LOC #27: TIME OUT! (Mark 6:30-34)

(This message may be used as an individual sermon or as part of the series.)

MARK 6:30-34 – TIME OUT!

LIFE OF CHRIST #27

After Jairus’ daughter was healed, Jesus evidently made a second visit to his hometown of Nazareth and was again rejected because of the unbelief of the people there.

He also sent the 12 disciples out in pairs on a preaching tour. And around this time, Jesus was informed that King Herod had executed John the Baptist. The disciples returned to Jesus after their preaching tour. It is at this time that we see Jesus taking his men on a “time out” that turned out not to be very long at all.

There are lessons to be learned here. We can sum up the lessons using four words beginning with the letter “C”.

COMMUNICATION – REPORT TO THE LORD

Vs. 30 – This is the only place in the Gospel of Mark that the twelve are called “apostles”. Usually, they are disciples in Jesus’ presence. They are learners, trainees, students.

Here they are called apostles because the term means “one sent”, a messenger. Indeed, in this context, that’s exactly what they were for a brief time. Later, in the Book of Acts, they were more frequently called Apostles, because of Jesus’ orders for them to go into the world to preach the Gospel.

I see a simple lesson here. Our first responsibility as born again Christians is to be Christ’s disciples. A disciple is a learner. Matthew 11:28-30

Note the words, and learn of me. These are key words. We need to learn from our Master. John 12:266,

To serve the Lord Jesus we must follow Him. When we follow the Lord Jesus we will learn from Him. When we learn from Him, we will be like Him. Matthew 10:25a

Our first responsibility as born again Christians is to be disciples. The second responsibility of born again Christians is to be apostles. We are not the original apostles who had seen the risen Savior. But we are ones sent. We are messengers. The great commission was not just for the 12 but for each of us who name the name of Christ. Mark 16:15, Romans 10:13-15

Think of yourself as an apostle. One sent with the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ and what He’s done for you.

Vs. 30 – As we said, the Apostles had been sent out in preaching pairs. Now they have returned. And they reported to their Master. They reported what they had done and what they had taught.

When you have a Master, you are accountable. You must report in. We will all make a final report to the Lord Jesus. Romans 14:12, 1 Corinthians 4:5

Do you want to have a good final report when you stand before your Master?

Then do what the Apostles did. They reported when they came into their Master’s presence.

When the disciples reported in they were subjecting their words and their deeds to Jesus’ approval or disapproval. They could have commended and encouraged, but they also could have been rebuked and corrected.

I have been encouraged to start reporting in each day, either in the morning or the evening. When I review my day with the Lord, and tell him what I’ve said and what I’ve done, he can correct me and encourage me. I can confess my sins and ask for His help.

It really doesn’t matter if my words or my deeds please you. What matters is that they please Him. So I should subject them to His approval!

COUNSEL – REST WHEN NECESSARY – Vs. 31

Vs. 31 – There is a barrage of activity and noise around us.

Every one of us seems to have a very busy schedule whether we are in school, working or retired. There is a never ending stream of business.

And there is a never ending stream of noise.

Remember that Jesus promises in Matthew 11:28, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

John 14:27 – Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Peace and rest are found in the Lord Jesus, so we need to come apart and rest! I think of three basic times when we need to come apart and rest in the Lord Jesus.

First we need to come apart and rest when we feel overwhelmed. When we find ourselves so busy that we don’t have time to even eat or drink properly, it’s time to rest physically. It’s also time to rest spiritually.

Second we need to come apart and rest on a weekly basis.

The Sunday School hour, the Morning Worship Service, the Evening Service on Sunday are all times for you to “come apart and rest awhile”. Your rest is found in worship, in prayer, in learning as a disciple, in having your Spiritual batteries recharged. If you will let them, all three of these services will help give you the Spiritual rest that you need.

Third, we need to come apart and rest awhile on a daily basis. We need to hear Jesus’ voice of comfort and correction every day. I suggest that you set aside at least a half hour and better yet an hour for time of Spiritual rest. Is Jesus worth 1/48^th of your day? That’s a half hour. Is Jesus worth 1/24^th of your day? That’s an hour.

What should you do in these times of Spiritual refreshment? I suggest you read a chapter in the New Testament, and, a chapter in Psalms or Proverbs. After that you may want to branch out to other Old Testament books.

Then I suggest a time of prayer. Worship God and bring your requests before Him. You could use the Lord’s Prayer as your pattern.

COMPASSION – REALIZE THE NEED – Vss. 32-34A

Vss. 32-33 – So they went away privately, but to no avail. It was like living in a small town.

Everybody knows your business!

As they sailed across the lake about four miles, the crowd went around the lake about ten miles and gathered people from the villages they went through. So, when Jesus arrived on the other side of the lake, there was an enormous crowd.

What about the needed rest? I think that there might have been a headwind which made progress slow. I believe that’s how the people could get around the lake to meet Him. Those few hours in the boat, I feel, were therapeutic for the Lord and the disciples.

Vs. 34a – When Jesus saw the great crowd, he was not moved with anger as you might think. That’s how we’d probably react. “Why we can’t get even few days of peace!”

Jesus was moved with compassion.

Jesus saw people!

He saw hurting people.

He saw spiritually hungry people.

He saw spiritually dead people.

He saw sick people.

We would have seen the interruption. Jesus saw the need!

He was moved with compassion towards them.

He cared about their physical and spiritual wellbeing.

He saw them as sheep without a shepherd.

Sheep need someone to lead them, to guide them to feed and water them, to protect them. John 10:11, John 10:27-28

Jesus is the good shepherd who has compassion on the sheep.

As his disciples, we need to open our eyes and see the needs around us. We need to have compassion as our Lord has compassion.

Any time you see a person acting like a sheep without a shepherd; it is time to have compassion!

CONDUCT – RESPOND TO THE NEED – Vs. 34B

Vs. 34b – Action should always follow compassion.

Jesus responded to the need by teaching them many things.

He taught them at length.

What should we do when we start to have compassion on those who are in need?

We should teach them!

And right away, some of you will say, “I can’t do that.”

You can do that if you allow Jesus to empower you!

We can teach them by showing that we care about them.
We can teach them by living a life of trust ourselves.
We can teach them by listening attentively to them.
We can teach them by sharing our own hurts and how God has gotten us through them.
We can teach them by sharing our own personal testimony.
We can teach them by showing them the plan of salvation.
We can teach them by sharing what God has to say in his word.

We need to take our time outs daily.

The more we are in the habit of taking time outs, the more equipped we will be to help a hurting world.

COMMUNICATION – REPORT TO THE LORD

COUNSEL – REST WHEN NECESSARY – Vs. 31

COMPASSION – REALIZE THE NEED – Vss. 32-34A

CONDUCT – RESPOND TO THE NEED – Vs. 34B

(This message may be used as an individual sermon or as part of the series.)

MATTHEW 9:23-27 – STORMY WEATHER

LIFE OF CHRIST #24

We all face trials and troubles often. It is what Cole Porter called “Stormy Weather” in a song that he wrote.

There were a couple of times when the disciples faced storms on the Sea of Galilee.

As we look at this story about literal storm, we also learn lessons about the figurative storms that cause trials and troubles in our lives. Let’s see what lessons we can learn this morning about stormy weather.

STORMY WEATHER IS BEST FACED WHEN JESUS IS IN THE BOAT

Vs. 23 – Think of the boat as our lives.

Although God is present everywhere, there is a special sense in which God is present in our lives. When He indwells us, He has taken up special residence inside of us. John 14:16-17

God the Holy Spirit dwells inside of the Christian.

He is there to guide us, protect us, keep us, teach us, and comfort us.

And God has promised the Christian that this presence is unending! Hebrews 13:5-6

You have heard people say, and might have said yourself, “I wouldn’t want to face this problem without the Lord!”

How true! If God is willing to take up residence in our lives through his Holy Spirit it would be dumb not to avail ourselves of His presence.

When you trust Christ as your payment for sins, you are what the Bible calls, born again, by the Spirit of God. And God the Holy Spirit takes up residence in your life. Romans 8:9

If you have truly trusted Christ as your Savior, you have God’s presence in your life no matter what the storm may be. Make sure that you have Christ in the boat that is your life!

STORMY WEATHER RESULTS FROM OBEDIENCE

Vs. 23 – The Lord Jesus entered the boat. The disciples followed Him into the boat. It was the Lord Jesus who decided where they were going. Luke 8:22

The disciples ended up in a storm on the Sea of Galilee because they were following Jesus in obedience.

Of course, being obedient to God as a Christian and following Jesus’ leadership in our lives is the right thing to do. Luke 9:23-24

Following Jesus after trusting Him for forgiveness does not mean that it will be an easy life. In fact, we will have storms. 2 Timothy 3:12, James 1:2-4

The storms that Jesus leads through will make us strong and mature. And I’d rather follow Jesus in the middle of a storm than to not follow Jesus. Being in the center of the Lord’s will is always the safest place to be.

But you’ll also face storms if you’re not obedient to God.

Would you rather face storms being in the center of God’s will, or out of God’s will? Which makes the most sense?

STORMY WEATHER IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS

Vs. 24 – I don’t have to tell you how dangerous storms can be. Just consider last year’s tsunami and hurricanes Ivan and Rita.

This storm was a very violent storm, and even seasoned fishermen like Peter, Andrew, James, and John were having trouble with it.

The storms of life which we face are also dangerous.

Sometimes we will be in physical danger because of persecution, accidents or illness.

Other times we are in emotional danger with our “storms” threatening to overwhelm us with fear and/or depression.

Other times we are in Spiritual danger, with Satan’s attacks challenging us to give up or to sin.

And this verse alludes to another danger. We might be concerned because in the midst of the storm God appears to be asleep. He does not seem to be responding to our problems during the storm. He seems to be silent.

Our Lord Jesus was able to sleep because He had a human body that got tired. He was also able to sleep because, being sinless, He had a clean conscience. He was also able to sleep, because He quietly allowed Himself to rest in the hands of His loving Heavenly Father.

If you are doing what is right before the Lord, confessing your sins as a Christian, and striving to live for Him, don’t panic when God appears to be asleep. He’ll show Himself to be very much alive at just the right time.

STORMY WEATHER INVOKES FEAR AND PANIC

Vs. 25 – When storms come we tend to fear. And sometimes when storms come we will go into a panic. The situation seems to be absolutely hopeless!

Humans tend to be fearful. If we didn’t tend to be fearful, God would not have put so many verses in the Bible telling us not to be afraid. I’ll just give you two samples, but there are many more “do not fear” verses in the Bible. Psalm 27:1, Isaiah 41:10

We tend to fear and worry about what might happen but hasn’t happened.

We tend to fear and worry about the future.

We tend to fear and worry about the opinions of others.

We tend to fear and worry about our children, our parents, our spouses.

Then comes the times our problems are so real to us that they tend to overwhelm us. We hit the panic mode.

Yes, many fears are justified. But there is a proper way to handle fear.

These seasoned fishermen were literally in over their heads and they knew it, coming to Jesus in panic.

STORMY WEATHER REQUIRES PRAYER AND FAITH

Vs. 25 – The disciples awoke the Lord Jesus.

Their anxious prayer was an indication that they had come to the end of themselves, and that they had at least a little faith that Jesus could help.

I personally think that they waited too long to ask Jesus for help. The moment things got a little stormy, I think they should have come to Him.

We are like that. If things seem to be just a little stormy or troublesome, we’ll just worry over it and try to solve it ourselves, instead of bringing it to God right away.

But when problems get full blown, we come in a panic with a little, but not much faith that God can help. Philippians 4:6, James 1:5-8

Vs. 26 – Note that Jesus did not rebuke the disciples for waking Him up. Like I said, I feel that He would have welcomed being woken up sooner.

Notice our Lord’s calm rebuke in the midst of the storm.

He was not in a panic. He’s totally under control. He can even take the time to rebuke the disciples before He did anything. He is master of the situation.

Let’s remember when we give our stormy problems to God He is not in a panic. He can solve the problem leisurely if He chooses to. There is no reason to get in a dither or bent out of shape.

STORMY WEATHER REVEALS THE GLORY AND POWER OF GOD

Vs. 26 – Jesus said the word and there was perfect calm. It was like there had been no storm. There was no rocking of the waves that normally follow a storm. There was perfect peace.

When Jesus speaks the Word there is perfect peace.

Sometimes the problem totally disappears, but more often than not the place where the greatest miracle has occurred is inside of us.

We are at peace.

God has calmed the ragging in our souls.

Vs. 27 – The disciples were absolutely amazed! The Lord Jesus had done what they had never seen before. A human being told the storm to cease and it did. The winds obeyed Him! The waves obey Him.

They had a new appreciation for the power of Jesus!

They had a new appreciation for the glory of Jesus!

And when Jesus calms our storms, we too, should have a new appreciation for the power and glory of the Lord Jesus.

We should be amazed!

We should be filled with praise and worship.

We should be ready to trust Him when an even bigger storm comes.