Mark 4:36-41 WHAT MANNER OF MAN IS THIS?
Intro: Ill. The Context. Jesus is tired from the stresses and activities of the
day, and as the ship containing Himself and the Disciples crosses the Sea
of Galilee, Jesus lays down and goes to sleep. As He sleeps, a severe
storm overtakes the small craft. The storm is so great that the Disciples are
afraid for their lives, but Jesus sleeps through it all. Then, when they feel
that all hope is nearly gone, they wake Jesus up and He steps forth in all the
power of His deity and rebukes the storm and calms the stormy sea. To day
the least, the Disciples are astounded! They look around at one another
and voice the question that is the theme of the message this evening. They
ask, "What manner of man is this?"
Jesus has always been a man surrounded by controversy. The
Disciples beheld His power first hand and were forced to ask, "What manner
of man is this?" I have experienced Him at work in my life, as many of you
have, and I am still asking "What manner of man is this?". Al those who
know Him never cease to be amazed by Him and those who do not know
Him can never hope to understand Him or His power.
However, I would like to try to shed a little light on what kind of man
Jesus is. Allow me to share 4 simple thoughts with you that will go a long
way in answering the question, "What manner of man is this?"
I. Mark 4:39 HE IS THE STILLER OF STORMS
A. Regardless Of Their Source - Storms tend to manifest themselves
in various ways in our lives. There are storms that are satanic in
origin, others are physical, some are emotional, there are physical
storms and financial storms, and thousands of others too numerous
to name. Yet, regardless fo the source of our storm, there is One
Who can still say "peace be still!" Jesus is still the stiller of storms,
regardless of their source. (Ill. Isa. 43:2; Isa 45:5, 6, 14, 18, 22 - "I am
God, there is none else!")
B. Regardless Of Their Force - Sometimes the storms of life are mild,
at other times they nearly rip our lives apart. But, regardless of the
intensity of the storm we are forced to face in life, let me remind you
of 2 things. First, we will never face a storm alone, Heb. 13:5.
Second, we have a God who is greater than anything we will ever
face and He will be our helper in the day of the howling storm or the
stiff breeze, Heb. 13:6. (Ill. Notice God's plan for handling the storms
of life - Phil. 4:6-7.)
C. Regardless Of Their Course - No matter what the outcome of the
storm may be, or regardless of what lies in the path of the storm, God
will still use it your life for His glory and for your good, Rom. 8:28. If
you don't believe me, just take a minute to look at the life of Job. He
weathered the storm sheltered in the arms of God and even while the
wind was still raging around him, Job found the grace to shout his
praise to the Lord, Job 1:20-21. God can and will do the same for
you!
I. He Is The Stiller Of Storms
II. Heb. 7:25 HE IS THE SAVER OF SOULS
Heb 7:25, "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that
come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for
them."
A. He Has Power To Purchase - According to 1 Cor. 6:20, we have
been bought with a price! However, I do not think we fully understand
the glory of that truth. The Bible has much to say about our
redemption, but I would like to share three passages with you this
evening that tell the whole tale about that the Lord has done for us.
1. Rev. 5:9 - "And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy
to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast
slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every
kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;" In this verse, the
word redeemed comes from the Greek word "agarazw". This
word means to "buy in the marketplace." It carries the idea of
someone purchasing a slave off the auction block. That is what
the Lord did for us!
2. Gal. 4:5 - "To redeem them that were under the law, that we
might receive the adoption of sons." In this verse, the word
redeemed comes from the word "ecagarazw". This word means
"to take off the market." It means to buy something for oneself
and the reserve it for your own use. In other words, it is no longer
for sale!
3. 1 Pet. 1:18 - "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not
redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from
your vain conversation received by tradition from your
fathers;" Here, the word redeemed comes from the word
"loutron". This word means "to release after the payment of the
ransom price."
4. When all of these words are taken together, we begin to get a
clearer picture of what the Lord Jesus has done for us in
redemption!
B. He Has Power To Purify - According to the Bible, Isa. 1:18; Rev.
7:14, the saints of God have been washed white I the blood of the
Lamb! When we trusted Jesus for salvation, we were washed whiter
than snow and every lowdown, dirty thing we had ever done, or ever
will do was washed away from us forever! We have been declared
righteous by the Heavenly Father, 1 Cor. 6:9-11. All of our many sins
have been forever washed away, John 1:29. (Ill. Psa. 103:12; Isa.
38:17; Isa. 43:25; Jer. 50:20; Micah 7:19; 1 John 1:7.)
C. He Has Power To Preserve - Thank God not can the Lord purchase
us and purify us, but He can also preserve us! I praise His name that
He will no lose one of His little ones on the way home to glory! (Ill.
John 6:37-40; 1 Pet. 1:5; John 10:28; Jude 1:24.)
I. He Is The Stiller Of Storms
II. He Is The Saver Of Souls
III. Jer. 31:25 HE IS THE SATISFIER OF SAINTS
Jer 31:25, "For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished
every sorrowful soul." (Ill. The word "satiate" means "to slake the thirst,
to saturate, to abundantly satisfy.")
A. He Gives Internal Satisfaction - When a sinner comes to Jesus, he
finds complete satisfaction! There is internal satisfaction in that the
new born saint in given peace with God, Rom. 5:1. Gone is the sense
of conviction and of fear. These are replaced with a feeling of
calmness and quietness in the soul. No longer does the saint feel the
need to search and seek to be made right with the Lord, but he knows
that things have been made right and that is a feeling that cannot be
duplicated by anything else!
B. He Gives External Satisfaction - Not only does the Lord satisfy
internally, but He also satisfies externally, Psa. 107:9; 1 John 2:15.
The new born saint finds that he loses his appetite for the things of
the world. He soon discovers that nothing pleases the soul like the
great things of the Lord. The satisfied saint will run after God and not
the world. Ill. This is one of the greatest parts of the change Jesus
makes - 2 Cor. 5:17.
(Ill. A famous preacher toured New York City. While he was there, he
saw many of the sites and looked upon the things of that great city.
He saw many wonders and many things that were designed to appeal
to the flesh. When he returned to his hotel room, he bowed on his
knees and thanked the Lord for letting him see New York, but he went
on to thank the Lord that even though he saw many wonderful things,
he thanked God that he didn't see a thing that he wanted. That is
what satisfaction is all about!)
(Ill. Those who understand satisfaction know that true contentment is
found in Jesus and in Him alone - Heb. 13:5.)
C. He Gives Eternal Satisfaction - One day, this life will be over. The
saints of God will pass from earth to Heaven and will enter into the
presence of God. When that day comes, we will know the meaning
of satisfaction perfectly! Notice what David said about that day, Psa.
17:15; Psa. 16:11. In Heaven we will experience eternal satisfaction.
Gone will be the trials and storms of this life. Gone will be the tears
and struggles of sin and of the flesh. Heaven will open before us with
all of its beauty and splendor and we will enter the Lord's presence
and know firsthand what true satisfaction is all about - Rev. 21:4.
I. He Is The Stiller Of Storms
II. He Is The Saver Of Souls
III. He Is The Satisfier Of Saints
IV. Psa. 23:1-6 HE IS THE SHEPHERD OF SHEEP
A. He Feeds Them - As we make our way through this life we can count
on the Lord to give us what we need to help us to grow in Him. The
shepherd leads his sheep to the green pastures where they can feed
and where they can grow. The Lord leads us through the green
pastures of His Word where our souls can feed on the bounty
presented there for us. God help the sheep who doesn't take time to
feed on the Word of God! (Ill. This Book is your food - Job 23:12; 1
Pet. 2:2.)
B. He Leads Them - Not only is the shepherd responsible for feeding his
sheep, but he must lead them as well. Note where the Good
Shepherd leads His flock.
1. V. 2-4 In The Right Path - Those who follow Him are never lead
astray!
2. V. 4 With The Right Peace - Though danger abounds on every
hand, the sheep are safe in the presence of the Shepherd.
3. V. 4 With The Right Protection - The Shepherd knows how to
protect the sheep and He is ever present and able to do so.
4. V. 5 With The Right Provisions - He knows and anticipates
every need and always takes care of the sheep in the way He sees
is best.
5. V. 6 To The Right Place - When the journey has ended, the
Shepherd will bring all His sheep into His Father's fold. He will see
to it that all His lambs arrive safely home!
Conc: What manner of man is this? There aren't enough adjectives in the
collective vocabularies of humanity to adequately describe Him and His
glory. The best we can do is to join our voices with that of the Shumanite
woman in Song Of Solomon 5:16 and declare together that "He is
altogether lovely!" If you need Him this evening, He is still the stiller of
storms, the saver of souls, the satisfier of saints and the shepherd of the
sheep. Why not come to Him and get what you need tonight?
