Turning to God
When Under Pressure
Ptr. Andy Soriano 043006
Mat 14:22-33 MKJV
"And immediately Jesus constrained His disciples to get into a boat and to go before Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. 23 And when He had sent the crowds away, He went up into a mountain apart to pray. And when evening had come, He was there alone. 24 But the boat was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves; for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a phantom! And they cried out for fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, Be of good cheer, I AM! Do not fear. 28 And Peter answered Him and said, LORD, if it is You, tell me to come to You on the water. 29 And He said, Come. And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But seeing that the wind was strong, he was afraid. And beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me! 31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him; and said to him, Little-faith! Why did you doubt? 32 And when they had come into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, Truly You are the Son of God.”
All of us know what it means to be “under pressure”. Each of one of us had it as we go through life. Being under pressure is we meet circumstances such as meeting the deadline, bills have to be paid, a love one got sick, and other worse situations beyond our control. In other words whether you like it or not you are not in control. And it is not a good situation beacuse it is stressful.
Jesus Needs to Be Alone with His Father
After a series of event that day, Jesus needed a time-out. He just heard the report that His cousin John was beheaded. Jesus wanted to mourn for His cousin so he withdrew by the boat privately to a solitary place... (Matthew 14:13) But His mourning was postponed because the crowds won’t let him go! The last thing that Jesus had in mind is interruption!
Jesus saw the large crowd; he had compassion on them and healed their sick. After which He also fed them (Matthew 14:14,21). By the way the same crowd who wanted to make Him king, were ready for a revolution (John 6:211). Talk about being under pressure and Jesus can identify with you!
People will be interrupting your schedules; Jesus still gave His time even though he was under pressure. He gave His time because He value people. If you value people as well then they are never an interruption in your life. Even before I was preparing this sermon my daughter LJ wanted my time, she wanted me to scratch her back (she would say kati, kati, kati...), actually she just wanted me by her side as she sleep. Then I realized my daughter is more valuable than my sermon notes.
Finally Jesus’ much needed rest came. He made the disciples go on ahead and He dismissed the crowd (Matthew 14:22). If you are going to a stressful time, don’t take stresstabs, go to Jesus and you will find rest for your soul.
Mat 11:28-30 MSG "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. 29 Walk with me and work with me--watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. 30 Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."
The Savior is Missing
Now comes the climax of the day. The disciples were having a problem, the boat was out of control. Imagine darkness, danger and probably death, just around the corner. And to add to their dilemna, the person who always kept them from trouble was nowhere to be found. Jesus was missing in action. Where is Jesus when we needed Him the most?
Desperate Situation
The disciples, after doing their best to keep the boat afloat, were not going anywhere. The fishermen are losing the battle against the wind and the waves. Their efforts of trying to save their lives are useless. Their situation is desperate. Desperate times need desperate action. We were in a desperate situation when our son was rushed to the hospital. I never felt so helpless in my life. For the first time I realized that there are things in life that you can’t do anything about it, except to trust God that everything will be all right!
Unexpected Answer
The disciples saw Jesus teach people, heal the sick and rebuke the Pharisees. But after the fourth watch of the night, the disciples saw Jesus like never before. They saw Him walk on water. Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid!” or “Be of good cheer, I Am and do not fear!” I don’t think they were excited to see Jesus. They were probably tired and fearful for their life that moment. God’s answer always comes in an unexpected way!
Bold Response
Now Peter had always been the spokesperson of the group. So out of his desperation he cried to Jesus, “...if it is You, tell me to come to You on the water”. I guess Peter knew that the safest place is at the feet of Jesus. God’s presence is the safest place that you can ever be.
Trials are oppurtunities for you to see God’s power and presence.
The discples’ response when they saw what happened was, they worshipped Him for the first time. That is your natural response when you see God’s power displayed.
Why are These Things Happening to Me?
2Co 1:4 He helps us in all our troubles, so that we are able to help others who have all kinds of troubles, using the same help that we ourselves have received from God.
Rom 5:3 There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us,
1Pe 1:7 Your faith will be like gold that has been tested in a fire. And these trials will prove that your faith is worth much more than gold that can be destroyed. They will show that you will be given praise and honor and glory when Jesus Christ returns.
Conclusion:
The woodcutter’s wisdom!
Once there was an old man who lived in a tiny village. Although poor, he was envied by all, for he owned a beautiful white horse. Even the king coveted his treasure. A horse like this had never been seen before – such was its splendor, its majesty, its strength.
One morning he found that the horse was not in the stable. All the village came to see him. “You old fool,” they scoffed, “we told you that someone would steal your horse. We warned you taht you would be robbed. You are so poor. How could you ever hope to protect such a valubale animal? It would have been better to have sold him. You could have gotten whatever price you wanted. No amount would have been to high. Now the horse is gone, and you’ve been cursed with misfortune.”
The old man responded, “Don’t speak too quickly. Say only that the horse is not in the stable. That is all we know; the rest is judgment. If I’ve been cursed or not, how can you know? How can you judge?”
After fifteen days, the horse returned. He hadn’t been stolen; re had run away into the forest. Not only had he returned, he had brought a dozen wild horses with him. The village people spoke, “Old man, you were right and we were wrong. What we thought was a curse was a blessing. Pleas e forgive us.” The man responded, “How do you know if this is a blessing or not? You see only a fragment. Unless you know the whole story, how can you judge? Life is so vast, yet you judge all of life with one page or one word. All you have is a fragment! No one knows if it is a blessing or a curse. No one knows. I am content with what I know. I am not perturbed by what I don’t. Only God knows.”
The old man was right. We only have a fragment. Life’s mishaps and horrors are only a page out of a grand book. We must be slow about drawing conclusions. We must reserve judgment in life’s storms until we know the whole story.
“Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.”
He should know. He is that Auhtor of our story. And he has already written the final chapter.
---Story and conclusion (modified) taken from Max Lucado’s In the Eye of the Storm
All of us know what it means to be “under pressure”. Each of one of us had it as we go through life. Being under pressure is we meet circumstances such as meeting the deadline, bills have to be paid, a love one got sick, and other worse situations beyond our control. In other words whether you like it or not you are not in control. And it is not a good situation beacuse it is stressful.
Jesus Needs to Be Alone with His Father
After a series of event that day, Jesus needed a time-out. He just heard the report that His cousin John was beheaded. Jesus wanted to mourn for His cousin so he withdrew by the boat privately to a solitary place... (Matthew 14:13) But His mourning was postponed because the crowds won’t let him go! The last thing that Jesus had in mind is interruption!
Jesus saw the large crowd; he had compassion on them and healed their sick. After which He also fed them (Matthew 14:14,21). By the way the same crowd who wanted to make Him king, were ready for a revolution (John 6:211). Talk about being under pressure and Jesus can identify with you!
People will be interrupting your schedules; Jesus still gave His time even though he was under pressure. He gave His time because He value people. If you value people as well then they are never an interruption in your life. Even before I was preparing this sermon my daughter LJ wanted my time, she wanted me to scratch her back (she would say kati, kati, kati...), actually she just wanted me by her side as she sleep. Then I realized my daughter is more valuable than my sermon notes.
Finally Jesus’ much needed rest came. He made the disciples go on ahead and He dismissed the crowd (Matthew 14:22). If you are going to a stressful time, don’t take stresstabs, go to Jesus and you will find rest for your soul.
Mat 11:28-30 MSG "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. 29 Walk with me and work with me--watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. 30 Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."
The Savior is Missing
Now comes the climax of the day. The disciples were having a problem, the boat was out of control. Imagine darkness, danger and probably death, just around the corner. And to add to their dilemna, the person who always kept them from trouble was nowhere to be found. Jesus was missing in action. Where is Jesus when we needed Him the most?
Desperate Situation
The disciples, after doing their best to keep the boat afloat, were not going anywhere. The fishermen are losing the battle against the wind and the waves. Their efforts of trying to save their lives are useless. Their situation is desperate. Desperate times need desperate action. We were in a desperate situation when our son was rushed to the hospital. I never felt so helpless in my life. For the first time I realized that there are things in life that you can’t do anything about it, except to trust God that everything will be all right!
Unexpected Answer
The disciples saw Jesus teach people, heal the sick and rebuke the Pharisees. But after the fourth watch of the night, the disciples saw Jesus like never before. They saw Him walk on water. Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid!” or “Be of good cheer, I Am and do not fear!” I don’t think they were excited to see Jesus. They were probably tired and fearful for their life that moment. God’s answer always comes in an unexpected way!
Bold Response
Now Peter had always been the spokesperson of the group. So out of his desperation he cried to Jesus, “...if it is You, tell me to come to You on the water”. I guess Peter knew that the safest place is at the feet of Jesus. God’s presence is the safest place that you can ever be.
Trials are oppurtunities for you to see God’s power and presence.
The discples’ response when they saw what happened was, they worshipped Him for the first time. That is your natural response when you see God’s power displayed.
Why are These Things Happening to Me?
2Co 1:4 He helps us in all our troubles, so that we are able to help others who have all kinds of troubles, using the same help that we ourselves have received from God.
Rom 5:3 There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us,
1Pe 1:7 Your faith will be like gold that has been tested in a fire. And these trials will prove that your faith is worth much more than gold that can be destroyed. They will show that you will be given praise and honor and glory when Jesus Christ returns.
Conclusion:
The woodcutter’s wisdom!
Once there was an old man who lived in a tiny village. Although poor, he was envied by all, for he owned a beautiful white horse. Even the king coveted his treasure. A horse like this had never been seen before – such was its splendor, its majesty, its strength.
One morning he found that the horse was not in the stable. All the village came to see him. “You old fool,” they scoffed, “we told you that someone would steal your horse. We warned you taht you would be robbed. You are so poor. How could you ever hope to protect such a valubale animal? It would have been better to have sold him. You could have gotten whatever price you wanted. No amount would have been to high. Now the horse is gone, and you’ve been cursed with misfortune.”
The old man responded, “Don’t speak too quickly. Say only that the horse is not in the stable. That is all we know; the rest is judgment. If I’ve been cursed or not, how can you know? How can you judge?”
After fifteen days, the horse returned. He hadn’t been stolen; re had run away into the forest. Not only had he returned, he had brought a dozen wild horses with him. The village people spoke, “Old man, you were right and we were wrong. What we thought was a curse was a blessing. Pleas e forgive us.” The man responded, “How do you know if this is a blessing or not? You see only a fragment. Unless you know the whole story, how can you judge? Life is so vast, yet you judge all of life with one page or one word. All you have is a fragment! No one knows if it is a blessing or a curse. No one knows. I am content with what I know. I am not perturbed by what I don’t. Only God knows.”
The old man was right. We only have a fragment. Life’s mishaps and horrors are only a page out of a grand book. We must be slow about drawing conclusions. We must reserve judgment in life’s storms until we know the whole story.
“Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.”
He should know. He is that Auhtor of our story. And he has already written the final chapter.
---Story and conclusion (modified) taken from Max Lucado’s In the Eye of the Storm
posted by Good News @ 11:37 PM
0 comments
