Man Church

He's just sitting at home with white things in the background.

He's out hunting. I believe he just showed his hunting blind.

Oh, did he?

Yeah.

That's great.

Smart out.

Amazing. Bow season. So that's great. Well, welcome. Good to have you here. We've got folks coming in on all over the place now, which is great. Always good to get y'all y'all going. 2 more people is Robert and Betty. Who the heck's Betty? That'd probably be Ned. Hey, Larry, how you doing, man?

What's up, Doc?

How you going, man? You good?

All's well. I'll be back at the mothership in about 10 minutes. Got caught in a little bit of a traffic snarl.

Oh, that's all right, man. We still got a couple minutes. Here's Ryan.

Good morning.

How you doing, mate?

I'm doing good if I can get this to cooperate. My wife used it and I changed her name and it's not—

it came in as Betty and I thought, well, yeah, I'll have to get out of here.

John was like, who is Betty?

Figure out how to fix it.

I'm thinking, who am I gonna have to kick someone off for the first time here? This is getting dangerous,

you know. Yeah. Shoot. I know it's simple to fix it, but I—

It's all good, mate. So how you fellas all been? Been good? Give us an update. How you doing? Like, Al's hunting. So that's good.

I'll be doing the same this afternoon.

Oh, really?

Yeah.

Well, that sounds like fun.

I'll keep you posted.

Be bow hunting? Yeah. Excellent. Excellent.

You're sporting it. I love it.

Yeah, man. I rock that hat everywhere, bro.

Come on.

Oh, everyone got coffee? I could do with another one. I got coffee going on. Good, man. You always do have good coffee. So, you know, I had to— I'm doing this road trip going over hunting. And I'm gonna take this out. I got this old beater of a Mercedes. Why do I love that car? Because it's free. And, you know, it's a 20-year-old E40 someone donated and it's just, it's got a half a million mile engine on it and I got about 155 on it. So it's full Puerto Rican. Whoever got it lowered it, put metal rims on it, one of those things. So it's got no brake lights. Why? Because I didn't fix them. The back windows, I screwed them in. Why? Because I didn't wanna pay $1,500 for them to drop. So one of those things. So the, you know, so go around, I can't get up to the German car care place. They want $1,400 or $1,200 to replace the tail light. A little bit more. And so I took it around to Dave's place and where I was into it for $120 and 3 sub sandwiches. So it was just great. Like, Just, that's why you have mates. That's awesome. We had a good time. Now, I was out there yesterday with the toothpaste and the toothbrush trying to get some headlights back. Did it work? It half worked and I had to spill big money, I think $24 at O'Reilly's and get a kit. Oh shit. Yeah.

O'Reilly's. I would sing the song, but nobody wants to hear that.

No, we don't. Hey, so why don't I pray and we're gonna get into it? Um, Bennett's teaching this morning, which I'm really pumped about, actually, really excited. And, uh, I, I love what he does. I love his work and I, above all, I love his passion for Christ. And, um, I've had a privilege of getting to know him a little bit. And, um, so he's, he's got a great topic coming up and I will hand to him. And so the format's gonna be the same. Al's gonna be killing stuff. And Will will just be sitting around here getting inspired and repenting on his behalf. So, so let me pray. Father, we thank you for the chance to gather as men, to gather around your word as brothers. And we just ask you to be with Bennett and ask you to just grant him A peace about this morning and a grace for it, and let the word make a difference in our lives. We live an interesting time, and we've been called to the kingdom for such a time as this. And may a peace and grace be on us all in Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen.

Over to you, brother.

So hey everybody, my name is Bennett Tanton. I just a touch of background before we go. I'm a military veteran, an author, a podcast. Um, I work in national security, uh, professional with a background in, um, like intelligence reconnaissance, uh, spent a bunch of time in nuclear security and emergency management. And now I really work on workforce development. Um, I host a podcast called Broadcasting Seeds, uh, where we explore biblical mystery and spiritual warfare, hidden history, uh, government secrecy, all the fun stuff, strange phenomenon and, and cultural, basically cultural forces that shape the modern world. Um, my work brings together decades of, you know, all those things and then, um, public service and willingness to ask hard questions. And examine the stories that often sit, I, I guess you would say, outside the mainstream conversation. So this morning we're going to talk about what the title is: What Are You Afraid Of? Putting Fear Back in Its Proper Place. Um, and just to give you a little preface, uh, we'll be going through Mark 4:35-41 And then also just touching on 2 Timothy 1:7. So I start with a question, and I want you to actually answer it in your head. Not the church answer, though. The real one.

The real one.

The real one. What are you afraid of? Not snakes, not heights. I mean, the thing that shows up at 2 in the morning When the house is quiet and you're just laying there staring at the ceiling, like the bank account or the diagnosis or the kid who stopped talking to you, or, you know, we all have these things, the job that might not be there next year. That's my current thing. So, um, the marriage that feels like 2 roommates sharing a mortgage. Right? These are, these are all things. The fear that you're not the man your family needs you to be, even. Um, most of us were raised to handle fear one of two ways. You either ignore it or you fake it, push it down, puff out your chest and, and never let anybody see it. That's right. And I spent years in places where showing fear could get People hurt. I get it, so I understand why men do that. But here's what I've learned: pretending there's nothing to fear doesn't make you brave. Frankly, it just makes you tired. And today we're gonna look at a story where twelve men were terrified. And here's something most people read right past with this: in this story, the disciples are more afraid after. After the storm is gone, then while it's raging. So hold on to that, and we'll talk about it. And and I want you to understand why because that one detail is the key to what you do with fear. So let's go to the text. Let's go to the to the Bible, to the Word. Turn with me to chapter four, starting in verse thirty-five. And on that day, when evening had come, he said to them, let us go across to the other side. And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking onto— into the boat. And so that the boat was already filling, but he was in the stern asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased. And there was a great calm. He said to them, "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?" And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, "Who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey him?" So here's the big idea for today: The answer to fear isn't. Pretending there's nothing to fear. The answer is recognizing who is greater than the thing you're afraid of. And my first point is the storm came on the road of obedience. Okay, looking at verse 35, whose idea was the boat ride in the first place? It wasn't Peter's. Um, and it wasn't the rest of the disciples. Jesus said, let us go across to the other side. And that matters. These men didn't get into the storm because they had sinned. They didn't get into the storm because they wandered off. They got into the storm because they did exactly what Jesus told them to do. Some of you are sitting here thinking, if I was really following God, this wouldn't be happening to me. Brother, that's not what this text says. Sometimes obedience takes you straight into the wind.

Yeah, very good.

And notice something else. Before the storm ever showed up, Jesus already told them where they were going. Um, not let's go out in the middle of the lake or in the middle of the sea and see what happens. He said let's go across to the other side. The destination was settled before the first wave even hit the boat. Now think about who's in the boat. At least 4 of these men were professional fishermen. You got, uh, Peter, And Andrew and James and John, they grew up on that water. The Sea of Galilee sits about 700 feet below sea level, bottom line, with hills, um, around it, and the wind can drop down through those valleys and turn that lake violent in minutes. Uh, these guys knew that. Uh, this, this was their trade and this was their expertise, right? And verse 37 says, a great windstorm arose and the waves were breaking into the boat so, so that the boat was already filling. Now Mark uses a word for the storm that describes a fierce, uh, whirling windstorm. This wasn't a, a rough night. This was the kind of storm that made The experts panic, right? As we just said. Now, that's when fear really gets you. Not when you're— what? Not when you face something you didn't and don't understand. It's when you face something in the area you thought that you had handled, like your career or your money or your family. Yeah. The thing you're supposed to be good at, right? And the water is coming up and over the side, and the boat is filling up. Um, fears— fear really tells you a story about God, right? Uh, verse 38, where's Jesus? In the stern, in the back of the boat, asleep on a cushion. Now, Mark is the only gospel writer who mentions the cushion. Right? If you look at this whole thing, that's—

He's his brother.

That's an eyewitness detail, right? Many believe Mark got his account from Peter. So this may be Peter remembering, but I'm bailing water for my life and he's got a pillow, right? So they wake him up and Listen to what they say. They say, teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? They didn't ask, can you help? They asked, do you not care? That's what fear does. Fear doesn't just tell you something about your situation. Fear tells you a story about God, and it says, if he cared, He'd be awake. If he cared, this, this wouldn't be happening, because if he cared, he'd have fixed it already, right? And the enemy loves that story, because if, if he can get you to believe God doesn't care, he doesn't need to sink your boat. You'll just trust the one who's in it with you. You'll stop trusting the one that's in it with you, right?

Yeah.

But think about why Jesus was sleeping, right? A man sleeps like that when he's at peace. Jesus wasn't asleep because he didn't care. He was asleep because he wasn't afraid. I mean, in the military, I don't know how many of you are veterans, but you learn to sleep anywhere. And that's kind of how I look at it. I remember sleeping on a range or sleeping on our way to do a mission, and people were like, well, how can you do that? But it's what happens. So he knew exactly who was in that boat, right? So, um, Jesus wakes up, speaks to the storm like an enemy, and verse 39, Jesus wakes up And he rebukes the wind. Then he says to the sea, peace, be still. That word rebuke is the same word Mark uses back in chapter 1. If you go back in the text when Jesus confronts a demon in the synagogue, Mark 1, I think it's 1:25, says, but Jesus— let me make sure I don't mess this up. But Jesus rebuked him, saying, be silent and come out of him. And the word behind be still here is the same word behind be silent there. It literally means muzzle, like you'd muzzle a dog. Jesus doesn't negotiate with the storm. He doesn't wait it out. He talks to it. The way a commander talks to something that's out of line, right? And to a Jewish man in that boat, this is huge. In the Old Testament, the sea was the picture of chaos and the thing only God could control. Psalm 89:9 says, you rule the raging of the sea. When its waves rise, you still them. Psalm 107 describes sailors at their wit's end crying out to the Lord, and verse 29 says he made the storm be still and the waves of the sea were hushed. Only God does that. And here's a man waking up from a nap doing it with 3 words. And look at the results. Verse 39 says the wind ceased and there was a great calm. Not a gradual easing like that. Storms don't stop like that. Waves keep rolling long after the wind quits. But this lake, this sea, was flat instantly. So whatever you're facing today, it is not bigger than the voice that told the sea to shut its mouth. Okay. Um, and we moved to Putting fear in its proper place. Now remember what I told you at the beginning, that the disciples are more afraid after the storm than during it. Look at verse 41. They were filled with great fear. Now in the Greek, it literally says they feared a great fear. During the storm they were afraid. After the storm they were filled with great fear. Same men, same boat, but now the lake is calm. So what are they afraid of? They're not afraid of the water anymore. They're afraid of who's sitting in the boat with them. Who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey him? Here's what happened. Their fear moved. It went from the storm to the Savior, and they had been afraid of the wrong thing the whole time. That's what I mean by putting fear back in its proper place.

Very good.

God isn't telling you to become a man who feels nothing. He's calling you to fear the right thing in, in the right way. And Isaiah 8 says it plainly. Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. This isn't the fear of a man cowering from an abusive boss. This is awe, right? The kind of reverence that grabs you when you realize you— who you're really, uh, who you're actually dealing with. And Proverbs 9:10 says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. Here's how it works. Whatever you fear the most is the thing that rules you. If you fear losing your job most, your job, it rules you. It rents space in your head. It owns space in your head. If you fear what people think most about you, people rule you. Um, if you fear the future most, the future rules you. But when the Lord is the one you hold in awe, Everything else shrinks down to its real size, and the storm is still real. The bills are still there, right? They're still real. The diagnosis is still there, but they're not on the throne anymore. They're in the boat with Jesus, and he's bigger. And notice Jesus's question in verse 40: Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith? He's not mocking them. He's straight up asking, after everything you've seen me do, do you still not know who I am? The opposite of fear here isn't courage, it's faith. It's knowing who he is. Now, switching over to 2 Timothy, we're just going to touch on this. 2 Timothy 1:7. What's God put in you? And Paul wrote these words to a young pastor named Timothy, and Paul wrote, um, them from a prison cell in Rome near the end of his life, knowing he was likely going to be executed. So this isn't a man writing a greeting card, okay? This is a man staring at death. Telling his son in the faith how to stand. For God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self-control. All right, the word for fear there means timid, timidity, cowardice, right? The kind of fear that makes a man shrink back and quit. Paul says that spirit didn't come from God. So if it's running your life, you need to ask where it came from. Instead, God gave you 3 things. Power, right? Number one, power. Now, your own— not your own strength, the power of the Holy Spirit living in you. The power, the same power that stilled that sea. He gave you love. Fear makes a man self-protective, and love makes a man stand in the gap for others. Your wife, your kids, they don't need a man with no fears. They need a man whose love for them is bigger than his fear. And lastly, self-control. Some translations say a sound mind. And it means a clear, steady head. Fear scrambles your thinking, as we all know, right? The Spirit of God settles it. That's the man who can say in the middle— can— that can say in the middle of a storm, we're going to the other side because he said so.

Good, very good.

So I'll ask you one more time. What you are afraid of, and I tell you, name it right now in your head. Name it. Now what I want you to hear now, I want you to hear this: Jesus in is in the boat with that thing. He already told you where you're going, and he has never once looked at a storm and been impressed by it. This week, here's your challenge. When that fear shows up, and it will, I know, don't ignore it and don't pretend. Look right at it and say out loud, you are not bigger than him. Then do the next obedient thing. Make the call. Have that hard conversation. Lead your family in prayer. Go get back in the boat, because the men who walked off that boat the next morning—they weren't fearless; they were men who finally understood who they were following. Okay,

that's very good.

Can we pray again? Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, holy is your name. You are the one, the wind, and the sea obey. We bring you what we've been carrying tonight, today, and things that keep us up at night, and we set them down in front of you. Your kingdom come, your will be done in our house, in our marriages, in our work, and in our own hearts, as it is in heaven. Give us what we need for today. Forgive us for the times we believed the story fear told us about. Um, forgive us for letting other things sit on the throne that belongs to you alone, and help us lead the people you've given us with power, love, and self-control. Lead us through the storms you've already promised to bring us across. Deliver us from the evil one and from every spirit of fear that didn't come from you. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. In the mighty name of Jesus, amen.

Amen. I'm going to end the live stream now to Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter. Thanks very much for joining us to Man Church. If you're out there, fellas, and you want to come along and join us on a Zoom call, go to manchurch.online and you can subscribe there. Alrighty, let me.