Men's Retreat 2018
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35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.”
36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him.
37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.
38 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?”
39 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.
40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”
41 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 the disciples go out on a boat
things are going well
the waters start to rise the black clouds start to roll in
The lightning begins to crack
The boat tosses back in forth, things begin to fall off of shelves
The disciples start to freak out knowing that they are surely going to drown as the boat fills with water, so they run down stairs
And Jesus is asleep…
How on earth was this possible? What gave Jesus a heart that was able to rest in the tumult?!
We will answer that in a second, but first I would like to focus on the disciples...
They had no rest in this situation, they were completely beside themselves
What was causing their reaction? Was it the storm, or was it their heart? The answer is yes… but it was mostly their heart
They had been following this unbelievably powerful Jesus for some time, still early in His ministry, but they had seen some things, so their response is perfect to teach us how to have a heart that is able to rest despite the storm
38 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?”
What was the question they asked him?
They wanted to know if Jesus cared…
How many times has this same question come out of our mouths?
Does God care about my situation, my addiction, my shame, my failures?
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
God has to care, He wouldn't have sent His Son if He didn't!
Some of us think that were too insignificant for God to care
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Mt 20:
To have a life of rest… We must realize that no matter the situation, Jesus cares
Obviously Jesus cares for the disciples as the boat tosses up and down, because of what He does next
39 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.
To live a life of rest, we must understand that Jesus has never for a moment lost control
If the disciples would have remembered that Jesus is in control of everything, they could have weathered the storm in confidence
If things feel like they are spinning out of control, you feel like your so busy that you cant keep up, we need to be able to rest in the fact that God is in control of His world and His church
If we stay up at night, or don’t take a sabbath, often that is us admitting with our actions that we don’t trust that God keeps things running even when we are fast asleep in the middle of the night.
We don’t have to focus on how we are going to fix things
How are you doing with this? In order to grow in this, believing that God is in control, we must ask God to help us in this final point
We kill fear with faith
We kill fear with faith
40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”
This is the key difference between the unrest of the disciples and the rest of Jesus… He had faith…
Faith that God cared… and God was in control… He knew that God had a perfect will and the ability to bring about His will.
Sometimes fear envelops us, like the waves were enveloping the boat that day, and thats ok, but in those moments we look to Jesus to have real rest
So Jesus was able to find rest even in the most difficult situation
So what needs attention in order to start getting real rest? Do you need your heart to finally wrap around the fact that God both cares for us, and is in control for us?
If God were in control but didn't care… Terrifying
If God cared but wasn't in control… Useless
God is both, so you can take time to rest
That is why we have left space this weekend for you to get intentionally quiet with God and find rest for your soul
