Seeing God...Crazy?

When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret. And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed. (Matthew 14:34-36 NIV)

About six months ago our local hospital moved from downtown Valparaiso to a more accessible location along some major thoroughfares.  Our church building is right down the street from the old hospital site, so we immediately recognized when the change took place.  Sirens ceased.  Traffic slowed.  Even the building area looks a bit like a ghost-town.  People know where to go when they are sick.  This is no longer the place.

Probably the greatest indicator that the miracles in the Bible are true is the reaction of the eyewitnesses.  People knew where to go when they were sick.  Jesus was getting the job done.  They were being healed.  Even touching the edge of his cloak was enough to bring complete healing.  How did it work?  Who cares!  It works!  So, they seek him out - this great miracle man-healer.

Now they find him.  They touch his cloak.  They find healing, maybe even from a lifelong illness.  The reality of the situation starts to sink in.  It really happened.  The disease is taken away.  The symptoms didn't subside.  They disappeared.  This is real.  Healing has taken place.

Now what?

Do I thank him?  Do I run back to my family and show them that I'm all better?  Do I tell the story over and over again until people are sick of hearing about my experience?  What do I do when this man heals me?

All too often we come to God like He is a medicine man-healer.  We expect Him to take away all our pain.  When the pain stays, we plead with Him, yell at Him, and blame Him for the suffering.  When the pain goes away, we credit science, medicine, or other circumstances for making things better.

But where's God?

Jesus wasn't healing people so he could become the portable, travelling hospital.  He wasn't trying to treat some people better than others.  He was simply getting their attention to let them know that He's God and that He loves them.  He wants to be with them, teach them, and walk with them.  He wants that for us, too.

Do you see God?

That's not crazy.  That's what He wants.

Controlling the Weather - Crazy

Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that His disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while He sent the people home. After sending them home, He went up into the hills by Himself to pray. Night fell while He was there alone. Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. (Matthew 14:22-24 NLT)

Last night I made a decision to call off our kick-off of "New Family" - an evening designed for our whole family, dedicated to building up our new family in Christ.  It's our way of living out what the early church immediately became when they believed in Jesus.  They became a new family.

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord's Supper), and to prayer. (Acts 2:42 NLT)

Anyway, we had a big kick-off planned for Tuesday and the weather was spotty enough that I called it off.  I'm sure many people thought I was crazy - a guy from further south who doesn't know how to handle a little taste of winter.  I was distracted by snow, slush, and ice mixes on the streets, a slipery parking lot, and a car that ran off the road on 30.  More than all that, I couldn't predict the future and the weather forecasts varied greatly.  So, I played it safe and we will try again next week.

I'm sure my struggles in decision making last night didn't even approach the feelings the disciples must have felt in that boat.  They're out in the middle of the water, in the middle of the night, when a big storm hits.  There would have been no doubt.  The would have called the boat ride off.

About three o'clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. When the disciples saw Him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, "It's a ghost!" But Jesus spoke to them at once. "Don't be afraid," He said. "Take courage. I am here! " (Matthew 14:25-27 NLT)

The wind, the waves, and the hour of night would have been enough to convince them of their final outcome. They were going to die.  Seeing Jesus walk on water toward them would have been something like watching the angel of death approach.  It was all over.

Do you ever feel that way?  Do the wind, waves, and dark of the night create moments when you feel like it's all over?  Even when God starts walking toward you in the midst of the storm, do you see Him?  Or are you afraid that things are about to go from bad to worse?

Then Peter called to Him, "Lord, if it's really You, tell me to come to You, walking on the water." "Yes, come," Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. "Save me, Lord!" he shouted. (Matthew 14:28-30 NLT)

God wants to show us His power.  He wants to help us through the storm.  Sometimes we even cry out to Him for help, but we miss the whole point.  We think it's about stopping the storm.  Sometimes we even think it's about walking on water - miraculous signs.  God thinks differently.  It's about coming to Him.  He wants us to trust Him, hang out with Him, and learn from Him.  God isn't looking for us to cry out in fear.  He's looking for us to turn to Him, talk to Him about what you see, and watch the storm together safely seated by His side.  Peter almost understood this - then he took his eyes off Jesus.

Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. "You have so little faith," Jesus said. "Why did you doubt Me?" When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. Then the disciples worshiped Him. "You really are the Son of God!" they exclaimed. (Matthew 14:31-33 NLT)

He can walk on water and control the weather.  That's crazy.  I'm glad we're family.

Feeding the Hungry...Crazy

That evening the disciples came to Him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves." But Jesus said, "That isn't necessary—you feed them." "But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish!" they answered. "Bring them here," He said. Then He told the people to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, He gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it to the people. (Matthew 14:15-19 NLT)

Often times, I think, we can shrink God down to size by looking at His miraculous signs and say, "I can do that."  Feeding the hungry presents a perfect opportunity for just such a thought.  Jesus is just about to feed the hungry masses.  So should we.

God tells us to feed the hungry.  In fact, His parable about the last days indicates that feeding the hungry will be on the list of reasons we are "blessed" at the final judgement.  So, we feed the hungry.  We can do that!

Programs in our local church body have fed the hungry for years now.  "Help us help the homeless" has become "help us feed the need."  The last "feed the need" campaign brought in over 8,000 lbs of food for our local food shelter.  More recently, we've added "500 Turkeys" to feed 500 families full meals at Thanksgiving.  This past year it fed over 600.  Praise God!

Before we get too full of ourselves, though, it's important to put things into perspective.  When we feed the hungry, we are simply following instructions from God.  It doesn't make us as good as God.  We're simply following instructions like the one He gave the Israelites in the Old Testament days when He said, "When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. Leave it for the poor and the foreigners living among you. I am the LORD your God." (Leviticus 23:22 NLT)  God takes care of the poor through His obedient people.

Jesus, however, wasn't just an obedient person.  He was the Messiah, the Son of God, and God in the flesh. He was doing miraculous signs - bigger than we can do.  For 8,000 lbs of food may have been gathered in a day, but it took thousands of people giving and dozens to organize the event, invite people to participate, and deliver the food.  Six hundred families were fed with over a dozen churches participating, not counting all the businesses, organizations, and individuals.  The events are spread out over a matter of months and planning takes most of the year.

Jesus looked up to heaven, blessed five loaves and two fish, broke the bread into pieces and had his disciples distribute them.  The whole process took minutes...and God.  The result?

They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers. About 5,000 men were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children! (Matthew 14:20-21 NLT)

God, we Praise You when your people follow your commands.

We Worship You  when we see you working in ways we can not.

Thank you for performing miracles that get our attention and show us Your Glory.

Healing - That's Crazy

Jesus saw the huge crowd as He stepped from the boat, and He had compassion on them and healed their sick. (Matthew 14:14 NLT)

On Sunday (service available online), we explored a few of the miracles Jesus performed while walking the face of the earth.  Francis Chan challenged us to expand our view of God, letting Him get bigger that He's been before.  I pointed out that we often read Scripture as quaint little stories, so we end up believing in a quaint little god.

Notice the last three words of the verse I quoted above: "healed their sick."  What do you think that would have been like to live through at the time?  What, did he give them cold medicine and flu shots?  What kind of sick did he heal?  How did he heal them?

I did a quick search of the word "heal" in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) and found over 100 verses with that word in it.  Here are some examples from Matthew alone:

Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And He healed every kind of disease and illness. News about Him spread as far as Syria, and people soon began bringing to Him all who were sick. And whatever their sickness or disease, or if they were demon possessed or epileptic or paralyzed—He healed them all. (Matthew 4:23-24 NLT)

Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached Him and knelt before Him. "Lord," the man said, "if You are willing, You can heal me and make me clean." Jesus reached out and touched him. "I am willing," He said. "Be healed!" And instantly the leprosy disappeared. (Matthew 8:2-3 NLT)

"Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain." Jesus said, "I will come and heal him." But the officer said, "Lord, I am not worthy to have You come into my home. Just say the word from where You are, and my servant will be healed. Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, "Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened." And the young servant was healed that same hour. (Matthew 8:6-8, 13 NLT)

When Jesus arrived at Peter's house, Peter's mother-in-law was sick in bed with a high fever. But when Jesus touched her hand, the fever left her. Then she got up and prepared a meal for Him. That evening many demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. He cast out the evil spirits with a simple command, and He healed all the sick. (Matthew 8:14-16 NLT)

The book of Matthew alone has many, many more examples of Jesus healing the sick as a part of his ministry.  Do you believe that he healed all these sick people, or do you just think that's crazy?  Your answer to this question will give you a clue as to the size of your God.

Maybe you struggle because these stories tell of God healing the sick, but you, a friend, or a family member fell sick and God did not heal him or her.  That's because miraculous healing was not the point back then.  The miraculous healings in Scripture took place to get our attention and point us to God.

This fulfilled the word of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah, who said, "He took our sicknesses and removed our diseases." (Matthew 8:17 NLT)

Jesus performed miracles - specifically the miracles of healing the sick - to fulfill prophecies about the Messiah.  He did it so people would know he was the one they were waiting for, looking for, and in whom they could believe.  Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God, and came to bring salvation to you and me.  His miracles of healing were one way to get our attention and prove that he was who he claimed to be.