Not Just Empty Stories
Notes
Transcript
Intro: Over the course of the last 9 weeks, we have studied about having faith in God, about God's goodness, trustworthiness, love, and holiness, and about how God transforms.
In each of these sermons, stories and illustrations have been read from the Bible. Stories that make for good knowledge
I think that one of the greatest dangers for every Christian is to hear and not apply truth. One of the things that I have found to be true in my life is that I know many stories that are in the Bible, but have not really tried to apply them to my life consistently. But knowing these things without digging in and applying them is a dangerous thing for a Christian. The book of James warns Christians to be "doers of the word and not hearers" only.
You see this picture? Let's pretend for a moment that this picture is of your house, but you have bought everything you need to transform it into this... [show renovated house]. Your friends come over and say, "You know, with a little bit of paint, this house would look really nice." And you take them to your garage and show them all the paint you have bought, the new chainsaw you bought to chop down a few of those trees. You show them the pallet of mulch that you have to lay down after you clear out the front area.
The friends turn to you and ask, "So did you just get all this in?"
To which you reply, "No, man. I've had this stuff for about 6 months now. It sure is nice, isn't it?
That is what unapplied truth is for the Christian. So often we keep the knowledge about God and about His Word stored up in our heads. We can bring it out and show it, look at it, and even admire the potential for Godly change that it can bring, but so many times we just never apply it. We know what it can do, but only theoretically because we have never really dug into it.
Some of the first things we often teach children are the attributes of God, or the characteristics of God. Can somebody give me a few examples? Good, love, omnipotent, omniscient, unchanging, etc.
We could go on and on about this. No doubt, we could share scripture and Bible stories that tell about all of these attributes, and that is good. But do you know God to be these things, or do you just know these things about God? Have you really dug into and meditated on what each of God's characteristics mean to you, personally as a child of God?
The "big three" for me, the ones that when I was asked to describe God, I would always start with these things, were these: God is, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent.
That was always my go-to answer.
And you know what that meant to me? It meant that God can do anything, He knows everything, and He is everywhere.
But those are dictionary definitions. Those dictionary definitions really don't do much for me. And I found that as long as I saw God as a list of dictionary definitions, nothing really improved in my walk with Him.
I could show you a garage full of paint buckets and remodeling supplies, but those things do not make the ugly house nice. I could describe how the knowledge that I had of God should have impacted my life and the differences it should have made in me, but there I stood: just my old beat down self. Still in need of a paint job, still in need of closeness with the Savior.
Unapplied truth makes no changes. I'm fixin' to take some of you way back. Let's see who can remember what I'm talking about with this. Back when I was a kid, there was a cartoon that was called G.I. Joe. I am not talking about the movies that have been made relatively recently; I'm talking about a cartoon show. It was a great show; "real American heroes" those G.I. Joe's were! After each program they would have a short warning for kids about the dangers of drugs, cheating in school, bullying, etc. And at the end that, someone would say, "And now we know." To which the response was? Anybody remember? That's right! "And knowing is half the battle!" But let me remind you that if you are winning in the first half of the battle and you lose the last half, you have lost the battle.
This is where many people are as Christians today, I think. We know so much, and we get so complacent in our knowledge about the Bible and about God, that we lose the part of the battle that is the application of knowledge.
This is not an uncommon problem. This was a problem for the disciples as well. Last week we talked about an instance where Jesus fed a multitude of 5,000 men (not including women and children) with only five loaves of bread and two fish. This was a miracle in which the disciples were first hand witnesses. They helped distribute the loaves and fish, but a few days or weeks later they found themselves in a similar scenario, but with far fewer people (only about 4,000 total).
Jesus says, to the disciples almost the exact same thing as before, "I have compassion on these people that have been following me all day and are hungry. Go get them some food." Last time, the disciples said, "We have no way of feeding these people, even if we spent all of our money to buy bread." To which Jesus said, "Well, how much bread do we have?"
"Just five loaves and two fish." And Jesus made a miracle with that little bit of food and fed thousands.
Now, in this situation, Jesus says, "I have compassion on these people that have been following me all day and are hungry. Go get them some food." What do you do if you are a disciple? You find some kid willing to donate his lunch in exchange for front row seats at the the Jesus Street-Magic Show, featuring Jesus feeding 4,000 people out of a single lunch box, right?
But what did these disciples say? "How in the world are we going to get food for all these people out here in the wilderness?"
And I swear, if you read Mark 6:38-44 (or John's account in John chapter 6, like we read last week) (first feeding of the multitude) and Mark 8:1-8 (feeding of a second multitude), you can almost hear Jesus look at his disciples like this:
But really, wouldn't this be your reaction too? "Are you serious! I just did this last week (or however long ago it was)! Just go get me some bread and fish and I'll do it again!"
I'm telling you what, if I were one of the disciples, I would be looking for the kid that brought brisket sandwiches, tbh... But I digress...
The disciples knew that that Jesus could easily feed this multitude, but they did not apply that knowledge so it became useless knowledge.
I want to take a look at a few attributes of God this morning that are pretty common. We will take the three I mentioned earlier: God's omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence.
To do this, we will look at a common story, in fact, my favorite story in the New Testament: Jesus Walking on the Water. Mark 6:45
I. God's Omniscience
Sunday School Definition - God knows everything
I think too many times, we really take this attribute for granted. Think about it. We say it all the time it has become a cliche. "Well, only God knows..." or "Well, you know, we don't know, but God knows." But really, what does GOD KNOWS EVERYTHING really mean? It means that he knew how hard it was going to be for you to get to church this morning. It means He knows what's going to occur after the service. He knows the things that have happened to you and the things that you have been through, even those things that you have forgotten.
This means that God knows your current situation even better than you know it. He knows it because He sees you going through it now, but not just that, He's known it and known about it since the beginning of time.
Let's go to our passage now in Mark 6. As I said before, this is my favorite story in the New Testament, but it isn't because of Jesus or even Peter walking on the water. It is because of the implications of everything that goes on in the story.
Let's read Mark 6:45-48, and I will give you an example.
Mark 6:45-48 And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people. 46 And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray. 47 And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. 48 And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them.
Did you notice the important part of these verses? Read with me slowly the first four words of v. 48. "And he saw them." Because of how the Gospels harmonize, we know that Jesus is alone on a mountain, praying. He needed to be alone because of a recent loss. That same morning, Jesus had heard that His cousin and the man that baptized Him, John the Baptist, had been beheaded. At that moment, he had attempted to take some time for himself, but there was this multitude of 5,000 men plus women and children that were following Him. So what did Jesus do? He had compassion on them and began to teach them. He taught them all day, and then He fed them miraculously because they were hungry and far from their homes.
When they left, Jesus told His disciples to get into the boat and cross the sea; He would meet them on the other side. Then Jesus goes off to a mountain to get some prayer time. But all the while Jesus is praying, He is also watching the disciples. He knew there was a storm coming. He knew that they would have a hard time crossing. He knew that they would be stuck in the middle of the sea and not be able to progress OR MAKE ANY HEADWAY at all.
So in His omniscience, he kept a watchful eye on His disciples. I want to take note right now of this: Jesus did not warn the disciples about the storm. He gave no mention that a storm was even possible. He didn't say, Get on the boat and cross to the other side. And by the way, I know it looks all clear out, but you better grab a poncho!"
What He did was this, He told His disciples to do something SEEMINGLY ROUTINE that He knew they would not be able to complete on their own. He gave no warning, no additional, helpful instructions, or anything!
During the storm, he knew how many hours they had been rowing and battling a raging wind. He knew and was still keeping an eye on them.
If the disciples would have realized that Jesus was really omniscient - all-knowing, this would have been a comfort for them. Why? I am glad you asked. See Jesus knowing about your situation, and other people knowing about your situation are two VERY different things. If anyone else knows that you are having problems rowing your boat against the wind, it doesn't really help you. Great, they know about my struggles." But when Jesus knows about that boat that is having an impossibly difficult time trying to get to the other side, it means everything!
Why? Glad you asked again! We see the answer to that in the next point:
II. God's omnipotence
Sunday School Definition - God can do anything.
Since Jesus is all-powerful, he can stop the storm! When I realize this omnipotence in conjunction with His omniscience, I realize that I never have to fear any situation ever again!
Let's continue to read. Mark 6:48-51 And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. 49 But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out: 50 For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. 51 And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered.
Did y'all see that? Jesus came to them walking on the sea. The waves and the wind were contrary, but that didn't affect Jesus. He was walking so fast that He was going to pass them! The thing that was giving them the most problems didn't make Him bat an eye! Then, He gets into the ship and calms the wind. That is power. That is ALL power. He controls everything, even nature.
Having the understanding that Jesus is omniscient and omnipotent would have been good for these disciples, but only if there was one more thing they could count on.
III. God's Omnipresence
Sunday School Definition - God is everywhere.
That Jesus knew everything and that He could do and control anything was good, but I believe what really gave them a sense of peace and confidence was that He was there with them. One disciple in particular, Peter, got super confident knowing that Jesus was there. Matthew records the same story, but he adds something that neither Mark nor John include. Matthew records that when Jesus said, "Don't fear, it's just me taking a stroll out here," that Peter said, "OK then, Jesus, if that is really you, command me to go walk on the water with you." And Jesus said, "Peter, come on down!" And out jumps Peter from the ship and walks on the stormy sea with Jesus! It made all the difference to Peter that Jesus was there. Even when Peter took his eyes off of Jesus for a second and started to sink, he applied the knowledge that Jesus was there and yelled, "Lord, save me," and Jesus saved him from drowning. THIS SEEMINGLY ROUTINE TASK TURNED INTO TURMOIL FAST, BUT BECAUSE OF JESUS' OMNISCIENCE, OMNIPOTENCE, AND OMNIPRESENCE, IT WAS A MOMENT OF VICTORY AND AN EVENT THAT GAVE GOD GLORY AT THAT TIME, AND WE CONTINUE TO USE THIS FOR GOD'S GLORY TODAY.
Can you see these three amazing attributes applied now to the disciples lives in this current situation they found themselves in? Isn't it awesome? So what does that mean to you and me? Absolutely nothing if we don't apply it to ourselves.
If we really look at this passage and study deeply, you can also notice God's goodness (toward the disciples and, if you realize, toward the people in Gennesaret, who came in droves to see Jesus for healing), God's love,trustworthiness, authority, etc.
Notice though the disciple's reaction to Jesus calming the storm: Mark 6:51 And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered.
They wondered and were amazed beyond measure. They were surprised that Jesus could do that. What is crazy is that they had already experienced a miracle like this before, on the same sea. Remember when Jesus and the disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee and were met by the demoniac of Gadara? What happened during that trip? There was a storm that Jesus calmed.
They just experienced the feeding of the 5,000 (more like 15,000 really). They knew Jesus was powerful. They had seen him do countless miracles. But they still are amazed (GR: out of their wits) at His power over the weather. Why? Because they had head knowledge of it and not heart understanding of who He was and what He could do. Look at verse 52.
52 For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.
They had experienced these miracles. They had watched them. They knew Jesus what Jesus was capable of, and yet they never meditated on it; never considered (comprehended, put together) what it meant that Jesus was doing these miracles.
Application:
There are times in life, typically hard times, when someone will reference a story like this one. It's meant to be an encouragement and a bit of a comfort. Sometimes, it won't even be the story that is mentioned, but just an attribute of God: Remember that God has this all under control. Remember that God is all powerful. My wife uses a phrase often in hard times to remind herself and others of some important attributes of God. "He knows, He sees, He cares." But do we really understand when we say these things, or when someone comes up and tells us these things?
When we hear these words spoken to us, do we really believe that God knows best? Better yet, do we really understand what it means when we hear the phrase, "God knows best?" And when we understand it, do we trust it?
A little over 9 years ago, I found myself teaching our teen group a series on the attributes of God. As I started this series, I had decided to pray like Moses did when he asked God, "Show me your glory." I began to pray that god would show me something new about Him, that I would be able to be closer to Him.
The first Sunday, we covered God's Omniscience. We went through stories of the Bible where God was shown in all His wisdom. The following week I was studying and getting ready to teach about God's omnipresence and omnipotence. About that time, we had just found out that Tahsha was pregnant with Aaron. She hadn't even gone to see her gynecologist yet when she began to bleed pretty badly on a Wednesday evening as we got ready to go to church. We rushed to the hospital, and as the doctors and nurses checked her out, we waited with baited breath, fearing the worst. After being there for a while and Tahsha having had different kinds of sonograms performed on her multiple times, a doctor came in and told us what we feared the most. In the most callous and matter of fact manner, the doctor walked in and said these words, "The fetus is not viable. I would highly recommend that you get a DNC. I'll let y'all talk it over." And then he walked out. No opportunity to ask questions, not further explanations, not even an "I'm sorry to have to tell you this..."
We were speechless. We held on to each other and cried for a while before we even spoke. But at that time, I cannot speak for Tahsha, she will be able to tell you more about what was going on with her during our Life Group time, but at that time, for me, all of a sudden I experienced and understood God's Omniscience, Omnipresence, and Omnipotence in a way that I never had.
On the hardest moment of my life up until that point, something within me clicked. I had just taught the teens about God's Omniscience. How He knows everything past, present, and future. It was a nice thought, but until this night, I had never really applied that truth to me. I realize as I sat there and wept, in disbelief by the way we were addressed by the doctor, completely caught off guard by this. We were so happy about having another baby. We loved this baby so much already even though it had only been about a week since we knew Tahsha was pregnant. In the midst of this heartbreaking development, I realized personally that nothing ever catches God off guard. It is like God let me know in my heart and mind that even though this was a surprise for us, He knew what was happening, knew that it was going to happen since the beginning of time, and had a plan for it all. God's omniscience brought some strength through this time, but what really became real for me was God's presence.
For three days now, I had been studying about God's Omnipresence. I had most of my notes ready, but that night, in a cold hospital room, when the doctor and nurse walked out of the room and the door closed behind them, I fully expected to feel alone and helpless. When that door clicked shut, however, what happened to me was something I had only ever heard of at the time. I experienced God's peace that passes all understanding. I knew God was there with me. The room didn't seem as dark anymore, though we alone, I didn't feel lonely. There was a strength and a clarity that did not come from me, it came from God.
When confusion and fear first poked their heads into my heart, they were immediately crushed because at that moment, I knew, not with my head, but with my heart, that God the God of the universe was there with me, and He knew exactly what I was going through, how I felt, and he cared about me.
Y'all, it is difficult to explain exactly how I felt at that moment, but from that point on, the fact of God's omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence is something that is real to me.
Long story short, we did not feel peace about Tahsha getting a DNC that night. We went home hurting, confused, but strangely at the same time at peace. It was six LONG weeks later after visiting the gynecologist twice a week that we finally heard a heartbeat. If you've seen Aaron, you know that God gave us a beautiful baby boy with no health issues. Those six weeks, starting with that Wednesday night, were the longest and hardest of my life, even up until now, I believe. But it was through those weeks, that God revealed to me that there was so much about Him that I was taking for granted. So much that I knew in my head, but had never experienced, simply because I was happy with the head knowledge.
So how do we get head knowledge of Bible stories and attributes of God from our head to our heart? How can we truly apply those things? We talked about the importance of application in our life group last week, but let me make one more case for it today.
We must meditate on the knowledge we have of God. David talked so much about meditating on God's word and I have finally figured out why. The purpose of meditating on the Lord and His Word is not to learn more. That is what reading God's word will do. As you read and you listen to God's word, you will learn more about God and His ways.
Meditating is mulling over what you know and developing a strategy to apply it. Meditating is taking time to apply what you know about God to your life.
Take out two different color Play-dough balls.
We take our current situation and the knowledge that we have of God, and we put them together. So often we separate our Christianity from our "real lives." But the Christian life is supposed to permeate every aspect of our lives, not just church on Sundays and devotionals in the morning. Bring both balls together (take bits of the "knowledge about God" ball as you go through the following points, and begin to kneed them so that they become one color.
We know that God is Omniscient and Omnipresent and Omnipotent, but what does that mean for you right now? Have you ever thought about that?
These are three facts of God that we can count on today. Notice I said facts. Facts don't change. Our feelings and emotions change, but facts don't. And here is another free fact, God never changes. There are many more attributes of God, some which we have studied over the last two months here, and maybe the Holy Spirit has brought to your mind one that you need to stop simply knowing about, and start meditating on and applying.
We must meditate on the knowledge we have of God. David talked so much about meditating on God's word and I have finally figured out why. The purpose of meditating on the Lord and His Word is not to learn more. That is what reading God's word will do. As you read and you listen to God's word, you will learn more about God and His ways.
Meditating is mulling over what you know and developing a strategy to apply it. Meditating is taking time to apply what you know about God to your life.
When we meditate on God's word and who God is, it begins to be an inseparable part of us. It would be impossible to separate the colors from this ball of play dough now. When we meditate and seek to apply God's word, it becomes a part of us that is then inseparable.
It is then we realize that these stories in the Bible are NOT JUST EMPTY STORIES. They have meaning and relevance to us today. They can be applied in a way that will change us and help us grow, if only we are not like the disciples were on that boat, with full heads and hardened hearts.
Invitation:
I'm going to ask Tahsha to come to the piano and start playing a song of invitation.
Listen, what we have discussed today are indisputable facts of God, but if you want to enjoy them fully, you must know Jesus Christ as Savior. That is the key to having a relationship with God.
At this time, I will ask everyone to bow their heads and close their eyes. Listen well to this question, Do you know if you were to die today you would go to Heaven? I am not asking if you know about God, or how long you have come to church. I am asking if you have taken the knowledge that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to die on a cross to pay for your sins, rose on the third day defeating sin and death, and wants to save you and applied that to your life by asking him in faith to be your only savior.
Are you saved this morning? If the answer is NO or I DON'T KNOW will you raise your hand right now, I want to pray for you. Is there anyone like that this morning?
If you raised your hand, in a moment, Bro Eaton is going to sing this song and I will be here at the front, you come down to me and I or someone else will take you and in private explain to you how to be saved.
What about you who already know you are saved? Have you amassed a knowledge of God and the Bible and just not applied it to every area of your life? Maybe you need to come to the altar and apply those things to your current situations. Maybe you need to commit to looking for God in every area of your life. The altar is open now; you come as we sing this song together.
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Life Group:
For the last nine weeks, we have covered the following topics in the sermons:
- God is powerful and capable despite the times we have little faith
- God is good (all the time)
- God is trustworthy
- God is Holy
- God is Love
- God transforms
- God can change and use the least likely of people (Demoniac of Gadara)
- To be used of God, we must be where He wants us to be and be willing
- The necessity of applying God's word to our lives (God is Omniscient, Omnipresent, and All-powerful)
Of this list, what is something that can be applied to your life now? To a friend/family member?
The Bible is full of stories (reports) that actually happened, but often we treat these as fairy tales, fables, or cliche stories. Why do you think that is?
What is something that you know the Bible says, but it is hard to put in practice?
What steps can you take applying God's word to your life?
What are appropriate ways to respond when God speaks to something that pertains to you during a) your devotions, b) a sermon/lesson, c) Biblically based counsel from a parent/friend/mentor?
Do you have someone that you can trust to help build you up spiritually and who you can help build up as well?
On Saturday morning, October the 19th, 2019, almost three years ago, a tragic event happened in my life and Tahsha's. In fact, this tragedy touched our whole church at the time, Eagle Drive Baptist Church. That morning, each member of Eagle Drive Baptist was preparing to do something routine. In fact, we were called by the Lord to live our routine day for His honor and glory, just like we are called to do each and every day. And that morning, we all set out to perform routine tasks.
For the men of EDBC, that meant going to a men's prayer breakfast, Bible study, and work day. Nothing too terribly out of the ordinary. For others it meant "get on with your day; business as usual."
Little did we know that around 11:30 on that routine day, a dark storm would suddenly arise. A couple hours after we had finished our breakfast we were all working on different areas of the church building. A man named Billy and a man named Kerry Sanders were digging out a tree stump from the parsonage yard. I was caulking some baseboards when by the back of building, Billy ran in yelling for someone to come help. I rushed outside to find Kerry slumped over in a three foot deep hole, convulsing. Kerry was a friend of mine and a very good friend of Tahsha's, and as I approached, him he went still. I struggled to get him out of the hole and after trying for a little while, just left him with his legs dangling in the hole. Kerry was a bodybuilder, his 6'4'' or taller frame absolutely solid muscle. He had stopped breathing, and as I checked for a pulse, the pastor's wife came running out of the building. After finding no pulse, she began CPR. After a while, I took over for her providing chest compressions. When the ambulance arrived they took him to the hospital right down the road. As a church, we gathered in the ER and in the parking lot and prayed for God to Keep Kerry alive, but it didn't happen. The doctors came out and told us he had died, and there was nothing they could do.
This was a incomprehensible. How could God allow this to happen?
You see, Kerry's story is a story of amazing transformation. When he Got saved, just a year or so before, God changed him completely. He was one of the most willing servants that I have ever known. He ate up every sermon, lesson, and devotion he was a part of. He was willing to make hard changes in his life as God revealed more and more to Him. Kerry pushed himself to serve God even when it made him uncomfortable, because he loved God. Because he loved God, that loved poured out of him to others too. He became a greeter at the church. You could not sneak by Kerry without getting a huge bear hug and an encouraging smile. He sang, loud, even though he couldn't sing all that well. But when he sang, you knew it was from the heart.
When God took him suddenly, a 35 year old man that was trying to serving God as best as he could, I couldn't believe it. It didn't seem fair. Until I realized, God is just. And as I meditated once again on God being all-powerful, all-knowing, and omnipresent I start realizing these things again.
I don't know what you are going through right now, but the application of justt these three things in your situation means this:
We know God is Omniscient. That means God knows everything. That means that whatever situation you are going through did not catch Him by surprise. God's omniscience means that He has a plan to get you through this time. It means that He has allowed allowed whatever you're experiencing for your good and more importantly, He's allowed it for His glory, not just now, but for years and even generations to come.
We know God is Omnipotent. That means God has the power to do anything. That means God has the power to change how storms affect you. He has the power to bring peace in the midst of a storm tossed sea, and He has the power to hold you up as you walk with Him over stormy waters. God's omnipotence means that you don't have to be omnipotent. It means that you don't have to be even a little bit strong. It means that you can don't have to carry this load on your own. God's omnipotence means that when I am weak, then He is strong, as Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12. It means that when I give up trying to be strong, God's strength can be made perfect, complete in my life.
That means that not only will you have the power, God's power to get through your current situation, you will have the strength to help others as well.
We know God is Omnipresent. That means God is everywhere. It means that He is with you right now. It means that when you leave here and go home, He is with you there. It means that when you lie down, and thoughts and emotions flood your mind and heart, God is with you then, too. It means He will be with you tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day. "For he hath said, I will never leave the, nor forsake the."
Do you meditate on who God is and on His word, or do you simply know the facts?