Sermon Tone Analysis

*/Sermon Manuscript – 6~/25~/2006/**/                         Robert Hutcherson, Jr./*

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*/Sermon: “/**/Mighty and Matchless”/*

 

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*/Mark 4:35-41/*

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*I heard about a man who was near the end of his life.

While lying in a hospital bed dying of cancer, he spoke with his wife of some 60 years.*

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*Remember when we were first married, our crops failed and we lost the farm?

You were with me.

Later on we listened with amazement of how Pearl Harbor had been attacked?

You were there by my side.

I was drafted in the Army, and you joined the hospital corps.

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*Then when I was wounded, you were there at the hospital until I was released.

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*After the war I started my own business, only to see it fail miserably, but you were there.

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*And then it seemed that it was one failed venture after another, until we were forced to file for bankruptcy, but you were with me through it all.

My two heart attacks, the stroke, and now I have cancer, and you have been there by my bedside each time.

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*All of this has got me to thinking; you are just bad luck!

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*That is how some folks feel about the Lord!

They got saved, they were excited, and everyone in the church was excited for them.

It seemed as though everything was perfect, heaven on earth.

and then Satan comes along and attacks.

All of a sudden their new life in Christ turns into a spiritual battleground and they begin to wonder.

Where is God?

Isn't He interested in me anymore?

Has He forgotten about me?

Doesn't He care what is going on in my life?*

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* Whether we want to admit it or not, many of us have been there, and perhaps some of us are there right now! Feeling like God isn't interested in us anymore.

That is exactly where the disciples were in our text today.

Now we understand what caused them to question whether the Lord was interested in them or not.

It was because of the storm.

They panicked and went to Jesus for help, but found Him asleep.

Seemingly uninterested in what is going on.

This prompts their question in verse 38.

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*“Master, carest thou not that we perish?"*

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*When surveys are conducted, some of the people will say that they believe in God sometimes.

By this they may mean, when they are really in a tight corner, they’ll say "Help!"

This story is about the disciples, fearing for their lives - shaking Jesus awake, and saying, "Teacher, don’t you care!

Please help us" and Jesus stilling the storm.

They couldn’t believe in the Father God watching over them at all times.*

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*We don’t always recognize God's answers to our prayers.

He does take us through the storms of life in wonderful ways.

If we will just look...we can often trace the hand of the Lord providing for us or for others.

A bird builds its nest in a tree overlooking a raging waterfall.

It’s quite snug and secure in the nest.

It is the same with us.

We might be walking on ice but we are secure in Jesus.*

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*In the storms of life - our one security is Jesus.

He stilled the storm and made peace.

When we are in the Lord’s will, there is peace within, when there may be storms all around us.*

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*It is not so much us calling upon the Lord, although we may, in what was here probably a spiritual attack upon the safety of the disciples crossing the lake, with an evil storm brewing up, but a question of resting in the Lord, with a quiet confidence in Him.

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*Let us pray,*

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*Lord Jesus, we thank you for your words, "Peace, be still".*

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*The peace of God, deep lasting peace; peace that brings inner calm; that keeps a person steady in the storm; that faces up to difficulties without fear and proclaims the good news with courage and joy.

The peace that reconciles sister to brother, parent to child, rich to poor, young to old; but not a peace that is silent in the face of an unjust world.*

*This is the peace of God, a peace which surpasses all understanding.

Keep us in your peace, Lord; keep us abiding in you.

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*We ask this in Your Mighty and Matchless Name,*

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*Amen.*

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*That’s right…He is matchless…what do I mean by that?

Let me try to explain…*

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*In Washington, DC, in the Museum of Natural History, there is a diamond called the Hope Diamond.

It is a vivid, dark-blue diamond that weighs 45.52 carats.

According to geologists, it is a diamond without equal in all the world.

It was found in the 1600's and weighed over 112 carats when it was dug from the earth in India.

It is considered to be priceless.

It is said to be a matchless diamond.

However, there may be another, larger, more valuable stone lying buried in the ground.

To say the Hope Diamond is matchless is to presume on the unknown.*

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*Michael Jordan is called the greatest basketball player of all time.

It is said that there will never be another as great as he is.

He is declared to be matchless in his sport.

However, somewhere on some playground, or in some school gymnasium there may be a youngster who will shatter all the records Jordan has ever amassed.

To say that he is matchless is also a stretch of the imagination.*

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*Albert Einstein is said to be the greatest thinker the world has ever known.

He pondered concepts so deep that we could never begin to grasp.

His has been called a matchless intellect.

However, who is to say that somewhere in this world today there isn't a child whose mind is so sharp and whose brilliance will dwarf even that of Einstein?*

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*The truth is, nothing in this world is matchless.

Everything can be equaled or bettered by mankind.

However, there is One who will never be equaled or bettered.

His name is Jesus!

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*In this text, the disciples are crossing the Sea of Galilee when a storm arises.

Jesus is asleep in the boat and the Disciples feel that they are going to die.

They awake Jesus and He speaks to the storm and the waves and winds lie at His feet as if they were docile lambs.

His Disciples see this great miracle and ask a question that declares His greatness.

They ask, what manner of man is this?*

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*Throughout His life, the story is the same.

Everywhere Jesus went, men marveled and stood amazed at His greatness.

When He was just an infant, Mary and Joseph "marveled" at what was spoken of Jesus, His enemies "marveled" at His wisdom and doctrine His Disciples "marveled" at His compassion and love for sinners,.

The multitudes "marveled" at His power to heal.

His enemies "marveled" at His word,.

His executioner "marveled" at the greatness of Jesus Christ.*

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*Things haven't changed!

Jesus is still amazing all those who come to Him by faith.

To say He is matchless is an understatement.

He will never be equaled!

He will never be bettered!

He will always remain the matchless One.*

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*This morning, by the help of God, I would like to take a few minutes and tell you about Our Matchless Savior!*

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*He is Matchless In HIS PERSONALITY*

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*He Is Matchless In His Beginnings - To say that Jesus had a beginning is an untruth.