GETTING ON BOARD WITH JESUS!
Jesus is the Sign of the Season (5)
John 6:14-21
DECEMBER 9, 2007
A little boy was once asked what his favorite Bible story was? He thought for a moment and then said, “I’ve always liked the one where everyone just loafs around and fishes!” Well, that is ot exactly how it went last week, nor where we are going this next week.
14 After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world."
15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake,
17 where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them.
18 A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough.
19 When they had rowed three or three and a half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were terrified.
20 But he said to them, "It is I; don’t be afraid."
21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.
Photo of the DISCOVERY
The news shows us some amazing events at times. Just recently the news covered the story of the exploration ship, the Discovery that sank. Thank goodness no one lost their lives. But the irony of the story came when you understand the underlying reason for the trip. The captain had billed the trip to environmentalists who were concerned about global warming and the melting icebergs. They were so caught up in the movement and the emotion of the times that they did not see the iceberg that hit them and destroyed their ship until it was too late. Not to mix metaphors but they missed the tree for the FOREST. They literal got lost in the middle of their mission. So it is with the apostles.
There was no indication from our study last week that the disciples knew what was going on then. John as an eye witness of the miracle gives no hint, even with the 20-20 vision of hindsight that he nor any of the other apostles really understood what Christ intended at this time. Christ clearly understood the intentions of the crowd. They wanted to make Him king by force. Now, I want you to catch the ludicrousness of such a move. If you are forcing someone to become king in a way or a time that he does not want to be king, who is really in charge. See, if they had humbled themselves before Jesus and cried out that He was no mere prophet but rather, THE CHRIST, THE ANNOINTED ONE OF GOD, then He would have become the King of all Israel and the world.
But that is the problem with your depraved nature. You really do not want God to be in charge of our lives. You will even talk as if God is in charge by calling Him king, but the whole time, your actions and attitude reveal that you are still in charge. Now you do not mind if God is in charge of everybody else’s life as long as He does not interfere with you plans and desires! You really think you have the answer and that your boat is OK without Jesus being on board. And if comes on board, its OK as long as He doesn’t go near the steering wheel, and if He does, you feel he better explain Himself.
In the other gospel accounts, it is clear that Jesus sends the disciples on. I believe it is because He knows that they might be tempted to go along with the crowd and try to make God do their will. I can only imagine the discussion the 12 had as they put out from shore. Well, our ship has come in. Maybe next time the crowd will be bigger and we will get to start our own government. Then James and John start bickering about who is sitting on what side of Jesus again. But, their minds are not on the cross. Their minds perhaps were concerned about what sort of mansion they would have and who they would be in charge of. Maybe they dream of Roman officials serving them and being their butler or maids. Who knows? But, based on John’s recollection here, I get the distinct sense that they just are not ON BOARD WITH JESUS” PLAN at this time. Like the apostles, you need to get on board with Jesus. I know Jesus sent them on ahead without Him. I also know that Jesus knew exactly what He was doing. He was showing them physically where they were spiritually. They were moving ahead in their own boat and headed towards disaster because they just did not get it.
YOU NEED TO GET ON BOARD WITH JESUS.
He may not always draw you a diagram.
There are some things that even if God explained it to you, you still would not understand. But faith does not wait upon your comprehension of how. The apostles were in danger of getting swept away with the popular plan to make Jesus the king of an unregenerate disobedient nation. Christ did not come to be king of a nation of people who would not repent of their sin. Think about it. What would heaven be like if God allowed the city of Indianapolis to enter in without changing peoples’ hearts. You would spend eternity with some nice people who were not holy and some evil people who just loved to bring hurt and harm with them. Though the Roman government was oppressive and perhaps the people in Israel would not be so cruel, they still would be enslaved to sin without the CROSS.
You won’t always understand why He commands,
But you can always follow His directions.
Where are you at in your obedience to Christ? Do you truly follow His commands? Do you hesitate and offer excuses? Or do you act in obedience. Are you a Jonah trying to run from God? Or like Peter do you run towards God.
We find the account of Peter walking on the water with the Lord. Let me tell you something some of you may only get one shot in this lifetime to really step out on faith. And you will know it. And you either leap or you hang onto the cliff with all you have and experience the casual Christian life. That is not Peter. He always wanted to be where the action was.
WHEN God SHOWS HIMSELF, HE WANTS YOU TO GO OVERBOARD IN YOUR FAITH. (MATTHEW 14:28-31)
Christ calls us to a daring faith.
Let me tell you, you can never have too much faith. You can have too little faith. But Jesus never, never, never has told anyone, whoa, turn it down a notch. You have too much faith.
You can never have too much faith!
There are numerous sermons that focus on Christ’s reprimand towards Peter for looking at the waves, but people forget there were 11 other apostles who refused to get out of the boat. People wonder why Peter became the key man in the end. I can tell you why, for all of his failures, he was constantly stretching his faith. If he had a little bit of faith, he would leap and let Jesus work out the rest.
Listen there were a number of other prophets who parted water: Moses, Joshua, Elijah and Elisha. But only Christ and Peter walked on top of the water! The other 4 though exercising great faith stayed in the realm of what they knew terra firma. Only Peter by having a daring faith walked on the water. And even though it was a short time, he will still be the only person who can talk about walking on water! When given the opportunity, Peter stepped out of the boat and the other 11 hide behind what they were comfortable with.
Now think about this. Here they were in a boat they were sure would sink. And there was Jesus casually walking on top of the water through the storm. Their boat was being torn apart and dashed to pieces. Jesus is standing above and beyond the danger and they still think they are safer in the boat. Remember you never hear Jesus say to the other eleven, “Hey, you guys stay in the boat, I can only handle one of you at a time.” No, I believe that all of them could have gotten out of the boat and walked safely to shore if they had asked. You will note that Jesus calmed the storm and they IMMEDIATELY got to where they were going. Just like in Star Trek. Jesus, Beam us home!
There is no safer place to be than in the middle of God’s will my friends. I remember when Autumn Davis served here as a Summer missionary. She had committed to serving the Lord as missionary youth worker in England. I even remember feeling nervous for her with all that was going on in the world. Sheffield is no small town and England seems more vulnerable to terrorist attacks than America. Besides I know for dad and mom that it just feels safer to have her close to home. She and I talked and she commented that she knew it was God’s will for her to go and she knew that there was no safer place to be than in the middle of God’s will.
And because of Autumn’s faithfulness, she has seen many youth come to Christ as this picture shows.
AUTUMN’S PICTURE
So it is, if you are on board with Jesus, the winds and the waves of life can’t knock you down in your walk and witness for Christ.
Christ calls us to a dependable faith. (Rev. 2:7) It doesn’t say, “He who is perfect in every action.” It doesn’t say he who answered all the test questions right. It says to he who overcomes… Peter kept on going like the energizer bunny. You never hear Peter say, “Well, I stepped out on faith once and it nearly killed me. No way I am ever going to risk it again.” But there are those who pray that God will heal their sister like Ted Turner. And because the storm of life took her, he turned his back on God. Then there are others who like Horatio Spafford who would lose his wife and children to the ocean and write the hymn, “It is well wit my soul.”
Only those who endure to the end have true salvation. In the end, this test prepared Peter for the matyr’s death.
Folks: , “… Life is a series of problems: Either you are in a storm now, you’re just coming out of one, or you’re getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that’s not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.
The safest place to be is in the center of God’s will
YOU NEED TO GET JESUS IN YOUR LIFE BOAT BECAUSE ONLY JESUS CAN BRING CALM TO ALL YOUR STORMS (VS. 20-21).
To the fearful Jesus says:
“It is I, do not be afraid.”
It is as if Jesus says, “The very things that oppose you, the boisterous sea, the buffeting winds, I already have under my feet. I am in control of these events, therefore there is no need to fear” (quote from Ray Stedman).
No, they were not forgotten and His Word revealed His Presence.
Instead of scolding their vanquished faith, He soothed and encouraged them with the language of a conqueror.
“It is I, do not be afraid.”
When your path is dark:
“Do not be afraid of darkness, I am light.”
When death comes knocking at your door:
“Do not be afraid of death, I am life.”
When you are sick.
He says, Do not be afraid, I am the balm of Gilead
I am Yahweh, your healer.
When you need direction in life
He says, do not be afraid, I am the way.
When the weight of your sins
seek to take you down to the depths of the sea
Do not be afraid, I am your salvation.”
When you are afraid of being rejected and alone he says
Do not be afraid, I am your friend and I will stick closer than a brother.
When you walk a new and uncomfotable path
He says, do not be afraid for I am with you, my rod and staff will comfort you.
By walking on the water, Jesus is declaring:
“I am your Creator, your Redeemer and Your Friend”
“I am King of nature and the King in every realm.”
“The contrary winds cannot hinder me and the tossing sea cannot overwhelm me.”
“I am King.”
“It is I, do not be afraid.”
Are you on board with Jesus?
