I would like you to take your Bibles this morning and turn in them to John chapter 6.
! Yesterday as I finished the sermon that I preached for my mother's memorial, I summarized
! I summarized a pastor's responsibility in the pulpit.
It's not a very complicated job in that a pastor really has the responsibility of making
much of Jesus and putting people on the spot of saying yes or no to God.
I trust that as you take your Word in hand and follow, as we study in John chapter 6,
that you will also multitask in praying that the Word of God would have free course and
that it would make an impact on your life and that you would leave here this morning
if you don't know Christ, that you would leave here knowing Him and believing in Him for eternal
life. That's one.
Another thing is this, is if you are here and you know Christ, I trust that you leave here
this morning with a greater affection and a delight in Him and thinking to yourself,
the day is coming that I'm going to see Him face to face. That's going to be good.
I want you to turn in your body. You're in John. Can you multitask? Put a finger in John chapter 6
and go to a verse that kind of is a driving thought behind what we're going to study.
Turn to 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 8.
If I were to...well, there are a number of verses that are important to me, so I'll get in trouble
with that one. But it's probably a verse that in the last 10 years has been one of the things that
has driven me forward in my growth with loving Christ. It's this passage. 1 Peter chapter 1 verse
8, it says, though you have not seen Him...stop just for a moment. Hey, look at me. Can you love
somebody you don't know? Come on. Can you really love somebody you don't know? Let me just throw out
a couple names and just see if they really resonate with your soul. Genghis Khan. Oh, yeah. Warm fuzzies
for him. You know, it's like, Julius Caesar, huh? No, no. Face it, we can't love somebody we don't know.
And here is Peter saying, though you have not seen Him, you love Him. What that undeniably points to
is that Peter recognized that believers, you and me today, can know Him. And how do we end up knowing
Jesus? How do we end up genuinely, truly loving Him? It is by discovering the beauty and the glory
of Christ in the Scriptures with the enabling of the Holy Spirit. Can you kind of track that in your
mind? How is it that we grow in loving Christ? It is by discovering the beauty and the glory of Christ
in the Scriptures with the enabling of the Holy Spirit. Hey, listen. If the Holy Spirit is not helping
you to grow in your affection for the Lord Jesus Christ, it's not going to take place. More
information apart from the enabling of the Spirit of God is just more information.
And so if you're sitting here this morning and you do not have a love for the Lord Jesus Christ,
there is something deeply wrong. And I pray that the preaching of the Word of God this morning brings
you to the point of saying, I desperately need God to do a work in my heart.
And I trust that this morning that our study, go back now if you would to John chapter 6,
ends up really giving to you just a welling sense of, man, I can't believe the Jesus that loves me
and that is my Savior and that someday I am going to see face to face. You know, it's like, wow.
I hate it. I have to talk about my mom. She's with the Lord. But I remember about two weeks ago,
mom had about three or four dips where we thought she was going to die and she didn't and then she did.
But I remember about two weeks ago, maybe three weeks ago, she had a picture of dad hanging there
where she was and she said, you know what, I want to cross up there right next to dad.
So that the first thing I see is Jesus and the second thing I see is dad, okay?
I want it to be that way in my life, right? The first thing I think about is Jesus. Everything else is second.
And I trust that part of our study this morning will give to you a growing affection for the Lord Jesus
that you will have a longing to see Him face to face, right?
Let me have you look now with me to the passage beginning there in verse 16.
When evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum.
It was now dark and Jesus had not yet come to them.
The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing.
When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat,
and they were frightened.
But He said to them, it is I.
Do not be afraid.
Then they were glad to take Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.
One of the things that I have worked at in our studies in the book of John
is that for the most part, I have kept the cross-references primarily within the book itself.
And I don't think that is a necessary discipline for every time a pastor preaches.
But in my work in the book of John, I've wanted to stay kind of focused in that and limit it.
But we're going to step beyond that this morning in particular,
and we're going to rely upon the synoptics because there are details that I think really help us appreciate
what was going on in this seemingly kind of minor little picture in the ministry that Christ had to His disciples.
So as we take up this passage, let's recognize, first of all, supreme protection.
Not immediately on the face of it.
And you might be thinking that the protection that I am referencing really is what happened in the storm,
and that's not the case.
Our text, beginning there in verse 16, is rather innocent on the face of it.
And if we're not paying attention to the context,
and we don't kind of begin to think outside of this passage itself
and recognize both the hearts of the disciples and things we find elsewhere,
we probably just gloss over and move on.
And it tells us there on the passage that when evening came,
the disciples got in the sea in the boat,
and they launched out across the Sea of Galilee, actually a large lake.
But we need to ask ourselves a question, why?
Why did they do that?
We do get some idea from John chapter 6, verse 14 and 15,
so let's kind of go back a little bit and see where that takes us.
When the people saw the sign that He had done,
they said,
this is indeed the prophet who has come into the world.
Perceiving then that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king,
Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by Himself.
You see, what had happened, and it's important for us to recognize,
is that after Jesus had performed the miracle in turning five loaves and two little fishes
into a meal for probably 20,000 people,
the people were very impressed with this.
This was a significant miracle,
and it's one that they could kind of relate to personally.
And it, whoa, I mean, how many of you like to have free food for the rest of your life,
never worry about dinner,
or how many of you have ever called up your wife at lunchtime and said,
hey, what's for supper?
Jesus is taking care of it.
It's all right.
You know what I mean?
Hey, they liked the idea of having everything cared for,
and they were pressing,
and they were really kind of fired up to get Jesus to be their king.
Now, finger in John, turn back to Matthew chapter 14.
Matthew chapter 14 gives us a little further information
that colors our understanding of what we see there in John chapter 6, verse 16.
In verse 22 and 23, let me read it to you.
Immediately, he made the disciples get into the boat
and go before him to the other side while he dismissed the crowd.
And after he had dismissed the crowds,
he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.
When evening came, he was there alone.
I want you to recognize that, for one,
Jesus actually forced his disciples to leave the environment
in which everything was just completely enthusiastic
in its endorsement and approval of Jesus,
and at least what he had done on the surface.
He sent the disciples away.
He made them go.
Not only did he make the disciples go,
but he dismissed himself from the crowd,
and he removed himself to a distant place
and stepped away from them
and departed from the environment
where the temptation and the enthusiasm of the moment,
everybody,
we want you to be our king.
He got out of that situation.
I want you to recognize that in dismissing the crowd,
Jesus protected his mission
and his own heart
from being sidetracked
by his temporary approval rating
from the ministry and the mission
that his father had sent him to accomplish.
How many of you like when people like you?
Huh? Huh?
On the very face of it,
we like compliments,
but even more than that,
we take great comfort
when people appreciate what we're doing
and let us know how important we are.
And, you know,
you have to stop and realize
that it wasn't just Jesus
that was affected by the attitudes of the crowd,
and Jesus had the wisdom and heart of his father
to know what he was there doing.
I want you to recognize
that the disciples, without question,
must have been carried away a little bit
by kingdom-itis.
What do I mean by kingdom-itis?
Think with me.
The disciples,
if you kind of would track a little later
in the book of John
and actually in the synoptic gospels,
do you remember what their standard arguments
and disputes were about?
It was about who was going to be
the greatest in the kingdom.
Hey, the day is coming
when Jesus is going to be on the throne,
and I'm going to be his right-hand man,
and when I walk in the room,
everybody's going to stand up and say,
yeah, Tim, what does Jesus want?
You know, it's like,
huh, really important person.
I'm close to Jesus, you know.
And the disciples were all about this,
and here, the moment was in front of them,
20,000 people saying,
we want Jesus, we want Jesus.
And how were the disciples getting into this?
Whew, this is the moment.
Guys, it's going to happen.
It had been a little rocky here,
you know, cleansing the temple
and having a little spitting matches
with the Pharisees.
Those haven't gone over very well,
but now where are we?
Jesus has fed the 20,000,
and everybody's with him.
It's time to step up and take control.
And Jesus grabs his low-life disciples.
He says, listen, I love you.
Get in the boat.
No, no, no, Jesus.
Do you understand?
The moment it could pass,
they may not like you so much tomorrow.
By the way, you move a little bit ahead
in John chapter 6,
and you find that Jesus preached his,
what is known as
disciple elimination sermon, right?
But here is Jesus
at the moment of opportunity,
and everybody is saying,
we want you to be our king.
And he grabs his disciples,
and he says, hey, out of here.
I want you to understand that
in doing so,
Jesus, for one thing,
protected himself.
He stayed focused on the mission
of our salvation,
not in being a secular king
and making a momentary difference
in minor issues of politics
there in Judea and Jerusalem.
Jesus also protected his disciples.
I want you to recognize
that their desire for Jesus
to be elevated really had its roots
not in their affection for him principally
as the Lord of glory
and the Savior who came into the world
to save sinners.
We know from repeated illustrations
in the Gospels
that their interest was
in their own position.
They were interested in themselves.
And Jesus, knowing the frailty
of their hearts,
he said, hey, listen,
we're not going to be riding in motorcades.
We're not going to have everybody
kind of bowing and scraping for us.
We're not going to be flying around
in private jets
and doing wonderful things
in arenas
and making lots of money
off of this.
Here, guys,
out of here.
You can imagine
the disciples
kind of saying
in their hearts,
what's the deal with Jesus?
Everybody loves him,
and they love us too.
Why are we doing this?
And so I kind of want you
to imagine with me,
here's Jesus saying,
there's a time for you
to get away
from the temptation
of the moment,
get out of the situation.
And so to you as believers,
I say along with Jesus,
get in the boat, believer,
and get away from temptation.
When you find yourself
in the situation
where your heart
is being drawn
to the affections
of the world
and things that have
no eternal consequence,
it is time
to get in the boat
and get away
from the situation.
And by the way,
where did they go
when they got into the boat?
They went into a storm.
So I think it's fair
for us to recognize
that because of Christ's love
for you
and Christ's love for me,
He will take us away
from a place
that will overwhelm us,
but He may well lead you
into a storm
at the same time.
Isn't that strange?
Because we like to think
that if we're following Jesus,
it's all going to be
smooth sailing
and everything's going
to be perfect
and we're not going
to have any troubles.
Well, Jesus said,
hey, out of here, guys.
I want to protect you.
Get in the boat.
Get!
And off they go
and the next thing
they have
is a mess on their hands.
Now for these
simple little fishermen
that became disciples,
getting into a boat
and rowing across
the Sea of Galilee
was no big detail.
Thanks to Google
and Wikipedia,
I know that a rowboat
about this size
probably make about
two, two and a half hours,
two and a half miles per hour
and possibly
ten miles across.
And so they kind of imagined
a late night arrival
on the other shore
and back off they were
to wherever they wanted to rest.
and that's not the way
it worked out.
You notice there
in verse 18
it says,
the sea became rough
because a strong wind
was blowing.
He had sent them away
from the temporary approval
of the throng
and he'd gone up the mountain
to pray alone.
And as he prayed
throughout that night,
here were the
seamen disciples
rowing
and as they began to row
things got tougher
and tougher
and they had a headwind
and when you're rowing
a large rowboat
with a bunch of guys in it
and there's a headwind against,
they weren't making
any headway at all hardly.
It tells us there
that they'd made
about three or four miles.
And if you pay attention,
they were in,
as it says here,
in the fourth watch.
That's between three
and six o'clock
in the morning.
And so if you turn
into your Bible,
you're there in John,
keep your finger there,
but I want you to go over
to Mark
in Mark chapter 6,
we read that
things were not going
well at all.
Verse 48,
he saw them
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.
We don't do boat rides
very often
and I would venture
to say that if I were
to ask how many
of you have rowed
across a lake before,
there are very few
of you that would say
you've done that.
Rowing is hard work.
It really is.
And rowing a boat
that can carry
12 men
means pushing
a lot of water
out of the way
with brute force
to make any headway.
these guys had been
rowing all night
and the storm
got stronger
and more powerful
and they were
aware that they were
in a difficult
place.
It says there
in Mark,
and we look at it,
it says,
they were making
headway painfully.
What had begun
as a quiet boat ride
had turned
into an absolute
disaster.
Now,
they were experienced
fishermen,
but it's understandable
that the storm
became more
than they could bear.
Incidentally,
this is not
the only storm
that is recorded
in the Gospels.
It's the second one
in which the disciples
found them
in a mess.
Can I give you
just a little bit
of detail
on the first one?
Because in the first one,
guess who was
in the boat
with them?
It was Jesus.
And where was he?
In the boat,
asleep.
I mean,
he was just,
you know,
just resting
and these guys
were just sweating
bullets in the storm
and finally
they wake him up.
I like it
in the King James.
It says,
carest thou not
that we perish?
You know,
I mean,
hey,
if you like a little
King's English,
there it is.
Carest thou not
that we perish?
You know,
it's like,
where are you,
bud?
We're suffering
and you're not
paying attention.
How'd that one end up?
Remember?
Jesus calms the storm
and everything's okay.
Well,
here they were
rowing again.
Knowing the disciples,
I don't think
one of them thought
or one of them
said to the other,
wouldn't it be nice
if Jesus showed up
right now?
Do you think
the disciples
were thinking that way?
No?
They were just
pulling on the oars
and come on,
John,
will you put a little
more back to this thing?
Do you realize
we've only made
three hours,
you know,
three miles here,
we are not doing very,
nobody stopped to think,
oh man,
I wish Jesus were here.
We could really use
Jesus' help right now.
Man,
why hasn't he come to hell?
That didn't go
through their minds.
They were doing
their own thing.
We've done that too,
haven't we?
Haven't we?
Bit in the boat,
slogging across
through the problem
and never stopped
for a moment
to say,
Jesus,
we need your help.
I want you to mark,
still there in Mark
chapter 6.
Let me read it again
to you.
It says,
and he saw that they
were making headway
painfully,
for the wind
was against them.
I want you to understand
that Jesus had,
for one thing,
sent his disciples
away from the temptation
of popularity
into a difficult situation.
I think sometimes
we assume
that the difficult
situations we are in
happen to us
because Jesus
is not paying attention.
That's not necessarily
the case.
Sometimes he puts us there,
and he puts us there
to teach things
about his sufficiency
that we would not
learn apart from that.
over in 2 Corinthians
chapter 12,
the apostle
recounts
or shares with us
the experience
of having some kind
of physical affliction.
The Bible doesn't tell us,
but it does tell us
that he pled with the Lord
three times
to have it taken away,
and the Lord said,
no, no, no.
I've allowed this
in order that you
might learn
my sufficiency.
He said,
when I am weak,
what Paul says,
when I am weak,
then he is strong.
I find out
his sufficiency
in the moment
of my distress
because that's where
I discover
that he can help
the best.
I want you to understand
that Jesus sent
his disciples
into the storm
knowing what was
going to come,
and we can count
on Jesus
to send us
into storms.
Don't think to yourself
that being a believer
is going to mean
that you have
some kind of
contractual guarantee
that you're not going
to have problems
in your life.
That's not true.
In fact,
if you were to track
through the Scriptures,
you will find
over and over again
that in both
the Old Testament
and the New Testament
that God uses
problems and difficulties
to make us stronger
in our walk
and our confidence
in him.
Over in Exodus,
and you don't need
to turn there,
Exodus chapter 13
verse 17 says this,
when God led
his people
out of the land
of Egypt,
he took them
the long way
because he was concerned
that when they
eventually got
to Palestine,
to the promised land,
if they hadn't
been toughened up,
they would have been
too much of the wuss.
Do you know
what a wuss is?
How many of you
know what a wuss is?
A wuss is just
kind of a Casper
milk toast.
You know,
it's a guy
who doesn't
have any backbone.
He said,
he was concerned
that when they
arrived,
they wouldn't
have the guts
to do what
needed to be done,
which was go
sticking long
pointy spears
in people's
bodies and
killing them.
He said,
hey,
you weren't
into the battle.
God toughened
them up.
God left
enemies in Israel.
It also tells us
in the Old Testament,
God left enemies
in Israel in order
that the coming
generation would
know what it was
to deal with
adversity and
hardship.
So,
I want you to
recognize that
Jesus takes us
into storms and
He has an intention
in doing that.
But there's something
else that I want you
to mark here in
this passage.
Remember,
Jesus had gone up
the hill to pray
and He had spent
a great deal of time
in sweet communion
with His Father.
And prayer with
His Father
was not an obligation
or something to be
endured.
It was a time of
enjoyment and blessing
and peace.
But I am struck
by the fact that
even in the midst
of Christ's prayer
with His Father,
He had His eyes
set on His disciples.
That's what we know.
And so,
you can count on
Jesus watching over you
and watching over me
with unconditional love.
One of the books
that Judith and I
over the years
have found to be
so blessed
is a book by
K. Arthur
called
As Silver Refined.
It's a book
that God brought
providentially
into our lives
at a point of
real difficulty
and heartache.
And one of the things
that K. Arthur
points out
is that there's not
a moment in our life
that comes to us
that has not
already been measured
in the hands
of a loving Father
He never lets
something happen
to us
that He's not
already weighed
and measured
for its effect
on you
and His care
and love
means that
that circumstance
that you find yourself in
is going to be something
that is going to produce
growth
and maturity in you.
You know,
we sometimes look
at the hardships
and difficulties
that we're enduring
and we think,
I can't go through that.
I don't know why
I'm in this situation.
I want you to know
that in the midst
of the situation
Jesus is paying attention.
He knows what
you're going through
and He cares for you
and He is in control
of that moment.
There's one other thing
that I want you to find
there in the passage
and turn back
to John chapter 6
if you will
and I want you to find
sufficient encouragement.
Not only was Jesus
protecting His disciples
by taking them away
from the temptation,
not only was He
paying attention
to their need
in the middle
of the storm,
but He brought
sufficient encouragement.
In John chapter 6
verse 19,
here's what we read.
It says,
When they had rowed
about three or four miles,
they saw Jesus
walking on the sea
and coming near the boat
and they were frightened.
They were tired.
They were completely
overwhelmed by the storm.
And you can imagine
twelve wet,
frustrated fishermen
together in a boat
kind of commiserating together.
How many of you
find that grumbling
and complaining
just makes things go better?
Raise your hand
and say,
I know that.
But even though
we know it doesn't
make things go better,
how many of us
do it anyway?
I'm just guessing
that the disciples
were kind of commiserating
with each other.
I mean,
hey,
fuss, fuss, fuss,
and suddenly,
you know,
rowing and someone
looks over there.
Whoa,
who is that?
Walking on the water?
I mean,
talk about a pretty
spectacular miracle.
I mean,
that had to be
a little unnerving,
you know.
Whoa.
In fact,
you know what?
Let's go back
to Matthew chapter 14 again
because we're going
to see that it wasn't like,
hey, Jesus,
good to see you.
Come on over
and help us.
Matthew chapter 14,
let's get a picture
of this thing.
there they are,
sweating.
Jesus arrives.
Not a one of them said,
whew,
glad you're here.
Seeing you reminds me
of the last time
you helped us.
No,
that's not what happened.
Matthew chapter 14,
verse 26 and 27,
it says,
but when the disciples
saw him walking
on the sea,
they were terrified.
How many of you
have been terrified before?
I mean absolutely
to the point
that you couldn't
get your breath.
That's what happened here.
They were terrified.
And it says,
it's a ghost
and they cried out
in fear.
I mean,
these are adult men.
Do you get that?
Now,
listen to me.
Adult men,
men who had spent
their lives
on that lake
fishing,
for them to cry out
in terror
meant that they
were absolutely
overwhelmed
by what they saw
in the moment.
And listen to what
Jesus said.
Verse 27,
and immediately
Jesus spoke to them
saying,
take heart.
It is I.
Do not be afraid.
Take heart.
It is I.
Do not be afraid.
And so as you
pick up on this,
I want you to stop
and realize
that the ones
we're talking about
are hand-picked men,
at least 11 of them,
that are going to be
pillars of the church.
The New Testament church.
And here they are
in storm number two,
completely overwhelmed.
And so when you find
yourself on occasion
completely overwhelmed
and later on
kind of frustrated,
how come I didn't get it?
Will you be patient
with yourself
as Jesus has been
patient with you
and as Jesus was
patient with the disciples?
Don't you wish
that spiritual growth
happened on a
more rapid pattern?
Bear with it.
Jesus is far more
patient with our frailty
than sometimes
we are with ourselves.
And here is Jesus.
Instead of berating,
instead of chewing up
the disciples
and spitting them out,
hey guys,
what's the problem?
Do you remember
the last storm?
What about the feeding
of the...
No, he didn't do
any of that.
He says,
hey, calm down.
It's I.
Take heart.
And so I want you
to understand this morning
that for one thing
as believers
you're going to find
yourself in storms.
Admit it.
There are going
to be storms.
Don't get caught
by the enemy
with this unbelievable
and unreasonable
expectation that
just because you're
a Christian
you're not going
to have heartaches
and difficulties.
You will have them.
But here's what
I want you to understand.
Jesus is with you
in your storm.
That's what we see here.
He had been watching
even in the time
of his sweet communion
with his father.
He had his eyes
on his disciples.
Do you understand that?
He knew their need
and at the right moment
he showed up
and when he did
they were terrified
and he says,
hey, calm down guys.
It's me.
I am so overwhelmed
when I stop
and think about
Christ's love
for his own.
Weak as the disciples
were at grasping
the glory of Christ
and his ability
to take care of needs.
Overwhelmed as they were
by the storm
and then overwhelmed
as they were
by his presence,
Jesus very tenderly
dealt with them
in their frailty
without scolding them.
And mark one other thing.
Look in verse 21.
Then they were glad
to take him
into the boat
and mark the last
little part
and immediately
the boat
was at the land
to which they were going.
I want you to mark this
in your own thoughts
in your own life.
Jesus will meet your need
and he will take his disciples
to the other side.
Do you know that?
Where you are
in your difficulty
and the storm of life
that you're enduring,
I want you to know this,
that Jesus is committed
not to abandon you
and not to leave you
in that mess
and that heartache.
Do you know what he said?
To his disciples,
he said,
Lo, I am with you
even unto the ends
of the age.
I am there with you.
Listen to me carefully.
I want you to get
your hands around this.
The principal purpose
of this book
is not to give us
more information
but to bring us
face to face
with the lover
of our soul
and establish
a permanent,
personal,
genuine relationship
with the Lord of glory.
Do you understand that?
And when you read
this story about Jesus
and the storm,
you have to think
to yourself,
man,
if he put up
with those disciples,
I got a chance.
He loves me
and he is not
turning his back on me
in the midst
of the mess
and the heartache
and the difficulty
that I am enduring.
That's my Jesus.
Do you know that?
And so my question
this morning is this,
truthfully,
I want you to think
of that.
Do you know him?
I'm not talking
about chronology
of the Bible.
Well, I remember
that he came
and he did this.
No.
Do you know him?
Do you have
a personal relationship
with the Lord Jesus Christ?
And by the way,
how do we get that?
Oh, it's by going
to church
on a regular basis
and checking the box
that says I was there.
You know,
it's maybe I need
to be baptized
or maybe I need
to take communion
or maybe,
you know,
hey, listen.
Here's the way
a person comes
to a personal relationship
with Christ.
I want you to hear this
and get it clear
in your mind.
You come to a personal
relationship with Christ
with, first of all,
sensing the convicting
power of the Holy Spirit
that says I am a bankrupt
and miserable sinner
in the presence
of a holy God
and there is nothing
I can do
that can bring to me
credit and glory
and worth
and I stand justly
condemned before God.
the first place
that we come to
is an understanding
of our own unworthiness
and brokenness.
The second thing
that happens
is that the Spirit of God
gives to us
a conviction
that we can't solve
the problem ourself
and we reach out
by faith
and take the finished
work of Christ
when He died on the cross
in your place
He satisfied
the judgment
of a holy God
against you
and He is willing
to give to you
all the credit
of His holy
righteous life
and your sins
are covered
by His blood.
Do you know something
it says in the Bible?
It says that He only made
one O-N-E
one
one sacrifice
for sin
it's done
it's settled
it's permanent
and what does
the Bible say?
Whosoever calls
upon the name
of the Lord
say it with me
shall be saved.
Let's close in prayer.
Holy Father
we are
we are overwhelmed
with