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November 5, 2020 7:00 am
Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. I have control over my life that God gives us a false sense leaders 2020 comes along know many of us believe that right now you see that idea that we can control is a mirror secure is not true since the people live in a cursed planet don't have control. I don't mean you can't control anything. Sure you can you control your temper, you control your appetite. You can control your finances but you can control the big moments like joining us today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana Pastor Bill Gebhardt now again he shows us how God's word meets our belief in comprehensive.
Here we are in the Greek alphabet of named storms as though that would be enough but I thought about all the things that are going on I had to conclude this 2020 is a year storms storms, not just hurricanes, storms more acres of been burned in the western part of the United States than any time in our history, pandemic is still running rampant all over the world including here in America, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost in the midst of it all were doing was social injustice were dealing with demonstrations and riots in our streets and to top that off, it's an election year and all the drama that goes with that parents are trying to decide to.
I put my little ones in schools are not. Do I keep them home. If I keep them home. How we take care of them. People are told in all kinds of different institutions that they have to be quarantined because of been exposed to the pandemic and they find themselves quarantine the effect that this is had on the churches around the world has been enormous. Everybody struggling with it. Everybody's fighting through it. Alcohol consumption in the United States is an all-time record high for the antidepressant business is booming and so one and so on is a year of storms. So I went to the Bible and I want to understand what does the Bible say about storms says a lot.
I mean the first one in Genesis was the biggest of them all, only know when his family survived. It that's a storm. But you go all the way to Revelation chapter 16.
At the end of the Bible and you have a storm occurring in the tribulation with hundred pound hailstones storms when storms bother us so much lighter storms out there like this is what I learned from the Bible, God uses storms to teach his people.
You may not like that but it's it. God uses storms to teach his people. In fact, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ. I can guarantee one thing for you and that is you will find yourself in storms. In fact, Bill Lawrence. It was a professor of mine at Dallas theological seminary. He's believe there was a whole study. You could do throughout the word of God, and he called it storm biology.
That's how much there is to be said about storms and the word of God. If you want to be a follower of Jesus Christ, you must experience storms big ones public ones and little ones that are private. Why is that why do we have to experience storms because as long as everything is going well and our life as long as every day is sunny and clear and 75� as long as everything is working great in our lives we end up embracing a delusion. We think were in control. I have complete control of my life I have control of my career. My help. I have control over my life.
That thought gives us a false sense of security. We believe were secure than 2020 comes along know many of us believe that right now you see that idea that we can control this and we are secure and has two big problems. One is control was a myth is not true. Sinful people to live in a cursed planet don't have control now. I don't mean you can't control anything.
Sure you can you can control your temper, you control your appetite. You can control your finances to a degree, but you can control the big moments the big storms of life at all. Secondly, God is against the thought of our own control over and over again. God wants to make it clear to what you are not in control and all it takes is one store to show you and me. We can control our lives. Storms teach us that we are not in control.
Once you open your Bibles and go with me to Mark chapter 4 Mark chapter 4 Mark four. In the context of these storms is the most important thing for you and I do understand in Mark chapter 4 Jesus starts the chapter out and has a big crowd of people and he's teaching them parables. So you got tons of people listening and Jesus speaking in parables.
Now, if you know the Gospels all you realize it that's really tough when you have the disciples run because somehow the disciples never understand the parable and then Jesus even explains it to them and are not sure they understand. So Jesus teaching parable after parable here and so after he teaches them all in verse 33 says and with many parables, he was speaking the word to them so far that they were able to hear it.
And he did not speak to them without a parable. But he was explaining everything privately to his own disciples he was teaching them truth. We call this education Jesus as I want to educate you, I'll teach you when I get it. Okay the meat what's the other way you and I learned if we don't learn to education. How do we learn, experience, what you can't on an educational wall on an education you can learn and experience.
So Jesus says, yeah, that's what other so notice it says on that day) right when he had all this time trying to explain parables them is that on that day when evening came, he said to them, let's go over to the other side. Let's go over to the other side, while everyone's exhausted.
Jesus says, leaving the crowd. They took him along with them in the boat. Just as he was in their other birds with other people. What this isn't just a storm for them. Now the beauty of the disciples is they got fishermen on board professionals and the they're going to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Now the Sea of Galilee is about 7 miles across and 13 miles long. It's a good size like. But the thing you have to know about it is it 700 feet below sea level were at sea level here 700 feet lower than we are. That's how low the Sea of Galilee is the mountains on the northern and eastern part of Galilee 2000 feet high. So when the wind comes down from the mountains through the mountains down something that low creates fear scales tremendous storms and the reason that so important is those fishermen who are disciples have been on that like their whole lives. They have seen hundreds of storms you see with you and I go out on the lake and someone like a charter captain takes us and there's a storm or even a squat were terrified. But he's been out there for hundreds he's not terrified.
He knows exactly what is boat will do.
These are professionals, but this is in a storm like anyone they'd ever experienced, and there arose a fierce gale of wind and waves were breaking over the bait. So much of the boat was already filling up storms come suddenly without warning. Suddenly, without warning, some of the worst news you ever had in your life. The worst storms are never personally experienced pain from a phone call that came from something you experience or you heard about someone you love is here and now they just got a call and they're not here anymore. What a storm. One amazing thing. It just happens instantly.
Storms come out of nowhere.
The storms of life are much more like a tornado than they are like a hurricane. The beauty of our technology is you see a hurricane coming for a long ways but not this, they had no idea this was going to happen is Dr. Hendrix used to say the what the boat was in the water.
The water was in the boat and that's true now. There's a reason for this Jesus to mask what had the disciples done wrong. Nothing you mean you get a fierce storm like this for nothing yet doing wrong that been punished. There's nothing like that they had done a single thing wrong at all during the storm because Jesus put a minute, Jesus himself. Here we go was in the Stern asleep on a cushion love that he's asleep on a cushion because he's exhausted you been teaching all day with these people. He sound asleep and by the way is the storm a threat to him. No, he orchestrated the storm.
So what's he up so he is not afraid the storm isn't about just left storm in the physical danger.
This storm is about a spiritual lesson that has to be taught. They didn't learn through education are going to learn through experience and I'm in a teacher and then they did with you and I often do a welcome and they said to him, teacher, do you not care that we are perishing. No, we don't say that way, exactly what I've heard from people my whole ministry. How could God allow this storm to happen to me. How could he do this, the inference, there's the same. I mean, think about this. There they have seen Jesus Christ. They profess their faith in him. He has done remarkable overwhelming miracles in their question his why don't you care. Why don't you care, you say to the son of God. Why don't you care to see what a storm brings up brings out a lot of the reality of who we really are. Why don't you care that we are perishing. What first of all the questions, stupid in the one of one of the boat goes down. In the end, the disciples perish.
Who else is going down. Jesus said that even make sense to ask the question what is the question that they ask, see, they did what we did. We do all the time they find themselves in the storm. They were professional fishermen. You know what they did they try to take control of it. I can imagine Peter Andrew Wood barking out orders you get over there you get this out of the boat, put the cell documents that will now control the storm but some storms cannot be controlled. You can work as hard as you can get nowhere.
And so what happens he got up, he rebuked the wind and he said to the sea, hush be still, literally the Greek is kind of interesting and say be still in Greek. He says be muzzled just be muzzled and I don't know this kid is not in the Greek, but I know when he said it he probably shook his head be muzzled or maybe rolled his eyes. Come on guys storms are for a reason in your life you not getting it. See, you're not getting it all. The wind died down and it became perfectly: Donovan's tree was supernatural storm. This is if you had sees that scary fishermen to death and the wind stopped to get smooth and I want to take a while. All those will not this one be stopped cold when glassy sea. Now they have to realize maybe some gnosis, when Peter is he something else is happening here. He said to them, why are you afraid now. I love this because this is the case were knowingly Greek helps. This is guy loss is not the normal word for being afraid. It's a very rare word. They translated that way because I think it gets the point across. But here's what that word means guy loss.
Why are you cowards. That's the word guy loss means cowards. Why are you cowards in other words, your faith should embolden you.
Your faith should strengthen you but you're a coward. He said why are you cowards do you still have no faith. Now he knows they have some faith right because of following Jesus, but he means in the context of the storm. You have no faith. Does that sound like you and me. It does seem an amazing in that amazing that we could put our faith in Jesus Christ. Years ago, we could go to Bible studies and church.
We can sing praises to him and tell him how much we love them and trust them, and how good and sovereignty is and then we get in the storm and where to go. Where did all this go Jesus and you have no faith what happened that you have no faith means you have no faith in the storm. They became very much afraid not. The same word now. They became very much afraid that word for fear means terrified they are now terrified and notice what their terrified about. They said to one another, who then is this, that even the wind and sea obey him.
He is exactly who you said is that silly is if you've seen me, you have seen the father that silly is theirs and who is this you see the whole perspective was that was the problem there, terrified.
Only God could have done what he did was a gas. So why are you asking who I am because they're struggling with what you and I struggle with when it comes to storms. How do I move from control to trust. How do I move from what I need to do it how I need to control what did you say trust the Lord with this man.
Let the Lord do this. The only way to control your life is to trust the one who can control it. You can't. The only way to control your own life is the trust the only one who can control your life for something else to though about them knowledge about Jesus is not the same of really knowing Jesus. And that's the problem.
If they really knew Jesus the trust them in the storm. If you really knew Jesus you trust them in the storms. If you really knew Jesus all things are going to work together for your good. I see that you see nothing isn't filtered through my sovereign good love for you. The storm should make you more and more reliant on me and Les and Leslie Nye don't ride on you. That's what is trying to teach them in a storm, not the CL worked out.
Let's go to Mark six Mark six. Just a couple pages in verse 30 now you if you read the book of Mark, and you understand the book of Mark chapter 6 in the book of Mark is a big demarcation point point up until chapter 6 everything Jesus did was for the crowd all everything he did his teaching was for the crowd's miracles were the crowd. It's for the crowd now from chapter 6 on everything he does is for his disciples. Now I'm in a deal with you now.
I want you to see what you need to be when I'm gone. That's what happens in Mark six. So there's a very famous miracle here it says in verse 30 the apostles gathered together with Jesus and they reported to him all that they had done and taught, and he said to them come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest for a while for the were many people coming and going and they don't even have time to eat and they went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves and the people saw them going and many recognize them and they ran there together on foot from all the cities and got there ahead of the disciples of them.
When Jesus went ashore, he saw a large cry for compassion for them, and because they were like sheep without a shepherd. He began to teach them many things. And when it was already quite late, the disciples came to him and said this place is desolate and it's already quite late, send them away so that they will may be able to go to the surrounding countryside and the villages, and buy for themselves. Something neat to watch what happened. Verse 37 Jesus said you give them something what what you give him something note you you the guy that does the miracles when you tell me, for you give them something to eat and they said so we go ahead, so we don't spend 200 Mary some bread and give them something to eat or not getting it.
Jesus says how many loaves do you have go look and they when they find that they said five and two fish, he commanded them. He said all to sit down in groups on the green grass and a set dominant groups, hundreds and 50s. He took the five rows of two fish, looking up to heaven, he bless the food he broke the lows and Giving them to the disciples that the set before them, and he divided up the two fish among them all and they all ate and were satisfied and they picked up 12 baskets of the broken pieces and also of the fish and there were about 5000 men who ate the lows, the feeding of 5000 not what's different about this is important who did Jesus through them. They know what that's called ministry.
That's what ministry that's exactly what they did bathroom never on the radio ministry of fellowship in. If you ever miss one of our broadcasting or maybe you dislike of the sum of the method one more time. Remember the good a great website called one place.com that's one place.com and you can listen to Fellowship in the Word online at that website you will find on with today's broadcast but also many of her previous audio program is at Fellowship in the Word. We are thankful for those who financially support our ministry and make this broadcast possible. We ask all of our listeners to prayerfully consider how you might help his radio ministry continuous broadcast on this radio station by supporting a monthly report just a one-time gift support for ministry can be sent to Fellowship in the Word. 4600 Clearview Pkwy., Metairie, LA 7006 if you would be interested in hearing today's message in its original format that is is a sermon, the pastor will deliver during a Sunday morning service of fellowship monitored visit our website FVC Nola.org that FVC and oh LA.O RG at our website you will find hundreds pastor Bill sermon you can browse through our sermon archives to find sermon series you're looking for. You can search by title. Once you find the message you're looking for. You can listen online or if you prefer, you can download the sermon and listen at your own.
And remember all this absolutely free of charge. Once again our website FVC Nola.org for pastor Bill Gebhardt and Jason Denhardt. Thank you for listening to fellowship in order