Mark 4:35-39 NKJV
[35] On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.”
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[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.
Jesus told the disciples to cross over to the other side, as they were crossing over in a boat, there arose a mighty windstorm with a great high wall wave that was pouring into the boat. The water was already filling the boat and I guess, the confused disciples were busy scooping the water out of the boat to prevent the boat from sinking and all of them drowning. But as fast as they were scooping the water out of he boat, the wave was intense and violently pouring more waters back into the boat.
When the disciples could no longer help the matter and they were stiff-frightened they were all going to drown, they rushed to the SLEEPING MASTER who was asleep in a couch. When they woke Him up, the question that rolled out of their mouth was: Don’t you care we are about to perish?” What amazes me personally about this incidence was that, the Bible plainly said:
Luke 8:23-24 NKJV
[23] But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy.
[24] And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm.
The Bible plainly says; “He fell asleep” (Luke 8:23); and he was “asleep on a pillow” (Mark 4:38) and the boat was seriously being beaten by a violently windstorm that was spilling heavy volume of water into the boat, and Jesus did not wake up. The wave of the sea was violently shaking the boat and the disciples were being tossed left and right as they screamed at each other to do one thing or the other, and the Lord Jesus Christ was “asleep”? The wave was brutally turning the boat side ways and almost trying to capside the big boat with water splashing everywhere, probably, including drenching the couch on which Jesus was sleeping and Jesus was still sleeping? What type of “sleeping” would make a man sleeping in a violently rocking boat not to wake up during a violent storming sea threatening to capside the boat? THE BIBLE
SAYS HE WAS “ASLEEP” AND IN ANOTHER ACCOUNT, IT IS SAID, “HE FELL ASLEEP”.
But, personally, I believe HE WAS SOUND ASLEEP, BUT HE WAS WATCHING!!!
No! I believe the Bible says Jesus was Asleep. But I also believe He was Watching while He slept,
BECAUSE THE BIBLE SAYS in (Psalm 121:3-4)
[3] He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. [4] Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The Bible does not contract itself, because it is Eternally edited and settled in Heaven. If the Bible says Jesus was sleeping in the Boat in the midst of a violent storm and deadly sea-waves and almost sinking boat….and a disciple came to tap Him before He could wake up….MY MASTER WAS NOT SLEEPING…HE WAS ONLY WATCHING WITH HIS EYES WERE CLOSED. How come the violent sea storm and the raging sound of the wave with the rocking boat could not wake Him up, but an ordinary tapping of Him by one of the disciples now woke Him up?
THAT IS LESSON NUMBER ONE.
Now, Lesson Number Two is this:
THE DEADLY STORMS COULD NOT WAKE HIM UP….
THE RAGING WAVE COULD NOT WAKE HIM UP….
THE ROCKING BOAT COULD NOT WAKE HIM UP….
HE DID NOT WAKE UP UNTIL HIS DISCIPLES CAME TO WAKE HIM UP
…And the moment He woke up, He arose to His duties straight-away:
He rebuked the storms and there was calmness. What is the lesson in this?
YOUR PROBLEMS MAY NOT WAKE HIM UP…
YOUR DEADLY DEBT AND DESTRUCTIVE INFIRMITIES AND SICKNESS MAY NOT WAKE HIM UP…
YOUR CRUMBLING BUSINESS AND DYING MINISTRIES MAY NOT WAKE HIM UP….
YOUR ROCKING MARRIAGE AND SINKING HOME MAY NOT WAKE HIM UP….
UNTIL YOU LEARN TO WAKE HIM UP YOURSELF.
Don’t always assume He knows your problems until you tell Him yourself.
Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV
‘Call to Me, and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things,
which you do not know.’
CALL HIM…! PRAY!!! CALL UPON HIM!
Most of the time, our problems, is that we always assume He knows our problems and we do not need to tell Him or remind Him again of things He knows already. We are very lazy in the closet of prayers. We rush into our car mumbling our morning prayers.
YES.. HE IS ALL-KNOWING. But He already said, “call to Me, and I will answer you…”
I remember some times ago, we were in terrible financial, psychological and emotional storms. The pressures were so much on us and we were in series of prayers night and day till we did not know how else to pray. One morning, I was so overwhelmed with this pressures and needs that I did not know how to pray again and I began to shout: Je-e-e-esus! Je-e-e-e-e-sus! Je-su-u-u-us! And I was shouting that name in tears!
Now, about one or two weeks later: I look back, and most of those needs have been met already. Those mountains that were standing threateningly to fall upon us were no longer there. They have disappeared. Those raging storms that were threatening to capside the boat had been calmed now.
After one storm has been calmed by Jesus Christ; probably, Jesus will go back and sit on His couch and probably sleep off again till you come to wake Him up at the bullying of another deadly storm.
At another time,We had just concluded a major film shooting. And while we were preparing for this filming project, there were a lot of financial pressures all around us. the Pressures were so overbearing that we didn’t feel anything about the approaching filming project. I could not concentrate properly. I could not prepare very well for the filming. I could not go over the script to prepare me for the directing. We have not bought the food for the welfare…we have not got the money for the honorarium…no preparation whatsoever. The storms of needs have overwhelmed us.
But, every morning, as early as 4.30 or 5am and at times by 2am my wife and I would be up separately praying all manner of prayers.
At times, she would be rounding off while I was just beginning mine. Then, the filming shooting day came and casts began to arrive. Provisions and supplies came astoundingly. The film location became very sweet and interesting. The entire filming looked glamorously fantastic and we were eating three times on set for five days and we were able to give everybody something at the end, even if not as much as we ought to…yet, everybody got something except few extras we could not attend to before they left the set. When the film location was rounding off, we never wanted it to end. It was very good. WE WOKE UP OUR SLEEPING BUT WATCHING GOD.
THAT IS THE MESSAGE TODAY:
WAKE HIM UP! PRAY! CALL UPON HIM! HE WILL ANSWER!
Aphorism CITY 