Month: March 2018

Good morning church! We are going through a series in the Gospel of Mark trying to see from Scripture what does it say about who Jesus Is! So we are not relying on tradition or merely our human experiences or culture to determine who Jesus Is. Rather we’ve been investigating and digging deep into the character and works of Jesus as recorded in the Bible to understand this. Today’s passage is a very familiar one yet so relevant for our lives today. If you could turn with me to Mark 4:35-41.

[35] On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” [36] And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. [37] And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. [38] But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” [39] And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. [40] He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” [41] And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

I absolutely loved going for youth camps! The night prior to the first day of the camp was filled with so much of excitement that at times I would forget to sleep. I loved the feeling of going to a place out of town with other believers to study the Word of God, sing melodious songs of worship through the day for 3 days, have meaningful group discussions with my peers and have lots of fun with the whole group! During those 3 days, with every sermon that was preached and every discussion that was conducted, I felt like I was growing so close to Jesus. But the moment I returned back to my usual schedule after the camp and faced my demanding boss, I realized where exactly I stood in my walk with Jesus. I realized that my faith wasn’t as strong as I thought it was. It was very shaky. My responses and attitude toward my boss whenever he would pressure on me did not show my faith positively. Often it’s the difficult times that really give us the best view of our walk with Jesus. It helps us know if we are trusting in God or not. If you’ve ever faced this tension and are wondering how to respond to the storms in your life, I believe today’s passage offers so much of hope. It gives us three reasons to trust God during difficult times.

1. We can trust God during difficulties because He is in complete control of our destiny

[35] On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” [36] And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. (v35, 36)

Jesus spent the whole day teaching people in many parables. He taught them so many things about the kingdom of God. He spoke about what it meant to be a real follower, what these followers would do and how would the kingdom of God grow. So much was being taught in parables, but only those who genuinely wanted to understand came back to Jesus and asked him for an explanation. These disciples gained a lot of head knowledge like the youth camp experience, but Jesus wanted to give them a lesson on what real faith looks like. Again, it’s interesting to see that this lesson wasn’t given to the crowd but to those who really wanted to follow Jesus. So he tells them to take the boat to the other side of the sea. We see Jesus initiating the plan to go to the other side so that He could reveal Himself to them. The storm wasn’t an unexpected incident that happened to the disciples but was part of Jesus’ sovereign plan to help them trust Him. We don’t see Jesus being surprised or fearful during the storm. In fact, what do we see Him do? He is asleep as a hurricane is taking place and as the boat is filling up. Jesus can afford to sleep during a storm because He is in perfect control of the situation. He knows what’s going to take place and He knows the end.

What’s would you say is the main difference between an experienced cricketer and a young inexperienced cricketer? Most people would say temperament. The way they handle tough circumstances shows their experience. A young cricketer who is just fresh into the sport will try to hit big shots and lose his wicket when the run rate is high. The experienced cricketer through his experience knows how to navigate the game even though the run rate is high. With all the experience, he knows how to win games even under pressure. He knows what is achievable and he’ll remain calm under those circumstances. Guess what happens to the entire team when the experienced cricketer is on the field? They’ll all relax because they know that they can trust his experience during a tough time. That’s the case with an ordinary human being who is only experienced in cricket. How much more relaxed can we as believers be to trust in God who knows all things and is in complete control of the end of all things?

Sometimes when we go through different types of difficulties and trying circumstances like financial troubles, we may express out of our pain “God, please don’t be silent. I’m going through a severe time of difficulty which is too hard to bear. Do you understand what I’m going through? Father, are you still in control of my life?” We may ask these questions in doubt and pain, but let’s realize how sure and firm is God’s control of our destiny. He is God not man to lose control and be afraid.

Psalm 139:4: Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.

Luke 12:7: Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Proverbs 16:33: The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.

So although the timing and the answers God gives to people’s prayers vary due to His plans and purposes, it doesn’t mean that God’s not in control. He works everything perfectly in a way to bring glory to Himself and for our best interests.

2. We can trust God during difficulties because He is present with us

[37] And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. [38] But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” [39] And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. [40] He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”

This windstorm was a hurricane like situation. The waves and waters were filling up the boat and they were really in a very dangerous situation. But why does Jesus tell them “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” Why was Jesus implying that they should not be afraid and they should have faith? Isn’t fear natural to a person when he is facing a cyclone situation and is on the sea? I think one of the reasons was because He wanted them to realize that His presence with them should assure them of safety and protection. Not only is God in control of the destiny of these disciples but Jesus’ physical presence with them meant that He was joining them during their stormy journey. You know if Jesus wanted to, he could’ve taught his disciples this lesson without physically being there. But he chose to be present with them through the storm. And that’s probably one of the most encouraging things and different things we see in the Christian faith compared to any other religious belief system. In every other religious system, God is perceived as someone who is not personal and acts out judgments from a distance and demands people to keep up to a rule book. In the Christian faith as described in the Bible, God is so personally attached to His people. He is not disconnected from us but wants to be involved in every single area. When we mess up, he personally sends His Son into the world as a human to live among us, then die on the cross for our sins and then rise again on the third day so that we can be with God forever. That’s the extent of God’s desire to be present with us. He removed every reason to be disconnected from us in order that He remains with us forever. That’s why you have even more of a reason to trust God during difficult times, because he does not abandon you…rather He says “I will never leave you, nor forsake you”.

I remember a time growing up when I was scared of some older boys who seemed like bullies in my area. I was always intimidated by them and so I would be afraid every time I walked past them alone. I told this to my dad and even though it wasn’t possible for my dad to be with me every single time but I knew whenever I walked with my dad, I wasn’t afraid because he was there with me. I felt secure and safe. If the presence of our earthly parents makes us feel safe, how much more secure should we be during times of difficulty because of our heavenly Father?

So as we go through a difficult situation in our life. It could be a difficult relationship with a close family member or a colleague. There could be a lot of resentment and insecurity built over the years and it’s taking time for that relationship to heal. Sometimes God instantly restores a relationship while other times it takes a while. Probably there are still insults being hurled at you, you are made to feel guilty and you feel miserable about the state of the relationship. What do you need the most right now? It’s not sympathetic words or ways to fight back. Know that you need the presence of Jesus. Know that Jesus is with you through this difficult time. Know that Jesus doesn’t abandon you. How do you become aware of God’s presence? As you meditate on His Word and respond back in prayer. Sometimes we make God’s presence to be a feeling or experience. The more we Jesus through the pages of the Bible, the more real and active will His presence be for us. His presence will comfort you and will assure you of safety and protection.

3. We can trust God during difficulties because He is all-powerful

[39] And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. [40] He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” [41] And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Just imagine being on that boat. You are all terrified because of the great hurricane. You think you’re going to die and Jesus rebukes the wind and tells the sea to be silent and there is an instant change of weather and sea conditions! That was how startling it was for these disciples. They are astonished and in fact fearful because now they recognize he’s not just a teacher but he is Almighty God who commands nature and they obey His voice. If God didn’t have all the power and authority, then we would have enough reason to doubt if God can handle our difficulties. But that’s not the case, God’s power to do as He wills and to instantly transform conditions or create things that never existed gives us all the more reason to trust Him completely.

There are many stories we hear of people who have complaints about a product that they’ve used. They end up contacting the customer service for weeks and there’s no solution to their problem. Then out of sheer frustration they write a letter to the CEO of the product company not knowing if it will even reach the CEO but they still go ahead and send it. Within few days, the representatives contact the person and rectify the solve the issue that they are facing.

The reason why the letter to the CEO has such a strong and quick impact is because the CEO has so much of power within the company. He can decide the fate of the employee and so he can make things happen quickly. The person writes to the CEO because he trusts in the authority of the CEO. We can trust God with our difficulties because He has the power and the authority to execute His plans. There is nothing in the universe that is impossible with God.

This should encourage us to come to God with every difficulty that we face in our lives. There’s nothing too big and neither is there nothing too small for God. At the same time, I’m not saying that God will always answer our prayers as we want it. Even Jesus being the Son of God at the garden said “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” And God’s purpose was that Jesus would suffer so that through His suffering all of us could be saved. So we must come to God with our requests no matter how difficult it may be trusting in the fact that God is powerful to do as He wants. Remember Jesus is not merely a teacher who came to the earth to give us theology, He is God – maker of heaven and the earth, ruler and judge of all things and people, the Only Way to God and the giver of eternal life! You can certainly trust in His power and authority as you approach Him with your requests. And once we’ve handed over the issues to God, to exhibit child like trust and believe that God will answer as He knows best.

What we truly believe in, what is the condition of our faith…all these things get revealed clearly and prominently during a difficult time or a storm in your life. But as we studied today, we can absolutely trust God in our difficulties because He is in complete control of our destiny, He is present with us and He is all-powerful.

[1] Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. [2] And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: [3] “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. [4] And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. [5] Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. [6] And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. [7] Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. [8] And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty-fold and sixty-fold and a hundredfold.” [9] And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” [10] And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. [11] And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, [12] so that

“‘they may indeed see but not perceive,
and may indeed hear but not understand,
lest they should turn and be forgiven.’”

[13] And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? [14] The sower sows the word. [15] And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. [16] And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. [17] And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.[a] [18] And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, [19] but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. [20] But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty-fold and sixty-fold and a hundredfold.”

Who among you is a true follower of Jesus? That’s the question a youth pastor once asked his youth group. All the hands went up. There was no surprise there. “Alright”, he asked “How many of you would still follow Jesus if it meant that you had to give up all your stuff including your phone?” Immediately 50% of the hands dropped. He asked them further, “Okay. how many of you would follow Jesus if it meant that you had to go to the interiors of Maharashtra and settle there for the mission of God?” Another 40% of the hands dropped. Finally, he said “how many of you would follow Jesus if it meant following him upto the cross?” At this all of the hands dropped and the whole room was filled with silence. At this point, one of the boys asked the youth pastor “how come you didn’t mention any of this to us while you asked us to repeat the sinner’s prayer after you?” Following Christ is a serious commitment and Jesus desires real followers who would remain with Him, learn from Him and become like Him. Today’s passage is a very familiar one for most of us. I’m sure we’ve heard many sermons on this passage but I want us to pay a close attention to what Christ calls from us. Let’s reflect on this passage and evaluate ourselves to check and see if we are real followers of Jesus.

There are 3 things that Christ demands from His followers:

1. Real openness to the gospel
2. Real faith in the gospel
3. Real fruit through the gospel

Real openness to the gospel

[3]“Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. [4] And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.

[14] The sower sows the word. [15] And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.

It’s just so cool to see how Jesus uses things and objects from that time to help people understand deep spiritual truths. Most of us probably won’t completely relate to this analogy because we aren’t working in the fields all day but the people to whom Jesus was speaking to clearly understood what he was saying. They knew that throwing seeds on the road would be useless. Neither would it find any soil to grow its roots and it wouldn’t even last long on the road – the birds would quickly pick it up and eat it. Jesus used that to indicate a heart that is stubborn and hard-hearted toward the things of God. Anything about God or sin or righteousness or holiness is immediately shot down. The mind completely shuts down when gospel is spoken to the person.

Since I was a kid I remember how my parents would take me to every single prayer meeting or conference that they could take me to. Every Thursday, Friday and even Saturday was spent with the church or in prayer meetings. Now it’s one thing that most of those meetings were in Malayalam so I didn’t understand the messages fully but it just felt like with every passing year that it was getting harder to listen and understand these messages. The moment the preacher would start preaching, my mind would instantly tune out. Later on when I started going to a church where the messages would be preached in English, same response. So if you had to just look at my schedule each week: it was packed with religious activity. I was involved in every meeting or conference that heralded the name of Jesus Christ but was I a follower? Absolutely not. What was missing? For starters, the manner in which I responded to the word of God. It’s not because I wasn’t capable of understanding the spiritual truths, I didn’t respond to the gospel because my heart was hardened with sin. I didn’t want to change. So there was no joy, no gladness and no excitement when the gospel was being preached.

So how did God change me? He humbled me and put me in a place where I would recognize my need for Him and the gospel. The miracle of the gospel is that the Holy Spirit uses the word as the raw material to break through our stone hearts and give us a new life and a new heart! Are we in a place where our mind shuts down every time we read the Bible or listen to a message? Is the Bible and spiritual conversations something that makes us really uncomfortable? Well, the answer is not in avoiding God but in humbling ourselves and confessing our sins and our need for Him. It’s our sin and hard heartedness that prevents us from knowing God. And even though we’ve messed up, God provides a way. See the promise in Ezekiel 36.

[25] I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. [26] I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. [27] And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. (Ezek 36:25-27)

God has done everything for us. We needed cleaning, he cleansed us. We had a heart of stone, he gave us a new heart. We needed a new spirit, he gave us a new one. We couldn’t obey His commands, He gave us a Spirit to help us obey God’s commands. So this should also encourage us to pray earnestly for our family members and friends and colleagues and neighbours who have hardened hearts. The power is in the Spirit as we share the gospel with them.

Real faith in the gospel

[5] Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. [6] And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away.

[16] And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. [17] And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.

What do we see when we look at the next type of soil/heart condition. Here is a person who receives the word with joy. He’s not like the person who shuts his mind when the gospel is preached. He hears, delights and rejoice in it. But this faith has no depth. It’s very superficial. It’s temporary. It would not last long since there is no serious commitment. So when things get a little harder: financial problems, marriage issues, difficulty at your workplace, sickness and ailments, maybe someone close to you left you and went away, maybe someone cheated you and you feel betrayed – at that point if your faith is not real, you will be ready to give it up and forsake Jesus.

Or it could be persecution because of the faith! It probably is cool accepting Jesus and talking about Him within the four corners of the building where your church meets. But the moment people insult you, harm you and even exclude you from the family or your community, then if your faith isn’t real you’ll be ready to give it up.

Even as I’m saying this, I know it’s really difficult and stressful for some of us to be a believer. You might be the only believer in your home. It’s not easy one bit. But just because we are going through a hard time, that shouldn’t stop us from loving, knowing and trusting Jesus. That’s real faith. Like in marriage, just because the couple may be going through financial trouble or a severe sickness, that shouldn’t stop them from being committed to each other. They don’t stop being husband and wife. The covenant of marriage says “till death do us part”. You don’t abandon your spouse when things get difficult. Real faith means that you remain committed to Christ even when everything around you is crashing down. Real faith sees hardships, trials and sufferings as God’s ordained means of making you like His Son. It’s like a man who wears several layers of clothes. Imagine hardships and persecutions as different things that remove every extra layer of clothing. One by one all the layers of pride, comfort, selfishness, people pleasing get peeled off and finally you come to the single piece of clothing that you were wearing all along. If your faith is real, that will be Jesus Christ who will be seen in you. That’s the goal.

If you had to look into your life and honestly answer. What is your response to hardships and persecutions? What would that say about our commitment to Jesus? I’m not saying that we will always perfectly respond to hardships. There are times when we do struggle in our faith. There are times when our faith wavers because of our circumstances. But that shouldn’t cause us to desert Christ. We don’t stop loving and obeying Jesus even though we will experience moments of unbelief. We repent, believe in the gospel and move ahead. We repent, believe in the gospel and move ahead. The Christian life will have struggles but you’ll always see a progression in faith.

Real fruit through the gospel

[7] Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. [8] And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty-fold and sixty-fold and a hundredfold. [9] And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

[18] And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, [19] but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. [20] But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty-fold and sixty-fold and a hundredfold.

The third type of soil is the one among thorns. The issue with this kind of spirituality is that it doesn’t produce any fruit. In this case they are definitely hearing the Word but there are somethings that choke up your faith:

1. Cares of the World: This means being anxious about future, where you’ll live, what job to take up, how much money to make…all of these things consume your mind and drive your life
2. Deceitfulness of Riches: All your actions and choices in life will indicate that you believe that money and possessions will answer all the problems in life
3. Desires for other things: these are longings and cravings for forbidden things. Things that you know are wrong and outside of God’s will for you, where you live believing that these pleasures will fulfill you.

Growing up whenever I heard this part I always thought this was the second best type of soil after the good soil. I thought their condition wasn’t too bad. However, if you asked a farmer he would tell you that this kind of plant that doesn’t bear fruit is totally useless. The point of planting a seed is for it to grow and bear fruit. All these three types of soil are compared with a fourth soil which is the good soil. This is a person who shows real openness to the gospel, he shows real faith in the gospel and also bears fruit through the gospel. It’s not good enough to just be hearing the gospel and taking in the word but true followers of Christ are fruit-bearing. Now what is the fruit? All the righteous qualities that the Spirit empowered you with when you became a believer: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Gal 5:22-23). As a child of God having the DNA of God placed in you through the Spirit, you begin behaving like Jesus Christ more and more each day. How you look at life, what you desire, what you value the most, whom do you want most in the world – all of that changes when the Holy Spirit comes into you. And the people around you see all these godly qualities in increasing measure. You’ll start getting more questions from the people around you. They’ll find it strange in the way you take the important life decisions. They’ll ask “Why do you say that you’ll only marry a believer? Why do you not swear? Why do you say that you’ll keep yourself pure until marriage? Why do you show kindness toward that person who has been so insulting toward you? Why do you still remain committed to your spouse? Why do you keep talking about Jesus? Why do you not cheat and lie in the workplace?” All of these questions will give you plenty of opportunities to reflect and talk about this great Savior whom you follow.

Are there times when Jesus followers don’t display the fruit? Yes. But you’ll always see true followers repenting and turning back because you are united to Him. True followers will realize He is everything to them. They understand how their spiritual life, physical life and everything else is sustained by Him only. They can’t live apart from Him and cannot desire life without Him. They realize He is holding their faith and so there’s always that desire and response of repentance that’s inbuilt within them.

What I really want all of us today to understand is that following Jesus is a serious call and a higher call for all of us. Christ is not exalted and shown as precious with half-hearted devotion but with a red-hot burning faith that is authentic. When people look at your openness to the gospel – your willingness to take in and hear everything that corresponds to God’s Word, when people look at your real faith in the gospel – persevering in the midst of suffering and hardships & when people look at your fruit through the gospel – one that shows the character of our Savior – all of this glorifies Jesus Christ and shows Him for who He is!