Custom Search
|
To receive notice of each days Bible Study,
please go to my Twitter and Facebook pages and sign up.
Facebook -
| Daily Bible Study | |
 You can help people worldwide. Please make a small donation. Make a difference in someone elses life. |
Subscribe Daily Bible Study Mailing List 
Receive Daily Bible Studies directly into your email inbox. |
| Matthew 8:23-27 |
|
Lesson # Matt. 8:23-27 Study Material - Matt. 8:23-27 You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth. Matt. 8:23-27 23 And when He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm in the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves; but He Himself was asleep. 25 And they came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, 'Save us, Lord; we are perishing!' 26 And He said to them, 'Why are you timid, you men of little faith?' Then He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and it became perfectly calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, 'What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?' Several boats were involved in this trip and storm. Some disciples road in the boat with Jesus. Others road in other boats. All were caught up in the storm. All were delivered, none were lost. Christ is Lord. He is Lord of all. There is no other Lord in all of creation. Anyone or anything else called by such a name is a lie. Whether you recognize Christ as Lord or not makes no difference. The fact exists that He is Lord and there is none other in heaven or on earth or even in between that can match His authority or power. On land Jesus demonstrated His authority over the unseen, over the little things (disease) of life. In fact there are many unseen things in life which we know of (atoms, DNA, gravity, radio waves) but have not nor ever will see, but we believe in them. Now Jesus demonstrates His authority over greater things - the sea and the wind. These were fishermen, sailors, men who lived in Capernaum, a city on the coast, and they were accustomed to storms popping up from out of nowhere. This storm however, was a 'great' storm. Waves were coming over the boat and it was sinking. It was pitching in the waves. Panic set in. It was dark. They couldn't see anything. Everything was wet. The wind and the noise were a bit too much for these sailors. So they had entered into an event in life, not one uncommon to them, but they were overwhelmed with its power. They were in short, helpless. Jesus was asleep, resting, at peace. The men went to Him and pleaded for their lives. But think now. Jesus was on board the boat with them. Jesus was the savior of the world, the King of kings, Lord of lords. Just hours earlier He was curing all manner of disease and without hesitation, without medical instruments, without a medical degree, without the credentials from a university or popular fraternity. Psa. 4:8, 'I lay me down in peace and sleep, for you, Oh Lord make me dwell in safety.' We need to understand at least one thing in this lesson and that is that circumstances in life are never meant for the glory of the world or to demonstrate its power, but all things are for the glory of God. John 11:4 explains this principle. Our problem in life is that we have a tendency to concentrate our thoughts on that which we can see or which we see as impacting us directly. Jesus Christ has power and authority over all things, even the sea and the wind. The storm calmed immediately at His command. This impressed the sailors and His followers. Storms usually settle down over a period of time, but to have one stop immediately, to have the wind cease, to have the waves fall to glass immediately is beyond the unusual. It just never happens. Our life is like this storm, before, during, and after. On land there is some semblance of stability of footing. On the water there is less sure footing and certainly less freedom of movement. In the storm there is almost total helplessness. We are at the complete control and mercy of something else. That is life in the jungle as we have described it many a time in this study. We might think that we control our destiny, but then something comes along to humble us in our thinking. We live to plan and plan and plan again for ourselves, but then life happens (with very little respect for all our plans and efforts, I might add) and all our plans generally come to naught. We find ourselves traveling in some other direction or at the mercy of some other power. Totally helpless we have two choices. First, we can panic and cry or yell our way out of it all. Second, we can settle down in calm prayer and let God take us our of the trouble - He will. God has a plan for each one of our lives. This means your life too. All you have to do is study and learn. Not much of a requirement expected from us. God does all the rest. Jesus executes all the actions in history. Jesus Christ controls history. He created the universe. He created your life at birth. He controls the ebb and flow of history. There is nothing that can take Him by surprise, nothing in this world, nothing in your life or my life. Do we have enough faith to rest easy when problems strike. How severe of problems can we take anyway - burned toast, lost shoe, monthly bills, lost employment, lost home, lost business, bankruptcy, divorce, abandonment, abuse, handicap of some sort? That list can go on for a long time. We have all been the target of some sort of pressure in life. Fair or not, we being the cause of our own misery or not, these make no difference. Many a time we will fail in life through our own bad decisions. Many a time we will just be in the wrong place at the wrong time. So what! Faith knows no boundaries, no limitations. The power of the world, the power of the jungle are nothing when compared to that of Christ. This does not leave us the option of being intentionally irresponsible. We are not to tempt God nor test His grace. If we are foolish and irresponsible and think that God will just bail us out, then we will have a sore awakening. We do not walk down dark alleys (can you guess why?). We shouldn't spend money we do not have (another guess?). Don't be intentionally stupid and endanger yourself as well as others, especially those for whom you are responsible (kids, employees, etc.). 
Now is the time to post a prayer. End Of Lesson Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth. |
