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Turn with me to where
Jesus walks on water
Mark 6:45-52
45 And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before [a]unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people.
46 And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray.
47 And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land.
48 And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them.
49 But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out:
50 For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.'
51 And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered.
52 For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.
Sermon: Wading through troubled waters
This text is all about contrary winds - opposition; those things that come into our lives and make us wonder if we will EVER make it through.
What kinds of contrary winds did Jesus face?
Mark’s gospel tells us that Jesus was rejected in his home town,
It would be rough if your family, friends, and neighbors didn't accept you.
some of you might know a little bit about that
Jesus also had national problems too.
King Herod had just put Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist to death,
and he wasn’t too happy about the ministry of Jesus either.
Another contrary wind was the difficulty of popularity that Jesus had.
everyone needed something.
He couldn’t get a day off.
but I believe that the most contrary of the winds facing Jesus was within his own camp.
His own disciples had such little faith,
every time Jesus wanted to demonstrate His Lordship over this world, it was his own followers that gave him the most grief.
Life is often an uphill battle!
Family life, career, school, relationships, ministry - it is all a daily, living, breathing challenge to keep things under control.
Murphy's law say's WHATEVER CAN POSSIBLY GO WRONG WILL.
at times in life that old saying almost seems true.
for example if I applied that to ministry it would be really easy to focus on contrary winds;
I mean I could focus on the obstacles of ministry --
never enough money for projects,
never enough time
the lack of interest that the community seems to have towards church.
all of these things are Contrary winds!
there is a lot of contrary winds in this world
things we all have to do & go through
hardships, tears, heartbreaks, all things we have to go through from time to time
the storms of life will come
well in the passage that we have read this morning we find a real storm
in a raging sea, and a real Christ, walking on deep, deeply troubled waters.
I would like to add that the God who created those waters in the first place, had no problem walking on them,
He could have parted them and make a dry path through the water.
if He had wanted to He could’ve made the waters flee from His very presence
he's God and he could've done whatever he wanted
and he still is in control
Jesus walked on the water.
this tells us something about our own problems with contrary winds.
The main question is,
"WHO’S IN CONTROL?"
I have four points to make from this story
#1. JESUS WAS THE ONE WHO COMPELLED THEM INTO THE CONTRARY WINDS
Immediately, the question comes as to why Jesus would have sent the disciples on ahead.
He almost always travelled with them.
So why not this time?
Well, we know that Jesus took time to pray.
But I believe it is also likely that after the feeding five thousand men and their family's with only a few loaves and fishes, there was a move to elevate Jesus to an earthly king. This wasn’t in Jesus’ plans, that wasn't why he came and He certainly didn’t want his disciples to get mixed-up in all that commotion.
So Jesus sent them on to the boat to go on to the next stop.
I also believe Jesus knew something here?
he knew there was something in this little boat ride that the disciples had to face?
In John Bunyan’s movie the "Pilgrim’s Progress," one scene has the main character, Christian, brought by Interpreter to a wall, where fire is blazing from a grate. A man is trying to douse the fire with water. Then Interpreter shows Christian the other side of the wall, where another man is secretly pouring oil on the fire to keep it going. This is Bunyan’s classic picture of the work of God in our lives.
Satan always attempts to put out the fire of our spiritual lives but secretly, quietly, behind the scenes, God’s Spirit keeps pouring on the oil.
Jesus compelled the disciples out into the stormy water because He could see the other side of the wall.
He knows what we need,
what we have to face.
Some Christians revel in the fact that everything is going right in their lives.
well that may not necessarily be the sign of God’s blessing on you.
It may simply be that you’re not willing to get in the boat and get involved with where He’s trying to take you.
Sometimes the fact that you have no conflict, no mountain to climb, no battle to wage, is because in the Army of the Lord, you may be AWOL!
The opposite is also true - great problems do not indicate God’s displeasure.
think of Job?
Job had everything go wrong in his life;
that didn’t mean God was not with him.
Some people have a lot and some people have a little.
Some people live in turmoil, others seem so at peace
Some people have great affliction and sickness and others
are incredibly healthy.
we shouldn't just think that because everything is going wrong that God is punishing us
just like we shouldn't think if everything is going good that we are where we are supposed to be in our relationship with God either
we need to recognize that SOMETIMES Jesus compels us into the storms -
those contrary winds that will teach, & condition & strengthen us into what he wants us to be
It is this same thought alone that allows us to say with the apostle Paul "that we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Romans 8.28
#2. JESUS COMPREHENDED THEIR TROUBLES
It stands to reason and logic that if Jesus was the one that sent the disciples into the storm, that He also understood what was going to happen to them.
verse 48 tells us He "saw" them.
Jesus understood fully what was happening to the disciples.
He saw them toiling in rowing
he knew there struggles & troubles
By this time (the fourth watch), between 3am and 6am,
the disciples had been fighting the contrary winds of this storm for about 6-10 hours.
Jesus knew what they had been going through
There is an old song that's called "No One Understands Like Jesus."
It has a line in it that says, "When the days are dark and grim; no one is so near, so dear as Jesus, Cast your ev’ry care on him."
How does He know & understand our troubles?
because he's been there
Jesus knows your troubles, and my troubles because He came to earth as a man to be tempted and tried in every way as us.
Hebrews 4:15
15 For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Jesus understands
Just like He could see beforehand that the disciples NEEDED to be out on that storm-tossed lake & learn to trust Him fully,
HE knew what was happening.
he knows what is happening with us right now in our lives and he sees the need of our hearts, our lives-
He knows our battles with the contrary winds too!
#3. JESUS CAME TO THEM IN THEIR TROUBLE
Jesus didn't send them out into the storm get them into the kind of trouble they needed to learn to trust him more, see & understand their trouble
then just leave them he also came to them in their trouble.
Jesus went to them,
kept on going to them.
He didn’t stop!
He never stops.
Whenever you’ve got problems, there’s no stopping Jesus.
If He has to, He’ll even walk on water to get to us if need be!
that should give us encouragement.
he will never leave us or forsake no matter how bad it gets
#4. JESUS CONFIRMED THEIR FAITH IN HIM
When Jesus said, "It is I. Don’t be afraid,"
What problem do you have right now?
What fears do you face?
Is life seemingly one big struggle, and more than a little overwhelming?
If God was standing next to you right now, telling you not to be afraid, would you find it easier to get up tomorrow?
Well, He is! There is one in this church this morning that is always there
he can always help no matter the problem
His name is Jesus,
when this man climbed into the boat, and the winds ceased, and the sea began to calm, and the noise stopped, they realized what you and I need to realize this morning & that is:
WHEN JESUS IS HERE WE HAVE ALL WE NEED!
What winds are against you right now?
What peace do you need?
You and I can be so like the disciples.
verse 51 of this text tells us that the disciples were amazed.
It was because they hadn’t understood,
their hearts were hardened.
That has a parallel in our own hearts.
Physically our hearts are designed with a paper-thin lining
a membrane that is designed to surround the heart, protecting it.
Sometimes that membrane thickens, and constricts the heart, reducing its ability to function by 90% or more.
Life becomes short and miserable.
A surgeon can take a scalpel, open your chest, slit that overly thick membrane, instantly the heart begins to beat vitally, strongly.
You and I can be like the disciples...
hardhearted against the plans and blessings of God’s leadership.
Without faith, we build walls around our lives, our hearts.
We simply won’t take courage, and take our hands off.
What winds are against you?
Have you found yourself in the middle of the storm?
Is life’s sea rough?
are you wading through troubled waters?
Are you willing to look past the winds, ignore the noise and the waves of your troubles?
Are you willing to look to the Jesus who wants to come to you?
Are you willing to let go of the safety of that boat you’ve built for yourself?
Are you ready to stop the ceaseless rowing against the contrary winds of life and work, school, and relationships...and let Jesus calm the storm in your life?
God is sometimes behind the storm...
God always understands the storm...
God will come to you in the storm,
He will put the storm to rest if you’ll trust Him.
Let's Pray!
