In your bulletin this morning, is an insert with our series text from Matthew 14. Please take that out.
What I want you to do this morning is to read this passage as I read Mark and John’s accounts of this event. As I do so, write down what you notice is different and similar to Matthew’s account.
First Mark’s account found in chapter 6:45-52:
“Immediately after this, Jesus made his disciples get back into the boat and head out across the lake to Bethsaida, while he sent the people home. Afterward he went up into the hills by himself to pray.
During the night, the disciples were in their boat out in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on land. He saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. About three o’clock in the morning he came to them, walking on the water. He started to go past them, but when they saw him walking on the water, they screamed in terror, thinking he was a ghost. They were all terrified when they saw him. But Jesus spoke to them at once. “It’s all right,” he said. “I am here! Don’t be afraid.” Then he climbed into the boat, and the wind stopped. They were astonished at what they saw. They still didn’t understand the significance of the miracle of the multiplied loaves, for their hearts were hard and they did not believe.” (NLT)
Now over to John’s account in John 6:16-21 and again follow along with your insert:
That evening his disciples went down to the shore to wait for him. But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn’t come back, they got into the boat and headed out across the lake toward Capernaum. Soon a gale swept down upon them as they rowed, and the sea grew very rough. They were three or four miles out when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified, but he called out to them, “I am here! Don’t be afraid.” Then they were eager to let him in, and immediately the boat arrived at their destination! (NLT)
Now what is different between these three passages? (Allow for several responses.) Thank you! There are several but what I paid the most attention to were these two:
1. Only Matthew’s account includes Peter’s story.
2. Jesus sees them in trouble from a distance.
Now what is the same between these three passages? (Allow for several responses.) Thank you!
(Slide 1) This is what I noticed: ‘I am here! Don’t be afraid.’
There are differing amounts of details but one common theme to story (Slide 1a) – the assurance of Jesus that He is present.
The reasons for the differences in the three accounts are many: the understandable difference due to the perspective of each of the writers who were there when it happened is probably the biggest. One other reason has to do with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to each writer as they wrote.
But the constant in each account is the presence and assurance of Jesus in their midst.
Many times, we tend to get tangled up in our perspectives when talking about a shared event. For example, an auto accident. Three different people can see the same accident but often notice different things that together (we hope) give a complete picture of what happened.
As we continue our series, ‘Get Your Feet Wet!’ our focus is on the Assurant presence of Jesus in the midst of the storm and fear.
Our focus for this morning are these verses from Matthew’s account: (Slide 2)
Afterward he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone. Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves… But Jesus spoke to them at once. “It’s all right,” he said. “I am here! Don’t be afraid.” Matthew 14:23-24, 27 (NLT)
(Slide 3) Two things to remember this morning: 1. Although He often seems absent God is never far away. 2. Jesus is with us in the fears and anxieties of life but sometimes it takes time to see Him there.
Now a couple of questions come to mind that I believe need to be asked and answered this morning.
First, (Slide 4) how do we see Jesus and how do we remind one another and ourselves that God is not far away? We do so through developing a clear ‘inner’ vision through some very important ways that I will share in a moment.
Second, (Slide 5) how do we ‘see’ Jesus in the fears and anxieties of life? By learning to wait on/for Him that comes through trust.
Let us now address the first question:
Developing the ability to see Jesus requires a clear ‘inner’ vision developed as follows:
(Slide 6) An active and sustained prayer life. How do we do that? We make the choice to, over and over and over again; day in and day out.
The Bible makes clear in a passage we visited last week, Philippians 4:6 ‘Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.’
Worry was mentioned last week and Paul makes clear that it needs to be rejected and replaced by a prayerful hope and expectancy that God will provide.
Now I think that one of the issues in praying is, “What do you do after praying?” You pray and then what?
Let us also think about this: “What do you do before you pray?”
Well, as we think about praying and prayer in the context of our series, we bring our fears to God and leave them there. Then because of our prayers, we pick up the reassurance of God and hang on to it and not our fears. By doing so, we begin to see Jesus more clearly in moments of tumult and fear. One other thing: prayer should be the first thing we do when we encounter storms and waves, not the last.
(Slide 6a) Daily Bible reading - I have talked a great deal about this over the past few weeks but in the context of seeing the Lord clearly in times of anxiety and fear I call our attention to Psalm 119:9: “How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word and following its rules.” (And I suggest that we focus on the purity issue, the clarity issue, and not the age issue!)
(Slide 6b) Honest worship – Giving God His place and focusing on Him – personal and corporate – honest and regular worship helps us to focus then see the Lord clearly. Psalm 115:1 says, “Not to us, O Lord, but to you goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness.”
In developing our clear vision to see the Lord in the midst of our fears and anxiety, worship is to Him and not us nor our circumstances, but to Him and Him alone!
(Slide 7) Accountable relationships – How many of us here have one other safe person that we can fully tell the truth to when we need to do it? Each of us have issues and habits that cause us trouble and we need to have someone, preferably a fellow believer who is mature enough to hear us out and help us be accountable for our actions and habits, that will hear the truth and then help us live the truth. This includes those moments when fear strikes.
James concludes his book with these words. (Slide 8) ‘My dear brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back again, you can be sure that the one who brings that person back will save that sinner from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.’ James 5:19-20 (NLT)
When we face down our fears, having one or two people to share with about what is going on and to help us get through, can help us see Jesus more clearly because good friends can help us with our blind spots, especially in a storm!
Then there is (Slide 9) Regular confession or what I call “truth telling.”
Why this? Because sometimes the storms in life come because we have sinned; we have been disobedient Christians; we have done, thought, and/or said what the Bible says is sin. Confession is good for the soul and for our sight!
Notice again, what Mark wrote at the conclusion of his account of Jesus’ water walk, “They still didn’t understand the significance of the miracle of the multiplied loaves, for their hearts were hard and they did not believe.” This might seem harsh after what they had gone through on the lake but Mark states this not to be harsh but to be truthful. There was a point to what they were going through.
A few verses earlier in James 5 we read, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results.” James 5:16 (NLT)
Who have you been telling the truth to about your life?
A final way to have a clear inner vision is through (Slide 9a) un-qualified obedience.
To follow Jesus is just plain hard sometimes. A few chapters after the walking on water episode Jesus tells the plain truth about the reality of following Him. In John 6, Jesus said some very pointed things about Himself that caused some of His followers to desert Him (verse 66). He then turns to the twelve and asks them if they are going to leave Him as well. Peter, of course, replies for them when he says, “Lord, to whom would we go? You alone have the words that give eternal life. We believe them, and we know you are the Holy One of God.”
One of them men that served as a role model for me in my early adult life was Dr. David McKenna, fourth president of Asbury Seminary. Dr. McKenna is a man of deep faith and wrote many wonderful books about leadership and service.
One of the stories that I remember from his chapel remarks had to do with this final means of developing a clear vision. He graduated from Asbury in the early 1950’s and was preparing for a ministry in college and university administration.
One day, he said, the sense that God was calling Him to go to the mission field became quite evident. He went on to say that he began to wrestle with this apparently new calling that created a inner storm that he could not quiet until he finally said, okay Lord, if you want me to go to the mission field, I will go.
A few days passed after this resolution and he said he then had a sense that God said to him, no, I have called you to the university to serve. Out of that experience he deduced that he had to give the Lord unqualified obedience that might lead to an unexpected change of direction.
(Slide 10) As we review these vision clearing/focusing practices are we listening for/to the voice of the Holy Spirit to point out where we need to be more intentional in gaining a clear vision for the Lord in the midst of both the calm and the storms of life?
As we intentionally practice these habits they lead us to the answer of our second question of this morning: (Slide 11) How do we ‘see’ Jesus in the fears and anxieties of life?
In James 1 and verses 2 through 8 we read, “Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.
If you need wisdom—if you want to know what God wants you to do—ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. They can’t make up their minds. They waver back and forth in everything they do.” (NLT)
There was definitely doubt in the disciples’ mind out on that lake, in that boat, in the midst of a scary storm over which they had no control.
Our tumult is more often than not internal and comes through our lives, which by most measures, is rather ‘land locked.’ A relationship goes bust, our health takes a sudden turn we did not expect, or our jobs go ‘poof!’
But churn and agonize we do. How do we then see Jesus in the fear and anxieties of our lives? (Slide 11a) By waiting on and trusting in the Lord.
The practices I have just listed are the foundation upon which trust, the kind spoken of in the passage I just read, keeps us steady in the midst of the storm and its fears and anxieties. Primarily this trust comes through waiting on the Lord to act; through faith. The disciples had to wait on the Lord who knew what was going on just as He knows what is going on with us.
(Slide 11b) So what do we do now?
On the back of the insert, you have held in your hands this morning, turn it over and get out a pen or pencil. Write down these categories (Slide 12) along the left side of the page. (Pause)
• An active and sustained prayer life
• Daily Bible reading
• Honest worship
• Accountable relationships
• Regular Confession
• Unqualified Obedience
Which one of these do you readily realize you need to work on starting right now? Underline it.
Now to the right of this choice write 1. 2. and 3. with some space between them.
What are three things that you can do to start (today) making some new progress with this practice? Maybe it is to identify a time of day to give to this practice, a location to select so that you can do what you have chosen, or maybe to let somebody know what you are doing (especially if you choose accountable relationships!) Write those in the 1, 2, and 3. (Pause)
Now, you have a simple starting plan to help you further develop your faith and trust in the Lord. Begin it… now!
Finally, I leave us with these words from Mark as a statement that God knows where we are and what is going on, even though He seems absent. Take these words to heart this morning and believe!
He saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. About three o’clock in the morning he came to them, walking on the water. He started to go past them, but when they saw him walking on the water, they screamed in terror, thinking he was a ghost. They were all terrified when they saw him. But Jesus spoke to them at once. “It’s all right,” he said. “I am here! Don’t be afraid.”
Amen!
