Here is one example of Jesus and who he is. It’s an example of the potential of him being in a person’s life. It’s not only what he can do but what it means to have Jesus as Total Master. Think about him as Total Master, two of the best words by which he can be described. They are so great that even the disciples said “what manner of man is this?” Think of where you are right now. What manner of man is he to you?
Matthew 8:23 “And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. 24 And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. 25 And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. 26 And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. 27 But the men marveled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!”
If you took a piece of paper and wrote down what Jesus is master of, the list would keep growing and growing. If you then made a list of what you really believe Jesus is master of, it would probably be a shorter list. It could be that way because of the way we’ve been taught or simply our personal beliefs. But honestly, Jesus is everything you could imagine or need. The fullness of the Godhead was bodily in Jesus Christ. There is no greater power than that. He’s the Son of the living God. You’ve trusted Jesus as you Savior. How far do you have to go to consider him as Total Master? He is, whether we believe it or not. This scripture is a wonderful illustration to teach us spiritual lessons.
This took place on the Sea of Galilee. It is 11 miles long and a 7-mile journey to the other side. That’s not too far in today’s time, but all they had was a fishing boat with no propulsion. The wind drove its sails. Jesus had been busy all day healing people. The lepers came. The centurion’s servant was healed long distance because he wasn’t near Jesus. Demons were cast out. Simon Peter’s mother-in-law was near death. Jesus healed her. She got up and fixed supper for them. Every need was met. It had been a long day. Jesus was in a human body and got tired just as you and I do. He and the disciples got into the ship. Jesus went to the back and lay down to sleep. Even asleep, Jesus was still Total Master.
If you feel short changed, don’t say the failure is on Jesus’ part. That is on our part. Jesus asked the disciples “why are you fearful?” In other words “you should have known after all you’ve seen today it would be all right even if I was taking a nap.” We don’t see Jesus sitting here in church. He’s not in the choir or behind the pulpit. Think so? He’s in every row, up and down; he’s even in the bathroom. He’s right beside every person. We have different needs. Prayer requests usually involve physical ailments. Jesus is Master of them. We have greater needs in our soul as we face the devil every day. We should have a greater concern over that than we do our body. We battle lukewarm hearts and indifference. The oppressions of the world can get to us. Whatever your battles, Jesus doesn’t need to be “awake” to help. He’s in the midst of the storms.
Jesus was asleep during the worst of the storm. Had he run out of gas; could he not do anymore at the moment? The devil would have us believe that. The church is going down; Christianity is going down. Not so. Even though Jesus worked miracles all day, he knew the storm was coming that night. Was he worried? No! If he can control the worst storms while he’s asleep, why do we worry? Talk about a sleeping giant—Jesus is. He’s Total Master. The disciples could have laid down right beside Jesus and slept, but they stayed up and worried. Jesus was still Total Master. He had not lost his ability to help.
The storm inevitably came; ours will too. Our boat will fill with water. Winds from every direction will come. We may get sea sick from being tossed around. Jesus doesn’t get sea sick. Too many times our faith is gauged by how smooth life is going? When things go wrong, we blame Jesus. If he was real it wouldn’t have happened. Because he’s real, you won’t sink. Let Jesus sleep and trust and obey him. The winds don’t obey us, but they do obey the Total Master. The devils in our life don’t obey us, but they do obey the Total Master. It’s time to take our problems to the Master. Don’t worry. If he appears to be asleep, he can still take care of them. With Jesus in the boat, even seemingly asleep, we won’t go down.
We are a contradiction. “I’m saved, but I’m going down this time.” Jesus is not a contradiction. He is who he is—Total Master. He didn’t come from heaven to prove himself Total Master. He performed the miracles because he was Total Master. Let’s face the fact that we can’t provide for our own situations. The winds that won’t obey us will obey the Master. Jesus was tired, but they could have rested in his power. Why not rest in him during your storms? In one of the other gospels, Jesus was asked if he cared about them. Even asleep we trip right over him. I don’t blame him if he gets aggravated at us.
We’re in the same boat. We’re on the sea just as the disciples were. He looks at us just as he did to them and says “why are you so afraid?” What should scare us is the fact that we don’t trust him enough. We call him Master, but do we really trust him? We’ve seen him do miracles and yet we can’t see him. We won’t shake him down from heaven. We just have to trust him. Jesus won’t fall overboard. He knows the situations. You survey it after he already has, and all he has to say is “peace be still.”
Immediately the storm ceased on the Sea of Galilee. The clouds opened up. The disciples said “what manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!” Think about it. What manner of man is he to you? Do you trust him to be Total Master? All impossibilities are under the Master. We must acquiesce to him not partially or occasionally and not only in thought. The only way he can be Total Master in our life is if we let him be.
What about it? Is he your Total Master?
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 