Aaron Cloutier
Midland SDA Church
December 26, 2020
I seem to always get scheduled to speak on some holiday. This is always ironic considering my lack of ambition for these obligatory annual occasions. And if there is one holiday I dislike more than Valentine’s day, its Christmas. Really, its this whole holiday season. Generally, I would rather December just fall off the and merge Turkey day with National Braille day “4th”. Left over sugar cookies, mistletoes, staying up to till midnight, New Years resolutions? Barf, Ill pass. But 2020, if this year were a pinata, it would be like someone hanging a wasp nest and giving you a fly swatter while blind folded. Even I was looking forward to Christmas! So because the spirit of “new beginnings” is on everyone’s mind, I figured I shouldn’t fight it and make relevant conversation.
It seems like everyone is just anxious to get this year over with. Especially for of us here in Midland when we consider the flood back in the summer. It was a political year… and all the garbage we were all subjected to because of it. And of course Covid 19! Folks have lost jobs, been displaced, and have even lost loved ones unfortunately. Yes indeed, we are ready for 2020 to be done. But here is the kicker… we have no idea what 2021 is going to bring. Could be fat man, could be little boy. No telling, but regardless folks are hopeful.
When I really weigh out the experiences from this year, I think my biggest frustration are the plans that were thwarted , really from things outside of my control. And so by this time of the year Im just full of anxiety and animosity about everything going on around me; start asking myself why things have to be the the way that they are. And then it hit me…distraction
We want to think bad things happen just because the devil wants to harm us, but it is so much more than that. In John 10:9-10 we find a general overview of the struggle that we are all subject to. Read SCRIPTURE. Here we find a dichotomy that exist between life and salvation and that of destruction. And there are a lot of ways Satan will try to destroy you, through pride, fear, disunity… but at the core his ambition is to separate your intentions from God! We can see this when we examine every instance when he tried to displace all these biblical figures like Adam and Eve with excessive knowledge, Job with raw harm, David with adultery, Daniel with fear…all the way up to Christ himself when he tried tempting his divinity against Gods plan for salvation, Satan wants you to lose focus of God; all the big things and all the small things.
There is one story plot in scripture that really simplifies all of this for us, so I’d like you to turn with me to Mark 6. By the way, this story plot exists in three of the gospels and each offer a couple details not mentioned in the others. Here we find Starting in verse 15 the amazing situation where Jesus miraculously feeding a ton of people with only 5 loves of bread and 2 fish.
Read Mark 6:45-48
There is one small detail I would like to make at this point in this story line. Jesus waited to intercept the struggling disciples…why is that?
This was a severe trial of their faith. In the darkness and tempest they sought to gain the point where he had promised to meet them, but the driving wind forced them from their course and made all their efforts futile. They were strong men and accustomed to the water, but now their hearts failed them with terror; they longed for the calm commanding presence of the Master, and felt that were he with them they would be secure. But Jesus had not forgotten his disciples. From the distant shore, his eye pierced the darkness, saw their danger, and read their thoughts. He would not suffer one of them to perish. As a fond mother watches the child she has in kindness corrected, so the compassionate Master watched his disciples; and when their hearts were subdued, their unholy ambition quelled, and they humbly prayed for help, it was given them. At the very moment they believed themselves lost, a flash of lightning revealed the figure of a man walking toward them upon the water. An unspeakable terror seized them. The hands that had grasped the oars with muscle like iron, relaxed their hold, and fell powerless by their sides. The boat rocked at the will of the waves, while their eyes were riveted upon this vision of a man stepping firmly upon the white-capped billows. Spirit of Prophecy Vol 2 267.2
The Lord needs us in a state of humility… It is there that he can actually work in our lives. Plus, Jesus also wanted the disciples to know that it even in the midst of a storm, He was present. Another detail overooked was the expectations the disciples had that Jesus was going to usurp authority over the pharisees. Jesus hadn’t yet and it starting to show doubt in the minds of the disciples of who Jesus “DOA 380.2
Moving forward Read vs 49-50
Now there is an important scenario plot Mark and John leave out, and for that we need to swing over to Mathew 14 vs28-31. Now here is the obvious take away from this situation; never take your eyes off of Jesus. Period. This is something that has been drilled into our minds since the idea of a loving savior has been brought to our attention. But there is a detail that I think is worth exploring and that is Peter wasn’t afraid of the water… he was afraid of the wind. And you might be saying “ kind of splitting hairs there aren’t you Aaron?” But I don’t think so, and here is why:
Peter was a fisherman by trade. He had spent his life on and around water. With confidence I can tell you he probably felt comfortable being in water and, dare I say probably knew how to swim. If not I would have some serious doubts about his choice profession. It would be the equivalent of someone who was afraid of electricity becoming an electrician! My point is Peter would have had a sense of control of his comfort being on bodies of water
However,… Peter was afraid of the wind. The wind being an element of the natural world no one has the ability to gain control over. What happens when folks here in the states experiences high winds from storms? We retreat to shelters, cellars, basements etc. It’s a scary thing because its un predictable and we have 0 control!
And here is my hook this morning brother and sisters; We often loose sight of Jesus when we feel the world around us is out of control. When Peter lost control, he lost sight of Jesus. And just like peter, we become distracted; afraid and begin to doubt the Lord’s credibility because we focus on the storm. Now this probably seems very elementary for any seasoned Christian, but let me ask you something… how much of the trash we’ve been through this year taken your attention away from God? Be honest with yourself. And assuming that is true, what are the consequences for such a thing?
To begin putting this into practical application, we must accept there is always a cost associated with taking our focus off of God. To do this, lets look at a basic biblical principal. Turn with me to Philippians 4:7-8… or if you can quote it, say it with me. READ. The fact of the matter is all of these virtues are monikers of the Creator… which is why we must search these things out. Isaiah 26:3 tells us – “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”
The problem we find in the world today is everything that we’ve no control over is contrary to these virtues. What I mean to say is your personal responsibility to hedge yourself can only go so far, and the natural world round us is increasingly evil! It is necessary to keep sharp focus on Jesus because He alone has prevailed over sin and has authority over death. Begin to ask yourself what the alternative is.
And this is a hard thing because we are creatures of curiosity and that we all have some degree of A.D.. . So here is where the rubber meets the road for you and I.
To me its like this: have you ever been driving down the expressway on your way to vacation and you all of a sudden come across an accident. Emergency vehicles everywhere and you can tell it wasn’t just a fender bender. If you are like most hot blooded human beings, what do you do when you drive past? You begin to rubber neck. And then it happens… you see something that twist’s your stomach… and image that begins to burn into your mind. And then you are forced to continue driving so that you can enjoy your vacation trip. Now let me ask you…was it worth it? What do we gain by doing that? What would we have lost if we just accepted there was a terrible accident, sparing the visual details but proceeded toward vacation? I’ve actually seen a fatal accident caused from folks rubber necking another wreck. Ironic, maybe… but the distraction was undeniable.
For example… I mentioned this year’s political season. I’m not a political jockey nor do I ever advocate for such matters to be presented in the house of God. My opinion on the matter is if you are passionate about politics then leave your passions at the door because this is the house of God… The Lord of Lords. Why waste precious time on issues of such momentary substance in the house of God. Your politcal identity is hardly a vapor in the scheme of eternity. Now if you’d like to chat about foreign policies, shifting taxes, or legalizations while we each some haystacks or something then cool.
This year has been a challenge for a lot of people. It seems even if you are generally aloof to the political scenery you were probably sucked into it one way or another. If it wasn’t the youtube ads reminding you to vote, it was probably the conversations you were sucked into by zealous coworkers, family members, etc. And so you are made aware of injustices, conspiracies, just a host of negative and superfluous matters that you weren’t looking for…or maybe you were. Regardless, If you are like most folks this whole election has made you anxious, maybe even fearful, mad, and hopeless! And here is the kicker, some of this information may be true. I don’t know, and neither do you. So really, what consequence is of me if my weight in the matter don’t go any further than my own influence? So why am I letting it manipulate me like this? Easy to do because a lot of these issues are truly valid, but allowing these matters become an authority of our effort when there are much more serious, eternal matters to be dealt with… I mean, what does any of this do for my relationship with Jesus? We get so passionate about these things but what is it doing for us eternally? This is a hard question to dance around. The reciprocal should be mentioned… how present is Satan during this whole situation and what’s his motivation for making you part of it? The answer is simple, Satan is super present because it’s a great way to distract you 😊
Lets shift gears…
What about Covid 19? The world has been mitigating the spread and damage from this illness for over a year now. We have been advised and educated on what we can do to personally protect ourselves and others. Still we see people getting sick, losing jobs, some folks we know have passed away from complications associated with being sick. Truly, where does my influence end and where do I start to lose control of this situation. Folks are really scared about this thing, and if you aren’t scared, then you are irritated. You have to ask yourself, What part does Satan play in this whole thing and yet again… what is his end game? If you remember how the devil interacted with God, trying to convince Him to test Jobs integrity … Satan was convinced he could make Job question Gods intentions. And Satan would attempt to do this by forcing Job away from a relationship with God and focusing on the devastation to him, his family and legacy.
Same dog, same trick….distraction. The sad part is most of us don’t have to have our life put into shambles before we lose focus of God. Maybe it’s a few season of Breaking Bad or maybe its your Harley….I don’t know. But the point is our priority must always be too seek Jesus out, stay fixated on Him… especially in when in the storm! If not, the trade off is feeling terrible about yourself and maybe losing faith in the most relevant matter ever. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t engage ourselves with other matters, but we must always keep these things in check. An issue like this, It is so easy for us to sink into a state of animosity, dissention, disunity, fear when we don’t see Him. And here is the kicker… He is right there! Remember, Jesus trekked a distance on stormy waters to protect the disciples. Jesus is always fixated on us. When we sink, it is because we were distracted.
DOA 382.1
When trouble comes upon us, how often we are like Peter! We look upon the waves, instead of keeping our eyes fixed upon the Savior. Our footsteps slide, and the proud waters go over our souls. Jesus did not bid Peter come to Him that he should perish; He does not call us to follow Him, and then forsake us. “Fear not,” He says; “for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior.” Isaiah 43:1-3.
Don’t you want this kind of peace where you could confidently walk on stormy waters? I would love to be there guy when everyone is all losing their minds and freaking out, I’m just chillin… because I know what’s up. And let me tell you something friends, there is no better way than to evangelize than people seeing you have peace during wanky times. Because everyone wants peace, but nobody knows where to find it. Don’t get got up on the superficial things of this life.
So friends. As we enter into 2021, let us walk into it confidently…no matter what lies ahead.