| Whatsoever
Things Are True
by Dan Coburn Pastor, Emmanuel Baptist Church I’d like to introduce you to a true friend. She is not who you think. She is someone who will do whatever she has to in order to bring about what’s ultimately best for you. An example of this friend might be the mother who has braces put on her young teen son. It isn’t cause she is wanting to spend the extra hundreds of dollars, and she isn’t very excited about the discomfort or even down-right pain the process is going to bring. Maybe it’s the many extra trips to the orthodontist, or the special eating considerations. So why does she do it? Cause in the end, it will be beneficial for her son whom she loves. But back to you. The friend I want to introduce you to has many names. You may know her as Storm, or Trial, or Hardship. Spiritual Switch: In Matt. 14, we see a story (true not symbolic) in which Jesus walks on water. This is what I call a Storm. I know, some of you are rolling your eyes saying: “I’ve heard this story since I was in second grade”, and that’s good, but let’s look a little deeper. The disciples were actually used to seeing Jesus’ miracles by now. Not that they had become routine, but that they had come to expect miracles. There were huge crowds following wherever they went for that specific reason. He had just fed Thousands with a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish. Jesus had actually sent them across the lake (5-7 miles) to get them alone, while He stayed behind to pray. (Extra Credit - Jesus thought it very important to pray) In the middle of the night, these Real Men, some of whom were experienced sailors, encountered a storm so intense, they thought they were going to die. Enter Jesus, walking on the water. They thought Him to be a ghost, or something harmful, but Peter asked if he could join his Lord on the waves, and did for a few seconds. Then, in a moment of doubt, he began to sink and cried out “Lord save me!!”. A few nuggets: 1) These disciples were right where they were supposed to be when the storm hit. I talk to so many folks who when hard things come say: “what did I do? I must have done something to bring this on.” Sometimes yes, but not always as we’ll see in a minute. Jesus doesn’t promise us deliverance from the storms, but Through the storms. 2) They knew about Him, but were soon to actually Know Him. Ask any long time Christian, and they will tell you - “only through storms do we truly realize Who Jesus Is”. There was a similar storm a couple of chapters earlier, in which Jesus told the sea to be still, and it did. There the disciples “marveled” that even the waves obeyed Him. Here, they were satisfied they were about to die. “Lord Save Me” . He did. Instead of marveling, this time the disciple “worshiped Him” - vs 32-33. Now they knew who He Is. Where are you? Do you marvel at Jesus? Or do you really Know Him? God bless. |
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