{"id":4213,"date":"2013-03-10T21:54:04","date_gmt":"2013-03-11T03:54:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/?p=4213"},"modified":"2013-03-10T21:54:04","modified_gmt":"2013-03-11T03:54:04","slug":"sunday-recap-tripp-the-difference-between-amazement-and-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/2013\/03\/sunday-recap-tripp-the-difference-between-amazement-and-faith\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday Recap: Tripp, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Difference Between Amazement and Faith\u00e2\u20ac\u009d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Note:\u00c2\u00a0<\/i><\/b>Tim Ragsdale is Pastor for Local Missions at\u00c2\u00a0Desert Springs Church<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0in Albuquerque, NM.\u00c2\u00a0This post is a summary of Paul Tripp\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s message from Sunday morning at Clarus<\/a>, March 10, from Mark 6:45-52.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2<\/p>\n

“God will take us where we have not intended to go in order to produce in us what we could not achieve on our own. That is grace<\/b>.”<\/p>\n

After a weekend of substantive teaching on the practice of every-believer personal ministry and its critical role of in God’s sanctifying work in the community of believers, Dr. Tripp drew the focus clearly back on the source of our hope and object of our faith\u00e2\u20ac\u201dKing Jesus.<\/p>\n

Faith does not come naturally.\u00c2\u00a0 On the other hand fear, doubt, envy, etc. are all quite natural to us.\u00c2\u00a0 How does God transform his disciples into people of faith? Jesus extends grace. \u00c2\u00a0It isn’t always the kind of grace that brings immediate relief or jubilation, but instead it is often an uncomfortable grace. The typical way that Jesus would teach his disciples is by putting them in a moment of difficulty where there was some circumstance or need that was beyond their ability. Just when they were coming to a point of confusion or despair, He would reveal His glory\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthe glory of His power, the glory of His compassion, the glory of His grace. It was that combination of difficulty and glory that was meant to change them. They weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just to be informed<\/em>; they were to be transformed<\/em> by His grace. Dr. Tripp explained the gospel equation found throughout Mark\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s gospel:\u00c2\u00a0“Divine Power + Divine Compassion = Everything you need<\/b>”<\/p>\n

And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. \u00c2\u00a0(Mark 6:47-48a)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In context we know that this occurs immediately after Jesus’ miraculous feeding of the five thousand.\u00c2\u00a0 As he walked on the water toward the disciples, he was yet again revealing himself as Lord over creation\u00e2\u20ac\u201dGod incarnate.\u00c2\u00a0And although they were again witnessing his majesty and glory, he knew his disciples were prone to fear and doubt.<\/p>\n

He meant to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid. \u00c2\u00a0 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. \u00c2\u00a0 (Mark 5:48b-52)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He was not there to relieve the men from their difficulties but was there to redeem them in their circumstances.\u00c2\u00a0 Those in the boat were completely unprepared for this moment. They had hardened hearts and a lack of understanding of the very things they had seen. Yet the Lord Jesus graciously moved towards them with compassion and assured them that ” I AM” was there with them.<\/p>\n

Members and attenders of Desert Springs Church have often been encouraged to\u00c2\u00a0preach to themselves<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0 Dr. Tripp asks an important question:\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0What is the gospel that you preach to yourself?\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>Is it powerless? In times of stress and difficulty do we, like his disciples in the boat forget who we are (and who is with us!) in Christ?\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Are we\u00c2\u00a0identity amnesiacs<\/i>?\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0What identity do we assign ourselves?\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Do we remember that I AM is with us just as David the shepherd boy did when he faced the champion of the Philistines and trusted God to deliver him?<\/p>\n

Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God. \u00c2\u00a0(1 Samuel 17:36)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When you are faced with various difficult situations, remember that I AM is with you in those moments.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Know that it is by God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s uncomfortable grace that we are being transformed.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sometimes you need the storm in order to see the glory<\/b>.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Note:\u00c2\u00a0Tim Ragsdale is Pastor for Local Missions at\u00c2\u00a0Desert Springs Church\u00c2\u00a0in Albuquerque, NM.\u00c2\u00a0This post is a summary of… Continue Reading ›<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[62],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4213"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4213"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4235,"href":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4213\/revisions\/4235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}