Skip to content Treasure for Troubled Times Oct 14 · 37 min ...more
October 14, 2022 · 37 min · Knowing God
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Dr. Tony Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder and president of The Urban Alternative and author of over 100 books, booklets and Bible studies.
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0:00 The prophet Isaiah said this in Isaiah 33 6. He said that the fear of the Lord is your stability and treasure in difficult0:11 times. That the way you stabilize life when it is tumultuous, uncertain, and difficult. The equalizer, he says,0:23 is the fear of God. We've studied that in the book of Malachi when we talked about taking God seriously. That's the definition of fearing God. It means taking God0:35 seriously as opposed to casually. And nothing will prove practically whether you take God seriously than during0:46 difficult times. When it's smooth, it's easy to take God seriously because there's there's nothing competing for your for your0:58 emotions, for your direction, but to take God seriously during difficult times. This well known story1:11 in Mark chapter 6 comes at the end of Jesus feeding the 5000. He comes at the end at verse 44. Jesus has taken some1:22 sardines and crackers and fed 5000 men, not counting women and children. So that means he's fed close to 20000 people with sardines and1:34 crackers. Keep that in mind. Jesus fed 5000 men, not counting women and children, with some sardines and crackers. And1:46 you thought you were poor. Verse 45 starts off with the word immediately. In other words, right after the need was met, Jesus1:58 made his disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side of Bethsaida while he was himself sending the crowd away.2:10 Jesus gives the benediction. He's sending the crowd away. And watch this now. He made his disciples. Didn't ask, didn't request, didn't instruct, he insisted.2:22 Uh-uh. You guys go across the water to the other side while I take care of dismissing the crowd.2:35 After bidding them farewell, he left for the mountain, verse 46 says, to pray. Sends them away. He gives the benediction,2:48 and he says to them, I'll catch up with you later. He goes to the mountain to pray. A problem arises in verse 47. When it2:59 was evening, the boat was in the midst of the sea, and he was alone on the land, seeing them straining at the oars for the wind was against them at about the fourth3:11 hour watch of the night. He came to them walking on the sea, and he intended to pass them by. Now I could go for an extended amount of time right there.3:22 Let's review. These disciples were only in the water because Jesus made them go in. This was not3:34 a volunteer trip. This was an insisted trip. Jesus made them get in the water to take the boat to the other side. What's my point? I'm saying these3:45 disciples were in the perfect will of God. They weren't carnal. They weren't rebelling. They weren't they weren't resisting. They did exactly what Jesus told them to do. He said, get in the boat, go to the other side.3:57 But when they got in the boat to go to the other side, a storm broke out. A storm broke out in the middle of God's will. Some4:10 people would say, well, if you're in God's will, it won't rain. If you're doing what God told you to do, there'll be no storm. Because sometimes you haven't seen rain until you're in the will of God.4:22 They are smack dab in the will of doing exactly what God told them to do, and a storm breaks out. Yes. It4:35 says they were straining at the oars. You know, straining, grunting, and groaning. In other words, they were trying hard to obey. They4:47 weren't just casually saying, if I do it, I do it. If I don't, I don't. It says they were straining. Straining means they were exerting extra energy to get where they were4:58 going. In other words, they were trying to obey. Have you ever been trying to obey and being resisted by your circumstances? It's not that you don't wanna do what5:10 God wants you to do. It's just so hard. I'm just straining. I'm just trying to get there. I'm trying to obey you. I'm trying to bring my emotions intact. I'm trying not to do what you asked me not to do,5:22 and it's hurting me. Because I'm straining trying to be a good Christian. I'm trying with all I've got. It says, they were straining at the oars. It says they were straining5:34 at the oars in the middle of the sea. Now the Sea of Galilee is about 7 miles or so across. It says they5:46 were in the middle. That means they're 3 and a half miles over. Now watch this. If you're halfway to your destination where you're supposed to5:58 go, but you're stuck because you're straining, and we're told why they were straining. It says, for the wind was6:10 contrary to them. In other words, their efforts to do what God told them to do was being resisted by circumstances out of their control.6:21 They couldn't control the wind. And every time they grunted and groaned to try to get where they were supposed to go, they were being resisted by circumstances out of their control.6:32 God, how am I gonna obey you when I'm being resisted and I can't change the thing that's resisting me? I can't control the boss. I can't control the economy. I can't control so I6:44 can't control all I can do is do the best I can with these oars, and my best isn't good enough. Now if you're stuck in the middle, if you mount them in the middle, if you're stuck in the middle6:57 and you're straining because the wind is contrary to you. It means the wind's blowing 1 way and you're trying to roll this way, but the wind and the circumstances are7:09 contrary, are resisting you, then the temptation is to turn it around so the wind can push you back, and you don't have to go through all this. Has7:21 anybody ever thought about turning around and going back? Because this this obeying Jesus is too hard. This obeying Jesus is rough because the harder I roll, the stronger the wind7:33 gets, and it's contrary to me. Oh, but it gets worse. He says it was the fourth watch. The fourth watch is 3 to 6 AM.7:45 In other words, it's dark. You can't see. So they're out there. When he dismisses them, he dismisses them in the daytime because the crowd7:57 has been there listening to him teach. You know, they they didn't have a place that was lit. So they have been out there now. If the fourth watch is 3 to 6 in the morning and it was8:08 daylight when he sent them out there, they've been struggling for a minute, trying to make it, trying to do exactly what God asked them to do. And now8:20 it's dark. So they're in God's will, doing the best they can and not getting anywhere. For the wind was contrary8:33 to them. But we're introduced to a very subtle statement. It says, seeing them straining8:46 at the oars. It says, seeing them straining at the oars. See, I I could tell somebody missed that because if you'd heard it, you'd have said8:57 amen. Seeing them straining at the oars. Wait a minute. I just thought I read Jesus went up to the mountain to pray.9:09 Jesus, they are 3 and a half miles out. It's dark. But Jesus seeing them straining9:21 at the oars. What I'm trying to tell you is is Jesus know where you are. He knows what you're dealing with. He knows you're trying the best you can. He knows you're9:33 giving it all you've got. He knows that the wind is stopping you from getting the way you wanna go. He knows you considering turning around. He he it says he was watching them9:45 straining. He was watching them going. He was seeing the tears that run down the eyes. He was feeling the pain and the anguish of being out there that long and being9:56 tired. He knew what it was like to be halfway and stuck. What I'm trying to say is he knows where you are. Why10:08 why was he watching them in the dark? See, when it's dark and it's midnight10:20 in your life, and you're just doing the best you can, you're straining as hard as you can, you're doing all you can, but you're getting nowhere, and nothing is breaking for you.10:33 Jesus is acutely aware of where you are. We're told something in this passage. It says, he went up to the mountain10:45 to pray. The bible calls Jesus our great high priest. A high priest intercedes between God and the people.10:58 It says he went out to pray. Now the question is, what is he praying? That's the question. You don't have to turn there, but in Luke 22,11:10 Jesus told Peter. He says, you're gonna deny me before the cock crows. You go you go then not before the rooster has alerted you to a new day. You11:22 will have denied me 3 times. But then he says, I pray for you. And then he tells them what he prayed for, that your faith fail not. Let11:34 me tell you what Jesus is praying for you and and for me and for us. That even though it's dark, even though you don't see any answer, even though those solution is nearby, even though it's it's pitch11:46 black, even though you can't see Jesus, even though Jesus sees you, he's praying that your faith fail not, that the toughness of the11:58 situation doesn't cause you to turn the boat around, that the toughness of the situation doesn't cause you to give up, That the toughness of the darkness of the moment doesn't make you throw in the12:10 towel. Jesus' prayer is that your faith fail not. Notice what the verse says, and this is this is sweet. This is this is sweet. You can you can12:22 live with this 1. Because it says, at the end of verse 48, he came to them walking on the12:34 sea. Let me say that again. I don't want you to miss that. He came to them walking on12:47 the sea. Okay. I wanna say that real slow. He came to them walking on the12:59 sea. Now he told them to go to the other side. They could have argued, let's go back to Jesus. Because13:10 Jesus stayed on the land. But if they went back to Jesus, they would have had to disobey Jesus because Jesus told them to go to the other side of the water. Yes, sir. So if13:22 they would have turned it around and gotten spiritual, we too far from Jesus. Let's turn this boat around because it's hard out here in the middle when the wind's contrary against us. Let's go13:34 back to Jesus. They could've gotten real spiritual, But if they would've gotten that spiritual, they would've had to disobey. Yes. Because he told them, keep going to the other side. But what13:46 verse 48 says is, he came to them. But it tells you more than that he came to them. It says, he came to them walking on the water. Alright.14:00 And let me say that 1 more time. He came to them walking on the water. Now you I know you're asking. You say, why do you keep repeating that? That he came to14:11 them walking on the water. Because I thought the water was the problem. I I thought I thought the water was the issue. I thought the water was causing the14:23 conflict because there was a storm, and they were straining, and the water was the in other words, he came to them on the very problem they were dealing with.14:35 Do you know why you couldn't turn your boat around? When you're in God's will doing the best you can? Because your problem may very well be the staircase that God14:47 uses to make his entrance known to you. Amen. In other words, God may need the problem to take the trip. Because trust me, if14:59 somebody is walking on water, you know that ain't normal. If somebody is walking on water, you know that's not natural. If somebody is walking on water, you know something15:10 supernatural is going on. That God can use the very problem you're in to make his unique presence known. So15:23 he's walking on the water. Verse 48 says, and he intended to pass them by. He's walking on water,15:36 and he intended to pass them by. But when they saw him walking on the sea and supposed that it was a ghost, they cried out. In other words, they were scared.15:51 Because this ain't normal. This is not normal for a person to be walking on water. It's gotta be a ghost. After all, it's dark. They're just seeing a shadow come their way. See, the the reason16:03 why they're scared, they didn't expect Jesus to show up like this.16:14 See, the worst thing you can do is box God in to how you think he ought to come through for you.16:27 The worst thing you can do is box God in and think that if he's gonna show up, it must be like this because that's the only thing my mind can conceive of. They could not16:39 conceive that he would show up walking on the very problem that was causing them the very difficulty that they wanted to get out of. Jesus came to them on the problem, and they16:50 didn't couldn't imagine. They thought it was a ghost. Jesus speaks up. He says17:02 in verse 50, take carriage in his eye. Do not be afraid. Now wait a minute. There is a storm. Take carriage in his eye. Do not17:14 be afraid. He spoke, but there's still a storm. In other words, he calmed them down with17:26 his word before he changed their circumstance. He let them hear his word before he changed their situation. It17:38 is I. We said that the treasure, Isaiah 33 6, is the fear of17:50 God. We are afraid of the wrong thing. We give more weight to the circumstance than to the God who can18:02 walk on it. Turn your Bibles back 2 pages to Mark 4, a similar story.18:14 Verse 35. And on that day when evening came, he said to them, let us go over to the other side. See, let's don't go over to the other side. This time he's with them. Leaving the crowd, they took him along with them in18:26 the boat. Just as he was and other boats were with him. And there arose a fierce gale of wind. See, it's the same situation. And the waves were breaking over the boat so that the boat was18:38 already filling up. Jesus himself was in the stern asleep on the cushion, and they woke him and said, teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? He got up and rebuked the wind and the18:50 sea. Hush, be still. And the wind died down, and it became perfectly calm. And he said to them, why are you so afraid? How is it that you have no faith? They became very much afraid and said to 1 another,19:02 who is this that even the wind and the sea obey him? I'm a I'm a pick up the first story in Mark 6, but but look look at Mark 4. He gets in the boat with them, and19:15 he goes to sleep. Says he fell asleep. But it says more than that, it says he fell asleep on a cushion. That's a pillow.19:27 Now if you fall asleep on a pillow, that means you meant to go to sleep. You you're not just nodding. Nothing. You didn't tuck that baby up under you, and you leaning over. You didn't go on to sleep on purpose.19:39 While Jesus is napping, the storm breaks out. The Greek word is lilac. A lilac is a windstorm over in the Sea of Galilee. It roughs the19:51 water up because the Sea of Galilee is in a basin surrounded by mountains, and the the sea whipped up the storm, and the storm was tumultuous. And and they looked over, and the savior20:03 they're trusting in is snoring. Have you ever felt Jesus snoring on you? You in a crisis, and he sleep. You're not hearing20:15 anything from heaven. In fact, they go over to some of him and say, teacher, carest thou not that we're dagging? And it feels like that sometimes when you're the20:26 middle and everything is contrary, and you can't make contact, and you're right smack dab in the will of God because he told you to get in the boat.20:40 They wake him up and say, carest thou not that we perish? And Jesus said, why are you so timid? Why you wanna give up on me this quick?20:53 Why are you so timid? I can hear Peter now. Oh, maybe because we're getting ready to die. You know? The boat's filling up with21:05 water, Jesus. Oh, you of little faith. Now21:18 on the face of it, that would sound insensitive. When the boat's filling up with water, it looks like we could drown. You're21:30 asleep. We're doing what you ask us to do. In other words, none of this makes sense. It doesn't compute. It doesn't fit my theology class in the kingdom agenda bible institute.21:42 This does not compute. Why would Jesus say to them, oh, ye of little faith?21:54 Because before they left, he said, let us go to the other side. They were probably saying like you do in22:06 church. Amen. Other side. Other side. Other side. Side. Side. We're gonna get to the other side because Jesus said other side. Other side. Other side.22:19 But their circumstance, the storm, made them forget what Jesus had said. The question of fearing22:31 God is will you believe his word when the circumstances are contrary to you? Will you believe what he said when things are not working out like he said? The22:44 only reason you won't believe it is because it looks like the circumstances are bigger than he is.22:56 Notice what he said? He said the new American standard says, hush. Be still. The King James version says, peace. Be23:08 still. Wait a minute now. If peace is gonna be still, that means peace is moving. I thought a storm was moving.23:21 Listen. If you're in a storm and you're in God's will, it's peace that's moving. It's peace in motion. Why? Because23:33 God never tells you where he's gonna take you without getting you to where you're going even though there may be interruptions along the way. If they really would have believed his word when they saw him on a pillow,23:45 they would have gotten their pillow too, and all of them would have been snoring. Because they would have feared him more than the circumstances.23:55 They're gonna have some storm. You it's gonna rain. Some will be light showers. Others will be thunderstorms. Some will be quick showers. Others will last for a while. But24:07 what I wanna submit to you is no matter how big your storm gets, God is bigger, and that is your treasure for troubled times.24:21 Now back to chapter 6. He says, take care of your desire. Do not be afraid. Then he got into the boat with them.24:34 The wind stopped. Okay? The wind did not stop until he got into the boat. Remember, he intended to pass24:46 them by. So it wasn't until that was intimacy of relationship that24:57 circumstance changed. It didn't change when they heard his word. It is I. Do not be afraid. That's the word. But it didn't change the circumstance until there was intimacy of association.25:11 You can hear the word all day and feel better because you've heard the word, but until there's intimacy of relationship is that change of circumstance.25:25 He got in with them. Now, see, first of all, they heard from him, but now he got in with them.25:38 So the word became a living relationship of closeness with them.25:50 They were utterly astonished. They were shocked. Verse 51 says, why were they shocked? For they had not gained26:02 any insight from the incident of the loaves because their heart was hardened. Okay. Here it is. They hadn't grown26:13 any. They hadn't grown any. How do you know if you're growing? You26:25 could say I'm growing, but you're not growing just because you know more. Because you can quote more verses. Spout more theology. That doesn't mean you're growing. That means26:37 you're informationally, you may be growing in data. But that's not the growth he's talking about. He's talking about a growth where the heart's not hardened.26:50 He says, the reason that they were astonished is because they hadn't learned. And they hadn't learned from what had just27:02 happened in a few verses before with the loaves and the fish. You know you're growing when you're unastonished.27:15 See, he says, they were astonished because they had learned, and their hearts were hardened. What exactly hadn't they learned?27:27 Let's rewind. There are 5000 men, not counting women and children. That's 20000 people. All Jesus has is sardines and crackers, a couple of27:38 fish and some barley loaves. That's all he's got. What did Jesus do when he faced the trial? Well, there was too little for too many. What27:52 did he do? Well, if you back up the verse if you back up the verse 38, how many loaves do you have? Go look. And they found out and said 5 and 228:04 fish. He commanded them all to sit down by groups on the green grass. They sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. He took the 5 loaves and he took the fish and looking up with the heaven, he blessed the food28:16 and broke the loaves and he kept giving to the disciples and set before them. He divided them up up the 2 fish among them all, and they ate and were satisfied and picked up28:28 12 full baskets of broken pieces and also of the fish, and there were 5000 men who ate the loaves. Wait a minute now. Jesus didn't have enough to go around. He didn't have enough to28:39 feed 1, more or less 20000. But the text says, he blessed what he had. It wasn't nearly enough, but he blessed it. And I don't28:51 know how it happened, but somehow Moby Dick orchard to kill a whale, something was laying on the beach, and he feeds 5000 people, not men, not counting women and children. What was the lesson that the29:03 disciples didn't learn when you're in a storm? And you don't know how you're gonna get out of the storm, and there's not enough to make it through the storm. Bless what God has given29:15 you, and let God do the rest. Jesus says, if you would have paid attention to what happened yesterday with the29:26 5000, you would have been blessing me in the middle of your situation. You would have been praising me in the middle of your mess. You would have been glorifying me even though you're stuck29:38 in the middle of the ocean if you were paying attention. How do you know when you're growing? When the storm comes.29:50 If there is no storm, you will never know if you're growing. I want you to bless him30:02 in the midst of the storm for whatever he has given you, 2 fish, 5 barley loaves, not much. Not much. God, you ain't giving me much to bless.30:15 All through Israel's history, rather than blessing God, they complained. You gave us manna, we want meat. I want30:26 you to take hold of this treasure of fearing God above your circumstance, prove by blessing him in the midst for whatever little he's given you. It's not enough. I know it's not enough.30:38 I know you're stuck in the middle. I know you you you wanna turn around and go back. I know it's dark. I understand that. I want you to still bless him because he has a way of walking on your mess to get to you.30:57 Now as we conclude, there's 1 more part to the story. When you hear theologians or bible scholars31:10 or students refer to the synoptic gospels, they're referring to Matthew, Mark, and Luke, not John. Because Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell basically the31:21 same stories in different ways from the perspective of those authors. John does not. John's stories are totally different. You you don't find John's stories in Matthew, Mark, and31:33 Luke, but you find Matthew's stories in Mark and Mark's stories in Luke by and large, but you don't find them in John except this 1. This is an exception to the31:45 rule. For while all 3 tell this story, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, John tells this story too where he doesn't tell the other stories. He31:58 picks up on this story because he wants you to know something that the other 3 don't tell you. Turn to John chapter 6.32:11 John chapter 6. The story begins in verse 15, the very same story. Verse 16, and when evening came, his disciples went down32:23 to the sea and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, you see, and Jesus had not come to them because he was in the mountain praying. The sea began to be32:34 stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. Same story. Then they had rode about 3 or 4 miles, so 3 and a half miles or so. They saw Jesus walking on the sea. So far,32:46 the same story. Drawing near to the boat, and they were frightened. They thought it was a ghost. It's the same story. Verse 20, but he said to them, it is I. Do not be afraid. The same story. On32:58 verse 21, the story changes. So they were willing to receive him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to33:10 which they were going. That information isn't in Matthew. That information isn't in Mark. That information isn't in Luke, but John wants you to get some information33:21 that will bless you. Mark told us that Jesus was walked on the water, and he intended to pass them by. But then Mark tells us he got in the boat, but we don't know why33:33 he got in the boat till you read John. John 6 21 says, he got in the boat because they invited him into the boat. They asked him to come into the boat. They weren't satisfied33:45 with the word. They wanted the person in the boat. And when they invited him into the boat, guess what the verse says? Immediately, they had arrived at the33:57 destination they were going. But wait a minute. I thought the story said they were 3 to 4 miles out. They were 3 and a half miles out. But as soon as Jesus got34:09 into the boat, they had arrived at the destination that they were going. Jesus wanted them to see. He can cover a lot of distance in a little bit of34:20 time if you will let him get close to you. If you will not only hear his word, but pursue his person, he can cover 3 and a half miles and 3 and a half minutes34:32 if you draw near to him. But if you don't invite him in, he will pass you by. Because he doesn't just want you to have information, he wants you to have relationship. And34:44 that relationship changes your scenario. Somebody ought to praise the Lord in spite of what you have to face because God can change stuff immediately.34:57 Immediately. Bless the name of the Lord today. So right now, just bless him for what little you have.35:08 What what little you have. Bless him for what little you have. Bless him for what little you have. He knows you're stuck. He knows where you are.35:20 He knows what you're going through, but invite him into the boat because immediately, they had arrived at their destination. 1 of the35:32 wonderful things about the good news of salvation is that no matter how deep you've gotten in sin, Jesus' salvation offer is deeper.35:44 You can't out sin Jesus' perfection. The Bible says, He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in35:56 Him. So, no matter how far you've gone, how deep you've gone, how long you've gone into evil, unrighteousness, paganism, rejection, and the worst36:08 of the worst, God's grace is enough to meet you in that dark place, forgive you of your sin, and give you a brand new life36:19 starting right now. Jesus offers it, but you must receive it. So, will you come to Him now and acknowledge that you are a sinner and that you know you can't save yourself,36:32 but since He died to save you for all of your sin, you receive Him as your Savior. You receive the forgiveness He offers. You receive the eternal life that He36:44 gives. And then thank Him for it, that He gave you such a free gift no matter how dark your sin has been.
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