Crisis Christianity

CRISIS CHRISTIANITY!!

Matthew 14:25-30

INTRODUCTION: Why do so many Christians wait until they have gone under for the third time to cry out unto the Lord?

Why do married couples wait until it is too late to cry unto the Lord?

Why do churches wait until the congregation has gone or until the spirit is dead to cry unto the Lord?

I wish I knew the answers to these questions. I do not.

There is an O.T. parallel in Psalm 107. We will refer to that a little later on in the message.

This will have to be a two-part message, as I will not be able to cover everything in one night.

But first I want you to see what has to be given up or what is lost by living a “crisis life”. I’ll give you three or four things tonight, and then I will deal with avoiding these places in a later message.

I. LIVING A CRISIS LIFE IS A HARD WAY TO LIVE

A. Always Needing To Be Rescued.

1. Never rescuing anyone else.

Peter was always in trouble. The Lord had to rescue him out of several different “hardships.” We talked about one last Sunday AM from Luke 5, where Jesus had to help him with his fishing.

2. They never seem to learn from their mistakes.

You know people who are always in trouble.

3. They jump from the frying pan into the fire.

B. You Should Anticipate These Crisis And Be Ready For Them Spiritually, And Then You Won’t Get Blown Out Of The Water.

Illustration: Sgt. Williamson in the military. During a parade and just before the cannon salute, whether it be eleven or thirteen shots fired, he would start preparing us for the loud “bang”. He would say, “Steady, steady, steady”. Just before the cannon would fire, he would intensify his voice, “STEADY, STEADY, STEADY.” We knew that the cannon was about to go off, and the bodily response to the loud noise and concussion wasn’t nearly as great as it would have been had we had no knowledge of when the cannon would fire. I remember some of the “new guys” that would come into our outfit and had never been in a parade before, when that cannon would fire, sometimes they would drop their rifle, or their helmet would fall off. They would always get a good ribbing back in the barracks when the parade was over. “Did everyone see what that ‘new guy’ did? He dropped his rifle.” I know exactly what some of you are thinking. You think that I was one of those who dropped his rifle. I didn’t. I fell down instead.

If we are spiritually ready for any crisis to come, then we will be less affected by it.

Don’t wait until you are on your way down to cry unto the Lord.

Don’t live in a “crisis situation” all of the time.

II. LIVING A CRISIS LIFE CAUSES YOU TO MISS OUT ON A LOT OF SWEET FELLOWSHIP WITH THE LORD

A. It Is Nice To Be Able To Talk To The Lord Sometimes When He Is Not Having To Rescue You.

1. It is sweeter to walk side by side with the Lord rather than Him having to carry you to safety all of the time.

B. Too Many Christian’s Total Life Is In Response To A Crisis Of Some Nature.

1. Putting one fire out after another.

2. I know people whose entire life is that of going from one crisis to another. They never get out of the crisis living.

C. The Lord Enjoys The Fellowship Of A Christian When There Is Not Always An Emergency.

1. He wants to hear from you at times other than from the spiritual emergency room.

2. He wants to fellowship sometimes when there is no crisis.

Don’t you want your children to come to you at times other than just to kiss a bruise or treat a scratch?

D. Crisis Christianity Is Not The Way God Wants You To Go.

1. He wants a day by day fellowship.

2. A time of sweet personal worship because of love and not because of an emergency.

E. When The Emergency Comes, Of Course, Call On Him.

III. GOD DOES NOT ALWAYS CHOOSE A CRISIS SITUATION WITH WHICH TO WORK WITH YOU

A. If That Is The Only Way In Which He Can Get Your Attention, Then He Will Allow Crisis Situations To Come On You.

Psalm 107:4-6.

Psalm 107:11-13.

Psalm 107:17-19.

Psalm 107:25-28.

Each of these four passages are speaking about the same condition as in Matt. 14.

In each of these times of deliverance in Psalm 107 we see that the Lord delivered them from their “distresses”. Strong’s Concordance likens that to “narrowness” or a tight place.