First Baptist Church of Highland Park

Rev. Dr. Henry P. Davis III: Hi, I'm Henry Davis, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Highland Park in Landover, Maryland, a Bible-believing, Christ-centered, and spirit-led congregation. I want to welcome you to our radio broadcast. And remember, there's power at the park.

Let's get to this assignment. Mark 4:35, New Living Translation: As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, "Let's cross over to the other side of the lake." So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind, although other boats followed. But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.

Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up shouting, "Teacher, don't you care that we're going to drown?" When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Silence! Be still!" Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.

Then he asked them, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?" The disciples were absolutely terrified. "Who is this man?" they asked each other. "Even the wind and waves obey him." These are the words of God. You may go to your seats around the building.

I want to come back to that 35th verse: As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, "Let's cross over to the other side of the lake." I want to talk in this service: The storm doesn't get the last word. The storm doesn't get the last word.

Interesting things are going on in this passage. Jesus is in the boat, starting out, leaving crowds behind, but even in his power, it says other boats followed. The people could not because they were on land, but other boats followed. The real snapshot of the message is that the storm comes. Jesus indeed leads them into a storm. And as he goes into this storm, then it says that Jesus is sleeping and they wake him up and then later say, "Who is this man?"

Why did you wake him up? If you woke him up, you must have thought that there was something distinctive, something different, something special, something dynamic. The evening had come. One of the greatest misconceptions Christians carry is that obedience guarantees ease. They are obedient. They get in the boat. They are getting ready. Some have been taught that if you're walking with God, storms will avoid your address.

But anyone who has lived with Jesus for a very long or even short time knows that is simply not true. Sometimes the very reason you're in the storm is because you obeyed God. Now, that's turbulent water. Obeying God, yet in a storm. The disciples are not running from Jesus. They are not rebelling against Jesus. They are not living in sin. They are exactly where Jesus told them to be: Get on the boat. Let's go over.

The storm is not evidence that they missed God. The storm is evidence that they obeyed him. I know this is not necessarily the easiest thing for us to hear—that obeying God could mean that I am going into a storm. That immediately changes how we interpret hardship. Many of us have spent years asking, "Lord, what did I do wrong?" Let me try to reframe that today. Perhaps the better question is, "Lord, what are you producing while I'm in this storm?"

What am I bringing out of you? Because the storm will get your attention. You do not have to worry at that moment. It was a perfect teaching moment for the disciples. They were in a storm. And that storm, of course, has their attention. Notice something else. Then it says verse 35: As evening came. Mark intentionally tells us darkness has arrived. Storms often come in the evening seasons of life.

The evening of grief. The evening of disappointment. The evening of unemployment. The evening after divorce. The evening after diagnosis. The evening after betrayal. Yet Jesus says, "Let's cross over." I look at the Ascues, and we celebrated your son this week and celebrated his life. We thank God for his witness. But we realize that even as we go through what we go through, then Jesus can say, "Let's cross over."

I know I feel the heaviness. He never promised calm waters. He promised the other side. What he does say—he says we're going over to the other side. What he does not say is what is between now and the other side. That's shouting ground. The Sea of Galilee sat 700 feet below sea level, surrounded by steep hills and valleys. Cold air rushing through the ravines collided with the warm air over the lake, producing sudden, violent storms with little warning.

Matter of fact, some of you saw that movie, *The Perfect Storm*, when weather conditions are able to come together. And it is in this moment many of his disciples, including Peter, Andrew, James, and John, have spent their lives fishing these waters. If experienced fishermen become terrified, this wasn't an ordinary storm. Mark even says in the New Living Translation, "a fierce storm came up."

The Greek suggests a violent windstorm, one capable of overwhelming seasoned sailors. If they're afraid, this situation is dangerous. The question isn't whether storms come. The question is, what do you do about Jesus when they do come? A storm is going to come, but what do I do about Jesus and what do I do about my relationship with the Lord? Does the storm put me in a position that I'm ready to throw in the towel of defeat?

Or is it the fact that I get in the storm but I keep on pressing and I keep on praising? I wish I had a witness in here. I'm claiming victory. I'm claiming that if God be for me, he is more than the world against me. I'm not going to give up. I'm going to go on. That leads me to my first point. Obedience can lead you into a storm. Matter of fact, let me give you some driving instructions. It can lead you into the storm.

The second thing is that fear grows when faith forgets who is in the boat. My faith can grow even when I forget who's in the boat. No matter what it is that I'm going through, I have the assurance, and it is a blessed assurance that Jesus is mine. And thirdly, Jesus can speak peace to what terrifies you. Now, I've given you our driving instructions this morning. Let's back it up and unpack the text and realize what is this truth that you're trying to teach me for such a time as this.

Obedience can lead you into the storm. Here it is. Jesus is the one who initiated the journey. The disciples, all they did was simply obey. That means obedience is not immunity. Sometimes God leads us directly into places that will stretch our faith. Israel obeyed and faced the Red Sea. Daniel obeyed and entered the lions' den. Paul obeyed and ended up being in prison.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego obeyed and ended up in a fiery furnace. Jesus obeyed the Father and walked toward Calvary. Obedience does not remove difficulty. All the way back to Abraham. He obeyed God but yet comes into a challenging situation. It gives difficulty purpose. Here it is. Here it is. Scripture says, "Let us go over." It is more than a suggestion. It is a divine declaration.

If Jesus says we're going over, then no storm possesses authority to cancel what Christ has already spoken. Jesus says we're going over. What he does not say is that as I go over, I'm going to go through a challenge. Somebody ought to shout right there. He told you, "We're going over." He didn't tell you you're going to have a challenge. But if you know anything about scripture, you also know he said, "I will never leave you."

In other words, take a chill pill. No storm has the power. The destination was settled before the storm was ever developed. I'm preaching this morning. Many of our seasoned saints know what it means to obey God when retirement didn't become easier. Health became more difficult. Loved ones passed away. Yet looking back, they can testify, "God kept me." Come on, somebody.

Even though I've dealt with challenges, I still have a praise and I've got to get it out. You say I'm not old enough to understand that. Let me go to some of our millennials and young adult graduates. You start a career, launch a business, or begin graduate school expecting smooth sailing. Instead, you encounter rejection, layoffs, debt, uncertainty, closed doors—all those kinds of things. Obedience is not always followed by comfort.

Sometimes it's followed by character formation. I am forming your character through challenges. Matter of fact, you have to understand. I've been a pastor a long time now. I'm not even counting anymore. I'm just going to do it. But you've got to understand the reality that every day of pastoring has not been easy. But what God does, there is character formation.

God is developing, shaping you, molding you, making you into what God wants you to be. You need to tell somebody, "Don't mistake your storm for God's absence." You might be in the storm. You might be going through the storm. But I want you to trust God all the way. I'm trusting God because he sits high and he looks low. I'm trusting God because he can make a way out of nowhere. The storm found me, but God sent me.

I thank you, God. You're sending me. Not only am I coming through, but I'm a walking, talking testimony of the goodness of God. I know something about your health report. The other day, Deacon Smith, you were celebrating another year of dialysis, but thanks be to God, you can celebrate because we know the same God, the same God who watched us all over these years, is the same God watching us now.

Secondly, fear grows when faith forgets who is in the boat. Faith can forget who's in the boat. Matter of fact, the disciples become overwhelmed. They cry out in verse 38, "Teacher, don't you care that we're going to drown?" Notice what fear does. Fear changes your interpretation of God. Nothing about Jesus had changed. Only their perspective changed. What had happened was fear magnified the waves.

Faith remembers the Savior. The Greek in verse 40 says Jesus asked, "Why are you so afraid?" The language carries the idea: "Why have you become so cowardly?" Then he asked, "Do you still have no faith?" Meaning after everything you've already witnessed, after everything you've seen me do, after every miracle, blind folk seeing, hungry folk being fed, lame folk walking—after everything you've seen me do, why are you acting as though I'm powerless?

Faith remembers previous victories. That's what you've got to do. You've got to make sure that your memory stays sharp. That's why you keep reading the Word on a regular basis, so your memory stays sharp. That's why, Brother Jackson, I come to worship, so my memory stays sharp. I've got to keep sharing my faith because I want my memory to stay sharp. Faith remembers those victories. Fear develops spiritual amnesia.

How many times has God already delivered us? Kept us through sickness, kept us through layoffs. A crazy man in the White House laying folk off. Kept us through pandemics. Matter of fact, you can remember when all of you were at home and watching online and mask-wearing. He kept us through racism, through bombings, through grief, through family struggles. Ain't no drama like family drama.

Yet every new storm will whisper, "This one will destroy you. This one is going to wipe you out." The devil is a liar. I don't care what you try to whisper in my spirit. I'm going to keep opening up the Word of God. I'm going to keep hiding the Word of God in my heart. Somebody listening today, you've got a diagnosis. You've got a challenge. But you still have God. And as long as I have God, as long as I have a relationship with the Lord, as long as I walk with him, I'm going to stare that challenge in the face.

I'm going to get stronger with every step. I'm going to believe the Lord is not through with me yet. I'm going to believe that God is going to show up and God is going to show out. I'm going to believe that God will take care of me. But the only way I can do it, I've got to keep my memory sharp. Keep a Bible by your bedside. Keep a Bible on your app. You're looking at all that other stuff and streaming through—stream through some scriptures.

Hold on to the power of God. The devil has a short sermon: "You won't make it." God has a longer testimony: "You already have." The devil says you won't make it. I've already made it. I've already got my victory. I've already got a praise. I'm going to let go. I'm going to let God. And I understand God has keeping power. Keeping me in my right mind. The joy of the Lord is my strength. I've got to praise him while I have a chance.

You've dealt with it. You've gone to the graveside. You buried a loved one. But God still has you here. Not by accident, but God has you here with a purpose. Seeds planted in my life. You are the living testimony of the greatness of God after the heart transplant. You are the one God can lift up from low places. Don't forget who's in your boat. You need to touch somebody and say, "Don't forget who's in your boat." Turn to your neighbor right now, say, "Neighbor, don't forget who's in your boat." Look on the other side. "Don't forget."

Jesus is in my boat. Come on, somebody. And Jesus is in the boat in a storm, chilling. What did it say? They said wake him up. He's chilling in the storm. You can chill in the storm when you know God's got you. I'm chilling like a villain in the storm. That's what the scripture says. It says don't forget who's in the boat. The boat may be filling, but Jesus is still floating.

The wind may be raging, but Jesus hasn't resigned. All you've got to do is call him. Call him. Something about that name. Call him Jesus. Jesus in the morning. Jesus in the noontime. Jesus in your midnight. Just call him.

Here's my third point. Jesus can speak peace to what terrifies you. Jesus in verse 39—he stands up. My God, look at him. He stands up. Jesus woke up and then he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Silence! Be still!" Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was great calm. Silence. Shut up. Muzzle yourself. Hush. Like commanding a wild animal to stop.

I've been running sometimes, and I hate it when some runs at me. Hate it. Don't like it at all. But when it happens, you've got to tell that beast, "Stop!" And you're scared really, but then I'm yelling so maybe the owner might hear. So the owner comes out, sees you've got this dog out here, and I need some relief. But you have to understand. Jesus makes a command. Creation immediately obeys its Creator.

The disciples discover something. The storm never had ultimate authority. What they discovered in the storm is that Jesus always did. Sometimes Jesus calms the storm. Sometimes he calms his people. The storm is still there, but I've got to get you to calm down. Either way, peace comes from his presence. Mark wants us to ask the same question the disciples asked: "Who is this man?"

Only God speaks to creation and creation obeys. The one sleeping in humanity is simultaneously ruling in divinity. The one resting in the boat is sustaining the universe. The one calming Galilee will one day calm Calvary. Because on another dark Friday, the greatest storm ever gathered around a rugged cross. Sin was raging. Death was roaring. Hell was celebrating. The devil thought he had the last word.

But as I said last night, but I say it this morning: But early Sunday morning, Jesus got up. Up, up, up! Better than Superman. Got up with all power in his hands. The resurrection forever declared: Storms never get the last word. Jesus does. Someone came this morning carrying your storm. Financial, emotional, family, physical, spiritual. You have spent so much time looking at the wind. You have forgotten who is riding with you.

Come on. Hear the voice of Jesus again. "Let's go over. Let's go to the other side." Matter of fact, if I was T.I. in Atlanta, I'd say you've got to let them know. He never promised an easy crossing. He promised arrival. The same Jesus who rode in that boat now reigns at the Father's right hand, interceding for his people. Because he died, was buried, rose again, and every believer can face life's fiercest storms with confidence that neither suffering nor death has the final word.

The winds may have something to say, but the waves may have something to say. Doctors may have something to say. The economy may have something to say. But after every other voice has spoken, Jesus has the last word. Hallelujah! Somebody got let go from their job a year ago right in our church, but one year later, they walked back into that job—same job that let them go. God can open up a door because Jesus has the last word.

And if you've never trusted Christ, the greatest peace available is not merely the calming of life's storms, but reconciliation with God through the crucified, risen Savior. You ought to come to him today. He still calls people into his boat. He still carries them safely to the other side. Tell your neighbor: The storm doesn't get the last word. Jesus does. That's my word, Highland Park. May the Lord bless you real good.

They already got the biscuits downstairs. They already got the hash browns downstairs. But I thank God I look to the hills from whence comes my help because my help, my help, my help, my help comes from the Lord. And can't nobody, nobody do me like the Lord. Ain't he alright? Yes! Yes! The storm doesn't get the last word.

I don't know who that message was for, and I don't know what you're going through. Just like I didn't know I was going to preach a sermon I really shouldn't be here, and folk walk in the room and they say, "I heard that." God can get you through whatever you're going through. He's in the boat with you. And you're going to get to the other side. And not only are you going to get to the other side, but you're going to tell other folk who brought you.

Kenny, who brought you? Who brought you? Who brought you? Every time I turn around, who brought you? Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! I'm trying to quit. I'm trying to shut it down. But when I think of the goodness of Jesus and all he's done for me. Yeah! Yeah! Yeah, yeah, yeah! My soul—she was once in a wheelchair. My soul got to cry out. She was counting out of here. My soul looked up and wondered how I got over. Nothing but the power, the love, the grace, the mercy. Nobody! Nobody but the Lord! Yes! Yes!

God is able because God is the only one who's got the last word. And I don't know who you are, what you're going through. But if you slipped into here today incognito, God knows you're here. And that's your word. And if you don't have Jesus on your boat, you need to get him on your boat. Or you need to get on the boat with him. I want you to guide me. And that's your message today, man, woman, boy, girl, in the middle of the summer in a heatwave with smoky air. But you can come and get Jesus.

You've been listening to the radio broadcast of the First Baptist Church of Highland Park in Landover, Maryland. If you want to receive a CD or DVD of what you have just heard, please call 301-773-6655 or visit us on the World Wide Web. And remember, there's power at the park.