Would you turn with me to the
sixth chapter of the Book of John? While you're turning there,
we'll be having a get together at the Sly's house this Friday
evening at 630 for the adults and their directions out on the
foyer as to how to get to their house. I'll be looking forward
to that. 630 this Friday evening. I'd like to begin reading in
verse 16. And when even was now come, his
disciples went down unto the sea, and entered into a ship,
and went over the sea toward Capernaum, and it was now dark. And Jesus was not come to them. And the sea arose by reason of
a great wind that blew. So when they had rowed about
five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the
sea and drawing nigh unto the ship. And they were afraid. But he said unto them, It is I, be not afraid. Then they willingly received
him into the ship, and immediately the ship was at the land whither
they went. Now, we have before us the narrative
of the Lord walking on water. Now, you know as well as I do
that no mere man could walk on water. Only the God man can walk
on water. He is not under the law of physics. If he wills to walk on water,
he walks on water. And it's not hard for him either.
It's not a thing of difficulty. He's God. He is the God-man. And we're very impressed with
this. But I believe the great lesson
taught in this narrative is God's people in this world. Yes, we're given a view of the
greatness and the glory of Christ in walking on the water. But
the main point of this story is God's people in this world. Now notice the language of verses
16 and 17. And when even was now come. His disciples went down. Unto the sea. And entered into
a ship and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was
now dark. And Jesus was not come to them. They were in darkness. Now, these are the disciples.
These are the disciples, these are his true children. They went
down, they were in darkness, and insofar as their experience
was, he was not there. They felt themselves to be all
alone. That was their experience. Have you ever been there? In darkness. You cannot see. You feel alone. And you feel that you do not
have the sense of his presence. And we're going to consider all
three accounts of this story, Matthew, Mark, and John. Luke doesn't mention this, and
interestingly, Mark and John don't mention the fact that Peter
walked on the water during this time. Matthew does, but Mark
and John don't even mention it, so we're not even going to consider
that aspect of this story. Now we know from both Matthew
and Mark's account, it actually says both in Matthew 14, 22 and
Mark 6, 45, that the Lord constrained his disciples to get on the ship. He constrained them to. He forced
them to. He made them. Evidently, they
didn't want to. They didn't want to leave his
presence. They wanted to stay right there with him, but he
made them get on that ship. Now there's two things that stand
out to me about that. First is they didn't want to
do this. And second, the Lord had a special purpose in constraining
them to do this. So he sent them off and he himself
went up into a mountain to pray. Now they get on the ship and
when they reach the middle of the sea, and from what I can
understand what I've read, that means they were a minimum of
three miles from shore at this time. It was a big lake. And
they were a minimum of three miles from shore because it's
pointed out that they were in the middle of the sea, the farthest
point from the shore. And verse 18 says, a great wind
blew. It was called a squall and it
created gigantic waves. It was like, I suppose, a hurricane
or something like that. And they were on this boat and
it started rocking up and down. They were in the dark. They could
not see. And they were scared to death.
The Lord wasn't with them as far as they knew. He was somewhere
else. And they were all by themselves,
without Christ, tossed upon those waves, scared to death. Now, Matthew's account says the
wind was contrary to them. They try to row forward and they
get pushed back. They try to go forward and it
didn't do them any good. It seemed to be their adversary.
Mark's account says they toiled in rowing. They were vexed. They
were distressed. They were tormented, making no
progress against this wind. Now, have you ever been there? Perhaps you are now. You're in
the dark. You cannot see and you're toiling
in rowing. Vexed, distressed, and even tormented,
and you don't feel as though you have the Lord's presence.
As far as your feelings go, you don't feel like you have the
Lord's presence. You feel alone. Now, these were
the disciples. These were the disciples. That's
who's being described here, the disciples. And they are in this
situation because of the Lord constraining them to get in that
boat. The Lord put them in that boat. And here they are, toiling and
rolling, not able to make any progress in the raging sea. And
they are terrified. Now, that's the position of the
disciples at this time. They're scared to death. Now,
while all this was going on, Christ was on the shore watching
them. Turn with me to Mark chapter
6. Mark chapter 6. Verse 47, And when even was come,
The ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the
land, and he saw them toiling in rowing. For the wind was contrary
unto them. Now, they didn't know he saw
them, but he saw them nonetheless. They had no idea that his omniscient
eye was upon them, but it was. He made them get into the ship.
He sent the squall, and they didn't realize it, but they were
completely safe under his watchful eye. Now, you may be in the dark,
but he's not. He sees. There's no darkness
with him, and he sees you. Now, evidently, This went on
for hours. And the fourth watch of the night,
that's three o'clock in the morning. Three o'clock in the morning,
the Lord comes walking toward them. The Lord Jesus Christ,
the Son of God, walked on the water toward them. With God,
nothing shall be impossible. He walks on the water. And look
at the disciples response to this. Look back in John, we're
going to keep going between John and Mark, but look back in John. So when they had birthed 19,
so when they had wrote about five and 20 or 30 furlongs, they
see Jesus walking on the sea and drawing nine to the ship
and they were afraid. They were afraid. They didn't
rejoice at this time. They weren't happy to see this.
They were scared. They were afraid. Matthew's account says they were
troubled. Mark's account says they cried
out for fear and he says they supposed that they saw a spirit. Or a phantom. You know, I think
it's interesting in the Scriptures. It'd be interesting to do a study
on whenever you see this word suppose. Every time they suppose
something, it's always wrong. It always is. I have recent suppositions
like that. They suppose they had seen a
spirit. Now, why were they so amazed
by this? They see the Lord walking on
the water. Now, remember what they'd seen just 24 hours before.
24 hours before, they had seen the Lord create food that was
not there. They saw his mighty power as
the God of glory. They saw him create food. And instead of rejoicing to see
Christ, they were troubled. Mark says their heart had hardened.
Their heart had hardened. And they doubted if it was really
him. And they were filled with fear. And Mark's account, look
back in Mark, chapter 6, verse 48. And when he saw them toiling
in rowing, for the wind was contrary unto them, and about the fourth
watch of the night he cometh unto them walking upon the sea,
and notice this, he would have passed them by. He would have
passed them by. As far as they could tell, he
was going to pass them by. Here they are in his boat, scared
to death, and the Lord is walking on the sea. And as far as they
could tell, he wasn't going to come into them. He was going
to go right on walking. Now why is that? Why is that? Was He just going to leave them
in that mess? Well, I know why that is. You know, the troubles
and the darkness the Lord brings your way and my way, what a blessing
there is in that, because you know what we're going to do when
we see Him walking by? We're going to cry out, Lord,
don't pass me by. Have mercy upon me. Do something for me. You see,
these troubles, as difficult as they are, this darkness that
he was speaking of, as difficult as it is, I'll tell you one thing
it does. It makes you cry out, doesn't it? It's a blessing. It's a blessing. Now, he acted
as though he would pass them by. And they cried out. Now, look in verse 49. But when
they saw him walking upon the sea, Mark 6, 49, when they saw
him walking upon the sea, they supposed he'd be the spirit.
They cried out, for they all saw him and were troubled. And
immediately he talked with them and saith unto them, be of good
cheer. Now, they were scared to death,
but he says to them, be of good cheer. Now, if the Lord says
to be of good cheer, do you have a reason to be of good cheer?
If he says it, Sure you do. He says to them, be of good cheer.
It is I. Now, the way that reads, and
it ought really to read like this, be of good cheer, I am. Be of good cheer, I am. Now, who's the only one who's
named I am? You know, there's so much in
His name. I am. Not I would be. Not I could be. Not I ought to be. Not I want to be. Not I will be. Not I used to
be. Not I should be. I am. That I am. Only God can say, I am that I
am. He is. Hebrews 11, 6 says, He that cometh
to God must believe that He is. We believe the is-ness of the
Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that He is as He is. We believe Him. He is as He is. He is holy. He is holy. He's sovereign. He's just. He's merciful. He's
gracious. He's omnipotent. He has all power. He's omnipresent. He's everywhere
at once. He's omniscient. He knows everything. He's merciful. He's gracious. All that He is.
I am that I am. And this is one of the glorious
things about the Lord. He's not in parts. He's not part merciful
and part just. And everything ends up equaling
a whole. He's altogether just. He's altogether merciful. He's altogether holy. He's altogether gracious. He's altogether omniscient. He's altogether all-powerful. He's altogether sovereign. You
can't take any of these things too far. It's not like you've
got to do a balancing act. Well, he's part this way and
part that way, and that's what makes the whole. Not at all. He's absolutely whole. I am that I am. You know, I read somewhere, and
it's helped me a lot, passage in Exodus chapter 3 verse 14
where he says I am that I am said what that means is I save
in the manner which I save and if you want to know who he is
you'll only know who he is in the manner which he saves that's
how he's known now if you want to know who he is you find out
how he saves Every one of His glorious attributes, all that
He is, or all that He's pleased to make known, at any rate, is
seen in His salvation. I am that I am. Who Jesus Christ the Lord is,
is the issue. Who He is. I mean, that's the only issue.
Who He is. And what you believe will be
determined by who you believe He is. The what is always determined
by the who. I am that I am. For instance, you can't believe
that He's God. It's impossible to believe that
He's God Almighty, absolutely sovereign, I am that I am. It's
impossible to believe that he's God and believe that he can die
for somebody and they wind up in hell anyway. It's impossible. You can't believe something like
that. It's Christ that died. We're not talking about some
mere man that died. It's the Christ that died. What you believe
will be determined by who you believe. This is the issue. He says, I am that I am. Let me show you a few scriptures.
Turn to John chapter 8. Verse 24, I said therefore unto you that
you shall die in your sins. Boy, isn't that a... What a thing
to say to somebody. Well, that scares me. That's
the Lord saying this. This isn't me saying this. I
can't make that clear. The Lord says this to these people. I
said therefore unto you that you shall die in your sins. For
if you believe not that I am, you'll notice that he's in italics.
It's supplied there by the translators. If you believe not that I am,
you shall die in your sins. Verse 56 of John chapter eight,
your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and
he was glad. Then said the Jews unto him,
Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before
Abraham was, I am. And you know, they knew exactly
what he was saying, because it says, Then took they up stones
to cast at him. They knew what he meant. I am
that I am. Turn over to John 18. Beginning in verse 3, Judas then,
having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests
and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and
weapons. Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that should come upon
him, went forth and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered
him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am. And Judas also, which betrayed
him, stood with them, and as soon then as he said unto them,
I am. They went backward and fell to
the ground. Then asked he them again, Whom
seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth.
I bet they said it a little bit differently this time. You reckon?
You reckon? They said it a lot differently.
And Jesus answered, I've told you that I am. Therefore, you if you seek me,
let these go their way. One other scripture on this.
Turn to Mark, Chapter 14. Verse 60. And the high priest stood up
in the midst and asked Jesus saying, answer thou nothing.
What is it which these witness against thee? But he held his
peace and answered nothing. Again, the high priest asked
him and said unto him, Are thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?
And Jesus said, I am. I am. And you shall see the Son of
Man sitting on the right hand of power. And coming in the clouds
of heaven, then the high priest rent his clothes and said, What
need we any further witnesses? Be of good cheer. Be of good
comfort. Don't be afraid. I am. Is that enough to cheer you
up? I am. Back to John, Chapter six. Verse 20. But he said unto them, it is
I, I am is the way that really reads, I am be not afraid. Verse
21 says, then they willingly received him. Into the ship. When they saw who he was, Oh,
how willingly. How willingly they received him
and when you receive him, you receive him as he is and you
receive him willingly. Well, what does it mean to receive
him? What's it mean to receive him? You know, people try to
make a work out of receiving him. You know, if I If I stood
back here at the door and handed you a $100 bill, and you took
it, and you said, well, I deserve something. At least I received
it. That's foolish. That's real foolish. Or let's
say somebody is in a coma, and they're unconscious, and they
need a heart transplant, and they're hooked up to the machines
that keep them alive. And somebody gives them a heart,
and they're Brought back to life. Would they say, well, I deserve
some credit, at least I received that heart? No, no. That kind of thinking is foolish.
Thinking there's merit in receiving Him. There's no merit in receiving
Him. But what a blessing it is to
receive Him. Well, what's it mean to receive Him? Look over
John chapter 1. I love this verse of Scripture.
John chapter 1. But as many," verse 12, "...but
as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons
of God, even to them that believe on His name." Now here's what
the folks do who receive Him. Here's who they are. They believe
on His name. They really believe that His
name is their only inference into glory. Do you believe that? Do you believe that His name
is the name that will bring you into glory? No other name. The
only reason you'll be brought into glory is His name. I used this illustration recently.
I used it again. Aubrey's got a car. You know
whose name that car's in? It's in my name. Who's responsible
for everything that takes place in that car? I am. If Aubrey drives it, it's still
in my name and I'm held responsible. The Lord Jesus Christ has full
responsibility for me. My salvation is in His name. He saved them for His name's
sake. That's what it means to receive
the Lord Jesus Christ. You really believe that all you
need is His name. If He mentions your name before
the Father, everything's fine. Everything's fine. That's what
it is to receive Him. It says they willingly, they
willingly received Him. They received Him because they
wanted to. Oh, it wasn't that. They willingly received Him. Now, when they received Him,
there were two miracles that took place. Now, here they are. The boats going up and down.
How the Lord was walking on the water at that time, I don't know.
I mean, there were waves. There was wind. They were all
scared to death. But as soon as they received
Him, you know what happened? The wind stopped. As soon as they received Him
into the ship, that which was causing their stress, that which
was causing their fear, it was taken away. Taken away. What is it that causes
my fear? Well, I could name a lot of secondary
causes. But here's the number one cause. My sin. My sin. The reason for my fear has been
taken away. My sin. has been taken away. When we just read Psalm 103 and
it said, he separated our sins as far from us as the East is
from the West. I thought. Wow. I've got no reason to fear now.
Here's something I've never noticed before. Look in John, chapter
six, verse 21. Perhaps you've noticed this before,
but I haven't. I remember where they were. They were in the middle
of the sea. There was a big storm going on.
They were at least a conservative estimate would be they were at
least three miles from the shore. That's how they were in the middle
of the sea with this. But look what happened. Verse 21. Then
they willingly received him into the ship and immediately. Just like that. Right now. Instantly. This is a miracle.
Instantly, the ship was at the land where they went. Now, they were out in the middle
of the lake, up and down. As soon as they received Him,
all of a sudden, boom, they're on land right now. The place
of safety. The place of security. How'd that happen? I don't know. But I know this. In receiving
the Lord Jesus Christ, I'm already on land. No waiting period to
get there. No more rowing. I am there in
the Lord. In the Lord, I'm already at and
in the desired destination. Is He there? Is He on land in
a safe, secure place? Is He there? Then I am too. Near, so near to God, nearer
I cannot be. In the person of His dear Son,
I am as near to God as He. Dear, so dear to God, dearer
I cannot be. For in the person of His dear
Son, I am as dear to God. Me, me, I'm as dear to God as
He. I'm already seated in heaven. I'm already in heaven. It's not
like I've got to wait for it to happen. Already happened. I'm there. That was a miracle,
wasn't it? Immediately they were on the
land. Now, how can that be? Well, there's
a very precious phrase in the scripture. Two words. In him. In him, that's how that
could be, according as he had chosen us in him. He had made us accepted. In the
Beloved, in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness
of sins. We are complete in Him. Is Christ in heaven? Is He right
now seated at the right hand of the Father? I'm there too. And that's my security. And that's
my safety. You see, all the promises of
God in Him are yea and amen. And he had blessed us with all
spiritual blessings in heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, three
miles from shore. As soon as they received him,
the ship was immediately upon the land. Now, have you ever looked at
the response of the disciples to this? What I think is very
interesting is Matthew and Mark give two completely different
responses. Turn with me first to Mark, Chapter
six. There's a reason for this Mark,
Chapter six. As soon as they receive him.
The storm's over, there's a great they're on land, they're on land,
a mighty miracle took place. Verse 51. And he went up unto
them, Mark 6, 51, he went up unto them, into the ship, and
the wind ceased. And they were sore amazed in
themselves beyond measure, and wondered, for they considered
not the miracle of the loaves, for their heart was hardened. Now that is the response of the
flesh. Do you know that faith is impossible
for the flesh? Ain't no faith that's going to
come out of your flesh. Your old nature. It is impossible. Now that's the response of the
flesh. Now turn to Matthew chapter 14.
Verse 32. And when they were come into
the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship
came and worshipped him, saying of a truth, Thou art the Son
of God. There is the response of faith. of a truth. No doubt about this. Who you are. You are the Son
of God. Now that, that's the response
of the new man. That's the response of the new
nature, faith. Did both of those happen? Yeah. Yeah. That's the way the Lord
records it. On one side we see their unbelief.
Hardness of heart because they considered not what they should
have considered. That's something we're still
dealing with right now. Well, not me, but we are. But thank
God. We also have the response of
the new man. Of a truth. Thou art the son
of God. Let's pray together.