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Life: If It Only Came With Instructions Morning Worship Service - 3/5/06
I. Introduction - “When it rains, it pours!” Ä Last week we began to focus in on this phrase for the direction we want to take next in our series concerning “Life: If It Only Came With Instructions!” Ä And specifically we want to consider the instructions that you and I need, in order to handle correctly the moments in our lives where we want to say, “When it rains, it pours!”
- Folks, again I hate to be the bearer of bad news this morning, and I sure that this will surprise no one, but as you live your life here on this earth, all of us will face different kinds of life storms or hardships, where we will say, “When it rains, it pours!” Ä On the screen behind me, I have a scripture verse that we turned to last week, but for a quick review, I would like for you to help me read these words of Christ - these instructions of Christ - where he tells us about life storms. Again remember, you read the words in yellow. (READ John 16:33) - “When it rains, it pours!” And Here Jesus tells us that we will all experience times such these. Sometimes these life storms can be fairly small and insignificant. (Illustration: Changing the oil in the Buick Regal) - Other times the storms can be full fledged category 5 hurricanes like the one I showed you last week concerning the story of Jim and Ronnie Bowers, where as missionaries serving in the jungles of Equador, Jim lost his wife and baby child in a horrible tragedy. Ä Yet when asked whether his service to God in that country was worth it in light of losing his wife and child, Jim was able to answer by saying, “WORTH IT ALL!!”.
è Now how in the world, was Jim able to handle his category 5 life storm correctly, yet when I faced a small rain storm in my life, I completely blew it? >>> Well, it all starts with having the right purpose and the right heart, which we talked about last week. But it continues by knowing and following Christ’s instructions for life situations such as these. - Which is exactly what we want to begin to consider this week. So if you would, please take your Bibles and turn over with me to the book of Matthew chapter 14, where we are going to peak in on a unique teaching opportunity that Jesus had with his twelve disciples. Ä And we want to use this passage as a springboard to another passage in the book of James, where we find another believer and follower of Jesus Christ, re-iterating the lessons taught by Christ in Matthew and with his disciples.
- Let me just say that over the past several months, God has really been working these lessons over and over in my mind and life. ü I have spent time with our youth group talking about this very subject, ü and I felt God burdening my heart to share these lessons with the entire church. üHowever, I wasn’t quite sure how to go about doing it, ü but then a group of us went to the Men’s Adventure this year, and God made it very obvious as to how he wanted me to share these lessons, and which passage he wanted me to start with. - So thanks to the Men’s Adventure, and specifically Charles Pettit, I’d like for us to focus in on our springboard passage here in Matthew 14.
II. The Storms Facing the Disciples A. The Life Storm of the Death of John the Baptist - Now as we begin to look at this passage, and specifically the instructions that Christ gives his disciples, the first thing that I want us to notice are the storms that these disciples find themselves in and therefore needing Christ’s instructions. - The first storm they find themselves in is a life storm that many of us have had to face. (READ John 14:3-12) - The first storm we find the disciples in the midst of is the life storm of the death of John the Baptist - a very close friend and a co-laborer for Christ. Ä As you read through the Gospels, you can’t help but see that John the Baptist and Christ had a special relationship. ü First of all they were relatives ü Secondly, they were approximately the same age ü John was sent to prepare the way for Jesus ministry ü And it was John who had the wonderful privilege of baptizing Christ Ä Ultimately, we see Christ testify to his special relationship with John a few chapter earlier in Matthew 11. (READ Matthew 11:10-11) - So, John the Baptist and Christ has a special relationship. And if they had a special relationship, then you know that it also spread to those closest to Christ - his disciples. Ä John the Baptist was their friend as well. He was a co-worker with them for the cause of Christ. I am sure that they spent quite a bit of time together and grew quite fond of each other. - And now, John has been murdered. What a tragedy!! What a life storm!! And as with any life storm such as this, there was definitely some sorrow and pain that needed to be dealt with. Ä Which is what verse 13 describes for us. (READ Matthew 14:13) Ä Over in the book of Mark, he records for us that Christ took his disciples along with him to a quiet place. Ä And while the text doesn’t tell us exactly why, I think it would be correct of us to assume that it was to mourn the loss of a relative, a friend, and a co-worker.
- Well, that’s the first storm that they were facing - a life storm of the death of a loved one and friend. But remember our phrase that we have been using for this little mini-series within a series. “When it rains, it pours!” - So, while dealing with this life storm, it begin to pour in the lives of the disciples, and in this case this pouring was quite literally. B. The Real Storm on the Sea of Galilee - Here in our text, we find that even though Jesus and his disciples tried to get away from the crowds for awhile in order to mourn the death of John, the crowds still found them. (READ Matthew 14:13-14a) - So, figuratively it was raining in the lives of Christ and the disciples, and now they can’t get away from the crowds, so I guess you can say that it is raining even harder. - But that is OK, because Christ still ministers to this crowd, even though the disciples wanted to send them away. But Christ chose to minister by just feeding about 10,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish. NO BID DEAL!!
- But I want to jump ahead to what happens after Christ performs this incredible miracle. (READ Matthew 14:22) - It can’t get much clearer folks, immediately after this miracle took place, Christ took his disciples and made them get into a boat and go before him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Ä Now in order to give you an idea of what Jesus was asking of his disciples, I thought that we all might need a little geographical lesson of this particular body of water. Ä Behind me is a map of the Sea of Galilee, and according to Luke’s account of this scene, we are told that this miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 took place in Bethsaida. (Luke 9:10) è So, we kind of have an idea as where the disciples might have pushed off. Ä Now from Mark’s account, we learn that ultimate destination of this boat, and the disciples in the boat, was a town by the name of Gennesaret. (Mark 6:53) Ä So, the trip Jesus was asking these guys to take was really not that long of a trip. And at time during the voyage, the boat would never really get any more than a mile or two from the shore. Ä So, it was a short trip and it was also a pretty familiar one as well. In fact, it was probably a trip that most of the disciples, especially the fisherman, had made many times before. - But as we are about to find out, this trip became much different than any of the other trips they had ever taken. Notice what we are told happens in verse 24. (READ Matthew 14:24) - Remember how I just said that if this was a normal trip, they would never get more than a mile or two away from the shore. Well, here we are told that they were in the middle of the sea. Ä Some of your Bibles might say that they were several stadia away from the land, which some biblical scholars have estimated to be about 4 miles. - Whatever the case, they were several miles off course. è And according to our text, what was the reason for the drifting off course? >>> They were in the middle of the storm -“When it rains, it pours!” And for these disciples, they were not only going through the life storm of losing a very close friend and co-worker, but in addition to that, they were now in the middle of a real storm on the Sea of Galilee. “When it rains, it pours - and right now it was literally pouring on the disciples!”
- Instead, for the remainder of our time this morning, and then again next week, I would like for us just to focus on the what happens when Jesus comes to the disciples, and specifically what he says to them. 1. To handle the storms of life correctly, we need a confident attitude - Now, once again, on the screen behind me I put verse 27 of our text, and I would like for us to read it together, with you reading the words in yellow, in order that we might not miss the very first bit of instruction that Christ gives to his disciples in order to help them handle the life storm and the real storm that they were going through. (READ Matthew 14:27) - The first words that we find Jesus speaking to his disciples were the words, “BE OF GOOD CHEER!” Ä And these words be of good cheer came as a direct of a phrase used in verse 26 in order to describe how the disciples were responding during these storms. (READ Matthew 14:26) Ä You see folks, Christ instructed his disciples to be of good cheer, because at the time, the storms that these guys were experiencing were causing them to respond by being troubled. è The word troubled here is a very strong word that signifies horror, anxiety, and agitation as a result of being hurried, confused, ruffled, or frightened. Ä The life storm of John the Baptist’s murder, as well as this real storm on the Sea of Galilee brought the disciples to point of great anxiety and agitation. Ä Now folks, I don’t know about you, but when I am in the midst of a life storm, being troubled is definitely one term that you can use to describe my reaction. è Life’s trials and tribulations can draw out all kinds of anxieties, all kinds of fears, and all kinds of agitation. è Maybe you are here this morning, and you are right now facing something that you are all worked up about, and while you know you probably shouldn’t be, for some reason you just can’t seem to help it. è Well, Christ’s very own disciples, who just saw their master feed 10,000 people with 5 loaves and 2 fishes, were in the midst of a couple of storms and like all of us from time to time, they were troubled!! - And so Christ, as he is WALKING out to them on the water, gives them some instruction by sharing three simple words - BE OF GOOD CHEER!! è Now those are wonderful words right? è But what in the world do they mean? è Well, first of all, let me ask you if anyone has a different English translation of this Greek phrase in their Bible? >>> TAKE COURAGE! - You see folks, when Christ shared with his disciples this bit of instruction in order to help them handle the storms they were facing, ü he wasn’t asking them to stand up in the boat and do a cheer in order to pump them up during their time of trouble. ü neither was he asking them to be all happy, and giddy, and filled with uncontrollable smiles. - The Greek word that we find at the root of Christ’s instructions here means courage. And the real instruction that Christ is giving his disciples is to be bold or BE CONFIDENT!! - When faced with the storms of life, Christ understands that one of our initial responses to those trials is going to be one of trouble, or fear, or anxiety; and so to help us overcome that response he first bit of instruction to us to HAVE A CONFIDENT ATTITUDE è Remember that verse from John that I had us read together at the start of our study time? Ä Well, I want us to read it together again, and this time I want you to notice another phrase that Christ uses. (READ John 16:33) - Folks, when the storms of life head our way, Christ’s instructs us that our first response should be that of having a confident attitude, or else the trouble and the anxiety will get the best of you. è And you want to know why Christ understood all of this? >>> He understood it because he himself faced a life storm that brought about an initial reaction of trouble. (READ John 12:23-28) Ä Christ knows what it is like to face life storms, and he also knows what it is like to be troubled in the midst of them. So, from this understanding heart and mind, Christ instructs us that if we want to make it through a life storm, without it overwhelming us and defeating us, it will require us to have a confident attitude. - Now when we began this morning, I told you that our passage in Matthew was going to serve as a springboard to another major passage, where we find one of Christ followers, re-iterating the teachings of Christ with his disciples in this storm. - So, before we wrap things up this morning, I would like for us to turn over to that passage, and see this person’s interpretation of what Christ was trying to teach his disciples. Turn over to James chapter 1 (READ James 1:2-3) - Here we find James, the half brother of Jesus, re-iterating Christ’s teaching of having a confident attitude by telling us to “count it all joy when you fall into various trials”. Ä Once again, James is not telling us to throw any party, or to extremely giddy and excited over the fact that we are facing a life trial. I don’t know about you, but I have never been able to get myself to respond in such a way. Ä But instead James is referring to unique fullness of joy that is based on a choice and not a feeling. Ä In other words, he is talking about a confident attitude that we need to have when we “fall into various trials”.
III. Conclusion - Next week, as we continue to look at the teaching opportunity that Christ had with his disciples and compare it to this t ext here in James, we are going to learn what our confident attitude should be based on. Ä You see to have a confident attitude in anything, it requires us to have something to base it on, whether it be our own ability, the ability of those around us, or something else. - Confidence must be based on something, and in Christ second statement to the disciples in the midst of their storms, we get a very good idea what it should be based on. - But this morning, let me just close by encouraging you Ä Maybe you are here this morning, and you are in the middle of some kind of life storm, and like the disciples you are in the midst of this storm and you are troubled!! Ä Folks, let me first encourage you by sharing with you that, that is a common response. Being troubled in the midst of a trial is not at all a sign of being weak spiritually - It is just a sign that you are human. Ä However, if not kept in check, this response of anxiety, fear and agitation can overwhelm us, and lead us into actions that are in no way honoring to God. Ä That is why Christ instructs us, and I want to encourage you, that to keep our troublesome spirit in check, we need a confident attitude. - Come back next week, and we will consider what it is that we can base this confident attitude on. However, if you are here this morning and troubled and need some assistance right now. Let me encourage you that either myself or someone else ü would be glad to share with you what the basis of our confidence should be ü and we would love to pray with you ü and we would love to put our arms around you if you need it and just let you know that we know what you are going through. - Standing before you this morning is one of the most troublesome people I know. The storms of life definitely bring out anxieties and fears in my life. And so I struggle, and like you, and like the disciples, I am trying to learn these lessons from Christ. |
