Calm

Message Transcription

We're in week six of our series Imperfect Disciples. Been spending some time together thinking about the power of following Jesus and those qualities, those traits that define what it is that a disciple might be. We've been using this basic definition from Dallas Willard. This reminder, if you will, of the most important thing that God gets out of our life is not all the stuff that we do, not the many things that we can and should and hopefully will accomplish. But instead it's the person that we become the most important thing God gets out of our life, that we get out of our life is the person that we become. And so we want to take that really seriously. And we've been trying to do so for years and years here, but especially in this series, thinking specifically about, well, what are some of those traits that imperfect disciples learn to embrace as they're learning how to live out their faith? We began by talking about slowing down the importance of being slow. And intentional. You heard Todd mention that this morning of learning to be more intentional about the lives that we live. We talk some about being limited, that we grow up in a time and in a place, in a family, in a part of the country, with different gifts and talents and challenges. And in the midst of all that God, how are you helping us to discern? When is it time to to recognize and to obey, to submit to those limits? And when? When is it time to push through? And we spend a little time thinking about long suffering, about being patient in the midst of hard and challenging circumstances, looking at some of the ways that Jesus invites us to remember.

We all deal with pain and loss. But not only that, we we believe in the resurrection, that it's just as true, just as real as the losses that we experience. So it's not a matter of minimizing or pretending they aren't there, but just to remember to see them in light of the truth that that the tomb is empty. And if that's true, well, then that gives us a different way of viewing our lives. Last week we talked about being loving disciples, learning to be loving to the people around us, not judging others in the way that they live or don't live. But that challenge of being present, being fully present, not being distracted. I know for many of us that's a huge challenge. I talked with a couple of you this week who said specifically, man, that one hit me right between the eyes. It's so hard to stay focused when I have so many things happening. This week we're going to look at a quality that I think for me personally has has been one that I have longed for and that I admire so much about Jesus. In fact, it's one that I have needed more in the last 1824 months than maybe any other time in my life.

And that's God maturing us by helping us learn to be calm. How many of you could use a little peace in your life these days? How many of us are so overburdened and busy and crazy with life happening all around us? It's interesting. If you follow Jesus through the gospels, you never see Jesus hurrying and anxious and worried, even though he's often on his way to go and do something. In fact, in Mark's gospel, where we'll be today one of the most popular words, or maybe the most famous words out of Mark's gospel is immediately is Jesus immediately got up and he immediately went and did these things. You have the sense that Jesus was on the move and yet constantly being interrupted, interrupted by people, interrupted by circumstances, interrupted by challenges. And yet he seems to have this willingness, this ability to stay calm. In fact, if you read through the stories that we have recorded in our Bibles about Jesus, we never find him marching around the countryside angry and resentful of all of the idiot people that keep annoying him and bothering him when he's about the Lord's work. We never see him rehearsing those negative interactions like some of us do. Right? When that person just says that thing, you know, that thing that just I mean, if I could go back, I would just, you know, we never see Jesus, like, lamenting, oh, I oh, this was the perfect cut down. If I had just said, oh, you know, I'm going to go back.

We don't see Jesus behaving in this way. Instead, he's focused and he's determined and he's intentional. And that doesn't mean there aren't things that he could get anxious about. That wasn't like there weren't things happening in and around him. That he could be worried or concerned about. Maybe you remember stories when when parents bring their children asking Jesus to bless them. And disciples are like, what is wrong with you people? Get out of here. Jesus says, whoa, whoa whoa whoa. I need to be right here with these folks. There was never a person whose time was more important and valuable than Jesus. We know he only lived 33 years, and three of those years were his years of ministry. There was never anyone who could say, listen, I've only got this amount of time and I cannot waste it messing around with you in this silly little problem. Jesus never responded that way. There is this sense of calm in the midst of anxiety and stress and chaos. I was thinking back this week to one of my mentors early on when I was in college, and one of the things that I appreciated most about him was his calm. In fact, there were times where I got a chance to work with him for a little while, where I was feeling anxious and upset about things, and I would just go stand by him. I literally would find him in a room and I would just go stand by him, because I knew just standing next to him brought some calm in my life, some peace.

And maybe you have some of those folks in your world as well. I think Jesus was one of those. I was also picturing this image of how too often in life, I'm like the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. Do you remember that rabbit? Remember. Remember his song, I'm late. I'm late for a very important date. No time to say hello, goodbye. I'm late, I'm late, I'm late. And how many of us live that pace, that frenetic, crazy pace. We may not sing the song. Maybe we do. Maybe we are. And we don't even realize that's what we're doing. The. Jesus was never distracted or disjointed, even when he was traveling around and teaching and preaching and doing really important work. Jesus was always Jesus. Wherever Jesus found himself, wherever he went, Jesus always showed up. It was not like, well, this is the tired Jesus. This is the Jesus who didn't quite have enough coffee this morning. That Starbucks that was supposed to be really fast turned out to be really slow. And so I had to get out of line and keep moving on. Jesus, that was never him. But again, it's not like there weren't things for him to be anxious about or worried about. Maybe you remember the story just a couple of chapters before ours, and in Mark chapter five, that Jesus and his disciples are in a boat and they're crossing the Sea of Galilee, and they arrive.

Whoever's driving the boat should be fired because they land on land at a graveyard. Like, who picked this place, dude? Who? Peter. Come on, man. You know this is the graveyard, right? So what we find out, Mark tells us when Jesus gets out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, for he had been often been chained hand and foot. But he tore the chains apart and broke them on his feet. Imagine the chaos, right? The disciples are watching, and this dude's coming, and they know who he is. No one was strong enough to subdue him night and day. Among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out, and he'd cut himself with stones. And when he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice, what do you want with me, Jesus, son of the Most High God, in God's name, don't torture me. I do. You feel the little hairs on your neck going, right? And I'm just reading the story. Imagine if you were there. How would you respond? Chaos, frustration. Sphere. This man could not be bound with chains because he broke them with his physical strength.

How would you respond in a situation like that? How did Jesus respond? Maybe you remember the story just right before this one in Mark chapter four, where Jesus and his disciples are crossing the Sea of Galilee once again and a storm blows up. And it's and it's a really big storm. In fact, Mark tells us it's threatening to capsize the boat to make it go down. And where is Jesus? Sleeping. And so his disciples come to him and they wake him up and they say, teacher, don't you care if we drown? Jesus gets up and he said to the waves, quiet, be still. And the wind died down. And it was completely calm. How do you respond in the storms of life that come your way? When it feels like the waves are threatening to capsize your boat? How do we respond in that? Jesus was asleep. It was like the rocking motion didn't bother him. Jesus. What are you doing? Storms and a little chaos. A little turbulence have a way of unsettling us, or at least unsettling me. I resolve my resolve, my calm. The past two years have been a season of storms in our family's life of of different storms just coming up. And how often I have wanted to go and wake Jesus up and say, are you sleeping? Do you not see what's going on around me? What's happening? Don't you care if I drown? And I wish I could tell you each and every situation I handled perfectly.

But as this series has been a demonstration of. We're imperfect. I'm imperfect. And some of those, I was able to remain calm, but in many of them. Not so much. I'm still learning and I'm still growing. You see, Jesus faced all kinds of situations and all kinds of challenges that could bring chaos and anxiety. Sometimes they were physical relationships with other people. Sometimes they were physical storms happening all around him. Sometimes they were internal. I think this is kind of the stage that that we find here. Jesus in this conversation is this will be maybe one of the most challenging conversations Jesus has with some of his disciples, knowing that what he's going to say is going to to chase some folks away. They're not going to like what he has to say. How do you respond in situations when you go in knowing this is going to be a hard conversation? This is going to be challenging. How do we respond to those circumstances? I think it's interesting that in chapter ten, if you have the passage that Betty read for us a minute ago, invite you to turn to the beginning of chapter ten, because Mark tells us a couple of things that I think will help set the stage for this conversation that's coming. But here Jesus again is on his way somewhere, and yet again he's interrupted one more time. Verse one. Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan.

Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them. All right. Jesus is on his way somewhere. A crowd gathers and we learn as his custom. He would stop and he would teach. Not an uncommon thing, but. But if you are a teacher that travels around and teaches to different crowds, and sometimes with folks you don't know, you know a question is coming. They're going to say something, and I'm going to have to think on my feet. That can bring a little anxiety in a preacher like me. I think, what questions am I going to get? Am I going to get any of those gotcha questions? Well, Jesus is about to get one of those gotcha questions, right? They ask him about divorce and they go back and call on history. Jesus. Here's what Moses taught us. What do you say? Right. Are you going to go along with what we believe, what we believe, or are you going to do something different in Jesus? He answers what God has joined together. Let no one separate. Afterwards, Jesus and his disciples are in a house and they pull him aside. Jesus, we need to know a little bit more about what are you talking about? And Jesus offers a little more explanation on the teaching that he gave. Only then these people, these parents. And you know how annoying parents can be right there. The parents are the worst, right? They bring their kids with them, and they want Jesus to bless them.

And disciples going, hey, guys, look, we're talking grown up stuff here, okay? Big boy, big girl stuff. Get these kids out of here. And Jesus says, no, no, no, no. Mark says Jesus was indignant. Don't. No way. This is what I need to be doing. And he blesses the children. Again afterward. After this blessing, Jesus was once again on his way, and he's interrupted. All right. We're told this man runs up to him. He saw him from far away. He runs up to him. Kind of like that demoniac in chapter five who who saw Jesus when he gets out of the boat and he runs up to him, here we have another man running up to Jesus, and he falls to his knees. Asks him. Good teacher. What must I do to inherit eternal life? Why do you call me good? Jesus answered. No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments. You shall not murder, commit adultery, shall not steal, give false testimony, shall not defraud. Honor your father and mother. Teacher, he declared, all these I have kept since I was a boy. This conversation has always been interesting to me. I've wondered about it, even thinking on it. This week, Jesus points this man back to the standard he's been living by his whole life. Matthew tells us that he's rich. Luke tells us that he was young. Mark just says it's a guy. And here we find this guy's come to Jesus to ask him about how am I doing? How are we measuring up here? It makes me wonder, why is he asking this question? What's going on behind this? Is there something in the back of his mind that's telling him, I've been living this way my whole life, and yet still something is missing.

Right. Is there? Am I missing anything? I've been following all these rules as best I can my entire life. And. And yet something's missing. Or is it that he. He knows he's doing really well? And so maybe he's a little full of himself, like, just. I just need a little affirmation here. Jesus. I just need your blessing. Way to go, son. You're on the right road. Hang in there. It's almost over. Then Mark tells us something. He slips this little verse in. And Betty read it beautifully for us. I hope you caught it. But he slips this little verse in that I think actually sets the tone and the tenor for the whole conversation. We don't know why this man is asking the question. All we know is he did, and Mark tells us. Then Jesus looked at him. And loved him. Now this phrase looked at him. It's not just he just happened to see him, but this idea of. He looked at him. He considered him. Actually it means literally. He looked him in the face, eye to eye. And he loved him. I think about the conversations that we have with people and those kinds of moments.

It's not often that we follow it up with a really hard thing. Jesus knows this is he's about to have to tell this guy something really tough. Why? Because he looked him in the eyes. A sore on his face. Like we don't understand why this guy is asking this question. Jesus does. And he looked at him. And he loved him. You know, this isn't the first time that Jesus is encountered with someone trying to determine their space, their place, their hierarchy with him. In fact, he's just gotten through being frustrated with his own disciples who still don't understand what it means to be one of his disciples. Now we find him face to face with someone who who possibly thinks he's got it all figured out, or who is searching for more meaning. But again, this word of looking at him means to gaze, to to look into his eyes. To consider him. To study him. How do you respond in those moments, those situations? You see, Jesus looked at him and loved him. One thing you lack, you said. You'll sell everything. You'll sell it and give it to the poor, and you'll have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me. Now at this, this man's face, the face that Jesus was just looking into, the face that Jesus was just studying and noticing it fell. And he went away sad. Because he had great wealth. Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples.

Hey! Wait, man! Don't go, don't go. I'm just messing with you, man. You're doing great. You're doing good, man. You be you. Way to go. Hang in there, guys. Follow his example. Y'all just follow him for a while. He's doing it. He has since he was a kid. Oh, wait a minute. That's not what mine says. Instead, Jesus said. How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God. And his disciples respond, I think, as most of us do, and would just amazed. What? I mean, this guy from the time he was a child. How hard it is. Jesus said again, children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom. The disciples were even more amazed and said to each other, who then can be saved? And then Jesus takes another look. Same phrase. Jesus looked at them the way that he looked at this young man. And he said. With man, this is impossible. You're right. Those thoughts that are running through your head going, how can this be? Who could possibly live this way? You're right. No one can. With man, this is impossible. But with God, all things are possible. Peter can't take it anymore. He doesn't know what to do with the dissonance that anxiety is finally pushed through to where he says, Jesus, we've left everything.

We've left everything.

To follow you. Truly I tell you, Jesus replied, no one who has left home, or brothers or sisters, or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age homes and brothers and sisters, and mothers and children and fields, along with persecutions. And in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last. In the last. First. I think one of the things that challenges me and inspires me by this passage, this conversation, is that Jesus will give one of the most challenging teachings he will give. In fact, folks are going to start walking away after this. What Jesus had to say to this young man was actually a message he had to say to a lot of his disciples. But he doesn't do it in anger or contempt. He doesn't do it with this sense of superiority. Instead, he remains calm in the midst of a really hard situation in the midst of loving relationships. He looks them in the face when he says it. He knows this is going to cause some to doubt, to wonder, to fear and to leave. But Jesus doesn't stop him. He doesn't talk negatively about this young man as he goes away. Instead, Mark tells us he looked at him and he loved him. Act as teaching is going to fly in the face of what his disciples at that point, and those listening would have understood.

In fact, it still flies in the face of our world today, doesn't it? I mean, we see someone rich and successful and powerful. We think, man, God is really blessing them. They must be doing it right. Now, we may not always say that out loud, and we may. If we did hear that from someone else, we'd be quick to, I don't know. Mark ten I haven't read Mark. But the truth is, how many of us still operate in that illusion and Jesus speaks right against it. See the thing that marks kingdom participation. Is not by how outwardly successful we are. But it's by this inner reality happening in our lives. You see, the most important thing about us that God gets out of our life is not all the stuff that we do and the stuff that we accumulate. It's the person that we become. And here, once again, we see Jesus operating. With calm. With clarity. With great love. See, the disciples were amazed. We're told in verse 24 and again in verse 26, even more amazed. And they started talking amongst themselves, who then can be saved? Who then can experience this eternal life that we're hearing about? Who can be a part of that? Then Peter says, we've left everything. So they thought that the wealth and the outside was the sign of God's blessing, the ultimate attaboy. Way to go. But instead what they're learning is no, no, no. Too often we focus on the blessing and not the blesser.

We focus on having the blessing and not becoming the kind of person who is a blessing. How do you respond to people who push back at you and in your beliefs? How do you respond when a relationship isn't going quite the way you hoped it would go? When someone doesn't respond or treat you or someone else that you care about in the way that you think they should. Katie will tell you because she's lived with me a while now that I'm pretty calm. In some areas of my life. And there are other areas where she's like, what's the matter with you? Do you need to go see an exorcist? Right. One of those happened on Friday night. I'm at a volleyball game, y'all. All right, you know what I'm saying? You know where this is going. My ability to remain calm because I forget. I think somehow the outcome of this game has something to say about the reality of the identity of my daughter, and in return, the identity of me. And who has a father? Whose child did you get what I'm saying? At this this idea of staying calm that Jesus models to us, whether it's a storm in the world or a storm in the people. That Jesus understood that the greatest reality is that the father is with us. So much so that no matter what's happening in life that we can be kingdom people, we can live in that kingdom. And in Jesus life he really believed that and therefore he could stay calm when like crazy people were running at him and yelling and screaming at the top of their lungs, and he could just have a conversation.

Or in the midst of a crazy storm where the boat's rocking and people are wondering, is this all about to go down? And he's asleep. Not because he doesn't care. But because he understands. There's a love, there's a power. There's a presence that nothing can touch. Jesus remained this calm, non-anxious presence not because there wasn't anything to be anxious about. But because he wasn't going to allow the anxiety to be what determined how he lived. That that sense of calm, that pursuit of calm was an inner reality manifesting itself in an outward way. And how powerful it was to the people who followed him. So I invite you to church this week. Is God inviting you to learn to be a more non-anxious presence in the world around you? And would you be willing to pray on that a little bit? Would you be willing to stand in the face of that a little bit and say, God, by the power of your Holy Spirit, would you help me remember that you love me? Nothing can ever separate me from that. The God you are at work in the world, even in the places where I don't see it and I don't often feel it. God, you're still at work. Can you help me to stay calm? To be the kind of person who will speak the truth, even when it gets really hard.

God, can you teach me how to really look at people the way Jesus did and love them just the way he did? Learning to do that. God, that that allows me to to stay calm. And man, there's maybe never been a more important time, at least in our own personal histories, to be calm than in our present day and age. God, would you teach us this week? Would you help us to see ways that you are inviting us to live into your kingdom, that eternal life that he talked about here? A life that begins not just when we die, but certainly is alive and well as we live. God, would you teach us how to be more faithful to the love that you've given to us, and poured into our lives in the midst of storms that we may encounter this week, whether that's relationally, whether that's physically or whatever it may be. Would you help us to stand on the promises that Jesus stood on? That you love us at. The most important thing you get out of our life is not what we do. But it's who we become. And that's knowing we are loved by you, that we are yours and you are ours. And because of that God, we can learn to really see people. And to really love them. God, would you help us to be calm this week? In Jesus name, Amen.