Participants:
Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000677S
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00:01 (Breath of Life Theme Music)
00:06 Sermon #B677 - Is Jesus In Your Boat? 00:20 and so I would invite you to take your Bibles and go with me to the Book of Matthew. 00:24 Matthew chapter eight verses twenty-three through twenty-seven. 00:32 We want to get right in the word. 00:34 Matthew chapter eight verses twenty-three through twenty-seven, 00:37 the word of God says to us today "And, when he was entered into a ship his disciples, 00:44 followed him and behold there arose a great tempest in the sea and as much that the ship 00:50 was covered with the waves, but he was asleep..." Verse twenty-five "... 00:55 and then his disciples came to him and they awoke him saying Lord save us we perish 01:02 and he sayeth unto them, "Why are ye fearful O ye of little faith?", 01:07 Then he arose and Jesus rebuked the winds and the Sea and there was a great calm 01:18 but the men marveled saying "What manner of man is this that even the winds 01:25 and the sea obey him?" 01:28 Today, we want to just challenge you with the message and title 'Is Jesus in your boat?' 01:34 Is Jesus in your boat? God, we have prayed we have seen video, we have sung, 01:41 and we have worship you through all these liturgical elements 01:44 but God we need a word from you right now. So Lord we need you in our boat today. 01:50 We need you in this boat, in this sermon, in this moment right now. 01:55 So God, may your spirit pour out itself, through the television airwaves, 02:00 through the internet Airwaves man pour out in this sanctuary right now, 02:05 and we promise we will give you the praise, the honor 02:08 and the glory now moves when appeal time comes, Lord save me. 02:13 I pray forgive us of our sins in Jesus' name, Amen. 02:20 Is Jesus in your boat? If you would have told me seven months ago that twenty-twenty would 02:29 have been like this, I would have thought you had lost your mind. 02:35 Twenty-twenty was supposed to be a year of vision, 02:39 twenty-twenty was supposed to be a year of victory, 02:44 but we did not see any of what we have seen coming. 02:48 We never expected twenty-twenty would be disrupted by a global pandemic that would 02:55 shut the world down and claimed the lives of over six hundred thousand people worldwide 03:01 and counting. We never thought that we would be wearing masks everywhere, 03:08 that schools would be going virtual, that hospitals would be at capacity 03:13 and there would be no ICU beds anywhere in some places, 03:19 but then we do not stop there because it is not only COVID-19, 03:24 but we never expected that the remixed Civil Rights Movement would recapitulate 03:31 and strike a fever pitch with the death of yet another unarmed black man in that of 03:37 George Floyd. So we have seen the demise of images like Aunt Jemima 03:44 and the Washington Red Skins. Several statutes and monuments have also come down. 03:52 The Mississippi state flag has been retired in order to remove the Confederate emblem. 03:58 The Confederate flag is now banned in NASCAR and the United States Marine Corps. 04:05 Some cities have even painted giant black lives matter murals on major streets. 04:11 Washington DC even went as far as to change the name of a portion of a street 04:16 leading directly to the front lawn of the White House 04:20 and approximately thirty million people from all ethnicities 04:25 from all colors from all cultures and Creeds have participated in the gorge Floyd protests. 04:33 No time in Earth's history have we lived in such a volatile time like we do right. 04:38 You turn on the television, you surf the Internet and because there is so much going on, 04:44 you begin to realize how uncertain how unpredictable, and how unstable society is. 04:51 Times are getting rough and times are getting tough. The devil is not playing with us. 04:58 Death, disease, and destruction are rampant, gunfire is commonplace, 05:05 the proliferation of sexual deviancy and variety is widespread. 05:10 The coronavirus is exploding and it is far from over, 05:15 new hospitalizations have increased in thirty-four states, 05:18 deaths have increased in twenty-seven states, businesses have gone bankrupt, 05:25 air traffic, air passenger traffic is down by nearly ninety percent, 05:31 racism is also out of control, knees are on our necks, 05:36 social media wars are erupting between church folk on the internet, 05:42 frustrations are mounting, tensions are reaching a boiling point. 05:47 The storms of life are raging, winds are blowing, waves are tossing, 05:53 the sky is thundering. We are in the midst of a storm 05:57 and the storm does not seem to be going away 06:00 and this preacher just wants to know that through all this, is Jesus in your boat? 06:08 Now, you need to know that there is nothing more out of control, 06:11 nothing more out of human control than being in a boat in a storm, at sea. 06:19 You see I have been deep sea fishing before and when you are out at sea in a boat, 06:26 you are completely subject to the Grave circumstances that are outside of your control 06:32 because if it rains, what do you do? If it storms, what do you do? 06:38 If there is lightning, what do you do? If there is thundering, what do you do? 06:44 If the winds blow and the waves toss, what do you do? 06:48 If the boat appears that it is about to turn over, that it is about to capsize, 06:53 what do you do? And so being in a boat in a storm at sea is a perfect example of being 06:59 at the mercy of difficult or even dangerous circumstances. 07:03 Circumstances in which we are helpless to do anything but cry out to God. 07:08 In today's text, we find such an example. All the elements are here in this text. 07:16 The sudden and unexpected storm, the boat helplessly tossing about, 07:23 the passengers in the boat who are terrified and fearing for their lives 07:27 but in this storm unlike other storms in the Bible like Jonah's storm or Paul's storm. 07:34 In this storm, in Matthew chapter eight, the good news is, 07:39 Jesus the captain of the ship, he is in the boat 07:43 and his presence makes all the difference in the world 07:47 because Jesus is not only lord of the sunshine 07:50 but I believe I have got a witness that understands Jesus is also Lord of the storms 07:56 and when we trust him, he will see us through the storms. 08:00 I wish I had a witness in his place. Now the story of a storm, 08:03 they are on the Sea of Galilee in Matthew chapter eight, 08:06 begins right after Jesus has given a series of sermons 08:09 and he has healed a number of people. The Bible says that in verse number twenty-three, 08:13 the Bible says, that "He enters a ship the disciples follow him..." 08:18 The Bible continues in verse twenty-four and says that "...a great storm comes 08:22 and the boat is covered with waves." I like the way the new King James version 08:28 puts it it says "...and suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea so that the boat 08:34 was covered with the waves, but he meaning Jesus was asleep." 08:39 Now, let me remind you today that the disciples were experienced, fishermen. 08:47 They were not novices. They were not rookies. They were not beginners. 08:54 This was not their first rodeo. They were experienced fishermen. They were experts. 09:03 They were professionals. They were seasoned. They understood water patterns. 09:09 They understood how to operate in a boat. They had been in storms before. 09:15 They had seen when dark clouds were coming and they could predict when a storm was coming. 09:22 You see, the Sea of Galilee was known for its sudden raging storms 09:26 and because many other disciples were seasoned fishermen, 09:29 they knew how to handle it so it would just seem logical that the disciples would have 09:34 been prepared but when you read the text, the Bible says that the storm came suddenly. 09:41 there are three, five lessons, five, that I want to teach from the text 09:45 and I am going to teach them and I am going to sit down. 09:47 The Bible says in verse twenty-three go back 09:48 and look at verse twenty-three Matthew chapter eight. 09:50 The Bible says "Now when he got into a boat his disciples followed him." 10:00 Let me say that again, "...his disciples followed him." 10:05 Even though they knew about boats, even though they knew about storms, 10:11 even though they knew about fishing, even though they were experienced, 10:16 the Bible says they did not go in front of him. They did not lead him 10:21 but the Bible says they followed him which leads me to lesson number one for us today. 10:27 Number one, even when we follow Jesus sudden unexpected storms will come. 10:35 You do not hear what I am saying, even when we follow Jesus, sudden, unexpected storms, 10:42 they are going to come which means just because you are following Jesus, 10:46 does not mean that you are exempt from storms and would not come. 10:50 Just because you read your Bible and pray every day, does not mean storms would not come. 10:56 When you follow Jesus, I am a witness, storms are going to come. 11:02 Now, you need to know, friends of mine, before I go any further. You need to know, 11:05 that if Jesus wanted to he could have prevented the storm from coming at all 11:10 but his disciples were following him and the Bible says because they followed him, 11:14 he led them right into a storm but then let us expand our minds, 11:18 why would an all-knowing Jesus, why would an omniscient Jesus, 11:22 why would a loving God, 11:24 why would he allow this storm to come if he knew a storm was coming? 11:29 Why would he let the disciples follow him in the boat to face the storm in the first place? 11:34 I have learned in my life that there are times in our lives when God sends us into a 11:39 storm so he can grow our faith, grow our confidence, grow us, 11:43 and grow our trust so we can step out in faith in what he is calling us to do. 11:48 Just because you have a relationship with Jesus does not mean you would not have trouble. 11:53 Those that live Godly lives will suffer persecution. 11:58 You can believe God and still go through trouble. 12:02 Let me say that again, you can believe God and still go through trouble. 12:07 Just because you are in a relationship with God does not mean you would not go through 12:12 anything. 12:15 So sometimes God sends us into storms and then sometimes people create their own storms 12:22 and they get mad when it rains. I wish I had a witness in this place. 12:26 The disciples were following Jesus. They were doing the right thing. 12:31 They were obeying the Son of God and yet this violent, 12:38 this life-threatening storm suddenly came their way 12:42 but let us quickly get back to the text. Verse twenty-four, 12:44 the word of God says "And behold suddenly, 12:48 a great tempest arose on the sea so that the boat was covered with the waves..." 12:54 But the Bible says, "He was asleep." Wait a minute. The disciples are in a storm 13:01 and they are worried but Jesus is asleep. Now somebody might be asking right now. 13:08 Why was Jesus asleep? Yes, Jesus was asleep 13:14 and remember that his life was a continuous interplay between the human 13:20 and the Divine, and in his humanity, he is tired. It is Humanity. 13:26 He is sleepy, he works hard. He has to deal with all kinds of people. 13:31 In my profession, I have to deal with all kinds of people. 13:33 I know he was sleepy so he is tired and he has got a right to be tired. 13:38 So the Bible says he goes to sleep but friends of mine, 13:42 I do not believe that that is the only reason he went to sleep 13:44 but I also believe that Jesus went to sleep 13:45 because he was not in a panic over the situation. 13:49 He was in perfect peace in the midst of the storm 13:51 because he knew that the storm was under his control. 13:54 I wish somebody knew what I was talking about. He is unbothered. 13:57 Why is he unbothered? He is unbothered because he controls the wind. 14:03 He controls the waves. He knows he is not going to die. 14:07 So then if he is not going to die, the disciples are not going to die. 14:11 As long as Jesus is in the boat, the disciples are going to be okay. 14:17 So in his humanity, he is sleepy but in his divinity, he controls the winds and the waves. 14:25 You all hear what I am saying. Remember he is the God-man, 14:29 two natures harmonize but never completely blended. He got tired as man but as God, 14:35 he said "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." 14:38 As man, he got hungry, but as God, he took two fish and five loaves of bread 14:43 and fed five thousand men plus women and children. As man, he got thirsty but as God, 14:48 he said "Drinking of fountains of Living Waters that shall never run dry." 14:52 As man, he prayed but as God, he answered prayer. As man, he wanted companionship, 14:58 but as God, he had to tread the winepress alone. As man, he wept at Lazarus' grave, 15:03 but as God, he resurrected Lazarus from the grave. As man, he is sleepy, but as God, 15:09 he controls the winds and the waves. When you go through a storm, Hallelujah! 15:15 It may look like God is not aware of your storm. It may seem as if the Lord is asleep, 15:23 but he that watches over Israel slumbers not nor sleeps. 15:29 He never sleeps on us and if it appears that he does it is only meant to test our faith. 15:37 So that leads us into lesson number two. 15:39 When you are in the midst of your storm, just remember that Jesus is in the boat 15:48 and he is in the midst of the storm right with you. Hallelujah! 15:52 That is shouting news for somebody. It might seem like Jesus is asleep 15:57 but he still present in the storm. 16:00 His apparent silence is just to see if you will trust him and have faith in him. 16:06 Now. Let me be clear on this, do not get this twisted, 16:08 do not misunderstand or what I am about to say. 16:10 Just because Jesus is in the boat with you, just 16:14 because Jesus is in the midst of the storm with you, 16:16 does not mean you do not have to prepare for the storm. 16:20 When this storm of the coronavirus, 16:23 but you still got to put on a mask. You still need to wash your hands. 16:26 You still need to socially distance yourself and then after you have done all you can, 16:32 that is when God will do what you cannot but God still requires of us to do what we can. 16:37 Are you hearing what I am saying? We are in a storm of racism and racial inequality 16:42 and yes, God is with us in this storm, but yes, we still have to march, 16:49 we still have to peacefully protest we still have to go out in vote and then, 16:55 after you have done all you can, God will do what you cannot 16:59 but he still requires of us to do what we can. So yes! Jesus is in the boat. 17:05 Yes! Jesus is in the storm but we still have to do what we are supposed to do what did 17:12 I tell you last week, you got to see it, say it, and then seize it but I am not done. 17:20 Verse twenty-five, look at it. The Bible says "And his disciples came to him, 17:24 and awoke him saying Lord save us, we perish." 17:30 Disciples went to Jesus in the midst of the storm, they woke him up 17:34 and they said "Save us." That is lesson number three. 17:37 The next lesson teaches us that the best thing we can do in a storm, 17:41 is to cry out to Jesus and Jesus will hear us because he is in the boat. 17:47 Now the disciple said, "Lord save us we perish." 17:54 The disciples get straight to the point in the text. Lord save us. 18:01 Ironically, this is the same prayer that Peter prayed in Matthew chapter fourteen 18:06 when he was supposedly walking on water, took his eyes off Jesus, 18:10 began to sink and he cried out, "Lord save me." But because that was one disciple, 18:16 and this is more than one disciple in Matthew eight. 18:20 It is now in the plural form 'Lord save us' and that was their prayer. 18:26 Three simple words: Lord save us. Which reminds me, friends, 18:32 it is not the length of your prayer but the strength of your prayer. 18:36 Some people think we got to pray these big words these flowery 18:39 sermonize prayers to get God's attention, but when you are about to lose your mind, 18:45 I believe somebody knows all you have got time to do is say "Lord save me." 18:50 When your body is rocking with pain, "Lord save me." 18:54 When your back is up against the wall, "Lord save me." 18:58 When the storms of life are raging, "Lord save me." 19:02 When your bills are due and your money is low, "Lord save me." 19:06 Any way you do it, I will be satisfied. When cancer is in my body, 19:11 I do not care what the doctor says, "Lord save me." When the coronavirus is killing you, 19:16 "Lord save me." When you are tired of racism and tired of being treated like a less than, 19:22 "Lord save me." 19:26 and I do not know who I am speaking to right now 19:29 but God told me to tell you that you may be in a storm 19:33 but if Jesus is in your boat, you are not going down. 19:38 You may have financial trouble, but you are not going down. 19:43 You may have sickness in your body, but you are not going down. 19:48 You may have lost your job but if Jesus is in your boat, you are not going down. 19:54 You may have lost your marriage, lost your family, lost your children, 19:58 but you are not going down because when you exercise your faith when Jesus is in your boat. 20:04 If you begin to sink, there is a savior. If you begin to drown, there is a deliverer. 20:10 If you begin to go under, there is a go-between. 20:14 If you begin to fall there is a friend and his name, what is his name? His name is Jesus. 20:22 I feel like preaching but I got to hold on. Go back to the text, 20:26 verse number twenty-six, "He saith unto them. 20:30 Why are ye fearful O ye of little faith?" So he rebukes, first, the disciples. 20:36 The text continues and then he arose and rebuked the winds and the sea 20:41 and there was a great calm. He rebukes the storm, he rebukes now the weather 20:48 and the water. He first rebuked the disciples, now, he rebukes the weather and the water. 20:54 Now, it seems crazy that Jesus is talking to wind and waves. 21:00 If I went out to the nearest lake, Tennessee River 21:02 and I began to talk to the water you all would look at me like I had lost my mind 21:06 but Jesus begins to talk to winds and water you all do not hear what I am saying, 21:11 but the results speak for themselves 21:14 because the Bible says that "After he spoke to the wind after he spoke to the waves..." 21:20 the Bible says "...there was a great calm." Which leads me to our fourth lesson. 21:25 Lesson number four: Jesus can change a great storm into a great calm with just one word. 21:32 You all do not hear what I am saying. 21:34 He can change great storm into great calm with one word. That is all it takes, one word. 21:43 All he has to do is speak one word to your storm. Somebody is in a storm right now 21:48 and I just came to let you know all he is got to do is speak one word to your storm. 21:52 All he has to do is speak peace to your storm. If he can command the winds and the waves, 21:59 do not you know, he can command everything else in your life. 22:03 All we have got to do is trust him. All we have got to do is lean on him. 22:08 All we have got to do is depend on him. I am almost done 22:10 but I got this fifth and final lesson, go now to verse twenty-seven. We are almost done. 22:14 Verse twenty-seven, "But then the men marveled 22:18 and said what manner of man is this that even the winds and the sea obey him." 22:29 Matthew says the disciples marveled at what just happened. They were in awe of Jesus. 22:40 They were in admiration of Jesus and they were in astonishment of Jesus. 22:47 They were in amazement of Jesus. They were in respect of Jesus. 22:55 They were in reverence of Jesus. So what did they begin to do? 23:00 They begin to worship Jesus and that is the final lesson for us today. 23:06 When Jesus rescues us in our storms, get ready, get ready, get ready, S-O-S, 23:13 scoot over some because it is time to worship him. Worship happens, 23:19 my friends when you have been through a storm but God brings you through. 23:23 When you are going through something and God brings you through that something, 23:27 you will learn to worship him like you just do not care. What am I talking about? 23:31 Go with me back to the Exodus go with me to the story of the children of Israel. 23:35 After living in Egyptian captivity for over four hundred years, 23:39 the children of Israel experienced God's mighty hand, deliver them from the mean, 23:43 old Pharaoh. They witnessed the mighty hand of God defeat the most powerful army on the 23:48 face of the globe. They were slaves one day, but they were saved the next day. 23:53 They had seen God released frogs, flies, and lice to fight Pharaoh. 23:59 They had seen God make a red see a dry highway. They had seen Pharaoh 24:04 and six hundred chosen chariots get drowned in the Red Sea. 24:08 The Bible says it was so powerful that Moses' sister Miriam took her tambourine 24:13 and so for you all who do not like tambourine, the Bible says she took her tambourine 24:16 and she took her tambourine and she looked back at the man who had oppressed him. 24:21 She look back at the man who had raped their women. 24:24 She looked at the man who had beaten their sons. 24:26 She grabbed that tambourine and started beating that tambourine 24:30 and started praising God and God said, "The enemies you see today. 24:35 You will see them no more. Hallelujah! When you go through a storm, 24:40 after you come out of the storm, you ought to go on and worship God. 24:43 You all do not hear what I am saying. 24:45 Worship is not worship until you are able to trust him, lean on him, and depend on him. 24:50 When I was a little boy my mom and daddy taught me to trust in the Lord with all thine 24:53 heart and lean not unto your own understanding but in all thy ways acknowledge him 24:59 and he shall direct your path. So even when you do not understand him, worship him. 25:05 When you can not see your way out, still worship him. 25:08 When what he asks is more than what you are able to give, still worship him. 25:12 When you must surrender that for which you must give your life, worship him. 25:16 When you feel like giving up and throwing in the towel, you must worship him. 25:20 When you are in your storm, worship him. I will praise him in the morning, 25:24 praise him in the noonday, praise him when the sun goes down. 25:27 From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, 25:31 God is worthy to be praised 25:33 because God would not take you to it unless he was God enough to bring you through it 25:37 but you got to have faith that God will bring you through. 25:43 I am closing but church folk, let me say: Church folk, I do not care what denomination, 25:48 church folk, while we say we are a people of faith, 25:54 we are also a people who do not like uncertainty. Think about it. 26:01 Think about our church, our collective corporate church. 26:05 Our entire theology is based primarily on rationality, logic, and reason. 26:14 It has to make sense. Prophecy has to line up. Numbers have to line up. 26:22 One plus one must equal two 26:26 but the quandary of the creative tension that 26:28 were in is faith is the opposite of all of that. 26:32 Faith is believing when you cannot see. 26:36 Faith is trusting God when it does not even make sense and so today, 26:41 we are in a storm and it is a storm of fear versus faith 26:47 and I do not know what you are going to do but I am going to take faith over fear 26:53 because I still believe in a God who can do things I cannot do, 26:59 who can reach things I cannot reach, who can move things I cannot move, 27:04 who can give me things I cannot give myself. If I did not believe in a God like that, 27:10 I would not be here at this church today preaching to empty pews. 27:14 I did not come here out of obligation. I did not come here to check a box. 27:18 I did not come here just to say I was present. 27:21 I did not come here to show you my suit or my tie. 27:24 I did not come here to prove to you I am working during a pandemic, 27:27 but I came here today to build up my faith. 27:31 My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. 27:36 Jesus is in my boat. Jesus is the captain of my ship and I would rather be in a storm, 27:43 in a ship with Jesus, than in a storm in a ship without Jesus. Oh, Jesus. 27:49 What storm are you in? Because every one of us has a storm 27:57 and is Jesus in your boat? Because I can face any storm as long as Jesus is in my boat. 28:10 Thank you very much for tuning in to this week's Breath of Life broadcast. 28:15 We hope and pray that you've been blessed by Dr. Byrd's inspirational message. 28:19 If you would like to hear this sermon in its entirety, 28:22 please feel free to visit us at www.breathoflife.tv. 28:27 Or, call us at (256) 929-6460. 28:40 When I was eight years old, I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. 28:46 When I was fifthteen, I had my first surgery. When I think about the time that I lost 28:57 during my adolescent years, I just can't seem to put it togther. Even now I'm doing 29:08 treatment for my disease. Everyone experiences loss. It's not of matter of if but when. 29:21 www.breathoflife.tv 29:30 [END] |
Revised 2020-07-23