Rebuking the Wind

Theme: Mark 4:39-40

       Have you ever heard of someone having faith in Jesus Christ , and rebuking the storm or the wind , while at sea ? I have heard of some people who can do that . Jesus Christ gives us a lesson , on that very same matter . Mark 4:39-40 --- “And he arose , and rebuked the wind , and said unto the sea , Peace be still . And the wind ceased , and there was a great calm”. ( 40 ) ---      “ And he said unto them , Why are ye so fearful ? How is it that ye have no faith”? In verse 39 , we find the wind being the major factor , causing the sea ( water ) to be rough . We have confirmation of that in verse 37 . “And there arose a great storm of wind , and the waves beat into the ship , so that it was , now full”. “Storm of wind” means wind , not rain , and the reason the ship was full of water , was because the wind carried the water into the ship . Now you know what the problem was , verse 39 gives us the answer to that problem .

       Jesus rebuked the wind , by saying ( speaking the word ) “Peace , be still”. By saying     “Peace” , the wind stopped , and by saying “be still”, the waves of the sea was calm . How did Jesus do that , and by what authority ? By having faith in Himself , and He is God , by having all power , as Matt .28:18 tells us , and gives Him that authority . In verse 40 , Jesus asked His disciple’s , why they were afraid , and DID NOT HAVE FAITH ? Looks like His disciple’s , and All disciple’s who claim to be christian’s , should be doing these things by our faith in Jesus  Christ . WHY ? Because , back in Matt .10:1 , remember , Jesus gave His disciple’s , power to do things such as: rebuking the wind ; power against unclean spirits ( devil’s ) , healing the sick,  etc . The disciple’s were not apostle’s , until Jesus Christ work on the cross was completed . Re - member , disciple’s are learners .

       Now , there is always a reason , or source to every problem , and why a problem becomes a problem .This next verse will give a real good glue . Eph .6:12 --- “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood , but against principalities , against powers , against the rulers of the darkness of this world , against spiritual wickedness in high places”. This whole verse is referring to Satan and his devil’s , except when it says “flesh and blood” meaning human beings . These next two verses give us a parable , of how Satan and his devil’ s , keep the wind storms , in the christian’s live’s going on . Luke 11:21-22 ---“When a strong man armed keepeth his palace , his goods are in peace”. (22)-- “But when a stronger than he shall come upon him , and overcome him , he taketh from him all his armor wherein he trusted , and divideth his spoils”.

       Ok , in verse 21 , Jesus is referring to a mature christian , as a strong man . The mature christian being armed with God’s word , and faith in Jesus Christ . God’s word being the christian’s sword , and faith in Jesus Christ , being your shield . When properly used , Satan and his devil’s have a hard time doing what verse 22 tells us , when a stronger than us , meaning Satan and his devil’s, as being stronger than us , ONLY when we have our shield of faith down   ( lack of faith ) , as Mark 4:40 tells us . How does Satan take our armor from us in verse 22 ? By giving into temptations that Satan tempts us with , thus sinning . Read Eccl .10:8 .

       How does Satan thus divide our spoils ? Our spoils are things we possess , and also our health . Satan and or , his devil’s , divide our possessions and health . They do that by cursing our possessions , resulting in less , or all taken away , depends on how strong the curses are . A strong curse is considered a curse of poverty. When Satan and his devil’s curse our health , that can be anything from a cut on the finger , to death . The strongest curse is considered to be a curse of death . For more reference on curses , see Micah 2:1-4 . I trust you will have not only an understanding of Mark 4:37-40 , but a basic idea of how spiritual warfare works .     

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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

(1) In this chapter, what is the wind in reference to?

(A) Wind

(B) Rain

(C) Devils

(D) Water

(2) Which one of these scripture gives us authority over devils?

(A) Gen.27:18

(B) Psalm 23:6

(C) Isa.26:18

(D) Matt. 10:1

(3)   In Eph. 6:12, who or what is flesh and blood referring to?

(A) Human beings

(B) Principalities

(C) Powers

(D) Spiritual wickedness

(4) When a Christian uses God’s word (sword), AND faith in Jesus Christ (shield), Satan                               

        and his devils have a _____ time, doing what Luke 11:22 tells us to do.

(A) Easy

(B) Hard

(C) No big deal

 

(5) How much possessions does Satan take away, when there is a curse of poverty on some

       one?

(A) Not enough to matter

(B) A little

(C) About half

(D) Most

(E) All

(6) How much health, does Satan take away, when there is a curse of death on someone?

(A) Not enough to matter

(B) A little

(C) About half

(D) All

(E) Most

(7) What scripture did Jesus rebuke the wind?

(A) Col.1:23

(B) I John 4:2

(C) Mark 4:39

(D) Jude 9

5-10-05