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 which reach a height 9000 feet above sea level
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, so
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, He healed the sick , cast out demons.
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
