Matthew 8 (Part 3) :23-27

--- Matthew chapter 8, grab your Bibles and turn over there please. Matthew 8. How many of you can tell with your sinuses that harvest is in full swing? Huh? Yeah? Yeah? Yeah. People ask me sometimes, once in a while they'll say, Paul, what do you do for your allergies? And I say, well, I complain a lot, and that's about it. I'm looking for a way to make money, though, from my sinuses. I want to start a service called Accusinus Weather, where, because you know, we sinus people, we allergy people, we can predict the weather better than Idaho's chief meteorologist. And I'm just trying to figure out a way to work it all out. I'll let you know when I've got it dialed in, and you guys who share that same talent can jump on board and we'll make a bundle. Yeah, it'll be fun. Matthew chapter 8, we're continuing our study through God's Word. We're here in Matthew in the 8th chapter. We're picking it up in the 23rd verse. So follow along as I read there. We're just going to read through verse 27. It says,

Stop there. Let's pray. Jesus, we love you. Speak to our hearts and give us wisdom so that we can see what's in this Word for us today and apply it to our lives. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. I've never actually been to Israel before, personally. Some of you have. How many here? Anybody been to Israel? Really? That's all? Wow. I've talked to a lot of people who've been there, and I've read probably even more from people who've been there. And interesting kind of facts just about the Sea of Galilee, which Matthew refers to as the lake. But what we know about the Sea of Galilee, it's not really all that huge, about 13 miles long, somewhere like seven miles wide, 150 feet deep, so it's quite deep, and it's surrounded by hills. And what that means is when the weather patterns change, which they often do around that area, because of the proximity of the hills, the water can be stirred up by the winds in literally a moment's notice. So you can be out on the lake, and suddenly the winds just whip up to a frenzy, and your life is in danger. That's the reality. Your life is in danger at that point. That is what we're reading about here in Matthew chapter 8. It was a time when the lives of the men of Jesus, shall I say, appeared to be in danger. And they believed with all their hearts they were in danger. And by the way, these guys are not a bunch of pansies. In fact, several of the men who are in that boat were experienced fishermen. They had been raised on the lake, probably from their earliest days. They knew what it was to control a boat. They also knew what it was to respect the water and nature. I am willing to bet that some of the men, well, I'll go as far as to say almost all of them, no, I'll just say all of them, were very aware of the danger. And some of them probably knew someone by name who had been killed on that lake. And just this kind of a storm, just this kind of a squall, this was a very real danger. This was not made up. This was not, oh, get over it. It's not that big of a deal. I mean, sometimes there are things that we're afraid of that we really have no right to be afraid of because it really isn't seriously a danger. Sometimes people have fears that are so part of their mental, emotional makeup that they become afraid when there really isn't anything to fear. I've heard of people walking out on a bridge and freaking out and having to crawl on hands and knees to get across the bridge just because they were so afraid of heights and they were so afraid of, you know, and, but you know, the fact of the matter is there's nothing to be afraid of. The bridge isn't going to fall down, but, you know, people get afraid. People become fearful and that just becomes an issue. But this is truly, this is truly a scary situation. This is truly a situation where you could lose your life, okay? This is real. This is the real McCoy. Now what happens when we're put into a situation where that is truly dangerous, truly deadly? What happens? Well, the natural thing that happens is that we become afraid. We become fearful. That's very, very natural. God knows that. Okay, I'm going to ask a really stupid question. How many of you have experienced fear? Yeah, duh, I know. It's universal, isn't it? I did that just for the sake of making the point that fear is universal. All of us are afraid at some point and fear is natural. Here's why I'm bringing all this up. When you read this story here in Matthew chapter eight, it almost looks like Jesus is being cruel. I mean, you get a bunch of guys in a boat and this is not a small boat, by the way. Don't think of a little dinghy or something like that or even like one of those little aluminum fishing boats that we might go out on with a little trolling motor. This is a good size boat. Fishing boats back in those days and boats they used to ferry people across the lake were fairly good size. This one happens right now, we know, to have at least 13 guys in it. So it's got to be fairly good size and it says here that the waves were coming up over the sides of the boat and they were not low to the water. The sides were pretty high on these things and so, you know, this is, this is really going on. I mean, that sort of thing. But you get a bunch of guys in a boat, you whip up the winds and the waves, creating a situation that is genuinely dangerous. Wait till they all have a natural reaction of fear and then rebuke them. It sounds almost cruel. That would be like if I knew you had a fear of heights, me taking you up onto a place that is scary and high up, waiting for you to have that natural response of fear and then rebuking you. What's your problem anyway? You don't have any faith? You know? Doesn't that sound kind of cruel? Now don't get me wrong. Jesus isn't being cruel. He, but he is doing something and this is what we have to see here in this passage. We have to see that these guys are in school. These guys are experiencing a test of faith and these guys are having something exposed in their lives that needs to be exposed so that they can be transformed into the men that they need to be so that God can use them for the purpose to which he has called them. And by the way, the same thing is true in our lives too and you're going to see this as we go. This response of Jesus where he says to them, you of little faith, and then asks the question, why are you so afraid? Is not meant just as a rebuke. That's not Jesus slapping their hand. That is Jesus exposing for them an area of their life that he wants them to move beyond. And what is that area? It is a natural response to fear. Every single one of us in this room knows exactly what it is. It's like a knee jerk reaction and we all have different buttons that get pushed. And some of us it has to do with health. Some of us it has to do with finances. Some of us it has to do with relationships. Some of us it has to do with acceptance. Some of us, I mean, any number of things can send us in a tailspin. And we all, and you know, my issue might not be your issue and your issue might not be mine. That's not the point. The point is we all have issues. We all have a button. We all have fearful things. In our lives that literally cause us well to use a biblical phrase to cause our heart to melt like wax So did these men it was a natural response to be in a boat see the wind in the waves and get scared and Jesus knew it He wasn't rebuking them necessarily for having a natural response What he was doing was he was encouraging them to begin to think along new lines along new ways Because here's what's changed in their lives Jesus is now in the boat and Not just in the boat figuratively or even literally but in every way of their lives You see Christians When we accept Jesus Christ as Savior and we really Invite him into our heart into our life into every aspect of our being into my marriage into my role or a relationship with my children into my business if you're a business owner into your Into your educational process if you're a student when we invite him to be Lord and to sovereignly rule over Every aspect or area of our lives things change and a new dynamic begins to grow up in our lives and that dynamic is is that of faith and faith Eventually comes to a place where it supplants fear Because fear you see is very very closely related to unbelief and that is why God always has to deal with fear in his people's hearts because There's no place for unbelief, but boy I tell you we are a fearful people and When the circumstances are just right and when the scenario of our life becomes difficult stressful dangerous threatening the response of fear on our part is so Automatic so immediate that we don't even know we don't even see how the switch gets, you know Hit it just happens and suddenly we're quaking and we're just like oh now what am I going to do? How am I going to deal with this situation and so forth? So here's the here are these men Fearing for their lives and Jesus uses this as a way of exposing this natural Knee-jerk response to life where fear just begins to enter in and he says to them guys Why are you so afraid well, you know what he already answered the question he started off by saying you have little faith Now One of the things that you know, Matthew Mark Luke They actually all tell this story and they give little slightly different nuances of things that happened Do you know in Mark's account of this very event Mark records the fact that They said to Jesus when he was sleeping when they woke him up. They said to him. Don't you care if we drown and Do you know that is that is how fear responds to God You know We become fearful We become kind of consumed with our our fear because of the circumstances and then we turn to God and we say don't you care? Don't you care what I'm going through don't you care what I'm experiencing right now. Don't you care about me? you know and Once again Jesus starts off his return or his retort to these men by saying oh You of little faith Why are you so afraid? Well, I've already told you because you lack the faith Here's the point boys, I'm in your life now, I am in the midst of your existence now I am here And things are going to change from here on out and I want you guys to begin to understand That what I'm looking for you to do is I'm wanting you to move beyond a merely natural reaction to the situations of life To begin to see things through a new and exciting lens called faith and just to prove to you That this is this is going to be an interesting ride Jesus stood up And he rebuked the wind and he rebuked the waves and the Bible says here in this passage that they immediately became calm can you imagine what a trip that would have been to be on that boat and See that happen, I mean have you been in a windstorm, of course you have Have you ever been on a windstorm on the water in a probably overfilled boat? Probably in the middle of the lake you have another you know seven six and a half seven miles to get to the other side and Then and it doesn't look like you're gonna make it and suddenly the wind and the waves just settle out and it's like glass Can you imagine what that was like? Jesus did that in front of all of those men to communicate some very important things First of all to expose in them that natural knee-jerk reaction to fear that is so common among human beings But then to communicate above and beyond that I am Lord you guys and Just as I have intervened and just as I have stepped into this situation and shown my lordship And I've shown you that I can be trusted So I also want to communicate to you from here on out that no matter what's the storm No matter what the threat No matter what the circumstances you may be facing. I Want you to see those things through me. I Know you have natural eyes, but I want you to begin to look at those things now Supernaturally through the eyes of faith And Therein lies the challenge, right? Therein lies the difficulty we are so good at looking with our human eyes and making assessments We do it all the time I look I see I assess I look outside I look at the thermometer I look at this. I I look at the rain look at the clouds. I look at the sky. I look at the smoke I look at you know this I look at that I look at the you know the trees the weather and I and I assess What I'm gonna wear for the day and then I look at this and I assess that I look at that other thing and I I Make assessments based and so do you it's the exact same thing. Here's the problem There's a lot of things in this life that we look at and we assess and they are scary Frightening and They just immediately grip us and cause us to to just quake and so forth, you know, I I Got to be honest with you about something I've told you guys a lot of times in the past that I like to kind of follow the news I just want you to know I'm doing it less and less. I Really am I get I do it all I've done it all on the in the past on the internet I've got all my little favorites, you know Clicking my different news services and I like to just read up on current events and stuff like that. I Think though that about the only thing it really accomplishes though is probably raising my blood pressure That's about it And you know, I'm truly doing it less and less But I'm doing it less and less for a reason. It's not just my blood pressure. It's because When you look at things with human eyes they can be really scary And why needlessly, you know frighten yourself But the point is God knows that you and I Look at life. Look at circumstances. Look at our own lives Look at the world around us and we become afraid God knows that and he knew that with these men in the boat, too And that's why he took them out there to take them through this exercise this test of faith Whereby he was going to challenge them to begin to look at life and the storms of life that come along in a whole new Way and here's one of the reasons why and it was it was true for them and it's true for us These men these disciples in the coming months and years We're going to need to look with the eyes of faith Pretty badly in fact winds and waves and things like that. We're going to be the least of their problems This was just a testing ground. There is going to come a day and it wasn't very long From the time that this happened when these men would stand before the very people who condemned Jesus To die on a cross the very group of people who manipulated Pilate the Roman governor to crucify him on a cross These men would come before that very group. In fact, it happens very early on in the book of Acts You'll remember that Peter and John are on their way to to worship and pray During the middle of the day and there's this man sitting there and he's crippled and and they begin to speak to him And he's looking just for a handout of money and they begin to speak to him. Remember Peter John I love that statement silver and gold have I none But what I have I give to you in the name of Jesus rise up and walk the guy gets up Doesn't even walk he starts dancing. I mean the guy is just you know, dancing a jig He's you know, and of course they get arrested for it You know, no good deed goes unpunished You know So they're cooling their heels in jail for a while And then eventually they're hauled in front of the very group of men who? Jesus had a trial in front of and again who condemned him to death and then hauled him over to pilot same guys Same Sanhedrin Same Deadly attitude was this a dangerous situation. Oh, yeah You see that's the problem when we look with our human eyes and we assess it with our human ability we look at we say I Know this is dangerous. Just like the guys in the boat that day You see they had every knowledge and every understanding This is dangerous people die out on the Sea of Galilee When this kind of a wind comes up and we've heard about it And again, I am willing to bet some of these men knew people by name who had lost their lives on the Sea of Galilee Is this a questionable dangerous situation? No, it is an absolute 100% dangerous situation same with these guys now Peter and John as they stand before the Sanhedrin So what are they gonna do? They're gonna get fearful and wig out. Oh, no, they've been in the school of Jesus They've been on the boat And they learned in the boat and other places as well That no matter what I see with my eyes Is humanly speaking Jesus has authority over that Jesus supersedes what I see with my eyes Jesus has power that goes beyond Jesus transcends that which I see with my eyes and So they had a whole different attitude so the Sanhedrin the same men who are who condemned Jesus to death or you know seething and foaming at the mouth and and They threatened them and that's the other thing about life threats come along. Don't you know once in a while? I mean really truly Threatening situations now do these men have reason to believe that these guys are gonna follow through on their threats. Oh Yeah. Oh, yeah Absolutely every reason in the world to believe this is a genuine 100% threat and they threatened him it says right there in Acts chapter 4 they threatened him and they said do not speak in the name of this Jesus of Nazareth and They and they threatened to do bodily harm to them if they did Again, I ask you did they have reason to take that threat seriously? you betcha and I love their response Peter and John who've been out on the boat and Weathered the storms of life and seen that Jesus Christ this one that they serve is Lord of even the storm Even the threat that comes their way and they say to the Sanhedrin. Well gentlemen Judge for yourselves whether it's right for us to obey God or men For we must speak in this name We must tell people about Jesus so Do your worst? We must you know what it says. They didn't know what to do all these guys You know why? They weren't responding naturally. They were responding supernaturally They didn't know what to do with them so they just kind of threaten them a little more and send them home Look you get out of here, you know And That's kind of the point of this whole thing, that's the point I think of the whole exercise Every storm every challenge every threat that comes your way It's a whole different ballgame now see because Jesus is in your life and he's the Lord of all those things do you guys remember and see because the threats the the storms the things that we become so fearful of those things have a way of Speaking to us whether verbally or not doesn't really matter but they speak to us and they say I'm in control. I Hold the reins and I'm in control It's just like it's just like pilot did to Jesus After he'd been arrested. Jesus is standing before pilot and there are the religious leaders Hurling their accusations at Jesus at the speed of light. They're saying he did this. He did that he said this He said that and on and on on they're accusing and accusing and accusing and Jesus says nothing He responds with silence and pilot is amazed. He pulls Jesus aside Here's what he says because this is you gotta hear what pilot says because this is the voice of fear You're right, or at least the things that make us fearful He says aren't you gonna answer? Aren't you gonna defend yourself? And then he says this Don't you know That I have the power To set you free or to crucify you. Oh That's what life loves to do with you and I it comes along and it says I am in control And I can kill you if I want. I can destroy your family if I want to I Can destroy you emotionally I can destroy you physically spiritually Intellectually doesn't matter. I'll break you like a twig and I have the power to do it. And you know what? You've seen it happen to other people and you recognize it as a genuine real threat So, what does Jesus say to pilot I love this You would have no power over me if it had not been given you from above That's it That was his response But do you see what it said to pilot? I'm sorry, buddy. You're not in control. You may think you are But you're not If you do anything or say anything To either set me free or have me put to death it is because that authority that power that ability has been given you from my father in heaven and I trust him It ain't you pilot get off your little high horse You see what Jesus said that day is not something that just only Jesus can say It's something you and I can say too. I believe and I've told you this before To be able to look at life right in the eye to look at threats right in the eye to look at dangers right in the eye Those things that would otherwise cause you to go into a tailspin and say you would have no power over me Had it not been given you from heaven Listen if it's given from heaven Then it has not come to destroy you it has come to build you up The Bible says it's given you from heaven It has not come to destroy you it has come to build you up The Bible says that God works all things together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose. I Guess the one the one Element here that does need to be settled in your heart. I sure hope you are convinced. God is good Because if you're not then a statement like, you know, Jesus made the pilot might not give you much comfort You know if you think God's just kind of that, you know Heavenly bad guy who likes to dangle people over an open flame and see how long they'll stay there before they squirm or yell or Scream or something like that, but that's not God. That's not your father That's not the way he treats his children He loves you he loves you with an everlasting love, you know, you you are the apple of his eye He adores you he loves you. He wants to spend way more time with you than you do with him And he will take care of you and he will see you through But we need to begin to walk in the faith that says It's not that thing that's in control. I know these winds are whipping up over the side of the boat I know these waves are look like they're about to send us down to the bottom of the sea But they're not To send us down to the bottom of the sea But they're not in control my god is and these waves Would have no power over me Had they not been given it from heaven My Heavenly Father is the one who's in control you see because I started a relationship that has an interesting dynamic to it And it starts with a promise from God to me. I will never leave you nor forsake you I will not abandon you as orphans in the storm and the promise of God stands regardless of what you and I go through and we can trust in that and we can hope in that and God will allow you and I just like the disciples to get into a boat and see the waves come crashing over the sides So that you and I can go through that same wonderful test of faith and so that he can show us his power You know, I in my own life. I just wonder how many times I have to get in on the boat I Wonder how many times I have to take the trip. It's like oh here we go again You know, it's kind of like Lord. I thought I had this one kind of didn't we do this? before I Was hoping that we didn't have to do this again well, he knows best and oh, I tell you it's just Sometimes it just sends me into a tizzy But looking with supernatural sight Is what God is calling you and I to do and that supernatural sight is just another fancy way of saying faith You know eyes of faith, but those are super Those aren't naturalized again the naturalized see the natural the super naturalized see the supernatural and when the supernatural is beheld by faith a Whole new thing begins to happen in our lives. Do you guys remember I'll close with this But you guys remember the story in Old Testament story. It's in second Kings. It's the story about the prophet Elisha Great prophet. I love Elisha anyway the king of Aram wanted to Attack the king of Israel. He didn't like the king of Israel So the Arameans were out to get him and every time the king of Aram came up with a plan God would tell it to Elisha and Elisha would go tell it to the king of Israel So every time so like the Elisha would go to the king of Israel say hey Don't take your men over by so-and-so a place because the king of Aram is waiting for you there to ambush your army And then he'd tell him something else but he'd always give him the inside scoop so that the king of Israel Who wasn't even a good guy would have you know, it wouldn't be destroyed Well, anyway, the king of Aram he like he like just gets incensed after this happens several times He calls his all of his close men in together and he goes. All right, which one of you is the mole? Which one of you is ratting on me to the king of Israel and and all of his one of his men stood up And he said he said King listen, we're all loyal to you. It's not us it's they have a prophet in Israel and He tells the king of Israel what you do in your bed What you say in your bedroom? Nothing is hidden That's the problem. And so the king of Aram says, all right, we're gonna kill the prophet I'm sure God didn't hear that part So, what do they do they look for Elisha Find his tent and they surround him with the entire Aramean army well, Elisha Doesn't even appear to be aware. He's like he's hanging out just taking a siesta in his tent It's the morning time in my mind's eye. I picture this thing. I don't think Elisha even opens his eyes He's just chilling and his servant Ghazi goes out in the morning to do what servants do I Don't know get water or whatever Anyway, he goes outside the tent and he sees the army of the Arameans along the hillside all around them Now, what did he do? He saw with his natural eyes, didn't he? So he runs back into the tent and he says to Elisha master This is a paraphrase. We're in deep yogurt We are in major trouble here the Aramean army is all around us and they are poised to attack And I don't think you're I she even opens his eyes he's just like And then here's what Elisha says It's okay Those who are for us are greater than those who are against us and Gahazi has to be thinking What And so Elisha prays for him he says Oh Lord open his eyes Not talking about these eyes spiritual eyes Ghazi goes out steps to the mouth of the tent and looks again and he sees The angels of God literally mounted with flaming swords on the hillside Vastly outnumbering the army of the Arameans Now What Elisha prayed for for his servant is what I am encouraging suggesting that we all Come to the Lord for the very thing. I believe that Jesus the reason he had him in the boat that night Was that their eyes might be opened? That they might not just see with their human eyes and say we're in trouble because of natural Responses, but that they might see with spiritual eyes and say I'm covered by the power of God By the grace of God by the wisdom of God. Oh, I see God that you have this thing dialed in you have this thing worked out you are working and What I see with my human eyes is not the whole Story. Oh now doesn't that kind of bring back memories of a verse? Let me think. Oh Trust in the Lord with all of your heart. Yeah, lean not on your own understanding Don't we do that all the time? You know what that is the cause of fear right there right there leaning on our own understanding It's the way I see it. It's the way I assess it. That's what becomes fearful That's what turns my heart to wax But God told me way back in the Proverbs and by the way, that was Proverbs 3 5 & 6 He told us way back in the in the book of Proverbs Don't do that Don't Elevate yourself To the place of feeling like you have the ability to look at a situation and correctly assess it Here's why I'm in your life now. I Am the power of your life, I am the very source of your life you belong to me. I am the sovereign all-powerful eternal God and it is my determination and there is Nothing you can face in this life. That is greater than me And That's what we need to begin to see not with these eyes but with spiritual eyes So I think we need to kind of covet the prayer of Elisha today and begin to say that to the Lord particularly during those times when we're fearful Lord help me to see I want to see beyond What I can see I and assess because that frightens me I Want to see what you see I want to see your power at work Lord if that means you're gonna show me your angels mounted on a hillside so be it I don't really care what it is. I just want to see you. I want to see you working. I want to see your hand moving. I want to see your glory. You know, I Want to see you Jesus. I want to see you I Take spiritual vision So Lord give us spiritual vision. Amen Give us spiritual vision. I'm gonna end with a verse that you guys y'all know and this is just a little punctuation mark from Hebrews chapter 11 verse 1 now faith is being sure of what we hope for by the way, you hope for things you don't have yet and certain of what we do not see Okay, what you don't see is talking about your natural eyes You can't see the things of God with your natural eyes If you're looking for if you're looking for the things of God with your natural eyes, you're gonna come up empty There are things you don't see but faith you see Is absolutely certain even though the natural eyes can't see it Faith is still certain because faith looks beyond it looks supernaturally and it sees the hand of God it knows That God is working You ---