A Faith to Act; A Faith to Wait
Matthew: God's Promises Fulfilled • Sermon • Submitted
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“It’s the hard that makes it great.”
“It’s the hard that makes it great.”
A fun example of this is shown in one of the last scenes in the movie “A League of their own”. Tom Hanks plays Jimmy Dugan, an alcoholic down-and-out coach of a women’s baseball team during WWII. Geena Davis’ character, Dottie, has been a standout leader for the team, but decides to quit. When a confrontation ensues, Jimmy asks Dottie why she is leaving-- Dottie replies that “it’s hard”. “Hard?” Jimmy retorts, “it’s supposed to be hard-- it’s the hard that makes it GREAT”.
These next few verses record some conversations that Jesus has. Last week we focused in on some specific healings, but this week we observe that Matthew creates a couple “interludes” about discipleship. About what it really means to be a follower of Jesus. If you hear Jesus interact with someone, we are actually seeing and hearing the heart of God. It’s often fascinating to think about it that way. If we see and hear what Jesus thinks— we are getting out window into the heart of the Father.
I think there are Two overall examples of why following Jesus is hard for us--- we are going to learn from these conversations found in verses 18-27, furthering our understanding of what it means to be a follower of Jesus: (notice I hesitate to say “what it means to be a Christian”… that means a lot of different things today— and people want to define all that for themselves— ) I’m emphasizing being a follower of Jesus, being a citizen of his Kingdom. It no doubt includes having faith— A faith like the leper and the centurion from last week. But it’s a faith that will be costly— and very hard sometimes.
The cost of being a follower of Jesus:
Sometimes following Jesus requires us to act.
Sometimes following Jesus requires us to wait.
Here’s a question that I would like us to keep on the top of our minds:
What does it really mean to be a follower of Jesus?
What does it really mean to be a follower of Jesus?
It means
Faith to Act (v.18-22)
Faith to Act (v.18-22)
Conversations with a few on the outside looking in.
18 When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake.
Ok— let’s stop there for a minute. - I can’t help myself---That’s kind of strange isn’t it?
If I were Jesus, I would think that a crowd would be a great thing, right? We’re trying to announce the coming of the Kingdom of God— healings have happened, the powerful teaching. Man, if I were trying to build a church, or a community, — a lot of people would be a great thing! But not Jesus— and maybe that right there is the first lesson I would identify:
Lesson #1:
Following Jesus requires a faith that will not make sense to the world.
What we may need to be reminded of this morning is that when we are a follower of Jesus, it really means being led by the Holy Spirit— like Jesus was, that is often not going to be how the world would do it. You see, we think bigger, faster, stronger, better— more money, more influence, more whatever— is always best— even in our churches. We can’t be led by our emotions, or our own logic, or what the worldly wisdom would recommend.
But these crowds are forming around Jesus, and the Holy Spirit leads them to move on— because Jesus is doing His Father’s will. This is going to be difficult sometimes. Maybe the disciples see this, and they may have even questioned him— “why are we leaving?”
But before they can even get away—
19 Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
It’s important to know who is saying this to Jesus. This is a teacher of the law — not like the government, or anything like that— this is a religious teacher. A teacher of the law of Moses. This guys knew the expectations and rules of life from Moses. In fact— and unfortunately, men like this from Jesus’ time were religious professionals. They devoted themselves to performance—to the worship of the “written word” instead of the worship of the “living word”.... like knowing and obeying all the rules. Many within these ranks never recognized Jesus for who he really was- and he didn’t usually have much complementary to say to them-
He’s a pretty high level guy.
And look at what Jesus says in response to him:
20 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
Although we can’t exactly know this man’s heart, Jesus did. And Jesus basically tells him:
“Hold on”— this crowd may have attracted you, and you may think that this is going to be a great ride— you might be trying to jump on the coattails here, and you better count the cost because I don’t often know where I’m sleeping from night to night, and we’re not going to know where our next meals are coming from. I don’t think you fully understand what it means to follow me. This is not going to be a stay at the Ritz Carlton— from day one I have been in my Father’s will— (remember the stable in Bethlehem?) We are going to “actually live” what I just got through teaching— no storing up treasures on earth, not worrying about what we’re going to eat or wear— If that’s what your up for— then come on. But you need to go into this with your eyes wide open. No surprises here— this life of following me is about walking in Faith one day at a time.
Lesson #2:
Following Jesus requires a faith to trust God day to day.
Many times here in the US, in our modern day, in our culture— the world can tempt us to take the faith out of our days. We have prioritized our own sufficiency—We are kind of like this scribe— this expert in the Law. We have learned to rely only on ourselves. We actually have begun to trust in ourselves— maybe too much. It was quite remarkable that this teacher would regard Jesus so highly in the first place. Jesus wasn’t educated at the best schools, he’s not an insider from Jerusalem… But this man says, “I want in”. I will be your follower. And Jesus rocks his world by telling him exactly what that is going to look like. Uncertainty— Toil, homelessness, hunger maybe at times. It’s not going to be like being a Teacher of the Law.
At some point---in this world, we are tempted to stop taking chances— we stop walking by faith, and we walk by sight— And the “Sight” of these crowds and the miracles probably attracted a lot of people who are attracted to crowds.
Jesus reminds us here that the crowds are not what it’s all about. Lord help us to get back to the simplicity to trust you, to be ready to be led by your Holy Spirit, putting our hope and faith in God— everyday.
Next up another person approaches him:
21 Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
There’s actually something unique going on here— culturally, you need to know that many commentators would believe that this man’s father isn’t actually dead yet. In the Jewish culture of Jesus’ time— they buried the dead immediately. Like — dad dies, and we drop everything we are doing and we bury him. End of story. Actually the exact phrase here “bury my father”— refers to
Some would suggest that this is an example of someone who may be just proposing that he “delay” his following of Jesus— like “Let’s just finish up some business, wait for the father to pass away, we can settle the estate, and when life settles down— I’m your man!
22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
Ouch— in our culture, we immediately jump to some conclusions. And while this may seem quite harsh, I want you to know that no one who has written or studied this and written about it believes that we can’t go to our parents funerals— those things happened immediately and were not questioned. Jesus is simply saying that his followers are not consumed with the same things that motivate or consume the focus and thoughts and mindset of those in the world. We can actually use these things as an excuse to either delay or even refuse to follow Jesus at all.
Lesson #3:
Following Jesus requires a faith to obey God immediately.
It’s kind of like — this person is saying “I’m too busy to serve you right now— but once I get some things straightened out— I’ll have the time and I can get to it.” Like sometimes we think just coming to church on Sundays— or even on Wednesdays and Sunday’s — that’s what we have to give to the Lord— ok, Jesus, here’s two four hour blocks of my life— have at it.
Really? The Lord of Lords, the savior Jesus Christ calls you, and you need to think about it, you need to consider how God fits into your life?
That’s not what Peter did— that day on the shoreline:
19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.
And James and John did the same thing— leaving everything immediately:
22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
It’s as if Jesus knows we will get fixated on the things of the world— things that serve as convenient excuses to following him in the timing that He demands. Remember the powerful statement that he made back in his sermon:
“Seek FIRST the kingdom of God, and his righteousness. Matthew 6:33 “33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
It’s so easy to look at your live and say— Yes, this is all that there is— this is my little kingdom, and I’m good in this kingdom. I have my purpose, and plans and my processes--
And Jesus will challenge that— He wants you to have God’s purpose, God’s plans, God’s process.
Faith to Wait (v. 23-27)
Faith to Wait (v. 23-27)
Conversation with those on the inside looking out.
23 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him.
24 Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.
The Sea of Galilee, a major body of water in the region— is only about 13 miles long and 7 miles wide. It is fresh water, and was a major source of food— and a great way to travel across the region. It’s surrounding by mountains and hills, however, and storms can pop up very quickly.
These were not just newbies either— most of them were experienced fishermen. Think about that. They do know this body of water well— they respect it, and they know that it’s deep enough, and powerful enough to kill people. They probably know of other people in their lives who have drowned here on the sea in a storm.
25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
There are some situations where we are afraid, and that fear is real, but we soon find out that we really didn’t have anything to fear— like the little video floating around the internet with this poor little kid hanging onto a pole in like a river somewhere, and he’s just screaming for his life— and his mom or dad come and push his legs down and he then realizes he can touch and he stands up. In about thigh deep water--
This is actually NOT that type of situation— this is dire. This is the real deal. They are going to die from this storm. And Jesus is sleeping through it all? Like it seems kind of weird, right?
They obviously wake him and shake him--
26 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
Jesus isn’t being cruel, he is asking them to face their fear.
Think about it. He takes these guys all the way out onto the sea, a storm comes up strong enough to kill them all, and he’s initially asleep— then he wakes up and says this? Like— if you were really afraid of heights— and I decide I’m going to take you to the top of the Empire State building— or the Sears tower, or even just the top of a local farmers silo— and then chastise you for being afraid. Of course you would be afraid, of course these guys— even the seasoned fishermen, were afraid. He’s not chastising them— remember he’s training them. They are disciples in school. It’s not so much Jesus rebuking them— as much as he is asking them to face something— and to grow through this. He knows everyone of us has our buttons— I have buttons, you have buttons. We have our fears- for some of us it’s what other people think of us— for some it’s financial, or health, or acceptance, approval— we all have fearful things in our lives.
But this situation is a bit different than the previous conversations. The people he was dealing with there before were people who were just joining him as new followers— they are going to have to act. They indeed have some choices to make— just like Peter and Andrew, James and John and the others. They needed to have the faith to act— like they had some control in the circumstances. And let me tell you— many people today they know this is true stuff— and they have a choice— but do they develop the faith to trust God and act on it? Many walked away in Jesus day— and many walk away today.
But this situation is slightly different. By taking the disciples, these “already followers” on this trip challenges them on a whole other level… Like if that previous stuff was Discipleship 101, this is now Discipleship 201, or 301, or even 401. He is training and developing them for the endurance and fortitude they would need for the task of forming and leading the Church!
He is training them to wait:
He is training them to bepatient in affliction.
Like think about this again— the crowds were awesome. They were beginning to be “somebodies”— and for some of them, this was particularly cool. And Jesus took them away from all that. Like— come on, we’re leaving. But Jesus....!
Modesty in the midst of the honor that we receive. Don’t run after that— it’s not my plan for you.
And then obviously— Patience and an unwavering faith— even in the midst of my fear.
Courage is the mastery of fear, not the absence of fear.
Mark Twain
Worldly ease is a great foe to faith; it loosens the joints of holy valor, and snaps the sinews of sacred courage.
Charles Spurgeon
Think with me about this concept. It’s not the absence of danger that creates courage— these men were surely afraid! But how is he really helping them, what is he teaching them through this?— it’s the one factor that we all need to remember :
In all their experiences up until this point— a storm like this would indeed probably kill them all. Yep— done deal.
AHHH- but what is different this time?
We must see storms through the eyes of faith, rather than fear.
Jesus is in the boat. That’s the difference!
They can face the storm — fear, sure— but faith in the one who is in the boat overcomes my fear. The questions in my life begin to change— it’s not “am I going to make it through this fear--” It’s not “Am I going to survive cancer?”— The question is— is Jesus in the boat— better yet, are you in Jesus’ boat?
Because:
You can face those test results— if Jesus is in the boat.
You can face that hard circumstance in your finances, or your job, or even your marriage— if Jesus is in the boat.
You can face anything that would probably kill you— if Jesus is in the boat.
But remember— these guys needed to wait. And in the face of your darkest fears, sometimes to wait is the most difficult thing Jesus would ever ask his followers to do.
Followers of Jesus— hear this clearly— if you have asked Jesus to be the savior of your life. When we invite him to rule and reign in our hearts and souls— in all our lives, things begin to change. Jesus is in the boat.
Our fear is very closely related to unbelief. Our faith grows and begins to unseat — to disrupt our fear. But that’s not something we can “do” - You only can experience this calming of the storm— by waiting on the hand of Jesus.
Jesus uses this exercise with his privileged followers, to train them to understand their own natural tendency toward fear. It’s automatic for us too.
He wants you to now see everything— not through your own natural eyes that lead you to fear— but through the new eyes of your faith in Him—
Can you imagine the change that this would bring about in a person?
They respond and give us a hint that they still are catching up with exactly who this Jesus is:
27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
I’m glad you asked, fellas:
5 You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds, God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas,
7 who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations.
Remember Psalms 89:3-4
3 You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant, 4 ‘I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations.’ ”
9 You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them.
This is the Messiah that David writes about in these Psalms—
Do you think this affects these men?
Absolutely— they are changed. Not too far in their future — they are going to be fleeing and scattering when Jesus is arrested, tried, convicted, crucified, resurrected and ascended— And they— all of them, will be facing unbelievable dangers— Peter and John are together in Acts chapter 4— they will come face to face with the same men who condemned and crucified Jesus:
5 The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family.
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed,
10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 Jesus is “ ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’
13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
19 But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
We are so good at looking at the world with our natural eyes, and assessing what’s going on. The hardest part about all this for me is that I often look around and assess that there are a lot of things that are scary— just plain fearful. The world tearing itself apart in some places. People hungry, hurting, displaced from their homes— It’s bad.
It grips us in fear. If we continue to see these circumstances only through our own lives, our own strength, our own wits or experience— we will end up begin consumed with fear. It’s so hard--
but remember, it’s the hard that makes it great...
If Jesus is in the boat— your eyes of faith can begin to develop— you will indeed see EVERYTHING differently.
Faith to act— faith to wait.