When the Storms Rage: Finding Christ’s Sovereignty on the Water

[00:00:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:00:03] I'd like you to open your Bible to our main scripture for today. This is John 6, John chapter 6.
[00:00:10] We'll return there and read a quote for today. It's from Matthew Henry. He says, Christ walking on the water was a direct proof of his divinity. He who made the sea can walk upon it.
[00:00:23] And by this, he teaches us that no tempest can overwhelm those who have him in their vessel.
[00:00:29] Amen.
[00:00:29] In our scripture today, we get to see the fifth of those seven miraculous signs that John says proves that Jesus is God.
[00:00:38] He's putting the focus on these seven things specifically with that intent so that we might believe that Jesus is the Son of God and in believing him have eternal life in Christ.
[00:00:49] Christ walking on the water like so many other things that we see in this Bible is a real event.
[00:00:55] He actually walked on that water.
[00:00:57] As wild as it might sound to people who don't know Jesus, we have no doubt that this happened.
[00:01:02] We know that Jesus walked on that water.
[00:01:05] And this real event is one of many things that actually happened when we read about the Scripture that God uses to point at a much bigger spiritual concept, something much more than what's actually happening in our Scripture here.
[00:01:18] It's pointing at a bigger truth that we get to see.
[00:01:20] The more times you read through your Bible, the more it's going to jump out at you.
[00:01:23] This is one of those parts that every time you read it, if you read it every day for the next week, you're going to notice a little detail, something new, every time you open up God's Word.
[00:01:32] It's never going to be the same.
[00:01:33] It's going to give you something extra.
[00:01:35] It's going to feed you spiritually every time you read through this.
[00:01:39] In this case, this real event that points at a much bigger concept is proving Jesus' divinity.
[00:01:46] But it's also putting the emphasis on his role as the Messiah that has come to save us as his people.
[00:01:52] The sea being all stirred up and storming, that's a picture of this life that we have been given in Christ.
[00:01:59] Jesus arrived during the storm, and that shows us God's perfect timing, as well as his role as our Savior, that gives us peace and safety.
[00:02:09] After he comes to his disciples, their boat arrives immediately at the other shore.
[00:02:14] That's the second miracle they're going to see nested in the scripture here today.
[00:02:17] And what a perfect picture that is of Jesus' power to deliver his people to our eternal destination, regardless of the storms that we find ourselves in.
[00:02:27] Whatever storm is raging around you right now, Jesus is the peace that we're given in that storm.
[00:02:33] You put your eyes on him, you're not going to sink into your circumstances.
[00:02:36] You're going to stand up tall.
[00:02:38] You're going to praise his name, knowing that there's a purpose to whatever's happening in your life.
[00:02:42] It might be painful.
[00:02:43] It might break your heart.
[00:02:44] It might stress you out and frustrate you.
[00:02:46] But if you receive it as a gift, you can do that only because you know that Jesus has given you these experiences to draw you closer to him and to sanctify you in the process.
[00:02:58] What we're going to read today is a profound revelation of who Jesus is because it shows us his authority over his creation and his ability to save.
[00:03:07] It reminds us to trust him regardless of whatever our circumstances might look like.
[00:03:13] Because as his church, we know in our heart that Jesus walks with us through this life that we are living.
[00:03:19] He is the one that delivers us to that proverbial shore when this life is over.
[00:03:24] Let's all stand as we read the word of God.
[00:03:27] Our main scripture for today is John 6, verses 16 to 21.
[00:03:32] John 6, beginning in verse 16.
[00:03:36] Now when evening came, his disciples went down to the sea.
[00:03:39] And after getting into the boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum.
[00:03:43] It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.
[00:03:47] The sea began to be stirred up, because a strong wind was blowing.
[00:03:51] Then when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat, and they were frightened.
[00:03:59] But he said to them, In his eye, do not be afraid.
[00:04:02] so they were willing to receive him into the boat and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going let's pray our Father in heaven Lord God we praise you we thank you for these Bibles that you put in our hands Lord we pray
[00:04:16] that you would open up the scripture to us today that you would give us an understanding of what it is that we're reading Father if we misunderstand any of this we pray that you would correct us we pray that you would grow us in our
[00:04:26] faith that you would make us bold in how we would share our hope in Christ with the people that you put in front of us Father we pray that you would make us effective servants in how we live this life through your glory.
[00:04:34] We thank you for this privilege you've given us to dig into your word, to seek the truth, and to share it with people in our lives, Lord. We praise you for this and for all things. We love you. In Jesus' name.
[00:04:44] Amen. Amen. You may be seated.
[00:04:47] It's important for us, as the bride of Christ, to understand why this miracle that we're reading about today is so significant.
[00:04:55] What Jesus does here, this is amazing.
[00:04:58] It defies the physical laws of the natural world that we live in. This is a supernatural thing that only God can do. It's not something that you and I can figure out how to do.
[00:05:07] It's not a parlor trick. It's not a thing a magician is going to figure out how to do. This is something that the Lord God, who created all things, Him alone, is capable of doing. And we
[00:05:17] see Peter being capable of doing it through Him, walking with Christ, but not something Peter can do on his own. As we read the Word of God, tell us what this miracle is and what it looks like.
[00:05:27] This event forces us to confront the truth about who we think Jesus is and why he is worthy of our faith.
[00:05:35] He is worthy of your faith.
[00:05:37] There's nothing else in this world that deserves the praise and adoration and love that we have for Christ.
[00:05:43] He is worthy of our faith in every single way.
[00:05:46] In the first part of this chapter that we read last week, we saw Jesus take this small thing, a little bit of loaves of barley, a little bit of fish, and he makes it abundant.
[00:05:55] It was enough to feed thousands of people.
[00:05:57] That was barely enough to feed one person when they started.
[00:06:00] But it was enough to feed thousands of people, this multitude of people.
[00:06:05] And that massive crowd that he fed saw that miracle and said, this is truly the prophet who is coming to the world.
[00:06:12] They're referring to the prophet that Moses said that God would raise up from among them, that would be like Moses.
[00:06:17] And they were right.
[00:06:19] Jesus is that prophet that Moses was prophesying about.
[00:06:22] And because of that, this big crowd, they knew that Jesus was the one that they had been waiting for.
[00:06:29] And they wanted to take him by force and make him their king.
[00:06:32] And Jesus was very aware of that.
[00:06:34] But this was not the right timing for him to be recognized as king.
[00:06:37] That timing was going to come later.
[00:06:39] When you see Jesus going into Jerusalem the week before he's crucified on that donkey, that is where we see him recognized as the king.
[00:06:47] We see what happens after that as well.
[00:06:49] It's all for the glory of God.
[00:06:50] But this part that we're reading here and what came right before it, the timing wasn't right for him to be recognized for who he really is.
[00:06:58] For now, he has gone up this mountain by the Sea of Galilee by himself to pray.
[00:07:03] And that's where our scripture picks up today.
[00:07:05] In verses 16 and 17 of John 6, the Bible says, Now when the evening came, his disciples went down to the sea.
[00:07:13] And after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum.
[00:07:17] and already become dark and Jesus had not yet come to them mark 6 and Matthew 14 those are parallel passages to the scripture that we're reading today where we get to see the same story told from different perspectives parallel passages
[00:07:33] like that are really good for us as we dig into God's Word because you'll fly through reading one of these books I don't know if you like maybe you'll read it every day just a little bit every day sometimes a lot every day you'll do your
[00:07:43] studies, you'll live in God's Word every day at different times. And especially when something comes up that you need that comfort and that strength from God, you'll go into His Word looking for it. But as we go and do specific studies and we compare these parallel passages,
[00:07:59] there's something special about the way that God uses that to teach us something. Each one will typically add details that aren't in those other perspectives that we see in the other books. And when we get to read them in tandem, like we're going to do today, it
[00:08:11] helps us to understand what God is showing us better than we would if we just read one little piece of it. Mark was the Apostle Peter's interpreter. He was his scribe. And his Gospel account is really told from Peter's perspective. The
[00:08:24] Holy Spirit worked through Peter to preach the things that we see in the Gospel of Mark. And he worked through Mark to hear those things and write them all down. And that's how we get the Gospel of Mark that we have in the Bible. The
[00:08:37] Apostle Matthew writes on his own account of what he witnessed as he walked with Christ in his ministry.
[00:08:44] And his book is focused on showing the Old Testament being fulfilled in Jesus.
[00:08:49] You see, everything that God shows us in the Old Testament bearing fruit in Christ.
[00:08:53] All those promises are kept in Jesus Christ.
[00:08:56] But it's the Holy Spirit that gives Matthew remembrance and understanding of the things that he writes in his gospel account.
[00:09:03] And ultimately, the Lord is the one that moves every writer of Scripture, every book in your Bible.
[00:09:09] The real author is really God.
[00:09:10] It's the Holy Spirit that has moved those men, every writer of Scripture, to write down all the things that they did that we have in our Bibles.
[00:09:18] Because it's His Word that is being given through those men.
[00:09:21] It's God telling us what He wants us to know.
[00:09:24] It's the ultimate story of creation, that metanarrative of God revealing Himself through His Son to His creation.
[00:09:31] The Holy Spirit is really the author.
[00:09:33] Peter, John, and Matthew, those men were all in that boat that we're reading about here today.
[00:09:38] And it's the Holy Spirit that moves those men to write down what it is that they saw.
[00:09:42] In Mark 6, 45 and 46, the Bible says, Jesus made his disciples get into that boat and go ahead of him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he himself was sending the crowd away.
[00:09:55] After bidding them farewell, he left for that mountain to pray.
[00:10:00] So that fills in a few more details that we're missing from John's account of what we're reading here.
[00:10:05] It's nighttime when those disciples go down to the Sea of Galilee to get in that boat and then cross the Sea of Galilee, cross this massive lake that's famous for all these different storms.
[00:10:15] They're crossing it at night without Jesus.
[00:10:19] Not because they wanted to leave without him.
[00:10:20] They don't want to go anywhere without Jesus.
[00:10:22] But because Jesus tells them to go and do this.
[00:10:25] He sends that big crowd away as well.
[00:10:27] He does that before he goes up on that mountain to pray.
[00:10:29] Something that we should notice here as we read through this. Matthew says the apostles were crossing the Sea of Galilee to get to the other side. That's the thing. It tells you where he's going but not exactly where they're going. John says their destination on the other side of the
[00:10:44] Sea of Galilee is Capernaum. But Mark says they're going to Bethsaida. So which is it? Which one of those is the actual destination that those disciples are going to as they cross the Sea of Galilee, I'm pointing this out because it's one of those gotcha places that when
[00:11:00] you're sharing your faith with someone, some people will pick and choose certain parts of the Bible that they don't have context for, and they'll use it to argue against your faith.
[00:11:09] They'll try and talk you out of what God's Word actually says.
[00:11:11] They'll try and argue that there's a contradiction in the Bible.
[00:11:15] There's not.
[00:11:15] There are no contradictions in your Bible.
[00:11:18] There's not one.
[00:11:19] Every single thing in this Bible is true.
[00:11:21] Every word, every jot, every tittle, all of it is there for a purpose.
[00:11:24] None of it is a contradiction.
[00:11:26] But places like this where the lost that we've talked to and we're sharing our faith with them, they will try to point to these things to argue against the inerrancy of Scripture, to argue against God's Word.
[00:11:38] And these kind of places where those people who don't know better will try to argue against it by pointing out things that they don't understand, they do need context to be understood because we need to understand why we believe what we do
[00:11:49] so that we can explain it to the people that God puts in front of us.
[00:11:53] We need to be able to give a reason for why we have this hope that we have.
[00:11:57] Bethsaida and Capernaum, those are two different destinations that we see in two different books of the Bible.
[00:12:02] But they're both on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee.
[00:12:05] And they're really close.
[00:12:06] They're closer than Alamosa and Lani.
[00:12:09] They're just a few miles apart.
[00:12:11] I mean, there's a little bit of space in between those at the time.
[00:12:13] But you can walk from one to the other in a very short amount of time.
[00:12:16] Bethsaida is on the east coast of Capernaum where the River Jordan flows into the Sea of Galilee when someone would cross the Sea of Galilee going in that direction Bethsaida was the navigational point that they're looking
[00:12:32] at from when they're crossing it's a place that they could aim for when the sea's kind of beating you up because it's the position on that river where it meets that big body of water in the Sea of Galilee and it makes it easier to
[00:12:44] find it under certain conditions so they're at night and there's a huge storm there's wind blowing really hard there's waves crashing against her boat so they're not looking for a specific spot on the shore they're looking for the spot of navigation to aim their boat toward and they're
[00:12:58] trying to get to that area and then from there the travelers will get to that spot and then hug the shore which is much easier to get over to caperna which is just a few miles away they are heading to
[00:13:08] to Bethsaida. And ultimately passed Bethsaida to Capernaum. So both John and Mark are both right here. And to somebody who doesn't understand the context, they're like, ah, contradiction. These things are different. But if you know what
[00:13:20] the writers are saying, how the Holy Spirit is moving them to say these things, and you know where these things are on the map, it makes complete sense. We say that because your church is supposed to
[00:13:31] edify you. We're supposed to teach you not just what the Bible says, but the context of what God is saying in His Word. So when somebody challenges your faith and they will. Your faith, it spills out of you. When those conversations
[00:13:43] come up, you're not going to let somebody disrespect the Lord in your presence. You're going to speak up and say, no, he is the Lord God. Jesus is God that created all things.
[00:13:51] You're not just going to let somebody badmouth him or challenge your faith without speaking up. So you need to know as Christians why you believe what you do. You need to be able to defend your faith and tell people why the Bible says certain things the way that it
[00:14:06] does. In 1 Peter 3.15 the Bible says to sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you with gentleness
[00:14:19] and reverence. As we grow in our faith our understanding of God's word is going to grow as well. Your understanding and your maturity in your faith they run in tandem with each other. As your understanding grows your faith grows
[00:14:32] and as you get stronger in your faith you understand it a lot better those two things are parallel to each other and that understanding of what god's word says and why we believe what we do well that comes from the holy spirit as he sanctifies you
[00:14:44] it's nothing you can build yourself through you can't say you know what today i'm going to have more faith in my head yesterday that's a supernatural work of the holy spirit as he works in your heart and the preaching of god's word is a tool that the lord uses to help with
[00:14:57] that so the more you hear god's word preached the more you read it and we talk about it with with your friends, the more you pray about it and meditate on it, the stronger your faith
[00:15:05] is going to get and the stronger your understanding is going to be.
[00:15:09] You need to know why you believe what you do so that when those challenges do bubble up, you'll be able to defend your faith and tell people why you have the hope that you do.
[00:15:19] In verses 18 to 20, the Bible says, the sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing.
[00:15:26] Then when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawn near to the boat and they were frightened but he said to them it is I do not be afraid
[00:15:37] in Mark 6 the Bible says that Jesus is alone on the land that's like three or four miles away three or four miles at night being able to to see in the dark over the water is not an easy
[00:15:51] thing to do it says that he sees them from the shore straining at the oars because the wind is fighting against them and then he comes to them walking on the sea and when they
[00:16:02] see him they think that Jesus is a ghost and they all cry out because they're terrified John says that they're frightened that's what we read in our scripture today but Mark tells us why they're frightened because they think he's a ghost imagine
[00:16:15] it's dark it's raining the wind's blowing you get this giant wave smashing at your little fisherman's boat and then you see someone walking on the water that's terrifying if you don't know who that is only that Jesus says in his eye
[00:16:28] don't be afraid where they come and understood what was happening because he's the Messiah they knew he had power that they had they didn't fully comprehend according to the Roman system of timekeeping the night will get
[00:16:41] divided into four watches Matthew and Mark both say that Jesus comes his disciples at night in that storm walking on the water during the fourth watch That's between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m., so it's really late at night or really early depending on what time you get up.
[00:16:58] And John just told us that it's dark.
[00:16:59] So those extra details that we read from those parallel passages, they really do help us get context to what we're reading here.
[00:17:05] Because of its location, the Sea of Galilee had a reputation for these sudden and intense storms.
[00:17:12] The way that the wind would blow and the edges of the mountains that are the way.
[00:17:15] In Alamosa, you understand how we get special weather here.
[00:17:19] Wherever you are will dictate the type of weather that you're going to have.
[00:17:23] The Sea of Galilee is one of those places that was known for having very extreme weather.
[00:17:28] So imagine being three or four miles away from the shore in this massive lake.
[00:17:32] The wind is blowing hard.
[00:17:33] Matthew 14 says the wind is contrary, and they're being battered by the waves.
[00:17:38] They have to fight the elements as they row into the wind.
[00:17:42] If you've ever rowed a boat on water that had waves, You ever try to bring like a raft out into the ocean with your family and you're rowing the oars close to the shore?
[00:17:52] Do you know how hard it is just to row through those waves when it's not stormy?
[00:17:57] But here it's dark and stormy, and the wind is going contrary to them, and they see someone walking on the water towards them.
[00:18:05] Of course they were frightened.
[00:18:06] That is terrifying.
[00:18:07] That's not a normal thing to see someone walking to you in a storm at night.
[00:18:12] but Jesus goes to them and he says it is I do not be afraid and this is where Matthew includes a detail on his talent in his gospel account that we don't see in the Gospels of John or Peter is on that boat and he sees the Messiah Jesus
[00:18:28] says take courage it is I do not be afraid and then Peter says to him Lord if it is you command me to come to you on the water and he said come and Peter
[00:18:39] got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to jesus but seeing the wind he became frightened and beginning to sink he cried out lord save me immediately jesus stretched out his hand
[00:18:52] and took hold of him and said to him you of little faith why did you doubt when they got into the boat the wind stopped and those who were in the boat worshiped him saying you are truly god's son
[00:19:06] this portion of scripture is crucial for us as the body of Christ as a Christian this is a picture of us in the life that we are living as we read it this scripture holds a mirror to each of us so that we can see what our own faith
[00:19:22] looks like this is the Son of God the one that created everything it's all made by him it's all for him including us he made all of it and we see him doing something that is impossible for a normal man to do this is a supernatural
[00:19:35] natural event. And in that, we get to see one of his disciples. You're all disciples of Christ. You all follow him as your Lord and Savior. He is your master. He's the one that put you on this path. He's the one that you follow. He's the one that you're being
[00:19:47] conformed to the image of. So these disciples are a picture of you as disciples. And we get to see Peter, the disciple, follow him onto the water. And by faith, his disciple walks with him on this impossible
[00:20:02] ground that we cannot walk on on our own. With God all things are possible. We see that with what Peter is doing here with Christ.
[00:20:10] Does that mean that every believer, every true, sincere, grace-saved believer is going to be able to walk on water? No.
[00:20:18] The miracle here had a very specific intent. People will tell you every miracle in the Bible you should be able to recreate. That's not true. Each miracle that's in here is there for a purpose.
[00:20:28] And God does miracles every day. If your heart is that's a miracle if he's giving you grace and saved you from your sins and trespasses that is a miracle God's miracles every day but each miracle that
[00:20:38] he does has a purpose to it and this miracle here is no different than that this miracle the intent of it was to increase the faith of every person that was witness to it and we see that by the way that these men in the boat respond
[00:20:51] to what they saw being witness to something like this gave those apostles an understanding of who Jesus is and then solidify their faith in him. He can even walk on the water. He can calm the storm.
[00:21:04] He can bring us immediately to the other side of this water where the storm is no longer. Everything that Jesus does has a purpose in it and we see that in our scriptures.
[00:21:14] The thing that we as Christians reading about this event are supposed to take away from this is that Jesus is the Son of God. And when he commands us as his people to do something, it is through him alone that we are made capable
[00:21:29] of obeying that command. So many things you read about in your Bible and you go, man, I'm going to have a hard time saying yes to that because I know me. I know how stubborn
[00:21:37] I am. I know how bad I stumble in my daily walk. I know how sinful I was before he grabbed a hold of me and changed my heart. But through Christ, we are capable of saying yes to what
[00:21:48] he has called us to in this example of Peter he says Lord command me to come to you and when Jesus says come he was able to walk on that water with Jesus but when he becomes frightened and distracted with the storm that's raging
[00:22:05] all around him he begins to sink into it apply that to the life of your living apply that to the way that you seek to live your life to God's glory to the way that you seek to walk with Christ
[00:22:16] through these days that he's given you.
[00:22:19] Peter knows that Jesus is the Messiah.
[00:22:21] He knows that he has the power to walk on water.
[00:22:23] He's watching him do it right now in our scripture.
[00:22:26] He knows that he has that ability.
[00:22:28] He can do all things.
[00:22:30] And when Jesus commands Peter to come to him, Peter doesn't.
[00:22:34] He's not like, I don't know, I can't do this.
[00:22:37] He doesn't know.
[00:22:37] If Jesus commanded me to do it, I'm going to be able to say yes to it.
[00:22:40] Not because he had that ability, but because Christ does.
[00:22:43] And in that, Peter knows that Jesus can give him the ability to follow him and walk with him, even when that storm that he is walking through is terrifying.
[00:22:53] But despite what he knows, Peter begins to sink into the water.
[00:22:57] It's because he's putting his attention on that storm instead of on Christ that he begins to sink.
[00:23:03] He's been commanded to go, and he does it.
[00:23:06] But then he takes his focus off of the Messiah and starts to look at his circumstances.
[00:23:11] So he calls out to Jesus, just like you did when he saved you, and he says, Lord, save me.
[00:23:18] And Jesus does.
[00:23:19] He grabs a hold of him, and that's very much a picture of salvation.
[00:23:23] We call out to him, his grace worked in our heart, we heard the good news of the gospel, we responded to it with faith, and we call out to Jesus, Lord, please save me.
[00:23:32] And he grabbed a hold of us, and he saved us.
[00:23:35] He pulls us out of this world, he sets us free from our bonds of sin, and he makes us a slave to righteousness. So that we are grafted into him. And those who are in Christ, there's no condemnation for us.
[00:23:45] He's truly saved us and nothing can take us out of his hands.
[00:23:49] Jesus calls his people to come to him. And we're not capable of doing that on our own. I don't wake up one day without the grace of God and say, you know what? Today I'm going to choose to go to
[00:23:59] Jesus. I choose Jesus.
[00:24:02] I love Jesus because he first loved me. I love Jesus because he has given me grace.
[00:24:07] Because he took my heart of stone and made it a heart flesh and I was blind before he opened my eyes but now I see the truth where else are we gonna go it's Christ alone that can save us and there's nothing in
[00:24:18] this world more important than the way that we get to seek him and know him and share him with people in our lives so we call out to Jesus we say Lord save me he grabs a hold of us just like he did with the Apostle Peter no matter how
[00:24:31] scary the storms of your life might be they will be scary things will go sideways. You will get sick.
[00:24:38] You will lose people that you love. Your heart will break and your body will hurt. But no matter how crazy this life might get, keep your eyes on Jesus, not on the storm. There's a purpose
[00:24:49] to all of it. Sometimes your body's going to hurt. It might not cooperate every day. Most people's bodies are going to hurt at some point every day.
[00:24:57] Sometimes you're going to drown in stress, whether it's our work or our family or our community, whatever it is. We're going to stress about things. We're going to feel the weight of that frustration. Sometimes we're going to
[00:25:06] to miss people, that means something to us.
[00:25:09] We miss them with all of our heart.
[00:25:11] Our heart will just break suddenly and we'll think about someone that we love. Whatever your circumstances might be, whatever that storm might look like, look to Jesus for peace in that storm.
[00:25:21] If you look at the storm, you're going to sink into it. But if you look to Christ, you will draw near to him for strength and comfort.
[00:25:27] Those storms that you go through, this is a hard truth, they're supposed to beat you up.
[00:25:32] They're not supposed to go easy on you.
[00:25:35] God uses every single moment of your life to shake you to sanctify you into the person that he has created you to be and you're not finished yet you you don't want to you don't want to be done too early you want to let every moment of this life shape
[00:25:48] you from the hard parts that are not pleasant to go through you to avoid those storms that you could but if you look at the time it's like you look at them in gratitude knowing that God used it to grow you in your faith to shape
[00:25:59] you to the person who made you to be and you look at it and you'll say you know what there was a purpose of that I might not see it go into the storm but I can
[00:26:06] always see it as I go out of the storm, because I see how I've drawn closer to Christ in the process. Most importantly, God uses those storms, not just to shake you, but to draw you close to
[00:26:17] him. That's the most important thing this life is for, to draw near to your creator and to love him with everything that you are. Treat the scary parts of your life as an opportunity that God
[00:26:29] has given you, where the Lord is reminding you to look to Jesus. Don't look at the storm. Don't look at the world around you look to Jesus in every moment of this life that will make
[00:26:40] the storms seem like a gift that he's giving you you can't see it as a gift if you don't look at Christ in the midst of it if you're just looking at your circumstances you're gonna find things that grow and complain about but if
[00:26:52] you're looking to Jesus whatever's happening in your life you'll be able to receive every moment of it as a gift because you know that God uses it all for your good you know that God uses it to conform you to the image of the Son
[00:27:04] God look at Jesus whatever's happening in your life and walk with him as disciples that he is called to follow him as their master those storms that you go through they're supposed to be scary that's another hard truth they're
[00:27:20] supposed to shake you they're supposed to scare you they're supposed to make you understand that you cannot do it on your own that nothing in this world can give you what can be found in Christ you're supposed to look at the scary
[00:27:32] things and know that God uses it all for your good not just some of it not just most of it but every single bit of it is intended for your good and his glory those things can be seen as good even when it beats you up sometimes it might
[00:27:47] mean we die in the process but we can see them as good because they send us running to Christ for strength and comfort don't look anywhere else for that go to Christ if you need something he's the one that provides it and Isaiah
[00:28:00] 41 the Lord God says do not fear for I am with you do not anxiously look about you for I am your God I will strengthen you surely I will help you surely I will
[00:28:13] uphold you with my righteous right hand I love that verse there's so much comfort in that don't be don't be scared don't be afraid look at whatever's happening but how terrifying it's gonna get and say God is with me in this
[00:28:27] Remember Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego, they go into the furnace and say, if God wants us to set us free from this, he will.
[00:28:33] But if he doesn't, we're okay with that because this is to the glory of God.
[00:28:37] Whatever's happening in your life, go through it with Jesus and have confidence that he has a purpose in it.
[00:28:43] If you know who Jesus is and you follow him as your God, as your Lord and Savior, then you should treat the circumstances of your life as an opportunity.
[00:28:51] Do not fear those circumstances because God is with you.
[00:28:55] He will strengthen you when you are weak.
[00:28:57] And he will help you when you call out to him.
[00:29:00] Call out to him as much as possible.
[00:29:01] Call out to him throughout your days, every day.
[00:29:04] Every moment of this life is for his glory.
[00:29:06] Walk through it with him, knowing that he has a purpose in those things.
[00:29:11] And that purpose in all of this is that we trust in him.
[00:29:14] All those hard parts where you feel like, I'm not enough.
[00:29:16] I'm not strong enough.
[00:29:17] I'm not smart enough.
[00:29:18] Oh, I messed all these things up.
[00:29:20] All of that is meant as a reminder to show you that you cannot do it on your own.
[00:29:24] that you're supposed to trust in him to go through those things you remember that expression where i say god never gives you more than you can handle that's hogwash that's garbage god always gives you more than you can handle because he wants you to go to him you can only handle these things in
[00:29:39] your life with christ you're not supposed to handle it on your own it's it's supposed to send you running to the cross pleading lord god please help me i cannot do this on my own it's all for
[00:29:52] his lord and it's all for our good we know that because the word of god says that in verse 21 the bible says so they were willing to receive him into the boat and immediately the boat was
[00:30:05] at the land to which they were going they received jesus into their boat in the midst of this storm and in matthew 14 the bible says when he came onto that boat they worshiped him and they recognized
[00:30:17] him as the Son of God.
[00:30:19] But then the Bible says, immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going. Remember Jesus does so many miracles.
[00:30:27] There's an abundance of miracles in Scripture, and they all have a purpose to them. Later in John 21, John says, if every one of those miracles was written down, the world itself could not contain
[00:30:39] the books that should be written.
[00:30:41] That is a lot of miracles. The whole world couldn't contain all the books.
[00:30:45] that would write about all the miracles that Jesus does. So John focused mainly on just these seven really important miracles that prove who Jesus is so that we might believe and then believing we might
[00:30:57] be given life in Christ.
[00:30:59] So John doesn't really talk about the majority of those other things that Jesus does. We see them in the other gospel accounts, but we don't see John talk about all of those things. But here
[00:31:09] we see what some people will call a hidden miracle. I love the little hidden things in the Bible.
[00:31:15] If you read over it a thousand times, it'll jump out at you suddenly as you're doing your Bible study that day.
[00:31:20] Jesus gets into the boat and immediately it arrives to its destination. That's a supernatural event. That's not something those guys are rolling really hard to get there really fast in that storm. This was 100%
[00:31:31] God grabbing a hold of them and putting them where they're supposed to be. And it shows us that Jesus has the power over both time and space, over all of his creation. Time and space are
[00:31:43] parts of his creation. That's how God is outside of time and space. He's much bigger than his creation. Those other seven miracles that John emphasizes as signs are really important.
[00:31:53] But this one seems really important too and he just flies right past it. He's like, yeah, they're at the shore. They're there suddenly. It's a hidden miracle.
[00:32:01] It's so casual. The way that John talks about it here. The way that this boat instantly arrives at the other shore after Jesus comes to them. There's an intent in that.
[00:32:11] And if you see it for what it is, it's encouraging it gives you confidence because this points to the second coming of christ it shows his power to deliver us as his people immediately and decisively to our eternal
[00:32:24] destination and it foreshadows his return and the way that he then gathers his people after he comes back in places like matthew 24 and mark 13 all the wolves and the heretics and those people who really wanted to be something else wanted to be about them they'll point out
[00:32:39] things and they'll say something completely different than what the bible actually says but those places actually show us what god wants us to see and they mean what they say the word of god doesn't say one thing and it means something else it tells you directly there that christ will
[00:32:54] return and then immediately gather his elect removing them from harm's way and draw them to himself you see the son of man coming in the clouds in the sky and then he sends his angels
[00:33:05] to the four corners of heaven and earth to gather his elect so people call it the rapture call whatever you want but he grabs a hold of you and he takes you to him right after he returns
[00:33:15] that's beautiful there's confidence to be had in that in matthew 14 32 the bible says when they got into the boat the wind stopped that acts like that act shows that jesus has the power over his
[00:33:29] creation that storm in our main scripture today this is this perfect illustration for our life's trials and the tribulations that his people go through before he returns.
[00:33:39] But then he gets in that boat, Christ returns, and we're immediately where we're supposed to be at, which is to say we're with him. The same way that he left in Acts 1, he's going to return.
[00:33:49] And he calls us as his people to go to him. That's a beautiful picture of what he has planned for us as his church.
[00:33:56] This scripture shows us something else too. When he returns, his presence will calm the storm that is persecuting these people as well. The Bible shows us that he gathers his elect before he pours out his wrath on his creation that has gone contrary to him. The wind stops
[00:34:14] and we are given peace when Christ returns and grabs a hold of us. Matthew Henry once said, Christ's entry into the boat and its immediate arrival prefigured his coming to rescue his church from the storms of this age. What a beautiful picture that is of what it is that we get to be
[00:34:32] a part of when Christ returns.
[00:34:34] This scene with the apostles rowing through that storm, trying to move through it of their own volition as the wind is pushing against them with the waves smashing against their boat.
[00:34:44] That is a picture of you.
[00:34:46] As you live your life, the winds of this world are blowing contrary to you. You're rowing as hard as you can under your own power, but you're not going anywhere.
[00:34:56] It's only by the grace of God that we know where it is that we're supposed to go.
[00:35:00] We try as hard as we can.
[00:35:01] we're not going anywhere without Christ we cannot do it on our own it is Christ alone that saves these men in that boat and brings them where they're going and it is Christ alone that can do that for us
[00:35:14] as well if you have any questions about today's message please come and see me after service we'll go deeper into the text and see what the word of God says about this let's pray our Father in heaven
[00:35:24] Lord God we praise you Lord we thank you for saving us we thank you for your great mercy for your love and for your grace Lord, we thank you for the patient way that you guide our steps as we walk this path with you.
[00:35:36] We pray that you would help us to focus on you better than we did.
[00:35:39] That we might be capable of sharing this hope that we have in Christ with everybody that we love.
[00:35:43] Every person that you put in front of us.
[00:35:45] Father, we pray that you would put your words in our mouth and that you would make us bold in how we speak them.
[00:35:49] Lord, please help us to live our lives through glory.
[00:35:52] Help us to be good to each other.
[00:35:53] To draw close to each other as the body of Christ in this place.
[00:35:56] And to be a blessing to each other.
[00:35:58] To point each other at the cross.
[00:35:59] and to live our lives in such a way that others would know who we are and whose we are by the way that you would shine your light through us.
[00:36:05] Lord, we thank you for this.
[00:36:07] We love you and we praise you.
[00:36:08] In Jesus' name, amen.