Sermon Series: Getting To Know Jesus 

Trust 101 

Mark 6:30-51 

PSBC 4/14/02

In a nutshell: Trust means asking Jesus to get in the boat of our lives, and allowing His power to handle whatever situation we find ourselves in.

I. Introduction

A. 10 Reasons

The top 10 Reasons Why God Wouldn't Receive Tenure at an American University:

10. He published only one book. 9. Some scholars seriously doubt that he wrote it himself. 8. It carried no references. 7. He was vague about his background, claiming "I am that I am." 6. He did not keep regular office hours. 5. He expelled his first two students. 4. He issued 10 rules for maintaining campus discipline, without faculty and student hearings. 3. He refused to grade on a curve. 2. Scientists cannot replicate his results. 1. He sent his son to teach His courses. (adapted from Steve Feldman and George and Peggy Goldtrap's article, Holy Humor. Leadership, Vol. 19, no. 4).

B. Transition

Well, this morning we're going to look at one of the courses that God's Son taught for His Father. The course is… TRUST 101.

If you have your Bibles, I'm going to ask that you turn to Mark, chapter 6. And in the last half of this chapter Jesus not only teaches His disciples about trust, but He also gives them an exam on the material. And at the end of the message, we'll get to see the grades they received.

But friends, as we take a look at this course on TRUST, I'm going to challenge you to be more than an observer. I want to challenge you to be a student as well. You see, this course isn't just for the disciples of the first century…It's also a course for Jesus' disciples of the 21st century, as well.

II. Studying for the test

TRUST 101 is made up of two training seminars, before we get to the test.

A. Jesus sends out the 12

The first seminar took place toward the beginning of this chapter. We've already looked at it in a sermon, last month. And it had such an impact on the region and on King Herod, that it came into play in what we studied last week.

The first seminar was in reality a practicum. Jesus called the 12 disciples to Him one day, and paired them up. To these 6 groups of two, He gave authority over evil spirits, power to heal people of disease, and a message to preach about the Kingdom of God being near.

After some instructions on how to behave while they were away from Him, Jesus sent them out to the nearby villages to learn by doing. Take a look again at what they did in this first seminar…

Mark 6:12-13 12 They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

So, everyone of the twelve disciples got to preach; they got hands on experience driving out demons and demonic influences that were inhabiting people's bodies; and they got first hand experience of having God's power work through them and heal people who were sick and diseased. It was a masterful curriculum design to give first hand experience of some difficult and unusual practices, while relying on the power of God.

Then verse 30 tells us what happened after this practicum seminar…

Mark 6:30 30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.

Illustration: When I was in seminary, I took a course from Dr. Gilbert Peterson, who is now the president of a Christian College out east. Dr. Peterson's course was a course on Leadership Styles. The course was limited to just eight students, and it consisted of 6 visits over the course of the semester, to various organizations. During these visits, we sat down with the leadership personnel from each organization, and through presentations, and dialogue, we found out about the ways each of these organizations operated.

We met with the president of a Fortune 500 company; We met with the President and Deans of Moody Bible Institute; We met with Dr. Ken Taylor, the founder and president of Tyndale Publishing house, whom our own Ken Grafham worked for, for a number of years; We met with the Mayor and City Manager of one of our suburban towns; And a couple of others groups of individuals that escape my memory right now.

The course was designed so that one week we'd visit these people and organizations, and the next week we'd meet together in the classroom and analyze what we had heard, and learned and observed.

It was one of the most helpful courses I took while in seminary. But as I look back on that course, the main thing that made this class so valuable and useful was the discussion with our professor the week after our visit. He helped us understand and apply what we had learned to future church situations that we all anticipated would be ours' after graduation. He helped us see the similarities and differences that would occur in a local church situation. That time of meeting with the professor and interacting with each other was an incredibly valuable time.

Well, friends, that's what Jesus' disciples experienced in verse 30. It was their time to meet with Jesus, their instructor, and have their questions answered; get the encouragement they needed; and see how what they had observed would fit into future ministry.

B. Feeding of the 5K

Then, right on the heels of this practicum class on ministry experience, Jesus gets His disciples ready for the second seminar in Trust 101. That's recorded in the next section…

Mark 6:31-41 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." 32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. 35 By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. "This is a remote place," they said, "and it's already very late. 36 Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat." 37 But he answered, "You give them something to eat." They said to him, "That would take eight months of a man's wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?" 38 "How many loaves do you have?" he asked. "Go and see." When they found out, they said, "Five-and two fish." 39 Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.

Do you get the gist of what's going on in our second seminar? A huge crowd of people had gathered as Jesus was concluding the first seminar with His disciples. This group of 13 wanted some privacy and time alone, so they tried to get away, but the crowds followed them. So, Jesus had compassion on this crowd, which had grown to a conservative estimate of over 10 thousand people (The Bible says 5000 men, but that doesn't include the wives, girl friends, and children. So, I think 10,000 is a more accurate number…it was probably more.)

But because this was a spontaneous gathering, no one had thought about feeding these folks.

Illustration: I'll tell you, after having just finished planning and paying for a wedding for Jori and Brian, Diane and I know how much preparation and money goes into feeding a large group of people. We had a little over three hundred people to take care of at the wedding. Imagine the expense and planning that it would require to feed a crowd 34 times the size of the group we had here at church. But That's the situation we have here.

Around noon time, people started getting hungry. So, the disciples suggested sending everyone to Abdul-Donald's for fast food in the next town. But Jesus surprises them and says, "No, you feed them."

The disciples couldn't believe what Jesus was saying! Now verse 37 records, "THEY SAID…", but I can almost bet you that it was the CPA's in their group, Judas and Matthew, who hurriedly distributed the group's financial report to the disciples and said, "That would cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $30,000…, and we don't have that much in our treasury."

So, Jesus said, "I know that. But what do you have?" So, after hunting around they came back and said, "We've got 5 small loaves of bread and two fish. About enough to make 10 Fillet o' Fish sandwiches." So, Jesus said, "Bring me what you have."

Well, after Jesus asked a blessing on the meal, He began to break the Fillet o' Fish sandwiches into pieces. He instructed the disciples to have the people sit in groups of 50-100, and then distribute the food.

When it was all over, look at what happened…

Mark 6:42-43 42 They all ate and were satisfied, 43 and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish.

That was an incredible miracle. In fact, it is so incredible that liberal theologians who do not believe in miracles, point to this feeding of the huge crowd as one of the reasons they don't believe in miracles-it's just too difficult to believe. Feed that many people with such a small amount of food is not humanly possible. Well, duh! That's the point. With man something like this is impossible, but with a supernatural, all-powerful God, it is very possible.

You see friends, Jesus was showing His disciples and us, that He is God. This miracle wasn't for the benefit of the crowd, it was for the disciples' benefit. Jesus was showing all His followers that no matter what the problem or difficulty or roadblock that may come your way, He is able to take care of it. Jesus was teaching them, that He is trustworthy!

III. The Test

So, after clean-up duty, the TRUST 101 course comes to a conclusion. Now it's time for the test.

A. The Love of the Teacher

Mark 6:45 45 Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.

Did you get that? Jesus doesn't go with the 12 disciples. Instead, He stays behind and dismisses the crowd, and…

Mark 6:46 46 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.

Now, this is a beautiful picture of the teacher's love for His students. -Instead of sitting behind His desk and reading the paper or a book, -Instead of working on His next lesson plan. -Instead of going to the teachers lounge for a cup of coffee… …Jesus prayed for the disciples and how they'd do on this test He was giving them.

Folks, that's the love of God in action. You see, not only did Jesus pray for His disciples when their faith was going to be tested, but He does the same thing for us, as we go through the trials and tests of our lives. That's what the writer to Hebrews is talking about in…

Hebrews 7:25 25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

That's what Jesus is doing for each one of us, individually and corporately, right now. He is praying to God, and asking the Holy Spirit to help us remember all the things we have been taught from God's Word, and to give us the grace to be able to apply those teachings and principles to our personal times of testing that we constantly face. Jesus is on a mountainside in heaven right now, praying for you.

B. Taking the Test

Now the test begins…

Mark 6:47-48a 47 When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. 48 He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them.

The distance to the far shore was about 5 miles. The disciples left the shore shortly after lunch time. Almost immediately the wind picked up. And it was so strong that over the next 14 hours, they could only manage to row less than 3 miles. Can you imagine the gale force of that wind? Twelve guys pulling on the oars of their boat, and bailing water, and yet they only got about 2 ½ miles from shore. And the wind wasn't letting up!

Now, let me ask you a question. Knowing what you know about the power of Jesus Christ, how long would you have tried to row before you asked for help?

The disciples had just finished taking TRUST 101. But like so many students, they proceeded to forget everything they had been taught. They still insisted on pulling on the oars themselves. I can just hear them shouting to each other, "We can do it! We don't need help. We have all the resources we need, right here in this boat. We got ourselves into this mess, and we can get ourselves out of it." Fourteen hours and they only went 2 ½ miles. They were in trouble, yet they failed to put their trust in the person who could pull them through. They failed to call out to Jesus for help.

Well, seeing the problem, Jesus came down from the mountainside and walked over to the boat. That's right, He walked right on top of the water, 2 ½ miles to where the disciples were struggling at 4 o'clock in the morning.

Mark 6:48b-50a 48b About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, 50 because they all saw him and were terrified.

They flunked the test! They failed the course. They would have to repeat TRUST 101 the next time it was offered! Instead of seeing Jesus for who He was, they thought of Him in human terms. When they saw Him, they didn't see God, they saw a ghost! And they screamed out in terror.

They should have known better. Not only had they just taken TRUST 101, but being good Jewish boys, they had studied the story of Job. They knew what it said in …

Job 9:8 8 He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.

God is the only one who can do what Jesus did-walk on water. Jesus was showing the disciples, in a very tangible way, that He was God. The wind and the waves were at His command. They didn't have to be afraid, or struggle with this difficult situation. All they had to do was trust in the power of Jesus to calm the storm. But instead, they screamed in terror. "You guys all get an "F". You flunked TRUST 101."

But like every good teacher, Jesus seized this moment of failure and used it to re-teach the disciples the things that they had missed.

C. The Re-teach

And the thing that Jesus re-taught His disciples in just a few short words are the very thing that all of us need to leave this building with, this morning…

Mark 6:50b 50b Immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."

Three of the shortest sentences in the Bible, yet the three most important things for us to learn from TRUST 101. What do we do when things get tough? How should we react when we go through difficult times? What's the key to being a true disciple of Jesus Christ? Three things… -Take courage! -It is I. -Don't be afraid.

1. Take courage!

The first thing, is take courage. In the Greek language of the New Testament, this is a command. In other words, we have a decision to make. We can either obey the command, or we can disobey it and continue doing what we jolly well please, when difficult times come into our lives.

God's command is to take courage.

I had the privilege to serve under a Senior Pastor at Wheaton Bible Church, named Chris Lyons. Chris had a favorite expression whenever he greeted you. He'd say, "How's your courage?" When I first joined the pastoral team there, and was greeted this way, I thought it was rather strange. But then Chris explained it in a sermon not too long afterward, (front of WIG) "Courage is a decision on my part to be of good cheer in the face of troubles. It is a confident reliance on the Power of God to come along side me when I'm discouraged, or afraid, or facing difficult circumstances."

But how do you do that? Well, that's the next little sentence…

2. It is I

It is I. Just like Jesus was within speaking distance on that stormy lake, Jesus is as close as the person sitting next to you right now. He is standing in the stormy ocean of your life, making Himself available to help you. And don't ever forget that Jesus is God. Only He has the power to walk on water or give someone the ability to walk on water. And friends, if God isn't able to take care of anything that may crop up in your life, then He's not much of a God, and you might as well stop wasting your time by coming to church.

3. Don't be afraid

The last review sentence in Jesus' statement to the disciples was, Don't be afraid. The Greek word for afraid is Pho-be-o. We get our English word, Phobia, from this word. Pho-be-o, literally means to run away. In other words, we could translate Jesus' sentence like this, "Don't run away from the problems you face. Don't let them get to you. Face them in My power."

IV. Conclusion

When you do this, knowing that the power of God is strong enough to handle anything, look at what the next verse says…

Mark 6:51 51 Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed,

Now we come right back to that marvelous truth we discovered in chapter four, when the disciples faced another storm on this same lake…

When Jesus is in the boat, the boat won't sink and the storm won't last forever.

But friends, Jesus never forces His way into our boats. He only comes by invitation. TRUST 101 teaches us that Jesus is always right beside us, standing on the water, proving He is God, and proving He has the power to do whatever it takes to pull us through. But He first must get in the boat in order to help. Friend, don't keep Him out. Don't fail TRUST 101. Take courage. It is I. Don't be afraid.

Invitation for Jesus to help in the biggest problem area of our lives-the sin problem. You can invite Him to get in the boat, today. Amen.