It All Comes Back To Jesus!

Sermon Brief

Date Written: June 11, 2009

Date Preached: June 14, 2008

Where Preached: OPBC (AM)

Sermon Details:

Sermon Series: Sermon introducing VBS

Sermon Title: It All Comes Back to Jesus!

Sermon Text: Matthew 14:28-29 (ESV)

28 And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." 29 He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.

Introduction:

I once heard a really bad joke about how a man wanted to buy a new boomerang, but was having trouble getting rid of his old one. He walked out on the porch and threw it out into the field only to have it come back to him time and time again.

As corny as that joke is… I find it to be a truly relevant picture of who we are in Christ and the humanness of our actions and deeds. We want to get rid of our ‘old nature’ when we are saved but it seems to ‘boomerang’ right back to us when we desire to throw it away… and this happens so much that we become discouraged and downtrodden in our walk with Christ.

I want to share something with you this morning, the apostle Paul faced the same dilemma in his life as well. He knew he was called by God and he knew beyond a shadow of doubt God had saved him on that road to Damascus… but the ‘old man’… the ‘old nature’ would rise up within him and he would be terribly troubled by this…

We know that in Rom 7:14-15 Paul tells us where he struggled with this very issue:

14 “…but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.”

Paul struggled with things in this life where he found himself battling with the old self… his old nature… just as every born again believer does as well. We all deal with the boomerang effect of our old sinful nature… we throw it out the back window of our lives only to see it come crashing back in our lives… at the least opportune time!

Christian brothers and sisters our daily battles with our sinful nature... our former nature… is a constant issue we have to face and deal with as believers.

This is because we live in a fallen and broken world where we can never know perfection or complete peace… but thru Christ we have an advocate and a helper to guide us and keep us until that great day when we will finally be with our Lord.

Dealing with our old nature is like throwing a boomerang, we can make it because it always comes back to our Savior… it always comes back to Jesus! Look what Paul says a little further in Romans 7:24-25:

24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? BUT…[this is NOT in the Scripture but it is implied by the context of what Paul is saying… Paul says… BUT 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

You see, for the believer… for the one with Christ dwelling within them, it ALWAYS comes back to Jesus! The answer to all our issues and struggles always comes back to Jesus…

Today we are going to take a short look at Peter and one of the episodes in his life and we are going to see how this can and DOES apply to our lives today, because we all face our own struggles as well.

Now a little background on Peter, he who was a stalwart founding father of the 1st century church… it was him who drew a sword in the Garden of Gethsemane in defense of Jesus…it was Peter who was unashamedly bold in the market place on the day of Pentecost where 3000 people came to salvation in Christ…

However this same Peter found himself faltering quite a bit… but always when he faltered it was because he had taken his focus off of Christ… and it was not until he refocused on Jesus did he recover…Turn with me to Matt 14 and lets read v.25-29…

Getting off to a good start… Matt 14:25-29

25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." 28 And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." 29 He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.