Lessons From Matthew - Getting Out of the Boat

This morning in my personal study time in God’s Word, I came upon one of my all-time favorite stories. The story of Peter and Jesus walking on water, as found in Matthew 14:22-32, is a story filled with encouragement that we must hold dearly to. It is a story we need to commit to memory and we ought to refer to often as the storms of life rock our own boats. Take a few minutes this morning to dust off that Bible and take a look. If you don’t have a Bible, fire up Google, we are blessed in this age to have the Word of God with us wherever we go. Look now at the great lessons within this reading.

Jesus had just ministered to the people who had followed Him as He sought some solitude. Jesus often went off alone to pray with His Father. Lesson one for us? We need time alone with God. We need personal prayer time.

Matthew 14:22-24
Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.  And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.

Sometimes we will feel left alone by Jesus and in those times the winds of the troubles of life will beat against our boat. This can be scary. But take heart; Jesus has not abandoned you. He knows right where you are.

Matthew 14:25-27
 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.  But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear.  But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

If we are going to be disciples of Jesus and follow Him, sometimes we simply have to get out of the boat. This is what is called taking a step of faith. Following Jesus is not for the faint-hearted. Jesus challenges us to not be afraid to go where He is, even if that journey looks dark, stormy, and sometimes, impossible by the world’s standards. Like Peter, we must come to Jesus, not sit in a boat and wait.

Matthew 14:28-29
And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”  He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.

What happened when Peter stepped out in faith? He did the physically impossible. He walked on water. But then the story takes a sudden turn.

Matthew 14:30
But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”

Whoa. What happened? Peter steps out on faith in response to the command of Jesus and he begins to sink. Maybe you can relate. Maybe you did what Jesus said but now you are sinking and are desperately afraid. We need to see two points in this verse. First of all, Peter was fine until He took his eyes off Jesus and instead, looked at the storm. The answer to living for Jesus is to never, ever look at the storm. Forget the waves. Don’t worry about the wind. Keep your eyes only on Jesus. In Matthew 6:33 Jesus tells us that we must “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

But all of us fail. Our faith is not yet perfected, and God knows we are but dust. The second thing to remember is that when you fail in your faith, simply cry out to Jesus as Peter did.

Matthew 14:31
Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

If you are moving out towards Jesus, He will not let you drown. He will ask you why you had doubt. He will ask you that because He wants you to know that you can trust in Him.

I love the end of the story.

Matthew 14:32-33
And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.  And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Once Jesus decides to get in the boat, the winds stop. Jesus is God. God controls the storms, they come and go at His very command.

The lesson? Have faith in God and worship Him. Whatever storm you face or whatever storm you know is on the horizon, cry out to Him. The words you need to say are very simple. They are as the words of a helpless child. Lord, save me.

Romans 10:13
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

 

He’s waiting.

Lessons from Matthew - Repent and Be Baptized

This morning finds me on my latest journey into the New Testament and obviously that begins in the Gospel of Matthew. Several things stand out this morning, as I begin to study the narrative of the life of Jesus and His ministry.

First of all, we find that John the Baptist has come forward to prepare the way for the public arrival of Jesus. The message that John preached was a simple one; Repent. Why? Because the Kingdom of God is at hand. John was preparing the way by telling the people that if they want to know the Messiah, they will be required to change. The message of the Gospel is no different today. When Jesus calls us to new life, our hearts will be forever changed. We must turn away from how we view our behaviors and confess our sins. We must repent.

It is popular to tell people today that you don’t have to clean yourself up before coming to Christ, and while that is true, that does not mean you won’t be getting cleaned up. True salvation experiences always involve immediate change. While certainly sanctification, the process of becoming like Christ, is a life-long process, there will be evidence of conversion when one becomes Born Again. Simply saying you believe in Jesus and yet, demonstrating no change at all, ought to raise an alarm in the lives of those who claim Christ. John calls us to repent. The first words of Jesus as He began His public ministry were the same.

Matthew 4:17
From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Not only did John prepare the way by preaching repentance and baptizing people as they confessed their sins, Jesus also came on the public scene by getting baptized. Why would Jesus need to be baptized? He was without sin. There are several things to understand about why Jesus had John baptize Him.

First, the baptism of Jesus was not a baptism of repentance as John was doing with the people. It was a baptism of identification. Having came from Heaven as a man, Jesus was identifying Himself with us in the sense that would find Himself tempted in all ways, just as we are, (See Hebrews 4:15). By allowing John to baptize Him, Jesus was also identifying Himself as one who is fully obedient to the will of the Father as expressed in John 6:38 saying, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.” The root of repentance is that we have changed our minds, we have turned from our desire to please our self and are seeking to please God.

The second reason I believe Jesus was baptized is found in the tension of Him being both God and man. There are those who argue the theology behind the incarnation of Jesus as to how His Deity was dealt with while on this earth, but I find no evidence that at any time He wanted to, Jesus could not choose to exercise the full powers of being God. But in His baptism, He had the full power of the Holy Spirit come upon Him. This was to be an example for us.

Matthew 3:16
And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him.

By being baptized Jesus was empowered by the Holy Spirit. This was to show us that we can live for Him through the power of God as we move by the work of the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus did. We are not to serve God by our own efforts, our own strength, or anything of our flesh; we are to serve God and walk this life in His power as the scriptures have declared.

Ezekiel 36:27
And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

Acts 1:8
 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

Romans 8:11
 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Though many Christians may differ on how the Holy Spirit comes upon us, all must agree with God’s Word which tells us that all true believers have the Holy Spirit indwelling them.

Romans 8:9
 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

I don’t know what you’ve been taught, but the scriptures are clear.

1 Corinthians 3:16
 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?

All Christians have the Holy Spirit indwelling their hearts and He is the power that changes us and the power that drives us when we serve God. If you gain nothing else from this writing, see the truth of the indwelling of the Spirit in your life. And what does that mean to you today? Again, we turn to God’s Word.

Galatians 5:16
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

I close for now with this truth; We must repent, and we must live in and by the power of the Holy Spirit. If we have no desire for that, then we are not His. But if we are hearing the voice of God calling us to come to him, then we must simply follow the words of Peter as recorded in the Book of Acts.

Acts 2:38
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Peter also said this in 2 Peter 1:10
Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.

Today is the day of salvation. Repent and be baptized.

How To Find Rest

Life in the twenty-first century is hectic and it has us all running around constantly in a hurry. When the age of technology was about to break out of its infancy, we were promised that thanks to computer technology, we would soon have so much leisure time on our hands that life would become a breeze. Oh, how that was a lie. We live a frenetic life style that has stressed us out beyond measure. By the end of our days, we are exhausted. Even our vacations are not things of rest, yet that was the purpose they were implemented for. Thanks to smart phones, people never get a respite from the pressures of work, as they bring work with them through their phones. Thanks to smart phones, we are subjected to a constant barrage of tragic news. Thanks to our smart phones, we simply don’t take much time to simply sit in solitude. Instead, we stare at something that never stops pushing stimuli into our brains. No wonder we are exhausted.

For those of us who are Christ’s, there is an answer. Stop. It was never God’s desire for His people to run themselves into the ground. God feels so strong about this type of behavior that He addressed it in the Ten Commandments.

Exodus 20:8-9
 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor, and do all your work.”

As New Testament Christians, we are not “under” the law. The Ten Commandments are, however, the basis of God’s moral law, which are still the basis of how we are to live life. Just this past Sunday, my pastor mentioned the Sabbath as the only one of the ten that we are not technically bound to and that is a correct statement in a literal sense. But Jesus told us that He didn’t come to abolish the law, He came to fulfill it. And in Jesus is found the fulfillment of the sabbath. He is our sabbath. In Him we find rest.

Hebrews 4:9-10
So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

Because Jesus went to the cross and died in our place, we can rest from the concept of working for our salvation. We no longer must try and follow the law of Moses to attain righteousness that might save us from God’s wrath. Thus, the first point of this rest in Christ, is that our salvation and our eternal destination is attained by His work. That work is complete.

But there is more to this rest that we can lay hold of. We can now rest in our faith in God that through Christ, we are now in the family of God.

Romans 8:16-17
The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—seeing that we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

If we suffer with Him, we may also be glorified with Him. There is a rest in Jesus that we need to lay hold of. We are now God’s children and that makes us heirs of His promises to take care of us and provide for our needs. Listen to what Jesus says to those who are His.

Matthew 6:25-32
 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?  And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?  And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,  yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

Jesus has just removed any concern we might have over how we will be fed and clothed. He has commanded us not to be anxious over these things. Instead of being anxious over the necessities of life, He gives us this command.

Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

He also explains how to deal with the tiredness that comes through our work, be it at home or the office.

Matthew 11:28-30
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Leave the stress of work and home, at the foot of the cross and trust in Jesus to be the one who helps you through it all. To be yoked with Him means He is right there pulling the load alongside you, but by yoking yourself with Him, the load becomes easier. This is faith. This is trusting in the very one who gives you breath.

As to the sorrows of the world that break our hearts and bring us down? Again, have faith in God to handle them. Search the scriptures and you will find that God is still in control and He will take care of things.

Are you angry at someone and long for revenge?

Romans 12:19
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

God has this. Turn your eyes to Jesus, open your Bible and find the promises of God. When you do, you will find that every scenario you can dream up has God’s promises which address them. Even when things seem completely out of control and the sorrow and pain unbearable, believe that God is there and working it out for His purposes.

Romans 8:28
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

If you are His, you can trust Him in all circumstances.

As Christians, we have no reason to be all stressed out and worn down. Sometimes, we just need to stop and get quiet. Sometimes we need a nap. Remember, even God rested.

Genesis 2:2-3
And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.  So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

Do the work God calls you to do. But remember that there is a sabbath for you. No, it isn’t just a day. It’s an attitude. An attitude of faith; faith that God has everything under His control. It’s ok to rest. He’s got this.

Why the Bible Never Tells Us That Jesus Laughed

I was in the house of a Christian friend many years back and as he showed me the various pictures of Jesus that his wife and he had put up over the years, he showed me one of Jesus laughing and told me of all those pictures, that was his favorite. He thought my response was a bit strange when I responded by asking him if he knew that the Bible never speaks of Jesus laughing. We had a short discussion over this and he stated that he was sure Jesus laughed. Yes, I agreed that day, that certainly there were times of laughter in the earthly life of Jesus. Today, I am certain that Jesus did laugh, after all, like us, He was a human that experienced all the emotions we do. But I suggest that there is a reason why we can find no narrative in scripture that depicts a laughing Jesus.

Scripture does say that God laughs. But when God laughs in the Bible, it is a laugh of derision.

Psalm 59:8
But You, O LORD, laugh at them; You scoff at all the nations.

Am I saying laughter is wrong? No, absolutely not. Though scripture does not say this, I actually believe that God has given us a sense of humor along with the ability to laugh, as a blessing to help us enjoy life and even at times, to carry us through times of suffering. Solomon tells us that there is “a time to weep and a time to laugh.” It’s clear in some of the stories of Jesus, that He had a sense of humor.

So, what’s my point? My point is simply this; The Bible does not show us a laughing Jesus because that is not the primary understanding of who Jesus is, or maybe better says was, as He walked this earth, that the Holy Spirit wants us to have.

This morning I was reading from a book that is a compilation of talks given by the great preacher, Charles Spurgeon, that reflect on communion with Jesus. In this message is a reminder of why our main thoughts of the emotional state of Jesus in His time on earth, doesn’t give us a picture of a laughing Jesus. Spurgeon speaks from the text of the great Book of Isaiah, chapter fifty-three. Let us take a look.

Isaiah 52:13-15
 Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted.  Just as many were astonished at you, My people, So His appearance was marred more than any man And His form more than the sons of men.  Thus He will sprinkle many nations, Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him; For what had not been told them they will see, And what they had not heard they will understand.

Isaiah is speaking of Jesus. These scriptures, though they speak of the Gospel, the good news of salvation to us, ought to break our hearts. Though one day Jesus will be lifted up and greatly exalted, before we can see that day He had to be lifted up on a cross to pay the cost of our sin. Before the good news of the Gospel could be our gain, Jesus had to suffer in a way no man has ever suffered. Isaiah tells us that “His appearance was marred more than any man And His form more than the sons of men.”

But even worse than that, Jesus suffered something He had never experienced in all of eternity; He had to be separated from God. Mark recorded the desperate cry of Jesus as He paid the ultimate price for us.

Mark 15:33-34
 When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour.  At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?" which is translated, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?"

This is the darkest day, the darkest moment of time ever in history. God forsake Jesus. You see, this is the price of our sin. Every time we covet something that isn’t ours, we offend the very holiness of God. Every wayward glance at another woman not our wife, every unkind and hurtful word we speak to another person, every time we worry, and every time we simply ignore what God called us to do, we deserve to be forsaken by God. Listen to how the burden of our sin affected the Lord Jesus as He lived out His time on earth again as Isaiah tells us.

Isaiah 53:2-3
For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.  He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

This is Jesus, the very Son of God, King of Kings, the one who left the glory of Heaven where He eternally dwells with God. Despised and forsaken of men. One from whom men hide their face and esteem Him not. It gets worse.

Isaiah 53:4-6
Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.  But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.  All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.

Why is Jesus described a man of sorrows? Spurgeon reminds us that we esteemed Him not. We turn to our own way and esteem Him not. He was crushed for iniquities. Our sins did this.

Let us turn to the New Testament now and see that He was a man of sorrows.

Mark 3:5
 After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart.

Mark 6:6
And he marveled because of their unbelief.

Mark 8:12
And he sighed deeply in his spirit.

Unbelief and hardness of heart brought Jesus distress. His own friend and disciple would betray Him. But the truth of the matter is this; our sins took Him to the cross. Our hard hearts and our unbelief crucified Jesus.

Solomon also said this in Ecclesiastes 7:3
Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.

James expanded on it in James 4:9
Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.

Wow. That seems depressing, doesn’t it? But before I close I want to remind you that Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 3:4 that “there is a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.”

But before we laugh, we must weep. Before we dance, we must mourn. We must remember that it is our sin that made Jesus a man of sorrows.

What do we do?

Every day we have life we must weep over our sins and mourn the very existence of them. Then we confess them, we repent of them, and we cry out to Jesus for mercy and grace. Then and then only can we laugh and dance.

Spurgeon wrapped up his talk saying this, “If we were astonished at the marring of His face, we shall be much more astonished at the magnificence of His glory.”

Let us remember our Lord Jesus. Let us be astonished at His glory. But let us never forget that we made Him a man of sorrows.