Finding Nemo (The Heart Of The Father) Series

Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has no place to lay his head." Another disciple said to him

Lord, first let me go and bury my father." But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."

Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him.

Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!"

He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.Now, come on, put yourself in their position. This is the biblical precursor of the Titanic going down. They’re scared for their lives. They feel totally out of control. They are in the middle of what appears to them to be a hurricane.How would you feel? What would be racing through your mind? What would you be thinking about in terms of loved ones? What kind of panic would grip you?

What are some principles that emerge from Matthew 8:18-26? To know the heart of God is to embark upon the ultimate risk taking adventure.Things can be unpredictable. They were surprised. They entered into something unexpected. Things can be uncontrollable. It was totally outside of any skill or any ability they had to change circumstances Things can be unanticipated. To follow Christ implies that we are going to be following him into some storms that are unpredictable, uncontrollable and unknowable. That is part of the deal. The map has not been written. The chart has not been drawn. There are going to be times when we are marching off the map and we are going to feel very, very uncomfortable.

But to follow him was an unconditional response. You didn’t investigate the contractual liabilities. You didn’t make Christ set down the parameters and say: well, I’ll take it under advisement. For full fledged followership, it means going wherever he goes, loving the prodigals of this world, risking it all to find the lost fish. Why is it you don’t march off the map? What are things that keep you from doing that?Fear is an unnecessary, albeit natural response for a full fledged follower.The particular word used in this passage is the word cowardice. It implies a lack of courage. The NIV sometimes uses the word timidity but I don’t think that quite captures this sense of his being a coward, not being willing to stand up and really do what is being asked of you. There are only three other passages in the New Testament that use this particular word. I want to look at them and just see the feel of what is being said here.

NIV John 14:27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.NIV 2 Timothy 1:7For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline

NIV Revelation 21:8But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.It is obvious especially from this Revelation 21 passage that to be unbelieving, to walk with this kind of cowardice, is not going to be rewarded and maybe that gives us a sense of why Jesus was so inflamed. This brings us to our third principle that emerges.Fear of destruction or of pain or of disappointment and in many cases the fear of failure is the #1 reason we don’t take risks. It is why we don’t make a job move even when we feel prompted. It is why we don’t launch into new ministry opportunities when we sense God wanting to develop some gifts. It is why we don’t become vulnerable in relationships because of a sense of foreboding about our past. It essentially leads to lack of vision about what matters most to God—or no vision of where we’re going to head in the future.