When I read that, my first question I ask myself is how in the world do you sleep through that? Understand, Hes been tired from ministering. I know after my fourth time giving this sermon, when I get home, I eat lunch and I am tired. I cant imagine after the intense ministry experience Jesus went through how exhausted He must be. So, its not long before the rhythm of the boat on the water puts Him out, and Hes sleeping in the stern. Once the wind starts to blow, and the waves start to rock the boat, and the water comes crashing in, I would think He would wake up. Wouldnt you? Water is coming on you. It is wetting the cushion you are lying on. Grown men are screaming and crying out in fear. Its hard to sleep through that. I wonder, and I cant say for certain, but I wonder if Jesus isnt pulling one of those things our parents used to do to us. Do you know what I mean? When theyre lying on the couch, and one eye is open and one eye is closed while theyre watching to see what we do. Your parents ever do that to you? They were lying on the couch, and you thought they were sleeping, but theyre watching to make sure you dont touch what you werent supposed to touch. You werent doing what they said you shouldnt do. I wonder if Jesus is not in the stern of the boat, and they think Hes sleeping, but He has one eye on them. He is watching them to see how theyre going to react to this storm. Now, Marks going to give us some information here, as I said, that Luke does not. The disciples woke Him up and said, Teacher, dont You care if we drown? Thats a pretty intense question. Dont You care if we drown? He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, Quiet! Be still! Who was He talking to, they wondered? Hes talking to the sea. Hes talking to the waves. Then the wind died down, and it was completely calm. He said to His disciples, Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith? They were terrified and asked each other, Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him! The first question is found there in Verse 38, Teacher, dont You care? Dont you care? Its a question of apathy. Friends, you and I, most of us here have asked this question of God as weve encountered lifes storms. Weve said, God, dont You care? If You cared, You could so something about this storm. Why did You not prevent this storm from happening? or Why are You allowing this storm to linger so long? or Why are You allowing this storm to rage as intensely as it is? If You really cared, You would take it away. If You really cared, You would lessen its intensity. Is that not true? Lets get really brave this morning and ask the question, How many of you have ever asked God the question of apathy or pondered it in your heart, God, do You care? See, youre not alone. Three fourths of our hands went up here. You felt this in your spirit. I wonder if God really cares because why is He allowing this? There is fear, but theres also some animosity. Were confused, and we dont understand. What they didnt understand was even though it seemed like it was out of control, Jesus was in control. Even though it seemed like the storm was going to encompass them, Christ was not going to allow it. He knew He was greater than the storm. He knew if He said a word, the storm would subside. This week, I had a scare. My sister-in-law was in town, and my wife and I took her out to eat. While we were at the restaurant, I swallowed some food, but I didnt chew it well enough. It got stuck in my throat. This is different from the time that I overheated and my blood vessels constricted. I felt like I was going to faint. Some people asked, Didnt that happen to you another time? That was a different thing. This actually was the food being caught. It was stuck right here. I could feel it, and it hurt. I was having a hard time breathing because maybe there was a lack of oxygen in my body, and I started to hyperventilate. So, I stopped talking, and I started gasping. I was pointing to my chest and barely breathing. They asked, Have you got something caught? I kept trying to breathe and was patting my chest. I was looking at them like what do I do? I was afraid. Now I want you to know something about my wife. She is an intensive care nurse, so you pretty much have to be on deaths door before youre really going to get the time of day in regard to health matters. So she and my sister-in-law start cracking a joke about my condition. Im was upset, but I didnt have time to be upset because I was so afraid. I was trying to simply survive. I pointed to the water like do I drink the water? They were like, Yup, thats water. I was breaking out in a cold sweat. It hurt, and Im thinking if I keep swallowing, is it going to get lodged and I wont be able to breathe? Whats going to happen if I cant breathe? They were like, Just relax. Just stay calm. Slow down your breathing. They were trying to coach me. You have to understand something. The only thing worse than having this kind of thing happen when there is an intensive care nurse with you is when there are two intensive care nurses. My sister-in-law is also an intensive care nurse, so they were still cutting jokes back and forth. They were laughing! She said, Yes, drink the water. So, I took another drink of water. I felt it go down a little bit more. I took another drink of water, and then there was really a sharp pain. Then it went into my stomach. I took a deep breath, and I was like whoo. I could relax, and the pain was gone. I could breathe. I started to breathe and started to relax. I looked at those two, and I had some things to say. They sounded very similar to what these guys said. I said, Dont you care that Im choking to death over here? My sister-in-law says, You were still breathing. You were fine. As long as youre breathing, were not worried. I said, Well, what if I would have stopped breathing? She said, Then we would have done something. See, what you dont understand is these nurses, theyve dealt with patients who cant breathe, and they know exactly what to do. They know how to open their airways, so they were calm, cool, and collected while I was nervous for my life. Then, my sister-in-law says these words, and she doesnt say them jokingly. She was dead serious. She said, We were in control all the time. What did she mean by that? They knew exactly what was going on. They knew the fact that I could breathe meant my life wasnt threatened. She said, We were watching all the signs, the palms, the sweaty hands, the hyperventilation. Those are all normal things. We knew if you just relaxed and drank water, you would be okay. If you werent, we knew exactly what to do. Sometimes, you and I underestimate who is in our boat, dont we? We get all excited and say, Dont You know? Dont You care? Dont You understand were going to drown here? Im going to choke to death here. Jesus does not get in a dither. Im going to tell you something. If those two had gotten in a dither, I really would have been concerned, come to think about it. If those two would have said, Oh my! We need to act! then I really would have had fear. Jesus stands up, and He says, I think they forgot whom I am. Im in control. Im greater than the wind. Im greater than the waves. I know exactly what to do which leads us to the second question. The first was the question of apathy: do you care? His actions and His words showed that He did. The second question is a question of authenticity. Its asked by Jesus. He says, Where is your faith? Where is your faith? Is your faith really real? Does your faith count when it matters the most? Is your faith where it should be? Is it in the right place? Where is your faith? What are their alternatives? They have some. They could put their faith in their boat. They could put their faith in their possessions. Some of us do that. Do you know what? Possessions arent very reliable, just like that boat wasnt. That boat could have broken apart. The boat could have sprung a leak and sunk. Even if it didnt, it could fill up with water and sink. Its not a stable thing to hope in; neither are possessions. Some of us trust in our jobs or our 401K, our houses, or our bank accounts. We trust in stuff; stuff can let you down. Stuff can let you sink. Some people trust in their circumstances. They could have done that. They could have trusted in their circumstances and said, Well, we just hope that the wind dies down, and the waves crash, the boat doesnt fill up. We just trust that things are going to change. Some of us do that. We trust in circumstances. For some people, thats all they have. They dont know the Lord, so they simply cross their fingers, knock on wood, and hope for the best. Thats all they have going for them. They just hope that circumstances will change at some point in time. Ill tell you something. The way things were going, circumstances were not a good thing to trust in. That storm was not going to let up. There certainly wasnt going to be less water in that boat. Something had to happen, and something had to happen fast or they would have perished. You could trust in people. You could trust in other people. You can trust in yourself, but every man in that boat knew that they could not calm that storm. They could not stop that water from getting in the boat. If they went in that water, they were in trouble. Every man knew that. They knew they were powerless to stop it. You and I, we sometimes put our trust in others; we sometimes put our trust in ourselves, but we know our limitations. In fact, we might be the very reason were in a storm right now. No, no, no. The answer is not in trusting others because others can let you down. Its not in yourself because youre finite as well. The fourth option is you can put your trust in the One who is over the storm, the One who has all power and knowledge, the One who does not fail, the One who is eternal. Paul did that. Paul was facing a storm when he was in prison. In 2 Timothy 4 (page 1180), Paul talks about the end of his ministry, in fact the end of his life. He knew his time on the earth was short. In Verse 16, he says, At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. Thats sad because Paul was always there for everybody else; yet, when he needed support, it seemed like nobody was there. Even though Paul trusted his friends, his ultimate faith and trust was not in people. It was not in himself because he knew his shortcomings. He once called himself the captain of sinners, the chief of sinners. It was certainly not in his circumstances. His circumstances were that he was in a prison, and enemies meant to harm him. They were going to tell lies about him, whatever they could to destroy him. Their goal was to have him executed and have his ministry stopped. The circumstances of being in that prison and standing before that man were not good for Paul. He couldnt trust in his possessions because he had none. In fact, he asked Timothy to bring him a coat because winter was coming. He said, Bring the parchment because he had no Scripture to read. All he had were the clothes on his back, but though he is alone and has no possessions, though he has adverse circumstances, he does have the Lord. Thats the one person that matters the most. He says, But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. Notice that Paul, even in adversity, is concerned more about his message than himself. It shows us where his heart is. And I was delivered from the lions mouth. He said he was in the lions mouth, and he was delivered from the lions mouth. We dont know exactly what the lions mouth means here. The lions mouth could be Rome; the lions mouth could be Nero-under whose emperorship he was executed. The lion could be a literal lion in the coliseum to which maybe he had been sentenced. It's a real possibility that he literally means a lion. This was the time, folks. These things were going on, and no greater time than under the reign of Nero. He might literally mean a lion, or he could mean Satan. Whatever this adversity is, the lion meant to harm him. It could very well be a literal lion. He says, But God delivered me from the lions mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. You should notice Paul doesnt say, And Im just hoping, crossing my fingers, knock on wood… Paul doesnt put his faith in circumstances. He says, And God will deliver me. So in the midst of that adversity, he has courage to face that which causes him fear because God spoke into his life. God told him, Its going to be okay. Nothing outside of My will is going to happen to you, Paul. Im not going to allow it. We had a commotion in our house about a week or so ago. As many of you know, years ago, I told the story about a pregnant flying squirrel that somehow got into my house above the ceiling and had babies there. I took them on and named them Rocky, and then I found out there was Rocky 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. I stayed up all night catching these things in a laundry basket and setting them free outside. I have heard the pitter patter of little feet since then, so Ive always believed there is a surviving squirrel up there. He came out through some sort of a vent or something. He got into the house. I heard this commotion, and I said, Well, that sounds like the cat has something, a mouse or something. I go in the other room, and he has a flying squirrel in his mouth. I want to tell you right off the bat, this story is not going to be gross. Im not going to spoil anybodys lunch. The story, Ill tell you right off the bat, has a happy ending. The squirrel will live, so nobody needs to be afraid. The squirrel is going to be okay. So, Tiger is showing me this prize. Im going, You know what? You and the squirrel are going outside. I grab the cat, and thusly the squirrel, and we head outdoors. I shut the door, and Im looking at this squirrel. The squirrel is still alive. The squirrel is looking up at me, and it is so cute. It has these big old eyes, and its looking at me like you have to do something about this. I say, Okay, listen, buddy. Im going to get you set free. Ive done this before with my cat. Im holding the cat tilted, and I take my pointer finger and my thumb and put them around his jaw. What that does is two things. It prohibits him from clamping down so hard that he would kill the squirrel, and it also allows me to work my way, so I can start to release the jaw and set the squirrel free. So, Im like, Tiger, youre going to let go. Let go of him, Tiger. I start to tip the cat upside down. Shes a little uncomfortable because now you have the weight of gravity holding the squirrel. I start to increase the pressure a little bit, not to hurt the cat, but to release the jaw. Let him go, Tiger. Let him go, Tiger. Tiger is not letting go. Tiger does not want this one to get away. If I could speak squirrel-now, Im squirrelly, but I cant speak squirrel. There is a difference between those two. If I could speak squirrel, I would say to the squirrel, Listen, Mr. Squirrel, you are in an awful predicament right now. In fact, had I not found you, you would be dead by now. You have a right to be concerned because the cat that has you has a death grip on you. He will kill you. However, the good news is that Im stronger than the cat that has you, and I have that cat. Im not going to allow that cat to kill you. The good news, Mr. Squirrel, is that Im going to stay on this job, and Im going to put pressure on this cat until he releases you. After he releases you, hes going to want to pursue you, but Im not going to allow him to. Im going to hold on to him, and youre going to be okay. I cant say that though because I dont speak squirrel. The squirrel doesnt know if Im good or bad, but pretty soon, I squeeze him, and Tiger releases the squirrel. The squirrel runs off into the woods. Hes probably back in my house by now-I dont know. Tiger tries really hard to get away. I hold on to him and say, Youre not going anywhere but back in the house. Then back into the house we go. That is an analogy I want us to consider. Because what this says to me is God will allow us to spend some time in the lions mouth, but Gods in control. Even when were in the lions mouth… The Bible says, Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world. Whatever has attacked you, whoever has attacked you, God has said, There is nothing greater than Me. There is no force greater than Me. There is no power greater than Mine, and Im in control, and youre going to be set free. Youre not going to be consumed. Youre not going to be devoured. Its a fearful situation, but as you entrust yourself into My care, Ill deliver. We have an interesting passage in Luke 22, if youll turn there (page 1044). In Luke 22, Satan is the lion, and he wants to destroy Peter. Were going to see a little bit behind the scenes. Thats why this verse is so priceless because it allows us to see into some spiritual reality behind closed doors. It allows us to see a little bit of how things work in the spiritual realm because there is no way that Peter would know what Jesus is about to say. In Verse 31, Jesus is about ready to go to the cross, okay? Theyve just concluded the Lords Supper. Jesus is about to be betrayed. He says, Simon, Simon… that was his name before Jesus changed it to Peter. Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. Lets stop right there. Satan has asked. You have the RSV, it will say demanded. If you have the NAS, it will probably say demanded permission. The NIV says has asked. The Word in the Greek means to beg for permission. Satans intent would be to destroy, but since he cant destroy, he wants to just ruffle him up a little bit. He wants to attack Peter. He cant do that unless hes first asked for what? Permission. The Word says to beg, to beg for something either to the ill or to the good. If you go to somebody and you say, Please let him or her go, somebody who maybe is a hostage, and youre begging, saying to the person who is holding him or her, Please let him or her go. Please let them live. Its like what has happened with the Koreans and the Taliban. They were saying, Please let them go. Set them free. Thats a terrible story. Thats the word thats used here. Satan tries to get you to think hes all-powerful and can do what he wants, but the bottom line is he has to ask. God will only allow it if its going to accomplish something good in your life. Notice what happens. Permission is granted. Jesus says, But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail, and when you have turned back, not if, when you have turned back, strengthen in your brothers. He was sifted as wheat. The heat came on; Peter became more fearful for himself and his safety than he was concerned for the Lord. He denied Christ three times. He ran and hid. He abandoned the Lord. He was sifted his wheat, but did he turn? Oh yeah. And when he came back, did he strengthen his brothers? He became the leader of the church. He stood up in front of thousands and didnt care who heard what he said. He stood before kings and didnt care what they did or said. He stood before the Sanhedrin and said, You can imprison me. You can beat me, and you can kill me, but I will not be silenced. I will not stop talking about what Ive seen and heard. The end result of Satans sifting his wheat, the end result of that period in the lions mouth, was he came out stronger than before, and so will you. So will you. Listen to what Job says in the Book of Job 23 (page 514), if youll turn there. Job has encountered intense suffering. He has lost his sons, his daughters, his health, and his possessions. His friends are around him. Theyre trying to make him feel better, but nothing will help. Listen to what Job says in Verse 8, But if I go to the east, He is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find Him. When He is at work in the north, I do not see him; when He turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of Him. Everywhere I go, I dont see God. I desperately need to see God. I desperately need to know Hes there, but I do not see His evidence in my life. Yet in the midst of that despair in Verse 10, he utters these words: But He knows the way that I take; and when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold. That verse is gold. Underline that verse. Memorize that verse. Talk about that thing that is causing you fear. Write it down; meditate on it. I ask myself first the question of apathy, Does God care? Read the Scriptures that talk about His care, and say, Yes, I know He does. Write down the second question, the question of authenticity. Where is my faith, and answer it. If its in circumstances, if its in people, if its in possessions, if its in yourself, put it in the right place. Put it in the Lord, and then ask yourself the third question found in Luke 8. After Jesus calmed the sea, they said, Who is this? Its a question of authority. Who is this? Who actually is it that Im serving and following? How is it that the waves died down, that the wind died down? Because He is the first one who spoke the wind into existence. He is the one who spoke the waves and the waters into existence. He is the Lord of life. He is the Lord of death. He is the Savior, and He is in your boat. Remind yourself of whom it is that you serve and whom it is that you follow. Who is He? Hes the Lord of all, and Hes with me. I want you to notice something about the fear. They still had fear, only now the fear was redirected. It starts off with them fearing the wind; they fear the waves; they fear for their lives, but in Verse 25, it says, In fear and amazement, they asked… Fear of whom? Fear of the storm? Fear of what? The storm? No, the storm is gone. The threat is gone. The fear was directed toward the Lord. In Mark, it says they were terrified of Jesus, not because they were afraid He was going to harm them, but a fear in a healthy sense that someone greater than the storm-that we might in fact have God in the flesh in this boat with us. One theologian said, Fear God and fear nothing else. Fear God and you have nothing else to fear. I know Gods in control, and He is. I dont have to fear the mouth of a lion. Where is my faith? My faith is in the Lord of all. Lets pray together, and well receive communion. Lord, we see in this story the emotion that we have all encountered. We have all felt threatened. Weve all experienced fear. The fear was the one emotion we cannot see any trace of You experiencing because You knew who You were, and You knew the Father. You understood His will, and You knew His purposes would be accomplished. Lord, help us to have that kind of faith and courage as we encounter the storms of life and fear rises in our spirit. We are tempted to ask the question of apathy: Do You care? Help us to remember the cross demonstrates that You do. As You ask the question of us, Where is our faith? my prayer is that our response will be that it is in You, not in ourselves. Its not in people; its not in our circumstances; its not in our possessions-the boat. We will answer that third all-important question: Who is this? This question of authority, that the One whom all authority in Heaven and earth and all power has been given is our Lord and our Savior. He is in our lives. We can have courage to face the storms of this life and to overcome them and come out as gold. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.