Real Life Selkirk
**March 1** TBD
  • It Really Is Amazing Grace
  • Firm Foundation (He Won't)
  • Who You Say I Am
  • Goodness Of God
  • Intro
    context of what’s going on
    The past 2 weeks Jared’s been walking us through Chapter 8 of Matthew. We’ve seen:
    A man with leprosy healed
    The faith of a centurion
    And Jared also pointed out the lack of faith of those in Jesus’s hometown in Mark 6:6
    These stories begin to highlight the authority of Jesus over sickness
    Desperation leads to dependance
    True relationship requires sacrifice to grow

    Matthew 8:23-9:8

    Matthew 8:23–9:8 “Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” 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. The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. “What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” 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. Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region. Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!” Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” Then the man got up and went home. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.”
    Now we begin in our story today seeing very much the humanity of Jesus. And when I say story, I want to clarify, these are true stories of true history written down in God’s Word. Just as real as your story and my story are the stories written down in the Bible.
    So in this story recorded in Matthew , I say we see the humanity of Jesus because He is sleeping. God does not need to sleep, but Jesus being fully man shows his human nature in being tired from all the crowds and falling asleep on the boat.
    Deity of Jesus
    I point out the humanity of Jesus because I believe the 3 stories we have read in Matthew today begin to reveal more, they begin to reveal his deity of. The people around Jesus, even his disciples still are unsure and unaware of the fullness of who Jesus is. They recognize his humanity, but there is something more to it, but they cannot quite put their finger on it. In eight chapters from this text we see who people think Jesus may be.
    Matthew 16:14 “They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.””
    They understand his humanity, He is sleeping in front of them, but again there is another quality about Him that is not human. What is it? or in their words, What kind of man is this?
    That’s what I’ve title this sermon, “WHAT KIND OF MAN IS THIS? Because the answer to that question is foundational to our faith.
    The Deity of Jesus will be shown in these 3 stories from todays reading
    Deity of Jesus - means Jesus is co-equal and co-eternal with the Father
    Jesus is God in the Flesh
    In verses 23-27 - Jesus has authority over creation
    Jesus gets into the boat and the disciples follow Him. Without warning a furious storm shows up and waves are crashing over the boat. Meanwhile, Jesus is sleeping.
    This is not just a bad storm on the lake. For one the Greek word for used to translate “furious storm” is seismos. It’s where we get our word earthquake from. Meaning great shaking. Matthew used this word to emphasize, not just the waves crashing over the boat, but the immense amount of shaking the boat was going through
    The other reason we know this is a storm of immense intensity is because the disciples are to the point of desperation when they wake Jesus up.
    What we know of many of the disciples at this point in Matthew is that many are fishermen. They have been exposed to storms before.
    I think of the show I use to enjoy watching “The Deadliest Catch”. Those guys are use to storms coming up and even working through it. As I watch them through just a small storm it terrifies me, yet they all seem like it’s just another day on the water. Even when bad storms come up, they tend to work through them.
    These guys in the boat with Jesus are use to storms, yet they are terrified to the point they think they are going to drown. I’m not trying to paint them out as being too extreme, I am trying to make the point this storm must be insane, for them to believe they are going to drown.
    They go to wake Jesus up and cry out, “Lord, save us! We are going to drown!
    In the parallel story in Mark 4:38 “Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?””
    They fear for their lives and question Jesus...
    “Don’t you even care if we drown?”
    I think this question gets to the heart of where the disciples are
    They tie their current situation, safety, and comfort to the amount in which Jesus cares.
    Yet here is the truth… Circumstances do not determine the nature of God. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
    Jesus is not some distant god, leaving me to fight & figure it all out on my own. He is fighting for me, His is walking beside me, He is in my boat.
    I think of the psychology of someone cheering for you. Science tells us that people perform 5-20% better if someone is cheering for them.
    Can you imagine what you can do, what you can withstand, if you realize every morning you wake up, God is on your team, God is in your boat.
    God cares so much, He sent his one and only Son and he’s on the boat with me!
    There is power in knowing the truth! Yet the disciples are still discovering that truth
    Here they are in the storm scared for their lives.
    Jesus responds to their fear, by pointing out the size of their Faith. He says “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”
    In other words He is saying, “Don’t you know who is in the boat with you? I guess not, otherwise you would not fear for your lives. Let me show you.” And he rebukes the wind and the waves.
    I love that Jesus rebukes or commanded the storm, not the disciples. He simply pointed out the source of their fear and confusion, was little faith. Then he showed them his authority over creation by commanding the wind and waves to be still!
    Jesus is walking discipleship out with these boys. He’s no longer reading a book telling them who he is or on a mountainside teaching it, but He leads them into the boat that is caught in a furious storm, to experience who He is. This is personal!
    These men are in the boat with God! But they still do not know Him fully.
    Their little faith is tied to them not knowing yet who Jesus truly is and we see that in their question at the end of verse 27, “What kind of Man is this?” They still do not know Him completely.
    Faith is knowing God
    knowing who Jesus is not just by reading about Him in the bible, which we should be doing, but placing your faith in Him, allowing Him to change you. You must experience life with God in order to know Him more. This isn’t just witnessing what God is doing and has done for others, but allowing Him to do it in your life. But you must get into the boat! You must follow Jesus. Quit avoiding the hardships and trails. Quit taking shortcut for you and your family and get into the boat. You won’t experience God talking about it, reading about, or watching others from shore. Follow Jesus even when it seems hard, even when it seems impossible, even when it looks like you won’t make it out the other side. Get to know the God who is in the boat with you.
    This is discipleship! Discovering more of who Jesus is.
    Jesus stands in the boat and rebukes the winds and the waves, and it is completely calm
    What kind of Man is this?.....This is the man who has authority over creation
    Jesus has authority over creation
    In our next story we see that Jesus is a man who has authority over demons
    2. Jesus has authority over demons
    starting in verse 28
    The boat lands on the eastern shore of the sea of Galilee in gentile country.
    We know this because there is a large herd of pigs, numbering about 2,000 Mark tells us in his gospel. Jews did not raise pigs because they were an unclean animal.
    Jesus exits the boat and 2 demon possessed men come out of the tombs to meet Jesus. These two men were serious bad news. It tells us that they were so violent that no one could pass near them.
    not that anyone wouldn’t pass near, but actually couldn’t pass through because of the demonic behavior of these 2 men
    They ask Jesus in verse 29
    Matthew 8:29 ““What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?””
    Then the demons beg Jesus not to send them out of the men without a host, but instead send us to the pigs
    So Jesus said “Go” and the came out of the men and into the herd of pigs
    The pigs ran down the steep banks and drowned in the sea.
    Before we go on I have to give some basic teaching on Demon from this text. The world has a lot of teaching and ideas about demons. We do not get our truth from movies, books, superstition, or random stories and experiences. We get our truth from the word of God.
    I have 5 points about demons. I don’t have time to elaborate on these 5 points, but you should find clarity in these points
    Demons are real
    Demons are still as real today as you see in the story before us in Matthew
    Demons possess both men and animals and effect the people around them
    They seem to not want to be without a physical form to possess. They want a host
    They begged Jesus not to send them out into nothing. Even the pigs would do
    Demons recognize Jesus as the Son of God
    They recognize and submit to his authority
    Mark 3:11 “Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.””
    They obey God and have no power over Him
    Demons will be judged and tortured.
    Matthew 25:41 ““Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
    Hell was created for Satan and his Demons for eternal punishment
    Christian do not need to fear demon possession
    Ephesians 1 tells us that when a Christian is born again he receives the Spirit of God
    1 John 4:4 “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
    This does not mean demons can not influence or mess you up, so we still must be on guard. But we must also be on guard against the world and even our own fleshly desires.
    Satan and his demons are not the only force out there trying to keep us from God and ruin our lives. We can do that quite well without the devil and his demons.
    There is the world, the flesh, and the devil
    Be on guard against all of them by getting to know the one who lives in you!
    Do not fear, He that is in you is greater!
    That’s all I have to say today about demons
    Now back to our story
    all these pigs run off a cliff, drown, and the men are restored
    Here we see Jesus conquers the demonic forces. He sets the prisoner free. He presents himself as a great deliverer, able to restore life and hope. But he also takes away a herd of pigs — the livelihood, the wealth, from some in the community. There was a cost to this freedom
    So the men tending the pigs go back to town and share all this that happened.
    Let me share with you what this town now has to process.
    Because I enjoy math so much, I did a small equation for us to bring clarity on the economics of what just happened.
    there were 2000 pigs
    Pigs were worth a minimum of 30 Denarii each would amount to 60,000 denarii
    The average wage during this time was 1 denarii a day
    Meaning 2000 pigs would roughly take 164 years for the average man to work off
    2000 x 30 = 60,000
    1 denari = 1 days wage
    60,000/365 days = 164 years
    This is an economic upset for this community
    according to the IRS last years average individual income was a little over $66,000
    $66,000 x 164 years = $10,824,000
    10 Million dollars in one day is a hit to the economy of a town
    I believe Jesus forces a choice to this town. prosperity or love, money or Jesus, human resources or divine power —
    that is, you can have the power and grace of Jesus to give life and hope, or you can keep the love of possessions and wealth to be had from these pigs.
    And to our utter amazement, they beg Jesus — the life-giver, the devil-defeater, the hope-maker and hope-giver — to leave their region.
    two things I believe we can take away from this.
    Jesus liberates the captive, and gives hope to hopeless people — even Gentile people.
    Jesus demands a choice: love him and his salvation, or love your prosperity and your wealth 
    Philippians 3:19 “Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.”
    This town chose to be near sited and set their minds on earthy things, which leads to destruction. You cannot have both God and the world.
    Matthew 6:24 ““No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
    Is my appetite for earthly things, or will I lose it all for the sake of knowing Jesus?
    Which leads us into our final story in Matthew for the day, revealing
    3. Jesus has authority over sin
    Here we have a man willing to expose his infirmity, his sickness, his helplessness, his sin to the world in order to have the redemption Jesus offers through faith in Him
    In chapter 9 starting in verse 1 we see paralytic lying on a mat being carried by his friends. We don’t see it in this story, but the parallel story in Luke 5 tells us their were 4 friends and the house Jesus was teaching in was so crowded they could not get their friend to Jesus, so they went up on the roof of the house and lowered their friend to Jesus.
    I see a couple things in these 5 men's Faith
    1. I see the need for the church.
    This man could not have come to the feet of Jesus without his friends bringing him. The church is needed in my own faith journey, both to begin and to grow. This is discipleship.
    Romans 10:15 “And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!””
    We need the body of Christ.
    2. Next I see their faith
    It’s important to note here that faith can be seen. There is an evidence of faith. In this case the friends by whatever means necessary got their friend to Jesus. They didn’t let anything get in the way of getting the one in desperation to the feet of Jesus
    Also we see here as a result of faith, Jesus is able to say, Son, your sins are forgiven
    this statement is the lifeblood of Christianity
    Jesus can forgive sins
    The evil that separates man from God can be forgiven
    Jesus, who is God.., has the only redemptive authority in all the earth
    He is able to forgive sin, the deepest need of man
    I believe that is what we see here in this paralytic lying before Jesus on this mat. His deepest need revealed.
    Before Jesus says, “your sins are forgiven,” he says “take heart”
    Jesus is saying “I see you, I see your need. I see you are helplessness, I see you are in desperation
    Jesus is revealing the heart of this man laying before him. This isn’t about the physical desperation, this man came for a spiritual issue of his deepest needs. His sin, separating Him from God.
    Often what drives us to the feet of Jesus is the brokenness of our physical lives. And at the feet of Jesus we find so much more than physical comfort, or physical healing, we find the forgiveness of sins. Freedom from sin and death and a restored relationship with God Himself.
    The greatest day in history is not just the day Jesus defeated sin and death 2000 years ago, but the very day He did it for me, the very day he did it for you.
    Maybe you haven’t experienced that day, Maybe today is the day, here and now. The bible says, that today is the day of salvation. Is today the day you come to the feet of Jesus to expose your sin and realize you’ve got nothing to offer, but to say I believe, I have faith in the Son of the living God to forgive my sins and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness.
    See there is no other means to have my sins forgiven. I can’t work it off, I can’t do enough good to out way the bad. I am stuck with the eternal consequence of my sin. God is just and all sin must be paid in full. either by me or by Jesus.
    This paralytic is stuck, he is lying on his back helpless before Jesus
    And because he and his friends have faith ...Jesus can restore him.
    And Jesus does restore him. He forgives this mans sins separating him from a relationship God.
    What an incredible gift! But there are those in the crowd who didn’t like it, in fact probably didn’t even believe it
    The teachers of the Law, the religious leaders.
    It says they were thinking in their hearts that this is blasphemy because only God can forgive sins. Unless you are God it is an offense against God to think you can forgive sins
    There is only one who can forgive sins and that is God Himself because of the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross.
    God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us. That in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
    Jesus is making a massive claim to his deity. By forgiving sins, he is claiming to be God.
    The religious leaders are having some evil thoughts about that and Jesus reveals here he knows the thoughts and the heart of man.
    We already saw a piece of this with the paralytic, but now he sees the heart of evil within the religious teachers and calls it out
    He asks them, “why do you have such evil thoughts in your hearts? which is easier to say, “your sins are forgiven, or get up and walk?
    I’d imagine it’s easier to say your sins are forgiven because I have no physical way of measuring that in the moment.
    So Jesus basically says, I’ll give you the evidence that I have the authority to both forgive sins and heal this man physically.
    And he tells the paralytic to “get up, take, your mat, and go home”
    And the man got up, picked up his mat, and went home
    This is an amazing thing that just happened. a body that has not functioned for some time has no strength to function even if the ability to function returns.
    When Jesus heals, it is complete. Not only did the ability to function return to this mans body, but the strength to function was given as well
    Spiritually Jesus offers the same thing. Not only does he give give you the ability to function by giving you new life, but he gives you the strength to walk you your salvation in and through Him. He gives you the Holy Spirit to live in you.
    Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
    Jesus is giving me the strength to walk out my faith, to overcome the temptations, the suffering, the persecution that comes during this life
    I have all that I need in Christ Jesus.
    When this paralytic walked out of the house, he was exercising his faith in Jesus and the people were in awe of what Jesus had done and praised God for the authority He had given to such a man
    2 final things to say before I conclude
    This mans faith was seen by the crowd at the feet of Jesus and as he got up and walked in fulness of life.
    I ask myself,
    does my faith reveal to the world the work God is doing in my life?
    Is my faith evident?
    Lastly, we come back to this question
    What kind of man is this?
    The crowds are praising God for giving the power to forgive and heal to a man. They still do not understand what the demons do. This is God in the flesh. Fully human, yet also fully God.
    As I conclude, I want to remind us of our 3 stories where Jesus reveals his Deity
    He shows it through these 3 points
    He has authority over creation
    He has authority over demons
    He has authority to forgive sins
    I’ll end with this point
    Jesus did miracles for those with great faith, but he also did miracles for those with little faith,... but He offers nothing to those with no faith.
    It doesn’t matter how good you’ve been, how many old ladies you help across the street, you can’t pay your way, or work your way, you must faith your way. It only takes a little. He will grow in from there.
    Jesus says, “come just as you are” Broken, sick, sinner
    Jesus paid it all. No one is too far gone
    I do not believe any of us are here by accident today. God wanted me to preach this message and he wanted you to hear this message. Allow the Spirit of God to do a work in your heart this morning.
    Is today the day you recognize the need to come lay yourself down at the feet of Jesus, broken and helpless...desperate. Unable to save yourself.
    Maybe you need the church this morning, the body of Christ to help you in you faith, to pray with you. After service we will have men and women ready to listen and pray with you. Don’t go through life alone. It’s not good for man to be alone.
    We are going to transition to our time of directed prayer and our structure has changed a little. I would like us to follow a structure of the Lords prayer.
    We will be taking communion shortly, so if you need to get the elements they are over by where you entered. feel free to get up and grab them.
    as we pray, we want to start with Honoring God.
    recognize his glory, his work, his attributes. Thank him for who He is and who He always will be. Lets Honor God in prayer this morning
    Next Submit to God’s Kingdom
    This is where I say, Your will be done, not my own. Search me and know me God, reveal my heart that I may align with your will for my life
    Next Ask God
    This is where you ask for provision in your life, for protection, for healing for you or a friend, ask for forgiveness, for wisdom. Ask your Father who wants to give you good things that align with His Kingdom.
    Finally Pray for the Lost
    Someone you know who needs Jesus, Pray that God would send faithful disciples to show this person who Jesus is and why they need Him.
    1 Corinthians 11:23–26 “For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

      • Matthew 8:23–34NIV2011

      • Matthew 9:1–8NIV2011

      • Matthew 16:14NIV2011

      • Mark 4:38NIV2011

      • Matthew 8:29NIV2011

      • Philippians 3:19NIV2011

      • Philippians 1:6NIV2011

  • How Great Is Our God
Real Life Selkirk
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