{"id":265,"date":"2013-07-18T10:11:49","date_gmt":"2013-07-18T15:11:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/?p=265"},"modified":"2013-07-18T10:11:49","modified_gmt":"2013-07-18T15:11:49","slug":"faith-or-fear-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/?p=265","title":{"rendered":"Faith or Fear"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lesson 20<\/p>\n

Faith or Fear<\/p>\n

Luke 8:22-25<\/p>\n

All of us have had or do have things which we fear.\u00a0 Up until my teenage years I had a fear of drowning.\u00a0 I enjoyed being in the water as long as I could touch bottom. The thought of going in over my head caused me to panic.\u00a0 It was the one thing that paralyzed me.\u00a0 There is one instance that stands out in my mind, even to this day.\u00a0 Neither of which I am particularly proud.\u00a0 \u00a0My dad and uncle took my cousin, one of her friends and me to a swimming pool. They had a float which allowed them to swim around.\u00a0 I do not know how exactly it happened but somehow I grabbed hold of the float and was pulled out into deeper water.\u00a0 The first thought I had was I was going to drown, which was not true because the float was able to keep us afloat.\u00a0 In my panic I began to yell.\u00a0 My dad came to the rescue.\u00a0 There were consequences to my actions. We immediately had to leave the pool.\u00a0 You can just imagine how my cousin felt about me.<\/p>\n

It was not until my teenage years that I finally gained the confidence to go into deeper water.\u00a0 It was one of the most freeing experiences I have had.\u00a0 All those years my fear had kept me from doing some of the very things I enjoyed.\u00a0 While others played and swam I had to watch from the sidelines so to speak.\u00a0 I remember the day I finally got over fear and jumped into eight to ten feet of water.\u00a0 From that point on I could go anywhere and join in with the others, no longer afraid.<\/p>\n

What is it that paralyzes the church with fear?\u00a0 We might say that we have no fear but our actions speak a different message. \u00a0We are pretty good at making excuses to mask what is really taking place in the life of the church.\u00a0 If there is an opportunity that make impact the lives of many people and we fall back on budget or manpower shortages we are avoiding what the true underlying factors may be.\u00a0 We are afraid of the commitment it will take for us to carry out such a daring plan.\u00a0 It is easier to hang onto the status quo in the life of the church than to truly depend on God to carry out His purpose for us.\u00a0 For the individual, he or she may have trouble making a decision to follow Christ with everything they have because of the possible cost that be incurred personally.\u00a0 The leadership may be unwilling to confront an issue because they do not know what the reaction of the people may be.<\/p>\n

God calls us to overcome our fears.\u00a0 He wants us to let go of the float or lifeline and jump into the deep water of life.\u00a0 We are to come to the point of trusting Him for the future.\u00a0 This means to be a bold and courageous church which takes on the tough assignments and then leaves the results to Him.<\/p>\n

Luke 8:22<\/p>\n

It may well have been that Jesus needed a Sabbath\u2019s rest from the constant pressure of having people demanding all of His attention.\u00a0 Remember in His human body, He got tired, hungry and thirsty just like every other person.\u00a0 One way to be free for a time was to take a boat ride.\u00a0 After getting into a boat, Jesus indicated that He want to travel to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.\u00a0 It will be seen how important His command was for the growth of the disciples.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Why would Jesus leave the people on the western side of the Sea of Galilee?<\/li>\n
  2. What does this say about Jesus?<\/li>\n
  3. What did the boat ride gain Him?<\/li>\n
  4. What important words did Jesus speak to the disciples? (They were going to the other side of the lake and would make it there safely.)<\/li>\n
  5. What is your reaction when Jesus gives you a command that you do not understand?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Luke 8:23<\/p>\n

    Everything was going smoothly until a storm suddenly appeared.\u00a0 This was a common occurrence on the Sea of Galilee.\u00a0 It is about six hundred feet below sea level and sits like a bowl surrounded by hills and mountains.\u00a0 The wind would come down off the mountains and cause the sea to be stirred up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    The problem for the disciples was the boat was being swamped by all of the waves crashing over the boat.\u00a0 Luke said that they were in fact in great danger.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Why was a storm not an unusual event for the Sea of Galilee?<\/li>\n
    2. What kind of problems did it present for the disciples?<\/li>\n
    3. How do we know that this was problematic for the disciples? (Even though they were experienced seaman a storm of that magnitude was more than they could handle because the boat was being swamped.)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Luke 8:24a<\/p>\n

      The disciples did the natural thing and approached their leader, possibly to alert Him to the danger in which they found themselves. Like most of mankind the disciples probably attempted to take care of the problem by trying to bail out all of the water that was swamping them. Only when the situation was beyond their control and capabilities to deal with it did they turn to Jesus for help.\u00a0<\/p>\n

      They could not have possibly known what He could do about the problem.\u00a0 Jesus was asleep in the midst of the storm and had to be awakened.\u00a0 Their words to Him indicated how fearful they were. While Jesus calmly slept safe and secure in His Father\u2019s hands, the disciples after waking Him, let Him know that they were afraid of dying. They were terrified by the storm and their situation. The idea that they might die meant all of their hopes and dreams that Jesus was the Messiah and they would be part of His kingdom would be gone. Added to their fear was the belief of the Jews of that day that to drown meant total destruction of the person. One who died by drowning had no hope of reaching heaven and would be lost forever.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. How would the disciples initially try to do about their dilemma? (They would have tried to bail out the boat.)<\/li>\n
      2. At what point did they go to Jesus?<\/li>\n
      3. What could they have expected from Him?<\/li>\n
      4. How was Jesus handling the situation?<\/li>\n
      5. What example could this have been for the disciples? (If He was not concerned why should they be?)<\/li>\n
      6. How well do you handle situations that are completely out of your control?<\/li>\n
      7. What was the greatest fear for the disciples? (Complete and eternal destruction of the body and soul of the person who drowned.)<\/li>\n
      8. Can you name a time when you were as terrified as the disciples?<\/li>\n
      9. How did you handle the situation?<\/li>\n
      10. What was your first reaction?<\/li>\n
      11. Without total confidence in Jesus what hope do you have for solutions?<\/li>\n
      12. What would happen to all of their hopes and dreams if the boat sank?<\/li>\n
      13. Whose hopes and dreams were they thinking about?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Luke 8:24b<\/p>\n

        His demeanor and calmness would have gone a long way to calming the disciples.\u00a0 He then rebuked the wind and the waves of the storm. Immediately they stopped and everything became calm once again.\u00a0 What did it mean to rebuke the storm?\u00a0 Other meanings might be to reprimand or condemn the storm. It is a picture of a parent disciplining a child for doing something wrong.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. How would the demeanor of Jesus help the disciples?<\/li>\n
        2. How did Jesus handle the situation?<\/li>\n
        3. Why did He rebuke the storm before speaking to the disciples? (While the storm was going on they were in no condition to listen to Jesus.)<\/li>\n
        4. What did it mean to rebuke the storm?<\/li>\n
        5. How well do you listen when you are in the midst of a crisis situation?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Luke 8:25<\/p>\n

          Once Jesus had dealt with the crisis at hand He turned His attention to the disciples.\u00a0 The question He asked was not in the form of a rebuke He simply wanted to know about their faith.\u00a0 It is a valid question that has great meaning today. Once again it is important to hear what He said.\u00a0 He wanted to know \u201cWhere is your faith.\u201d\u00a0 To be sure it took them by surprise.\u00a0 It seems that all the trust they had in Him had evaporated with the storm.\u00a0<\/p>\n

          It was easy for the disciples to have faith when everything was going well.\u00a0 To put His question another way it might be:<\/p>\n

            \n
          • Is your faith only for dry firm land where you are in your comfort zone?<\/li>\n
          • What happened to you when you got into the boat and pushed away into the deep water?<\/li>\n
          • Did your faith disappear or take a holiday when the going got rough and the storms of life assailed you?<\/li>\n
          • What kind of faith will you expect to find in yourself when you return to the shore?<\/li>\n
          • Did your faith become stronger or weaker having come through the storm?<\/li>\n
          • How well do you think that you will be able to handle the next situation over which you have no control?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            Evidently they had forgotten that He had said that they were going to the other side of the lake.\u00a0 With that one statement they should have been assured that no matter what happened that they were going to arrive safely on the other side.\u00a0 They needed to understand that they were safe in His hands just as all of them could depend on the Father.\u00a0 No harm would come to Jesus or them until His special hour in the future would come.<\/p>\n

            Their response was one of awe and amazement.\u00a0 They could not quite understand who Jesus really was.\u00a0 Even though He had healed many, they had just witnessed what no man had ever done before.\u00a0 He had stopped a storm instantly with His command.\u00a0 They wanted to know what kind of man Jesus truly was to be able to do such a thing.\u00a0 The light should have come on that only God could perform such an act contrary to nature.<\/p>\n

              \n
            1. Why did Jesus wait until the storm had subsided before speaking to the disciples?<\/li>\n
            2. Why did He not rebuke them as He did the storm?<\/li>\n
            3. By asking them about their faith what was He trying to do? (Make them realize that they should trust in Him and His words.)<\/li>\n
            4. How would you answer the questions posed above in your own life?<\/li>\n
            5. What had He told them previously that should have given them assurance they would be safe?<\/li>\n
            6. Why was the stopping of the storm different from the miracles that they had seen Jesus perform?\u00a0 (No one had ever shown control over nature in that way by stopping a storm from raging?<\/li>\n
            7. What kind assurance does this event give us about the times we find ourselves in the midst of the storms of life?<\/li>\n
            8. Why is the question, \u201cWho is this\u201d valid for us today? (We have to be sure that we know Him and can trust Him with all that we are.)<\/li>\n
            9. What should the answer tell us in light of what the disciples experienced? (Jesus is God.)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

               <\/p>\n

                \n
              • Be confident that wherever Jesus may send you that He will be with you throughout the journey.<\/li>\n
              • Remember that you will experience storms in your life.<\/li>\n
              • When overwhelming circumstance come into your life go to Jesus.<\/li>\n
              • Keep your faith strong in the face of adversity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                The church is in the midst of a difficult time in history.\u00a0 The world is doing everything in its power to destroy us.\u00a0 All we have to do is to look around to see the moral decay and chaos taking place.\u00a0 It is important to understand that no matter how bleak the situation that the ultimate victory belongs to God and His Son.\u00a0 One of the reasons that God allows us to go through the storms of life is to be in the position to relate to those who so desperately need the healing of spirit, mind and the physical body that we have already experienced.\u00a0<\/p>\n

                 <\/p>\n

                 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                Lesson 20 Faith or Fear Luke 8:22-25 All of us have had or do have things which we fear.\u00a0 Up until my teenage years I had a fear of drowning.\u00a0 I enjoyed being in the water as long as I could touch bottom. The thought of going in over my head caused me to panic.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-luke"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=265"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":266,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265\/revisions\/266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}