Sermon Central
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Seizing The Moment For God.
Contributed by John Gullick on Sep 14, 2004 (message contributor)
Summary: A sermon that uses Matthew chapter 14 to look at how Jesus seizes opportunities in a incident in his life and suggests how we can do the same.
Not to seek time with God is a form of cowardice.
The choice we face as a Christian is shall I choose to spend time with my God or will I give into the world.
No matter how popular or good the pursuit – if it is not what God would have you do you have just taken the path of a coward.
It was one of the Wesley’s wifes who, surrounded by children, would pull her apron over her head to spend time with her God.
If you don’t have time for God – yet dare to tackle life without your God then you are taking the cowards way.
Jesus “Immediately” arranged things to spend time with God.
We too need to seize the moment.
The second immediately we find where Jesus seizes the moment is:-
MT 14:27 But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid."
MT 14:28 "Lord, if it’s you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."
MT 14:29 "Come," he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"
Picture the scene – Jesus is walking on the water.
It is not a thing we are familiar with.
It is the kind of thing that would fill us with fear.
The disciples are totally phased out they think Jesus is a Ghost and are full of fear.
Jesus understands – he takes the opportunity to encourage the disciples.
He expresses love and compassion and comfort.
We too need to seize the moment to offer God’s love to others.
Sometimes we miss valuable opportunitioes and God puts them before us all the time.
We often need to make a quick decision.
God will give us moments but we need to seize them.
Phillip Yancey talks of Millard Fuller a millionaire entrepreneur from Alabama who was rich but miserable, his marriage on the rocks he headed to Georgia where he fell under the spell of Clarence Jordan and the Koinonia Community. Before long, Fuller gave away his personal fortune and founded an organisation on the simple premise that every person on the planet deserves a decent place to live. Today Habitat for Humanity enlists thousands of volunteers to build houses all over the world. Fuller once explained his work to a skeptical Jewish woman. “Ma’am we don’t try to evangelise. You don’t have to be a Christian to live in one of our houses or to help us build one But the fact is I do what I do, and so many of our volunteers do what they do., inj order to be obedient to Jesus.
(What’s so amazing about Grace, pge 267.)
This man seized the moment.
I once knew a man who had a theory – Everything comes to him who waits.
He lived his live by this maxim.
He died waiting.
He never seized the moment.
Jesus always is – seizing moments.
Orison Swett Marden said, “There’s no greater sight in the world than that of a person fired with a great purpose, dominated by one unwavering aim.”
Thirdly:
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him
MT 14:29 "Come," he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"
