Let's turn again tonight to John
chapter 6. John chapter 6 and beginning
in verse 14 where we left off last time. Then those men when
they had seen the miracle that Jesus did said this is of a truth
that prophet that should come into the world. When Jesus therefore
perceived that they would come and take him by force to make
him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.
And when even was 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 nine to the ship, and they were afraid. But he saith 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. My message tonight primarily
has to do with four observations I want to make from the experience
of the Lord's disciples crossing the Sea of Galilee. But I want
to make some comments on verses 14 and 15. One reason that I gave last time
for this miracle, it's the only miracle you will remember, the
feeding of the 5,000, which is recorded in the first 13 verses. This is the only miracle which
is recorded in all four of the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke,
and John. And one reason given for this
fact is because it was witnessed by so many people. Notice the
scripture in verse 14 says, they had seen the miracle. Other miracles that our Lord
wrought were witnessed by a smaller number of people, but this one
by a large number of people. Now here are two questions. First, what was the immediate
reaction of those who saw this miracle? The scripture here says,
they had seen the miracle, which Jesus did. What was the immediate
reaction of those who saw this miracle? Well, it was twofold,
as we see. First, they spoke. First, they
spoke. And they said, this is of a truth,
that prophet, that should come into the world. Now what prophet
do they mean? What prophet do they have reference
to when they said, this is of a truth, that prophet that should
come into the world? Now we've run into this before
in the Gospel of John in chapter 1. When they came, the Pharisees
came from Jerusalem asking John, who are you? And one of their
questions was, are you that prophet? Let's turn back, let's keep our
places here, but let's turn back to Deuteronomy chapter 18 and
let's see what is written here concerning that prophet. Now
their immediate reaction when they saw, they witnessed the
miracle was, this is of a truth, that prophet that should come
into the world. In Deuteronomy chapter 18 beginning
with verse 15, Moses The Lord thy God will raise up
unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren,
like unto me. Unto him you shall hearken. According to all that thou desirest
of the Lord thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, say... Now this is what the people said. Pay attention to this. Let me
not hear again the voice of the Lord my God. Neither let me see
this great fire anymore, that I die not. And the Lord said
unto me, now notice, they have well spoken. God said, the nation
of Israel, when they said, let not, let not the, let not me
hear again the voice of the Lord my God. Neither let me see the
great fire anymore, lest I die not. God said to Moses, they
have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise up
or raise them up a prophet from among their brethren like unto
thee and will put my words in his mouth and he shall speak
unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass
that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall
speak in my name I will require it of them. Now when they said,
when they saw the miracle, they said, this is that prophet. And
when we look here, when we turn to Deuteronomy chapter 18 and
read what is recorded about that prophet, we see that this prophet
that God would raise up would be a mediator. That's what he would be. They
said, let us not hear that voice. Let us not seethe, let us... And our Lord said, they have
well spoken. I will raise up unto them a prophet. What they desired and what God
told them that He would give them, a prophet, yes, but he
would be what we call a mediator. He would go between God and the
people. The people and God. This was their first reaction.
This is of a truth, that prophet that should come into the world.
But notice secondly, their second reaction, they determined they
would come and take him by force to make him a king. Now when
they thought to make him a king by force. The king they desired
was a king who had a kingdom in this world, who reigned over
a kingdom in this world. And they desired a king and they
saw the miracle and surely he would have the power. He would
have the power to lead an army and overthrow the Romans. That's what they desired. That's
the kind of king that they wanted. Now the Lord Jesus Christ was
born a king. He was born a king. Remember
the wise men, they came and that was their question. Where is
he that is born king of the Jews? He was born a king. He's God's
king. If you look ahead here in John
to chapter 18, when he stood before Pilate, chapter 18, and
beginning with verse 33, we read, Then Pilate entered into the
judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art
thou the king of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Sayest thou
this thing of thyself, or did others tell thee of me? Pilate
answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief
priests have delivered thee unto me. What hast thou done? Now
notice, Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world,
then would my servants fight that I should not be delivered
to the Jews. But now is my kingdom not from
hence. Pilate therefore said unto him,
Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that
I am a king. To this end was I born, and for
this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto
the truth. These people that saw the miracle,
when the Lord took the bread, the few loaves of bread and the
few fishes, and multiplied creating bread and fish to feed the multitude
so much that everyone was satisfied, and they gathered up twelve baskets
full of the fragments. When they saw that miracle, their
first reaction was, this is that prophet. And their second reaction
We'll take him by force and make him a king. Now here's the second
question. What should their reaction have
been? We saw what their reaction was.
They said, this is that prophet. We'll take him by force and make
him a king. What should have been their reaction?
I'm saying this because you notice in verse 15 The Lord Jesus, he departed. When Jesus therefore perceived
that they would come and take him by force to make him a king,
he departed. If they truly believe that he
was that prophet, then they should have submitted to him to hear
God's word. Remember, that prophet, God said,
I'll put my words in his mouth. And if they do not hear him,
I will require of them." Their reaction should have been, let's
hear, let's hear. And what would they have heard
if they had heard the Lord Jesus Christ? The time is fulfilled
and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent ye and believe the
gospel. if they had heard God's word
that he put in that prophet's mouth. That's the word they would
have heard. That should have been their reaction. If you notice, that prophet would
be, and I pointed this out, a mediator. They wanted a go-between, an
umpire. That's what Job said, wasn't
it? Oh, that there was an umpire. In other words, Job desired someone
who could lay his hand upon God and lay his hand upon Him. A
mediator, a go-between. But as a mediator, and the Lord
Jesus Christ, Paul said, for there's one mediator between
God and man, the man Christ Jesus, he has three offices. They speak
of him, his office as a prophet, as a king, but you notice the
office they do not mention? His priesthood. His priesthood. They deny the fact that their
problem is a sin problem. And the sin problem can only
be dealt with by a priest. A priest who can offer a sacrifice
that will be acceptable unto God. They don't mention his office
of a priest, do they? What are they doing? They're
denying their sinful condition. They're denying their need of
a sin offering. Without the shedding of blood,
there is no remission of sin. Now, let's look briefly tonight
at four observations from this narrative that we're given of
the Lord's disciples crossing the sea. Now Luke, his account,
as I said, all four Gospels tell us of the miracle of feeding
the 5,000, but when the miracle is ended, Luke, he stops writing. But both Matthew, Mark, and John,
they relate this experience that his disciples had in crossing
the sea. Now, so that I won't have to
call us back and forth to Matthew and Mark, let's just turn, we'll
come back here to John, but let's turn to Matthew and then we'll
go to Mark and let's read their account of what happened. In Matthew, it's found in Matthew
chapter 14. Matthew chapter 14 and verse
22. Well, I'll read 21 so you see the context. And they that
had eaten were about 5,000 men beside women and children. And
straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship
and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the
multitudes away. And when he had sent the multitudes
away, he went up into a mountain, apart to pray. And when the evening
was come, he was there alone, but the ship was now in the midst
of the sea, tossed with waves, for the wind was contrary." Now
turn to Mark, if you will, Mark chapter 6. Mark chapter 6 and verse 45. Again, I'll read verse 44, so
we see we're looking at the same experience. Verse 44 said, And
they that eat of the loaves were about five thousand men. And
straightway he commanded, he constrained his disciples to
get into the ship and go to the other side before unto Bethsaida,
while he sent away the people. And when he had sent them away,
he departed into a mountain to pray. 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, let's go back to John. And I want, as I said,
to make four observations. First, the disciples were in
the place where the Lord directed them. John merely tells us, if
you notice back here in John verse 17, that they entered into
a ship. But if you will remember, both
Matthew and Mark, they tell us our Lord constrained them. Jesus
constrained his disciples to get into the ship. And the point
I want to make is they were exactly where the Lord would have them
to be in crossing the sea. The disciples going into this
ship was not by accident. They were directed into this
ship by the Lord Himself. They were exactly where their
Lord would have them to be. Now the scriptures teach that
God's providence is all-inclusive. Have you ever stayed at a hotel
that's all-inclusive? I have one time. One time. When Cody and Winna first moved
to Mexico, my first trip down to visit them, I think Pat had
gone once or twice before I did, but they wanted us to go to a
hotel that wasn't there when we left Mexico, but a hotel on
the Gulf Coast And it was all inclusive. Never had been to
one before, and never have been to one since then. But this is
what I remember about it. Cade and Austin and Andrea, they
were small. And I believe it was Cade, but
he liked that hotel. And the reason he liked it, he
could get as many Cokes as he wanted. He could just go up,
ask for a Coke, they'd give him a Coke. He was one of the boys.
I think it was Cade. All-inclusive. God's providence
is all-inclusive. The scripture said that the disciples
were exactly where the Lord directed them to be. Exactly. The Scriptures declare, David
said this, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. And by a good man, we know the
Bible says there's none good, no not want. We're talking about
a believer, a child of God, a person who has been made righteous or
justified by the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. The
steps of a good man are ordered of the Lord. And in Proverbs
chapter 16, we have this proverb. A man's heart deviseth his way,
but the Lord directeth his steps. Any man, every man, his heart
deviseth his way. But the Lord directs His steps. And then this well-known Scripture
in Proverbs 21 and verse 1. And because this Scripture is
so well-known, I think we misunderstand or we do not take the truth of
this verse. But this verse tells us that
the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord. As the rivers of
water, He turneth it whithersoever He will. And how many times have
you heard me and you've heard other preachers talk about kings
and presidents and congressmen and all of those people in authority,
and we all think, oh yes, amen. The king's heart is in the hand
of the Lord. He turneth it whithersoever he
will. But it's not just the men in
authority. It's all of us. It's everyone. Your heart. My heart. The heart
of your neighbors, the heart of everyone we know, is in the
hand of the Lord, and he turneth it whithersoever he will. God's
providence is all-inclusive. There's nothing, nothing that
is left out. And I mention this to us tonight
because many times people will make statements like this. We
all do. What if? What if? What if I had been there? What if I had not been there? What if I had done this? What
if I had not done that? And those statements, my friends,
will never bring comfort to a child of God. They never will. All they will do is cause anxiety
and trouble. These disciples were in the ship. The Lord constrained them to
be in the ship. God's providence is all-inclusive. From the greatest thing that
takes place in God's creation to what we would call the most
minute, all is included in God's providence. He superintends over
His creation. The second observation, the disciples
did not see their Lord. It was dark and they could not
see Him, but that doesn't mean that He didn't see them. Mark
tells us specifically He saw them. They couldn't see Him. It was dark. They were in a ship. The ship was in the sea being
tossed by the waves. They couldn't see Him, but He
saw them. Proverbs chapter 15 and verse
3 says that the eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding
the evil and the good. In every place. There is no escaping
God's presence. The psalmist said it, if I ascend
up into heaven or make my bed in hell, God's there. He's there. He's everywhere. They could not
see Him, but He saw them. And in that Psalm, Psalm 139,
where David makes those statements, he says this, Yea, the darkness
hath it not from thee. You know, most crimes are committed
in the darkness at night. People think that because it's
dark, and maybe nobody can see them, that they're going to escape. We teach our children, don't
we? God sees. God sees. Moses, when he killed
that Egyptian, do you remember he looked this way and he looked
that way? He didn't look this way, did he? God saw. And come to find out the next
day, so did his countrymen. They saw. Yea, the darkness hideth not
from thee, but the night shineth as the day. It may be pitch black,
dark to you and I, like it was to these disciples. They could
not see the Lord, but he saw them. The darkness and the light
are both alike to thee. The disciples, they saw the waves. Make no mistake about that. They
saw the waves that the wind had created, but they did not see
the master of the wind and the waves. My third observation is
this. The disciples, I assume, prayed.
I assume they prayed. We know on another occasion When
he was with them in a ship, he went to sleep in the hindered
part of the ship, and a storm came up like this storm did.
And they prayed that time. They came to the Lord and they
said unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And I assume that this specific
time they also prayed. But we don't know that. We're
not told that. But we are told that he was praying. We did see that, didn't we? He
went up on the mountain to what? To pray. I don't know. I assume they prayed. But I know
he was praying. Sometimes, most of the time,
we pray. And we pray for one another.
Sometimes we forget. Sometimes we become negligent.
But He, He never forgets. And He's never negligent. And
He's always interceding for His people. Our responsibility is to pray,
isn't it? That's our responsibility. But we are comforted tonight.
I know I am, and I know you are too. I'm comforted to know that
He always is praying for us. Always. Always. And He prays
that our faith fail not, just like He did Peter. Peter, Satan
hath desired thee, but I have prayed for thee. And He's always
heard His name. And what did He ask? He didn't
ask that Peter not be tempted, not be tested. He prayed that
thy faith fail not. And it looked like his faith
failed, didn't it? He failed the test. He denied his Lord
three times. And he wasn't the only one of
those disciples who denied the Lord. All of them did. All of
them ran. But his faith did not fail. It
looked like it was. When our Lord, with curses, I
don't know the man and however he made that exclamation with
curses, I don't know. But when the Lord Jesus Christ
turned and looked at him, he went out and he wept bitterly. And the message came three days
later, go to my disciples and Peter. Singled him out, didn't
he? Singled him out. And Peter met
him that day, and the Lord said, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou
me more than these? Yea, Lord, thou knowest that
I love thee. Simon, feed my lambs. Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou
me more than these? Yea, Lord, thou knowest that
I love thee. Feed my lambs. Simon, he denied
three times. Our Lord questioned him three
times. And finally, on that third time, what did Peter say? Lord,
You know all things. You know I love Thee. Feed my
sheep. He was restored, wasn't he? Here's
my fourth observation. The disciples were troubled and
afraid. What made them troubled and afraid? I think Matthew and Mark say
they were troubled. John says they were afraid. What
was it that made them troubled and afraid? I'll tell you what
it was. The scriptures tell us. It was
not seen that it was Jesus who was coming to them. That's what
made them afraid. That's what troubled them. They
did not see that it was the Lord Jesus coming to them. They saw
something. They thought it was a spirit.
They thought it was a ghost. And then they cried out. And
my question to you and I is, how many times does He come to
us? And we are troubled, and we are
afraid, because we do not see that it is the Lord coming to
us, just like these disciples. We must see the Lord in every
trial. Every trial He sends our way,
it's the Lord coming to us. In every affliction, it is the
Lord coming to us. In every sickness, yes, and even
in death, it's the Lord coming to us. And if we do not see that,
then we too will be afraid and be troubled. We must. And many times we surmise, well,
this couldn't be the Lord. Oh, yes, it is. His providence,
I've already said that. It's all-inclusive. Nothing can
come without his permission. He's a wall of fire around his
people. Angels encamp around his people. Have you considered my servant
Job? Have you? Yes, but you've put
a fence around him. Take down that barrier. Give
me permission. We must see Christ coming to
us in everything that we experience in this life or we too are going
to be troubled many times and afraid. I read these words the
other day. They were written as a comment
on Romans 8 and verse 28 and we know that all things work together
for good to those who love God, to them who are the called according
to His purpose. Let me read it to you. Things
don't just happen to us who love God. They're planned by His own
dear hand, then molded and shaped and timed by His clock. Things don't just happen, they're
planned. We don't just guess on the issues
of life. We Christians just rest in our
Lord. We're directed by his sovereign
will in the light of his holy word. We who love Jesus are walking
by faith, not seeing one step that's ahead, not doubting one
moment what our lot might be, but looking to Jesus instead. We praise our dear Savior for
loving us so, for planning each care for our life, then giving
us faith to trust Him for all, the blessings as well as the
strife. Things don't just happen to us
who love God, to us who have taken our stand No matter the
lot, the course, or the price, things don't just happen. They're
planned. And I say amen, don't you? They
don't just happen. You know, there's a big difference
between blind fate and a personal God. Many people, oh, you believe
in fate. Oh, no, I don't believe in fate.
But I do believe in a holy God, a gracious God, a loving God,
who is my Father, and He has all things planned. That's a
lot difference from faith, just blind faith, you know. Law, certain
laws just cause things to happen, bring things about. No, no. No,
it's God. Things don't just happen to those
who love the Lord. Now notice in closing, what did
he say to his disciples? They were afraid. They were troubled. He said, be of good cheer. Be
of good cheer. It is I. Be not afraid. And the Scripture here says,
and the disciples willingly received him into the ship, and immediately. They've been out there rowing.
You know, that's the best kind of physical exercise as far as
burning up calories, I believe, that you can do. If you want
to, I don't. But that's hard work, isn't it?
And can you imagine those disciples out there rowing in that wind?
Blowing against them, and they'd been out there for a while. But
as soon as they received the Lord Jesus Christ into the ship,
immediately, they were at the shore. They were at the place
where they were going. Well, I trust the Lord will bless
this word and help us to not be afraid, not be troubled. but to trust in our dear, kind,
heavenly Father. When we have loved ones who are
going through trials, we'd love to shield them from that trouble. But one thing I remind myself. God loves that person more than
I do. I love them. I love them. But my father, they're God's
children. He loves them much more than
I could ever love them. And that's just so. Let's sing
a verse or two of