Nobleton Community Church
29084 Sentinel Street PO Box 224
Nobleton, Florida 34661
Rev. Paul V. Lehmann, Pastor
813-389-8683
Nobletoncommunitychurch.org
info@nobletoncommunitychurch.org
OUR VISION IS:
To experience SPIRIT-FILLED WORSHIP AND PRAYER
To be involved in EVANGELISM, DISCIPLINING AND TRAINING PEOPLE
To use our SPIRITUAL GIFTS
To SERVE AND REACH PEOPLE FOR CHRIST, BOTH
“ACROSS THE STREET AND ACROSS THE WORLD”
Nobleton Community Church
Date September 29, 2024
Text: Matthew 8:16-34
Pastor Paul Lehmann
Last week we saw that you cannot give what you do not have. In order to achieve greatness in your life, you need to experience greatness — God’s power at work in your life. That’s his role. Today, we’ll look more closely at our role in achieving greatness. It’s been said that successful people are successful because they’re willing to do the things that ordinary people are not willing to do. For example, great business leaders don’t become successful by shuffling papers all day with one eye on the clock; they work hard, they work efficiently, they get things done, and they put in the extra hours when necessary. It’s not always easy, but it’s possible.
Great parents don’t become great parents by merely nodding at their children every few days and handing them some spending money. They go to ball games and recitals, they go to church together, they eat meals together, they spend evenings together enjoying each other’s company. Great parents achieve greatness through providing direction, security, discipline, and love. It’s not always easy, but it’s possible.
Great marriages aren’t made through merely an equitable living arrangement: you do the dishes, I’ll do the yard. Great marriages are made when two people share their hearts and souls and dreams with one another, when they honor and respect and build trust in one another, when they put the needs of the other ahead of their own needs. It’s not always easy, but it’s possible.
In the same way, a great Christian life doesn’t occur by merely attending church on Sunday and making a half-hearted attempt to live by the 10 Commandments, and find out about God, to find out more about Jesus. A great Christian life occurs when a person becomes radically committed to following Jesus and doing his will. It’s not always easy, but it’s possible. And it’s what God wants for you.
In order to achieve greatness in any area, there are certain things you have to abandon. Mark McCormack, author of What They Don’t Teach You At Harvard Business School, said “If you want to be successful in business, you’ll have to abandon the idea of the 40 hour work week. It takes longer than that to succeed.”
When two people get married, they abandon their past, with a vow that says, “Forsaking all others, I pledge myself only to you.”
When a couple has their first child, they abandon some things as well. Such as, silence. Sleeping through the night. Watching a TV show all the way through. These things all involve sacrifice, and yet, they’re all worth the rewards they bring.
It works the same way in the Christian life. If you’re serious about being a Christian — if you want to live a great life that has a positive impact on the world around you and the world for generations to come — then there are some things you’ll have to abandon.
Today we’ll look at four events in the life of Jesus that teach us four things you’ll have to give up in order to be great.
In the first story, a teacher of the law approached Jesus and said…
19 “Teacher I will follow you wherever you go.”
20 Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
In order to achieve greatness, the first thing you’ll have to do …
- You Have to Abandon Empty Promises.
I can imagine what took place in this scene. This man heard Jesus speak with wisdom and authority, he witnessed Jesus performing miracles, and in a rush of emotion he said, “Lord, I’ll follow you anywhere!” It sounds good, except he didn’t take the time to consider what his words really meant, and what their ramifications might be. Jesus checked him on it. He said, in effect, “Are you sure about that? Are you really sure? Are you willing to be homeless? Are you willing to lose everything? Including your life?”
Later in this gospel, Jesus will say…
“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24)
He was making it clear to his followers: Following me comes with a price. Don’t promise more than you’re willing to give.
When it comes to preaching on salvation, I’ve heard two extreme positions.
One is “Easy Believism”: All you have to do is believe in Jesus, and he will save you. It doesn’t matter how you live, because we’re not saved by works, we’re saved by grace. The emphasis of this view is not that Jesus is Lord as much as it is that Jesus is your Savior.
On the other end of the spectrum is Works Salvation: In order to be saved you have to live up to a certain standard, and if you don’t reach that standard, you’ll lose your salvation, or you’ll miss out on getting it in the first place. The emphasis of this view is not that Jesus is your Lord or your Savior, but that he is your tyrant.
A more balanced approach is what is called Lordship Salvation. We understand that salvation is God’s free gift that we cannot earn or deserve, and we receive this free gift when we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord. The emphasis of this view is that Jesus is your Lord and Savior; he saves you from your sins and you receive him as Lord (as boss) of your life.
I say this to emphasize that salvation is not something you work for, that it comes as a payoff at the end of your life for all of your hard work. If that were the case, you would never be able to earn it because you, or no one else in the world, can be that good.
Salvation is a gift. It comes with a price, but you don’t have to pay it. Jesus paid the price for your salvation when he died on the cross for your sins. In order to receive this gift, you must accept as it was given — from the one who wants to be Lord of your life. Paul said…
All who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. (Romans 10:13)The key word here is “Lord.” We talk a lot about God’s grace and mercy; they are foundational principles of our faith.
God freely forgives your sin. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past or how many times you have failed in the past — God’s mercy is available to you. When you give your life to him, he will turn it around and make it into (as the song says) something beautiful. But when you come to him — when you choose to follow him — he wants you to mean business, because he means business. He also wants you to be filled with the Spirit and not follow the desires of the flesh.
God doesn’t make empty promises, and if you’re serious about following Jesus, you can’t expect to get by on empty promises. In order to achieve greatness in the Christian life you have to abandon empty promises.
Secondly…
- You Have to Abandon Lame Excuses.
In the next verse, a man approached Jesus and said…21 “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
These words sound harsh, don’t they? It sounds as if this man is saying, “Lord, give me 48 hours to take care of my deceased father’s funeral arrangements, and I’ll be right back.” And Jesus says, “Forget about your dead father, and forget about attending his funeral. Stay here and follow me.”
His words may sound harsh, but that’s not what this conversation is about. The explanation lies in the way the phrase “I must bury my father” was used. This phrase — and the mindset that accompanies it — is still used in many cultures today. The notion is that grown children have a continuing obligation to their aging parents, to care for them and provide for them until their death, and then, finally, to bury them.
This man wasn’t saying, “Jesus, I need some time off to go to the funeral home.” He was saying, “Jesus, I want to follow you, but not today. Today, I have other priorities.” And maybe, just maybe, he was saying, “And I don’t know what my parents would think if I were to start following you. They might not approve. They might cut off my inheritance. And when it comes down to it, I’m more concerned with what they think than I am with what you think.” There was a little bit of a spark inside this man that caused him to want to follow Jesus, but he couldn’t get past his lame excuses. When it comes to excuses about not being a fully-devoted follower of Jesus Christ, I’ve heard (or perhaps made) just about all of them.
Some teenagers may say, “I’ll get serious about following Jesus after I get married…when I don’t have to struggle with sexual purity.” (When they get married, they’re in for an eye-opener, aren’t they?) And then, married people might say, “After my divorce, I will get serious about following Jesus.” Business people say, “I realize this deal I’m involved in is a little questionable, but as soon as it goes through, I’m really going to get serious about doing business God’s way.”
We can spend years living this way: “Lord, I’m going to get serious about following you…soon…but not quite yet.” We find ourselves living in a place called Someday Isle. by Dennis Waitley.
He wrote…There is an island fantasy
A “Someday I’ll” …What that means is: Someday I’ll we’ll never see; When recession stops, inflation ceases.Our mortgage is paid, our pay increases. That Someday I’l…where problems end. Where every piece of mail is from a friend. Where all the nations can go it alone. Where we all retire at forty-one. Playing backgammon in the island sun. Most unhappy people look to tomorrow; To erase this day’s hardship and sorrow. They put happiness on lay-away, And struggle through a blue today. But happiness cannot be sought. It can’t be earned, it can’t be bought. Life’s most important revelation is that the journey means more than the destination. Happiness is where you are right now
Pushing a pencil or pushing a plow. Going to school or standing in line,
Watching and waiting, or tasting the wine.
If you live in the past you become senile. If you live in the future you’re on Someday I’ll .The fear of results is procrastination. The joy of today is a celebration. You can save, you can slave, trudging mile after mile, But you’ll never set foot on your Someday I’ll; When you’ve paid all your dues and put in your time. Out of nowhere comes another Mt. Everest to climb
From this day forward make it your vow, Take Someday I’ll –and make it your now!
In order to achieve greatness, we need to give up our excuses, give up the tendency to put off what needs to be done, and take action today. Do you want to become great? Then abandon the lame excuses that only to serve to hold you back, and get serious about your relationship with God today.
Thirdly, in order to experience greatness in life……
- You Have to Abandon Limited Faith.
In the next story Jesus gets into a boat with his disciples, to sail across the Sea of Galilee. Matthew writes…
24 Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.
25 The disciples went and woke him, saying: “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
26 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
At this point, the disciples had seen Jesus perform many miracles [Mt. 8:16] including the man with leprosy, whom Jesus touched and made clean; the Centurion’s servant whom Jesus healed from a distance; and Peter’s mother-in-law, who had a life-threatening fever.
The disciples had witnessed the amazing power of Jesus, and yet, when faced with their own crisis, they were certain that he was unable to help them. If they’d had time during the tempest to articulate their fears, I’m sure they would have said things like, “Leprosy is one thing, but this is a huge storm! We’re talking major crisis here. ( They had no idea that he had power over the weather). And just because he’s helped others, what gives us the right to think he’ll save us? He has no idea what’s going on right now. Jesus is not paying any attention to us. He’s sound asleep!”
Have you ever felt that way? You’ve seen him work in the lives of other people, but he seems to be asleep when you’re facing disaster? When that happens, how do you respond?
As we look at this story; Think about how the disciples should have responded…how they would have responded if they had great faith. Three possibilities. They might have spoken to the storm themselves, in the name of Jesus, and calmed the winds by his authority. Or they might have simply ridden the storm out until they got to the other side of Galilee, knowing that they were safe in the presence of Jesus. Or they might have woken him up…but instead of saying, “We’re about to drown” they might have said, “Lord, we need your help; will you calm the storm?”
Their faith wasn’t strong enough for them to do any of those things. So, instead, they panicked. Jesus woke up, and before he rebuked the wind and the rain, he rebuked his followers: he said, “Your faith is too small.”
If you want to achieve greatness in this life, you have to abandon the limits you’ve placed on your faith. Great people have great faith. You’ve got to let go of the idea that God will bless someone else, but he won’t bless you…that he’ll perform a miracle for someone else, but not for you. You’ve got to let go of the idea that God is willing to move only in small ways, but not in big ways. You’ve got to have a “no-limits” faith in what God is willing and able to do in your life.
Jesus said plainly to his followers..
“If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Matthew 21:22)
and it will be yours.” Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, Mark 11:34
“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” (John 15:8)
These are bold promises, and we sometimes go to great lengths to qualify them and explain away why they can’t be taken at face value. But Jesus doesn’t make empty promises — and he doesn’t water them down with small print.
His words can be taken at face value. If you belong to him, his power is available to you — and the only limits on what he can do for you are the limits you yourself put into place. James said…
You do not have, because you do not ask God. (James 4:2)
If you want to achieve greatness, abandon the limits of your faith. Be bold enough to trust God to do the impossible.
Now, let’s let take our final point from the next story in today’s text. This story teaches us that in order to achieve greatness…
- You Have to Abandon Mixed-Up Priorities.
After Jesus and his disciples got off the boat, two demon possessed men approached them, and began taunting him. In the distance, a herd of pigs was feeding, and the demons said to Jesus…
31 “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”
32 He said, to them, “Go!” so they came out and went into the pigs and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water.
33 Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men.
34 Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.
What’s amazing about this story is that the people of this region cared more about their pigs than they did the two demon possessed men who had just been delivered.
I’ve heard people say that it was cruel of Jesus to send demons into a herd of pigs. Now, the truth is, I don’t know why Jesus worked this miracle in the way that he did, but I do know this: the value of a few pigs cannot be compared to the value of two human lives.
The people of that region didn’t care that there were two extremely disturbed men living among the tombs. They just stayed away from them, because the men weren’t important to them — they just cared about the pigs. This story reminds us that people matter to Jesus more than anything else.
In order for us to achieve greatness, we must value what Jesus values. People must come first. Not our livelihood or possessions, but people. To achieve greatness, other people must be at the top of your priority list. As long as things as most important to you, you’re doomed to a life of mediocrity. Greatness recognizes the value of human lives What does it mean to take Jesus seriously? It means that you have to let go of the things that hold you back. It means that you have to quit playing games with yourself and with God, and you have to get down to business.
Empty promises? He doesn’t buy them. Get serious about committing your life to him.
Lame excuses?
Limited Faith? It only stands in the way of experiencing his power. He won’t accept them. Take action today. Stretch yourself to a no-limits faith in God’s ability to work in your life.
Distorted values. They only lead to mediocrity. Value what Jesus values. Devote your life to serving others.
This is what it means to take Jesus seriously. This is the next step on the road to greatness.