The Book of Matthew • Matthew 8:18-34

Welcome to the Willow Ridge Sermons Podcast, where you can listen to audio from our most

recent sermons and more.

Thanks for listening, and be sure to add this show to your library if you'd like to automatically

receive new episodes each week.

Good morning.

Let's try that again.

Good morning.

Good morning.

If you will, take your Bible and turn to Matthew chapter 8.

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

We're going to continue on in Matthew chapter 8.

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

Just as a recap, a few weeks back, Pastor Bo wrapped up the Sermon on the Mount, covering

chapters 5 through 7 in Matthew.

And then last week, Josh led us through or began our time together in chapter 8, which

we pick up this morning to finish it out.

One of my favorite authors is Chuck Swindoll.

It's an author I discovered when I first started ministry back in 1990.

Yes, I'm old.

Yesterday, I turned 60.

So bear with me.

But one of my favorite authors is Chuck Swindoll.

In one of his books, he writes, or actually in his commentary that he writes, what you and

I see in chapters 8 and following are snapshots.

Kind of like what you and I do in life, right?

Wherever we go, vacation, watching a kid play ball, watching a daughter dance, whatever the

case might be, we got our phone with us and we're taking snapshots of those memories.

And what Chuck Swindoll says, they're basically snapshots of who Jesus is and what Jesus can do.

Because there's no flow necessarily to what we're about to read and what we're about to

see together, but they're simply snapshots of the ministry and the life of Jesus.

Would you join me in prayer as we get ready to jump in the rest of chapter 8?

Father God, we thank you so much for the time that we've had so far to worship you through

the songs that we sing.

And Father, I pray now as we gather around your word for you to teach us your truth, that

Lord, you would give us ears to hear, but you would also give us eyes to see what your

word is saying.

Father, I pray that as these words on the pages of our Bibles come off, that they will not only

just be words, but they will be the very voice of yours, but they will also be that which

you use to transform us into the people that you desire us to be.

Lord, we love you and we thank you and we ask this prayer in your name.

Amen.

Do you like being on the front row?

I know some of you do.

Some of you have your very seat that you normally sit in and that's wonderful.

Kind of scares me to be on the front row.

But think about it, front row of the NBA finals, especially, I guess, if you're a Knicks fan.

Or maybe the NHL finals.

I never really liked hockey, but all of a sudden after the Olympics, I started watching hockey

just a little bit.

But maybe the front row of the World Cup that's going throughout the United States.

Or maybe it's a Broadway play.

Or maybe it's that front row seat of your child's game or their performance.

On the front row of Jesus' life and ministry, we have the 12.

It's Jesus' chosen disciples, also known as his apostles.

Front row seats to his teaching and to his miracles.

Take a moment and imagine with me being one of those 12.

Have you ever really tried to do that?

Place yourself in the scriptures and wonder really what that was like?

So take a moment with me and imagine being one of the 12 that we're going to read about

here in chapter 8.

You witness it all.

Even the things that you and I don't have the opportunity to read about.

The ones that didn't make it into the canonization of God's word.

You discover the foods that Jesus really likes to eat.

Is he a meat eater?

Is he like chicken?

Is he like beef?

Is he like olives?

They're all over the place.

You find out if Jesus snores in his sleep.

You ever thought about that?

What kind of sleeper was Jesus?

He sleeps on his side, sleeps on his back.

You start to learn his facial expressions and what usually brings those expressions out.

We were leaving church one Sunday.

I didn't tell my son I was going to say this.

We're leaving church one Sunday.

And we're heading home.

We live off of Bush River Road, about a 12-minute ride from here.

We're going down the interstate.

And all of a sudden, I see our little vehicle that he drives coming up beside me as we pass under 378.

And as he gets beside me, I look over at him with this face.

And he knows what that face means.

He kind of slowed down.

But then he kept on.

So we had a wonderful conversation when he got home about how fast he was driving.

But can you imagine what Jesus' expression would be on his face?

All the different things that he encountered, the conversations that we're going to see here in a moment,

encounter the conversations with the disciples, the religious leaders of his day.

Can you imagine what his posture would be, what his attitude would be in the midst of those conversations?

What it must have been like to be one of the disciples.

In the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, we get insight into the relationship between Jesus and the 12.

And what we're going to look at this morning is really only one portion of them actually being in the action.

The other two cases, they're on the outside looking in.

They've got ears to hear what's going on and eyes to see what is taking place.

Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Matthew is sharing snapshots of Jesus' miracles,

allowing you and I to soak in the person and the ministry of Jesus.

It's what God uses to build your faith and my faith foundation.

And the knowledge and the understanding that he gives you and I through his word,

so that you and I can understand who Jesus is,

and that we can know what Jesus can do.

This knowledge and understanding grows and strengthens our faith in God

when we read what God's word says to you and I.

Join with me as we jump back.

Jump back to Matthew 4, verse 23.

Matthew 4:23

We get some context to what you and I are about to read.

Matthew 4, starting at verse 23.

And he, Jesus, went throughout all Galilee.

So if you could envision the Sea of Galilee, okay?

It's, I think I read, it's like 18 miles long and, I don't know, nine miles wide, something like that.

But in all that region around there are all these towns.

And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom

and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.

So Matthew is setting this up before we ever get to the Sermon on the Mount.

He's given us the location where all this is taking place.

Verse 24.

So his, Jesus, his fame, his fame spread throughout all Syria.

That's important for us here in a moment.

This idea of fame.

And they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains,

those oppressed by demons.

Again, we get to see that in a second.

Those having seizures and paralytics.

And he healed them.

And great crowds.

Great crowds.

We're also going to see in a little bit, Matthew really loves this word.

But it's important.

And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis.

Decapolis basically was the definition of ten cities around Galilee.

And from Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.

So all this area, Jesus would be traveling, going by foot, going by boat to get to these places.

You and I gain a full brain in these encounters and what we're about to read.

So back, jump back to Matthew chapter 8 with me.

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

Starting at verse 18.

In Matthew 8, 18 through 22, you and I are going to see a relationship with Jesus will be costly.

A relationship with Jesus will be costly.

That's something not only that we see in scripture, but it's what you and I need to understand

if we're going to be a follower of Christ, if we're going to be a Christian.

In verse 18, I'm going to read it through and then we'll break it apart.

Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side.

And a scribe came up and said to him,

Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.

And Jesus said to him,

Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests,

but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.

Another disciple said to him,

Lord, let me first go and bury my father.

And Jesus said to him,

Follow me and leave the dead to bury their own dead.

When you first read that, you're going,

Wow, Jesus.

That's kind of harsh.

These guys just want to follow you.

They want to be under your teaching.

But remember who these guys are talking to.

They're talking to Jesus.

I don't believe they really understand who they're talking to quite yet.

They don't know whose presence they're standing in.

They don't know who they're having a conversation with.

He knows what they're thinking.

He knows the motivations behind their statements.

Back up to verse 18.

And when Jesus saw a crowd around him,

that was all of a sudden normal.

Remember what we just read, Matthew 4.

Remember as Jesus gathered on the mountainside to teach what we know as the Sermon on the Mount.

There are probably thousands.

And when you read other places in the scripture,

remember the feeding of the 5,000 with the little boy's lunch.

5,000 men, it says in there.

But you can explode that number because there had to be wives.

There had to be children.

So more than 5,000.

Another place that we see in the gospels,

there was 4,000 people in which crowded around Jesus.

So when you and I see the idea of crowd,

it's probably not 40 people.

It is probably a large group of people.

And when Jesus saw a crowd around him,

he gave orders to go over to the other side.

He's given orders to his disciples.

Guys, we're leaving here and we're going to the other side.

And anytime you see the word, the phrase,

scholars say over to the other side means that Jesus is about to travel to the other side of the seat of Galilee.

Matthew states it again in chapter 8, verse 1.

He says,

When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him.

So people are all around him.

All around him.

Why would Jesus want to go from Capernaum to Gezreel?

Why would he want to do that?

He's got this great crowd of people around him.

Why would he say,

Guys, it's time to check out of here.

It's time to go to the other side.

And again, this is a stretch of about six miles long from where they're traveling to across the Sea of Galilee.

Why?

I think because you and I see, begin to see Jesus' human side.

Being both human and being both divine.

He's becoming depleted in his natural body.

His body needs rest.

You see, Jesus developed the idea of the personal retreat.

In other places in the gospel, we see where Jesus pushes away from the crowd.

He pushes away from the disciples to get alone with just him and God, his Father.

So you and I might need to take a note of that.

When our body is depleted, what usually happens?

For some of us, we get sick.

Something happens, right?

There's just not the energy.

There's not what we need there.

And our body starts to just quit on us.

And so we get sick or we decide that we're going to rest.

And I see this is what takes, this is why Jesus wants to get away.

Can you imagine for a moment?

Remember, we're there.

We're with the disciples.

Can you imagine coming off of a mountain, teaching thousands of people?

And not only that, you begin to have these one-off conversations with others.

We'll see it here in a second with a scribe and a disciple.

Can you imagine what that would do to your mental, physical, and emotional being?

It's got to be zapping.

And we'll get to see that in a second when the disciples and Jesus are in a boat together.

I heard my son, Brennan, use this phrase before here recently,

sharing about all of what had taken place last semester about his time over in Italy

as he was working on his degree.

He said, my social battery is low.

My social battery is low.

He's basically saying, man, I have been around a lot of people for a long time

and my battery needs to be recharged.

You probably get that feeling yourself, right?

When you just feel like you're zapped.

I think that's what Jesus is experiencing here.

Just when Jesus is about to find that rechar, just when Jesus is about to step in the boat

to get away from the crowd and get to the other side,

two guys want to have a conversation with him.

You probably recognize moments like that.

Maybe you want to go take a nap and somebody in your household needs to have a conversation with you.

Right?

Maybe you had plans for the weekend.

Yeah, I'm going to relax and I'm going to rest.

And you get some phone calls or you get some texts and go, hmm, I think I better change my plans now.

Verse 19, and a scribe came up and said to him, teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.

See, I think the scribe and this disciple just didn't really know what they were asking.

They really didn't have a clue of what they thought they wanted to do in a relationship with Jesus.

You see, a scribe was, in that day, was a biblical scholar.

They knew the Bible, the old portions of the Old Testament that they would have at the time.

They knew it very well.

They knew how to teach it.

They would understand it.

But what scholars say is that a scribe would attach themselves to a rabbi, a teacher,

to basically learn from them, but not only learn from them,

and when they discovered another teacher that might have been more prominent or what we read earlier about Jesus,

that he became famous, that fame began to circle around him,

this scribe, scholars believe, wanted to attach himself to Jesus for that very purpose.

For that when they saw Jesus, they would see him.

That's not a truthful motivation to follow God, is it?

So Jesus knows that, and Jesus says to him,

foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests.

What kind of answer is that?

It's the answer that only Jesus could give because he knows the motivation in the heart of the scribe.

And Jesus says to him, but the son of man, the first time that Jesus ever uses this phrase,

and this phrase is used 81 times in the scripture by Jesus with the exception of two times.

But the son of man has nowhere to lay his head.

Jesus is helping these two, or the scribe, understand that he is God in the flesh of Jesus.

That he is both divine and that he is both human.

He didn't understand who he was talking to.

The idea that nowhere to lay his head was very true.

Jesus had a home, but once he began his ministry, he never returned back to that home.

To rest his head, to lay down, take a nap.

No, everywhere he went, that was not the case.

He didn't have a place to go.

So Jesus is trying to help this scribe understand,

listen, if you're going to follow me, you're about to give up the comforts of a bed.

If you're going to follow me, you're about to give up those rooms that you have

where all these scrolls are for you to learn biblical truths.

He says, you're going to give all that up if you truly want to follow me.

And then verse 21, another of the disciples, this is not one of the 12.

When you and I read the word disciples throughout the gospel, sometimes I know early on, as I was becoming a Christian and early on and trying to understand God's word,

when I saw a disciple, I thought it meant the 12.

Everywhere I saw that.

But it doesn't.

A disciple is somebody who learns under a teacher.

And so you have multiple disciples that would, even in the midst of that crowd that would be around Jesus teaching,

they were disciples hearing what Jesus was saying, but yet they have not committed to follow him.

You remember another place in the gospels we see where there's disciples, a group of 60 or 72 disciples,

that all of a sudden decide that they don't want to follow Jesus anymore.

You see, a disciple was a term that was used to describe somebody who wanted to learn under a teacher.

This disciple that this is referencing is not one of the 12 that you and I read about and that you and I see in this passage as well.

And he says to him, says to Jesus, Lord, let me first go and bury my father.

A noble task, right?

In that custom, in the Jewish life, you would, that is what your responsibility would be.

To make sure all the burial things that need to take place, preparing your family member and seeing it through,

it was your responsibility to do that.

Yet some scholars say this, what would probably take place here, happen here,

is that this young man or this person's father had not quite died yet.

And so he doesn't know what he's asking.

And Jesus said to him, follow me and leave the dead to bury their own dead.

So I think this disciple here got caught up in the hoopla of being around Jesus.

And Matthew is just showing to you and I the importance of authentic desires to follow after Jesus.

It can't be for some ulterior motive.

It can't be for what you want to get out of Jesus.

It has to be what Jesus wants to do in and through your life.

And that is to transform it.

Jesus knew these two were not ready to give up their lifestyles to follow him.

It is costly to follow Jesus.

For many, it has cost them their lives the ultimate cost.

The Apostle Paul said, to live is Christ, but to die is gain.

There is a cost involved.

For many, it costs them relationships, families, friends, someone they're dating, business opportunities.

There's countless stories out there of folks who grew up in a different religious type of family.

Who come to know the Lord as their personal Lord and Savior.

Whose family basically turns their backs on them.

And even to some extent will have a funeral to note that they are dead to the family.

Because they have chosen to follow Christ instead of following the ways of their family's religion.

That's a significant cost.

Maybe for you and I, the cost for us is that it costs us a relationship.

Maybe we have a wonderful friendship with somebody.

But because we've chosen to follow Christ and do the things that God would have us to do.

We have to say no to that relationship.

We have to say, I can't spend time with you like we used to.

Why?

Because maybe those times spent with that individual takes you places and takes your mind in locations that God doesn't want you to be.

But because of that relationship, it goes there.

So if you're going to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, you have to say no.

There is a cost to follow Jesus.

What has it cost you to follow Jesus?

What will it cost you as you continue to follow Jesus?

This sounds bad, the thought of giving up relationships and or what you want to do in life.

But Jesus said in John 10, 10, the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

So if it costs you a relationship, if it costs you a job, if it costs you any other thing in life.

Does it really matter when you're following Jesus Christ and he says to you and I in his word that he gives us abundant life?

Abundant life, full life, meaningful life.

So what might seem bad for the moment will not compare to what God has ready for you and will give you down the road.

Jesus says to you and I, I've got the better life for you.

I've got the full life for you.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his book, The Cost of Discipleship, if you ever want a book to read, it's small.

But he writes there, when Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.

When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.

And what Dietrich is saying about that is that you have to die to yourself.

We're born into this world and it's all about me, me, me, me, me, right?

As a baby, give me food, give me my toy.

That's my toy, not your toy.

I want it back.

You don't get to have it.

It's all centered around us, right?

But when you and I come into a relationship with Jesus Christ, it's not about us anymore.

It's about what God desires for our life.

Die to your way of life.

Die to your way of thinking.

Die to your own desires.

In Matthew 16, verse 24, Jesus is painting another picture for his disciples of what it means to be his followers.

Matthew 16:24

He says in that, then Jesus told his disciples, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

Jesus puts in there, deny yourself.

Take up your cross.

The cross is the identity of suffering and follow me.

Follow what I am.

Follow what I do.

The two-fold benefit of being a follower of Christ is, one, walking with Jesus through this life on earth.

No better way.

Two, being in God's presence for all eternity.

Finally, Jesus makes his way to the boat to get to the other side.

Matthew 8, 23 through 27.

And right here, you and I see a relationship with Jesus will give a godly perspective on fear.

A relationship with Jesus will give a godly perspective on fear.

I'm not going to ask you to show your hand, but I guarantee you, each one of us in here at some point or at multiple points, we've had fear in our life.

It has occupied our mind.

It has occupied our heart.

It has stirred our emotions.

It may have even led us to being sick at our stomach.

Fear has an incredible way of messing with us.

A relationship with Jesus will give a godly perspective on fear.

Verse 23 and following.

And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him.

And behold, there arose a great storm.

Remember that word I said earlier that Matthew likes to use?

On the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves, but he was asleep.

And they went and woke him, saying, person being asleep is Jesus, saying, save us, Lord, we are perishing.

And he said to them, why are you afraid, oh, you of little faith?

Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm, once again, great calm.

And the men marveled, saying, what sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?

Look back with me at verse 23.

And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him.

Now Jesus is with the 12.

It's just him and the 12 disciples.

They're together, nobody else.

The conversation he had with the two earlier, they're not there.

Scholars will tell you they don't even know what happened to that conversation.

They don't know what happened with the scribe and the other disciple.

But now it's Jesus and the 12 in a boat.

And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves.

Just think about that for a moment.

I've never been out in open waters.

I've been on Lake Murray, that's about it.

I've never, I know some of you have been off the coast of South Carolina, you've gone like a mile out.

And that doesn't sound a lot, but when you talk to somebody who's been a mile offshore, that's a lot.

I guess when you don't see land, that's a pretty scary place, right?

And so these disciples are in the middle or somewhere along the way, they're out in the Sea of Galilee.

And what, again, scholars say to you and I when we read about this is that the way the landscape is shaped around the Sea of Galilee

and the atmosphere that's around there, storms will just pop up at any moment at any time.

It's kind of like sometimes you might feel the way here in Columbia, right?

Beautiful day.

And next thing you know, a storm just pops up on you, right?

I mean, we kind of get a taste of that, but nothing like this.

A great storm on the sea.

And then all of a sudden here you've got a few fishermen, right?

You've got a few fishermen.

Jesus found them mending their nets when he first came to them.

And now you've got fishermen in the boat.

And all of a sudden the water's coming over the sides.

The water's coming into the boat.

And it had to be something amazing, right?

Because fishermen would experience that being out on the Sea of Galilee.

They would recognize a storm coming.

They would recognize, hey, it's going to get a little rough, fellas.

Just, you know, bear with us for a second.

But that's not the case here.

The water was coming over.

My favorite part of verse 24, my favorite part of verse 24, it says,

but Jesus was asleep.

Out somewhere in the Sea of Galilee, a massive storm is happening.

Could have been lightning, might have, Matthew doesn't say.

But it's a great storm, and Jesus is just snoozing along.

He is relaxed.

He has no worry in the world.

You remember what I said earlier?

He has been preaching.

He's been teaching.

He's been healing.

This is a picture of Jesus being exhausted.

He's sleeping in the middle of a storm.

I love it.

Jesus is not fazed one bit by fear of an amazing storm.

Verse 25, and they went and woke him, saying,

save us, Lord, we are perishing.

Again, these guys have been on the water before.

Man, they are, in my opinion, they are in freaked out mode.

They think the time is over for them.

And they go, and they say, save us.

Now, the interesting thing here is they say, save us, Lord.

Not save us, teacher.

Not save us, Jesus.

They use the word Lord, signifying who Jesus is.

So, that is significant.

But at the same time, they're being overwhelmed by the fear that they're about to go down with the boat.

By all accounts, as you think about it, these disciples are still babes in their faith.

They're still discovering who Jesus is.

They're still discovering who they are and what this relationship looks like.

They are babes in their follow ship.

They don't know all there is to know about the man sleeping in the boat with them.

They didn't receive some kind of special follow Jesus dust.

It kind of, all at one moment, they understood who he was.

One of my favorite verses of Scripture is Psalms 34, 8.

When David writes about his relationship with God, he says,

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.

Disciples haven't tasted enough of time being with Jesus to know that.

So, they're being overwhelmed by their natural thoughts.

They're being overwhelmed by their natural fears.

We read this in Psalm 34.

You and I are invited to learn and experience the ways of God.

The truth of God and the life of God.

That's what's happening with the disciples in this very moment.

In verse 26 says,

And he said to them,

Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?

Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea,

and there was a great calm.

Why are you afraid?

Jesus is like,

Come on, guys.

Please, get this.

Understand who I am.

You have already seen me do miracles.

Don't you understand who I am?

Why are you afraid?

Jesus is taking time to do a teachable moment for them.

It's like, guys, look at the surroundings.

I'm in the boat with you.

I'm not on the shore.

You haven't left me.

In the middle of the storm,

I am with you.

Then he says to them,

Oh, you of little faith.

I'm like, man.

Again, Jesus, you're kind of being rough, aren't you?

Say to them, you guys just, you guys got a little bit of faith.

But Jesus is not being rough.

I think Jesus is trying to help them realize who they are and who he is.

There's times throughout your life and my life, we have to be reminded of who Jesus is.

Hopefully, it's not in those moments where fear, but sometimes it is.

You see, maybe they had forgotten what they observed, what Josh taught on last week about the centurion's faith who had great faith.

Who knew that all Jesus had to do was speak and his servant would be healed.

Those guys forgot that.

Now, I'm going to give those guys a little bit of slack because David Allen forgets a lot of what God's words teaches me.

And therefore, I have to be reminded.

Therefore, I have to continually read God's word to be reminded.

We'll see in the rest of our study of Matthew, when you read the rest of the Gospels of Mark, Luke, and John, and even in Acts,

that you see that these disciples, their faith grows firm, their faith grows deep, and their faith grows stronger.

Why?

Because they continue to spend time with Jesus.

They continue to walk with Jesus.

They continue to hear Jesus' teaching.

They continue to see Jesus do the things that only he can do.

But check this out.

As I was studying this, it just kind of caught me off guard.

And it just, it was amazing to me.

Maybe it's not to you.

But Jesus is still lying down.

He's lying down in the boat.

They come and wake him up.

He doesn't even jump to his feet and go immediately into save mode.

He says what he says, but he's still lying down.

He's not rattled by the storm.

He's not rattled by their fear.

When I read these words in the Scriptures, it comes across to me as Jesus' voice is calm and unhurried.

Jesus knows who he is.

Jesus knows what he can do.

And it's not coincidence, the fact that he is God with us.

Remember around Christmas time, we talk about the Messiah and the word meaning God with us.

And that was actually God with them.

And it says to us in those verses, then, that's where I get the idea that he's still in that sleep posture, whatever that might be.

He says, then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea.

And there was a great calm.

Jesus says what he has to say to him.

And then he stands up and he looks at the storm around him and he rebukes it with his words.

And Matthew says, there was a great calm.

Just a few verses up, he says, a great storm.

And then in a few verses down, he says, a great calm.

It's one of those, what I picture is like, if you're out on Lake Murray and it's a beautiful day and there's not much wind, the water looks like glass.

That's what I picture of a great, a calmed, great storm.

The water is like glass.

In a moment, Jesus' words simply calm a storm.

Think about that for a moment.

Think about being in that boat with the disciples and that storm comes up onto them.

It's a massive storm.

All they can think about is perishing and dying.

They're afraid down to their bones.

And Jesus stands up and in his words alone, he says and rebukes the storm and it's calm.

Just like that.

I believe God can do that in your life and in my life.

Whatever the storm of life may be, whatever the fear that you may have in your life,

if we just acknowledge who God is, we acknowledge his, acknowledge his power, his authority in our life and in this world,

God can do whatever he needs to do in whatever situation you and I face.

My oldest, our oldest son, Bryce, he was finishing up the sixth grade, I think.

My wife will correct me later, which is fine.

My memory is not well.

Remember, I said earlier I was 60, right?

Memory.

60-year-old, I had gone to my doctor's for my annual doctor's appointment, you know,

check out if I was going to make it another day or two.

And they did that little oxygen test, you know, you had the thing on your finger and it reads your oxygen level.

And mine was low.

I'm going to try to make this story real short, too.

Mine was low.

He says, you've got to go to the hospital.

You might have some blood clots.

Blood clots.

I know what a blood clot is, but it didn't sink in.

I go to the hospital.

I do.

I ended up having a DVT in my left leg and I have multiple blood clots in my lungs.

And I end up staying in the hospital for a whole week being treated for all that.

Not once did I really was afraid.

And nurses are coming in going, you feel okay?

You're right.

Doctors are saying, have you been doing this?

You've been doing that?

I'm like, I'm sitting there as they're saying all this.

I'm just sitting here thinking, what in the world?

Again, it's not registering blood clots.

Yes, I know they can break off, kill you, blah, blah, blah.

Sorry.

To the medical people in here, I see Tamara.

But again, that's how I was approaching it.

My wife would tell you that's not how she was approaching it, right?

It's one of those things, the elders are showing up, praying with me.

And she's thankful for that because she's out in the lobby just like, Lord, what's going on?

All I can say is in that moment, in those moments, I was just praying.

Because again, yes, serious, I realize that.

But anytime you and I run into situations in life where the fear begins to take over us, whatever that situation might be, a lot of times our first instinct is try to figure it out.

Or we do a deep dive into oh no's and worry.

But what if we, the situations that overwhelm us with fear or whatever the situation is, what if we just start praying?

God, you are the author and perfecter of my faith.

God, there is nothing in this world can separate me from your love.

And so, Lord, I come to you.

Because as Paul says, to live is Christ, to die is gain.

Do I want to die today?

Nope.

Did I want to die back then?

Nope.

I want to see my boys grow up.

I want to see my sons get married.

I want to be a grandfather one day, if that happens to be in the plans.

But if my day comes, it comes.

And I want to rest in the fact of who God is and know his power and know his authority.

From a great storm to a great calm.

Verse 27, and the men marveled, saying, what sort of man is this that even winds and sea obey him?

They finally get it.

They marvel.

They see what Jesus does.

They are overwhelmed by what Jesus does.

And the very little word there where it says, the winds and the sea obey him.

God's power and his authority in nature.

God's power and authority in human life.

And now we're about to see another portion of that.

First, in 2 Timothy 1, chapter 1, verse 7, Paul gives some encouraging words to his young pastor friend, Timothy.

He says,

For God gives you and I a spirit, not of fear, but of power and love and self-control.

Listen to what Isaiah says in chapter 43, starting at verse 1.

But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.

O Israel, the one who formed you says, do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.

I have called you by name and you are mine.

When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.

When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.

When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up.

The flames will not consume you, for I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

My wife, we've been married for over 30-something years.

And she's always had this practice of writing scripture on note cards or sticky notes.

And she'll put them on the mirror in the bathroom where she's got this little block of wood.

It's got a wire on it, and she sticks a card, a verse that she writes.

She will stick it in there.

And this past week, when I was in the restroom, I saw that she had put on there Psalm 16, verse 8,

Psalms 16:8

where David writes these words.

I have set the Lord always before me.

Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

When I am overwhelmed with fear, when I am in situations where I want to be fearful,

I need to remember that the Lord is set before me always, that he's at my right hand.

And I will not be shaken because of who he is.

Disciples thought calming the storm was something to behold.

Wait till they see what Jesus does next.

They're about to get, of all things, listen to this now,

they're about to get a theology lesson from two demons.

Who knew Jesus does?

In Matthew 8, 28 through 34,

you and I will discover a relationship with Jesus will reveal a deep understanding

of who Jesus is and what he can do.

A relationship with Jesus will reveal a deep understanding of who Jesus is and what he can do.

The disciples are about to get a life lesson on who Jesus is

as they see Jesus' encounter with these two demons.

Verse 28,

And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes,

two demon-possessed men met him coming out of the tombs,

so fierce that no one could pass that way.

I think it's over in the Gospel of Mark.

Mark, and actually Luke as well,

described this demon in a different way.

He acknowledged himself as legion,

which means many demons,

thousands of demons that this person would have.

Scholars say that in the event that a demon would be possessing a person,

an individual,

that this individual would be no longer recognized,

that they would not be functioning as themselves

because of the possession that they would have.

So demons-possessed men met him.

So Jesus' disciples coming out of the boat in that country,

and he is met by them coming out of the tombs

so fierce that no one could pass that way.

Nobody would want to go that way.

Don't blame them, right?

See somebody out of their mind coming yelling, coming screaming.

I think, again, over in one part of either Mark or Luke

that talks about breaking chains,

these are guys you just don't want to be around,

you don't want to mess with.

And again, Jesus doesn't seem to be fazed.

He's not fearful of these individuals.

He's not saying to the disciples,

hey, listen, I've just learned that these dudes are over here

coming out of these tombs,

they're pretty scary fellas.

We're going to find another way around.

Jesus doesn't do that.

Verse 29,

Now, I'm not going to dive into the supernatural realm

and darkness and light

because that's a long dive.

But they would know

from how that all arranged and organized

that who Jesus was.

What even makes it more interesting

is the next statement that he said,

have you come here to torment us before the time?

They know,

even though that God has given Satan

and his demons dominion over this world,

they know that at the end they lose.

They know there's a time coming

when whatever control they can have on earth

will no longer be

because God in the beginning has set that up.

And in that moment,

their statement reveals

not only to you and I,

but to the disciples,

they know who Jesus is.

They know who is standing right before them.

God's son who has power and authority

over the supernatural world.

God who has power and authority

over darkness.

Have you come here to torment us

before the time?

Now, a herd of many pigs

was feeding at some distance from them

and the demons begged.

They begged,

please,

not now.

This can't be our time.

And he said to them,

verse 32,

and the demons begged him saying,

if you cast us out,

send us away into the herds of pigs.

And he said to them,

go.

One word.

One word is all Jesus uses.

If you go back and read

other parts of Matthew,

chapter four,

then the beginning part of chapter eight,

all Jesus says is a word or a phrase

to accomplish what he needs to accomplish.

Think about in Genesis

when God is creating over 10 times,

it says to you and I,

God said.

God said and the world became in existence.

Just the very word of Jesus

would accomplish what needs to be accomplished.

And he said to them,

go.

So they came out

and went into the pigs

and behold,

the whole herd

rushed down the steep bank

into the sea

and drowned in the waters.

The herdsmen fled

and going into the city,

they told everything,

especially what had happened

to the demon-possessed men.

And behold,

all the city came out

to meet Jesus.

And this is shocking to me.

But at the same time,

you can kind of get it.

And behold,

all the city came out

to meet Jesus.

And when they saw him,

they begged Jesus

to leave their region.

The herdsmen just lost their herd.

Maybe that's the reason why.

They don't know who Jesus is,

so maybe they fear

Jesus just cast out

a bunch of demons.

Maybe he's on the other side.

They don't know, right?

We can't assume

they know who this is.

They begged him

to leave the region.

And I love what Mark says

in his passage.

In Mark chapter 5,

Mark 5 · chapter mention

it says this,

the herdsmen fled

and told it to the city

and in the country.

And people came to see

what it was that had happened.

And they came to Jesus

and saw the demon-possessed man,

the one who had had

the legion sitting there.

And listen to this.

clothed and in his right mind.

Over in Mark or Luke,

it talks about

these demon-possessed men

were naked.

They had no clothes on.

Again, they're out of their mind.

And Mark identifies

that they were clothed

and in their right mind.

Jesus had the power

and the authority

to transform them back

into who he created them to be.

They had their right minds.

The disciples just got

a theology lesson

from Jesus' encounter

with two demons.

With their ears,

they hear a new name

of Jesus,

Son of God.

With their ears,

they hear the power

of his words

and see the power

of his words

backed by action.

A relationship with Jesus

like that

of the disciples

produces growth

and maturity

in your walk

and in my walk

with Jesus.

I'm going to ask

the praise team

of Phil

and our prayer encouragers

that they'll come on up.

You and I have had

the opportunity

to have our own

front row seats

to Jesus

and what he did

in the rest of

the Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8.

Here are some other

front row seat lessons

the disciples got

as they witnessed Jesus

in this encounter.

It will cost you and I

to follow Jesus,

but it's worth it.

Jesus is looking

for authentic followers,

not groupies,

not fans.

As you confront

the hardships of life,

don't forget you have

or can have

a relationship with Jesus.

He has the power

to bring calm

to any and every situation

that you face.

Don't let fear

get the best of you.

Don't allow it

to grip your life.

Give that fear

to Jesus first.

Jesus doesn't fear

the storms.

He doesn't fear

the demons of this world.

They obey his voice.

That is the Jesus

you have

or can have

a relationship with.

Everything in the

supernatural world

knows who Jesus is

and yields to his power

and authority.

And one day

in this natural world,

when God comes back,

everyone will come

to realize

and to know

his authority

and his power.

what will you do

with your encounter

with Jesus?

In Colossians 1,

Colossians 1:9–14

verses 9-14,

Paul prays this prayer

for the people

in the church

of Colossians.

Starting off

in verse 9,

he says,

And so,

from the day

we heard,

we have not ceased

to pray for you,

asking that you

may be filled

with the knowledge

of his will

and all spiritual wisdom

and understanding.

So as to walk

in a manner

worthy of the Lord,

fully pleasing to him,

bearing fruit

with every good work

and increasing

in the knowledge

of God,

being strengthened

with all power

according to his

glorious might,

for all endurance

and patience

with joy,

giving thanks

to the Father

who has qualified you

to share

in the inheritance

of the saints

in life.

He has delivered us

from the dominion

of darkness

and transferred us

to the kingdom

of his beloved Son

in whom we have

redemption,

the forgiveness

of sins.

Would you pray with me?

Father God,

we thank you

for your word.

And it is so rich

with the truths.

It is so rich

with your life

and what we are able

to read and see.

God, help us not

to just hear it

and forget about it.

Help us not

to see it

and only wonder.

But help us

to know your truth.

Help us to gain

understanding,

wisdom,

and knowledge

that continues

to increase

our faith,

our trust,

and our belief

in you.

Father,

we are grateful

for who you are,

your power,

your authority.

Help us to rest

in knowing that

and help us

and help us

to cling

to our relationship

and our truth

of you.

Lord, we ask this

prayer in your name.

Amen.

That's it for this week's message.

Be sure to check back

next week

for a new episode.

And in the meantime,

you can visit us online

at willowridgechurch.org

or by searching

for Willow Ridge Church

on Facebook,

Instagram,

and YouTube.

Thanks again for listening.