No Guilt in Life, No Fear in Death…No Power of Hell, No Scheme of Man…Can Ever Pluck Me From His Hand! [6-22-25]

June 22, 2025

Luke 8:22-39

“No Guilt in Life, No Fear in Death…No Power of Hell, No Scheme of Man…Can Ever Pluck Me From His Hand!”

Our primary focus today is going to be on four verses…Luke 8:22-25:

One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”

Have you ever been afraid? Have you ever received negative medical news 

with a potentially bad outcome? Have you ever struggled with a broken relationship? Have you ever been betrayed or abandoned by someone you thought loved you and cared about you? Have you ever suffered a job setback or financial crisis? Have you ever watched a loved one suffer and die? Have you ever messed up so big you couldn’t possibly hope for a way back or out? Have you ever been depressed? Ever have panic attacks? Has anxiety ever made you feel like you were living in a pressure cooker? Are any of these questions driving you back into a dark place?

Someone once said, the opposite of faith is fear. Sometimes we’re smack dab in the middle of the pressure cooker. Sometimes we’re pressure-cooker adjacent. One way or another, life can be tough, challenging, difficult, heart-breaking. Are we equipped to handle it?

While these four verses appear simple, there’s a depth of meaning to them that reveals much about who Jesus is and what he does in our lives. To get at that, let’s start of the big idea:

“IN JESUS, THE POWER OF GOD CAN AND DOES CONQUER THE POWERS OF DARKNESS ARRAYED AGAINST HIM.”

• Paul J. Achtemeier

What’s the first thing we need to know about this trip across the lake?

Because of its geographical setting, lots of interesting things can happen. At any time, cold downdrafts can kick-up unexpected squalls. A three-hour tour can turn disastrous.

The most important thing to remember is the three-point understanding of what a raging sea represents:

1. Atmospheric phenomena created and sustained by God.

2. The primeval powers of chaos that God subdued in creation.

3. The realm of demonic powers that God will ultimately destroy.

As Revelation 21:1 so beautifully puts it, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.”

Let’s remember some truths Luke has established in these opening chapters of his gospel. He tells the story of God’s salvation history. Jesus was born in a specific place, at a specific moment in history, for a specific purpose. Jesus is the incarnate Word of God…in other words, the Father and Son are One. Luke makes sure we understand that nothing he reports happens by accident or coincident. All of these things work together to culminate in Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection. That is our salvation history.

So, knowing that, let’s get in the boat with Jesus and his disciples.

What does Jesus do as they sail away? He falls asleep. Does he fall asleep because he’s exhausted? He has been busy. A lot of travel, by foot, is involved. But that’s not the primary reason Jesus falls asleep. We know he’s comfortable, confident, and secure within the Father’s will. The answer is within those three states of being.

Jesus knows the seas are going to turn stormy. That’s why he gets in the boat at that particular time in that particular place with those particular followers. Jesus knows exactly what he’s doing. Here’s a Biblical truth you might want to write down:

AS JESUS IS ABOUT TO DISPLAY HIS POWER TO COMMAND THE 

SEA, HIS SLEEP IS A SIGN OF DIVINE SOVEREIGNTY.

What we see is how the Lord allows the storm…the Lord is in the storm… and the Lord creates the storm in order to demonstrate that He can be 

trusted in the storm to increase their faith.

And now an interlude with a quick personal story.

Twenty years ago, I had to have major surgery. There was some risk. I had never been under general anesthesia before. The surgery lasted about five hours. Through my recovery, talking about the surgery, people asked if I was anxious or nervous or worried, or whatever else negative emotion you’re supposed to feel. I said no. One of two things would happen. I would either wake up and see the face of my beautiful wife or I would open my eyes to see the face of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Both outcomes were good. Nothing to fear. As the great song, In Christ Alone, affirms:

In Christ alone my hope is found,He is my light, my strength, my song;This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.What heights of love, what depths of peace,When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!My Comforter, my All in All,Here in the love of Christ I stand.

Now, back in the boat with Jesus.

The storm hits and the disciples are afraid. The better translation of, “We are perishing,” is, “We’ve had it!” I love that. They’re at the end of their rope. They’ve come undone. They wake Jesus up. And what does Jesus do? He does what he knew he was going to do before he fell asleep. Jesus calms the storm. What a powerful analogy that is to how Jesus works in the hardships of our lives.

If you remember back to the miracles of chapter seven, especially when Jesus raised the widow’s son from death, he didn’t use any special words. There was no mumbo-jumbo. Here, Jesus doesn’t even pray to God to deliver them from this deadly danger. He simply does what only God can do…he calms the sea by his command. I love the affirmation from Psalm 89:9:

You rule the raging of the sea;

    when its waves rise, you still them.

After Jesus calms the sea, we are led to a key teaching moment. It comes in the form of a question. “Where is your faith?” It’s not a question to shame them or belittle them. It’s a question asked to lead them to growth. Think about your reaction. Now think about how it could have been a better reflection of your time spent with me. When they are in his presence, they should have no fear. Psalm 46:1-3 affirms it this way:

God is our refuge and strength,    a very present help in trouble.Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,    though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,though its waters roar and foam,    though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

Knowing Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, how could we ever be filled 

with doubt and fear in times of danger?

• Showed video of 74-year-old woman at political protest who said she worries about everything all the time. {Pastor’s note…so very sad. These people need Jesus.}

As we conclude our time on these four verses, first an observation, 

followed by a declaration of faith.

The observation:

The disciples are in the boat with Jesus. They go where Jesus goes. It is wrong to think that following Jesus will bring an untroubled, soothing life.

Here’s something else you might want to write down:

FAITH PLACES COMPLETE CONFIDENCE IN GOD’S PROVIDENTIAL CARE AND PROTECTION WHATEVER THE DANGERS.

I love what Charles Spurgeon said about fear:

“It is said that our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength.”

Don’t lose your joy to fear. Never…never.

And now the observation:

“It is a tragedy that the Christian religion is in many minds 

identified merely with pious ethical behavior and vague theistic beliefs, suffused with aesthetic emotionalism and a mild glow of humanitarian benevolence. This is not the faith which first awakened the world like a thousand trumpets and made people feel it bliss in such a dawn to be alive. {People} knew what Christianity really was – the entrance into history of a force of immeasurable range.”

• James S. Stewart, Thine is the Kingdom, 1956

Are you facing difficulties in your life right now? What storms have risen up against you? Where have you stumbled in the past? Remember the disciples in the boat with Jesus. No matter what you experience or go through in life, always remember:

CHRIST ON THE CROSS TAKES THE EVIL IN THE WORLD INTO HIMSELF AND BEARS IT AWAY THROUGH HIS DEATH.

Let’s Pray:

Thank you, Father, for the privilege of being in the boat with Jesus, learning to trust him in all things, all the time. Amen.