Intro:
Anyone here have a Bad day today:
A)Sunday Dryer breaks
Worship leaders late
B) The events of
1) Interesting that no other
event other than the crucifixion is told by all four gospels
C) Not His Birth/ Baptism/or
His temptation!
1)But all four gospel writers
chronicle this day!
D) Now we looked at this
story in our time together on Sunday {
Disciples pt of view
1)Briefly
look at it again From the point of view of Jesus { Boy where is the man who
see Jesus
2) Set the scene for what unfolds in V. 16-21
Once
again I want to consider this account drawing from all 4 of the gospel writers. After
theses things
A)The day begins in sorrow:
Jesus gets the news that John the B. His cousin and fore runner has been
beheaded.
B) Only person alive at the
time who Knew Jesus was the Promised Messiah.{ Herod wants to see Jesus
C) His sorrow is interrupted
however by the return of His disciples are away on their 1st solo
missionary
1) They were excited wanting
to share.
So
Jesus responds by wanting to get some alone time with his disciples As well
as for Himself -
A) Reflect / Grieve
consider / Pray
B) But they get into a boat
head across the
C) When Jesus lands on the
shore in
1) 10-15 thousand
people are waiting!
Talk
about a wild day! Day filled with extreme emotions and demands
Intense
sorrow: the death of John
Immediate
threat- Herod wants to see Jesus.
Immeasurable
joy- his disciples are back
rejoicing
Immense
crowds everyone wanting a piece
of Him
Insensitive
interruptions he sought
rest & got people.
How
do you respond when Your plan gets interrupted?
A)It used to drive me crazy:
First hired by CCV as a Youth Pastor Gaylord Day
planner
B) Every year I would get a
new one from him
1) I became a day planner
kind of guy!
C) Learned Ministry cant
be kept thru a day planner! THINGS CHANGE
1) Being organized is good,
but: Blessed are ..flexible
Ministry
is about People: Mark tells us that Jesus immediately goes into Ministry mode: A)COMPASSION { Sheep ..shepherd
Began to teach them
minister to their needs
B) Whenever Plans take
precedence over people something is wrong
Around the turn of the
century there were two of those big Paddle boats
going down the Mississippi
Sailors on one boat challenged
the sailors on the other boat to a race.
IT WAS ON!
Well one of the boats
started to fall behind quickly burning up their supply of coal. Enough for
a trip but not a race.
It was then one of the young
sailors had an idea started to throw the cargo they were being paid to transport into to the furnace
They discovered it burned as
good as the coal
Well they won the race but
they burned up the cargo they were supposed to transport.
A lot of ministries do the
same when they get so focused on their plan / forget about people.
C) Jesus seeing these people
were hungry and had come a long way reaches out to them.
D)
This goes on for hrs until the disciples final come to him and say Lord it is
getting late this is a deserted place send the people away for food.
E)Jesus responds by saying:
No I think you should give them something to eat.
1)John says here in v.5 He
asked Philip who was from this area where can we buy bread.
F) Invitation to see the
need to be involved
1) Immediately
Philip is like no way! Not enough
Andrew
steps forward and says there is a lad
5
loaves/ 2 fish
A)Jesus says I can use that
Takes the little and feeds the Multitude. W/ Leftovers { Skeptics
.
B) That is where we want to
pick up the story:
1)
Matt & Mark tell us at this point Immediately Jesus tells his disciples
get ready to go
C) Sends them back down to
the beach to get into a boat to cross back over to the other side.
D) This
blows my mind: Jesus is so different from me
1) Sunday am Preached 3
services up at 5am
E) Last thing I want to do
is clean up I dont even want to talk talked out
1) I want to eat Relax
let someone else clean up
Opposite
mentality of Jesus: You guys go I will take care of the 15,000 people dismiss
them
A)So the disciples head off
and something interesting happens amongst the crowd
V.14 Then those men, when they had seen
the sign that Jesus did, said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come
into the world."
V.15 Therefore when Jesus perceived that
they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed
again to the mountain by Himself alone.
B)That is a remarkable
statement of a proper conclusion, followed by a terribly wrong response.
1)As
they saw this miracle happen, their minds went back to a verse in Duet 18 ,
C)
where God had fed the people in the wilderness with manna from heaven, and
Moses shared with the People
Deuteronomy18:15
"The LORD
your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your
brethren. Him you shall hear,
D)
Well people in the crowd began to connect the dots.
1)The
murmur began to spread through the whole crowd, "This must be the one of whom Moses
said, 'There will be a prophet like unto me'."
And
they were dead right.
A)That
was one of the signs of the Messiah; that was indeed proof that here was the
one of whom Moses spoke.
B)But the strange and sad
thing was that when they reached that proper conclusion, they immediately
reacted in a very improper way.
C)
It says that Jesus, "perceiving then that they
were about to come and take him by force to make him king," 1)
Jesus separated himself and went back up on the mountainside alone.
What
a strange reaction!
A)They were not ready to
follow him as the Messiah; they wanted to use him;
B)they wanted God to work
for them according to their program and their schedule.{end of grocery shp
C)Before we judge them too
sharply, let us ask ourselves, do we do the same thing?
D)Have you ever become angry
with God because he did not give you what you asked for?
1)You
were really expecting him to work for you and to do what you wanted?
E)When He didnt respond the
way that you wanted you got mad / or disappointed w/ God
Listen
that is not the kind of relationship that Jesus wants to have with you.
A)Where you are only
interested in what you can get from him.
B) He wants you to be with
Him get behind His plan.
C) Blessed are the Meek
Power under control
1) Stallion Harnessed
D) Blessed are those who are
Harnessed Let God be God Us His vessel His tool.
So
at this point: V.15b tells us Jesus withdraws from them heads up to a Mt
ALONE !
A)Finally some ALONE TIME Matthew and Mark tell us He went
there to Pray!
B) I wonder what He was
praying about. Ideas:
1) Blind eyes open to see
the truth
2) People want bread for
physical hunger would want bread for their souls
C) AND I think he prayed for
his disciples who were in the midst of a storm. RD
V. 16-18
16 Now when
evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into the boat, and
went over the sea toward
Consider
his vantage point: Mt looking down at the sea Sees a storm Boat
Struggling
A)Mark says they were
straining at the wind.
B)What a Beautiful Picture
of our High priest.
1)Jesus
doing right now Heb 7:25 High Priest
who lives to make intercession for us.
C) He is always praying for
you. In the midst of the storms!
This
story teaches us several things:
1) God
sometimes sends us into Storms! Jesus told them to cross over.
A)Children of
1)Mt
Pi Hahiroth / MT Migdol /
Back
B) God does that at times
You are in HIS perfect will things are not flowing
1) Not going smooth
C) But in the midst of that
time we can rest assured God is with us Watching over us.
1) Our High Priest is
praying for us
2) God sometimes delays His rescue.
A)V.16 tells us that when
evening came: talking probably 6 or 7 oclock at
night.
B)
That is when they start out. V.19 says they were rowing for about 3 or 4 hrs.
Getting tired
C) Marks gospel Ch.6:
47 Now when
evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the
land.
48 Then He saw
them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. [Pause here] Now about the fourth watch of
the night He came to them, walking on the sea,
D) Now is the Lord Cruel
here: Does He like to watch His people suffer?
1) Lets see how long they
will last.
No
He is a smart parent: He is wanting his disciples to develop some spiritual
muscles.
A)Mark 4 they panicked
Jesus is sleeping they panicked Dont you care
B) This time they are not
panicking they are rowing they are determined to make it.
1)
Imagine conversation- We are going against the wind lets turn around and go
back
C) NO Jesus said to Cross
we are going to cross.
1)
All the while Jesus is watching letting them develop their Spiritual muscles
D) He is going to come to
them But in His timing !
We
do the same thing with our kids
A)We want them to grow up
develop they fall down not racing to pick them up.
B) Let them struggle a
little Only way they are going to grow.
C) Only way they will
develop their muscles and learn to walk or swim or whatever.
1) If we come immediately FOREVER PANSIES
D) Dont think my dad Child
abuser Good lesson
1)Older kids me big
fight him or fight me.
So
when does Jesus finally respond ?
A)So out at 7pm struggle
for 4hrs until 11pm He waits 4 more hrs to come.
B) This is the big mistake
that we make When God delays His coming we think he has abandoned us.
1) Nothing could be further
from the truth.
C) His delays are not
denials Doubtstorms
1)If
God is good why do I feel so bad?
If
Gods message is so clear why do I get confused?
If the father is in control
why do good people have cut wrenching problems?
3)
The Storms are an opportunity to see the Glory of God.
19 So when they had rowed about three or
four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and
they were afraid. 20 But He said to them, "It is I; do not be
afraid." 21 Then they willingly
received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they
were going.
A)
1) They saw the
B) They saw the power of God
destroyed their enemies.
C) That is what the Storms
do. They allow us to see the hand of God in a way that we would not normally
1) Chet Lowe Story
D) Ministering in
The
Storm becomes a platform for Gods glory to be displayed Strength in weakness
Joni Erickson Tada
Writer singer Painter No
one would Know !
Now she has an International
Ministry.
Joni can I be glorified in
your weakness.
4)
Storms lead to moments of Worship.
A)Matthews account of this
story ends in a very enlightening way.
Then those who were in the boat came and
worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God."
B)After the storm they worshipped! Here is
what is interesting they had never worshipped him before as a group.
C) Search the gospel records
you wont find a time where that took place amongst the disciples
1) Not when he heals the
leper
2)Forgives the woman caught
in adultery
3) Raises Lazarus from the
dead.
4) preaches to the masses
5) Fed 5,000 or the 4,000
D) But it happens here
When He rescues them
Max Lucado:
When you recognize God as the Creator, you will
admire Him. When you discover His strength, you will rely on Him. But when He
saves you, then you worship Him.
E) When He rescues you no
longer content to keep Him at a distance !
1) The rescue leads to
worship to thankfulness.
John Newton
was a Slave trader: Wild man / Sailor who despised authority. Read excerpt
In his early twenties, he made his way to
John ridiculed the moral and poked fun at the
religious. He even made jokes about a book that would eventually help reshape
his life: The Imitation of Christ. In fact, he was degrading that book a
few hours before his ship sailed into an angry storm.
That night the waves pummeled the Greyhound,
spinning the ship one minute on the top of a wave.
Plunging her the next into a watery valley.
John awakened to find his cabin filled with
water. A side of the Greyhound had collapsed.
Ordinarily such damage would have sent a ship
to the bottom in a matter of minutes. The Greyhound, however, was
carrying buoyant cargo and remained afloat.
John worked at the pumps all night. For nine
hours, he and the other sailors struggled to keep the ship from sinking. But he
knew that it was a losing cause. Finally, when his hopes were more battered
than the vessel, he threw himself on the saltwater-soaked deck and pleaded, If
this will not do, then Lord have mercy on us all.
John didnt deserve mercy, but he received it.
The Greyhound and her crew survived.
John never
forgot Gods mercy shown on that tempestuous day in the roaring
He returned to
Amazing
grace! how sweet the sound,
That saved
a wretch like me!
I once was
lost, but now am found,
was blind,
but now I see.
This
slave-trader-turned-songwriter.
Along with his hymn writing, he also became a
powerful pulpiteer. For nearly fifty years, he filled
pulpits and churches with the story of the Savior who meets you and me in the
storm.
A year or two before his death, people urged
him to give up preaching because of his failing sight. "What!" he
explained. "Shall the old African blasphemer stop while he can yet
speak?"
He wouldnt stop. He couldnt stop. What had
begun as a prayer of fear resulted in a lifetime of faith. During his last
years, someone asked him about his health. He confessed that his powers were
failing.
My memory is almost gone, he said, but I
remember two things: I am a great sinner, and Jesus
is a great Savior.
What more do you and I need to remember?