INTRO.- ILL.- A man was driving home from work one evening when he suddenly realized that it was his daughter’s birthday and he hadn’t yet bought her a gift. So, the man rushed off to the nearest toy store and asked the sales clerk, "How much is that Barbie in the window?"
The sales clerk replied in a condescending tone, "Which Barbie? We have Barbie Goes to the Gym for $19.95, Barbie Goes to the Ball for $19.95, Barbie Goes Shopping for $19.95, Barbie Goes to the Beach for $19.95, Barbie-Goes-Night-clubbing for $19.95, and the Divorced Barbie for $265.00." The overwhelmed man asked, "Why is the Divorced Barbie $265.00 and all the others are only $19.95?" "That’s obvious!" said the sales clerk. "Divorce Barbie comes with Ken’s house, Ken’s car, Ken’s boat, and Ken’s furniture.”
Life is about relationships and some of them don’t work! This is why there are so many divorces in America.
ILL.- Rick Warren writes in THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE, “I have been at the bedside of many people in their final moments, when they stand on the edge of eternity, and I have never heard anyone say, ‘Bring me my diplomas! I want to look at them one more time. Show me my awards, my medals, that gold watch I was given.’ When life on earth is ending, people don’t surround themselves with objects. What we want around us is people – people we love and have relationships with.
“In our final moments we all realize that relationships are what life is all about. Wisdom is learning that truth sooner rather than later. Don’t wait until you’re on you’re deathbed to figure out that nothing matters more.”
Life is about relationships: marriage, family, children, work, church, etc. Consequently, we all need to do the best we can to work at these relationships. We need to work at building these relationships, not tearing them down.
I Cor. 8:1 “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.”
What does this tell us about how to build relationships with others? It’s not how much we know, but how much we do that builds relationships. WE MUST LOVE PEOPLE AS BEST WE CAN!
Job 4:4 “Your words have supported those who stumbled; you have strengthened faltering knees.” Have you supported anyone with your words?
Prov. 12:18 “Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”
The words that we speak to God can make a difference in relationships. In prayer our words can bless others and praise God. The more we pray for others and the more we praise the Lord in prayer, the better our relationship will be to Him and them.
God is deeply interested in His creation, particularly people. He wants a relationship to us when others might not. And He does all He can to create that relationship.
PROP.- In the life of Christ, we learn what our relationship to God should mean to us.
1- the call
2- the cost
3- the calm
I. THE CALL
Matthew 9:9-13 “9As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. 10While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ’sinners’?" 12On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13But go and learn what this means: ’I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
ILL.- A middle-aged farmer felt the call to go into ministry and entered a seminary. However, as the months went by his studies became increasingly difficult for him. Finally he was called into the dean’s office for counsel.
“What ever made you think you should go into the ministry in the first place?” asked the dean kindly.
“Well, Sir, I was out in the field one day, and suddenly I had this vision. Up in the sky were two large letters: ‘P. C.’ I felt the Lord was telling me to go into the ministry to ‘preach Christ’ and so I came here to the seminary.”
“But not all of us have to go into the ministry to preach Christ,” said the dean. “Did you ever consider that those initials might also have meant to ‘Plow Corn’?”
God calls all people to Himself, but not always to preach. Whether we preach or not, God still wants all people to be saved and to serve Him in some form or another.
Matthew, the tax collector, was called to follow Jesus. The Lord is not a respecter of persons. He calls all people, regardless of their position in life or occupation. Tax collectors, the IRS, the rich (Bill Gates, Warren Buffet), the famous, (Hollywood actors and actresses. Even people like Madonna and others), the poor, the middle class, etc.
Jesus associated with all kinds of people in order to call them. Some of those people might have been considered “sinners.” But the truth is, who isn’t a sinner? And isn’t the church a hospital for sinners rather than a resort for saints? God made the church to help and bless people. This is why we exist.
All people are called, but not all accept the call. God tugs at the heartstrings of people, but not everyone is sensitive to His tugs.
Jesus called Matthew verbally. Sometimes He does this with people through sermons, Bible lessons, etc. Occasionally, some people will respond to a church invitation when it was not expected. And generally, it’s a pleasant response.
Jesus also calls us through the circumstances of life. There are things that happen in life that make us think and sometimes wake up.
ILL.- When I was about 18 years old I had car wreck, a total wreck and walked out of it alive. My old 1955 Chevy didn’t survive but I did. That accident should have made me think about my life, God and Christ. And it did a little but not enough. What has God used in your life to get your attention?
ILL.- Scott Mathews, Adventure Christian Church, Rocklin, CA. tells this story. “In 1975, my aunt Marsha McCarthy divorced Ralph McCarthy. Marsha left Southern California and followed her parents to Joplin, Missouri. She was employed as the Secretary at College Heights Christian Church and raised three children on her own. The stress was overwhelming at times. Marsha was in and out of the hospital regularly for stress related problems. But Ralph kept calling.
“Marsha wasn’t interested. Well, he continued to call…for twenty-four years. In the summer of 1999, Ralph flew out to see Marsha…face to face to close the deal. Would you believe, that when Ralph proposed to Marsha, she said yes? On October 9, 1999 Ralph and Marsha Lynn McCarthy were remarried. The reason: Ralph just kept calling.”
Some people don’t give up easily. Some just keep calling. The Lord is persistent. He just keeps calling.
Jesus said in Rev. 3:20, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”
II. THE COST
Matthew 8:18-22 “18When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. 19Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." 20Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." 21Another disciple said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." 22But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."
Have you noticed? Life is expensive. There is a cost to everything we do in life: going to school, marriage, having children, work, play, pleasure, etc.
ILL.- Perhaps you’ve heard the story that before Eve was created, God was talking with Adam. He said, “You really need a helper, don’t you?” And Adam answered, “Yeah, I really do.”
So God said, “What if I make a woman? She’ll be perfect for you. She’ll be beautiful. She’ll rub your back at night and your feet in the morning. She’ll plop grapes into your mouth. She’ll prepare all your favorite meals without fail. She’ll clean up the kitchen and take care of the kids. You’ll never have to do a thing, just sit around and be the king of your household.”
Adam said, “Boy, that sounds great, but how much is this going to cost?” God said, “Well, it’s pretty expensive. It will cost you an arm and a leg.”
Adam thought for a moment and then asked, “How much can I get for a rib?”
ILL.- According to the US Government it will now cost $160,140 for the average middle class American family to raise a child to the age 18.
ILL.- Two Norwegians from Minnesota went fishing in Canada and returned with only one fish. "The way I figger it, dat fish cost us $400" said the first Norwegian. "Vell," said the other one, "At dat price it’s a good ting ve didn’t catch any more."
Life is expensive and so is following Christ.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “Salvation is free, but discipleship will cost you your life.”
Matt 8:22 Jesus said, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
Jesus essentially said, “If you are going to follow me then you must realize that you will have give up some things and put some things aside.”
ILL.- One man said, “On June 6, 1995, I had a terrible crash on a motorcycle. It almost cost me my life. When I was ready to leave the hospital the doctor told me something I will never forget.
“He said, ‘Most people die from the kind of injuries you sustained. You didn’t. I SUGGEST YOU GO OUT AND FIND OUT WHAT IT IS THAT GOD HAS PLANNED FOR YOU LIFE.’”
Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
One writer put it this way, “Jesus is still looking for a place to lay his head. DO YOU HAVE ROOM?” It costs to follow Jesus faithfully. What are we willing to pay? I think perhaps not as much as we should.
III. THE CALM
Matthew 8:23-27 “23Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!" 26He 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. 27The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"
ILL.- An older sister was sitting next to her younger brother in Church one Sunday morning unsuccessfully trying to keep him still and quiet. Finally she said, “I wish you would calm down.” “I can’t”, he said, “it’s just so boring.” With that his sister turned and said, “It’s supposed to be boring.”
For some people, church is boring. I try to do my part to keep it from becoming boring, however. But as we know, most of life is not boring. It is more bothersome than it is boring; consequently, we tend to worry a lot.
ILL.- One man was always worrying. He worried about his children, his job, his wife, his health. One day a friend of this man noted that he was extremely calm and peaceful. "Why are you so calm? he asked. "You always worry about every-thing. What happened?" The former worrier replied, "I just hired a man to do the worrying for me." "Well, how much are you paying him?" His friend inquired. "A thousand dollars a week," the man replied. "A thousand a week? You can’t afford a thousand dollars a week." T he worrier responded, "That’s his problem!"
ILL.- There was once a sea captain who was a Christian and prayed much. A great storm was blowing in and someone came the wheelhouse where the Captain was. A man shouted to the Captain, "Why are you not praying?" The Captain said, "I pray during the calm and when the storm comes I sail my ship."
Many people do the opposite. They wait until the storm comes and then they start praying. But it’s far better to be prayed up and then you can be somewhat calm during the storm. And Jesus is the only person who can truly calm a storm in our lives.
ILL.- On Sunday, July 2nd, a 53-year-old wife and mother in Iberia, MO, passed away. That dreaded cancer took her life. Judy Steen had been married to Mike for 31 years. They had four or five children. Someone from the church in Iberia, MO, emailed me about her death on Friday, July 7th. I got Mike’s telephone number at work and called him to offer him my sympathy and my prayers. I could hardly believe his voice on the other end of the line. He seemed like the joyful Mike of years gone by but is now 56 years old. He just lost his sweet wife, but he sounded so calm, so serene, so confident.
How could this be? Jesus calmed the storm. Jesus does that sort of thing better than anyone I know.
CONCLUSION------------------------------
The call, the cost, the calm. Jesus does it all. He can take care of us through it all. Through It All.
I’ve had many tears and sorrows,
I’ve had questions for tomorrow,
There’ve been times
I didn’t know right from wrong:
But in every situation
God gave blessed consolation
That my trials come
To only make me strong.
CHORUS:
Through it all, through it all,
I’ve learned to trust in Jesus,
I’ve learned to trust in God;
Through it all, through it all,
I’ve learned to depend upon His Word.
