Overcoming Life's Obstacles
Sermon
THE CHALLENGE OF GOD'S HARVEST
There is nothing so frustrating in life as a shattered dream. We all have our dreams. We have plans for our children. In the back of our minds we think about a certain dream house. Every young girl has her dream boat in mind. We have goals in our career or job. We hope to arrive at a particular level of achievement in our work. Even the younger among us begin to plan and dream about retirement.
So to have our dreams shattered can be frustrating. To miss our goals, to have them blocked by insurmountable obstacles, can put even the best of us to the test. The story in our text here today is a perfect example of all this, I believe, It sets before us a man who had a dream. It points out the heavy obstacles that flared up in the pursuit of that dream. And then it lays before us the courage of faith, faith that overcomes the obstacles and accomplishes the dream.
You see, Peter here wanted to be near Jesus. He wanted to be in the saving, uplifting presence of his Lord. That was his dream. As Peter walked toward Jesus over the wafer, the wind and the waves became an obstacle and he started to sink. But the courage of faith took over. He centered his hope on Jesus, and the Lord saved him. So there we have the three elements: the dream, the obstacles and the courage of faith. Let us take up this three-pronged message now under the theme, OVERCOMING LIFE'S OBSTACLES.
I.
First of all, the dream. Peter had a dream here. He had a wish. He had a vision. He wanted to be close to his Lord Jesus. Amidst this churning storm, Peter wanted to be near Christ. We have to give Peter credit here for dreaming, don't we? We have to admire him for imagining that as Jesus was walking on the water, so it was also possible for him, a mere human being, to also walk on the water, and thus approach Jesus. It was an impossible dream, and we must admire Peter for having it.
I wonder if you and I dream enough anymore. We can get so used to the everydayness and routine of our lives that it might never dawn on us to dream of something higher. We become so entrenched in the daily round, so unexpectant of heart that we do not really look for anything unusually noble or fine to interrupt the ordinary.
But think of the extraordinary achievements in our human society, all because someone dared to dream! Thomas Edison, for instance, who dreamed of replacing the annoying and dangerous candle. His invention of the electric light bulb has turned out to be one of the most useful products around. Abraham Lincoln dreamed away at the fireside in an obscure log cabin in Kentucky. Many years later he sat at another fireside, this time in the White House, chief-of-state in carrying out America's dreams.
In the Old Testament book of Proverbs we read, "Where there is no vision, the people perish (29:18)." How much do we venture out mentally? Do we dare enough to expand our horizons? What profound possibilities for achievement belong to those who follow a vision! In this respect we must admire and nuture the dreams of our young people today. Youth is a visionary time of life. Let us treat with respect their fresh idealism, their great plans, their unspoiled look to the future.
Of course, if we are going to dream, our dreams need to be God-pleasing. We have to admit that often our goals are selfish and our dreams self-serving. We may be interested to have our children pursue a certain job or career only because it would cast a good reflection on us as their parents. How well we brought up our children, everyone would say. Plans and dreams about our own personal career may be motivated by the vision of seeing ourselves as a big-shot someday, or if not that, at least a job that will land us on easy street. Our dreams can get pretty earthy and pretty crassly materialistic.
In the text here Peter had a God-pleasing dream. He wanted to be closer to Christ. He wanted to be near the Lord Jesus. That's a good measure for all our dreams, isn't it? Will this dream, this goal, this plan that I have, bring me closer to Christ? Do my objectives match the will of the Lord? Will I really be serving my Lord and other people with this dream?
Several years ago Martin Luther King preached a now-famous sermon outdoors on the capitol steps in Washington, D.C. The title of it was, "I Have a Dream." It was a God-pleasing dream that Dr. King enunciated in that sermon, because it spoke about the dignity and freedom of every human being. It pictured the justice of a tranquil, integrated society in a country that champions civil rights. Our dreams ought to be God-pleasing in that way.
You see, the question always is, why do we want success? Why do we want our dreams to come true? Why did Peter want to walk on the water? Just to try out this interesting little magical fete himself? For that matter, what was Our Lord's aim in walking on the water toward his disciples? Was he trying to show off his royal sonship? Was he a trickster, bent on frightening his friends in this spooky way? Was it all like the song of Herod suggests in the rock opera, Jesus Christ Superstar? Herod sings this:
Jesus, I am overjoyed to meet you face to face
You've been getting quite a name all around the place
Healing cripples raising from the dead
And now I understand you're God at least that's what you've said
So you are the Christ you're the great Jesus Christ
Prove to me that you're divine - change my water into wine ...
Jesus you just won't believe the hit you've made round here
You are all we talk about the wonder of the year ...
So you are the Christ you're the great Jesus Christ
Prove to me that you're no fool walk across my swimming pool
If that was the motivation of Jesus, then we have a sorry Messiah indeed. But his real motivation, as well as that of the disciple Peter, is much more nearly reflected in the famous song from another religious rock opera, Godspell. You know the song:
Day by day, Oh dear Lord, three things I pray:
To see Thee more clearly, love Thee more dearly,
Follow Thee more nearly, day by day
So let us dream. But let us have goals and ambitions that faithfully serve the Lord Jesus Christ and his will.
II.
With every dream there will be obstacles. With every God-pleasing dream there may be many obstacles. Peter wanted to be close to Christ. As he walked out toward Jesus the obstacles immediately flared up. The wind and the waves reared their ugly heads.
But they were not true obstacles, were they? Peter was walking on the water before this, despite the winds and the waves. By themselves these howling creatures were not obstacles. Only when Peter allowed them to be obstacles in his own mind did they become that!
That's what happens in our lives. Things which have no business being obstacles to our dreams we allow to become obstacles. An obvious topic at this point is worry. We have a goal, a dream, a challenge, a task to be done. Sometimes we begin our "attack" by worrying! We allow worry and undue concern to attack us. We project into the future. Not that we shouldn't take circumstances into consideration. But must we allow the obstacles to become an obsession with us?
Other people can quickly create mental obstacles for us as we go about fulfilling our dreams. You know the kind of person I'm talking about. You have a great plan, a sound dream and you announce the facts. Then immediately there is the fellow who pipes up and says, "I've already tried it. It won't work." In our church these directions can paralyze us. Someone is always ready to say about a new church program, "We've tried that already. It won't work." And if not that reply, then surely something like this, "We've never done it that way here before."
III.
Let's sift out the real obstacles from those which are purely manufactured by our minds or in our minds by others. And let's see that the answer to our dreams and goals is never going to rest in a neurotic focusing on the obstacles, but rather will always be a matter of what I like to call the courage of faith. This venturing out, this taking action. Peter is to be admired for taking action here, for going out toward Christ (who, by the way, never once discouraged Peter from his goal!).
In the process of our venturing, let us keep our eyes on Jesus. Go forth! Keep your eyes on Christ. You know very well it is worth keeping your eyes on Christ. You and I know who this Christ is. He is the one who is for you and me a hundred per cent. He is genuinely seeking our good. Our goals and dreams, God-pleasing as they are, reach down into his heart. He has a heart for us. Look what he did! He spared not his own life for you and me. He went to the cross. There he suffered and died, because he loves usso much. And on the third day he rose again, because he wants us to be with him in the heavenly place forever. That's how much Christ has an interest in you as a person. He loves you, forgives you by the cross, so that you may start again, with God-pleasing goals, to serve the Father.
So dream! Dream your God-pleasing dreams. Follow the vision, even when it is daring. Measure the obstacles, but in the face of them, measure God's love in Christ even more. Look solidly into he face of Jesus Christ. With him all things are possible. God bless you this week in your venture of faith. Keep your eye on Christ, and go forth.
So to have our dreams shattered can be frustrating. To miss our goals, to have them blocked by insurmountable obstacles, can put even the best of us to the test. The story in our text here today is a perfect example of all this, I believe, It sets before us a man who had a dream. It points out the heavy obstacles that flared up in the pursuit of that dream. And then it lays before us the courage of faith, faith that overcomes the obstacles and accomplishes the dream.
You see, Peter here wanted to be near Jesus. He wanted to be in the saving, uplifting presence of his Lord. That was his dream. As Peter walked toward Jesus over the wafer, the wind and the waves became an obstacle and he started to sink. But the courage of faith took over. He centered his hope on Jesus, and the Lord saved him. So there we have the three elements: the dream, the obstacles and the courage of faith. Let us take up this three-pronged message now under the theme, OVERCOMING LIFE'S OBSTACLES.
I.
First of all, the dream. Peter had a dream here. He had a wish. He had a vision. He wanted to be close to his Lord Jesus. Amidst this churning storm, Peter wanted to be near Christ. We have to give Peter credit here for dreaming, don't we? We have to admire him for imagining that as Jesus was walking on the water, so it was also possible for him, a mere human being, to also walk on the water, and thus approach Jesus. It was an impossible dream, and we must admire Peter for having it.
I wonder if you and I dream enough anymore. We can get so used to the everydayness and routine of our lives that it might never dawn on us to dream of something higher. We become so entrenched in the daily round, so unexpectant of heart that we do not really look for anything unusually noble or fine to interrupt the ordinary.
But think of the extraordinary achievements in our human society, all because someone dared to dream! Thomas Edison, for instance, who dreamed of replacing the annoying and dangerous candle. His invention of the electric light bulb has turned out to be one of the most useful products around. Abraham Lincoln dreamed away at the fireside in an obscure log cabin in Kentucky. Many years later he sat at another fireside, this time in the White House, chief-of-state in carrying out America's dreams.
In the Old Testament book of Proverbs we read, "Where there is no vision, the people perish (29:18)." How much do we venture out mentally? Do we dare enough to expand our horizons? What profound possibilities for achievement belong to those who follow a vision! In this respect we must admire and nuture the dreams of our young people today. Youth is a visionary time of life. Let us treat with respect their fresh idealism, their great plans, their unspoiled look to the future.
Of course, if we are going to dream, our dreams need to be God-pleasing. We have to admit that often our goals are selfish and our dreams self-serving. We may be interested to have our children pursue a certain job or career only because it would cast a good reflection on us as their parents. How well we brought up our children, everyone would say. Plans and dreams about our own personal career may be motivated by the vision of seeing ourselves as a big-shot someday, or if not that, at least a job that will land us on easy street. Our dreams can get pretty earthy and pretty crassly materialistic.
In the text here Peter had a God-pleasing dream. He wanted to be closer to Christ. He wanted to be near the Lord Jesus. That's a good measure for all our dreams, isn't it? Will this dream, this goal, this plan that I have, bring me closer to Christ? Do my objectives match the will of the Lord? Will I really be serving my Lord and other people with this dream?
Several years ago Martin Luther King preached a now-famous sermon outdoors on the capitol steps in Washington, D.C. The title of it was, "I Have a Dream." It was a God-pleasing dream that Dr. King enunciated in that sermon, because it spoke about the dignity and freedom of every human being. It pictured the justice of a tranquil, integrated society in a country that champions civil rights. Our dreams ought to be God-pleasing in that way.
You see, the question always is, why do we want success? Why do we want our dreams to come true? Why did Peter want to walk on the water? Just to try out this interesting little magical fete himself? For that matter, what was Our Lord's aim in walking on the water toward his disciples? Was he trying to show off his royal sonship? Was he a trickster, bent on frightening his friends in this spooky way? Was it all like the song of Herod suggests in the rock opera, Jesus Christ Superstar? Herod sings this:
Jesus, I am overjoyed to meet you face to face
You've been getting quite a name all around the place
Healing cripples raising from the dead
And now I understand you're God at least that's what you've said
So you are the Christ you're the great Jesus Christ
Prove to me that you're divine - change my water into wine ...
Jesus you just won't believe the hit you've made round here
You are all we talk about the wonder of the year ...
So you are the Christ you're the great Jesus Christ
Prove to me that you're no fool walk across my swimming pool
If that was the motivation of Jesus, then we have a sorry Messiah indeed. But his real motivation, as well as that of the disciple Peter, is much more nearly reflected in the famous song from another religious rock opera, Godspell. You know the song:
Day by day, Oh dear Lord, three things I pray:
To see Thee more clearly, love Thee more dearly,
Follow Thee more nearly, day by day
So let us dream. But let us have goals and ambitions that faithfully serve the Lord Jesus Christ and his will.
II.
With every dream there will be obstacles. With every God-pleasing dream there may be many obstacles. Peter wanted to be close to Christ. As he walked out toward Jesus the obstacles immediately flared up. The wind and the waves reared their ugly heads.
But they were not true obstacles, were they? Peter was walking on the water before this, despite the winds and the waves. By themselves these howling creatures were not obstacles. Only when Peter allowed them to be obstacles in his own mind did they become that!
That's what happens in our lives. Things which have no business being obstacles to our dreams we allow to become obstacles. An obvious topic at this point is worry. We have a goal, a dream, a challenge, a task to be done. Sometimes we begin our "attack" by worrying! We allow worry and undue concern to attack us. We project into the future. Not that we shouldn't take circumstances into consideration. But must we allow the obstacles to become an obsession with us?
Other people can quickly create mental obstacles for us as we go about fulfilling our dreams. You know the kind of person I'm talking about. You have a great plan, a sound dream and you announce the facts. Then immediately there is the fellow who pipes up and says, "I've already tried it. It won't work." In our church these directions can paralyze us. Someone is always ready to say about a new church program, "We've tried that already. It won't work." And if not that reply, then surely something like this, "We've never done it that way here before."
III.
Let's sift out the real obstacles from those which are purely manufactured by our minds or in our minds by others. And let's see that the answer to our dreams and goals is never going to rest in a neurotic focusing on the obstacles, but rather will always be a matter of what I like to call the courage of faith. This venturing out, this taking action. Peter is to be admired for taking action here, for going out toward Christ (who, by the way, never once discouraged Peter from his goal!).
In the process of our venturing, let us keep our eyes on Jesus. Go forth! Keep your eyes on Christ. You know very well it is worth keeping your eyes on Christ. You and I know who this Christ is. He is the one who is for you and me a hundred per cent. He is genuinely seeking our good. Our goals and dreams, God-pleasing as they are, reach down into his heart. He has a heart for us. Look what he did! He spared not his own life for you and me. He went to the cross. There he suffered and died, because he loves usso much. And on the third day he rose again, because he wants us to be with him in the heavenly place forever. That's how much Christ has an interest in you as a person. He loves you, forgives you by the cross, so that you may start again, with God-pleasing goals, to serve the Father.
So dream! Dream your God-pleasing dreams. Follow the vision, even when it is daring. Measure the obstacles, but in the face of them, measure God's love in Christ even more. Look solidly into he face of Jesus Christ. With him all things are possible. God bless you this week in your venture of faith. Keep your eye on Christ, and go forth.
