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Series Code: BOLS
Program Code: BOLS000011S
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00:00 (Breath of Life Theme Music)
00:07 Sermon #S007 - Unrealistic Requirements 00:20 Pastor Snell: How many of us believe that God still does supernatural things? 00:26 How many of us are expecting for something different to occur in your life? 00:30 [Congregation: Shouting] 00:31 Pastor Snell: I just need to know who to aim the sermon at. 00:33 I just need to know who the believing people are in the room today and online. Amen. 00:38 Matthew 14: 22, "Immediately, Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, 00:48 while He sent the multitudes away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, 00:53 He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now, when evening came, He was alone there. 01:00 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. 01:07 Now, in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 01:13 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, 'It is a ghost!' 01:20 And they cried out for fear. But immediately, Jesus spoke to them..." 01:25 And He is saying the same thing to us today. This is God's word to somebody. "...'Be of good cheer! 01:32 It is I; do not be afraid.' And Peter answered Him and said, 'Lord, if it is You, 01:40 command me to come to You on the water.' So He said, 'Come.' And when Peter had come down out of the boat, 01:48 he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; 01:56 and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, 'Lord, save me!' And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand 02:03 and caught him, and said to him, 'O you of little faith, why did you doubt?' 02:09 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came 02:15 and worshiped Him, saying, 'Truly, You are the Son of God.'" I want to give emphasis on verse number 27. 02:21 "But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.'" 02:33 Today, saints, for a little while, I want to talk to you under the subject Unrealistic Requirements. 02:41 Unrealistic requirements. Let's pray together. 02:47 Father, I pray once again that You would make Your Spirit so dense in this place, 02:57 that it would suffocate all alternative principalities. 03:02 Father, I pray that You would not just caused the building to swell, 03:06 but Lord, cause our hearts to swell because we have as much as You as we can contain. 03:14 Father, I'm praying that in the hearing of the word, that faith will be multiplied exponentially. 03:19 Lord, would You let your strength be perfected in my weakness? Lord enlarge our expectation. 03:26 Lord enlarge our hope. Lord, would You make our faith just a little bit more elastic today? 03:34 Lord, would You hide me in the shadows of the cross that Jesus alone might be seen, 03:38 that Christ alone would be heard? At the end of our time together, may Jesus alone be praised. 03:44 We ask this in the name of Him who is altogether lovely. It is in the name of Jesus that we pray. 03:50 Let God's people say together Amen. 03:52 Amen. You may be seated in the house of the Lord. Again talking today on the subject Unrealistic Requirements. 04:04 You know, saints, one of the problems with the church in our time is that our faith has become more rational 04:14 and less radical. We've developed an intellectual faith, a common sense faith, 04:24 a sensory-based approach to believing where we interpret faith through the prism of things that can be seen. 04:33 Can I see it? Can I touch it? Can I handle it? 04:38 The long-term result is that we've even learned how to manipulate the scriptures to justify our own unbelief, 04:47 so that we no longer have big expectations in God. We no longer make bold request of God. 04:56 Most of us don't make room for the supernatural to even occur in our lives. 05:03 We only ask for what we've already have. We only expect what we've already seen. 05:10 When God says all things are possible, to them, that believe, 05:16 so that whenever we have the conversation about faith and stepping out there in God, 05:21 there is certain sentiments that always prevail. They say, "Pastor, I have faith, 05:27 but we've got to also have common sense." "Pastor. I've got faith, 05:32 but you might need a backup plan." "Pastor, I've got faith, but I just need to see something." 05:38 "Pastor, I've got faith, but I'm also a realist. Understand that I'm not against the virtues of planning 05:46 or common sense, but those things are not to be exalted above faith. 05:50 Those things are to be made subject unto faith. 05:54 In other words, you can't put trust in common sense, for the Bible says, 05:59 "There is a way that seemeth, right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. 06:05 You can't put trust in what you see, for the just shall not walk by sight, but the just shall live by faith. 06:12 You can't put trust in your plan, for the Bible says in his heart a man plans his course, 06:19 but it is the Lord that determines his steps. Why do you need a backup plan? 06:24 If your steps have been ordered by God? Paul says He always causes us to triumph. 06:29 In fact, you can't be a realist and a person of faith at the same time. A realist can only assess what is, 06:37 but as people of faith, we call those things that are not yet as if they already are. 06:43 How many of us know that you can't limit God to working in a way that makes sense to us? 06:49 In other words, God doesn't have to make sense because God is the one who made sense. 06:56 You all are not with me today. In other words, God does not have to conform to your logic. 07:01 In other words, we've got to get to a place where we don't see the promises of God as fictional, 07:08 but we know that they are literal. The issue is that we see the promises as not as attainable, 07:15 but as allegorical. How many of us know that it was not realistic for Moses to attempt to open up a Red Sea. 07:25 It wasn't realistic for Joshua to believe the sun was going to stand still. 07:30 It wasn't realistic for Peter to attempt to walk on water. It wasn't realistic for Jesus to say that, 07:38 "I'm going to lay down my life. In three days, I'm going to raise it up again." I just need to know. 07:45 Do I have at least seven folk in the space who are willing to get unrealistic in their faith? 07:51 In other words, God is wanting you to get to a place where you pray some unrealistic prayers, 07:58 where you dream some unrealistic dreams, where you embrace some unrealistic visions, 08:05 where you begin some unrealistic pursuits. In other words, your faith is not supposed to adjust to reality. 08:13 Your reality is supposed to amend itself to divine faith. 08:17 I need somebody to get that the most dangerous thing about the pandemic is not COVID. 08:25 It is our common sense. 08:27 [Congregation: Shouting] 08:28 In other words, being realistic has become more contagious than our faith, 08:33 but we've got to get back to a place where our faith becomes contagious. 08:37 Am I preaching to anybody today? 08:39 Is there anybody that wants to join me in creating some new variants of faith with every testimony? 08:46 You want to create some new strands of belief with every miracle. 08:51 The thing about a contagious person is they don't try to spread it. 08:56 But because they are infected, they just spread it involuntarily. 09:00 I need some folk that are infected by faith who are going to spread the belief system you have, 09:07 involuntarily, to those who are around you. I need you to know that my goal for the next few months, 09:13 through the preaching of the Gospel, is to sneeze faith all over the body of Christ... 09:18 [Congregation: Shouting] 09:20 So that we can create a chain reaction of belief in the household of faith. Are you with me today, saints? 09:27 Go back with me, if you will, if you don't mind, to Matthew 14. Let's look together at verse number 22. 09:36 Matthew 14:22. When you get back there, let me hear you say "Amen." Matthew 14:22, 09:44 the Bible says, "Immediately, Jesus made..." He did what? 09:49 [Congregation: Made] 09:50 He made His disciples get into the boat, and go before him to the other side. 09:57 Now, saints, I need you to know that today's message actually has more meat than we will be able to digest in 10:05 one sitting. But the thing I like about this story is that the first thing it teaches us is that, 10:11 sometimes, the solution for trouble is actually a little bit more trouble. 10:19 In other words, the solution for trouble sometimes is greater trouble. 10:24 Now, beloved, I need you to know that there are some things in the text that are not obvious at first glance, 10:31 but they become clearer as we look at it in the context. 10:35 Now, understand this, saints, that what precedes this story is the miracle of Jesus, feeding the 5,000. 10:46 Now, understand that after this miracle, there is a grassroot campaign that begins to take place. 10:53 In fact, in John 6, Jesus, notices, that the people are about to try to make him king by force. 11:02 In other words, they see in Jesus someone who will give them immediate deliverance from the tyranny of Rome. 11:10 This miracle that Jesus does, they believe that it will make them invincible from all of their armies. 11:18 They believe that Jesus can feed the entire army with food. 11:23 They believe Jesus is able to heal their wounded soldiers. 11:28 They trust that Jesus is to throw their enemies into confusion. 11:32 In fact, they believe that their army will never suffer a casualty because even if a soldier dies, 11:40 they believe Jesus can bring him back from the dead. 11:43 These conversations that start in some small circles are now smoking out loud. 11:50 In other words, it is gaining so much traction and momentum that if Jesus won't take the throne voluntarily, 11:59 they're going to force it upon Him through acclamation. Watch this 12:05 because Ellen White says that the 12 disciples literally begin to join in with the crowd 12:12 and they leverage their influence to try to make Jesus become king. The reason, saints, 12:19 that they abort their mission is 12:21 because they are vying for the 12 cabinet spots that will be in the new monarchy that is ruled by Jesus Christ. 12:31 What they are going to do is they're going to appeal to His Jewish heritage 12:37 and His willingness to take care of His own people. 12:40 It's amazing, friends, that when Jesus notices what is about to take place, 12:46 the Bible says that He dismisses the crowd and He forces the disciples to get in a boat and go on ahead of them. 12:56 Now, the Bible says that he made them. Your version may say He constrained them. 13:02 One version says He compels them. The reason that's laid out is 13:07 because he is sending them in the boat against their protests. 13:13 In other words, you got to be clear that they don't want to get in the boat. 13:16 Why? Because this 5,000, that has been fed, you realize that that's just 5,000 men. 13:25 That doesn't include the women and children. 13:28 This platform that they have is the largest platform Jesus has had up to this point. 13:35 In other words, they see this as an opportunity that cannot be squandered. 13:40 They've got to strike while the iron is hot. They want to make the most of this opportunity to make Jesus king. 13:47 When Jesus pushes them in the boat, you've got to know that these guys are 38 hots. 13:54 These guys are vexed with Jesus. They are upset with the savior 14:00 because they feel like this is a missed opportunity. 14:03 Understand that this disposition shows how easily we get distracted. 14:11 Do you realize that at a time when they should be happy, they are sad? 14:18 They just witnessed Jesus feed 5,000 people, 14:22 and leave enough leftovers that they all got a basket to take to their home. 14:27 In a moment where they ought to be celebrating, they're crying. 14:32 They turn this moment of triumph into a moment of personal tribulation. 14:38 I need you to get, friends, that their internal disposition is actually what invites this storm to come upon them. 14:47 Now, remember I said earlier that sometimes the only thing that helps you get rid of trouble is to get into some 14:55 additional trouble. Are you all with me? In other words, 14:59 look at this quote here in Desire of Ages put this up here. 15:04 Ellen White literally says - put this up. She says that their thoughts were stormy and unreasonable 15:11 and the Lord gave them something else to afflict their souls and occupy their minds. 15:18 God often does this when men create burdens and troubles for themselves. When the Gail struck them, 15:29 they were afraid and they forgot about their disaffection, their unbelief, and their impatience. 15:36 Now, I'm not sure if you caught that. 15:38 In other words, what she's saying, friends of mine, is that when we fail to recognize God's goodness, 15:45 God has to send some trouble to take your mind off of your imagine trouble. In other words, 15:54 when you consistently make a mountain out of a molehill, 15:59 when you find something wrong no matter how right your life is, 16:03 when you're in that space where you pick apart everything in your journey, sometimes, 16:09 God has to send a real storm to set you free from your imagine storm. 16:15 The disciples thought they were having a bad day until the storm actually showed up. 16:23 The larger issue is our human discontent. Do you realize, friends of mine, 16:30 that you can always find something to complain about? In other words, 16:34 there are some of us that don't realize that you have a good job, but you're so busy picking apart your employer, 16:42 your co-workers, and those that you don't like. 16:45 Sometimes, God sends a vocational storm to set you free from your perceived storm. 16:53 There were some of us that complain so much about having to go to church, 16:57 that God allowed a pandemic to send us home for a year, 17:03 so that had more joy when we came into the house of the Lord. 17:07 There's some of us that already have a good spouse, but you're so busy picking them apart, 17:14 that God is going to send a marital storm to allow you to have more appreciation about what you have. 17:21 I guess what I'm saying today, beloved, 17:23 is you've got to get to a place where you stop picking apart everything that's in your life. 17:30 Is there anybody like me that's just made it up in your mind that I'm going to stop figuring out everything 17:36 that's wrong? I'm going to wake up and say this is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice 17:45 and be glad in it 17:47 In other words, friends of mine, you got to learn how to recognize God's goodness in everything. 17:53 In fact, I've had this happen. Recently, in my own life, I remember there was a week, 17:58 probably about five or six weeks ago, where we had a number of funerals that week. 18:02 I had a number of sermons to do on Zoom. I was trying to get ready for Sabbath. 18:07 I begin to complain a little bit about all the responsibilities, and all the places I had to go 18:13 and speak or preach. 18:15 I need you to know that same week was the same week that I came down with Bell's Palsy in my face. 18:21 It's crazy because, now at that time, I couldn't hardly speak. I was nervous. I would never get my speech back. 18:29 I was afraid I would never get my S's, my P's, and my W's. It's amazing. One minute, 18:35 I was complaining about having to speak. When my speech was temporarily taken away, 18:43 what happened is my real trouble delivered me from my imagine trouble. 18:48 I need you to know that I'm going to preach every sermon God gives me from this point on like it's my last one 18:57 because I realized it doesn't have to be that way. Are you all hear me today, saints? 19:02 Is there anybody that's willing to say, "Lord, I'm done complaining about what's wrong, 19:07 but I'm going to praise you for what's right."? Are you all hearing me today? 19:11 Instead of complaining, "Oh, I got pain in my knee," 19:15 maybe you ought to thank him that the only paying you got is in your knee instead of complaining, 19:22 "Lord, my car is 15 years old." Maybe you ought to praise him that after 15 years, the car is still driving. 19:31 Instead of complaining that the microwave is broke on a cold day like this, 19:36 you ought to thank him that the only thing broke in the house is the microwave. 19:40 Students, instead of complaining about the food at the cafe, 19:43 maybe you ought to thank God that there is food for you to eat. 19:47 In other words, saints, you've got to get to a place where you just learn how to stop focusing on what's wrong 19:54 and recognize that God is right no matter what is happening in your world. Sometimes, 20:01 God has to deliver us from discontent by making us a little bit more discontent. 20:09 Are you all hearing me today, saints? Let me say it this way. It's kind of like this and those with small kids, 20:15 you know what I'm talking about. There are days every now and then where you know how it is as a parent. 20:19 You try to get that little cat nap in before your next responsibility. I remember, one day, 20:23 I was having one of those days and the kids came up and I'm trying to get that in. 20:28 They were like, "Daddy, we're bored." Now, I need you to know that we don't give our kids every indulgence, 20:35 but we spent a lot of money on toys, devices, trampolines, and stuff we never had. Come on and say Amen. 20:44 In my mind, you should never be bored about nothing. Amanda came, and they said, "We're bored." I said, 20:53 "Go and ride your bikes." They come back like five minutes later and say, "You know, Daddy, we're bored." 20:57 I say, "Listen. Go play your device." They come back a little later and they say, "Daddy, 21:02 we're still bored." I say, "Go and watch your cartoons." They come back later, and they say, "Daddy, 21:06 we're still bored." 21:08 And then, I remembered what my parents would do to me whenever I say too often that I was bord. 21:15 In other words, when fun becomes a problem, I said, "Go get that basket of laundry over there. 21:25 You go get the mop and the broom. The youngest one go get the vacuum cleaner. 21:30 Let me put your hands to work since your toys and your games won't satisfy you no more. 21:36 It's crazy because, all of a sudden, they got delivered from their boredom. In other words, 21:43 more fun couldn't solve the boredom. They didn't get delivered until I gave them some work. 21:50 Let me say to all the kids at home, when you say you're bored, you're just making a prayer request for work. 21:56 Are you all hearing what I'm saying? 21:57 [Congregation: Clapping] 21:59 What I'm saying is that every now and then, God has to deliver you by sending something you don't think you need. 22:06 Are you all hearing me today, church? Friends of mine, I need you to get that on the journey of faith, 22:15 every now and then, God is going to send or make some unrealistic requirements of you. 22:25 Now, I want that to be clear that these requirements are designed to stretch you. 22:31 These requirements are designed to grow you. These requirements won't always feel comfortable. 22:40 The reason you need to know this is because if you don't understand this, 22:44 the requirements that God makes will sometimes feel unrealistic. 22:51 As he sometimes, in order to grow your faith, 22:53 one of the first things God requires is for you to go back to the place where your faith failed last. 23:02 Notice now that the Bible says that he had to force. 23:06 Your version may say constrain or compel them to get into the boat. 23:11 The reason Matthew lays it out that way is because he has to send them against their expressed will. 23:17 In other words, he is requiring them to get in the boat even though they do not want to go and see. 23:24 There are two reasons they don't want to go. Number one, as we stated, they see this as a missed opportunity. 23:30 The second reason they don't want to get in the boat is because they remember what happened last time. 23:39 They went on a boat at night. Are you all with me? 23:43 Do you remember what happened the last time they were there on the Lake of Galilee? 23:48 Jesus was there in the boat asleep. Understand that after a night of toil and stress, 23:58 they get to a point where they are so frustrated and they are so depleted that they cry out to Jesus and say, 24:06 "Master, don't you care that we perish?" 24:10 I need you to remember something. Notice that after their night of toil, that after Jesus calms the storm, 24:19 notice that he doesn't just rebuked the wind. 24:23 He then rebukes the disciples and says, "How is it that you are afraid? 24:29 Why is it that you have no faith?" 24:33 In other words, saints, his assessment is that there is a deficit in their faith. 24:41 If this was to be a midterm, they've got an F on their midterm of belief. I need you to understand, 24:49 beloved, that ever since that time, they got a little bit more cautious every time they got into a boat. 25:00 In other words, they are watching the elements closely every time they go out to see. 25:06 Understand that this requirement to get in a boat, especially at night, is very triggering for the disciples. 25:13 In other words, not only do they have to get in the boat at night, this time, 25:18 Jesus is not even with them in the boat. 25:21 I need you to know that there is a cocktail of fearful emotions that is running through them as Jesus puts 25:28 them in the in the boat. As Jesus puts them in the in the boat, 25:32 you got to be clear that they are watching the elements the entire time, 25:35 so that just in case things go left, they can go right back to the shore. 25:41 They are at a place on the journey where their eyes well up with tears as they see the spot where Jesus usually 25:50 sits being empty. They're anxious as they push away from the shore and Jesus gets further and further away. 25:58 That panic is heightened when they can no longer even see the shore. 26:03 God makes them face the situation that they wanted to avoid the most. 26:12 In other words, beloved, I need you to understand something. They're asking the question to themselves. 26:17 Why does Jesus keep putting us in boats at night time? Why does Jesus keep sending us through the same thing? 26:26 It's unfair that God would put us in the same predicament repeatedly. 26:31 But one of the things I need somebody to get is the only time God makes you face. 26:36 Something repeatedly is if that thing is critical to your destiny. Let me take my time. 26:43 You all a little slow today. Remember that their mission is to take the gospel to the world, 26:52 but they can't take the gospel to the world on camel or on donkey. Every now and then, 26:58 they're going to have to get in a boat and travel through some rough weather. 27:03 Jesus knows that in order for them to master the storms after He's gone, 27:09 He's got to teach them to master some storms while He's still here. 27:13 In order for them to be ready after He leaves, He's got to make sure that they're prepared before He goes. 27:19 So understand that this consistent test is not punishment. It is preparation. 27:26 Thank you so much for joining the Breath Of Life television ministries broadcast. We hoped you've been blessed 27:32 through today's message by Pastor Debleaire Snell. Join us next week for part 2 of "Unrealistic Requirements". 27:41 You don't want to miss it. 27:45 (Breath of Life Music) 28:08 (Music) 28:11 In a world that's constantly changing, it's a blessing to know that there is a living hope. 28:17 His name is Jesus. On Sunday, April 17, in conjunction with the Interfaith Broadcasting Commision we invite you to 28:25 view "A Living Hope" our Easter television series, which will be shown nationally on ABC Television affiliates 28:32 across the United States. A Living Hope will feature an Easter message by Pastor Debleaire Snell. Our special 28:39 musical guests will be Grammy award winning artist Cece Winans, along with SELAH, and violinist Patrick Bogui. 28:48 For broadcast cities,stations and times of 'A Living Hope" please visit breathoflife.tv or give us a call 28:55 at (256) 929-6460 29:00 [End] |
Revised 2022-04-07