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Book: Mark
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Mark 5:40 Probing Questions
I. "Why are you so fearful?
A. They had good reasons to be fearful.
1. They were in a fierce storm.
a. They were seasoned seamen, and they knew that
the ship was in danger of sinking. They were
familiar with the sea of Galilee, and they
knew the danger of these sudden storms.
b. We read that the ship was full of water.
c. They had been no doubt bailing the water out
but they could not keep up, it is coming in
faster than they can bail it out.
2. The Lord was asleep and seemingly unaware or worse yet
unconcerned with their danger.
a. They awoke the Lord with the words, "Don't You
care if we perish?"
b. We sometimes can identify with their plight.
1. It seems as if we are in fierce storms,
and we feel that we are about to go
down.
2. It seems that the Lord is not
concerned with our predicament. As
though He is asleep or unaware that we
are about to go under.
B. They had good reason not to be fearful.
1. At the beginning of the story they had the command of
Jesus, "Let us pass over unto the other side."
a. Note Jesus said, "Pass over," when Jesus says
pass over there is no way that you can go
under."
b. We need to listen more carefully to the
commands of Jesus.
2. Jesus was on board ship.
a. When Jesus is on board our ship, we have no
need to fear.
b. The presence of the Lord should dispel all
fear.
1. David said, "Ye though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for Thou art
with Me."
2. Through the prophet Isaiah God said,
ISA 41:10 Fear thou not; for I [am] with thee: be not dismayed; for I
[am] thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee;
yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my
righteousness.
II. The second question, "How is it that you have no faith?"
A. Remember that He is talking to His disciples. This question
seems like a rebuke.
B. Their fear was a sign of their lack of faith. Faith and fear
are mutually exclusive. If you have fear, you do not have
faith, if you have faith, you will not fear.
1. Your circumstances may be fearful, but you will not
fear. Passing through the valley of the shadow of
death would be a fearful experience if we did not
know that the Lord was with us.
2. You are His child, you have no need to fear, your
heavenly Father is watching over you.
3. How many times the Lord told His disciples not to
worry.
a. The phrase, "Take no thought" that was used
so often by Jesus, is literally, "Take no
anxious thought."
b. He is saying that as His children, we are not
to worry.
c. Worry and fear are Siamese twins.
C. This question might be better asked of you who have not yet
come to faith in Jesus. "Why is it that you have no faith?"
1. People often say that they have intellectual problems
with Jesus. What is it about Jesus that you find it so
incredible, that you can't believe in Him?
2. What is it in the Bible that stumbles you and causes
you to doubt?
3. What do you have to gain by not believing?
4. I can tell you that you have a lot to lose by not
believing, mainly your own soul.
MAR 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that
believeth not shall be damned.
JOH 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life.
JOH 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that
believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not
believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
JOH 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he
that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath
of God abideth on him.
JOH 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and
believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life,
and shall not
come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
5. There is much to gain by believing.
JOH 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that
cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me
shall never thirst.
JOH 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath
everlasting life.
JOH 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of
his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
JOH 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he
that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
1PE 2:6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I
lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he
that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
1JO 5:5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth
that Jesus is the Son of God?
6. How do you account for the more than 300 prophecies
written 400 years and more before His birth, that were
fulfilled by Him?
III. All of us sooner or later are going to find ourselves in the midst of
a fierce storm that will threaten our survival.
A. You cannot escape the fact that one day you are going to be
facing death.
1. The Bible declares that it is appointed unto man once
to die.
2. That is one appointment that you cannot cancel.
B. One day you are going to find your life tossed in the storm
over which you have no control. You will come to the
realization that you are going under, your boat is sinking.
1. Your very survival will be dependent on whether or not
Jesus is on board your ship.
2. You cannot know how comforting it is to know that the
Lord is with you when the storm begins to rage, you can
have this confidence, for He said,
ISA 43:2 When thou passest through the waters, I [will be] with thee;
and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when
thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned;
neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
C. One big question remains, have you invited Jesus on board your
ship?
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