Matthew 13:53-14:36 - Skip Heitzig

[Music] welcome to expound our weekly worship and verse by verse study of the Bible our goal is to expand your knowledge of the truth of God by explaining the Word of God in a way that is interactive enjoyable and congregational we call this a textual community let's rejoice and learn God's Word in an interactive and enjoyable new way turn in your Bibles to the Gospel of Matthew you knew that chapter 13 you knew that - yes I heard somebody say yes we've been in it for a few weeks that's alright let's pray father we do thank you that we're in Matthew 13 and 14 we thank you for these verses of Scripture we thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ stepping out of heaven taking on humanity teaching healing changing lives changing the world because of what he has done and we're thankful that he's changed us that two thousand years later what he did on the cross and the words that he said echo in our lives our ears and across the world and we pray that we would grow as Peter said grow in the Grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ as was written that we would be like newborn babes desire the pure milk of the word that we could grow thereby we give you this next block of time as we sit together we purpose in our heart that were tuned in to what your spirit might say to us the church and individuals where we need to change where we need to adjust so search us Lord and direct our steps in Jesus name Amen we come tonight to Jesus hometown of Nazareth that's where we actually left off he was about to go there we're gonna enter into that town with him Jesus of Nazareth is what he was called because he grew up in Nazareth up in the Galilee region that's in the southern Galilee region actually if you were in Nazareth and you looked a little bit south you'd look right down on the valley of Armageddon and it's a situated Nazareth up in the hills of that beautiful country he wasn't born there we know he was born in Bethlehem of Judea and he spent the earliest days of his life in Bethlehem until the threat of Herod the Great was heard by his parents and Joseph moved Jesus and Mary down to Egypt where there was a huge group of Jews probably in Alexandria where he lived and then when Herod had died they moved back to Nazareth and that's where Jesus grew up it's always hard to go back home to your hometown to your kin to your friends to your relatives when you've had the life change and they don't agree with you they've not experienced it they weren't there when it happened they don't understand it they might be even with the religious background and you come born again they don't know how to handle you you're like you dropped out of another planet you might as well be an alien to them when I came back home after coming to Christ up in Northern California the San Jose area and came back down south my family was very skeptical my friends were very cynical my partying friends were very hysterical but they all agreed on one thing and that is that I was fanatical and they didn't know how to handle it they wanted a marginalize my experience and categorized me as well he's at a rough summer or he just got out of high school give him time this will wear off to go back home because they know you because they watched you grow up is very difficult Jesus own family at one point didn't know quite how to handle him let alone the neighbors that saw him grow up and were part of a synagogue service that day that we're about to step in two years later I mentioned that I went back home years later when I went to my 10-year high school reunion anybody ever go to those things high school reunions how many of you have ever gone to a high school reunion raise your hand okay they're overrated in my opinion but I went to one and one was enough and it was 10 years later and I remember walking in and seeing people that I hadn't seen a long time and familiar faces and this guy was the hard guy and this guy was like the dope addict and you know one guy actually looked like he still wore the same shirt he graduated in high school and still had the same hair and looked the same and was kind of dopey like he was in high school it was that was the only time war but a lot of people had changed and we were all amazed at what we were now doing and I remember a lot of people with me they did a double-take you're doing what now why are you doing that how did that happen it was so foreign to them that I had become a Christian and that was in the ministry and so Jesus now as we'll see goes back home to Nazareth he didn't spend a lot of time there after he was baptized in the Jordan River began his ministry it's only recorded that he went back to Nazareth a couple of times here's one of them this verse 53 of Matthew 13 now it came to pass when Jesus had finished these parables that he departed from there and when he had come to his own country that's a bit further south from Galilee to Nazareth he taught them in their synagogue so that they were astonished and said where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works is this not the carpenter's son is this not his mother called Mary and his brothers James Joseph Simon and Judas and his sisters are they not all among us where then did this man get all these things and so they were offended at him it's possible that the corollary to this in the other Gospels in particular the Gospel of Luke is when Jesus walked into the synagogue and was handed the scroll Luke tells us the scroll that is read every Shabbat every Sabbath and the place that Jesus turned to was Isaiah 61 and it said he opened the scroll and he began to read he said the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor he has sent me to undo the bonds of the brokenhearted and the prison doors to those who are captive and to proclaim the acceptable year of our Lord and it says he closed the scroll handed it back to the attendant and then he looked over the crowd that was hearing his words as they were all listening to his interpretation of what he might say and he said today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing well that sent shockwaves through the synagogue every rabbi knew that that was a messianic prediction a prediction of the coming Messiah and here this this upstart they thought one of our own who lives in this town we know this kid he's saying it it speaks of himself it's fulfilled in your hearing as if he's saying he's the Messiah that's exactly what he was saying they tried to lay hold of him and throw him over a cliff they took that for blasphemy it says he escaped out of their hands I've always loved that verse of scripture and I'd loved the verse of scripture that Jesus chose to read Isaiah 61 if you don't mind terribly to put a marker where you are reading and just turn back to Isaiah 61 I want to show you something I want to show you how Jesus was so careful at utilizing the Scriptures so perfectly that day because he he read Isaiah 61 up to a certain point and closed the book but he didn't finish the sentence on purpose Isaiah 61 reads thus the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted to proclaim Liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord comma do you notice the comma that's where Jesus closed the book and he did it on purpose for the sentence continues and the day of vengeance of our God the reason he stopped at the comma is because everything that he read and said it's fulfilled was all predictive of the first Advent or the first coming of the Messiah after the comma the day of vengeance of our God is attributed to the second coming of Christ the day of vengeance that's coming up that's the tribulation period that's the future that wasn't then what I want you to see is that Jesus closed the book at the comma and that comma has lasted 2,000 years it's a two thousand year comma one of these days I'm going to preach a sermon on the comma I preached on a verse before I preached in a word but I am one day going to preach on the comma that has lasted 2,000 years and so he closed the book he said today this this saying is fulfilled in your hearing they got the meaning they were getting the meaning back in Matthew they chided by saying is this not the carpenter's son now because there's a definite article before carpenter it's the carpenter's son some believe that there was only one notable carpenter in Nazareth and that was Joseph he was known as the carpenter the Greek word Tecton I know you think of a carpenter or somebody who has hammers and nails and a saw and works with wood that's because most of our buildings today are built out of wood we have 2x4 studs in our houses etc but the building materials in Israel worked wood they were stone a Tecton was simply a builder or a craftsperson a craftsman Jesus being a Tecton or a carpenter the son of a carpenter would have worked more with stone if you were building homes he would of course worked with wood if you were building certain pieces of furniture but he had to be good at generally building anything like a day laborer wood working across many fields he was a Tecton son is this not the carpenter's son is this not his mother Mary and his brothers James Joseph Simon and Judas they were still back home and his sisters are they not all with us now this is evidence against the Roman Catholic doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary the idea that once Jesus was born Mary continued as a virgin for the rest of her life that's simply not true the Bible says that Joseph did not have physical relations sex sexual relations with Mary until Jesus was born and afterwards they had normal filial marital relationships and they had children and the children are named here so Mary was not a perpetual virgin she was a virgin in birth in Christ and after that they had children and so it says in verse 57 so they were offended at him but jesus said to them a prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house we have a saying today that sort of mirrors this familiarity breeds contempt you know someone you've grown up with that person how can that person be anything other than what we've always known him the little kid who grew up in town we're familiar with him or we're familiar with that and familiarity breeds contempt a prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house now he did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief why were they offended of Jesus well for a number of reasons first of all his background was not impressive he's a carpenter's son his education wasn't impressive he didn't have the formal rabbinical training that the Pharisees had the scribes had but more than anything else they were offended at him because of the claims he made about himself overt claims that he was their Messiah that he was God even and at several points in the career of Jesus they could took up stones to kill him it's an interesting verse verse 58 he did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief one of the other gospel accounts says it's mark therefore he could do no mighty work there because of their unbelief it's not that he lacked the power suddenly at Nazareth he had all power he could do anything anytime for anyone with anyone with anything he was all-powerful he exhibited that but here's the principle he responds to faith he responds to belief God is omnipotent that is he's all-powerful yet we by unbelief can limit the experience of God's power in our lives God is all loving but you don't always experience the love of God I know people Christians who struggle and struggle and struggle with believing that God truly loves them the way the Bible declares he does that's why Jude even had to write keep yourselves in the love of God it's not that God ceases to love you one day and then loves you the next he loves you all the time and his love is intense but you don't always experience his love just like if you were to walk out in the Sun today with an umbrella you wouldn't get much vitamin D you wouldn't have the warming effects of the Sun because it covers you up if it rains tomorrow in town and you cover up your shrubs with a canopy they're not going to get the water because you're covering them up it's raining outside but they're not getting the benefit so God is powerful but faith is something God cooperates with in exercising his power faith is a is a powerful thing that God enables us to use concerning Abraham it says he believed God and God accounted it to him as righteousness faith he was a man of faith the father of faith when Josh when the children of Israel came up to the Jordan River the priests had to exercise faith they had to March first holding the Ark of the Covenant and dip their toes in the water before the water opened up it's not like we'll just hang here and wait till it opens up okay a little bit wider if you don't mind God okay that's good now they had to actually get their feet wet that's faith faith is powerful the syrophoenician woman said if I touch the hem of His garment I know I'm gonna be healed touching the hem of Jesus garment became the point of contact for her to release her faith but as faith is powerful so is unbelief unbelief is powerful the world didn't believe Noah and they were destroyed except for eight people who did believe Adam disbelieved God and said man I just adore Eve and then Adam in the garden and so there are several accounts Pharaoh is another one disbelieved lost the firstborn his own as well as those in Egypt and the people of Israel formally rejected Jesus Christ and because of their unbelief Jesus predicted the fall of that country in 70 AD so he did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief at that time chapter 14 verse 1 Herod the Tetrarch heard the report about Jesus who is herod the tetrarch well Tetrarch means a ruler of a fourth part that's what Tetrarch means this is herod antipas who was the ruler of Galilee and Perea parts of Perea the area in Jordan partly in Jordan when Herod the Great died the country was divided between his three sons four parts three sons his one son ARC Elias took two parts Herod Philip took one part-and Antipas took one part and this is the part that he is the Tetrarch over the Galilee region were where Jesus Christ was ministering Herod Antipas and by the way when you hear Herod and you hear the name you always have to say which one because it's a large family and it was a messy family I mean to try to understand the Herod sometimes I'll give you a headache but let me just give you a snapshot this Herod the Tetrarch was the fourth son no was the son of Herod the Great by his fourth wife Herod the Great himself was Idumean his fourth wife was a Samaritan so Herod Antipas was hated by the Jews they didn't respect any of the Herod's and they certainly didn't respect Herod Antipas and one of the reasons the Herod's were not respected is because they were so cold-hearted they were murderous this Herod the Tetrarch Antipas on one occasion killed most all of the Sanhedrin the Jewish ruling body because they disagreed with him they challenged him on one of his ruling so he just killed them all on another occasion he killed one of his wives he had a few other soviet iddin care get rid of her he killed two of his own sons so a saying went around that it's safer to be Herod's Pig than it is his son a cold-hearted brutal man it was Herod the Great who also tried to kill Jesus Christ and rounding up all the children of Bethlehem Herod the Tetrarch lived in the town of Tiberias now if you come with us to Israel or if you've been with us to Israel we take you to Tiberias usually that's where our hotel is right on the Sea of Galilee right on the lake you get a view of the lake in Tiberias that's where Herod the Tetrarch ruled from that's where he lived what's interesting is though Jesus most of his ministry was around the Galilee region there's no record in the Gospels of Jesus ever visiting Tiberias not even once probably because he didn't want to stir things up with Herod he just avoided the place it was a Gentile place the Romans had it is their garrison their point of control he avoided it at least there's no record that he was there so at that time Herod the Tetrarch heard the report about Jesus and said to his servants this is John the Baptist he's risen from the dead therefore these powers are at work in him for Herod had laid hold of John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias his brother Philips wife now this is called a literary flashback that's where the author is going back and giving you the circumstance to bring you up to speed of why Herod thinks this about Jesus because John said to him it is not lawful for you to have her on although he wanted to put him to death he feared the multitude because they counted him as a prophet let me give you a little bit of the background Herod Antipas while in Rome seduced Herodias the wife of his brother actually his half-brother Herod Philip and talked her into dumping her husband and coming with him in order to do this Herod Antipas had to first divorce his then current wife she happened to be the daughter of the ruler of Syria called era toss when era tossed out that Herod Antipas dumped his daughter to do this he had almost the entire army of Herod Antipas destroyed and would have destroyed Antipas himself had not Rome intervened so it was unlawful the reason John the Baptist you know I've wondered about this why did John the Baptist hold this Gentile ruler to the same bar of judgment the biblical bar for an unbeliever as you would demand for a believer the reason is is because this man ruled Israel he was a ruler in the Israelites this is the land of God if you're gonna rule our country you have to abide by the laws of God he was he was a very forthright and he was not a diplomat John the Baptist I'll give you that he was not a diplomat he was not a politician he was not a compromiser he called a spade a spade and he said that is wrong and it got him into trouble so he had him arrested put in prison the prison is in modern-day Jordan today it's called the prison of makai hrus because John said to him it is not lawful for you to have her and although he wanted to put him to death he feared the multitude because they countered him as a prophet but when Herod's birthday was celebrated the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod her name was solemn a it was her daughter and the daughter of Herod Philip II therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask so she having been prompted by her mother said give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter Herodias was a cruel woman the only other woman I can think of that tops her was Jezebel the sidonians princess the wife of Ahab who was the king of Israel back in first Kings 19 and says the king was sorry nevertheless because of the oaths because of those who sat with him he commanded it to be given to her this really is that not that uncommon that somebody who would dance for a monarch a ruler would ask a special favor to be granted there's a story back in the 1800s that comes to us from Persia though one of the dancers dancing before the Persian king asked and was given a caravansary that is a building where caravans would stop for the night in ancient in basically they would be fed they would be watered and it was a building that had a courtyard and people would sleep in the perimeter rooms and the animals would be kept in the center and a caravan sorry in the 1800's in Persia was a moneymaker because people were always stopping at these Inns on their journeys so she basically had her life taken care of because she was given a business so that's not that uncommon what is uncommon is to have this kind of a gruesome request now notice it says that verse 9 the king was sorry nevertheless because of the oaths and because of those who sat with them he commanded it to be given to her Herod was remorseful over the situation but he was not repentant over his sin big difference in being remorseful and being repentant oh I'm so sad and so sorry that it happened to me it's another thing to be sorry that you've offended God and be repentant that's why Paul makes a difference between being sorry and repentance he said it's godly sorrow that produces repentance there everybody who's been arrested for a crime as sorry they're sorry that they got arrested in the very least they're sorry that they're doing time how sorry are they for what they've done to hurt those people or before God himself what a difference between John the Baptist's in Herod John the Baptist fears the Lord and the Lord only and doesn't care what people think about him Herod on the other hand fears his dinner guests and his family and the constituents and the perennial politician he blows in and out with whatever the winds are saying and doing so he sent and had John beheaded in prison and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl how gross I mean to even say oh good it finally arrived thank you always wanted to get ahead in life thank you very much for that just a gross idea sorry about that and she brought it to her mom what are you gonna do with the head she didn't ask for it her mom did as gruesome as this was this was not unheard of in ancient times rulers were often like I said brutal one of Herodias ancestors by the name of Alexander J Gnaeus on one occasion at a feast that he had for his guests had 800 men crucified in front of his dinner guests and and brought their wives and children out to be killed before the prisoners eyes and then they died brutal gruesome so it wasn't unheard of even in and especially in this family now you know why the Herod's and that whole clan was detested hated by the Jewish people verse 12 Nana's disciples came and took away the body and buried it and went and told Jesus when Jesus heard it he departed from there by boat to a deserted place by himself but when the multitudes heard it they followed him on foot from the cities and when Jesus went out he saw a great multitude and he was moved with compassion for them and He healed their sick there it is again just like we read in chapter 9 when he saw the multitudes he was moved with compassion and here again moved with compassion the word we told you about Splunk needs Umi which speaks literally of your bowels your intestines if I were to quote it literally his bowels moved his intestines moved his guts ate or were moved that's literally what it means why because the Hebrews identified intense human emotion as taking place in the abdomen we call it the heart today that's our metaphor we say boy it really spoke to my heart I love you with all my heart I understand that in my heart that's our metaphor that's a Western metaphor the eastern metaphor was not I feel it in my heart but I feel it in my gut you know what it's like if you have to stand in front of people some of you hate the idea if I were to call you up right now they come up here tell us a few words ah it's like the worst fear you feel it in the pit of your stomach you ache in your gut you get butterflies we call it so it speaks of intense emotions Jesus was moved for other people compassionately when Lazarus died and he came to the tomb of Lazarus and saw the family weeping Mary weeping Martha weeping and the friends weeping says Jesus was deeply troubled in spirit and moved same word compassion for other people is what moved him what moves you in the Garden of Gethsemane when they came to arrest Jesus it's interesting that he said you've come for me let these guys go always thinking of others on the cross with nails and his feet in hands while he was dying that death he wouldn't dismiss his spirit until he cared for his own mother he wanted to make sure she was taken care of compassion marked his life he was moved with compassion and He healed their sick when it was evening his disciples came to him saying this is a deserted place what was your first clue and the hour is already late send the multitudes away that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food we are coming to one of the most famous miracles that Jesus ever performed the feeding of the 5,000 s it's such a standout miracle that Matthew Mark Luke and John all four Gospels record this miracle though it is recorded though we've all heard about it many times we miss the significance of it like the little kid when asked what's your favorite Bible story he smiled and said I love the story about the crowd that loafs and fishes well this wasn't a crowd that was loafing and fishing this was a crowd that was hungry that Jesus provided a meal for now before we get into it you should know that not everyone thinks it's a miracle there are people there are even commentators that rationalize all of the miracles of Jesus and this one listen to this one commentator suggests that actually everybody brought their own food that day there was plenty of food everybody brought their own lunch but they were selfish because they brought their lunch and there might be somebody next to them who didn't bring their lunch and would be hungry but most everybody brought their lunch that day but they didn't want to share until Jesus with that big beautiful smile and he took that little kids lunch and started breaking it and feeding it to other people they saw the example of Jesus with that little boy's lunch and it convicted their hearts they said okay and they brought out their lunch and they started sharing it with each other that's the lame explanation of this miracle it's pretty lame innit it ranks up there on lame explanation I would say in the top ten lame explanations here's another one that's maybe right next to it another explanation is that Jesus and His disciples had already stashed the food in advance it was hidden in a cave out in the wilderness and when the crowd started coming they started backing out backing up backing up backing up to the cave backing up back and here they come keep going back up back up until they were like right there the cave the mouth of the cave was right behind him and then they could just slip the bread right under the arms out of the cave out of the cave here comes more bread more fish it sounds like a fishy story didn't it that ranks up there right lame story I'm telling you it is harder to be an atheist than a believer in Christ you got to work hard it takes more faith to be an atheist I look at it go really that's the lame explanation I don't know once you can get past Genesis 1:1 to me the rest is pretty easy any God that can like make the heavens in the earth I can hang with when it comes to doing these kind of things okay Jesus said to them no so they said boy you gotta send these people away Jesus they're just it's late and it's that's deserted out here and they're hungry and the problem the disciples had especially Andrew the other Gospel stories tell us problem they had is they're under estimating their master and overestimating their problem ever done that you have a problem you over us to make your problem you underestimate God that's where you start coming unglued and using it at that point jesus said to them they don't need to go away you give him something to eat I love this they're looking at him like huh did he just say that we're gonna give him something to eat and they said to him we have here only five loaves and two fish we know from the other Gospel accounts that that's because a boy brought a lunch and he said bring them here to me then he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass mark says beautifully the green grass and he took the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven he blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples it's beautiful thought when Jesus prayed we prayed like this if I say let's pray you do this if Jesus would have said let's pray that a gun like that they lift their eyes as if looking up toward heaven that was the typical Jewish form and saying the typical prayer baruch ATA adonai eloheynu melech ha'olam hamotzi Lechem min Haaretz that's the blessing before the bread blessed art Thou O Lord God King of the universe who gives us the bread from the earth that's probably the prayer that he prayed he looked up he blessed it he gave the loaves to the disciples the disciples gave to the multitude so they all ate and were filled and they took up twelve baskets full of fragments that remained now those who had eaten were about five thousand men besides notice that women and children this is a crowd of about 15,000 people the men were counted I'm sorry that's just the way they did it back then so we can figure I'm guessing at least an easy fifteen thousand people that were fed on that day what is this what does this miracle tell us well tell us first of all that God is concerned about our physical needs don't ever think God is not concerned about you he knows what you're going through yes he knows that you have the rent coming up next week yes he knows that the gas prices are skyrocketing out of control yes he knows that you bought that Hummer and probably should have bought the Prius and that is over he knows all that and as we discovered in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said look at the birds of the air check out those birds denote oil they don't spend they don't gather into barns listen to what Jesus said yet your heavenly Father feeds them did you get that God is not the Heavenly Father for the birds a bird never says heavenly father because he's not their father he's our Creator not their father he's your father your heavenly Father feeds them are you not of more value than they so God is concerned about your physical needs listen to this listen to this is Romans 8 verse 32 if God did not spare his own son but gave him up for us how shall he not with him freely give us all things that's provision God cares for our physical needs here's the second lesson we learn here God uses small things to do great things God uses small things to do great things when that boy's mom was packing that boy's lunch that day early in the morning hey mommy I want to go here Jesus okay but don't leave the house until I give you your lunch here's a few pieces of bread these were barley loaves these were just the simple common poor pude like little pieces of pita bread flat little loaves and a couple little fish it's not like salmon or sea bass we're talking a lake fish even some translations suggest pickled fish so he had a little bit of a lunch when she was packing his lunch that day she had no idea that that little she was packing in her kitchen would feed 15,000 people what made the difference Jesus hands made all the difference you take a little and you put it in Jesus hands you've got a lot that's that's the math of a miracle loaves and fish five plus two equals not much five plus two plus Jesus anything can happen that's the math of a miracle now I want to apply that to your life it could be I don't know but it could be that the reason some of you haven't gotten involved in exercising your gifts in the body of Christ is you think maybe you think this well I'm not all that talented I couldn't be in the choir I can't play an instrument you know I just don't I don't have that the gifts are the talents how dare you deprecated God's property you belong to God the issue isn't how great you are it's how great God is and you put you in God's hands and you got something explosive and mighty try that God can take a little and do great things third lesson and we'll move quickly so we can finish this up is that God's provision goes a long way you'll notice in verse 20 so they ate and were filled you know what that means they were full blooded it could be translated and I've had enough and so they took up twelve baskets full of fragments that remained how many disciples apostles there were twelve apostles many disciples twelve apostles so they had lunch to the next day that's God's a economical okay God makes God makes the provision go a long way God not only pull off a cool miracle he did exceedingly abundantly above all that they could ask or think so they had twelve baskets fall and they were taken care of now when I say exceedingly abundantly doesn't mean you're gonna eat gourmet every day of the week well god I'm trusting you and I expect a steak and lobster well you might get barley loaves in a couple fish you won't starve to death God will take care of you but he doesn't like oh you you know ahi tuna though I do like ahi tuna but he doesn't know it - you can he'll take care of your needs not your Greed's listen to this is what David wrote Psalm 37 I was young and now I am old I can say that Psalm now I was young and now I am old this is this is what he said but I have never seen the righteous forsaken or God's children begging bread God promises to take care of his own and his provision will be in his time and it will go a long way speaking of his time takes us to the next miracle immediately verse 22 immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat notice that he made them get into the boat and go before him to the other side while he sent the multitudes away and when he had sent the multitudes away he went on the mountain by himself to pray now when evening came he was there alone but the boat was now in the middle of the sea tossed by the waves for the wind was contrary now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them walking on the sea and the disciples saw him walking on the sea and they were troubled well you would be too if you saw a man walking on the sea saying it's a ghost interesting that the disciples believed in ghosts at that time and they cried out for fear but immediately Jesus spoke to them saying be of good cheer it is I do not be afraid now let me explain a little typography to you and Dave's gonna put up on the screen some Galilee pictures as we do the Sea of Galilee is below sea level it is um it is part of a topographical feature known as the Syrian African Rift let me explain that you know how the tectonic plates on earth work right how they have shifted in the past it seems that the Arabian and the African plates the way they shifted created this Serio African Rift Valley this depression that includes the Sea of Galilee in part the Jordan River the Dead Sea all of it is below sea level the Sea of Galilee is like 680 almost 700 feet below sea level the Dead Sea is 1290 feet below sea level so that entire water chain is below sea level because of that it creates an interesting effect for a storm it's like a magnet for storms when the afternoon breezes that blow off of the Mediterranean funnel through the canyons that you see you see the canyons up on the screen some of the plateaus are talking about 2,000 feet above sea level the plateaus sea of galleys about 700 feet below sea level yeah but almost a 3,000 foot difference you've got warm air on the Sea of Galilee and you've got cool air that comes through these canyons and these canyons here that you see sort of in a V are called the horns of hitting and they act if you're a mechanic like a carburetor venturi where you take air and you funnel it from wide into a narrow throat and as that cool air rushes downward through that valley at a high velocity and hits that warm air on the sea of gallilee it can whip up a storm almost immediately and easily capsize a boat so to have seasoned fishermen out on the sea laboring for this long and afraid takes a lot to make these guys afraid they live there they Orvis see they do this for a living now notice verse 25 in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them and then let me explain this to you there's four watches in the Jewish night 2,000 years ago four watches from six o'clock in the evening to nine o'clock from nine o'clock to midnight from midnight to 3:00 a.m. from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. somewhere between 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. they're still out there and Jesus walks to them that means they have been struggling out on that lake for about eight hours now can I just ask a question couldn't Jesus have come a lot sooner did he have to wait eight hours couldn't you come like after the first thirty minutes it is already hard can we go home now why did he wait that long you've asked that question haven't you in your storm in your trial really Lord you had to wait for the fourth watch of the night you struggle and you struggle he'll come he'll show up in his time when there's just no way you could get out of this on your own and it's abundantly clear that you you have to be saved by God or you're gonna sink he came in the fourth watch of the night and no sooner we wish it would be sooner but know this if you're in a storm God has God has his eye on that boat and his hand on the waves he's not gonna let you sink question why did Jesus walk on the water to show off look what I can do can I suggest he came to them on the thing they feared the most they feared that storm that storm was gonna kill them Jesus came to them on what they feared the most how we fear pain and sorrow the death of a loved one a disease we think oh god no no no and yet we find so often that the Lord makes that his footpath and comes to us you know his abundant presence on the thing we fear the most he knows what he's doing in the storms that he sends and because Jesus made them get into the boat ok constrained is the King James compelled them get in that boat what it means is they were in the storm by the will of God it's not like well the disciples were disobedient and they were out of the will of God that's where they suffered no they were right in the middle of the will of God and Jesus sent them into what he knew would be a storm that will revolutionize your periods of pain by the way if you realize I'm not in this by happenstance this is by the will of God and God's gonna by His will get me through this it changes everything changes the whole field when I realized that Jesus said verse 27 be of good cheer sounds like it's out of place cheer up boys until the next sentence comes then it makes sense it's Jesus okay now that makes sense I can cheer up now it is I do not be afraid and Peter answered him and said this is so Peter you know he's not quite sure it's Jesus you guys a little more proof Lord if it is you command me to come to you on the water I like that tenacity actually and so he said come and when Peter had come down out of the boat he walked on the water stopped right there before weakened it's Peter ever in our lives remember he walked on water you never did none of those other guys ever did they can knock Peter all they want you deny Jesus I walked on water that's pretty cool and then how that must have felt whoa I'm walking on water and then the thought occurred to him excuse me this is impossible men don't walk on water and he's thinking of the displacement of the way to be human being on the water and it's just started sinking he had his eyes on the wind not on the Lord and he started sinking but when he saw the wind was boisterous he was afraid and beginning to sink he cried out saying lord save me notice it wasn't a long prayer lord I beseech thee and I grande mercies we would have just died he didn't have much time except for help says the fervent effective prayer of a righteous man avails much that was pretty fervent don't you think save me and immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him and said to him o you of little faith why did you doubt Peter we were having such fun this was awesome we were doing it together I've never had somebody walk with me on the water you were doing it you were trusting you were depending wholly on me for that minute that was awesome and when they got into the boat the wind ceased and those who were in the boat came and they worshiped him saying truly you are the son of God another thing about your trial you won't last forever just like the storm ceased your storm will cease I know it might not seem like it right now but it will it will one lady said well if you look back at verse 53 of chapter 13 where we started just look back at that one verse there was one woman who said that was her favorite verse in the Bible and it says now it came to pass Jesus finished these parables he departed to go she said that's my favorite verse in the Bible and somebody said to her why I don't understand how could that be your favorite verse of the Bible she says well it says it came to pass so I know that whenever I have a trial it hasn't come to stay it's come to pass so I just wait for it to pass so the wind ceased verse 34 when they had crossed over they came to the land of jeunesse Surete you may get confused when you read their New Testament you find that the Sea of Galilee goes by three names one is the Sea of Galilee another is the sea of Tiberias and the other is the lake of janessa rent it's all the same body of water janessa Rhett is the Sea of Galilee has mountains around it and it's pretty steep especially on the eastern side and even toward the south but as you move out toward the southwestern part of the Sea of Galilee where you're looking out on that map as you as you take that left shore and you start going north if it flattens out it's a broad fertile plain that's where most of the agriculture took place and takes place even to this day and that's the area of janessa Rhett or the plane of Gannett syrup and so that's the area that they came to the land of Gannett sûreté and when the men of that place recognized him they sent out into all the surrounding region and brought to him all who were sick and they begged him that he might touch the hem of his garment and as many as touched it were made perfectly well what a contrast to the people of Nazareth who lived in unbelief and Jesus did no mighty work there now in Gannett sûreté people say if I just touched the hem of His garment just like that syrophoenician woman that was her thought if I could just touch that and probably that report spread to the people of Gannett surrett and said man if you just touch the hem of this dude's garment you're gonna get healed that's all we need and so with great faith they came after him and it says as many as touched it were made perfectly well I want to close on this note herod antipas had John the Baptist killed Herodias thought our problems are over Antipas thought my problems are over but they weren't over here's what happened to them as history marched forward when the emperor in Rome Caligula made King Agrippa the king of the Jews the title he called him the king of that land of Palestine made him the king Herodias told her husband Antipas sweetheart you ought to go to Caligula and by the title of King you ought to buy it and get it for yourself Agrippa told Caligula the Emperor of this subversive scheme of Antipas and Herodias so that when they got to Rome the Emperor ordered Herod Antipas and his wife Herodias to be banished to Gaul where they lived there in exile until their death so they sort of reaped what they sowed in their life it wasn't all hunky-dory great life is great first of all John the Baptist testimony lived on and they had that horrible fate whoever you are whatever you have would you place it tonight in the hands of Jesus and let him break it and multiply let him break your life and multiply your life to feed others to be a blessing to other people Lord Here I am in your hands you might say I don't have much good God chooses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise you're a perfect candidate well my life's so messed up and broken perfect that's the one you're dots when God's looking for put yourself in Jesus hands and let him use you to turn this town upside down I should say right-side up for his glory it could be that tonight you don't even know Christ personally you might be a religious person you might be a person who's gone to church all of your life like all those people in the synagogue who looked at Jesus we know who this kid is who does he think he's kidding he might be a very upright citizen sincere but she'd never made a personal commitment to Christ you never let him in the Bible says he's standing at the door and he's knocking and he wants to come in and change your life but you have to let him in if you don't let him in he remains on the outside if you let him in and invite him he'll come and change you but you have to invite him let's pray Lord we read about Jesus changing lives touching people never the same people that followed him on this incredible journey of faith how exciting it was to follow Jesus dangerous at times very unpredictable but always with the guarantee that at the end of the game the end game is an eternity spent with God and a life that has been lived with purpose so many of us crave for that and we don't know if we have it and I pray for those that are here tonight or listening by radio or watching at another campus I pray father that those who don't know you would tonight at this moment make a commitment to Christ if you're here in this room God has spoken to your heart you've been feeling this way for some time you're feeling that nudge like my life isn't all that it should be there's got to be something more than what I've already experienced I want to know the hope of heaven and I want to know that my sins are forgiven you can know that and you can have the purpose of God that has been for ordained for you from the foundations of the earth you can know what it is to walk in that and to live in that and to walk with God's power your life can be changed but you have to come to him you have to be willing to admit you're a sinner and that you're willing to turn from your sin and turn to him if you're willing to do that tonight as our heads are bowed as we're praying I want you to raise your hand up in this room and I'll pray for you as we close this service raise your hand up and say pray for me skip I want to give my life to Christ tonight god bless you toward the middle and behind toward the back right up here in the middle toward the front right here on the side I see a couple of you anybody else raise your hand up raise it up see yep this is the night I'm gonna do it I'm gonna go through with this I'm gonna give my life to my Creator I want to know what it's like to have purpose and forgiveness in his love anyone else raise your hand up tonight in the balcony or bless you father we thank you for those hands we thank you for these people these lives different backgrounds different circumstances same need same Lord same love same promises I pray that as these people and your promises meet that there would be life change in Jesus name Amen stand to your feet I'm gonna ask those of you who raised your hands and some in the balcony could be in the family room anywhere you were sitting as we sing this final song get up from where you're standing find the nearest aisle and stand right up here in the front I'm gonna give you an opportunity to pray to receive Christ right now don't let this moment pass you by don't say well I raised my hand good enough no make a stand for Christ come out from where you were seated or standing I come right up here in the front [Applause] that's right just say excuse me and come out of your row come out of your aisle Jesus called people publicly when he called them he's calling you tonight here in the balcony just come down the stairs we'll wait for you but you come come and stand up here to Jesus I surrender all to him I freely you I will loved and trusted FEMA his presence daily live god bless you [Applause] [Music] that's right you may not have even raise your hands but the Lord has been calling you for a long time trying to trying to get you to do this [Music] we'll wait a few more minutes now some of you might be saying all wait a little longer I'll do it on my deathbed don't waste your life live your life with purpose give your life to Christ god bless you I surrender all known to be my else it's a I'm so glad that so many of you have come forward for this prayer I just want to say something to those who are watching on the internet perhaps right now or if you're listening by radio somebody's gonna be there to tell you what to do and give you an opportunity to do make the same commitment or in our Santa Fe campus the same thing but you've come forward and I want to lead you in a prayer to receive Jesus as the lord of your life the savior of your life so I'm gonna lead you in a prayer and I'm gonna ask you to pray this prayer out loud after me say these words from your heart mean them from your heart say them to God this is you asking him to come inside and to take control you ready let's do it Lord come into my life I know that I'm a sinner I believe that Jesus died that He shed his blood for me and that he rose again from the dead I turned from my sin I leave my past behind and I turn to you as my savior I want to live for you as my lord help me in jesus name amen amen congratulations you

Channel: Calvary Church with Skip Heitzig

Views: 4,181

Rating: 4.6307693 out of 5

Keywords: Calvary, Albuquerque, Skip, Heitzig, Sermon, Matthew, Calvary Church, Herod the Great, Herod Antipas, Herod Archelaus, Herodius, Caligula, Gennesaret, Galilee, Tiberius, Fourth watch, Feeding of the 5000, compassion, John the Baptist, Unbelief, prophet, synagogue, Nazareth

Id: 0PCoUPmZD50

Length: 67min 29sec (4049 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 11 2018