Mark 4:35-41
Key vs 4:40 "He said to his disciples, 'Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?'"

Did you enjoy the conference? I personally think this conference was the best. All messages were
evenly powerful. In other conferences, a few message were powerful, but this time every message
was focused and inspiring. This shows that we have grown spiritually and understood the Bible
better. What's more exciting was sixteen new sheep attended the conference. It was very happy
to see young and fresh students enjoy the word of God. We were somewhat concerned about the
Easter weekend, but many students overcame and attended the conference. I noticed that each
chapter brought new faces. Especially Chris and Katherine from Towson were very encouraging,
because they were the sign of our prayer and coworkers' labor. I thank God for blessing us with
the resurrection faith. I learned that we can challenge anything with the resurrection faith.

Today we are going to study about Jesus who calms the storm. Just as disciples met the storm in
the sea, we also face many storms in our lives. Storms such as sickness, failure in school, or death
of the loved ones, or accidents. We face small or big storms of life which can either drown us or
strengthen us. Let us learn through this message who Jesus is and how we can overcome the
storms of life and live victorious life.

1. A Furious Squall (35-38)

Let's read vs 35-36 "That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the
other side." Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There
were also other boats with him."  Here 'that day' refers to the same day when Jesus taught the
crowd by the sea of Galilee in the beginning of chapter 4. The crowd was so large that Jesus had
to use the boat as a podium. He taught them the kingdom of God by many parables. The parable
of the soils; the parable of the growing seed and the parable of the mustard seed. By teaching
these parables, Jesus hoped to plant the faith in the hearts of the crowd and disciples. By teaching
the word, Jesus believed that his disciples were as small as a mustard seed now, but they would
grow as the largest tree and influence the whole world. We should pray that sixteen new students
who attended the conference may grow like the largest tree in the garden. 

When evening came, disciple were wondering what Jesus would do. Was he going to the Bible house in Capernaum, or take them to the prayer meeting or take them to the restaurant?  When Jesus told them,  "Let us go over to the other side," it was like a music to their ears. They knew it 
was good to teach the word to the crowd, but they also wanted to have Jesus' personal attention to 
themselves. They had many questions to ask, and they wanted to share private time with Jesus. 
When Jesus said, 'Let us go over to the other side', they forgot to take their backpacks on the lake side and began to row the boat quickly. They were just happy to be alone with Jesus. They were talking and laughing. When they looked at the envious eyes of the crowd, they felt they were so privileged.

Finally they could relax and enjoy a long-awaited vacation like small children. They wished life
would be always this way. Every time I go to the conference, I get the same feeling. Leaving all
the headaches of work, and children behind, I feel relieved and free. I am sure you feel the same
way. Three days seem too short.  

Let's read vs 37. "A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped."  While disciples were making fun, enjoying the time, Jesus  fell into sound sleep after the hard work. Then all of a sudden without warning, a furious squall 
came up. A squall is a violent rainstorm accompanied by strong wind and waves. It happens suddenly  when the hot air and the cold air clashes together, and takes the fishermen by surprise. 
Crystal lived in Israel and watched the sea of Galilee with her own eyes. She said it is very dangerous.  All of a sudden, the sky became furiously dark, and the rainstorm hit the boat with the huge  waves. Their nice dream vacation was suddenly interrupted. They fought the storm by letting down the sails and rowing with the waves. They were veteran fishermen. But soon they found that they had never experienced this kind of storm. Water was coming into the boat faster than they could bail it out.

When they dumped out two buckets of water, ten buckets of water was coming into boat. They
yelled at each other, "Quick! Quick!" It was a scene of chaos and anarchy.  When the boat was
nearly sinking, they began to panic. They were like wet rats. They were fearful of their own death.

Let's read vs 38. "Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said
to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"  While disciples were struggling for life and death, what did Jesus do? He was in sound sleep on a cushion in the back. Can you believe he could sleep in the midst of the storm and yelling of disciples?  I heard, one day shepherd David left little Sam in the car and locked the door with the key inside. Later he returned to the car, little Sam was in sound sleep. David called, "Sam, Sam!", but he did not respond. Later he rocked the car, but he did not wake up. Later shepherdess Mahmia brought her car nearby and honked, but he did not wake up either. David had to use the wire to open the door in an old traditional way. Jesus had a good sleep after a hard work. The storm did not bother him. This is a great contrast
between Jesus and disciples in the midst of the storm. Jesus was calm and in control. Disciples
were panic and fearful. What did they do? When they were scared to death,  they remembered
Jesus and  arouse him, crying out to him,  "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" While they
were struggling for life and death, Jesus seemed so indifferent to them. 

They got upset and complained to him. Life is like a sea sailing. When there is a smooth sailing under the blue sky in the breeze, we think life would be that way always or wish to have that way. But we often face the storms of life unexpectedly. The storm comes without warning, we face accidents, sickness, failure in school or at work, or death of someone close to us. When the things seemed to go upward, getting good grades and promotion at work, all of a sudden a car accident happens or someone causes trouble and hurts us deeply. Sometimes when we are happy thinking of the growing sheep, they don't show up without any warning. When small or big storms cause troubles and fear in our lives, we feel left alone, struggling all by ourselves, and God seems far away. 

Sometimes we try to fix the problem, but everything seems to go against us. We feel frustrated and cry  out to God, "God, don't you care! You don't care about what I have been going through!"  How  should we cope with such life storms?

2. Do You Still Have No Faith? (39-41)

Let's read vs 39 and see how Jesus helped these fearful disciples. "He got up, rebuked the wind
and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was  completely calm."
When disciples cried out to him, Jesus got up immediately and rebuked the wind and the waves,
"Quiet, be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. At Jesus' command, the
raging storm stopped at once and the wind and the waves obeyed him as if  nothing had happened. Calm was restored and fear was replaced with amazement. Disciples were 
terrified and asked each other, "Who is this?"  Let's read vs 41, "They were terrified and asked each  other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"  This shows that Jesus is not a mere man. He is God himself. He is the creator God who is above all things. Though he was in the boat in the midst of the storm, he was above the nature. He was in control. In the beginning he 
created all things by speaking, "Let there be light; let there a sky." With the same authority, he 
sustains his creation and commands the nature. He is in control over everything. Until now Jesus 
demonstrated that he had authority over sickness; he had authority over demons. During the 
conference, we learned that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. He defeated the power of death. 
In this event, Jesus teaches us that he is the creator God who is in absolute control over 
everything. In Jesus there is no chaos. Therefore he can bring calmness to the chaos; he can bring peace and rest to the troubled souls. Jesus is called prince of peace. After resurrection, Jesus 
came to the fearful disciples, saying  "Peace be with you!" If disciples had known who Jesus 
was, they did not need to panic. Their lives were safe in him as long as Jesus was with them. They could have gone to Jesus and sleep beside him. When the creator God said, "Let us go over to  the other side," they should have believed they would get there because nothing could stop his 
will. Are you troubled by the storms of life? I hope you know you are in good hand of Jesus.

Jesus used the storm to train his disciples to know who he was. Jesus uses the storms of life to
plant faith in us so that we don't need to panic, but we can live victorious life. It is not too late to
cry out to Jesus. We often cry out when we reach the end of the rope. We struggle hard with our
own strengths and despair. But whenever we pray, Jesus is willing to help us. Missionary Grace
Morkre faced the storm of cancer. She cried out to God and God restored her love for Jesus and
planted the resurrection faith in her heart. God also changed Anthony to have independent faith.
Anthony used to come to the group study or fellowship meeting if Grace came.  If she could not
come, he did not come. But now he comes even alone.The storm training is hard, but we can
grow in the closer relationship with Jesus and we can experience love of  Jesus deeply. When we
acknowledge Jesus as the creator God and pray to him, we can live victorious life. Christian life
does not guarantee the smooth sailing, but with God who is in control over all things, we can face
the storms of life and live adventurous life. Sometimes Jesus waits till we break down and cry out
to him humbly, because he loves us and wants to plant faith, just as he delayed 2 more days to
plant resurrection faith in Martha and Mary's hearts.

Let's read vs 40. "He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"
It seems quite normal to show fear in such stormy sea. People are afraid of not just a storm, but
even the warnings of the storm, and go to the store to rack up the food. At least disciple seemed
brave enough to survive the storm. But Jesus did not comfort them, offering a sympathy,  "How
brave you were! How lucky you were that you did not drown!"  Rather he rebuked them for their
lack of faith. Jesus saw that the heart of the matter was the lack of faith. "Why are you so afraid?
Do you still have no faith?" Fear is opposite of faith; fear is a display of unbelief. Fear paralyzes
men and women, even young men and women. When one is fearful, he or she cannot do anything
at all. He cannot speak out his heart. He cannot move his feet. He is afraid even before the storm
comes around him. One day I did not say anything at the office meeting because it would make
the meeting longer. When I looked at the face of my boss, she did not seem to approve my behavior. Then I was afraid that I might be fired. Though there was something to discuss with her,

I didn't want to see her; I did not want to pass by her office. When I studied this passage, God
gave me faith and fear was gone. Then while talking with her later, she asked me if I was looking
for a job, and said she would take me with promotion if she found her job. Some people are afraid
to marry. Even before marriage, they are worried about divorce. They should have faith to marry.
Sometimes we worry about rejection before going fishing, then instead of witnessing to Jesus, we
end up asking about the time. "What time do you have?"

Jesus called his disciples to grow as shepherds for all people. If they were afraid of the storms of
life such as persecution and hardships, they could not carry out his world mission command. This
was the reason Jesus trained them to have faith through this storm training.  When God called
Joshua, he told him: "Be strong and courageous."  David's last word at his deathbed for Solomon
was: "Be strong and show yourself a man." Paul told Timothy in 2Tim 2:1 "Be strong in the grace
of the Lord." When we become fearful, we become useless. In Numbers 13-14, 

we learn that Moses sent 12 leaders to explore the promised land. All twelve agreed that the land was flowing with milk and honey. But ten leaders were afraid of the native giant Anakites. When they saw the enemy with fearful eyes, they looked like grasshoppers. So they planted fear in people's hearts and they rebelled against God. As a result, Israel had to wander in the wilderness for 40 years until they all died. But Joshua and Caleb stood up and challenged them, saying, "Do not be afraid of the people of the land because we will swallow them up."(Num 14:9b) When 
they saw the enemy with the eyes of faith, the enemy looked like delicious pizza. God uses courageous men and women of faith in the history of God.  2 Tim 1:7 says, "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." Fear is the weapon Satan uses to make us useless and rebellious.

David was a courageous man. As a shepherd, he fought wolves who took his sheep and snatched
his sheep out of their mouths. With the same shepherd heart, he fought Goalith to rescue Israel.
He might have many shortcomings, but God called him "a man after my own heart." and used him as king over his people. These days I am pondering why God has used Dr. Samuel Lee greatly for world mission. He is small in stature and has his shortcomings as everyone else. But he is a man of courageous faith. I heard about this story many times. When he pioneered Seoul, a daughter of a federal judge began to study the Bible, the judge threatened her to stop Bible study and beat her. He came to UBF to threaten Dr. Samuel Lee to jail him. Back then people were 
scared of a federal judge like a Goalith. But Dr. Samuel Lee rebuked him and threatened him to sue him for beating her own daughter. Then the judge left like a mouse before the cat. 

Missionary Sarah Barry commented on him that he is a man of courageous faith. God uses his faith to evangelize the world.  There is a Korean saying that a small pepper is hotter than the big 
pepper. Like Dr. Small Lee, missionary Jacob is small, but God uses his faith to pioneer 206 
campuses. 

Then how can we overcome fear? Fear of rejection, fear of financial trouble or fear of failure. Can we overcome by pretending to be bold? No. Fear can be overcome only by faith --- faith in God.

When we believe in the creator God who is in absolute control over all things, we can be free
from fear. We can be bold enough to challenge the storms of life. If disciples had faith in Jesus,
they could have enjoyed surfing the waves as we ride the waves on the beaches. Let us pray that
God may grant us faith to challenge to raise up disciples who can pioneer 206 campuses by faith.

Let's read key vs. 4:40