WHAT MANNER OF MAN IS THIS?

Mark 4:35-41

The Context. Jesus is tired from the stresses and activities of the day, and as the ship containing Himself and the Disciples crosses the Sea of Galilee, Jesus lays down and goes to sleep. As He sleeps, a severe storm overtakes the small craft. The storm is so great that the Disciples are afraid for their lives, but Jesus sleeps through it all. Then, when they feel that all hope is nearly gone, they wake Jesus up and He steps forth in all the power of His deity and rebukes the storm and calms the stormy sea. To say the least, the Disciples are astounded! They look around at one another and voice the question that is the theme of the message this evening. They ask, "What manner of man is this?"

Jesus has always been a man surrounded by controversy. The Disciples beheld His power first hand and were forced to ask, "What manner of man is this?" I have experienced Him at work in my life, as many of you have, and I am still asking "What manner of man is this?". All those who know Him never cease to be amazed by Him and those who do not know Him can never hope to understand Him or His power.

However, I would like to try to shed a little light on what kind of man Jesus is

    1. He is the Sovereign One

        A. Not only is the son of God, but He is God the Son.

        B. Notice the words “only begotten.”

            1. Mens to beget one of the same.

            2. Jesus is God.

    2. He is the Strong One

        A. He is the “Almighty One.”

             1. He is strong enough to defeat Satan and save your soul, if

                  you will allow Him to

              2. He is strong enough to carry you through life’s problems.

              3. He is stron enough to take you to the finish line.

    3. He is the sent one.

        A. Sent to be our savoir.

II. HE IS THE SAVER OF SOULS (Heb. 7:25)

    1. He Has Power To Purchase

        A. We have been bought with a price, redeemed (1 Cor. 6:20)!

        B. Just what does it mean to be redeemed? Notice the Greek

             words.

            1. Rev. 5:9 In this verse,"agarazw to "buy in the marketplace."

            2. Gal. 4:5 - In this verse "ecagarazw". This word means "to

                 take off the market."

           3. 1 Pet. 1:18 Here, "loutron". "to release after the payment of

                the ransom price."

    2. He Has Power To Purify (Isa. 1:18)

        A. When we trusted Jesus for salvation, we were washed whiter

             than snow

            1.Every lowdown, dirty thing we had ever done, or ever will do

                was washed away

    3. He Has Power To Preserve

        A. He will no lose one of His little ones on the way home to glory!

              (John 10:27-28)

III. HE IS THE STILLER OF STORMS (Mark 4:39)

    1. Regardless Of Their Source

        A. Storms that are satanic in origin, others are physical, some

               are emotional, there are physical storms and financial

              storms, and thousands of others too numerous to name.

         B. But no matter where they come from He can and will still them

              for us.

    2. Regardless Of Their Force

        A. Sometimes the storms of life are mild, at other times they

             nearly rip our lives

        B. Remind you of 2 things.

            1.We will never face a storm alone

            2. We have a God who is greater than anything we will ever

                  face.

        C. God's plan for handling the storms of life (Phil. 4:6-7.)

    3. Regardless Of Their Course

       A. No matter what the outcome of the storm may be God will still

            use it your life

           1. For His glory and for your good, (Rom. 8:28)

IV. HE IS THE SHEPHERD OF SHEEP (Psa. 23:1-6)

    1. He Feeds Them

        A. As we make our way through this life we can count on the Lord

             to give us what

            1. The shepherd leads his sheep to the green pastures where

                 they can feed

            2. The Lord leads us through the green pastures of His Word

                 where our souls can nourished

       B. God help the sheep who doesn't take time to feed on the Word

            of God!   (1 Pet. 2:2.)

    2. He Leads Them (Psa. 23:1-6)

        A. V. 2-4 In The Right Path - Those who follow Him are never

            lead astray!

       B. V. 4 With The Right Peace - Though danger abounds the

            sheep are safe

      C. V. 4 With The Right Protection - The Shepherd knows how to

           protect

      D. V. 5 With The Right Provisions - He knows and anticipates

           every need

      E. V. 6 To The Right Place -The Shepherd will bring all His sheep

          into His Father's fold. He will see to it that all His lambs arrive

          safely home!

CONCLUSION

What manner of man is this? There aren't enough adjectives in the collective vocabularies of humanity to adequately describe Him and His glory. The best we can do is to join our voices with that of the Shumanite woman in Song Of Solomon 5:16 and declare together that "He is altogether lovely!" If you need Him this evening, He is still the stiller of storms, the saver of souls, the satisfier of saints and the shepherd of the sheep. Why not come to Him and get what you need tonight?

Several years ago a submarine was being tested and had to remain submerged for many hours. When it returned to the harbor, the captain was asked, "How did the terrible storm last night affect you?" The officer looked at him in surprise and exclaimed, "Storm? We didn't even know there was one!" The sub had been so far beneath the surface that it had reached the area known to sailors as "the cushion of the sea." Although the ocean may be whipped into huge waves by high winds, the waters below are never stirred.

The Christian's mind will be protected against the distracting waves of worry if it is resting completely in the good providence of God. There, sheltered by His grace and encouraged by His Holy Spirit, the believer can find the perfect tranquility that only Christ can provide.