Let us pass over to the other side.
In the lesson Scripture of St. Mark 4:35-39, Jesus had been teaching near the Sea of Galilee, and the crowd, so thirsty for some good news, would just surround Jesus and press upon him.
These were challenging times. People were worried about being robbed if they traveled the roads alone. There was sickness throughout the land. There were evil spirits roaming the earth looking to attach themselves to individuals in the form of demonic possession; and there were wicked rulers — those who were in seats of position and had no interest in serving those in their communities. Time moves on, but the heart of men then and today is a desolate wasteland without the love of God.
The people of Jesus’ time, so poor and downtrodden, had a desire to hear a little good news. They pressed upon Jesus just to hear a Word that would ignite hope in their hearts. On this occasion, Jesus taught from a boat. I can just imagine that during the hot weather with the breeze rolling in from the sea, there was a bit of relief from the heat; you know how that breeze feels when you’re walking on the beach in Biloxi. The breeze might have felt refreshing to Jesus, but Jesus was teaching and giving of himself, and virtue was going out of him as he ministered to an attentive crowd. The teacher became physically weary, and, in the evening, Jesus told the disciples that it was time to pass over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. It was time to go!
Dearly Beloved, it is time for us to “cross over,” as well!
It is time to earnestly evaluate our lives and our circumstances and let some things go and pass over unto the other side with the Lord. The Word of God paraphrased says, “Whatsoever so easily beset thee lay that thing aside.” More specifically, Hebrews 12:1 says, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”
Paul, the writer of Hebrews, points out that we all, and that all includes the preacher, have sins that we wrestle with. Let us call sin what it is, transgression against divine law. Let us not compromise the truth. Our sinful nature, the flesh, is always at war with the spirit. Even those giants we read about in the Bible had problems with certain things all their lives. David and Solomon were womanizers. Abraham was a liar and so was Peter. The list could go on and on. The short of it is, sin is nobody’s friend!
Christians are not perfectly sinless, but the Lord looks for us to make repentance a lifestyle.
Let us pass over today. We can pass over or change actions and attitudes tomorrow or whenever our lifestyle does not reflect who is really in charge of our life or reflect to whom we belong. While we’re crossing over, we can call on the Lord and he will assist us.
Let me make these observations:
1) There is strength in numbers. More than one disciple called on the Lord. Verse 38 says, “They awake him and say unto Him…” If you do not have a prayer partner, get with a believer and start to call on the Lord together. Pray in line with the will of God. Be consistent and be persistent.
2) God can control the attacker and the one being attacked. First, Jesus rebuked the wind, the element that was attacking the sea. The wind was extremely high, and these seasoned fishermen, now followers of Christ, were afraid. Something was whipping up the sea, but Jesus had it under control. In His authority, Jesus simply said, “Peace be still.” When you decide to drop that mess and clean up where you have messed up, those who are still in denial about needing to “go over to the other side” will mount an attack on you like you have never seen. Don’t worry! God is bigger than any adversary! He’s bigger than any storm! God can be your peace while everything around you shakes! God can do for you what no other can do for you! God can and will speak three Words in authority, “Peace be still!”
3) Finally, you are somebody’s role model. Those little ships are trying to follow you. Those little ships may be your child, a sibling, a neighbor or somebody who has not seen what living for Christ looks like. You’re going over to the other side for the little ships, too! Those little ships are following you! They can’t go where they don’t know. Crossing over to the other side benefits you and those looking to you as a godly example.
