Stay in the Boat

STAY IN THE BOAT
Week Two – WHO’s in the Boat?

So that being said, if you'll turn in your Bibles to Mark chapter 4 I'm really excited to Speak this morning because this particular passage of scripture is something that is very common to a lot of us 

Mark 4:35-41New King James Version
35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 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. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 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?”
39 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. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
PRAY!!
I Think it's fascinating that at the end of this particular scenario, they were more fearful of this man than they were of the situation that they were in. Because they clearly did not recognize who this man truly was. And I just hope that in these next few moments as we journey together, we will get a clear depiction of who Jesus really is so I have titled this message. WHO’S IN THE BOAT
Let’s go back and start drawing out from the WORD of what the LORD may want to say to us today!!
35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 
Let me first make this statement: 
If we don't stay in the boat, we never get to the other side.
Let me be very clear what this boat represents. 
The boat that I’m talking about today represents that you have made a decision to follow Christ 
That as soon as you step inside of the boat that Jesus is in, you have said yes to WHO in the boat. And you have decided that I'm gonna make this journey with Christ and I am going to be Christ-like. Regardless of what happens on this journey, regardless of the inconvenience of this journey, because of who's in the boat with me. 

Unfortunately, as Christians, we like to worship JESUS  or STAY in the BOAT when it's convenient.
Hopefully you find the Hill a very convenient place for you to worship God, to STAY IN THE BOAT. It’s easy to talk about Jesus. It’s easy to put on a smile…

But it's somewhat inconvenient to confess JESUS: 
•    In Walmart or restaurant…etc. 
•    Co-workers, our unsaved family members, and our friends. 
We have been told not make people uncomfortable…not to force Jesus down their throats…
I don’t know if you have noticed but the very Name of Jesus makes people uncomfortable. But I have decided that I’m going to stay in the boat…I do not want to stand before God and have to explain that I did not want to offend someone…
And I just want to be clear, when you are in the boat, it represents you have taken the next step in saying yes to Jesus. 
BUT We understand that life is not always easy. Life can be tough, unfair, and rocky at times. And I want to challenge us in this room that it's okay to not be okay. 
So maybe you're here today and you are not okay, and I just want to put you at ease. 
It's okay to not be okay, but it's not okay to stay that way. 
It's not okay because I believe that there is a better plan and a purpose for us because of WHO’s in the BOAT.
and I know that as we leave this place today there's going to be some people whose lives are going to be changed because you're going to remain in the boat.

I know that there are people in this room that you have not y gotten a breakthrough in your situation, 
You have had breathers… 
    You ever had a breather in your situation where you can kind of just breathe for a moment, but it wasn't a breakthrough? 
See, what's sad is a lot of Christians have not seen the other side of their storms, 
You haven’t seen the other side of your addiction, your anger, or your lust issues, your gossip problem, your financial problems, your relationship problems, your temptations  because you get stuck in the middle. 
You find yourself constantly get faced with a barrier or a wall or a storm that you can't get past, and I don't know about you, you don't have to raise your hand, but I've constantly hit a brick wall in my life that has caused me to fail, has caused me to stumble, and has caused me to give up at times. 
But I believe that today we're going to receive a breakthrough in our lives, and we're going to be able to cross this sea and we're going to be able to get to the other side where Jesus has called us…
And we do this by making the decision that I'm going to STAY IN THIS BOAT because I know WHO’s IN THE BOAT…
36 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. 
Jesus has been teaching a crowd from a boat on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, probably by Capernaum. Evening has come, and the people have heard all the parables they can absorb (Mark 4:33). Without returning to Peter and Andrew's house to pick something up or even setting foot on shore, Jesus asks the twelve to launch across the lake. 
If He had gone to shore, the people likely would have rushed Him again, seeking more healing miracles. Little did the disciples know that Jesus was all that they needed for what they were about to face…
Jesus sometimes calls us to go to the other side without us going back ONE MORE TIME….to leave where you are…STAY IN THE BOAT….
SO the story picks up…
37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. 
The stern is the back of the boat…and that is where Jesus is sleeping. So Jesus was in the back of the boat. Asleep on a cushion. 
The is storm is raging, wind blowing, it's howling. The water is coming into the boat and Jesus is sound asleep! 
Any deep sleepers in the room? Like you could sleep through a storm. Okay, so for me, I'm not a real deep sleeper but there's times where I do sleep deep, right? 
So here is Jesus’ apparently in a deep sleep while the storm is pounding against the boat. 
And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
Now let me ask you a question: 
Have you ever had a nightmare that woke you up? I mean so bad that you can’t go back to sleep. 
But everybody else in the house is sleeping like babies. Like they are sleeping through a crisis in your life. Your nightmare is devastating to you….
And I'm just wondering if there's anybody here this morning that you feel like Jesus has been sleeping through your storm, has been sleeping through your crisis, that you've done everything that you could do to wake him up, but you just feel like he's in the back of your life with a cushion, just chilling. And you've done everything that you could do, and you say Jesus don't you know what I'm going through? 
•    Don't you see this storm? 
•    Don't you see the tragedy? 
•    Don't you see what's happening? 
My life is being rocked. Won't you wake up and do something? And he's just in the back of the boat sleeping…
I can imagine what these disciples are going through. This boat is rocking, and the winds and the waves are all around them and Jesus he's back there snuggled up.
 The water is his blanket. Jesus is relaxing and maybe, maybe, just maybe, at that particular point, the disciples should have realized….
…that if the King of the universe is sound asleep and he's at peace, maybe they should be at peace too. 
That maybe if this storm is not unsettling my Savior, then maybe I shouldn't be unsettled. 
That maybe if he is not concerned about what's out of control, maybe I should know who's really in control of what's happening. 
And just maybe, greater is the ONE, or greater is WHO is in the boat with me than the one that's causing the storm (1 John 4:4 KJV) on the outside of the boat, 
That maybe I'm safer where I am with the boat rocking and things shaking than me getting out of the boat and trying to do it on my own. 

And can I be really clear with you? Anything that you do outside of grace, you will have to sustain. 
You will have to handle it on your own. You will have to figure it out. And when you take matters into your own hands, we actually mess things up!
I want you to look at the phrase that we have been repeating:  WHO IS IN THE BOAT
FOR YOU….is that a question or a statement for you? 
Do you really understand WHO IS IN THE BOAT? 
•    The King of kings is in the boat. 
•    The Lord of lords is in the boat.
•    The Prince of Peace is in the boat. 
•    Our Redeemer is in the boat.
•    Our Rock, 
•    Our Shelter, 
•    The Sinless Lamb of God, 
•    the Alpha and Omega, the author and finisher of our Faith, 
•    the Bright and Morning Star, 
•    the Lilly of the Valley, 
•    The Name above all names, 
•    The Creator of heaven and earth.  
JESUS can sustain whatever storm that may be around us.  But there are times where maybe it's not a tragedy that rocks our boat. Maybe it's not just life and situations and circumstances, but maybe what rocks our boat is an offense. 
Maybe we get offended. I was talking with Austin the other day. I have never seen so many people being offended as I have seen in today’s culture. 
Unfortunately, we see this in the church. We have made church a place of consumers instead of committed Christians. 
I have seen so many “believers” become offended and leave church…but then not get plugged into another church or have bitterness in their heart because someone in the church offended them. 
“The pastor offended me or the staff offended me or the person that's on the front row offended me or this or that offended me or somebody at work offended me.”
 An offense builds up into bitterness and when bitterness reaches its maximum, then we tend to leave the boat and just take matters into our own hands. 
We say, 
“Well, Jesus, you're not doing anything about this so if you're not doing anything about it then I'm going to handle the situation.”
So we handle the situation outside of his grace rather than letting God handle the issue. So people leave the church.
Can I be very honest with you? 
It's not the person that has offended you, it's not the pastor that has offended you, it is the enemy that is out like a roaring and prowling lion.
Because if it wasn't that person it would have been a different person. If it wasn't that pastor it would have been another pastor at another church because it's not about the person it's about the enemy that's trying to get at you to steal your joy, your peace, he's trying to get you out of the boat. 
Let's stop blaming what's happening around us and let's start looking at WHO IS IN THE BOAT with us.
Let's stop looking for a relationship to fill a void in our lives or a job to fill a void in our lives where all that we need and all who we need is already inside the boat with us!
But we forget because we feel as if Jesus is silent in our lives and so because he's silent in our lives we feel he's not there. And because He is silent then we must take matters into our own hands…
Can I give you some advice? 
Never make a decision based in the heat of the moment, in the middle of the storm…Jesus’ silence may mean that you need to stay right where you are…STAY IN THE BOAT…Trust him, lean not upon your own understanding…
Can I remind you that our Savior has promised that He'll never leave you and He'll never forsake you and that he's there for you no matter what, no matter the cause, no matter the effect or issue, he's a constant in our lives. 
Even if we move, he's still unmovable. 
I think the real question though is, 
Can we have faith in the middle of the storm to get to the other side? 

I think a lot of Christians are okay with being in the boat, we're okay with Jesus being in the boat. 
But then we get halfway through, we are faced with the same obstacle, addiction, tragedy, some type of temptation that causes us to fall every single time. 
And in those moments is when we decide to jump ship. It's at those moments where we decide, I can't do this, so I need to jump ship to try to do it on my own. 
Or we go back to exactly where we came from.
What would it look like if as a people of God, we got in this boat and we stayed in this boat and we recognized WHO IS IN THE BOAT?
Your blessing, your purpose is on the other side of the promise that God has instilled in your life. And the promise that God has instilled in your life is a promise of hope, is a promise of life, is a promise of blessing, is a promise of peace!
 
39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” 
I love this about Jesus. Like, remember, He was sleeping. And the disciples are terrified. The disciples run over, they wake him up, and they say, Jesus, don't you care that we're perishing? 
Jesus doesn't wake up and look at his surroundings and go oh snap! Like he doesn't freak out right? like Jesus doesn't wake up and go you know what? You're right! This is bad! Wow guys, you should have woken me up earlier. What was I doing? He doesn't panic, he doesn't scramble. 
The text says he arose and rebuked the wind and spoke to the sea. He was not fazed by what was going on around them at that particular time. 
Just like our Savior is not fazed by what you may be facing right now in your current situation. He's not phased, he's not in turmoil, he's not panicked, he's not confused. You may be confused, you may be panicking, you may be all up in array, but our Savior is unmovable, unshakable, and He's constant! 
We need to realize WHO is in the boat!
The one WHO will keep us grounded and rooted and steady. The One WHO has authority to calm the storm in our lives. He is the One WHO gives us strength to make through the storm! 
HOWEVER, We have a tendency to want God to calm the storm IMMEDIATELY. 
We start IN THE BOAT and then all of sudden…
“Was that a raindrop?”
“Was that a sprinkle? God shut up the heavens. Help me right now. Fix it! 
You know as Christians, especially as American Christians, it's interesting that we always want God to fix our issues, but we don't want to take any responsibility for the problems that we create. 
We always want God to fix. We always want God to help. We always want God to do things. And when the storms come and when the rain comes, we immediately pray, “God fix it”. 
Don’t get it twisted, I'm not saying we shouldn't go to God. But let's not negate our responsibility in this thing called Christianity.
We want things to go well in our lives BEFORE we can worship. 
But if things go wrong, or somebody looks at us sideways, guess what? 
Our worship goes out the window. And we want an answer from God. And when God doesn't give us an answer, our worship begins to go down. 
Well, God, I've been worshiping, and I still don't have an answer. 
See, we need to get to the place where we stop worshipping for an answer, and we start worshipping THE ANSWER. 
What does that really mean? 
What's the difference between the two?
You worship was never meant to supply a breakthrough in your life. Your worship was meant to ADORE the King of kings and the Lord of lords. 
Worship is not about getting out of the STORM…. it’s about worshipping God despite the STORM. 
So your life may be turned upside down. Your life may be going all kinds of crisscross and all kinds of ways. 
But when you worship our Savior,
It’s like, 
“God, despite what I'm going through. God, you are still King. You are still ruler. And God, I worship you because you are LORD!  I don't have an answer, but you are the answer. So Master, I love you. And I don't know what's going on right now, but God, I love you. God, it's crazy right now, but I worship you.” 

Paul and Silas didn’t worship to get out of the prison. They began to worship God because of WHO GOD IS. 
And a lot of us are worshiping to get out of something. 
Oh, you got to stay with me. We're worshiping to get out of something. We're worshiping for God to give us something. 
But Paul and Silas were content with where they were. And they said, regardless of where we are, we're worshiping because God deserves to be worshiped. He deserves the glory. He deserves the honor. 
They could care less if they died. They could care less if their feet got chopped off. They could care less if they rotted in prison. But they said, we're worshiping God because of who he is, not what he can do for us. And at that moment they started worshiping the answer, 
And God gave them an answer!
God broke the chains, and he opened the cell. 
I wonder if we really knew just how amazing our God, a true picture of WHO HE IS…would change our worship?
That it doesn't have to go the way we wanted to go. 
We understand that all we have to do is stay in the boat because we know who's in the boat. 
And because of who he is, we worship him because of his excellence, because of his majesty. 
So he woke up, he said, peace, be still.
And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” 
See, when Jesus does say, peace, be still in your life, you don't have to worry about if there's going to be a sprinkle. You don't have to worry if there's going to be extra wind, or if there's going to be a little bit of rocking, because when Jesus says, peace, be still, guess what? 
PEACE IS GOING TO BE INSTILLED. 
Because He doesn’t just have peace, HE IS PEACE. 
He doesn’t just have authority, HE IS AUTHORITY. 
41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
Do you think the disciples worship was changed in this moment?
Let's recognize WHO'S IN THE BOAT. .
Mark 5:1 NKJV
Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes.
Any time that Jesus went to the other side of a sea there was always someone waiting for Him to be healed or delivered. Every Time.
 
This particular time, as they got to the other side, it was the man that was filled with the demons, the Legion, and the man was delivered, the man was healed. He was restored. 
But if they had got stuck in the middle, if they had abandoned ship, they would have never gotten to the other side for that person to be healed and redeemed by Jesus.
 See sometimes us staying in the boat is not just for you. 
Sometimes staying in the boat means we got to get to the other side because your kids are depending on you. They're depending on you to stay in the boat. 
For you young people, your future spouse, your future children are depending on you to stay in the boat now Because a lot of times what you go through is not just for you it's so someone else can receive their breakthrough.
Or maybe God will use the storm to prepare you for His promise. 
God has a way of making all things work out for HIS GOOD. 
Maybe we can refocus our gaze off of the storm and onto the One WHO’s in the boat. 
You never know what God may be trying to bless you with the persistence in the boat. 
James 1:24 The Message
Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.