Our text is the familiar story of Jesus sending the disciples into a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee. This takes place immediately following the feeding of the multitude. As can happen often in our lives, the great blessing of this miracle is followed by a time of crisis and trouble. The bible tells us that disciples were toiling in rowing. This indicates that they were working very hard and were struggling to even hold their position. The literal translation of the original word is tormented. These men were skilled fishermen and were very well acquainted with sailing a boat. Bible historians feel like the storm had been going on for about 9 hours when Jesus comes upon them. They had only made it about half way across the sea in 9 hours of torment. So it is in life. We feel that we are toiling in vain. We struggle but seem to make no headway, or even worse have lost ground. They were simply following what Jesus had told them to do and now they find themselves struggling to survive. They certainly felt exhausted with their efforts and were Jesus was nowhere to be found. They were scared. They were tired, and when they saw Jesus coming to them, they feared that it was a ghost; something evil. The last verse of our text offers a reason for their confusion, frustration and fear: They considered not the miracle of the loaves. They had just left the presence of the miracle worker. They forgot what He had told them: I will meet you on the other side. They forgot. When we forget we panic. When we forget we fear. When we forget we fail to see Jesus’ promise. When we forget we make the mistake of supposing the worst. The truth is that if He called us, He’ll keep us. The truth is that if He promised, He will deliver. The simple answer is: Don’t Forget. Don’t forget the promise He has given. Don’t forget what He has delivered us from. Don’t forget that God has never failed us. Don’t forget that God has never been late. Don’t forget that God has never come up short. If He blessed us back there He will bless us now!

We are all looking for love. Hollywood projects a fairytale version of what love is. The reality of love is often different than it is in the movies. The world has a concept of love that is based upon the exterior. The movies and TV are full of beautiful people living beautiful lives. Bro. Stevison asks if your love is based upon a physical appearance or superficial characteristic, what happens if that physical appearance changes? If love is based upon a beauty that is on the inside, other people will not see what you see. The old saying that beauty is in the eye of the beholder is true. If we sit and people watch at the mall, it will not take very long to find a couple that will cause us to ask “what does she see in him?” The answer is that she sees an inner beauty that is not apparent to those who only see the exterior.

Too many people are basing their relationship with God on what they see. If that is the case, when what we see changes, so will relationship with Him. We have to be more worried about the glory of God than our social status or the World’s perception of us. Until we can unashamedly be identified with the body of Jesus Christ, we will never enjoy the blessing of God we so desire. God did not design the church to be attractive, but once we get on the inside, we see the true beauty of God. If people are in love with the church, they have the wrong motivation. The purpose of the church is to provide a place to worship the true beauty of God. If our relationship is built upon what is on the outside, then we are missing so much. As long as we focus on the things about the church that we do not like, we will never see the beauty of God. When we behold His beauty, it changes us. When we see His beauty; standards are not a hindrance, they are a protection. When we see His beauty; service is not a burden, it is an opportunity. Bro. Stevison asks: “What are you looking at? Are you looking at the external, or are you seeing the beauty inside.”

We are all looking for love. Hollywood projects a fairytale version of what love is. The reality of love is often different than it is in the movies. The world has a concept of love that is based upon the exterior. The movies and TV are full of beautiful people living beautiful lives. Bro. Stevison asks if your love is based upon a physical appearance or superficial characteristic, what happens if that physical appearance changes? If love is based upon a beauty that is on the inside, other people will not see what you see. The old saying that beauty is in the eye of the beholder is true. If we sit and people watch at the mall, it will not take very long to find a couple that will cause us to ask “what does she see in him?” The answer is that she sees an inner beauty that is not apparent to those who only see the exterior.

Too many people are basing their relationship with God on what they see. If that is the case, when what we see changes, so will relationship with Him. We have to be more worried about the glory of God than our social status or the World’s perception of us. Until we can unashamedly be identified with the body of Jesus Christ, we will never enjoy the blessing of God we so desire. God did not design the church to be attractive, but once we get on the inside, we see the true beauty of God. If people are in love with the church, they have the wrong motivation. The purpose of the church is to provide a place to worship the true beauty of God. If our relationship is built upon what is on the outside, then we are missing so much. As long as we focus on the things about the church that we do not like, we will never see the beauty of God. When we behold His beauty, it changes us. When we see His beauty; standards are not a hindrance, they are a protection. When we see His beauty; service is not a burden, it is an opportunity. Bro. Stevison asks: “What are you looking at? Are you looking at the external, or are you seeing the beauty inside.”

Bro. Hilton shares his heart about the message that God has been speaking into his heart. With all our concern about social issues, standards, and how the church needs to respond to our world, God has impressed on Bro. Hilton a need for a return to basics. The answer to the world and all the issues presented to us each day is simply the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The challenge for us is to identify with Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. This simple concept must be grounded in our hearts. Our flesh and our carnal nature must die in order to make room for Jesus in our life. Our world will try to convince us to water down our belief. The truth is that God does not tolerate sin. Even if “everybody is doing it”, it is still sin. We must repent from our sin. Repent does not mean to simply ask forgiveness, it requires that we turn away from and walk away from those actions. By being baptized, we identify with Jesus’ burial. By submitting to water baptism we enter into death with Christ and accept the sacrifice He made to forgive our sin. We identify with the resurrection by witnessing to a lost world. By spreading the message of the gospel, we bring hope to a lost world. We have the answer to the questions and fears of our world. By embracing the basics of the gospel we can save a dying world.

Bro. Hilton shares his heart about the message that God has been speaking into his heart. With all our concern about social issues, standards, and how the church needs to respond to our world, God has impressed on Bro. Hilton a need for a return to basics. The answer to the world and all the issues presented to us each day is simply the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The challenge for us is to identify with Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. This simple concept must be grounded in our hearts. Our flesh and our carnal nature must die in order to make room for Jesus in our life. Our world will try to convince us to water down our belief. The truth is that God does not tolerate sin. Even if “everybody is doing it”, it is still sin. We must repent from our sin. Repent does not mean to simply ask forgiveness, it requires that we turn away from and walk away from those actions. By being baptized, we identify with Jesus’ burial. By submitting to water baptism we enter into death with Christ and accept the sacrifice He made to forgive our sin. We identify with the resurrection by witnessing to a lost world. By spreading the message of the gospel, we bring hope to a lost world. We have the answer to the questions and fears of our world. By embracing the basics of the gospel we can save a dying world.

Bro. Hughes confesses that he has spent the last year or so arguing with God. At some point he must have crossed a line because God spoke to him asking: James has there ever been a time in history where I needed your opinion? God is not looking for our opinion; He is looking for our obedience. The bible tells us that obedience is better than sacrifice. It matters to God if we allow our world to cause us to think like it. The early churches fell victim to becoming like the environment in which they lived. We struggle with this too. We are not in a position to negotiate with God. He is not interested in our trying to customize God’s word to fit our desire for how to live life. Generations change. We live in a generation that says “If you cannot prove it by the bible, it is not important.” So we wind up doing things that are not right because our world says, “there isn’t any rule against it, what is wrong with it.” The problem with this that if we give into these things it will lead us down a path that will take us away from God. Our world tells us that it is okay to do just about anything in life. Bro. Hughes reminds us that our Bible tells us that this is wrong. The only one who can save us from the crookedness of our world is us. We must make a conscious decision to separate our selves from this perverse thinking and stay obedient to God.

Bro. Hughes confesses that he has spent the last year or so arguing with God. At some point he must have crossed a line because God spoke to him asking: James has there ever been a time in history where I needed your opinion? God is not looking for our opinion; He is looking for our obedience. The bible tells us that obedience is better than sacrifice. It matters to God if we allow our world to cause us to think like it. The early churches fell victim to becoming like the environment in which they lived. We struggle with this too. We are not in a position to negotiate with God. He is not interested in our trying to customize God’s word to fit our desire for how to live life. Generations change. We live in a generation that says “If you cannot prove it by the bible, it is not important.” So we wind up doing things that are not right because our world says, “there isn’t any rule against it, what is wrong with it.” The problem with this that if we give into these things it will lead us down a path that will take us away from God. Our world tells us that it is okay to do just about anything in life. Bro. Hughes reminds us that our Bible tells us that this is wrong. The only one who can save us from the crookedness of our world is us. We must make a conscious decision to separate our selves from this perverse thinking and stay obedient to God.

The church at Colossi was comprised of a vastly different group of people. Rich, poor, aristocrats, commoners, learned, simple Jews, and Gentiles were all part of the church. Paul had a burden for all of them and truly believed that they could enjoy the full blessing of God. He had a burden for the down trodden and for those who were persecuted because of their race, position in life or background. He believed that every man could be perfected in Christ. He wanted every man to know Him in the fullest of His blessing and glory. He came against arrogance and the exclusivity that some felt belonged in the church. He came against halfhearted living for God. He was against whatever would limit the effect of the gospel in people’s lives. God’s grace extends to all people regardless of where they are from, what they have done, or what they may look like. Paul preached that every man is entitled to know the Lord.

Since Paul had this attitude, he had trouble understanding how people could settle for a life that was less than it could be by their refusal to submit totally to God. Paul wanted every man to know the joy and blessing of a relationship with God. The only thing that limits God’s blessing in our life is our desire to reach for more.

The church at Colossi was comprised of a vastly different group of people. Rich, poor, aristocrats, commoners, learned, simple Jews, and Gentiles were all part of the church. Paul had a burden for all of them and truly believed that they could enjoy the full blessing of God. He had a burden for the down trodden and for those who were persecuted because of their race, position in life or background. He believed that every man could be perfected in Christ. He wanted every man to know Him in the fullest of His blessing and glory. He came against arrogance and the exclusivity that some felt belonged in the church. He came against halfhearted living for God. He was against whatever would limit the effect of the gospel in people’s lives. God’s grace extends to all people regardless of where they are from, what they have done, or what they may look like. Paul preached that every man is entitled to know the Lord.

Since Paul had this attitude, he had trouble understanding how people could settle for a life that was less than it could be by their refusal to submit totally to God. Paul wanted every man to know the joy and blessing of a relationship with God. The only thing that limits God’s blessing in our life is our desire to reach for more.

In 1866 the US had just emerged from a bloody Civil War. Henry Wells, a drug store owner from Waterloo New York, had heard the stories of crippled and wounded soldiers and had an idea that we should set aside a day to honor those who had fallen in battle. At the same time retired Major General Jonathan Logan had a similar idea and he also organized a memorial to the fallen warriors. By 1882, the celebrations had been combined had been expanded to include the soldiers of all wars who had given their life in the service of their country. In 1971, President Nixon singed a law making Memorial Day a federal holiday. Sadly 3 out of 4 Americans have no understanding of what this holiday represents. For far too many Memorial Day is a day for bar-b-que and the unofficial start of summer. Bro. Hughes reminds us that Memorial Day is a day of remembrance and honoring those who gave their life to pay a price for us. Bro. Hughes encourages us remember those who have gone before us and paid a price for us to enjoy what we have right now. All of us sitting in service today can remember someone who played a pivotal part in our lives. We need to take time to remember those people and thank God for placing those people in our life at just the right time with just the right word. It is far too easy to forget those who have helped us. Jesus healed ten lepers and sent them on their way. Only one of those turned and thanked Jesus for healing them. It is far too easy to forget those that have helped us along the way. The truth is that none of us have gotten to where we are on our own. Each of us owes a debt of gratitude to someone along the way that helped us. So on this Memorial Day, take time to remember the price paid by so many in our nation’s military and also take time to thank God for those individuals in our lives that have helped to make us what we are today.