WHAT DID I TELL YOU? Larry W Peebles September 4, 2020 20.33
When my mother said “What did I tell you”, the debate we were having was over. My rebellion had gone too far. Without any more clarification or justification, it was time to do what I was asked to do. It did not matter if I was not listening, not cooperating, or just being difficult. If I was procrastinating due to laziness or lack of interest, it was time for action and an attitude adjustment. I suddenly found that I could recall, did understand, and could find the motivation to do what was asked of me. My mother’s request became high priority. My excuses (such as “do you not care that this is inconvenient for me?”, or “why not get one of my brothers to do it?”) paled by comparison. This was the final warning. I needed to do what I was told. Any further delay would have dire consequences.
Jesus, the Teacher of all teachers, made this point with His disciples without using these exact words. In Mark 4: 36-41, we read this familiar story- “Now when they had left the multitude, they [the disciples] took Him [Jesus] along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose; and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him, and said to Him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was great calm. But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”
If we have heard this story before, it was probably in the context of the “great storms of life”. Jesus will be with us to see that we get through the storms of life. The storms may come suddenly and fiercely, and cause great fear. He alone speaks and is capable of calming the storms. It is better to be in the storm in the boat with Jesus than to be out of the storm on our own. These are all great analogies and true inspirational teachings from this story.
But in reading this story again, I paused to reflect on something I saw for the first time. It was this question- why did Jesus rebuke the disciples for their fear and lack of faith? Wasn’t that response a bit harsh given the sudden onslaught of the storm, with waves crashing into the boat, and the boat filling with water? I can see the disciples using buckets to bale water out of the boat between waves and brilliant flashes of lightening. Given the intensity of the storm, where was the sympathetic understanding? Under the circumstances, where was the compassion? Was He treating them unfairly? After calming the storm, Jesus’ teaching moment started off strongly because of what He had already told them. I started the story in Mark 4:36, purposely leaving out verse 35 to make a point. In verse 35, Jesus said- “Let us cross over to the other side.” He had already told them how the boat ride was going to end before it even started.
The disciples must not have heard Jesus, or they had forgotten what He said. If they heard and did not forget, then they did not really believe. Their first response becomes an irrational claim- they woke Jesus and cried “Do you not care that we are dying here?” Of course He cared; that’s why He told them in advance they would get to the other side. They had no reason to fear. He was correct to ask why the fear-did they not have faith?
It is said that great leaders can see the outcome before the mission begins. Great teachers make a point to share the outcome with their followers before they start. Jesus was both a great leader and teacher. When his followers missed the point, He came back to address the issue. He knew and told them they would get to the other side.
About a week before we were to depart on a ministry trip to India in 2016, my friend (the main speaker) and I learned of a hurricane in the Indian Ocean that would threaten the east coast of India where we had planned a three-day outdoor Gospel crusade. Plans were already made, sound equipment and lighting rented, and airfare was purchased. We prayed against the hurricane, heard no “check” in our spirits from God about going, so we left the U.S. for India. Upon arrival, we learned the hurricane had come ashore. Our particular area would avoid the high winds, but torrential rain was everywhere—except the crusade grounds. Coming and going to the crusade each day we drove in the rain, and it rained at our hotel at night. But when we arrived at the crusade grounds each day, the ground and equipment was dry. The people walked to the crusade without getting wet, and sat on dry ground. The crowd grew from 5000 the first night to 15,000 the third and final night because word spread of what was happening. God intervened, and held the rains back so we could have those meetings. With heavy rain all around for those three days, there is no other explanation. By not telling us to cancel the plans, He was in effect, telling us how this would end. The meetings would occur, and the results would be quite amazing. The “wind and waves” obeyed when He spoke to the storm.
In 2017, my wife and I were considering our first ministry trip together-just the two of us. We would plan the trip, purchase the airfare, make all the arrangements, and speak and lead at all the meetings in Kenya. Our heart was to serve Jesus. We wanted to know Him and make Him known half way around the world. These meetings would be all about Him. The big question was if we were ready and able to carry a ministry trip like this alone? We were the main speakers; there was no one to fall back on. In a dream, I saw the power of God move across our meetings, and I heard the Lord say if we went, He would go with us, and He would be there when we got there. He encouraged us by telling us how the first trip would end. After that, we have not looked back. We have been traveling and ministering ever since. Each trip is better and more filled with the power of the Holy Spirit than the trip before. What could have been a “one and done” catastrophe ended in a glorious start of a new destiny for the two of us. God was so gracious to tell us how the first trip would end before we began.
Whether it is a “storm of life” or a “wilderness experience”, it benefits to search Scripture to see what Jesus has already told us about the outcome:
Joshua 1:9– “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage: do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Deuteronomy 32:46-47– “Set your hearts on all the words which I [Moses] testify among you today, which you shall command your children to observe- all the words of this [God’s] law. For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life, and by this word you shall prolong your days in the land which you shall cross over the Jordan to possess.”
Psalm 46:1– “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
Psalm 91:1-2– “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord ‘He is my refuge and fortress; my God in Him I will trust.”
Romans 10:17– “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
1 Corinthians 10:4– “For they [the children of Israel in the desert] drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.”
John 4:14– “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
The story of Ezekiel in the valley of dry bones may best summarize this entire discussion. (Ezekiel 37:1-14). In the Spirit, the Lord showed Ezekiel a valley full of dry bones. The problem is expressed in v. 11- “Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off” [from all allies, help and support]. Many of us find ourselves in that condition at times. This experience might be a dead marriage or relationship, or perhaps a dead hope or dream. Perhaps our finances are dead. Maybe we have lost our way, and our zeal for life is dead.
In v. 3, the Lord then asks Ezekiel- “Can these bones live?” In other words, the Lord is asking if Ezekiel thinks He is able to bring a whole valley of dry dead bones back to life. When the Lord asks a question, He is not looking for information. He already knows the answer.
God could have spoken, and the bones would have come to life. However, He wanted to teach Ezekiel to do the same. In v.4, He told Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones, and they began to rattle and come together, and flesh and sinew came upon them (v.8). Then He told Ezekiel to prophesy [speak] again, that the four winds would breathe on the bones so that they would live (v.9). When Ezekiel did as commanded, “breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, as a great army.” (v.10). The dead situation not only came back to life, it did so in a great and forceful way.
Jesus has already told us the outcome for every dead situation. In John 14:6, Jesus says- “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” In every respect, Jesus brings the dead to life. Out of His great love for us, He calms the storm, and brings us through the desert. That is what He told us before He went to the cross, and that is what He is still telling us and teaching us today.
