Finding the Faith to Follow Jesus
Matthew 8:18-34
Sermon by Rick Crandall
McClendon Baptist Church - July 15, 2007
*How long has it been since you lost something? I lose stuff all the time. I can’t find my glasses or I can’t find a note I needed. Sometimes I even lose stuff on my computer. Last week I lost the little Allen Wrench that fits the screw on my faucet handle in the kitchen. I know where I left it -- or I know where I thought I left it -- But it’s not there. I even looked in some places where I knew I didn’t put it. It wasn’t there either. I’m glad it was only worth a few pennies. But tonight I want to talk to you about finding something priceless: How can we find the faith to follow Jesus? The Word of God shows us how right here.
1. First: Keep measuring the Master’s sacrifice.
*Listen again to what happened in vs. 18-20...
18. Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side.
19. Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.’’
20. And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.’’
*Why did Jesus say that? One reason is that He wanted us to know the high cost of commitment to Him. Of course, it’s worth the cost! But being a Christian is not always a piece of cake. It can be very hard. People will stand against you when you stand for Jesus. Sometimes even people in your own family.
*Jesus wanted us to know that, but at the same time, He was pointing to His own sacrifice -- just a small part of His great sacrifice for us. “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
*No one who has ever lived could make a sacrifice like the Lord made for us. Jesus left His throne in Heaven for us. He died on the cross for us. Paul put it this way in Phil 2:5-8, Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”
*After Jesus was brutally beaten and mocked with a crown of thorns. He was nailed to a cross. And on that cross He said seven things. One of these sayings from the cross in John 19:28 was simply: “I thirst!”
Jesus became thirsty, and the great preacher Charles Spurgeon commented:
-"Who was this that said, `I Thirst?’
-"It was he who balanced the clouds and filled the channels of the mighty deep.
*"He said, `I thirst,’ and yet in him was a well of water springing up to eternal life!
-"Yes, he who guided every river in its course and watered all the fields with grateful showers--he it was, the King of kings and Lord of lords, before whom hell trembles and the earth is filled with dismay, he whom heaven adores and all eternity worships--he it was who said, `I thirst!’
*Matchless condescension --from the infinity of God to the weakness of a thirsting, dying man! -And this was for you.” (1)
*Focusing on the Lord’s sacrifice can strengthen our faith. The more we focus on what Jesus has done for us, the more we will see that we can trust Him. As Craig Nelson once wrote:
Jesus is the only one in the universe who has, once and for all, completely and totally proven Himself trustworthy by shedding His blood and dying on the cross. He no longer needs to prove He is trustworthy, yet He does so on a moment-by-moment basis in every circumstance and situation in which you find yourself.
Trusting in His commands will bring about the healing, restoration, and reconciliation needed in every relationship you have had or will ever have. By trusting your entire body, mind, soul, and spirit completely into His hands, you will experience His peace.
Jesus has promised us that nothing can take you out of His hands. (See John 10:28-29) The apostle Paul proclaimed, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword.” (Romans 8:35)
There is no person, or tragedy, or calamity, or accident, or natural disaster, or anything in the universe that can pull you out of the hands of Jesus. His hands are grasping you, holding you with a firm grip. He has your life under His control. He can be trusted in every circumstance in which you will ever find yourself. (2)
*The more we focus on Christ’s sacrifice for us, the more we will trust in Him.
2. How can we find the faith to follow Jesus? Keep measuring the Master’s sacrifice, and understand the urgency of this moment.
*This was the Lord’s important point as He spoke in vs. 21-22.
21. Then another of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’’
22. But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.’’
*Was the Lord saying that we shouldn’t care for our parents? Of course not. Almost everybody knows that one of the 10 Commandments is “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.” (Exo 20:12)
*In 1 Tim 5:8, Paul said, “If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” The Lord would never tall us to neglect or abuse our families. Here in Matthew 8, He is trying to help us see the urgency of our service in His Kingdom. Time is short. We must do what we can while we can.
*In John 9:4, Jesus said, “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.” Understanding the urgency of our day will help give us the faith to follow the Lord.
*A 35-year-old woman from England woke up to this urgency almost 50 years ago. Her name was Anita Goulden. In 1958 she went on vacation to visit her brother in Peru. Anita was a widowed, single mother who owned two clothing stores in Manchester, England. She was about to go home by way of the United States when she saw an unbelievable sight: Children with tuberculosis and meningitis lying neglected and abandoned in the street in pools of their own blood.
*She wrote in her diary: “In my wildest dream, I had never thought of human beings in such shocking conditions -- The appalling poverty; the indifference of those around. I can only liken it to visiting a store and finding all the goods priced wrongly. Precious goods worthless. Worthless goods precious.”
*So Anita stayed to help. For the next 44 years she stayed, only returning home one time before her death in 2002, and that trip was to buy medicine. Anita started traveling by donkey to the nearby villages surrounding Piura, Peru to find more unwanted children. Her first stop in these towns was always the pigsty, the common place for leaving physically and mentally handicapped babies. Left there because they were of no use to their families and thought to be sent as a curse from God.
*Anita’s Peruvian assistant said of her, "She has a direct line to God," and "Thank God for the British." Anita herself merely said, "Thank God there is a God." (3)
*How did Anita Goulden get the faith to turn a vacation into 44 years of helping abandoned children in Peru? The Lord helped her to see the urgency of the work He wanted her to do. And that’s what He wants to do in your life.
*It may be right here in West Monroe. It may deal with people who have big bank accounts, but broken hearts. I don’t know exactly what God wants you to do. But I do know that He has urgent work for you and me.
3. We can find the faith to follow Jesus, if we understand the urgency of this moment. But also be encouraged by past answers to prayer.
*God gives us a tremendous example of answered prayer in vs. 23-27.
23. Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him.
24. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. . .
*Or as the NIV says:
23. Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him.
24. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. . . -- But He was asleep.
25. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!’’
26. But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?’’ Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea. And there was a great calm.
27. And the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?’’
*These followers were hit by a savage storm. That word “tempest” or “furious storm” is “seismos” in the original Greek language. It means commotion in the air or shaking like an earthquake. That’s why earthquakes are measured with a machine called a seismograph.
*These followers were hit by a savage storm. That reminds us that we will be hit too. And notice that the storm hit when they got in the boat with Jesus. Just because you are trying to stay close to the Lord doesn’t mean you will miss the storm. Following Jesus will even bring some new storms into your life, and because of the storms, we will have to cry out to Him.
*But you will have the greatest company in the worst storm, because you will be close to the greatest power in the universe and the greatest Friend in the world. You will find someone you can trust in the worst situations, and He will take you through the storms. You will find that Jesus Christ is just as close as the cry of your heart.
*Do you ever get frustrated by those automated phone answering systems. You’re trying to get through to a live person, but it’s punch 1 or 2 or 3. On and on -- It can be madness. Take a look at this man’s experience. (Bluefishtv.com video clip: “Prayer - Live Richly”)
*Here’s some great news for you tonight: You can get straight through to God! Just like those disciples in the sinking boat -- You can get straight through to God! Aren’t you glad? Then you will be able to look back and see how He has answered prayer in your life. And it will strengthen your faith.
*Christian author and teacher Josh McDowell gives a great example of how God can answer prayer. It happened when Josh was going to seminary in California. Josh’s dad went home to be with the Lord.
*Josh’s mom had died years before, but Josh wasn’t sure of her salvation. And he got depressed thinking that she might be lost. Was she a Christian or not? The thought obsessed him, and he prayed, “Lord, somehow give me the answer so I can get back to normal. I’ve just got to know.” It seemed like an impossible request.
*Two days later, Josh drove out to the ocean. He walked to the end of a pier to be alone -- But there in a lawn-chair was an old woman, fishing. “Where’s your home originally?” she asked.
-“Michigan, Union City,” Josh answered. “Nobody’s heard of it. I tell people it’s a suburb of. . .”
-“Battle Creek,” she interrupted. “I had a cousin from there. Did you know the McDowell family?”
-Josh was stunned and said, “Yes, I’m Josh McDowell!”
-“I can’t believe it!” she said. “I’m a cousin to your mother.”
-“Do you remember anything at all about my mother’s spiritual life?”
-“Why sure -- your mom and I were just girls: Teenagers, when a tent revival came to town. It was the 4th night. We both went forward to accept Christ.” (4)
*Josh McDowell wants you to know for sure that God answers prayer. But even better than that, Jesus Christ wants you to know for sure that God answers prayer. And you may not have ever seen a prayer answered like Josh McDowell’s prayer, but that’s O.K. Just look into the Word of God. The greatest examples of answered prayer are right here in God’s Word. He tells us that faith comes by hearing His Word. And seeing these examples of answered prayer will strengthen your faith.
4. How can we find the faith to follow Jesus? Be encouraged by past answers to prayer, and remember that Christ is in control.
*Jesus was in control over the storm in vs. 24-27. And He was in control over Satan in vs. 28-32.
28. When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.
29. And suddenly they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?’’
30. Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding.
31. So the demons begged Him, saying, "If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine.’’
32. And He said to them, "Go.’’ So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.
*There is a lot we could say about this story, but the important thing to see tonight is that Jesus was in control. Those demons didn’t buck Jesus -- not for a moment. In vs. 31, they begged Him for permission to go into those pigs. Jesus was in control. Remembering that will strengthen your faith.
Conclusion:
*We can find the faith to follow Jesus through every storm of life, wherever He leads us to serve Him.
-Keep measuring the Master’s sacrifice.
-Understand the urgency of this moment.
-Be encouraged by past answers to prayer.
-And remember that Christ is in control.
*These things will strengthen your faith.
1. Tom Carter, Spurgeon at His Best, (Baker Book House, 1988), page 306. (Found in sermon “Fifth Word from the Cross: "I Thirst" - John 19:28-29 - Series by Eric Ritz: “The Last Seven Words of the Cross” - sermons.com - 7LW6)
2. SermonCentral sermon “Trust and Obey - The Only Way” by Craig Nelson - Luke 3:22-25
3. SermonCentral illustration - Citation: "Anita Goulden." news.telegraph.co.uk 1/03/2002. http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/ 03/01/db0101.xml and "The Anita Goulden Trust Newsletter" http://www.agtrust.org/left_option/anita_goulden.htm.
4. Our Daily Bread - Found at sermonIllustrations.com - Prayer Answered
