Sermon nuggets Mon April 14
Theme- Walk on Water
Verses (John 6:16-24 )
Walk on Water
This week we will think about Jesus walking on the water.
Following the exhausting day, Jesus sends the disciples into a boat at night while he goes to a solitude place to be with his Father. Jesus surprisingly comes to his disciples after the winds kicked up by walking on the water.
Ed Bratcher wrote a book, “The Walk on Water Syndrome”. He talks to people in the ministry of the mistake many pastors, missionaries and full time workers have which can also be a problem for all Christians. Either people place us in a category that is only reserved for Jesus, or we have the temptation that we ourselves have a spiritual edge over the rest of the believers and think we can do what only God can do, or what He does not call us to do.
I have been blessed pastoring at Stanchfield with mature Christians who also understand the humanness of its leaders. You are a patient and forgiving lot. However, my worse enemy is myself. My ideals and expectations are far greater than my capabilities. Unfortunately, in many churches people look to their spiritual leaders with abilities to walk on water and do the impossible. Many Christians carry that same expectation upon themselves.
Dr. Roger White, a psychiatrist who has counseled many Christians, states that a minister is under constant pressure to accomplish far more than he is capable of doing. Some of the expectations that the average congregation has of its pastors are: 1) They must be a perfect moral example, without sin 2) He must provide moral and emotional support at all times regardless of his own condition 3) He must be an able administrator both in the church and in the community 4) He must be an able public speaker on any and every topic 5) He must perform as an actor – keeping people on the edge of their seats at all times, be able to act in all settings such as funerals, weddings, picnics, baptisms, etc. 6) He must serve as a philosopher, a teacher of values, even though the people agree before hand that they will not listen 7) He must perform as a counselor, a role which is particularly emotionally exhausting Dr. Roger White added, “If anyone could accomplish all of these tasks, he would also be able to walk on water.”
It is admirable to want to be more like Jesus and are devastated when we can’t be. We need Him for we are all weak and haven’t arrived yet. We are impatient with our own humanness, and feeling guilty that we fall far short of our own expectations of righteousness, either feel like quitting or covering up. That’s the walk on water syndrome. We all need to be ministered unto. We need to see and admit the winds and waves often overtake us much like Peter. We need those hands that reach out in love and help us up. Then we see those hands are really the hands of Jesus.
Pastor Dale
