Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Setting — Jesus had just fed the 5000.

He went up on a mountainside by himself to pray and the disciples set out for Capernaum by boat without Him.

The Sea of Galilee lies about six hundred feet below sea level.

Cool air from the south-eastern tablelands can rush in to displace the warm moist air over the lake, churning up the water in a violent squall.

The Sea of Galilee lies about six hundred feet below sea level.

Cool air from the south-eastern tablelands can rush in to displace the warm moist air over the lake, churning up the water in a violent squall.

The Sea of Galilee lies about six hundred feet below sea level.

Cool air from the south-eastern tablelands can rush in to displace the warm moist air over the lake, churning up the water in a violent squall.

So the disciples were rowing and making slow progress through the night.

Jesus had gone up on a mountain to pray…when He came down the disciples were about half way across the lake…so He decided to walk out to the boat…and they were afraid!

Carson, D. A. (1991).

The Gospel according to John (p.

275).

Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans.

God knows that we have a tendency to be afraid.

In fact, someone counted and determined that no less than 365 times Scripture admonishes us with the words, “Be not afraid.”

Ironic, accidental or quite intentional, God has given us at least one scriptural encouragement a day to leave fears and instead place faith in Him.

Fear — Put to flight; terrify

There is a healthy fear — The kind which keeps us from putting our hand on the stove or walking too close to the edge of a cliff.

But that is not the kind of fear we are talking about this morning.

We aren’t talking about a momentary fear or harm or danger.

The kind of fear we are talking about this morning is a lifestyle of fear.

A fear

Fear sets your feet in motion.

Psychologists call it the “Fight or flight” mode.

We enter it when we believe ourselves to be facing a circumstance which might, in some way, threaten our survival.

Sometimes that kind of fear is good…It keeps us from putting our hand on the stove.

It keeps us from walking too close to the cliff.

It keeps us from walking into the street without looking both ways.

But all too often this emotion, which is meant for our good, becomes a bad thing…a consuming, debilitating kind of thing which causes us to miss the life God wants for us.

We fear things we shouldn’t

The disciples were in fight or flight mode.

They were watching a man walk on water.

Mark tells us they literally thought they were seeing a ghost.

What else would you yourself have concluded under similar circumstances?

These men, all fishermen, all quite acquainted with the water, were literally watching someone or something walk across the lake…this was an unusual circumstance indeed…and one over which they felt little or no control.

But regardless the circumstances we face…God intends us to be free of fear…in fact we are not designed for fear!

I am inwardly fashioned for faith, not for fear.

Fear is not my native land; faith is.

I am so made that worry and anxiety are sand in the machinery of life; faith is the oil.

I live better by faith and confidence than by fear, doubt and anxiety.

In anxiety and worry, my being is gasping for breath—these are not my native air.

But in faith and confidence, I breathe freely—these are my native air.

A John Hopkins University doctor says, “We do not know why it is that worriers die sooner than the non-worriers, but that is a fact.”

But I, who am simple of mind, think I know; We are inwardly constructed in nerve and tissue, brain cell and soul, for faith and not for fear.

God made us that way.

To live by worry is to live against reality.

A John Hopkins University doctor says, “We do not know why it is that worriers die sooner than the non-worriers, but that is a fact.”

But I, who am simple of mind, think I know; We are inwardly constructed in nerve and tissue, brain cell and soul, for faith and not for fear.

God made us that way.

To live by worry is to live against reality.

Life

Circumstances out of the ordinary and beyond our control put us in fight or flight mode.

The adrenaline flows, the mind races and we prepare for the worst possible outcome, all the while attempting to flee or fight it to the end.

Circumstances out of the ordinary or beyond our control put us in fight or flight mode.

Unfortunately, so much of life falls into one of these two categories…Things out of the ordinary or out of our control...This is why we fight change and avoid anyone or anything which could threaten our feelings of security.

The adrenaline flows, the mind races and we prepare for the worst possible outcome, all the while attempting to flee or fight it to the end.

This is why we fight change and avoid anyone or anything which could threaten our feelings of security.

2. Unfortunately for us so much of life falls into one of these two categories…Things out of the ordinary or out of our control.

This is why we fight change so much and avoid anyone or anything which could threaten our feelings of security.

But God never intended for us to live life this way.

This is why He told us repeatedly, 365 times, not to be afraid.

But in order to live the way God desires for us to do so, we must have a clear picture of who He is.

But God never intended for us to live life this way.

This is why He told us repeatedly, 365 times, not to be afraid.

I am inwardly fashioned for faith, not for fear.

Fear is not my native land; faith is.

I am so made that worry and anxiety are sand in the machinery of life; faith is the oil.

I live better by faith and confidence than by fear, doubt and anxiety.

In anxiety and worry, my being is gasping for breath—these are not my native air.

But in faith and confidence, I breathe freely—these are my native air.

A John Hopkins University doctor says, “We do not know why it is that worriers die sooner than the non-worriers, but that is a fact.”

But I, who am simple of mind, think I know; We are inwardly constructed in nerve and tissue, brain cell and soul, for faith and not for fear.

God made us that way.

To live by worry is to live against reality.

But in order to live a life of faith in GOD and free from fear, we must have a clear picture of who He is.

Jesus told the disciples, “It is I; don’t be afraid.”

It was when the disciples got a clear picture of Jesus that their fears vanished.

Then they were willing to take Him in the boat.

Jesus told the disciples, “It is I; don’t be afraid.”

It was when the disciples got a clear picture of Jesus that their fears vanished.

Then they were willing to take Him into the boat.

When you get a clear picture of Jesus life’s extraordinary and uncontrollable circumstances lose their ability to place you in fight or flight mode…The reason for this is simple…you realize that you no longer do your own fighting…and nothing is big or bad enough to make the God fighting for you run away.

When you get a clear picture of Jesus, life’s extraordinary and uncontrollable circumstances lose their ability to place you in fight or flight mode…The reason for this is simple…you realize that you no longer do your own fighting…and nothing is big or bad enough to make the God fighting for you run away.

If God is fighting our battles and He never loses…If God is fighting our battles and He never runs…We can live a life without fear.

If God is fighting our battles and He never loses…If God is fighting our battles and He never runs…We can live a life without fear even in those moments when it appears that we are being defeated or swallowed up by that which we fear most.

Life or death was determined by the answer to a single question: are you a Christian?

Oregon’s Umpqua Community College Shooting on October 1st 2015 — Life or death was determined by the answer to a single question: are you a Christian?

That was the question asked by an anti-Christian gunman who stormed into a classroom at the college.

Eyewitnesses say the shooter targeted Christians.

Kortney Moore was inside the classroom.

She told the Roseburg News-Review that the shooter ordered students to get on the ground -- and then told them to stand up and state their religion.

“And they would stand up and state their religion and he said, ‘Good, because you’re a Christian, you’re going to see God in just about one second,” “And then he shot and killed them.”

Davis Jaques, publisher of the Roseburg Beacon News, said he received a text message from a student who said she was inside the classroom.

“The shooter was lining people up and asking if they were Christians,” the message read.

“If they said yes, then they were shot in the head.

If they said no or didn’t answer, they were shot in the leg.”

That was the question asked by an anti-Christian gunman who stormed into a classroom at Oregon’s Umpqua Community College.

How can a person confess their faith in Christ at gunpoint?

How can a person live a bold, courageous kind of faith in a moment like that?