Mark
4:35-39 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” Now when they
had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other
little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves
beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern,
asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not
care that we are perishing?” Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to
the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased
and there was a great calm. NKJV
Her name is not important but her story is one of
millions throughout human history. She is 35 years old and has been selling her
body to any man that would pay her. The reason she does it is because she is
addicted to heroin and she must feed her body this drug every day now or else
it will become sick and bring her into severe pain. The cycle of addiction is
the same each day. She has to have sex with enough men to buy her daily dose or
fix of heroin to satisfy her bodies need.
Isaiah
48:22 “There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.” NKJV
Her soul is snared and restless yearning and longing
for something or someone to break the chain that has it bound and to calm the
raging storm that spreads within her heart day after day after day. She looks
within and sees no good thing wondering if this is all there is and if she will
ever be free. She reaches her breaking point and cries with the voice of her
soul, “Who will deliver me from this body of death?” and she hears a whisper in
her soul, “Peace, be still, it is I Jesus your Deliverer.”
Proverbs
12:25 Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it
glad. KJV
Isaiah
57:15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose
name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that
is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and
to revive the heart of the contrite ones. KJV
The account of the Apostles getting into a boat to
cross over the lake was given to us by Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It is not a
parable but a recording of an actual event that took place during our Lord
Jesus’ earthly ministry. I have always seen in this actual event a great,
gracious, and glorious picture of what our Lord Jesus does in the heart of a
sinner when He freely gives His grace through faith as He resurrects the soul
from spiritual death. First, just as the disciples stood on one side of the
lake needing to venture to the other side, so does the soul of every person
born into the world stand on the side of spiritual death needing to get to the
other side where spiritual life in Jesus Christ only is found by the new birth.
John
3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I
say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” NKJV
John
3:5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you,
unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”
NKJV
John
5:24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My
word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come
into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” NKJV
Secondly, as our Lord was with the disciples
crossing the lake, so is He in the Person of God the Holy Spirit present
everywhere sinners are in the world sowing the seed of His Word through His
already redeemed sons and daughters through radio, television, the internet,
gospel tracts, in local churches, magazines, journals, newsletters, and other
methods shining the light of His truth into this world of darkness.
John
1:9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the
world. NKJV
Romans
1:18-21 For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness
and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because
what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to
them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are
clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His
eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although
they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but
became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. NKJV
Thirdly, a sinful heart is the inheritance of every one
of us but the way the sin is expressed through the soul out of the body is different
for each person. The Apostle Paul shows us in Romans Chapter 1 the deep extent
that sin can be expressed out of the body for some hearts still darkened by
sin. The life lived continually to indulge sins pleasure for a season or the
life enslaved by sin of whatever manner it is expressed is a life of toil,
tempest, and terror just like the raging storm faced by the disciples that
night crossing the lake.
Romans
2:5-11 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are
treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the
righteous judgment of God, who “will
render to each one according to his deeds”: eternal life to those
who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and
immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but
obey unrighteousness --- indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on
every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but
glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first
and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God. NKJV
Fourthly, just as our Lord was asleep in the boat as
the disciples were frightened at the violent nature of the storm, so does He
appear to the world at large to be dis-engaged or not in control, or non-loving
(as many atheist would assert), or powerless to intervene in individual lives
lived in affliction and oppression and powerless to defeat and overthrow the
evil being manifested throughout the world. I recall a scene in the movie “The
Encounter” when this young woman was speaking to Jesus and He said to her, “All
you have to do is ask Me” and she got so angry as she said she had asked for
God to intervene many times as she was molested by her step-father but that
Jesus did not hear. You see just like that scene in that movie many horrific
scenes like that are being played out every day and God does see and hears them
all. When sin entered into our world, it guaranteed for us pain, suffering,
violence, sickness, hate, murder, rape, addiction, stealing, and all the other
evil we see in our world.
Job
5:7 Yet man is born to trouble, As the sparks fly upward. NKJV
Job
14:1 “Man who is born of woman Is of few days and full of trouble.” NKJV
Finally, humanity has been given the greatest gift
and we did not even ask for it because we human beings are so spiritually dead
we could not foresee the violent storm that’s in our hearts from birth. When the
Prophet Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately
wicked who can know it” these words surely did not come from his own reasoning
or understanding but it was a direct revelation from God. That diagnosis proves
the worst storms are not hurricanes, tornadoes, or any other like those, but it
is the storm of sin that rages inside the human heart. God’s love for us even
after our disobedience caused Him to send our Lord Jesus Christ to not just
forgive our sin, but to actually become sin in our place that we might be made
righteous. There is no greater love He could have shown for humanity. Now,
because of what Jesus did by dying and shedding His blood, being buried, and
resurrecting three days later, He stands at the door of every heart raging with
the storm of sin waiting to hear, “Come in Lord I receive You as my own Lord,
Master, and Savior and wash me from my sin in Your Blood and speak to this
stormy sinful heart”, “Peace, be still.”
Here is an excerpt from the Book my Lord Jesus
Christ wrote through me, entitled “Silent Assassins of the Soul”, Chapter 16:
The Promise of Rest: Matthew 11:28
(AMP): “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and
I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]”
“In this verse from the Gospel of Matthew, the word “rest” that Christ uses
means “repose or a freedom from work, strain, or responsibility; the absence of
mental or emotional stress or anxiety.” He is talking here about peace of mind.
Not a false or made up peace, but the peace that only He can give. His peace
enables a person to deal with the most tragic events of life with a calm
confidence and assurance that such things are not happening in vain but for an
eternal purpose.”
Psalm
34:6 This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, And saved him out
of all his troubles. NKJV
John
8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the
light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the
light of life.” NKJV
John
8:31-32 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know
the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” NKJV
“You were placed here to train for eternity. Your
body was only intended to be a house for your immortal spirit. It is flying in the face of God’s purposes to do
as many do - to make the soul a servant to the body, and not the body a servant to the soul.” J. C. Ryle 1816-1900
“Original sin may be defined as the hereditary corruption and
depravity of our nature. This reaches every part of the soul, makes us abhorrent to God’s wrath and produces in us what
Scripture calls works of the flesh.”
John Calvin 1509-1564
“You will never find Jesus so precious as when the world is one vast howling
wilderness. Then He is like
a rose blooming in the midst
of the desolation, a
rock rising above the storm.” Robert Murray McCheyne
1813-1843
“Let the current
of your being set towards God, then
your life will be filled and calmed by one master-passion which unites and
stills the soul.” Alexander MacLaren 1826-1910
If
you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this
from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear
Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I
believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from
the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn
from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control
of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...
Sincerely in Christ,
Clifford D. Tate, Sr.
Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you
Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus
Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and
Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple
I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reader,
Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…
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