3 February 2013
I. Introduction
-- turn in
Bibles to Matthew 8:23-34
Matthew 8:23-34 (NIV)
23 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him.
24 Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so
that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!"
26 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.
27 The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"
28 When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way.
29 "What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?"
30 Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding.
31 The demons begged Jesus, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs."
32 He said to them, "Go!" So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water.
33 Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men.
34 Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.
-- this
morning we are going to be looking at a familiar passage -- it's one of those
passages that everyone knows -- even people outside the church know the story
of Jesus calming the storm -- but the problem with the familiar is that it can
become common and can lose its luster and shine
-- we come
to passages like this in our daily Bible reading or the preacher tells us to
turn to this passage and we think to ourselves, "I already know this story
-- I'm not going to get anything from this today" -- and because we think
this and just skim through the story or listen with half an ear, that's exactly
what happens-- so as I was pondering on what passage from our 2013 Exalt the Word Bible readings to share with you today, I decided this would be a good passage -- and I want to encourage you to approach it with open ears and open eyes so you might get something out of this that you've never seen or thought about before
-- we've
been meeting together as a church now for a couple of years, and if there's one
thing I hope you have learned in our time together, it's the right way to
approach the Scriptures -- Scriptures must be read in context -- they must be
read as a whole -- without taking verses out of place and trying to base an
entire way of life on one verse or one passage pulled from Scripture
-- scholars
call this exegesis -- I don't care what you call it, but it's important that
you read the Bible in context -- that you consider what the message of the
passage was for its original intended audience -- in other words, how did the
people in the Bible days understand and receive the message? -- and once you
understand what the Spirit was saying to them and how this passage fits with
the passages around it, then -- and only then -- can you try to apply it to
your life-- that's why I've always tried to make sure and give you the overall context of a passage before we begin studying it -- so we can understand how the passage or verse fits in with the rest and so we can understand what the Spirit wants us to receive from this passage
-- one thing we have to keep in mind as we study Scripture is that when the Bible was written, it was not divided up into chapters and verses -- this didn't happen until the middle ages -- chapters came along around 1100 AD and verses around 1400 AD -- and while the chapters and verses can help us find our place in Scripture, they can also mislead us into isolating events in Scripture -- especially events in Jesus' life
-- this isolation of Bible stories has been compounded by the handy little headings some Bibles have included above the text to help us identify familiar passages -- more than likely, if you look at your Bible you'll see two headings for the verses I read this morning -- something like "Jesus Calms the Storm" followed by "The Healing of Two Demon-possessed Men"
-- you get the idea these are two separate stories to be read and understood separately -- but nothing is isolated in Scripture -- especially in the gospels -- these two stories are inextricably linked -- in fact, they're linked to passages that come before and after these -- and, so in order to understand what is going on, you have to read them together
-- so let's look at this passage again and see if there is anything new we might be able to learn from this as we look at these passages together in context
II. Scripture Lesson (Matthew 8:23-34)
-- when I
took the Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics
class, we were taught to first look for the purpose of a passage before we
tried to read and understand it -- this was true for scientific journals or
newspaper articles and it holds true for Scripture, as well-- knowing these passages as well as you do, what do you think is the purpose of these passages? -- in other words, what are these passages about? -- what's the overarching theme of this section of the Book of Matthew?
-- the miracles of Jesus? -- Jesus has power over creation and over the spiritual world? -- no, the overarching theme of this section is faith
-- let me
show you real quick what I'm talking about -- turn back over to the start of
Chapter 8 -- Chapter 8 opens with the man with leprosy asking Jesus for healing
-- notice what he says to Jesus in verse 2, "Lord, if you are willing, you
can make me clean" -- faith -- there's no doubt in him at all -- he knows
Jesus can do it if He wants to
-- look at
what the next section is entitled -- "The Faith of the Centurion" --
the centurion asks Jesus to heal his servant and believes Jesus can do it even
without coming to his house to lay hands on the man -- look at verse 10
Matthew 8:10 (NIV)
10 When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to
those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel
-- which brings us to this passage -- don't read this passage as just a story of Jesus' miraculous powers -- read this as a story of faith
-- verse 23
23 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him.
-- stop
right there -- look at what Matthew is saying -- read this as a story about
faith and think about who these disciples were -- Peter, Andrew, James, and
John -- all four of them were fishermen -- all four of them knew boats -- all
four of them knew the sea
-- but look
who got in the boat first -- Jesus -- Jesus got in and the disciples followed -- the four fishermen had been following Jesus on land -- they had been following Him as He taught and preached in the countryside -- they had been following Him when He led them down paths they were unfamiliar with -- the question now was whether they would trust Him in the familiar
-- our faith is tested more in our common everyday lives than in those times we step out into unfamiliar territory in ministry -- God knows we trust Him and have faith in Him to lead us when we don't know what we're doing -- the question is "will we trust God to lead us when it's something we think we already know?"
-- verse
24-25
24 Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so
that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.
25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save
us! We're going to drown!"
-- all of a
sudden -- without warning -- a great storm came up on the lake and the little
boat was tossed and thrown about in the water -- the waves were coming over the
bow and it seemed like the boat was going capsize
-- now,
remember, who's in the boat? -- I hope you said, "Jesus," and didn't
say Simon Peter or one of the other fishermen-- it's good to remember that our faith is not in objects -- it's not in our skills and talents -- it's not in our own abilities -- our faith is in a person -- our faith is in Jesus
-- when I worked on Ossabaw Island, we had to take a boat from Savannah over to the island -- it was the only way to get there -- and one time we headed across there in the midst of a storm -- it was just like what Matthew is describing here -- we were pounding on the waves -- water was washing over the bow -- I was scared -- it was really, really dangerous -- and I can tell you one thing -- there is no way anyone could have slept through that storm
-- and I think that what Matthew is describing here is a storm so much worse that it even had the four fishermen scared -- men who knew the water -- men who knew how to handle storms -- and they look up and there is Jesus, asleep in the bow -- the question is not "how could He sleep?" -- the question is "why was He sleeping?"
-- Jesus wasn't worried -- and He slept so the men in that boat would see Him sleeping -- unconcerned -- not worried in the slightest -- and trust that if Jesus was with them, they had nothing to fear
-- verse
26-27
26 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. 27 The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"
-- why does
God put us in the storm? -- to test our faith -- this passage is all about
testing -- it's about proving your faith -- it's about living out what you
believe
-- these
men had been with Jesus for some time now -- they had seen the miracles of
healing -- they had heard His preaching and teaching about living in the
Kingdom -- they had seen how Jesus lived in faith through His relationship with
the Father -- and Jesus wanted them to do the same-- He wanted them to do two things in this storm -- first, He wanted them to trust Him -- to have faith in Him and in who He was -- and, secondly, He wanted them to exercise their faith and to overcome the storm through His power in their lives
-- we'll talk more about this storm in a minute, but suffice it to say that Jesus allowed this storm to happen to prepare these men for the ministry He had called them to
-- but
instead of trusting -- instead of exercising their faith and the power of
Christ -- they went to Jesus and woke Him up and cried out, "Lord, save
us!"
-- look at
His response -- Jesus says they have "little faith" -- little faith
-- how would you like Jesus to say that of you? -- how true would that be of
you?-- at least the disciples had some faith -- at least when the storm came up they knew where to go -- at least they had Jesus in their boat -- but Jesus wanted them to do more -- He wanted them to trust Him in the midst of the storm
-- the phrase, "fear not," or "do not be afraid," is found 365 times in the Bible -- one time for each day of the year -- isn't that amazing? -- why would God tell us 365 times in His word to not be afraid?
-- it's because faith can not live with fear -- either you trust or you don't -- either your expectation of the future is doom and gloom and despair or your expectation is based on the promise and power of God
-- the disciples looked at that storm and said, "We're going to drown" -- Jesus looked at it and said, "Oh ye of little faith -- fear not -- I am with you -- you can go through this storm if you believe that" -- it all comes down to faith
-- verse 28-34
28 When he arrived at the other side in the region of the
Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so
violent that no one could pass that way.
29 "What do you want with us, Son of God?" they
shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed
time?" 30 Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding.
31 The demons begged Jesus, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs."
32 He said to them, "Go!" So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water.
33 Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men.
34 Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.
-- just as
soon as the boat landed on the shore, Jesus and His disciples were confronted
with two men who were demon-possessed -- owned by Satan and his minions -- and
Satan didn't want to give them up
-- the
place where Jesus and the disciples landed was a Gentile area -- it was not
part of Israel -- it was on the eastern coast of the Sea of Galilee, and the
people there did not know God -- they had not heard of the God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob -- through their worship of pagan gods they were unknowingly
worshiping demons-- Satan owned this region, and he didn't want to give up any ground to Jesus -- but Satan knew what was going to happen when Jesus got there -- he knew that Jesus was going to free these demon-possessed men and use them to carry the gospel to this region -- and so he did everything he could to keep this from happening
-- now, let's think back for a second about the storm we just talked about -- who was in the boat when that storm came upon them? -- you said "Jesus" that time, didn't you?
-- no, think about the disciples -- who was in the boat? -- Peter, Andrew, James, and John
-- four seasoned fishermen -- four men who knew this lake like the back of their hand -- four men who knew the weather -- their lives depended on their ability to know when storms were coming and how to handle their boats in the midst of the storm
-- but this was no ordinary storm -- Matthew says it came up without warning -- and it was such a storm that these four skilled fishermen couldn't handle it -- they didn't know what to do
-- now here's where all that about exegesis and chapters and verses comes into play -- I don't believe this was a natural event -- I believe this was a supernatural storm -- created by Satan to keep Jesus and His disciples from making landfall
-- that's why Peter and the others couldn't make any headway against it -- that's why they were gripped with fear -- it was a supernatural fear sent by Satan -- and that's why Jesus rebuked them for their lack of faith -- faith comes into play in the supernatural and the spiritual
-- this was more than just a storm -- it was actually a spiritual battle between Satan and Jesus' disciples -- and Jesus wanted His disciples to exert their authority and their faith in Him to stand up against the devil -- but they failed the test
-- I believe Jesus' plan all along was for the disciples to handle the two demon-possessed men in the tombs -- I think He wanted them to stand up against Satan and his demons and to take back these men and to take back the land that Satan had claimed -- I think Jesus wanted His disciples to begin their ministry at this point -- but, their faith was too little and so Jesus had to step in and do the Father's will
-- it's all
about faith -- as we've been going through the Book of Acts in our Tuesday
night Bible study and we've looked at everything the church was doing at that
time, I've asked the question, "Why are we not seeing the church do the
same things now?"
-- some say
that this was a special time in the church and Jesus doesn't work through us
like that anymore -- but the Bible says that Jesus Christ is the same
yesterday, today, and forever -- the same Jesus that healed the lepers lives in
you today -- the same Jesus that calmed that storm lives in you today -- the
same Jesus that rebuked the demons and freed these two men from Satan's grip
lives in you today-- Why are we not seeing the church do the same things in our own day? -- we have little faith
-- over in
Chapter 9:27-31, as Matthew continues his section on faith and on trusting in
Jesus as the author and perfector of our faith, he tells the story of the two
blind men that were following Jesus and crying out for healing -- Jesus asked
them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" -- in other words,
"Do you have faith?"
-- and when
they said they believed, Jesus said, "According to your faith will it be
done to you" -- I really like the way the paraphrase The Message puts Jesus' reply to them -- "Become what you
believe"-- become what you believe -- that is the key to living out the kingdom life -- that is the key to seeing Christ's power made manifest in our lives and in the lives of those around us -- it all comes down to faith
-- we are reaping the fruits of what we believe -- and if our faith is small, our fruits will be small, too
-- the disciples had little faith, and they failed in their test on the Sea of Galilee -- and because of that, Jesus couldn't use them when He landed at Gadarenes and wanted them to carry the gospel to the Gentiles living in that land
-- it is not until some time later -- over in Chapter 10 -- do we see the faith of the disciples growing to the point they trust Jesus enough to be sent out to do ministry on their own
-- what we need to be asking ourselves is whether we truly have faith in Jesus and in His power or whether we are in the boat with the disciples, living in fear and with little faith
-- faith comes as we trust in Jesus every moment of everyday and faith grows as we pass through the storms in our life unafraid and ready for wherever Christ sends us
-- as A.W. Tozer put it, "[faith] is believing a promise -- taking God at His word -- reckoning the Bible to be true and stepping out upon it"
III. Closing
-- I want
to close by sharing with you the story of one of my heroes in the faith --
Brother Andrew -- Andrew is known as "God's Smuggler" and you can
read his autobiography in the book by this same title
-- Andrew
is not a seminary-trained minister -- he's just a common man like you and me --
but a man with extraordinary faith that God has used in extraordinary ways
-- when
Andrew finally responded to God's call and became a Christian, he left his
native Holland to go to England
-- it was
there he learned to truly trust in God and lean on faith in his daily life-- there are so many stories of faith and God's providence in his life that I would like to share with you, but I just don't have the time -- I want to close with this one story of faith in the everyday -- and I want to encourage you to get a copy of Brother Andrew's book and read it or listen to it on audiotape -- it will encourage you in your walk with Christ
-- the
focus of WEC was to teach the students to trust God for everything -- in one
exercise of trust, Andrew and four other students were told to go on a
missionary tour of Scotland -- the students were each given a one pound
banknote -- which they were expected to pay back at the end of the tour -- they
were responsible for paying for all of their expenses and were told to never,
ever ask for money from anyone to support them
-- one day
they were holding meetings in Edinburgh and decided to host a tea party for a
group of young people they were witnessing to -- the only problem was they had
no tea, no cake, no bread and butter, and only five cups -- the young people
volunteered to bring everything but the cake -- so, the young missionaries in
training had everything but the cake for their tea party -- and, as Andrew put
it, "without cake, these Scottish boys and girls wouldn't consider tea
tea."
-- So that
night the missionary group prayed a very specific prayer: "Lord, from
somewhere we've got to get a cake. Will you help us?" -- by this time, Andrew and the other four young men had started to truly believe and trust in God and His ability to provide what was needed -- so that night they went to bed expecting to wake up and find the cake ready for the party
-- but morning came -- no cake -- they waited for God to send a heavenly messenger to their door bearing a cake as a present -- no one came
-- the morning mail came -- they ripped open two letters, expecting to find money inside to be used to buy the cake -- there was none
-- a woman from a nearby church came by to see if she could help -- Andrew said they all wanted to say, "Bake us a cake," but they trusted God and swallowed their words and shook their heads -- "Everything is in God's hands," they said
-- the tea was scheduled for four o’clock in the afternoon -- at three the tables were set, but they still had no cake -- Three-thirty came and went -- they put water on to boil
-- three-forty-five -- fifteen minutes before the young people would arrive -- the door bell rang -- they opened the door and the mailman was standing there with a large package
-- he told them that the package had just come in and that even though the deliver day was over, he said it felt like a food package and he hated to leave a perishable package overnight -- so he brought it on over on his way home
-- they took the package and closed the door and saw that it was addressed to Andrew from a woman in London -- so they handed it to him and stared at him with expectant eyes
-- let me read you what Andrew wrote
about this experience in his book:
"I took the package and
carefully unwrapped it -- Off came the twine -- Off came the brown outside
paper -- Inside, there was no note -- only a large white box.
"Deep in my soul I knew that I
could afford the drama of lifting the lid slowly -- As I did, there, in perfect
condition, to be admired by five sets of wondering eyes, was an enormous,
glistening, moist, chocolate cake."
-- And thus
began a life of trust -- Brother Andrew learned to trust God for every
provision he ever needed, big or “small” -- He trusted God when he took Bibles
across hostile borders -- He trusted God to blind the eyes of border guards who
searched his car for illegal gospel tracts -- He trusted God to provide the
resources needed to carry the gospel to people living in bondage behind the
Iron Curtain -- and he continues to trust God today as he ministers to Muslims
in the middle East
-- faith is
more than just accepting Jesus as our Savior -- faith is more than just an
intellectual assent to the truth of God's word -- faith is trusting in God for
everything
-- faith is
built in the midst of storms and in the every day moments of our lives -- God
allows us to go through trials and tribulations to build our faith, because He wants
us to become people of faith who trust Him to do great and extraordinary things
through us-- the disciples failed in their test on the
-- Brother Andrew learned to trust God in the little things -- by providing money and even chocolate cakes when they were needed -- so he could trust God in the big things that were to come later
-- we need to learn from their examples and build our faith and trust in God whether we're just going about our daily lives or whether we find ourselves in a storm so great we fear for our very existence
-- in Mark
9:24, the father of a boy who was possessed by a demon cried out to Jesus,
"Lord, I do believe -- help me to overcome my unbelief"
-- everyone
here in this room today has some level of faith -- so as I close, let's affirm
our faith in God and ask Him to overcome the unbelief that still plagues our
steps -- let's ask Him to put us in places where we have to trust Him -- so
that we might become the men and women of faith that He has called us to be
-- let's
pray
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