O
Faint of Heart Take Heart
A Sermon
By Jim Hammond from Mark 6:45-56
Christ
Rules! Gospel of Mark Series
OUTLINE
Focus:
Christ Rules even when we are too dense to see it at the
time. O Faint of heart,
take heart, as you come to see what the disciples at first missed, the
true significance of Jesus walking on the water.
O Faint of Heart Take Heart . . .
. . . Jesus watches over Us Unseen
. . . Schedule a time for solitude and meditation
. . . In the Darkest hour He comes Quickly Over the Waves
. . . Jesus Reveals Himself as Only God Can
Have A Clue -- 3 Clues To
The Meaning of the Event
1.
God Passing By—An Epiphany
2.
God Walking On Water
3.
God’s NAME--“I AM”
. . . Victory comes to
the faithful
MANUSCRIPT
When
was the last time you were at the end of your strength, feeling like you
were rowing against the winds of adversity and making no progress?
Maybe you were rowing against the winds of debt, you kept
making payments but you seemed to be making no progress.
The bills seemed never to let up.
The temptation was to declare bankruptcy.
Maybe you are rowing against the winds of poor health, you
keep taking your medicine, you keep going to therapy, you keep seeing
your doctor, you keep watching your diet, but you still feel miserable
and tired.
Maybe you have been rowing against the winds of a difficult
relationship, a parent that lays the guilt trip, a spouse that has hurt
you and doesn’t seem to understand, a boss that cannot be pleased.
Maybe you have been rowing against the winds of temptation,
you keep trying to avoid it, you pray, you read the bible, you go to
church, but you keep falling into the same ruts, it just doesn’t seem
to work for you.
Maybe your scenario is different but you can identify with
the weariness. You are
tired of rowing. You have a
difficult time focusing on the goal.
You keep getting blown off course.
The goal never seems any closer for all of your work.
For that matter all help seems distant.
Maybe some of you even feel like you are cast adrift, or in over
your head, and wishing you never risked leaving the shore. Are you tired
and ready to give up? O
Faint of Heart, Take Heart. Today’s
message is for you.
Focus:
Christ Rules even when we are too dense to see it at the
time. O Faint of heart,
take heart, as you come to see what the disciples at first missed, the
true significance of Jesus walking on the water.
O Faint of Heart Take Heart. . .
. . . Jesus watches over Us Unseen
(Mark
6:45-48 NIV) "Immediately
Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to
Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. {46} After leaving them, he
went up on a mountainside to pray. {47} When evening came, the boat was
in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. {48} He saw the
disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. . .
This passage gives me comfort in yet another
picture of Christ’s love for me.
I can’t see him, but he sees me, much like he was able to see
the disciples struggling on the lake.
It was dark, it was a distance, but Jesus saw, presumably
supernaturally in some way. The book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus intercedes for us
even now. This is the
picture I see, of Jesus praying on the mountain.
He prayed for his disciples, then he went to them. He is praying for me and He is here for me, and He is coming
for me.
O Faint of Heart, Take Heart . . .
. . . Schedule a time for solitude and meditation
{46}
After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.
After
giving, working, ministering, everybody needs solitude, rest, and
prayer. Perhaps you are
desperately in need of solitude, rest and prayer.
If you feel frazzled. You’ve
been on the go, go, go, go, without any time to reflect and gain some
perspective, you need to schedule a time to get away.
Shut the Door:
In
a letter to his friends, hymn writer Wendell P. Loveless related this
story: One evening a
speaker who was visiting the United States wanted to make a telephone
call. He entered a phone
booth, but found it to be different from those in his own country.
It was beginning to get dark, so he had difficulty finding the
number in the directory. He
noticed that there was a light in the ceiling, but he didn't know how to
turn it on. As he tried again to find the number in the fading twilight,
a passerby noted his plight and said, "Sir, if you want to turn the
light on, you have to shut the door."
To the visitor's amazement and satisfaction, when he closed the
door, the booth was filled with light.
He soon located the number and completed the call.
You
also need the light that goes on when you schedule a time of solitude
with God.
Chuck
Swindol writes, “Renewal and restoration are not luxuries; they are
essentials. Being alone and resting for a while is not selfish; it is
Christlike. Taking your day
off each week or rewarding yourself with a relaxing, refreshing vacation
is not carnal; it’s spiritual.”[i]
O Faint of Heart, Take Heart . . .
. . . In the Darkest hour He comes Quickly Over the Waves
I don’t know what many of you have been
experiencing. But
some of you I’m sure feel like you are you
rowing and making no progress. Some
of you I know are you
bracing the winds of adversity. Perhaps
some of you even in the midst of your struggle feel separated from
Jesus. Much like these disciples were separated from him out on the
hostile lake alone this time. Maybe
some of you even feel like you are cast adrift, or in over your head,
and wishing you never risked leaving the shore.
Are you tired and
ready to give up? O
Faint of Heart, Take Heart. In
the darkest hour Jesus comes quickly over the waves.
Hear Jesus’ Words again, "Take
courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."
(Mark
6:50)
O Faint of Heart, Take Heart . . .
. . . Jesus Reveals Himself as Only God Can
Before Jesus fed the 5,000 he taught them.
Before Jesus rescued the disciples he tries to teach them
something by nearly passing by them. However, the disciples were not yet able to receive what
Jesus was attempting to teach them.
They think they see a ghost. Even
if the sea has not caused them to panic, this specter on the water does.
Have A Clue (the disciples didn’t yet)
3 Clues To The Meaning of the Event
1. God Passing By—An
Epiphany
Just what do you make of Mark’s explanation
(Mark 6:48 NIV)
". . .. He
was about to pass by them,"
(Mark
6:48 NASB) more literally
and perhaps accurately translates the phrase “He intended to pass
by them."
That was his desire.
If that is the more accurate translation then, it is not simply a
description of the disciples perspective, seeing and thinking he looked
like he was going to pass them by.
This wasn’t just the disciples impression, Jesus actually
intended to pass them by, for a particular reason.
Why? Didn’t he
come out there to help them?
There are numerous interpretations that I’ve
read:
- One
writer says Jesus was playfully passing them by and was going to
surprise them on the other side.
(Somehow I don’t think Jesus is into using miracles all in
the interest of fun)
- One
view is that Jesus wants the disciples to recognize him and ask for
help. Many times he
waits till the one needing help asks.
That makes some sense.
- I
believe there is more going on here than that. The verb “to pass by” is used in a number of special
events in the Old Testament. When
God “passes by” this is a special event, an epiphany, or
theophany. Webster’s
primary definition of an epiphany is “an appearance or
manifestation of a god or supernatural being”.
A secondary definition is “a moment of sudden intuitive
understanding; a flash of insight.”
(1 Kings 19:11-12 NIV)
"The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in
the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Then a
great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks
before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there
was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. {12} After
the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after
the fire came a gentle whisper."
Well there are two more clues in this passage that make it clear that
Jesus intended for this miracle to reveal to the disciples that He was
God in the flesh, revealing the glory of God. And the 2 other
clues point more clearly to his deity even than the first clue.
2. God Walking On Water
(Job
9:8 NIV) "He [GOD]
alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the
sea."
3. God’s NAME “I
AM”
The third clue is found in Jesus’ words, though
in English it is not as easy to see.
(Mark 6:50 NIV)
. . . "Take
courage! It is I. Don't be afraid.""
The
phrase “It is I” is in the Greek Eigo eimi.
Most literally translated—“I AM”.
The verb is, or the verb “to be” doesn’t need the personal
pronoun in front of it. But
when it is there, it is emphatic. I
myself am. Or in English “It is I.”
But, you might miss something here.
Even the disciples did. Just
after coming from the mountain in prayer, coupled with Jesus walking on
water, and intending to “pass them by” an echo of Exodus is already
ringing in our ears. Jesus
is revealing himself as the “I AM”.
Moses asked God his name. God
said, I AM that I AM. Tell
them “I AM” sent you.
Jesus
will use this self revelation many times.
The most undeniable is recorded by John when Jesus said,
“Before Abraham was born I AM.”[ii]
Or “Before Abraham was born Ego Eimi.
Here Jesus says, Take Courage, Ego Emi.
The
Disciples asked the question earlier when Jesus demonstrated his power
over wind and waves
(Mark 4:41 NIV)
"They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is
this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!""
Here
is Mark’s answer to that Question.
It is Jesus’ self revelation.
Who can? The I AM
can. And that is who He is. The
LORD, He is the I AM, the LORD, God in flesh, the Son of God who reveals
God the Father. The one the
disciples CAN see who reveals the God they CANNOT see.
In a sense the glory they see passing them by is face to face, a
greater revelation than that which Moses experienced.
Though
Mark answers the question, “Who is this?” for those who know their
scriptures, it is not clear yet even to the disciples.
Mark continues to describe the events in a way that you must come
to believe it yourself. The
disciples at this point still weren’t putting it all together; and
Mark doesn’t lay it all out in the open for the reader either.
But it is there Jesus Revealed Himself AS ONLY GOD CAN!
The
disciples still had hard hearts. They
are yet blind to the fact that the fullness of God’s glory is being
revealed to them in the very face of Jesus.
They are not looking at the backside of God’s glory. They are getting the fullest revelation of his Glory face to
face and personally! This
was true with the loaves, they missed the significance and only caught
the miracle. Here they miss
the significance and only see the miracle.
These miracles had the purpose of revealing that God was in their
midst revealing Himself and caring for their needs!
O Faint of Heart, Take Heart . . .
. . . Victory comes to the faithful
WHY ARE THEY TIRED?
WHY ARE THEY STRUGGLING?
THEY ARE TRYING TO OBEY JESUS—TO GO TO THE OTHER
SIDE
"A
very wealthy man bought a huge ranch in Arizona, and he invited some of
his closest associates in to see it.
After touring some of the 1,500 acres of mountains and rivers and
grasslands, he took everybody into the house. The house was as
spectacular as the scenery, and out back was the largest swimming pool
you've ever seen.
"However, this gigantic swimming pool was filled with
alligators. The rich owner
explained it this way: `I value courage more than anything else.
Courage is what made me a billionaire.
In fact, I think that courage is such a powerful virtue that if
anybody is courageous enough to jump in that pool, swim through those
alligators, and make it to the other side, I'll give him anything he
wants, anything--my house, my land, my money.'
"Of course, everybody laughed at the absurd challenge and
proceeded to follow the owner into the house for lunch...when they
suddenly heard a splash. Turning
around, they saw this guy swimming for his life across the pool,
thrashing at the water as the alligators swarmed after him. After
several death-defying seconds, the man made it unharmed to the other
side.
"The rich host was absolutely amazed, but he stuck to his
promise. He said, `You are
indeed a man of courage, and I will stick to my word.
What do you want? You can have anything you want--my house, my land, my
money--just tell me what and it's yours.'
"The swimmer, still breathing heavily, looked up at his host
and said, `I just want to know one thing--who in the world pushed me
into that swimming pool?'"[iii]
This passage gives no promise to remove you from
the sea—but gives a reassurance that Jesus will enable you to endure.
There is NO PROMISE OF SMOOTH SAILING
In Fact, VICTORY MIGHT BE
INDIRECT
(Mark 6:53 NIV)
"When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and
anchored there."
(Mark
6:45 NIV) "Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat
and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd."
Did you notice the disciples landed somewhere
different than their aim? They
still have not arrived where Jesus sent them.
They still have not understood.
They still don’t “have a clue”.
I love what this tells us about God’s patience toward us.
Jesus kept revealing himself to them, even though they weren’t
getting it yet. The
disciples eventually got it. Looking
to Jesus, they worshipped, “My Lord, and My God!”
Perhaps your heart is a bit hard towards God right now. Everything isn’t smooth sailing.
I want you to know Jesus has come to you today.
He is revealing himself through his Word to you this morning
every bit as much as He was revealing himself to the disciples.
Will you respond? Will
you embrace him as your savior? Will
you acknowledge that he is the Son of God?
Will you commit your life to him and pledge to follow him
faithfully? Victory is sure
if you will. Oh, it may not
be an instant removal from the sea.
You may still need to row to cross to the other side, but the
waters are sure calmer with Jesus in your boat.
He gives you what you need to endure.
In the quietness of your own heart give yourself to him today.
[i] The Living Insights Study
Bible, Zondervan. pg.
1051
[iii] Peak
Performance by Dr. Charles Garfield. Page 110.
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