Walking on the Water

We are in Mark chapter six. We will begin reading in just a moment from verse 45 of Mark chapter six. We'll begin reading in verse 45 here in just a moment. Jesus miracles or or signs as they're also called were recorded in the gospels to persuade the readers that Jesus Christ is the son of God with the power to save. In these verses up here on the screen, John chapter 20, we read Jesus say it unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed, blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed and many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book but these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that believing you might have life through his name.

Why did John record these things as led by the Holy Spirit? He did it to convince those that read that Jesus is the one? The Christ. He is the Messiah and he is the son of the living God. And so, we have all these miracles recorded to convince us, to show us that Jesus Christ was who he said he was.

He as the Old Testament prophets foretold came with great power, power to heal, power to teach, and even power to rise again from the dead. But also these miracles and signs and wonders that Jesus did also convey to us that Jesus is not only the son of God but he is also the son of man. A man completely surrendered to the will of his father. A man of compassion and understanding. Our savior and our great example.

And so there's much we can learn not only about Jesus and his power as God to save and heal, teach, but also of his compassion and love as the son of man. In obedience to the will of his father. We just saw last Sunday morning in the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000, the compassion and provision of Christ, both his love for the people and his supernatural ability to provide for their needs. His disciples has just experienced this as well. They actually got to play a part in it.

They came to him and said, what will we feed these people? Jesus said, where will we get the they said, where will we get the food? Jesus said, you feed them. They said, with what? Well, go see what you have.

Five loaves and two fishes. Well, that's not enough to feed 5,000 plus people. Well, it is when that is in the hands of who? That is in the hands of God, when it's in the hands of Jesus. But then then there, Jesus handed it to them and he said, now here I blessed it, I broke it, now you go feed them.

And they got to take part in that miracle. Isn't it wonderful the opportunity that God gives us to play a part in the miraculous rebirth of a soul into the kingdom of God? Isn't it incredible that God should entrust to us the important ministry to carry the message of the gospel of hope and salvation to the lost and needy. Go you therefore and teach all nations. Go and preach the gospel to what?

To every creature. God has entrusted us with his word and given us the privilege to be part of his plan. To bring souls to salvation. To demonstrate the love and power of God and our compassion for the lost and the sick and poor. Pointing them to the ultimate source of healing and relief which is not the dollar bill out of my wallet but is Jesus Christ, my savior and my Lord.

Knowing that our savior will never lack for what they need. Grace to save, grace to keep, and the ability to provide for everything they will truly need. For all eternity. But seek you first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew six thirty three.

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians four nineteen. Delight thyself also in the Lord and he shall give thee the desires of thy heart. Psalm thirty seven four. And we could go on and on and on.

I cannot meet all of your needs but I know someone who can. And I'm glad you're here today so I can introduce him a little more to you and how wonderful he is. He demonstrated this, his power and his compassion in the previous miracle. We read about with the feeding of the 5,000 but he's not done yet. There's more he specifically wants to teach his little group of students, his disciples today.

He wants them to grow in their faith and understanding of who he really is and though you would think they would just get it after one or two or three or four miracles, it took time for them to grow like it does for us, To learn to trust him. And know him more. Mark chapter six verse 45. Mark chapter six verse 45. And straightway he constrained, compelled his disciples, instructed them to get into the ship.

And to go to the other side, that's the other side of the Sea Of Galilee before on the Bethsaida while he sent away the people and when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray. And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea and he alone on the land. And he saw them toiling and 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 but when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit and cried out. For they all saw him and were troubled and immediately, he talked with them and said unto them, be of good cheer, it is I.

Be not afraid. And he went up unto them into the ship and the wind ceased and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure and wondered. For they considered not the miracle of the loaves for their heart was heartened. Let's go to the Lord in prayer once more. Lord, thank you for this day and this opportunity to praise your name, to look into your word, to reflect upon your person, your power, your love, Lord, that some of that might be reflected in us, that we might grow closer to you today, that if there be one here that's never received your gift of eternal life and your forgiveness of sin, Lord, that they might consider today their need before they leave this place.

And that they might soon come to know you as well. In Jesus name, we do pray. Amen. First thing I want us to see from this passage is the humility and compassion of Christ and as we go through the book of Mark and and Mark wrote the the gospel of John for instance, John was writing to a broad audience trying to emphasize that Jesus is son of God. Matthew wrote primarily to the Jews to convince them that Jesus was the promised Messiah.

In the book of Mark, Mark sees Jesus more as the son of man and we see a lot of the compassion and love of Christ come out. In his obedience to the father and in his love and compassion for his fellow men. We see that here again in in this story. At least at least I did as I read through it. In verse 45, it says, in straightway, he constrained his disciples to get into the ship and to go to the other side while he sent away the people.

After he had fed all the people, he had taught them, he had fed them, and one of the gospel said, he he healed them of many diseases and after he had done all this and spent the entire day, it was time for, it was getting dark. It was time for his disciples to go back. It was time for the crowd to disperse and to go back home and what did Jesus do? He sent them away who? Himself.

He didn't tell his disciples now, I'm going to go work on this stuff over here that's so important and you you tell him to go back home. No, Jesus personally went to the people. Jesus personally took time to go through the crowd and to dismiss them. So many leaders both political and religious have no time for individuals and commoners. Try to get a hold of the president.

See if he has time for you. Not likely might have a hard time getting a seat with your senator but there's a god in heaven who loves you so much that he always has time and Jesus didn't put this off on his disciples or other people to do. He he took time to walk among the people. He took time send them away himself which I think once again demonstrates his care. For them as individual no one was too small and no crowd was too large for Jesus to take time for them.

Later on, Jesus would be teaching and there would be children that wanted to come and sit by him and they were making noise and they were distraction and the disciples were saying, quiet, quiet, get, get, get back. And what did Jesus say? He said, sufferer, allow the little children to come into me. For such is the kingdom of heaven. We had vacation bible school this week.

Some of you spent a great deal of time and energy this week ministering to kids that came in from our neighborhood. We didn't have hundreds. We had 20. But you know those 20 kids that came are 20 souls that need Jesus. There are 20 people that Jesus cares for.

Some of them one day might grow into great servants of Jesus Christ. They are worthy of our time and they are worthy of our effort whether they're three or whether they're 30 or whether they're 300. Sometimes, I'm afraid we do not show the care and impartiality of Christ our savior. Well, that they're not, I'll spend time doing this. I won't spend time with them.

Ministry is not about things. It is about people. Starting with our savior. And going out to those who need him. Jesus Christ always exemplified this in his ministry.

Also, it seems that Jesus was concerned that these people not start a revolution in his name. Now, you don't see here that here in the book of Mark but in the book of John, it said, that they wanted to crown him king right there. And That wasn't why Jesus came. One day, will he be crowned king? Yes.

Yes, he will. But that day was not then. Jesus Christ came to die. The crown that he came to wear was a crown of thorns. At this time.

For our need. And did Jesus come to start a revolution? Yes, he did. But not a political one. A spiritual one.

Not against Caesar. But against Satan. We ourselves to remember that Christ's great commission is not to take over the world or overthrow the government. It is to proclaim the gospel. And allow God to do the changing and the conquering of human hearts by his spirit and by his word rather than by our sword.

That's what Jesus taught us. Now, I believe as a American citizen, there are times that you may be called on as a citizen of The US to defend your fellow man. With a sword. I believe that that is okay. I believe that is good.

I appreciate those who do that for me. There are many of them scattered all over the world who putting themselves in harm's way that we might have the opportunity to worship freely here. But Christ commissioned to Christians. Is to go conquer the world. With the word.

And not with the sword. With compassion and love and truth, for the truth will what? Will set you free. And that Christ showed us when he taught the truth, when he lived the truth, and when he died for it on the cross. Also, his disciples, he sent on ahead knowing that they were tired, they needed to get home, and away from that excited crowd.

It was relatively short trip across the Sea Of Galilee, less than two miles by boat. That is short depending upon the weather which was sometimes unpredictable. Especially if you're in a small fishing boat. You know, when I was a kid, I used to think about them in a fishing boat. I used to think a fishing boat was, you know, the size of this building.

The fishing boats that they were in weren't much longer than these pews and about as wide as four or five of em. They weren't huge boats and it didn't take much of a storm to cause concern especially when it was weighted down with a bunch of people. And as we'll see, they had some issues getting across that night. Jesus on the other hand as we shall see, didn't have such an issue with the weather. The second thing I want us to see is not only does Jesus show compassion but I will also want us to recognize today that Jesus stopped what he was doing to spend time doing something very important.

Although they're repressing things in his life. If you look in verse 46, it says, and when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to what? He departed into a mountain to pray. He went up on top of the what's called the Golan Heights today. It's the area they were in.

Hills that rise up sharply from the shores of the Sea Of Galilee on the East side and he went up to the top of the mountain there off the sea, found a quiet place at night, and he spent time in prayer. In prayer, with his father. He He assuredly knew the trouble his disciples were running into But rather than rushing at once to their aid, he took time to pray. I when I was a youth pastor, I had teenagers in my youth group. Some of them, you couldn't get excited about anything.

Some of them were all into them. Some of them were teenagers that wanted to conquer the world for Christ. They they they saw people with needs and they wanted to change everything just like that. But some of those that were excited and wanted to do things before they were ready to preach and before they were ready to help others, they first had to let God help who? Help them.

They needed and they needed to to grow and they needed to mature in their faith and get to know their God better so they could be a better help and witness to others. I went to Bible College for five years in order to learn to be a better preacher and proclaimer of God's word. It was important that I spent that time It's important that we wait upon the Lord as well. My my wife used to quote this little phrase. I wondered where it came from but it was on a plaque in her grandparents house by the door.

It says, the hurrier I go, the behinder I get. Now when I type that in, I realize the words hurrier and behinder are not actually words. But you get the idea. The hurrier I go, the behinder I get. And a lot of times when we're hurried and we're rushed and we're panicked, gotta get this done, gotta get that done, gotta get this.

That's when we make mistakes. That's when everything really goes, it really flies apart. It happens to be more times than I like to say. So, the hurrier you go, the behinder you get. Sometimes, I get in such a hurry and get so frustrated with things when I find myself running behind or when unforeseen circumstance change my plans when what I really need to do is learn to take a breath trust God spend a moment in prayer instead of getting panicked and angry You ever got such a hurry and nothing was going right and you really made a bigger mess of things and you went from panic to angry.

God has given me a great deal of patience with people. He hasn't given me as much patience with things like automobiles. Stuff doesn't want to bolts don't want to come loose or this thing doesn't want to go in place and it's easy to get frustrated especially when we're in a hurry. I gotta get it done now. Let's get this thing to move.

Get angry at it. Bible says in James chapter one verse 19, it says, wherefore my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. What do we need to learn to do? We need to learn to wait on the Lord. Isaiah 40 verse 31 says, if we wait on the Lord, that he will give us wings as eagles.

He will carry us over. He will carry us through. He will give us strength but we need to remember him and remember we're not alone Give him a chance Get our batteries recharge so to speak I have this lapel mic that I use when I'm up here. It's wireless. That means it has batteries.

They have to be charged. Every now and then, we forget to switch out the batteries. And in the middle of the service, all of a sudden, you you you know, it starts going out. Get staticky. Same thing happens to us.

We get in a hurry. Day after day after day and we forget. We don't take time to spend time with our Lord. Our batteries, what? They get depleted spiritually.

And that's when we start getting panicked. That's when things go awry. I was driving down Starkey King yesterday. I got to the stoplight at East Bay or I guess it's West Bay on that side. No, it's East Bay.

That's West. East Bay. Yeah. You think I'd lived, I've lived here thirteen years. You'd think I'd know which is which.

But there was this guy on a bicycle coming across. He was on East Bay and he was coming across the intersection and his his sign over there said, don't go. Don't go. Don't walk. You know, red hand.

But nobody was moving yet. So, he was in a terrible rush. So he is coming across on his bicycle and he is putting his hand up like this to the oncoming traffic. Don't run over me. Don't run over me.

He gets to where the people are turning left and I don't know how close they came to hitting him. It had to be within this close of him getting hit because the light turned green and they took off because they didn't see him coming. And he stopped. He got off his bike. He threw up his hands.

When the left turn finished he he took his bike over to the median. He slammed it on the ground. He he continued to walk across. We had to wait for him. When he got to the other side, he threw up his hands.

He slammed his bike down on the ground a few more times and then finally, I guess he got on his way. Now, that reminded me of this verse. The wrath of man worketh not what? The righteousness of God. It just makes you look like a fool.

It doesn't accomplish anything. And yet we get panicked, we get frustrated, we get in a hurry, we act like that fellow sometimes. When if we just take a moment take a breath talk to God about it. He would calm our fears. He do to 're that.

That. That. We're We're making a bigger mess of things. How easily I seem to forget that the one who calmed the sea, who fed the 5,000, who healed all manner of affliction, who rose from the dead, is here to help me. Does it not make sense to take time to talk with him?

Before I go go off dashing hurriedly in 12 different directions. I think it does. What we need to do is learn learn to lean on Jesus. More than our own understanding and strength. There's a song I learned as a kid.

It's entitled Learning to Lean. Learning to lean. Learning to lean. I'm learning to lean on Jesus. Finding more power than I'd ever dream I'm learning to lean on Jesus are we learning to lean on Jesus I hope we are maybe sometimes we need a little little reminder And our savior provides that with us here.

Though he was the king of kings and Lord of lords, he still needed to take time to talk with his heavenly father. I think we need to take time spend time with ours. Philippians four six and sevens be it says, be careful for nothing. Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known unto God and the what? And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

What do we want? Do we want peace? And success and and hope, joy, or do we want to look like that guy trying to cross the street on his bicycle? I dare say as Christians, not only should we desire the peace of God which passes all understanding. I think as Christians, we know better than to act the other way.

We need to learn to go to him and to wait upon the Lord. We see that in Christ. We see his compassion. We see him taking time to spend with his father and then we see he takes off out into the sea. Going out to his disciples.

Look if you would in verse 47 and when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea and he alone on the land and he saw them toiling and 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 them by. The fourth watch of the night, that's between three and six in the morning. So, they had left sometime at night. He had told them to leave but in one of the gospels, it said they they they waited a while hoping that he would show up to go with them but he didn't. He went to pray instead and so, they obeyed and they got in their ship and they they took off.

But they got partway across the Sea Of Galilee and a storm came up and the winds were blowing the opposite direction. The sails did them no good. They had to put them down and they started rowing and they were getting nowhere. So now, it's three between three and 06:00 in the morning and they still hadn't reached the other side. And Jesus of course knew this.

Jesus of course saw this. Say, well, yeah, he was up there and he he just happened to see across the Sea Of Galilee in the middle of the night that they were, no, he didn't see, I don't think with physical eyes. Remember, he is the son of who? Amen. He is the son of God and he knew what they were struggling with and I'm sure they wondered why he had sent them.

If he knew what was happening to them, they were frustrated. I'm sure they were panicked. But Jesus knew exactly what he was doing Sometimes in the service of Christ, the night closes in on us while the savior seems distant but do not fear. He is never far away from his children. That storm and those waves and that sea, that wasn't a barrier to Jesus at all.

Sometimes, it seems only to get worse as we follow his instructions but remember, it is as they say, darkest just before the dawn. He promises in his word never to give us more than we can handle. He promises always to provide a way of escape and he promises never to what? Leave us nor forsake us. Life often sends headwinds and even more so when we are pursuing the will of God in our lives.

Why? Because we have an enemy that doesn't want us to get to the other side. We have an enemy that doesn't want us to bring glory to our savior. He doesn't want us to grow in our faith. He doesn't want us to believe and trust in our God and so he throws storms in our path to discourage us, to frustrate us, to try to get us to give up and to give in.

So, yes, headwinds do come to those who are following God's instructions. Expect strong winds to blow. Expect friends and family, health, and finances to throw up obstacles in your path. I've had a few minor health obstacles thrown up in my path in the last two years. It's a little bit frustrating but you know something?

I'm right here today And you know why? Because the Lord has helped me through those things. Some of you have suffered a lot worse than I ever have. And you're here too. The Lord has seen you through.

He will continue to do so. Just keep trusting in him. Jesus saw their need and Jesus came to their aid just when they needed him to and just how they needed him to. Sometimes, we pray and we pray and nothing seems to happen. You know, God is not deaf.

And God is not complacent but God knows when we need help and how we need help and it isn't always as we think. It isn't always as we think. But when we need him most we will see him most and they saw him but in their panic and in their fear, they didn't recognize it. They were sailors on a ship in the middle of the sea and it is apparition, phantom, flowing across the water. And rather than concluding right away, it was Jesus coming to their aid.

They cried and screamed. Oh, there's a ghost. You say, well, they should never have done that. They knew better. So do we.

But sometimes, we allow things in life to startle us the same way. I dare say if I saw a ghost or apparition, I might be a little bit apprehensive myself. They should've they should've known better but as Mark says here in the passage, he says, because of their hard hearts, they hadn't completely soaked in what had just happened with the feeding of the 5,000 on the mountain. I would say, we would probably say it was their hard headedness. From which we also suffer as they did.

Say, but pastor, I'm not hard headed. Well, I dare say there are things God asked us to do and we I don't know. I don't know if I could do that. I don't, does he really want me to do that? We read in his word.

Well, boy, I can't do that or or do I have to stop this or I can't live without that. What is that? That's hard headedness. Ness. God knows what he's talking about.

Look what God's done for you. Look what he's done for me. Why is it that we are so doubtful at times? After having experienced the deliverance of God in Christ from the bondage and penalty of sin, having seen him do so many things in the lives of others, After having experienced for ourselves the goodness and the power of God, we still get scared and panicked when we hear bad news. We still get timid and hesitant when we get an assignment from God that takes us out of our comfort zone.

Oh you of what? Oh you of little faith. Why do you doubt his love and companionship? Why do you doubt his direction? Why do you doubt his power?

You have no need nor do I. We know his power. We have seen it. Why do we doubt it now? Simply trust and obey.

Hang on and believe. Don't be surprised when our loving Lord comes to our aid once again. He will but we need to learn to trust and obey like his disciples needed to as well. All they trusted enough to put their ship in the water, they obeyed enough to get out there in the water but when the storm came, they got panicked just like we do. When Jesus came, they didn't recognize him at first.

He knows sometimes we don't either. People come to me and say, you know, this happened and that happened and this happened. Oh, I'm just overwhelmed and God doesn't care. But God is there Sometimes, he's chasening us because the problem is us Sometimes, it just isn't the right time yet for him to jump in. He's trying to teach us a lesson.

But he's there. Thing is we just don't see him. We misinterpret what's going on. If we knew him and knew his word better, we wouldn't jump to conclusions like we do. He is there.

When I got up one morning and I couldn't walk straight, couldn't really stand straight because my vertigo went bananas. He was there. When I one day went to to my kid's school to drop him off and walked back to the car and all of a sudden, I couldn't walk because my herniated disc pressed upon my sciatic nerve and I couldn't do anything for two hours but lay in the back of my car and and wince in pain. He was there. He was there.

He had a plan. Some things I needed to learn. You know, something I I understand people that have back problems a little more than I used to. I understand people have vertigo problems a little more than I used to. Jesus knew exactly where they were.

He knew exactly what they were encountering. He knew their need and he knew their fear. And he had a plan. He does for us too. All things work together for good to them that love the Lord.

To those who are the called according to his purpose. They pass, I don't understand that. Well, I don't understand it all but I believe it. And I understand and I've seen God perform it. Not all things are, not all things are good.

Some things are just downright bad. But if you stick with the Lord, he'll take the bad things and he'll make bring something good out of it. He has a purpose. So, Jesus came to them at just the right time to calm their fears, just at the right time to strengthen their faith. Don't you believe he will show up to help you?

Be there for you. He already is really. That brings us to the conclusion in verse fifty one and fifty two. Says, and he went up unto them into the ship and the wind ceased. They were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure and wondered for they considered not the miracle of the loaves for their heart was hardened.

Jesus said to them, it is I, don't be afraid, be of good cheer. He got in the boat with him. Even though they were hardhearted and hard headed and even though they first thought he was a ghost and not Jesus, it didn't stop him from getting in the ship with him. And the moment he got in the ship, what happened to the sea? It went calm.

He didn't even have to say peace be still like he did another time. As soon as he got in the ship, everything was okay. We need to learn that with cry, there was a single song in Vacation Bible School with the kids. It goes with Christ in the vessel, we can smile at the storm. It has motions to go with it.

I won't do the motions. I'll embarrass my kids. But indeed with Christ in the vessel, we can smile at the storm because no matter what's going on around us, if Christ is in the vessel with us, we need not be what? We need not be afraid. The storms of life, the the the financial troubles, the the health issues, the what whatever it is that's swarming around us.

You don't need to be afraid. Because Jesus is with you. If you know him if you are his child and if you're not, you can be. He came to die for you. He wants to get in your ship with you but you must let him in.

Soon as he got in the ship, everything the wind ceased and the one of the other gospels indicates that his minute he get in, he got in the ship, they were at land He got in the ship and boom, they were there. We need to learn to trust him We need not be afraid Christ brings peace He brings peace with God through his sacrifice on Calvary's Cross to all of them, those who come to him in faith and call upon him to be the Lord and savior of their life. But he also gives the peace of God in the middle of the storms of life. For he is there. And if we will, as Philippians four, six, and seven said, if we'll go to him in prayer with thanksgiving, he will give us peace that passes all understanding.

And he will bring us safely to the other side. Jesus said to his disciples in John chapter 14. He said to them, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you.

I go to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am, there you may be also. We can trust Jesus to keep promises. He will deliver us safely to the other side. He will jump in the ship with us. He is there beside us even when we don't see him.

We don't have to fear we can trust and we can be at peace and we can pray and spend time with our God and intercede in behalf of others we know who may not have that peace, who may not know that savior because he offers that same peace, forgiveness, and salvation to them. They need to about it too. Let's close in prayer. Lord, we thank you for peace that passes all understanding as we learn to trust, go to you. We thank you Lord for the compassion of our savior.

We thank you Lord for the example of spending time with our Lord which we need to do more than more than we know. Lord, forgive us of being in such a hurry that we don't have time to spend with you. Help us to see that the greatest need we have is to gain strength and grace from our Lord and from his word. Lord, forgive us of being in such a hurry hurry Lord, that we don't have time for you. Forgive us for getting panicked over the things of life and not coming to you.

Help us, Lord, to trust you more. Help us to have peace in our heart knowing. That you're there even when we can't see you. Lord, that you do have a plan even though we may not know it. Lord, give us peace that passes all understanding and help us to mature and to grow into the kind of Christians Lord.

That can share with others what you have done for us and we pray Lord if there be one here today that's never received the Lord Jesus as Lord and savior of their life as we give this hymn of invitation this morning. I pray they might come. They might come to you. For they need you In Jesus name, we pray Amen