The Unstoppable Jesus Jonah 1, Mark 4-5
So often in life we find ourselves in precarious predicaments where we are lost and struggle to know how to respond. When frustrated & bereft of perspective we blame others and so fail to take appropriate responsibility and act in a God-ordained way.
The Perfect Storm 1 – Jonah: Jonah 1:4-6
The Perfect Storm 2 – Jesus and the Disciples: Mark 4:35-39
The descriptions of these two stories have much in common: Two storms, two boats, two groups of people in crisis, two men sleeping.
Questions
Which storm would you rather be in?
Which boat would you rather be in?
Who would you rather have sleeping in your boat?
Perfect Storm Number 1 – Jonah fleeing God’s will
Perfect Storm Number 2 – Jesus pursuing God’s will
Comment
· Most Christians believe that our task in life on earth when in crisis is to identify the problems and then cry out to God to fix the problems caused by the crisis.
· Rather than praying from earth to heaven to get God to listen and then act in our Perfect Storms, we should be in prayer listening for God’s revelation about our crises and by responsibly assuming authority from God’s Word and ministering in the power of the Holy Spirit address the issues.
· In our crises in life we all have accused Jesus of not caring when our needs are not immediately met.
· If Jesus is asleep in your boat, it is because He has a divine purpose to get you to the other side and certainly not to let you drown in the middle of a storm.
· Jesus gets up and rebukes the wind – the cause of the storm, and speaks peace into the waves. Jesus could do this because He possessed peace within. We can only declare peace over a storm in which we have peace in the storm. There are many people who can stand on the bow of a boat in the midst of a storm and speak out all kinds of spiritual mantras with no effect on the storm. Because they minister out of fear rather than faith, they have no effect.
· Fear has an odor in the spirit world that attracts the demonic. Fear produces bitterness, anger, envy and jealousy, all signs of death and decay. Such attitudes block God’s power and give legal right for Satan to be destructively active in our difficult circumstances. When we, from fear, develop negative attitudes and behaviors in our crises, our prayers are blocked by Satan (James 3:14-4:4).
· Jesus speaks peace into the crisis because He lived in peace in the crisis. Peace is not the absence of something i.e. noise, conflict, war … but it is in the kingdom sense the presence of someone, namely Jesus.
· Paul says to the Philippian Christians (Philippians 3:19-21) that they are citizens of heaven. Heaven is a place of perfect peace – shalom. As citizens of heaven, we are to live in that perfect peace as did Jesus.
· In the book of Philippians, Paul reminds us that we are to be like Jesus, who whilst on earth lived within human limitation, yet under God thought and behaved as a citizen of heaven, exercising authority and responsibility as appropriate.
· We are to be at peace in a world of turmoil, danger, dysfunction and pain – speaking with authority God’s word of peace or shalom into this world through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus had no power of His own whilst on earth, but tapped into the power of the kingdom and became a conduit of that power to bring changed circumstances. Jesus knew He could only give away what He possessed. He could speak peace into the storm because He lived in peace in the storm.
· Fear is the opposite of faith. The Christian life is one of faith from beginning to end. It is therefore no wonder that the most repeated command given in Scripture is “Do not fear!”
· Fear is agreement with the enemy, Satan, on his perspective about our situation, and when we agree we give authority to Satan to interfere in our lives and circumstances.
· Israel was warned in Judges 6 not to fear the gods of other nations. Sadly they did and ended up worshipping those gods. What we fear is what we ultimately, even by default, worship. If we fear financial failure we will worship money. If we fear loneliness we will worship relationships even if destructive. If we fear disempowerment we will worship power.
· Fear so often regulates our lives.
· In the midst of the storms of life we need to gain revelation from God as to the underlying cause. If the cause is God trying to gain our attention and steer us back to His paths, then we need to repent so that peace can again be restored. If the cause is Satan trying to destroy our ministry we need to rest in God so that we can responsibly rebuke Satan and speak peace with God’s authority into the situation.
· Sometimes we face storms because we are in the centre of God’s will. God desires to take us to the other side of the lake to special ministry and preferred future. Rather than badly react and try to escape, we need to rest in peace and allow God to work out His plan.
Summary
· In our two stories we have a boat, a man sleeping - one who was depressed and a fugitive from God in the midst of a God-provoked storm to bring him back to God’s will, the other sleeping at peace with God and in the centre of God’s will in a Satan provoked storm to distract and destroy God’s work. A potential shipwreck in one case unless repentance is exercised and in the other, loss of godly outcomes, unless faith is exercised.
· In Hebrews 6:1 the concepts of repentance and faith are linked with the encouragement to move from repentance from dead works to faith in God and His miraculous intervention.
· All of us have been in both kinds of storms. We need to discern which kind of Perfect Storm we are in. If we confuse them we will respond inappropriately and potentially block off the powerful work of God. We need to repent if we are off track and continue to walk in faith if we are on track.
· As with Moses in Exodus 14, we often have to endure crises in order to obediently follow God’s call on our lives and enact His will. Moses was called on to lead the Children of Israel out of captivity, but in following his calling had to overcome his fears.
· Moses in fear wanted the people to stand still when faced with impossibilities. God wanted His people to move forward in faith - amidst their impossibilities to secure supernatural deliverance and freedom.
· Lesson: God would not act until Moses took on responsibility - his God-given authority. Rather than Moses call to heaven from earth, God wanted Moses to understand His perspective and purpose, and then act from Heaven to invade earth with His will. God doesn’t want us to pray that He invade earth, but that we invade heaven for His wisdom and power so that we can invade earth to secure His will as did Jesus.
Outcome of Perfect Storm 1 - Jonah 1:7-17; 2:1; 3:1-3
In the case of Jonah, he declared to the others in the boat that he was fleeing from the Lord and in order to save themselves they should throw him overboard. Reluctantly, as the storm grew in intensity and their position became more serious, the others threw him overboard and God miraculously provided a great fish to swallow him up and rescue him. From the inside of the fish, Jonah prays to God and recognizes God’s provision and salvation, repents of his rebellion, and decides to take up (still somewhat reluctantly) the call of God on his life to preach repentance to the rebellious people of Nineveh. The storm whipped up by God, and the subsequent events led to Jonah’s repentance and recalibration of his life and response to God’s call, and when again on track – the salvation of a city.
Outcome of Perfect Storm 2 - Mark 4:40-41; Mark 5:1-20
Jesus stills the storm, rebukes the disciples for lack of faith, and takes them to the other side of the lake. There Jesus ministers to a severely demon possessed man, which strikes fear into the hearts of the hard-hearted residents of the area. The man is denied the request to accompany Jesus but is commissioned to share his powerful story of deliverance with all who would listen. The people are amazed and the whole area is opened up to the gospel of the kingdom with many people coming to faith. Through one unstoppable man standing in faith instead of fear against a satanically caused storm designed to distract and destroy the work of God, a whole region was opened up to the gospel.
· God calls us not to view the problems on earth from an earthly perspective but to view them from His perspective – so we need to seek His revelation
· God calls us not to cry out to Him to fix the problem, but to imbue us with His power and authority to take our stand against the devil’s schemes
· God calls us not to blame others for our situation but to properly discern whether the storms of life are from Him or from Satan. If they are from Him to correct us then repent and obey. If they are from Satan then exercise faith without doubt.
· When approached the right way we should see regardless of challenge, great gains for the advancement of the kingdom of God as confirmation.
Challenge
Which boat are you in amidst the storms you are facing? Are you in the boat with Jesus or the boat with the non-believers? Which person is asleep in your boat – Jesus or you running from God’s will for your life? What response are you making to your storms – running from God, or drawing near to Him? What is God calling you to do in the midst of your storms – confess and repent or stand in faith without doubting? Are you going to join God enthusiastically in His mission of bringing and advancing the Kingdom of God and see an outpouring of His Spirit?
Discussion Starters
1. Share together your response to this message.
2. Share with others, times of challenge and crisis when you were running from God’s will or were in God’s will. What was the outcome and what did you learn about God in the midst of problems and challenges?
3. Spend time in prayer for the needs of your group, making sure that your prayers appropriately assume the authority God has given you as a citizen of heaven and an agent of His kingdom.