Cecil Hutson Sermon Archive

February 11, 2007 PM

JESUS STILLS THE TEMPEST

MK 4:35-41

INTRO: Coming home from Australia in 1969, we elected to travel by ship from Sydney to Los Angeles. We were on the ship for an entire month with our four (at that time) fairly young children. As we journeyed, we encountered three typhoons ... massive storms in our part of the world we call "hurricanes". Needless to say, these were interesting events! We were on board a modern ocean liner which was equipped with every needed device to take us safely through the storms. I can only imagine, though, what such storms would have been like if I had been on board a small sailing craft. It probably would not have taken long for me to have said, "Master, master, we perish" (Lk 8:24). That, of course, was exactly the situation of the disciples of Jesus ... in a small boat on a very stormy sea.

I. SOME INITIAL THOUGHTS...

A. The end of a very busy day of teaching

1. Mark tells us "And the same day, when the even was come..."

2. Jesus' days were filled with people and teaching

3. physical and mental weariness were probably common to Jesus

B. It was Jesus' idea to cross the Sea of Galilee to "the other side"

1. was it His desire to be away from crowds to rest for a while?

2. whatever the case was, Jesus & disciples just left in small boats

3. there were no preparations made ... "they took him even as he was in the ship" - He was already in the boat ... doubtless, using it as a pulpit

C. Violent, sudden storms were common on the Sea of Galilee

1. geographically speaking, the sea was situated in such a way that the heights at the upper end and the deep ravines and canyons acted together to form a sort of "funnel" for the winds to rush upon the sea - even on clear days

2. so here they were in boats which were being "swamped" by the waves

3. Mark tells us, "...so that it was now full"

D. Jesus was asleep!

1. He was in the stern of the boat - head resting on some sort of cushion

2. one observed this was not only the sleep of weariness but also of faith

3. what contrast...Jesus sleeping & disciples terrified

II. A QUESTION...

A. "Master, carest thou not that we perish?"

1. seasoned sailors would have realized the danger in which they were

2. and they had to awaken Jesus to reveal the danger to Him!

3. no doubt in my mind that they were alarmed, frightened of dying there

B. But does Jesus care?

1. consider Jno 3:14,15 - yes, Jesus does care in ways they did not know

2. or, Jno 3:16 - Jesus is all about keeping us from perishing

3. further, Heb 4:15,16 - the great assurance of the scriptures is that Jesus does care about you and me ... for the here and now and the there and then!

III. ANOTHER QUESTION...

A. "Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?"

1. they had already seen some amazing things - but this was different

2. they knew about storms and boats ... and experience told them they were about to be engulfed and, probably, drowned

3. human experience sometimes works against faith

B. Trusting is not an easy thing for us human beings

1. it seems like it's one thing to "believe" - another to "trust"

2. trusting is acting on that which we believe when the acting my not be in harmony with experience

3. Jno 14:1 - the answer to fear and troubled hearts is belief/trust

IV. AND YET ANOTHER QUESTION

A. "What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"

1. in v. 39 the awakened Jesus spoke to the wind and sea (personified)

2. and once again His words are simple - no wild incantations

3. "Peace, be still" - what could these words mean to our troubled lives?

B. Col 1:14-17 - 2:9 - He is doubtless Deity

1. He created the material universe ... and He commands it

2. the miracles they had seen were truly amazing ... but I would guess that nothing they had seen compared with this

3. they had seen Him in His humanity - but now they are truly seeing Him in His Deity ... and that creates, understandably, a not before felt awe in them

CLOSE: For me, one of the great lessons here is that the same Jesus Who can make a stormy sea calm and peaceful can bring great peace into our lives. And the challenge is for us to translate belief into trust.

Cecil A. Hutson

11 February 2007

God's Plan of Salvation

You Must Hear the Gospel

You must hear the gospel and then understand and recognize that you are lost without Jesus Christ no matter who you are and no matter what your background is. The Bible tells us that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Before you can be saved, you must understand that you are lost and that the only way to be saved is by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:8) Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6) “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

You Must Believe

You must believe and have faith in God because “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) But neither belief alone nor faith alone is sufficient to save. (James 2:19; James 2:24; Matthew 7:21)

You Must Repent

You must repent of your sins. (Acts 3:19) But repentance alone is not enough. The so-called “Sinner’s Prayer” that you hear so much about today from denominational preachers does not appear anywhere in the Bible. Indeed, nowhere in the Bible was anyone ever told to pray the “Sinner’s Prayer” to be saved. By contrast, there are numerous examples showing that prayer alone does not save. Saul, for example, prayed following his meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:11), but Saul was still in his sins when Ananias met him three days later (Acts 22:16). Cornelius prayed to God always, and yet there was something else he needed to do to be saved (Acts 10:2, 6, 33, 48). If prayer alone did not save Saul or Cornelius, prayer alone will not save you. You must obey the gospel. (2 Thess. 1:8)

You Must Confess

You must confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (Romans 10:9-10) Note that you do NOT need to make Jesus “Lord of your life.” Why? Because Jesus is already Lord of your life whether or not you have obeyed his gospel. Indeed, we obey him, not to make him Lord, but because he already is Lord. (Acts 2:36) Also, no one in the Bible was ever told to just “accept Jesus as your personal savior.” We must confess that Jesus is the Son of God, but, as with faith and repentance, confession alone does not save. (Matthew 7:21)

You Must Be Baptized for the Remission of Sins

Having believed, repented, and confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, you must be baptized for the remission of your sins. (Acts 2:38) It is at this point (and not before) that your sins are forgiven. (Acts 22:16) It is impossible to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ without teaching the absolute necessity of baptism for salvation. (Acts 8:35-36; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Peter 3:21) Anyone who responds to the question in Acts 2:37 with an answer that contradicts Acts 2:38 is NOT proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ!

You Must Be Faithful Unto Death

Once you are saved, God adds you to his church and writes your name in the Book of Life. (Acts 2:47; Philippians 4:3) To continue in God’s grace, you must continue to serve God faithfully until death. Unless they remain faithful, those who are in God’s grace will fall from grace, and those whose names are in the Book of Life will have their names blotted out of that book. (Revelation 2:10; Revelation 3:5; Galatians 5:4)

What is the church of Christ?

In Matthew 16:18, Jesus promised to build a church. In Acts 2:47, Luke tells us that people were being added to that church. Thus, we can conclude that Jesus built His church sometime between His promise in Matthew 16 and Luke’s statement in Acts 2. Indeed, a closer study of the events in Acts 2 reveals that the Lord’s church was established on that first day of Pentecost following the Lord’s resurrection when Peter preached the first gospel sermon. That church is the church of Christ.

A common misconception about the church of Christ is that “The Church of Christ” is its name. It is not. The “church of Christ” is its description. The church of Christ is the church that belongs to Christ, that was established by Christ, that was built by Christ, and that was bought by Christ. It is not our church; it is His church, the Lord’s church. We are not voted into the church by men, and we do not join a church the way some might join a country club. Instead, God adds us to His church when we obey His gospel.

Are those in the church of Christ the only people who are going to be saved? Of course they are! God adds people to His church when they are saved. If you are not in the Lord’s church, then you are not saved. If you are saved, then you are in the Lord’s church. To be saved outside of the church of Christ is to be saved outside of the body of Christ – and that can never happen. Jesus is not just a way to the Father; he is the way to the Father. As Jesus said in John 14:6, “ I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Thus, the real question is not what is the church of Christ, but is rather how do you become a part of the church of Christ? That question was asked in the first century as it is asked today, and the answer remains the same. We are saved and added to the Lord’s church when we obey the gospel of Jesus Christ. Like the Apostle Paul, we are saved when our sins are washed away at our baptism.

There is one church of Christ. If you are a member of something else or something more or something less, then you are not serving God according to His plan or according to His will. He wants you to be a Christian and only a Christian, wearing only the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, who is the head and the savior of the church, His body.

Want to know more? Here are 10 things everyone should understand about the church, here are some common misconceptions about the church, and here is how God views the church.

What Must I Do?

What must I do? That same question was asked in Acts 2:37 at the end of the very first gospel sermon ever preached. Before we look at Peter’s answer in verse 38, let’s look at some answers Peter did NOT give.

What must I do? John Calvin answers, “Nothing!” According to Calvin, there is nothing we must do and nothing we can do. Each of us has already been personally predestined to Heaven or Hell without regard to anything we do on Earth, and so, logically, according to Calvin, the only answer to the question in Acts 2:37 is “Nothing.” But that is NOT how Peter answered that question.

What must I do? Many preachers today answer, “You must make Jesus the Lord of your life.” But that answer makes absolutely no sense then or now! Peter had just said in Acts 2:36 that “God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Jesus was already Lord of their lives! Jesus is Lord of lords and King of kings, which means he is your Lord and your King whether or not you obey him or believe him. We obey Jesus because he is Lord and King – not to make him Lord and King.

What must I do? Many preachers today answer, “You must pray the sinner’s prayer and invite the Lord Jesus into you heart.” But no one in the Bible was ever told to do that. In fact, Paul prayed after he saw Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:11), and yet Paul was still in his sins when Ananias met him three days later (Acts 22:16). Cornelius prayed to God always (Acts 10:2), and yet there remained something he still had to do after calling for Peter (Acts 10:6). If praying the sinner’s prayer was all that Paul and Cornelius needed to do, then why were Ananias and Peter needed?

What must I do? Listen as Peter answers that question: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Acts 2:38) That answer has not changed one bit in the intervening 2000 years. If your preacher is telling you something different, then you need a new preacher! “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” (Acts 22:16)

Want to know more? Here is God's Plan of Salvation.

Cecil Hutson

Baptism in the Bible

Matthew 28:19

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

Mark 16:16

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Acts 2:38

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 8:36

And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?

Acts 22:16

And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

Romans 6:3

Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

Romans 6:4

Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

1 Corinthians 12:13

For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

Galatians 3:27

For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Ephesians 4:5

One Lord, one faith, one baptism.

Colossians 2:12

Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

1 Peter 3:21

The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Want to Know More?

Please read this lesson on baptism from our series of lessons on Thought Provoking Questions.

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