Jesus Walks on Water - John..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. John 6 verse 16. When evening came, the disciples went down to the sea, got into a 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. And they were glad to take him into the boat.

And immediately the boat was at land to which they were going. Amen. This is the word of the Lord. Brothers and sisters and friends, as we continue in our study in this wonderful fourth gospel, this evening we come to the fifth of seven signs recorded for us by the Apostle John. Now, this one is quite a private sign that comes on the heel of not so private sign.

Actually, a miracle that is unparalleled, not only in the amount of witnesses, but also in the amount or the multitude of people who actually partook in this sign. And of course, I'm speaking about the feeding of the 5,000, which we know is more like that's 5,000 men, but we know it's more like maybe 15, 10, 15, maybe even up to 20,000. But the text for our consideration this evening is a miracle or a sign, as the Apostle John would say, it's far more private. It's a sign that only 12, only an audience of 12 will witness. In fact, as we read the account, if we read it carefully, we'll see that it's not just a single miracle that we see before us, but actually several, if we look at the accounts here, and also what's recorded for us in the other Gospels.

The point is, this miracle, this supernatural nature-defying act is for the mere benefit of 12. men, 12 hand-picked disciples by a Lord. This one's for them. But of course, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, God was pleased to inspire three gospel writers to record this miracle. So it's not only for them, but it's for us here, for every Christian who has been blessed to have the word of God in their midst.

And as we look at this sign, as we look at this miracle, we are not only to marvel at our Lord Jesus Christ who walked on water, and primarily that's what is happening here in this sign. We ought to be seeing the amazing feet of our Lord walking on the water, something that is unparalleled. And we ought to be standing back and saying, this is indeed the Son of God. This is indeed God in flesh. But also, as was the case with the feeding of the 5,000, which also pointed to Christ being God in flesh.

But we also saw that there were some profound spiritual truths. In particular, Christ used that opportunity to teach one of His disciples, and in fact all His disciples, profound spiritual insights, foundational spiritual lessons. And we can extract from that lessons for us in every generation for the Christian. So we will, by God's grace, look into this miracle and marvel at our Lord Jesus Christ, who is God in flesh, in the amazing walking on the water. But we'll also take time to have a look at some of the spiritual truths that are profound.

Truths that would be used for our edification. In fact, truths that are just as applicable for us 21st century Christians as it was for those men in 1st century Palestine. So what do we have before us in this passage? What do we have before us in verses 16 through 21? Well, it begins by informing us that the disciples hop into a boat.

In fact, they go down to the sea, they hop into a boat, and they begin to row to the other side of the sea of Tiberias, or otherwise known the Sea of Galilee. in the northern part of Israel. Now, I'm pretty sure as I speak, many of us are probably thinking in their mind or trying to recollect in their mind a geographical, locational view or aeronautical view of Israel to think where this sea is. Maybe we've seen the map in an atlas or maybe in the back of our Bibles when they used to have them, they probably still have those lovely, colourful maps that are so convenient. But if you can imagine, if you imagine the map of Israel to the west, you'll find a body of water that spans the whole western part.

That is the Mediterranean Sea. Now to the east of that is a body of land. And if you look at a map, you'll see as though there's two pools of water, a big pool, a big body on the bottom and a small one at the top. That one on the bottom is the Dead Sea. And then you have the snake like river called the Jordan River that spans 140 kilometers to the north.

and it connects into the Sea of Tiberias or otherwise known as the Sea of Galilee. It's not very big. It's only about maybe 12 or 13 kilometres across and probably one and a half times that in length. So it's not that big. But what a simple map will fail to show you is that the sea actually situated a little over 200 metres below sea level.

That's Mediterranean sea level. It's surrounded by rocky terrain, big mountains that span or extend over 400 metres tall. And so with a geographical setting like that, any slight change in the wind direction say a cool easterly wind that comes over the mountain ranges and connects to the warm wind that covers over the sea itself, well then you have the makings of a storm. And that was commonplace in the Sea of Galilee. Add to that that the sea had an average depth of only 26 metres, not very deep at all, then you have potential for very rough water as well.

And that's exactly what these disciples experienced on this day. Wild winds and rough waters. But you might say most of these men, most of these disciples, or many of them at least, were experienced fishermen. And you're right in saying that. They were not only experienced fishermen, they were local fishermen.

Galilee, the Sea of Galilee, this was their lake. They knew any hazards that may have been around there. If there was any, I guess, if there was any sandbanks or dangers that lurked, they would probably have known them. They knew the good fishing spots. And they would also be pretty good at predicting the weather as well.

They were pretty good at predicting when they should venture out to sea and when they shouldn't venture out to sea. But it seems, at least on a couple of occasions, all the nautical experience seemed to account for very little. Something unusual and something unnerving, even for these skilled anglers, was taking place. One of those occasions is recorded for us in Matthew chapter 8. It was barely a year ago when these fishermen experienced some similar sea conditions.

In that occasion, they were overwhelmed by terror, Matthew tells us. And they were convinced at that point that they were going to die. Here in John 6, I believe, is a similar situation with similar conditions. But there's a difference this time. This time Jesus is not on board.

This time the disciples were on their own. They didn't have the physical presence of the God in flesh to wake up and then to take control of the situation, to bring comfort to their terrifying heart. They didn't have that this time. This time it's dark and it's windy and it's rough and they've been rowing for hours and Christ is not with them. Maybe they're afraid, most likely.

They're afraid. Maybe they're in despair. You know, it's not a nice situation to be in for these men. I'm sure they'd be thinking, if you ask them the question, they would probably say, we would rather be anywhere but here. going through that trouble, going through that affliction, that tribulating and the turbulent waters, they're probably thinking in their mind, we would rather be anywhere but here right now.

And so I ask you, has there ever been a time in your life where you've thought, I would rather be anywhere but not here? I wish I was not where I am. But here's the thing. They're exactly, these men, are exactly where Jesus wants them to be. Exactly.

This was his sovereign purpose all along, we'll come to see. You see the author of this gospel, the fourth gospel, has gone to great lengths already to show his readers who this Jesus of Nazareth is. In fact, from the first chapter, even from the first verse in the first chapter, we see that Jesus is deity. That he is the divine Son of God. And we know from the purpose statement that we have read multiple occasions in chapter 20 that the very reason that the Apostle John has actually recorded the seven signs for us is that those who read these accounts, those who read about these signs, that they would know that this Jesus is the Christ.

that He is indeed the Son of God, and believing upon Him, trusting upon Him, embracing Him with faith, one receives eternal life. So John has made it clear on several occasions that Jesus is God, that He is the Sovereign, that He is the Omniscient One, that He is the One who knows all, even the secret things of the past, and the present, and the future. Even in the last six chapters, we've seen this evident over and over again. For example, in chapter 1, when Jesus meets with Nathanael and reveals the contents of his heart. You remember when Nathanael walked away?

You remember what Nathanael said and what he confessed about Christ? He said, you are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel. In chapter 2, our Lord doesn't entrust himself to the Jews that seem to have some form of faith in him. But in verse 25 of that chapter, he says Jesus does not entrust himself to them because he knows what is in man.

He knows the true followers from those that are false. In chapter 4, we see the Samaritan woman. Do you remember after her encounter with Jesus at the well? She leaves her water jar back and she runs to the town of Saika and then she shouts and tells the people of that town, come, come with me and see the man who has told me everything I have ever done. Jesus' eyes are all seeing.

And more recently, only a few hours ago, Jesus puts His disciples on a boat, sends them across the sea. He dismisses the crowds, and He goes further up the mountain. Why? Because the text tells us that this swarm of people, the multitude of people who were all there, wanted to forcefully make Him king. He knew their intentions.

He knows everything. Nothing is hidden from His view. Nothing catches Him by surprise, beloved. Not even this storm that is going to come to His disciples. And if you caught what I said earlier, Jesus, knowing full well that the storm would rage, and the seas would be violently churning over, He not only permits His disciples to get on the boat, No.

He instructs them to do so. As I said earlier, this account is recorded for us in three Gospels. We have a record in Matthew 14. We have a record in Mark chapter 6. Luke omits it, but then we have here John chapter 6.

In both Matthew and Mark, we're told that Jesus made his disciples and get on the boat. Now we don't know why, but I suspect maybe to remove them from the influence of the crowd. These people who want to make Jesus king by force. And if you think about the disciples at that point, this is the high point of Jesus' popularity in Judea, and my apologies, in Galilee. And the disciples are directly associated with Christ.

What a temptation! Everyone wants to make your rabbi king. What does that make you? Possibly. Maybe Jesus was protecting them.

The text does not tell us, but it is a possibility. But what we do know, however, is in the original language, it's literally, he compelled or constrained them. to get on the boat. Now, that's not to suggest that the disciples went on the boat kicking and screaming. That's not what the text is saying.

But what the text is saying, rather, is that Jesus initiated his divine purpose. And that divine purpose included his disciples getting on that wooden boat, going out on the Sea of Galilee that night, where only in a few hours it's going to turn very, very ugly. That was His divine plan. Beloved, Jesus put His disciples on that boat and sent them out in full knowledge of what's to come. And it's so important, it's so important that we recognize this truth.

All too often in our contemporary day, what is proclaimed about being a follower of Jesus Christ is foreign to sacred scripture. All too often the message is come to Jesus and everything in your life suddenly works out. You will experience no trouble. Your problems will dissolve. Your worries evaporate.

No more struggle. No more toiling. No more trouble. That's a false gospel. That's not truth.

Beware of anyone who teaches these lies, because the Lord himself says in chapter 16 to these same men, he says, in this world, you will, you will have tribulation. You will. But these disciples right now, they find themselves in the midst of that tribulation, in the midst of that trouble, precisely because their Savior has put them there. and precisely because of their obedience to their Master's will. For most, that's a very hard truth to swallow.

You see, if there's any evidence of sin, we would be far more comfortable saying it's because they've sinned. Because if we can see sin, and everyone's a sinner, we know that. But if there's any evident sin, we would love to stand back and say, no, no, it's because of their sin that they're suffering. That anguish is caused because of their unrighteousness, because of their trespass against God. We would be comfortable, most comfortable, looking at the teaching of Paul in 2 Corinthians 7 and saying, that's what he's talking about.

The anguish that God, the sorrow that comes from one who sins, that leads him to repentance, true repentance, and then life. And that's true for many, many people. Now, mine probably goes out to Peter as an example of this. He denied Christ three times, right? The text tells us, but then he went out and he wept bitterly.

caused by sin. But that's not to say that all troubles that all affliction, that all anguish experienced by a child of God is directly caused by their sin. That's not the case in this passage. It's clear that these disciples, as I said earlier, are experiencing this turmoil, this suffering, this tribulation precisely because of their obedience to their Master's words, get on the boat and get to the other side. This means Jesus, who is sovereign over all, has planned for His disciples, the ones He loves with an unfathomable love to experience this deep anguish.

But we'll come to see, beloved, that the trouble He allows will always ultimately be for the good of His people. Always. But right now, right now in the middle of this tribulation, in the middle of this rough weather, It may be hard for them to see it. The sea is raging. And now they're experiencing the extremes of the human emotions.

So they may not see it that way right now. It may be many unnerving hours before they see this. And those hours may seem like eternity when you're going through that affliction. And it'd be a long time for them at least before they get to see that light in the darkness. And by the way, when the apostle John tells us in verse 17, it was dark and Jesus had not yet come.

It's not only to suggest that the sun has come down because the verse before that in 16, He's already told us that it was evening. No, that's not what he's trying to do. You see, the apostle here of the fourth gospel, he brings out on many occasions dichotomies. He brings out, for example, above and below. For example, night and day, or light and darkness.

And on many occasions, although there is two meanings, there's a physical meaning, which is true, but there's also a spiritual meaning to what he's saying. I'll give you an example. For example, in chapter 13, we're told that Judas, the betrayer of Christ, that when Satan entered Judas and he departed from the presence of our Lord, John tells us, and it was night. Now that's true, because out it was night, but he's alluding to a deeper spiritual truth. You see, the darkness had overcome this betrayer, and now is the time for that darkness to have its hour, as Luke would say in Luke 22.

So here in this passage, it's dark. The physical presence of the light of the world, Jesus Christ, is absence. This spells out a coming time for these disciples, that will be dark. They'll experience anguish, they'll experience turbulence, and they'll experience trouble. Now when we look down and we read down here that they travel three or four miles, that's about six kilometers in Australian talk, I don't want you to think for a moment, well that's not too bad.

That's not that far, that couldn't have been that long. Surely, sure, on a good day with some strong men behind the oars on a 25, 26 foot, the timber boat, yeah, you could probably do that amount of ground in about an hour. Two hours tops. But you see, John, on many occasions, I think at least, he presupposes that his readers have at least a cursory understanding or knowledge of the other synoptic Gospels. Because when we do look at the other synoptic Gospels, like the Gospel of Mark and the parallel account that's found there, he tells us that these disciples made very little ground because there was a very strong headwind, but he also tells us that there was straining at the oars, battling those conditions.

until the fourth watch of the night. Beloved, that is between 3 and 6 a.m. Now if we see that Jesus put them on the boat and sent them off around maybe 6 or 7 in the evening, dispelled the crowd and put them on the boat, then we're looking at disciples that are battling these horrendous conditions for nine hours or more. If you've ever rowed for even an hour in some headwind, you will know the feeling of your shoulders burning and you feel like your arms are going to fall off after even an hour.

Nine hours of extreme weather conditions. The rocking and the rolling, this timber hull moving, the seasickness would have set in. Even though they're experienced fishermen, they're probably not experienced to wind and waves of this nature. The stomach begins to churn, adding to the fact that it was darkness. Beloved, this makes for a very terrifying situation for the disciples.

Now as I said before, they have been through something similar and we mentioned Matthew chapter 8. It's about a year ago or thereabouts. Back then they experienced something similar and they woke up our Lord. And our Lord, we know the story, He rebuked the wind and the waves and instantly there was peace. Their fears dissipated immediately and they were comforted.

What a glorious occasion for these disciples. But here, now, Jesus is not with them. He's not on board. What do they do? Beloved, what would you do?

You think maybe they cried out to God? You think maybe they cried out to Christ in their distress? Save us! Save us, Lord! Where are you, God?

God, we need you. These are men who knew the importance of prayer. Perhaps they were reminded of Isaiah 43, speaking of the saving power of Yahweh. It reads, when you pass through the waters, I will be with you. and through the rivers they shall not overwhelm you.

Perhaps, perhaps they were reminded that maybe they began to pray and cry out for help. And if that was the case, the question that may be on our minds is this, why did help not come immediately? Why weren't they relieved of their distress immediately? Why allow? Why would Christ allow His loved ones experience this torment for nine long hours?

You see, the natural man, the flesh at this point would think for these disciples and for all of us, and we can identify with this, at this point what happens to the natural man is doubts begin to set in. They start to question their decisions. Start to question, should we have come out in the first place? Maybe we should have just walked along the sea. Maybe if we just remained behind.

Or another natural instinct would be to blame. to begin the blame game. Why would Jesus allow us to come out on the sea when he knew? Actually, why would he send us out here when we have experienced as his disciples that he is indeed the Son of God, that he is indeed sovereign, that he also knows all things? Maybe the blame game.

Maybe they even thought Jesus didn't even love us. These may be the things that we experience when we go through these dark, dark times. We question so much in those instances. And brothers and sisters, this sermon so far has been quite somber and quite sad. And there is a reason for that.

You see, we've been We've been looking at this situation from man's point of view and not from God's point of view. You see, I know that there are some within the sound of my voice who have experienced this sort of turmoil, this sort of tribulation, this sort of difficulty and hardship. The real dark pain that comes in this life, when you feel that your heart's been torn from within you, could have been a physical thing or a mental or a spiritual thing. It could be financial. Tribulation can come in many, many ways.

Fear sets in, anxiety takes over, hopelessness and despair becomes one state. And there may be situations where you've also cried out to God and you said, God, I need you. You know, we know as Christians, as believers, we know the glorious truth of the intimacy that we have with our Savior. We know what newness to Christ feels like. And we love it.

It's a blessed time. We know what the objective peace is between God and sinners who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ, but we have also been blessed with a subjective peace, a peace we experience, an intimacy that we experience, a joy that we experience in being in Christ. So beloved, we know the difference. We know when we sense that we are close to Him. And there are times where we sense that we are distant from Him.

And we plead with Him and we say, Lord, why is this so? And we continue to do the things that we know are right in our Christian disciplines. We continue to look to Christ for as our hope. But there's a distance and we pray. We pray, Lord, help me in my affliction.

Help me in this anxiety, in this anguish. Lord, be with me through this time. And sometimes those prayers seem to be unanswered. Sometimes we just feel like we've been left alone. I don't know.

Maybe that's happening here with the disciples. You know, Job knew this all too well. You see, Job experienced this anguish of the heart. We know the story of Job. He felt abandoned by God.

And at a dark point, at the low and the darkest point of his life, listen to his words. He says, but when I hoped for good, evil came. And then he goes on and says, and when I waited for light, darkness came. What a dark place to be. What a dark place to be.

But as I said earlier, We've been looking at this from a human point of view, from man's point of view. And beloved, whenever we look at a situation and we look at it from only merely our point of view, from a sinner's point of view, it will only be bleak and gloomy and bring us to despair because our hope is not in us. Our hope is apart from us. Our hope is in Christ. It is not in our perceptions of the situation.

It's not in our own understanding. It is not in our circumstances or the circumstances of our life that we find ourselves in. Beloved, hear me now. Our hope is in the eternal, sovereign, omnipotent, and omnipresent Son of God. He is ever faithful, and He is ever good, and He is good in all His ways, always keeping His promises to keep and sustain His own until it's time to take them home.

The truth of the matter is this. He's infinitely glorious, far more glorious than we could ever fathom. And so that means that in this life, He'll purpose, He'll sovereignly, divinely purpose to allow times of darkness, times of anguish, times of trials and tribulations in order to mature us. in order to strengthen our faith, in order to deepen our understanding of His goodness and His greatness. You see, the disciples had already experienced only hours earlier the almighty hand of God when He created an abundant supply of food for thousands.

And the bread symbol, the bread was a symbol that we'll come to see in future weeks, that it's a symbol of the body of Christ. You've eaten and you've sustained your physical body, but the true bread of heaven, the bread of life is Jesus Christ himself. He is the life giver. But he needs to teach the disciples that he's not only the life giver, but he's the life sustainer. that He will lovingly and carefully sustain His own under His sovereignty and by His grace and through His mercy until He calls them home.

The disciples would need to know this. They would need to understand this, brothers and sisters. We need to know these truths. The disciples here need to know these truths beyond the physical. Because it's true, Jesus is not physically there with them.

But He promises to be spiritually with His people. And there will be a time for these disciples when our Lord will depart from them physically. Will they trust Him in His spiritual presence also? They were sent in a storm by our Lord. And from their own viewpoint, maybe, maybe they thought Christ had forsaken them, maybe.

But beloved, nothing can be further from the truth. Because if we ask the question, had Jesus really abandoned his own? Had he really sent his own into the midst of danger and said, I'll see you in nine hours, I'm gone? No, no, no. Not at all.

Because despite the darkness, despite the distance, despite the wind and the waves, our Lord knew exactly where His loved ones were because His all-seeing eye had never departed from them. In Mark 6, verse 48, we're told that Jesus' eye was always. His eye was on His disciples. He could experience their distress. He knows what they were going through.

He could see their pain. He knew their fears. But he also knew that that affliction was necessary for them to mature into the men that he is making them to be. Brothers and sisters, we must realize that He knows exactly what you and I are going through. I have no idea.

For many of you, what is in the private place of your heart, the struggles you struggle with, the afflictions, the trials that you may be going through, the tribulations that you may be going through, the sorrows, the pains, Beloved, don't think for a moment he's unaware of our human experiences, because he is the God-man who can sympathize with us. More of that during the Lord's Supper. But on this point, he knows exactly where you are. He knows exactly what you're going through. He can see your hardship.

We may feel when we're in the midst of the storm, overwhelmed by the circumstances. They may feel like they're too heavy for us to bear. Our natural response, beloved, the natural response of a natural man or a woman is despair and even panic. And we may even question, why, Lord? Why would you allow this happen to me?

Why am I going through what I'm going through? Why would you allow this pain, O Lord? But He knows. He knows. Question is, beloved, can you trust Him?

Can you trust Him? You see, the disciples couldn't see Jesus sitting on that mountain and being able to see his beloved disciples and know exactly what they're going through. They were too busy rowing and rowing. It was dark, no doubt. The wind and the wave was collecting the water across their face.

They probably couldn't have seen more than 10 meters in front of them. But there was one on the mountain who was seeing every single move. He saw them. He was never at any point absent from them. And nor is He ever absent from His own people.

Nor is He absent from any of us here tonight who are trusting in Christ, who are found united in Him and redeemed by Him and forgiven by His precious blood. Brothers and sisters, we are fickle. We have fickle minds. We think somehow that the presence of Christ is only in association with how we're feeling in the moment, that we feel close, we sense His nearness, therefore He's near. And then when we find ourselves maybe feeling alone or not sensing the intimacy that we once had, we sometimes think that we are distant, that He's a distant, He's departed from us.

That's not true. He's the omnipresent God who loves His own, and His promise is He'll never leave them or forsake them. He'll be with them until the end of the age. Beloved, even if sometimes, and he does this, sometimes he remains silent. Sometimes you will pray.

And sometimes it may seem like he's not answering your prayers. Sometimes he remains silent. But even in those times, beloved, it is for your good and mine. But his presence is always, always with his people. He's also sovereign.

and he's in complete control. You see, this is demonstrated by his total power over nature when he comes to the disciples' rescue. He wills the wind to cease, and it ceases. The waves stop. Nature obeys his command.

In his sovereignty, he would have ceased the storm much earlier. Could he have ceased the storm much earlier? Yes, of course he could have, but he didn't. Beloved, He knows best. But I'll tell you what He did do.

Every one of those waves, the height of every single one of those waves was determined by Him. The strength of the wind, that's determined by Him. The depth and the shade of the darkness that they were going through, That was determined by Him. He's completely sovereign over every detail of your suffering and mine. That should give us so much rest.

That should give us so much comfort to know that He is not surprised by anything, and in fact, He brings all things to pass. He's sovereign over all. And so it should give us a sense that if our sovereign God only allows that which is for our own good to come our way, then we ought to come to the point where we say, whatever He's appointed for me, may I receive with joy and gladness. May that be our prayer beloved. May that be our prayer because we know that He's only allowed those things to come our way so that He would mature us, that He would strengthen us, that He would make you and I the people that He intends to make us.

Hear this, every single trial that comes our way, every tribulation and every trouble is fashioned by Him to produce in you and I Christlikeness if you are in Christ. Christ-likeness to be like our Savior. His eyes are always on us. He knows what we're going through. His presence never leaves us.

He's sovereign over our tribulations, and His timing is perfect. From our point of view, we think, I want instant relief. We don't like pain. None of us like pain. We don't like to struggle.

We don't like the trouble. We would prefer none of that come our way. Sure, that's who we are. That's the truth. But when it does come our way, we want instant relief.

We're a society and a culture where we want instant relief from pain because we don't want to bear any burdens or any pain or hardship. So our prayers may be to the tune of, Lord, please, please remove this from me instantly. Lord, please take me out of this trouble. Lord, please fix this situation. I can't bear it anymore.

I can't take another week. I can't take another day or an hour. Lord, I can't even take another minute. But beloved, we do not know our breaking points. This is in His hands.

He's the one who knows what we can bear and how much we can bear. Remember, He's the one who knows what is in, man. He knows more about you and I than we know about ourselves. And beloved, he is never in a hurry. Never in a hurry.

He knows exactly what to do and when to do it. And he knows how to rescue his own. God is never late for an appointment. Remember that. Draw strength in that.

Believe in that. Because there will come times, and you may have experienced some of the tribulations I'm speaking about, and you may not, but the Bible is clear. For those who seek to live a godly life, there will be persecution. Jesus is clear that there is much tribulation in this world. There will be tribulation.

I hope none of that on you. But beloved, it will come. If you have a heart that beats and you have lungs that are filled with air, that tribulation will come. And you might come to a point where you've groaned. and you've rowed, and you've rowed, and you've rowed, and you're literally out of strength, and you feel like your shoulders are burning, and your arms are going to fall off, as though you've got no more strength.

It's dark, it's gloomy, and you're exhausted. You've come to the end of your tether. Maybe the disciples felt that way as well. Maybe they were okay for the first hour, or maybe even the second. Third would have been uncomfortable.

After that, they wanted no more, I'm sure. I've been in rough waves, nothing like this, and it's not pleasant. Surely they cried out for help. But then the fourth hour came, and no help. And then the fifth, and the sixth hour.

How long, O Lord? How long? How long will you wait until you come and rescue me? We do get the answer. But it's not always the answer that we want to hear.

Because we want to hear, yes, I'm going to immediately rescue you. But that's not what he says. It's not what he says here. And for the most part, that's probably not what he says for our spiritual Christian experience. But he also doesn't say no.

Instead, his answer is so much more loving. Because he comes back with, grow. Grow. The time you spend in this affliction, the time you spend under this anguish is a time that you will grow and I will make sure of it because Jesus is in control of your growth. And he brings those things to you so that you will grow in your maturity.

so that you would grow in your Christ likeness. Remember, that's the goal. And so whatever trials come your way and how long they last, beloved, please hear me out. That is his business, not ours. For us, we ought to place our eyes upon Christ.

We should fix our gaze upon Jesus Christ, trusting him for all things. The process is His. This is how He edifies us. This is how He sanctifies us. This is how He brings about Christ's likeness in us through this tribulation, through the anguish, through the sufferings, and so forth.

But I do know one thing about the process that I'm pretty sure of. On many occasions, He'll bring a person to the low point, to a point where you feel that you have absolutely no more to give, to a point where you actually feel you're broken. Because it's in that point you realize, I have no strength, but He is my strength. I am weak, but He is strong. You see, the Apostle Paul experienced this exact same thing.

In 2 Corinthians 1, listen to what he says. For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the afflictions we experienced in Asia. For we were utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death, but that was to make us rely not on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such deadly peril, and He will deliver us.

On Him we have set our hope that He will deliver us again." Aren't they glorious, glorious truths. And that hope, beloved, is not in vain. Because not only is He faithful, but He's infinitely wise in His workings. Look at the disciples, for example.

They've still, at this point, still got a lot to learn. We know that. But they're definitely growing in their faith. You see, the first time around in Matthew 8, when the winds came and the waves came and they pounded against the vessel, you know what they did? They panicked.

They came to Christ and woke him up and they cried out, Save us, Lord, we are perishing. But now when Jesus comes to their rescue, yes, they are afraid. But they're still obeying His command. Did you see that in the text? Despite their exhaustion, they're still rowing.

They're still rowing. It may have seemed like their prayers were not answered. It may be that their lives are still in the balance. It's still dark and it's still windy and the waves are still pounding. But they remain the course that they were given by their Lord.

And they continue to row. In chapter 8, He, that's our Lord, rebukes them because of their little faith. Now, no such rebuke is found on the lips of our Saviour. The disciples are slowly maturing spiritually. His divine process that works through the affliction and the suffering, it works.

It works. Do you believe that? Beloved, will you still be rowing when He comes to rescue you? Will you still be rowing in obedience to His Word when He comes finally to take you home? That's the course He's given.

That's His will. That's His instruction. Will we fix our gaze upon Him and trust Him? Despite the dangers, there is no safer place to be than in the very will of God. They look up, and this is a glorious scene.

I love this. They look up and they see the form of a man walking on the water towards them. What an incredible scene for these men. Now, they were definitely, definitely frightened. In the other Gospels, we're told that they thought they saw a ghost.

And they were terrified. You see, some commentators suggest that they lacked faith, that they didn't have the trust in Christ, and that's why, or the reason for their fear. And I'm not denying that that's a possibility, absolutely. But they weren't expecting Christ to walk on the lake or on the sea to come and meet them. They probably weren't expecting that.

And they see this man walking towards them. Yes, they're going to be terrified. They're six kilometers out, remember, in the middle of the sea, and a man starts to walk towards them. But what a display of the deity of our Lord. What a display of the Godness of Christ, defiling nature and walking completely unaffected in the storm, as though He was on the sea, as though He was walking on dry land.

What a sight. No doubt this site would have been etched into John's memory, into all the disciples' memory. This is truly a display of God in flesh, that Christ is the Son of God, God himself. But what does he say when he gets there? Words that are so beautiful.

Words that bring instant tranquility to the soul. He says, it is I, do not be afraid. It is I, do not be afraid. First, he directs the attention of the disciples upon their master. And he says, it is I.

Literally, ego I me, I am. Do not be afraid. Although some commentators do play down the I am here to suggest that what he's saying is simply, hey, it's me, I'm your savior, and that's a strong possibility. But I tend to think perhaps Jesus was indeed expressing his identity as Yahweh here. The covenant name given to Moses, I am.

Because who else can walk on water unaffected by the waves? Who else can bring instant calm? to the wind and the waves? Who else can transport the boat, the remaining six or so kilometers back to land just like that? And who else can say to these terrified men, do not be afraid and expect their fear and their anxieties to melt away in an instant?

Who else? Beloved, who else is worthy of worship other than Yahweh himself? Because the other evidence that our Lord's prescription, that His prescription to sanctify, to edify, to make His own more like Jesus Christ through the tribulations and the sufferings that come our way, that He is divinely appointed, producing that mature faith, is found in the parallel passage in Matthew 14, which tells us what the reaction of those on board was. Because the first time around in Matthew, in Matthew 8, the disciples, this was their response. They said, what sort of a man is this?

That even the winds and the sea obey him. Great. I mean, they've recognized something special in this man. But now, now in the parallel passage to what we're reading back in Matthew 14, listen to what they say. The term in the Greek suggests that they fall on their knees.

and they worship Him, and this is what the declaration of their lips is. Truly this is the Son of God. The sovereign process, the sovereign divine process through which our Lord uses trials and tribulations to make His own more like His beloved Son. Beloved, they work, and we need to trust Him with it. It may feel unbearable in the moment, But when it's over, and the trial comes to an end, and He comes and rescues you or I from our tribulation and beloved, He will rescue us either in this age or the age to come.

But when that happens, the evidence in this age of Christ's likeness makes it all worthwhile. I can imagine if the disciples were discussing this event some years later, do you think, honestly, that they would have any resentment around the fact that Jesus didn't come and save them earlier? Do you think they were still bitter maybe? And why didn't Christ? No, no, no way.

I wouldn't even think there'd be any mention of the pain or the suffering or the fear or the anguish that they went through. I wouldn't think so. I think that would have been just completely, completely marveled. Our Master walks on water. How great is this Jesus?

How great is this God? And He's come to save us from our fears. Incredible. Whatever affliction we come across, Whatever affliction we come across is used by his sovereign purposes. Paul, the Apostle Paul, who endured the almost impossible of tribulations that came his way.

You know what he calls them? He calls them light momentary afflictions. If Paul calls them that, what do we call them? Beloved, He brought these people to a place, these disciples to a place where they were in anguish and fear, so that He would teach them a great lesson about Himself. That their Master is indeed God.

And He loves them, and He cares for them, and He'll provide for them. And He's the one who says, fear not. And they ought to listen. Because on the next day, these disciples who we've seen grow in their spiritual walk with Christ, these disciples who only a few hours earlier through Philip and Andrew, they underestimated the power of Christ when He said, how do we feed all these people? You remember the story.

And Andrew quickly went to his mathematics, my apologies, Philip, went to his mathematics and said, Lord, you know, if eight months worth of wages and we couldn't even put a bite in all these people's mouths. And then Andrew comes along and says, well, we've got some food, but what is this for so many? Underestimated the power of God in Christ Jesus. But on the very next day, Jesus teaches a wonderful, wonderful lesson about him being the bread of life. But then what happens is something interesting.

Many of his followers start to desert him and walk away. But the 12 don't walk away. They stand up and they say, No, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And we have believed and have come to know.

We have believed and we have come to know that you are the Holy One of God. God's process works. And I want to end with this quote. I want to end with quoting the rest of the verse that I began earlier on in this sermon. And in fact, this is the reason why we remain hopeful in the time of exile in this land until the Lord takes us back.

This is why we can have the strength to persevere through the difficulties and the trials that come our way. It's because John 16, 33, and I quoted the first part, Jesus says, in this world you will have tribulation. Now that's the dark bit for you and I, but here comes the hope. But take heart. I have overcome the world.

Let's pray.