Good morning. I want to start today off by thanking you for allowing me to practice my chapel sermon here the last time that I was here. Chapel went really well, and despite a few slips it went rather smoothly.
Now I want to tell you a little bit about mine and Nellie’s past week in New Orleans and the work that our group was able to do. We left school on Friday the 10th, and arrived in New Orleans on Saturday evening. We spent some time on Bourbon Street, and the rest of the French Quarter.
The week was an intense week of helping people to start over.
*(PASS OUT THE NAIL AND TELL ABOUT IT)*
(SHOW PICTURES AND WING A TALK ABOUT THE TRIP)
Before we begin, let’s just open with a word of prayer
Today I want to continue with our series Gone Fishin’. This morning we are going to look at an event that has happened to me more times than I can count. It never fails, it’s supposed to be a beautiful day, and then when I make it to the lake, it happens. Turn with me to Matthew 8:23-27. Here in this passage, we see how the disciples respond to the same kind of thing.
Matthew 8:23-27 says, “1”
Many times I am out on the lake, and a storm comes my way, and my day is ruined. But when Jesus is in the boat, there is no reason to fear. But in this passage we find the disciples despite the fact that Jesus is right there with them, flipping out and getting scared.
This morning I want to talk about a serious topic and a topic that I faced first hand this past week. Before I move on, watch this video clip. (Video clip from Indiana Jones)
Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
This morning we are not going to talk about storms, rather we are going to talk about a walk of faith. Notice that in our passage that we looked at, Jesus’ response was, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” You see, the thing that the disciples where lacking at this point of the trip was faith.
I like to define faith as a belief in something that you cannot see. A belief in something that you cannot prove. You see, if I told you that I had a 20 dollar bill in my pocket, and that I would give it to the first person that can say the alphabet backwards, you would have to have faith that I had a 20 dollar bill in my pocket and that I would give it to you.
But if I help up a 20-dollar bill and said the same thing, you would not need faith. You would be able to see the 20-dollar bill in my hand and no faith would be required. But faith in God is believing in something that you cannot see.
Turn with me now if you would to Mark 8:34-38. This morning we are going to look at radical faith, and see what the root of faith is. Here in Mark 8:34-38 it says, “2”
The first thing that we can learn from this passage is that Faith is a Risk, because Faith or Trust is about a Relationship. In order for me to trust someone or to put my faith in them, I have to have a relationship with that person. I mean think about it, would you place your faith in and trust in a perfect stranger? Your life is hanging in the balance, and you have to rely on either a stranger, or on someone that you know really well. You are probably not going to chose the stranger.
Now, sometimes building relationships can be hard, and you could be hurt form time to time, but in order to build up trust in one another, you have to have a relationship with that person. In the same way, in order to have a faith in Christ, you need to first have a relationship with Him.
So how do we build a relationship with Christ? Well, this passage that we just read through gave us 2 ways that we can build that relationship with Christ. First, you must deny yourself. In order to build this relationship with Christ, we need to deny ourselves and put Him first.
We must deny ourselves what we think are the pleasures of a Christ free life, and we must follow God and His plan. Think to yourself for a moment, what are some of the selfish things in your life that you need to deny in order to build a relationship with Christ.
Jesus does not ask us to deny ourselves of the things that we need, or the things that we enjoy. He is simply asking that we deny ourselves the sinful actions and the sinful thoughts that are in our life. So, we see that we need to deny ourselves in order to build a relationship with Christ and in order to follow Him.
The second thing that we need to do in order to build a relationship with Christ is to take up our Cross. The passage we looked at said that we must deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Him. Someone this past week said, “If you want to follow Christ, you better look good on wood.”
In order to have a relationship with Christ you must be willing to take up His cross and follow Him. Now I am not going to go into this, because I think that there is another area that we need to look at briefly in what time we have left this morning.
You don’t make the relationship about you, you make it about us. No one should ever enter into a relationship with someone else in hopes of only getting what you need. When you are in a relationship it is not about you, it is about us. It is not what is best for me, but rather it is what is best for us?
So, what should motivate us in our relationship with Christ if we are not in it for ourselves? Let me start by addressing some things that will not motivate us. First, power and authority will not motivate us for long. When you are in a relationship with someone, power and authority will only go so far. After that, there needs to be something more to keep the relationship going.
When it comes to our relationship with Christ, His power and His authority will only last so long. He can only do so much in these areas to build a relationship with us. Eventually there has to be more.
Guilt will not motivate us for long. You know, there are some people who are in relationships with others due only to reasons of guilt. They feel guilty not being in a relationship with that person, and so the relationship begins. However, just like a relationship based on power and authority, it will only last so long, and then there needs to be more to it.
Some people are in a relationship with Christ based on guilt as well. They are only interested and in a relationship with Him due to the fact that they feel guilty. But again, that will only last so long, and then there needs to be more.
Some people simply fear others, and so they are in a relationship with them to avoid their wrath. The same is true with God. Some people are so afraid of what will happen to them if they are not in a relationship with Christ, so they get in a relationship with Him to avoid His wrath. But Jesus Himself said, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid.” Fear should not be the reason that we have a relationship with Christ.
There is only one reason that we should have any relationship. There is only one foundation for a relationship that will last. Love will last!
When you get into a relationship with someone based on love, that is a relationship that will probably last. Christ desires to have that kind of relationship with each and every one of us. He desires our relationships with Him to be based on love. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, so that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
So, the root of faith can be traced back to a relationship with Christ. And the relationship with Christ can be traced back to love. So, could it be that the reason so many people struggle with faith is that they first struggle with love?
God’s desire is that we all have a relationship with His Son based on a love for one another. And His hope is that that love that we share will lead to a faith in Him. In order to have faith in Christ, we must first have love for Him.
Where is that nail that I passed out?
*(wing the nail thing)*
End In Prayer |
