1. The Place Where Faith Grows
Notes
Transcript
Good morning and welcome to the start of a new sermon series, that’s going to be very short…but highly impactful when it comes to following Jesus.
There’s a term the Bible uses for someone who is a follower of Jesus. It’s a disciple. Here’s a simple, yet effective example from Scripture about what being a disciple is all about. It comes from Mark’s gospel when Jesus called his first disciples:
17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” ~ M 1:17
A disciple is one who is devoted to following Jesus. A disciple is one who is being transformed by Jesus. A disciple is one who is on mission with Jesus.
So when we say that the best way to live life comes through following Jesus…that is what we are talking about; devoting ourselves to Jesus, allowing Jesus to change us, and then joining Jesus in his mission of making more disciples.
Today we are going to tackle the first two parts of that definition: devoting yourself to Jesus, and allowing Jesus to change you. The reason we are going to focus here is because this is where a lot of people…maybe even you are stuck. If we are going to breakthrough and live a fully devoted disciples of Jesus we have to answer this question: Who is Jesus?
Throughout the Bible there is this theme of water, and more specifically of storms, wind, and waves. Probably the most defining storm in the Bible happens when God liberates his people Israel from slavery. He has Moses lead them out to the edge of the sea where they find themselves trapped by Pharaoh's army. In this critical moment God intercedes and with the a powerful storm, he divides the waters allowing the nation of Israel to cross to the other side safely. When the Pharaoh’s army tries to pursue, the waters crash in destroying them. This amazing victory is celebrated even today in the Passover, most likely the oldest religious celebration that is still practiced, in the history of the world…over three thousand years. It’s quite remarkable. So the image we get is that God rescues his people as they pass through the waters. Israel acknowledges that their God Yahweh can tame the waters.
From this we get this theme or idea in the Psalms of how when danger or enemies approach, it’s like flood waters or like falling into water and being sucked down underneath the waves. But here is the one who people always cry out to to save them from the “waves, water, and storm”. Here’s an example.
Who is like you, Lord God Almighty?
You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you.
You rule over the surging sea;
when its waves mount up, you still them.
When the storms hit, when the enemies surround you like rushing water, when the waves pound against our lives…who is the one who can calm them? The Lord God Almighty. God calms storms.
Fast forward to the gospel of Matthew, one of Jesus’ disciples. In chapter four, Jesus has called his twelve disciples. They follow, and Jesus begins to pour into them so that they can become fisher’s of men. In chapter five, six and seven, the disciples have front row seat to The Sermon on the Mount. They get this snapshot of what it looks like to be a part of God’s Kingdom. Jesus begins to heal people and the crowds begin to push in to the point where it’s time to get away for some down time.
Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him.
The perfect example of being a disciple. Jesus leads, the disciples follow wherever he goes.
Here’s a picture of what they possible got into. The is referred to as the “The Jesus Boat”. It was a fishing boat found encased in mud in the shallows of the Sea of Galilee. This is my picture from the museum where the boat is located.
Now, here is a picture of the Sea of Galilee. It’s about 13 miles long and at it’s widest point, over six miles wide. Here’s a nice picture from my time hanging out on Galilee. You can see from one side to the other. So, it’s a big body of water, but not huge. Galilee is situated down in a bowl. To the west there is a small mountain range and just on the other side is the Mediterranean Sea. To the east of Galilee is another small mountain range called the Golan Heights. Just on the other side of those mountains is the Syrian desert. So as you can imagine, what is going to happen when the nice cool winds from the Mediterranean Sea come over the mountain range and collide with the hot, dry air from the Syrian desert. You guessed it, storms can pop up out of nowhere…and they can be vicious.
Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
Jesus is wiped out from serving the people, he immediately falls asleep. While he’s a sleep this terrible storm blows in and it’s so fierce that the waves start to come into the boat. They urgently wake up Jesus telling him that the situation is so dire, they are about to die.
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.
If it wasn’t Jesus asking this question we would put it in the category of a dumb question. Why are you so afraid? “Well, I don’t know Jesus…maybe it’s the three foot of water in the boat or the wind starting to capsize us?!” However, this whole event is intentional isn’t it? Jesus is building, shaping and developing his disciples to join him in the mission, and to do that he needs to take them into a storm, to expose their faith…or in this case, their lack of faith.
Notice how Jesus directly connects his disciples fear to their level of devotion or loyalty to him. The more loyal we are to Jesus, the less our fear is. The less loyal we are to Jesus, the more fear we experience.
But then Jesus steps in and gives them a reason why they can give their complete loyalty to him, he rebukes the winds and waves—and they stop, instantaneously! Here’s another Psalm describing what God does for his people:
He stilled the storm to a whisper;
the waves of the sea were hushed.
They were glad when it grew calm,
and he guided them to their desired haven.
I think most of us remember and lived through the derecho of 2020. Just another fun plot twist to last year. For those of you who weren’t around, in August of last year we had these crazy straight line winds of hurricane force that ripped through central Iowa…especially devastating Cedar Rapids. If you were in it, you remember what it was like to see trees bent over, and trash cans hurtling down the streets, and chaos and pandemonium all around. I think what was so crazy about the derecho was how long it went on. I remember thinking that it was just about over…but it kept going on and on! Imagine a derecho or hurricane raging, and then to have someone step out, rebuke it and it just stops! What?! Listen to how the disciples responded.
The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
The disciples are stunned, to the point where they can’t even put into context what they are seeing with Jesus. He doesn’t fit any category they have ever experienced. What kind of human is this?
So what can we take away from this?
If you follow Jesus, he will take you into storms. Did Jesus know a storm was coming when he got into the boat to take a nap? Of course he did! Remember, he is helping these men to become fishers of men! This is part of the training. He wanted to check their faith. He wanted to measure their devotion. He also wanted to show them that he wasn’t just a human, but that he was God…literally Lord of all. Here’s why. When Jesus was to leave and hand over the mission of making disciples to his disciples, things were going to get difficult. Later in Matthew 10 Jesus sends out the 12 and he talks about how hard it will be then and in the future when he is gone. The storms are going to keep on coming, for them to know how to make it through their the storms, they needed to know who is Lord over all, even the storms.
Before you walk into the storm you need to answer this question: What kind of man is Jesus?
Matthew does a really interesting thing in his writing here. He doesn’t answer that question. He leaves it somewhat open ended. He doesn’t resolve the tension. He makes the reader think about and wrestle with the same question the disciples were asking: “Who is this man?”
Here is why this matters. If Jesus is just an ordinary, regular man, first of all, why would you follow him? But if he is truly God, Lord over all, then not only do you have nothing to fear, but you can also trust what he asks you to do.
I know that some of you are in the midst of a storm right now, draw near to Jesus. Allow him to love you, shape you and strengthen you through this season. Some of you might see a storm on the horizon. Or maybe you just feel fear and anxiety over the chaos in our culture. Maybe your storm is your health or the physical pain your constantly feel. Maybe your storm is loneliness. Maybe your storm is dealing with hurtful choices or addiction. Maybe your storm is a relationship that is out of control.
Here are some things you can do if you are in the middle of a storm right now:
Focused Prayer - the disciples in the boat went and pleaded with Jesus to save them and he did…he even revealed himself to them in a greater and deeper way. Maybe your next step is to pray. Consistently seek Jesus and ask. If he is Lord over storms, then he can help guide you through whatever you are facing…and in so doing your faith will be strengthened.
Communion - We need these moments each week we are have to remind ourselves who Jesus is. Jesus in the boat asked, “Why are you afraid?” If we have devoted our lives to Jesus, what do we have to fear? The problem is that we often times forget. Communion centers us back on the simple, yet powerful truths about who Jesus is. He is real and he is Lord.
Here is what I want you to walk away with this morning:
When you know who Jesus is, you discover the boldness you need to walk into the storms of life.
But to do that you must answer this question: What kind of man is Jesus?
So what does all of this have to do with being a disciple of Jesus?
If a disciple is someone who is devoted Jesus, they will be willing to go wherever he leads. If he says get into the boat, we get into the boat. If he says, serve we serve. If he says, stop we stop. If he says love, forgive or give that is what we do. That is the life of a disciple.
If a disciple is someone who is being transformed by Jesus, then he’s probably going to lead your into a storm. Mean? No, loving…because he cares about what you become…and it’s only in the storm that you get to experience the power and the love of Jesus. If you are a disciple of Jesus, you are prepared to go, into the storm.
A disciple of Jesus is ready to go into the storm, because they know that it the closest to Jesus they can be.
One of my favorite animals is the bison. They are found only in the plains of North America. I love how they look. I love the west and I always associate the bison with the west. Bison are funny looking creatures because they are so stacked on the front end, I’m just look at them. Massive head, neck, and shoulders and this really think mane. But their hind quarters just look so puny. They look like a body builder that skipped leg day!
But God created these massive creatures to live on the plains. The massive head can move snow so they can forage all year round. Their heavy coat of fur protects them from the fridge winds of the northern plains. There is one trait that sets the bison apart from their cattle cousins. When a storm is about to hit, cattle run away from the storm to find a place to hide. Bison, instinctively run into the storm. They know that buy running into the face of a thunder storm of blizzard, they will get through the storm more quickly, while the poor, frightened cattle will have to endure it longer. That’s why when blizzards hit many more cattle die than bison…because bison are built to run into the storm.
A disciple of Jesus and a bison have that one thing in common. A disciple, just like a bison is built to run into the storm.