In this sermon, Pastor Dave Capoccia examines John 6:16-21 and the apostle John’s account of Jesus’ walking on the Sea of Galilee. John reports Jesus’ miraculous walking on water so that you will fear Jesus as the Christ and Son of God and, believing in Jesus, might find all your fears relieved.
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let’s pray together heavenly father thank you for this time now to hear from you in your word hear from our Lord Jesus Christ hear from the spirit we need your word Lord it is more than our necessary food help me to be able to declare it Lord and I pray God that like these disciples we would encounter you today as you really are and therefore believe in you with saving faith in Jesus name amen have you ever encountered a scene in real life that reminded you of a scary part of a movie maybe you’re walking around a city at night using Google Maps and the directions tell you to turn down a dark and deserted Street you say to yourself yeah I’m not going that way I’ve seen enough movies to know what happens on these kind of streets maybe you’re home cozy in your bed it’s the middle of the night the room is dark and there’s an intense Windstorm outside and amid the constant wailing of the wind through the cracks of the window you hear the wrapping of some tree branches against the window and you’re reminded of a movie you’ve watched where amid such a scene the window suddenly shatters and the wild outside rushes into the room you remind yourself that this is very unlikely to happen but you still say a quick prayer as you try to go back to sleep where Emma and I currently live sometimes I go outside at night to take out the trash or something and I can see in the distance a house it’s on the same street and there’s this flickering light I used to think the light was the light of the TV inside the house but over time I realized no this is a light outside the house and it’s always flickering I am of course am reminded of all the movies I’ve seen where somebody walks up slowly to a building with a flickering light or maybe they walk into the building and it a flickering light and right when they go inside or right when they come up to the building what happens the light goes out and you know nothing good happens after that so even at a distance when I see that flickering light I am unnerved I don’t know how the people who live there can stand it even though I know rationally there’s nothing necessarily dangerous about a flickering light why am I bringing up these spooky scenes to you this morning because in the passage before us today in the Gospel of John Jesus disciples enter into a situation that resembles the scary part of a movie and like in the movies those disciples they are not scared at first they do not recognize necessarily any danger at first but then they have a sudden encounter that terrifies them so much so that they all grown men each cry out in fear what is it that they encounter that so frightens them is it a deadly storm is it a monster is it a serial killer no something far more frightening it’s the holy and all powerful god of the universe yet in almost the very same moment moment in which his appearance petrifies the disciples the Son of God speak such words to them to not only dispel their fears but to make them eager to receive him and to cause him to remain with them what is this scary encounter and what can it show us about how we should think about and how we should respond to Jesus that’s what I want to investigate with you today so please take your Bibles and open to John chapter 6 as we look together at a Divine encounter on a dark sea a Divine encounter on a dark sea we’re in John 6:16 to 21 shorter passage than what we usually cover this is Pew Bible page 1065 by the way recall the context Jesus has just miraculously fed a massive crowd on the northeast side of the Sea of Galilee the Jews who were making up that crowd are so impressed by this miracle that they conclude Jesus is the Prophet The Promised Prophet who would be like Moses and that now is the time to take Jesus and make him King by force if necessary take Jesus by force yeah Jesus knows their plan and forestalls their efforts he with draws to a mountain by himself alone let’s see what happens next as we read John 6:16 to 21 now when evening came his disciples went down to the Sea and after getting into a boat they started to cross the sea to capernium it had already become dark and Jesus had not yet come to them the sea began to be stirred up by because of a strong wind because a strong wind was blowing then when when they had rode about 3 or 4 miles they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat and they were frightened but he said to them it is I do not be afraid so they were willing to receive him into the boat IM and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going while Jesus walking on the water is a pretty famous Miracle the inclusion of the narrative about that Miracle here in the middle of chapter six is a bit puzzling as I told you last time last time we were in John the explanation of the true significance of Jesus miraculously feeding 20 to 25,000 people the explanation is coming later in the chapter and occupies most of the chapter verses 22- 71 so why does John also include for his readers this account of Jesus walking on the water a miracle which aside from one unanswered question in verse 25 does not receive any further comment or explanation from Jesus or John for the rest of the book why include it then well part of the answer must be simple historical accuracy from the eyewitness John about Jesus because as the parallel accounts of Matthew 14 which we read earlier and Mark 6 show us Jesus did miraculously walk on water right after miraculously feeding the crowd so John here is simply reporting what happened next in the history of Jesus life nothing wrong with that we could add as another part of the answer as to why John includes this that even though John wants to focus on the miraculous food miracle and Jesus explanation of it in capernium John must explain for his readers how Jesus got back to capernium in the first place the thus John relates the crossing episode and Jesus miraculously walking on the water but I believe the most important reason why John includes this account here is to give to the readers the same revelation of the Son of God that Jesus himself sought to give to his disciples in compliment to what they just witnessed in his multiplying the Loaves and Fishes remember the Jews learned the wrong lesson from Jesus food Miracle they learned that Jesus was a messiah who was going to meet all their needs and fulfill all their hopes and dreams including most notably kicking out the Romans and setting up a kingdom of total Prosperity the Jews even thought that Jesus could be forced or flattered into giving them whatever they wanted now Jesus is indeed the Messiah and King they were right about that but he was not the king like they thought he was King their concept of Jesus as king and as Son of God was way too low way too small way too man centered so for his disciples Jesus wants to help the SEC set the record straight about who he really is and what kind of King he really is and the disciples need this reentering why do I say that well if we again consider the parallel accounts to this passage in Matthew 14 and Mark 6 Mark 6 51-52 tells us that after the disciples see Jesus walking on the water and getting into the boat they were utterly astonished for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves but their heart was hardened isn’t that interesting according to Mark Jesus does this massive and merci merciful Miracle of multiplying food but the disciples are not moved to Greater Faith or Devotion to Jesus because of it instead their hearts are hardened they Gain No in insight into Jesus at all how can this be well maybe the disciples are just as disappointed in Jesus as the Jewish crowd is maybe the disciples too were swept up in the enthusiasm of proclaiming Jesus king then and there and inaugurating messiah’s blessed Kingdom but Jesus says no and they can’t understand why why won’t Jesus give the people what they want don’t we want what God wants isn’t this God’s will well whatever the reasons the the disciples are not moved to worship as a result of the food mirac Miracle yet listen to what Matthew records as a result of Jesus Miracle on the sea this walking on the water Matthew 14:33 Matthew 14:33 and those who are in the boat worshiped him saying you are certainly God’s son Ah that’s different isn’t it that’s the right response now the disciples get it now they see King Jesus as they ought not as a genie to serve their will but as the awesome God whose will they must serve in CS Lewis The Chronicles of Narnia series The Lion alen functions as a symbol for God even for Jesus and there’s a statement about alen in the first book of the series The Lion The Witch in the wardrobe that has always stood out to me when one of the children who visiting Narnia the youngest Lucy asks if Asen upon learning that he is a lion isn’t safe a resident of Narnia Mr Beaver replies safe don’t you hear what Mrs Beaver tells you who said anything about safe of course he isn’t safe but he’s good he’s the king I tell you this is similar to a statement made by Mr Beaver about Asen at the end of the book he says again about Asen he’ll be coming and going one day you’ll see him and another you won’t he doesn’t like being tied down and of course he has other countries to attend to it’s quite all right he’ll often drop in only you mustn’t press him he’s wild you know not like a tame Lion in these statements about the fictional character Asen Lewis has captured something true about our real savior even the same profound truth that I would say is communicated in this short passage John 616- 21 Jesus is the son of God he is a good and powerful King the lion of the tribe of Judah but he is not a tame lion he is not a king to be domesticated manipulated imposed upon with your own personal agenda as to what God ought to be say or do in fact if this is the way you think and believe about Jesus then you don’t have Jesus and you don’t have his eternal life at all but if you’re willing to drop your agenda drop your preconceived notions of God to behold Jesus as he really is well then you will see the glory of God you will be moved to worship and you will gain eternal life just as Jesus promises if I may borrow some language from John Newton’s Amazing Grace here’s how I would summarize the main idea of this passage in John 6:16 to 21 John reports Jesus miraculous walking on the water so that you will fear Jesus as the Christ and the Son of God and believing in Jesus might find all your fears relieved John reports Jesus miraculous walking on water so that you will fear Jesus as the Christ and the Son of God as you ought but then also believing in Jesus would find all your fears relieved we can divide the passage into three parts to which I will give three simple headings as we progress and so let’s start with the first the first covers verses 16 to 18 number one preparation preparation let’s ReRe verse 16 and the first part of verse 17 now when evening came his disciples went down to the Sea and after getting into a boat they started to cross the sea to capernium these verses are pretty straightforward and describing the beginning of a transition from the Northeast side of the Sea of Galilee to the northwest side to capernium Jesus is on the northeast side this is part of transitioning to the Northwest side now notice John doesn’t tell us why Jesus’s disciples begin this trip on their owns but the other gospels do they tell us that Jesus himself sent the disciples down to the Sea and told them to begin the crossing meanwhile Jesus is dismissing the crowds and he also goes by himself on a Mountaintop to pray so the disciples are to begin the journey without him and notice that this is taking place the verse says in the evening so sometime after after 6 p.m.
approximately this also means that the light is rapidly fading remember that we are near Passover time so sometime in March and April and according to Google or from what I was able to discover by Google search the sun sets around 7 p.m.
on the Sea of Galilee in April so the light is fading now again comparing the gospels John tells us that the disciples are headed to capernium here but Mark says that they are headed to the town of Betha uh those are not the same destinations how are we supposed to reconcile that well we don’t know the full story but it’s possible that the disciples were to make a pit stop in Betha since that was close to where they already were and then cross to capernium or cross to near capernum perhaps the disciples anticipated since Jesus was not getting with them initially that he would meet them in basa later that evening and then all of them would make the crossing together by the way Matthew and Mark record as we read earlier in the service that the whole group later disembarks in gesserit which is a town slightly south of caperon on the other side of the sea so though they end up in ganate no doubt ultimately they are intending to go to capernium either by foot or by boat so this is the plan but whatever the disciples expected Jesus doesn’t rondevo with them at Betha let’s read now the rest of verse 17 it had already become dark and Jesus had not yet come to them H must have been a little bit of a head scratcher for the disciples I guess we’re going to make this trip across the sea without Jesus okay we don’t know if they waited for him in beta or for how long if they did but eventually night falls Darkness descends upon the lake and the group launches from the shore to travel to the other side According To Jesus original instructions now you might ask but the disciples really have tried to travel across the lake the Sea of Galilee in the dark actually this wasn’t as daring as a move we as we might think as many as seven of Jesus 12 disciples were fishermen and they were used to traveling across and fishing on the Sea of Galilee at night because apparently that’s the best time to catch fish there so they’re used to going on the sea at night from what I was able to discover on the internet you can sail across the Sea of Galilee in about two hours if you’ve got a favorable wind of course that depends on which part of the sea you’re Crossing and what’s your starting place and destination so all right this might not take that long but do the disciples get a favorable wind for their Crossing is it smooth and easy well look at Verse 18 the sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing all right so this is not going to be a smooth Crossing for the disciples there are strong winds that are stirring up the waves but maybe the wind is favor still in their Direction well if you just peek at verse 19 verse 19 tells us that the disciples switch from sailing to rowing which means uh the wind is not going in the direction that they want they have to row and the other gospels are more explicit in describing the disciple situation Matthew says the winds were contrary going the opposite way and the boat was being battered by the waves Mark adds the wind was against them and the disciples were straining at the ores oh dear this is a hard C crossing the disciples have both the winds and the waves against them so that 2-hour sailing trip say goodbye to that this is going to be an all night rowing Oreal that’s rough now have the disciples gotten caught up in a storm you know with the rain the wind the lightning all that that is possible but not likely it’s funny we often imagine this Crossing taking place in a violent thunderstorm but neither John nor the other gospels refer to the weather here as a storm in fact the crossing contrast significantly with another Crossing on the Sea of Galilee that is also recorded in the Bible in Matthew 8: 23- 27 Matthew says the disciples were caught in a storm on the Sea of Galilee and it was of such proportions that the boat was being covered with the waves that storm was so violent the disciples are afraid and they wake asleeping Jesus to save them but here in John 6 as well as in Matthew 14 and Mark 6 there is no mention of the disciples being afraid due to these contrary winds and waves besides what is significantly about to take place in John 6 requires that the disciples be able to observe in the dark to some degree what is around them on the sea and as far as I could find out ancient gilean fishing ships did not have windproof lamps that could provide illumination at night even in strong winds so they couldn’t get light that way and would the disciples be able to see anything if the night sky was covered with storm clouds I mean I suppose lightning flashes might temporarily give them visibility but what makes the most sense to me considering all the details the Bible does give us about this scene is that the IPL Les are caught up in strong winds but not a storm thus they are enabled to observe barely what is around them on the Sea by using available Starlight and Moonlight maybe there’s some clouds but there’s still enough light to barely make out what’s on the sea and furthermore while this weather situation represents a stressful trial it would not have been frightening to the disciples who probably would have seen situations like that this before now it’s worth asking does all this do merely to unfortunate chance I mean was it bad luck that the disciples should experience such contrary weather when Jesus specifically directs them to cross the sea at night no this is not bad luck this is not random chance rather as the gospel has already shown Us in different ways this gospel Jesus both knows all things and is in control of all things Jesus knew that the disciples would encounter this wind on the sea in fact as the Divine executor of his father’s will remember the son and father I to do everything together Jesus is the one ultimately responsible for this wind Jesus made the contrary wind so that the disciples would run into it why why would Jesus do that I mean did Jesus just make a mistake let a certain cold front or warm front get away from him does Jesus have a cruel streak not at all as we’re going to see this difficult situation has been carefully prepared so that the disciples would Behold a glorious revelation of the Son of God we move now to the the second point of our outline which covers verses 19 to 20 we had number one preparation number two Revelation Revelation look at the first part of verse 19 then when they had rode about three or four miles just stop right there notice we are coming to a special moment in the disciples trip across the lake it is the moment it’s it’s just the right time Matthew says this is the fourth watch of the night so we’re talking maybe 4:00 a.m. it’s just the right place we’re about 3 or 4 miles across the lake Mark says they were in the middle of the sea the disciples have probably hardly slept they are tired after rowing for so long and suddenly the rest of verse 19 they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat and they were frightened now this statement is more Vivid in the original Greek because the Greek is given in the present tense it’s translated past tense in our English Bibles because that’s that’s just the way we talk but this is present tense in the original Greek which means the author wants to poetically transport the reader right into the scene he wants you to behold it as if you were there yourself so see yourself on the boat it’s still dark the wind and waves are relentlessly battering the ship’s bow water sprays rhythmically over the side with each pull of the ores your muscles are aching for from pulling for hours sweat is dripping down your body you’re a little bit chilled and suddenly you hear a gasp from one of the other disciples look he says raising a pointed finger and for a moment you relax your pace to peer into the darkness behind the boat and suddenly you see it there’s a figure dimly lit floating or walking on the water you cannot tell who or what it is all you see is the silhouette of a head and arms and what looks like garments glowing pale in the white light of the Moon the figure travels steadily forward somehow unhindered by the wind and the waves and you realize in an instant where he’s going he’s coming straight for your ship this figure he’s already so close soon he’ll be upon you I ask you what would you feel in such a moment is it not exactly what the disciples fear feel absolute Terror John says in verse 19 and they were frightened I’ll say Matthew reports they were terrified and said it is a ghost and they cried out in fear Mark says they supposed that it was a ghost and cried out for they all saw him and were terrified you might ask did the disciples believe in ghosts I doubt it but they had no other category of explanation for what their eyes were telling them we can imagine their thoughts I don’t know what that being is out there but it’s different it’s alien it’s not like anything I’ve seen before obviously it’s extremely powerful no one can just stride across the sea and I don’t know what this being’s intentions are yet it’s coming straight from me how can one not be frightened when encountering a being who is clearly not of this world and if we’re paying attention to what John already told us you know these thoughts are actually appropriate when one meets the Son of God he is not of this world he is the Eternal Creator he is the Lord of all time matter and space he is absolutely holy set apart from sin you have never met anyone like him before and you do not know the infinite counsels of his mind so it’s a frightening situation but then this approaching Supernatural figure does something that totally changes the mood of this scene verse 20 but he said to them it is I do not be afraid is this not so beautiful when Jesus sees that his disciples observing him in this incredible way walking on the sea when he sees it causes them to be afraid he immediately seeks to dispel their fears how by at once proving to them that this ghostly figure is not as foreign to them as they suspect actually the verb said here translated said in verse 20 is also in the present tense so the author wants us as if we were there to hear these words from Jesus ourselves it is I do not be afraid they can’t even make out the face of this figure yet he’s not close enough but they hear the voice and they say wait I know that voice I know that voice I know that person think of all that is contained in that simple self identification it is I Jesus says it’s me it’s your Rabbi it’s your teacher it’s your friend you know me you spent many days with me we’ve eaten together travel together talk together you know my character you know my heart you know my love and loyalty for you therefore do not be afraid take courage to do not be afraid yes as you can see I walk on water and my will is above and independent from yours but my intentions for you are not evil not to your harm but for your good my power is not ultimately meant to terrify you but to comfort you to cause you to believe in me with all your heart you know someone might ask if Jesus did not want his disciples to be afraid why did he approach them in the frightening way that he did I mean couldn’t he have done something different why put the disciples through this whole ordeal of roaming all night against the wind why not just travel with them from the start make the journey smooth and easy somewhere along the way just get out of the boat show them you can walk on water and get back in wouldn’t that been a lot easier on your disciples that’s a fair question and if we think about it we must admit that the answer must be that Jesus did want his disciples to become momentarily afraid so that they would realize something the disciples needed to be reminded and they needed to see in a greater way the same truth that all genuine followers of Jesus must see and that is Jesus Christ the man is also so God he is holy God always true Disciples of Jesus must be on guard against straying from the Bible’s narrow way in regard for Jesus Jesus is both holy exalted unknowable God at the same time as he is is loving humble knowable man these seems these things seem like they contradict but they don’t they are true in the same time and you must maintain them both in your regard for Jesus otherwise you will go astray and you will not regard Jesus as you ought if you stray too far to the one side and mostly regard Jesus just as holy even as holy God then you will only be terrified of him and and you will feel like you cannot relate to him or he to you you will find yourself as many do in the Roman Catholic church and the Greek Orthodox Church feeling like Jesus is just so distant and to help you and in your salvation and to help you in times of need you will find yourself turning to more immediate and sympathetic intercessors human Saints rather than that scary God inhuman Jesus you will not end up loving or trusting a Jesus whom you cannot help but see as only a distant and holy judge but if you stray too far to the other side and mostly regard Jesus only as loving even as a loving man and as much as you appreciate Jesus compassion and sympathy you will find that you cannot respect him or regard him as or regard him with Divine honor or holy fear like you should as is frequently the case for many in prosperity churches or even American evangelicalism broadly you will feel that Jesus is really there to serve you and to fulfill your will he’s there to satisfy your felt needs give you the Treasures of the world give you forgiveness from sin Get You Out of Hell give you purpose and comfort you will not feel much compulsion to obey him because he’s so understanding you might even find yourself getting angry with with him disappointed with him that he fails you in various ways thus you will not end up regarding Jesus as holy but more like a pal a bro a butler the Jews and even Jesus own disciples they were starting to go too far to this latter side seeing Jesus as something less than holy God even a Jesus who’s all about man’s agenda therefore this experience on the sea is a critical revelation of Jesus as the otherworldly Sovereign and holy God in fact Jesus words to his frightened disciples are themselves illustrative of this balanced or this need for balanced regard of Jesus that proper tension of familiarity with Jesus and unfamiliarity Jesus calls out in verse 20 it is I which is if you think about it a somewhat ambiguous expression on the one hand the Greek for the phrase ego a me it does translate to it is I it is the way that any person would identify himself we actually hear the man born blind when they’re like are you really the man who was born blind he says ego a me it is I I’m the one that’s the normal way you’d say it in Greek so it’s appropriate for Jesus to use this phrase to comfort his disciples by reassuring them that they know him already Jesus is not some malevolent Phantom he’s the man and teacher that they already know he’s Jesus on the other hand ego am me the Greek ego a me can also be translated I am as in I am who I am that statement of self-revelation that God gave to Moses when Moses asked oh who should I tell the people is sent them or sent me to them he says you tell them I am I am who I am has sent you that’s an explanation of the name Yahweh indeed Jesus will use as we’ve already noted Jesus will use the Expression egoo A me later in John to quite obviously assert his deity and they’ll try and stone him for it and wouldn’t it be proper after performing a miracle that only The Great I Am could perform that Jesus should then identify himself to his disciples as I am really it is both because Jesus is our familiar friend and unfamiliar God that the second part of Jesus statement can be heeded so readily do not be afraid if you have Jesus love because you know him but if you know Jesus sovereignty because he’s the unknowable God then let the winds and waves do what they will the Son of God will keep you safe you don’t need to be afraid do the disciples get this how do they respond to Jesus words and this divine revelation we come to the third part and the the third point of our sermon outline just on the last verse of our text number three invitation preparation Revelation invitation verse 21A so they were willing to receive him into the boat now if you were paying attention to the scripture that was read earlier in the service from Matthew you notice that John cuts the chase here he doesn’t include at all the experience of Peter walking on the water to meet Jesus that is part of this scene but doesn’t fit John’s purposes to record it John takes us straight to the point where the disciples Want Jesus to get into the boat with them they verified that is indeed Jesus the one we know let’s have him get into the boat what a significant turnaround from what they were just doing crying out in fear and seeing him and now they’re saying get into our boat actually I can’t help but feel the translation they were willing is a little little too tame better is the esvs they were glad they were glad to receive him into the boat and why do I say this because the Greek verb here is th with the primary meanings of to want or to wish and the verb is in the imperfect tense which indicates a repeated action in the past so we could translate the phrase that’s used here we could translate it as they were wanting or they were wishing so while they were willing is an adequate translation I don’t know about you but it gives me the impression that the disciples are somewhat hesitant to bring this scary Jesus into the boat and I don’t think that’s the idea here once the disciples verify that it really is Jesus they Jesus even the son of God they were eager to bring him into the boat I mean wouldn’t you be you’ve seen his divine power but you know his love don’t you want to be wherever he is guys what are you waiting for bring him into the boat and look what happens when they do the rest of verse 21 immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going what’s that mean well the other gospels mention that the wind stops as soon as Jesus enters the boat so some interpreters think that this phrase is just John’s way of saying that it was smooth sailing or smooth rowing after that disciples got to capernium or rather ganes they got there in no time but that’s not what this verse says it says here immediately the boat was at the land now immediately is pretty immediate and they were immediately on their way to the land they were at the land so what happened it was another miracle Jesus gets into the boat and instantly the boat is at the land and I imagine this was accomplished probably in a similar manner to how Jesus had multiplied the lows there was no sudden whoosh of the boat through the water there’s no dazzling lights sound effects it was just the disciples are looking at Jesus they get him in the boat and all of a sudden they feel a bump and they realize the boat is against the dock and they’re like when when did when did that happen in this Jesus the son of God again shows his Divine sovereignty but also his compassion and ability to provide exactly what his people need at the right time he got his disciples to the other side wasn’t in the way they expected but he knew what they needed and he provided so where does that leave us at the end of the text it leaves us with me asking whether you are going to be like the believing disciples or the unbelieving crowd of Jews when the narrative picks up again in verse 22 Jesus is going to begin exposing the incomplete faith and the selfish motives of those who believed a version of Jesus that was less than what Jesus actually is the Son of God when Jesus does this the fake disciples will then leave Jesus by the true disciples will stay so which one are you which one will you be have you seen from our text today what John what the spirit has intended you to see I told you John reports Jesus miraculous walking on water so that you will fear Jesus as Christ and the Son of God and then believing in him might find all your fears relieved have you done that do you have a biblically balanced view of Jesus he is Holy he is loving he is God he is man he is completely unfamiliar he is so familiar that you can draw so near to him can you truly say that you regard Jesus with holy reverence which makes his saving love for you all the more precious if you really want to make much of the love of Jesus you must appreciate his Holiness that’s what makes his love so incredible do you believe in the real Jesus who is rightly about his father’s agenda and not yours is it now your conviction that Jesus way is always the best way even if it doesn’t make sense to you because he’s holy God he’s so far above you you don’t have the ability or the right to question him rather you want to trust him truly all those who regard Jesus rightly will do a version of what the disciples do here they bring Jesus into the boat they eagerly bring Jesus into the boat now as I said earlier with wild Asen bringing Jesus J into your boat in one way is a dangerous action you don’t know where Jesus will take you you don’t know what Jesus will ask from you but Jesus is the king and his heart is good he may bring you into some contrary winds you may find yourself rowing all night and making little progress but at the right time he will show up and he will bring you to the land to which you need to go will you trust Jesus to bring you to the opposite Shore not just with the trials and challenges of your life but ultimately for your salvation I mean I think we can see a Salvation application from this passage without Jesus to be the one who saves you all on his own you’re going to make no progress with God all your your attempts at Good Works they’re not going to move you one inch closer to God’s Shore because all your good works are polluted with selfishness and pride and that drive to earn God’s favor the only one who can really make this salvation happen who can really bring you to God is Jesus by his perfect life his perfect death his resurrection so he says trust in me don’t trust in yourself don’t rely on yourself trust in me I will bring you to God do you believe that are you willing to wager your soul on that because you’re so short the Bible gives you ample reason to do that even In this passage Jesus will fulfill his part his promise to all those who trust in him he will bring you to God’s Shore in fact he does so instantly when you believe in him when you truly believe in him you are already on the shore of God’s salvation and will never be removed from it one day you’ll experience that in full when by death or by the Lord’s coming he takes you to the other side you can trust him with that too you don’t have to fear death but until then as you face the trials of Life As We face the trials of life together as brothers and sisters in this church who’s going to bring us to the other side it’s going to be Jesus it’s not us it’s not our rowing it’s going to be the Son of God who controls the winds in the waves and who can walk on water are you willing to trust Jesus to do that bring him into the boat indeed he is not like a tamed lion we must let our King do as he chooses as his own wisdom and love determined but we can trust him because he is good and we know his love for us so let’s diligently help one another to do this as a church family whatever the Lord chooses to bring in our lives until he brings us to himself let’s close in prayer Lord Jesus you know it is so hard for us to keep the proper regard for you in our hearts so weasy we so easily we believe in a Christ who is too distant or too near a Christ who is not that holy or a Christ who is not that loving both of these things are true infinitely true we have no idea how deep your Holiness is and we have no idea how deep your love is these do not contradict these do not compete they both true at the same time and you’ve given us this passage Lord I believe to remind us of that you are not of this world you are not a Chum you are not a buddy you are a holy God and yet you are our God you are our friend our Heavenly husband we have such an intimate relationship with you now by the gospel you you have promis that you will never leave us even though you are in your body at the right hand of God in heaven so far away from us in your spirit you are right here with us right now you are dwelling in the temple of your body which is the church and even in the individual members of it you’re not distant at all you’re right here with us even as we go through the trials of life that you yourself you yourself as the triing God have laid out for us so God as we need to learn again and again help us to trust you help us to love you help us to be about your will and not our own because your will is the best we think we know but we don’t know we’re not God so God let your will be done in our lives let the people of this church repent of these false concepts of you even the pride of our own Hearts to love you in your way fully again L I pray that we would worship you just like the disciples did when they saw you display your glory in this way not just just today this hour and in this prayer but every day by your spirit Jesus we know that you will enable us to walk in the way you’ve set out for us help us to take advantage and to help one another do it in Jesus name amen