The Dicotomy to Insanity

Introduction

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Over the course of life, you will discover if you haven’t already that everyone defines or identifies with insanity differently. The man who drops down into the train tracks with an incoming train approaching may be thought to be insane by some onlookers and their perspective. But from another perspective that some may not be able to see he has jumped down to save a small child who got stuck on the track. He quickly moves from being insane to being a hero. But if that same man drops down onto the train track with an incoming train as a death sentence people will call him insane and seemingly rightfully so. But in his eyes, what he has done was perfectly sane based on his mental state and condition at that time. Some level of counseling would have been appropriate to understand his trauma and identify why he thinks this way and show him to a better way. That means that what might be insane to one person may not be insane to another as this issue of sanity or insanity is fairly subjective.

The issue of perspective concerning insanity really speaks to the process mankind undergoes called socialization. It is how we are trained from birth to see things and the world that determines how and what we label as insane. More often than not we see sanity with scales on our eyes. We can often identify what is insane in the life of someone else but miss our own insanity.

I submit unto you this morning though, that God will often cause us to do things in this life of relationship with Him that may often be labeled as insane to others. In fact, we are many times accused in the body of Christ of being absent of reality because of our unique requirement to follow the lead of God in our lives even when it does not make sense to us.

What onlookers who are void of relationship with God miss is the finitude of man, that is the limits on our knowledge and what we know in comparison to the non-finite or infinite knowledge and wisdom of God to whom in His eyes 1 day is as 1000. We who are in relationship with God must continue to walk with God as He unfolds the pages of the the story of our lives but make no mistake about it the Omnipotent and Omniscient God has already been to the end of each of stories and He knows the beginning from the ending.

That means then as God simply reveals in time what He already knows in eternity, He naturally knows more about us and our present circumstance then we do since He foreknew it. Therefore since God is the author of our story and we are yet living out in time the story that God has already begun and completed from His perspective, there will be things that He calls us to do, places that He tells us to go, people that He will call us to interact with that may be beyond the scope of what we view as sane bordering to us or those around us as insanity.

What we must understand though and what others must understand is that the infinite, that is where God resides, the one who knows no beginning or end, and the one who knows all things is not void of reality. The infinite is not void of reality because in order for you and I to be in relationship with God was is infinite must be at some point or another revealed to those of us who are finite. In other words, its as grandma use to say I need a God who I can feel sometime. And so that means that God who is eternally existent in the heavens, yet omnipresent with you and I everywhere that we go; in order for us to know that He is with us He must reveal Himself in a way that we can understand.

In other words, how would I know that He is Jehovah Jireh if when I had a need He did not supply. But it is when I had a need and He supplied the need that He moved from simply being an eternal entity to making Himself known in my humanity. How would I know Him as Jehovah Rapha my healer if every time throughout the course of my life when I got sick, He never healed me. It is because I have found Him to be Jehovah Jireh and Jehovah Rapha that the infinite God is not void of reality otherwise I would never experience Him in my life down here on earth. If we say in church and it is indeed true that God is whatever we need Him to be when we need Him to be and a very present help in the time of trouble that means that God although His nature, His being, His knowledge is infinite; that He has the ability in His Godness to be infinite at the end of my story and in the present moment of my story at the same time.

Body

In our text today, Jesus seemingly ask of Simon Peter to do something that is insane even as a societal and cultural norm in his day. If He did not believe what Jesus was asking to be someone insane he would not have said “Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing...” He said we’ve been out here all day, we’ve cleaned our nets, we caught nothing and here is a carpenter telling fishermen what to do. Surely they knew the best times to catch fish. But Simon Peter responds to Him Master, signifying He recognizes the authority of Jesus, nevertheless at thy word I will let down my net.

Seen here is Peter’s recognition of the authority and power Jesus has. That he could have a nevertheless attitude about what Jesus was asking him to do. And many times if we are honest we don’t always respond as Peter did because our societal and cultural norms tell us that can’t be God because I’ve done it over and over again it can’t possibly work. But there comes a time in our lives where we must change our perspectives not to see things as they are but the way that they can be. So many times we build monuments over the things in our lives that didn’t go right or according to plan and so when God says try it again we can’t do it because were to angry, bothered, and upset about what didn’t go right the first time.

But what you’ve got to understand is that God is not void of reality - yet He has the power to trump the reality of your experience. Maybe it didn’t work the first, second, third or fourth time. But if God beckons you to try again you’ve got to have a nevertheless attitude that says God it didn’t work all those times but I recognize Your power to make it work this time no matter how many times it didn’t work before. And I will be obedient to Your word. We’ve got to understand that the word of God concerning any subject must never be ignored but it must always be met with obedience because our obedience to His word brings results.

I know we grew up with folk telling us when the praises go up blessings come down. But I didn’t read that anywhere in the Bible. But I read Abraham obeyed God and God counted it unto him for righteousness sake. Praise without obedience doesn’t yield blessings… its just noise.

I’ve come this morning to tell somebody you’ve got to give God another chance. So what He didn’t move like you wanted Him to move when you wanted Him to move. He said He would make everything beautiful in His time not yours. And some of us will just walk away and throw that ministry away, throw that business idea away, throw that child away because time after time after time it just seems like it won’t work out… But all those times it didn’t work God was just testing your faith to give you some patience. For the testing and trying of our faith worketh up patience. And when God test your faith its just a test to see if He can trust you to handle what He has for you. When God tells you to try again you’ve got to release whats in your hand, in your heart, and on your mind. You’ve got to move yourself out of the way and let God work in your life!

Because just like the text if you can be obedient to follow the voice of God even when it seems to be insane there is a blessing that He has commanded to come upon you that will overtake you insomuch you won’t have room enough to receive it.... What are you trying to say Pastor? I’m trying to tell you that God wants to blow your mind. As a matter of fact were in the month of November almost to the end of the year 2021 and if you’d be honest God has blown your mind in January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October… in fact He’s blowing your mind right now.

Some of us don’t have a problem giving God another chance but some of us have trouble giving people another chance. Some of us are quick to write folks off and decide we ain’t gon talk to them, work with them, because of what they have done. But sometimes when God calls you to let down your net it is symbolism that you’ve got to lay your feelings and your pride aside. Because your problem ain’t against flesh and blood. And sometimes are problem when its time to go fishing and catch the harvest God has prepared its hard to do because we don’t like our fishing partners. But we’ve got to remember we are a part of the Body of Christ. Have you ever been fishing all my fishing men and women - and you’re out with an inexperienced fisher and your lines get crossed with someone else? And some of us that’s our problem we become so tied up in what somebody did, what somebody said. And years and years down the line the offender has gone on with their lives but your stuck and can’t move on with your life in Christ because you haven’t forgiven and released the offender.

But God says to you give people another chance! See we talked last week about having a memory when we come to the communion table but that same memory will remind you what God has done in your live and the wonderful change that has been wrought since Jesus came into your heart. And we become so quick to write folks off because they fell down or the messed up. But when you start to remember what and where God has brought you from, you remember you too live in a glass house. You throwing stones at someone else’s house but if you remember what you did and who you did it with - a pebble might start smashing glass.

It’s time to give people another chance in recognition of the God who gives you chance after chance after chance. Let me help you. You can’t love God without loving me.....

And if its not God you need to give another chance, or people, you need to give you another chance. Some of us come to church on a weekly basis remembering the mistake we made or remembering the thing we tried that didn’t work out. We through our hands up and said I’ll never do this or that again. But somewhere along the lines when we get in our feelings we are quick to say what we will and will not do. But if your life is surrendered as it should be, you don’t have no control anyway.

And I’m just looking for somebody in this room who will tell God yes. Tell Him yes and not take it back. Somebody He’s telling you as I’ve been speaking its time to try it again. Somebody God wants you to know that your harvest is connected to that thing in your hand that you won’t release for some reason or another.

I know it seems insane, I know you think it won’t work. But try it again. Look at somebody and tell them God is releasing you this morning to try it again. Whatever it is, try it again. I believe we are walking into a season of open doors and made ways. And when God gets ready to bless you there is nothing a man, woman, boy or girl can do to stop it.

The text ended that Simon Peter fell down and worshipped Him. But he didn’t wait until the miracle happened. His obedience to do what God told him to do began his worship and then when he saw the miracle he fell down and worshipped.

Don’t you ever allow your frustration to take precedent over your obedience to the word of God. If He said it, He’s well and able to bring what He said to past. Because He’s not a man that He should lie, nor the son of man that He shall repent. All of heaven and earth shall pass away before one jot or tittle of His word shall fail. He said when I couldn’t swear by anything else, I’ll put my name out there.

It’s time for you to get your net. I know you cleaned it. I know you washed your hands of this and that. But God says let down your net. I don’t know what your net is. But let it down. Start the business. Serve in the ministry. Try it again. I know you gave it up and said you’d never do it again… it might seem insane, but God says try it again!

Close

Sometimes we are afraid to try again and be obedient to God’s call to try again because we are so concerned about the outcomes. But you’ve got to be obedient to what God has said and give Him charge over the outcome.