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Series: Miracles
Sermon: /Jesus Walks On Water: Jesus Is Sovereign Over The Storms of Life./
John 6:16-21
Introduction: My high school made a very unusual choice when selecting a theme song to close out our football pep rallies.
They chose the 1969 Simon and Garfunkel song, “Like a Bridge Over Troubled Water.”
/When you're weary/
/Feeling small/
/When tears are in your eyes/
/I will dry them all/
/I'm on your side/
/When times get rough/
/And friends just can't be found/
/Like a bridge over troubled water/
/I will lay me down/
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/s/simon
and garfunkel/#share
I suppose it was the student body’s way of assuring our football team that we would be there for them if the game got tough.
The biblical scene we have before us today is one of troubled waters.
It is the scene of the Lord Jesus coming to His disciples and becoming like a bridge over troubled waters.
It follows the pinnacle of Jesus’ ministry after he fed 5000.
When you include the women and children present the crowd probably totaled over 20,000 people.
The Bible says that after the miracle of the bread and fish the people wanted to take Jesus by force and make him their king.
They wanted a political ruler who would set them free from Rome and who would feed their fleshly appetites.
Jesus came, however, to be a spiritual ruler, not a political one.
Jesus was more interested in souls than in stomachs.
He would rule in the hearts and lives of all who would place their trust in Him as Lord and Savior.
His throne would be a cross.
His crown would be a crown of thorns.
Knowing their intent and the subtle satanic suggestion to by-pass the cross, he emphatically dispersed the crowd.
After that He dismissed his 12 disciples, making them get into a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee.
Jesus knew that his own 12 were susceptible to the idea of making Him a King.
They had already argued among themselves as to who would be the greatest in his Kingdom, James and John even jockeying for the best seats at his right and left hand.
So He sent them away.
Jesus then retreated to the mountain to pray (Matthew 14:23).
We will never know the intimate details of the Son’s prayerful communion with the Father.
Perhaps His prayer was one of refreshment seeking a renewal of strength for the tasks ahead.
Perhaps His prayer was one of recommitment as He focused His heart anew on the Father’s will, including the cross.
One thing we can know for certain is that while our Lord was talking to the Father on the mountain above the disciples were in trouble on the lake below.
His disciples on the lake beneath Him suddenly found themselves in a massive storm that threatened to destroy them.
Amazingly and miraculously the Lord above saw the struggling disciples below.
He did more than see them; He went to them walking on the very troubles that threatened them.
Like the lyrics of the song, Jesus revealed the truth to His disciples that:
/I'm on your side When times get rough And friends just can't be found Like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down/
There is a profound principle in this passage.
Jesus is sovereign over the storms of life.
When disaster, difficulties, rejection, affliction, or troubles threaten to overwhelm us our Lord comes to us like a bridge over troubled waters in order to calm the storm.
Jesus walks over the very troubles that threaten to do us in and He calms the storm.
Would you join me this morning as we take a fresh look at this miracle so we can discover and apply its message to our lives?
Notice first that…
!
I. Jesus is Sovereign Over Our Dilemmas (John 6:16-18).
I hope you do not have the mistaken notion that following Jesus as your Lord and Savior insulates you from the problems and difficulties of life.
In fact, obedience to Christ often invites difficulties.
It was certainly true of these disciples and it will be true of us.
When you read the three Gospel of accounts of this incident you discover that Jesus made His disciples get into the boat with the instructions to go ahead of Him to the other side.
Both Matthew and Mark tell us that Jesus “made” the disciples get into the boat.
Matthew writes, “Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home” Matthew 14:22 (NLT).
You get the picture of Jesus shoving the boat away from shore.
The disciples had made it 3 ½ miles from shore to the middle point of the Sea of Galilee when suddenly and unexpectedly a storm arose.
The wind was against them.
The waves were buffeting them.
Mark in his account tells us that they were straining at the oars, but making little headway.
These seasoned fishermen were doing all they could to prevent the boat from capsizing.
And for the second time in their careers as followers of Jesus they found themselves in peril on the sea.
They were in the place of peril simply because they had obeyed Jesus Christ.
This storm represents every difficulty that came into the disciple’s lives from the moment they began following him to the end of their days.
Dear church, may this serve as a reminder that we too are in the place of peril as we follow the Lord Jesus Christ.
!! A. We are in the place of peril.
When did the disciples find themselves in peril?
When they obeyed the Lord and began to cross the lake.
One way to get yourself in trouble is by disobeying God.
Take Jonah for an example.
He was sent by God to Ninevah with the message of repentance, but he disobeyed God and went down to Tarshish and boarded a boat.
He sailed in the exact opposite direction God had sent him.
As a result he ended up going down to Tarshish, down to a boat, down into the sea, and eventually down in the belly of a great fish!
Down, down, down.
That is one way to get in trouble.
But it might surprise you to know that a second way to get in trouble in this life is through obedience to the Word of God.
John writes in verses 17-18, “Darkness had already set in, but Jesus had not yet come to them.
Then a high wind arose, and the sea began to churn.”
John 6:17-18 (HCSB)
The disciples found themselves in the place of peril because they obeyed the Lord!
Following the Lord does not grant us immunity from the trials of life.
It may be relatively easy for you to trust Christ initially at salvation.
When I was a twelve year old boy and trusted Christ as my Savior and Lord it was relatively easy.
The pastor was thrilled that I came forward.
The congregation wept with joy when I trusted Christ.
My family was happy when I trusted Christ.
But it has not always been easy to trust and obey the Lord since then.
Sometimes living for the Lord has led me right into the path of difficulty.
Have you learned this lesson?
* Take a moral stand for the Lord Jesus Christ and consequently some of your friends may reject you and ridicule you.
* Decide to live a godly life and the result may be that your unbelieving spouse denigrates you and harasses you for coming to church.
* Go to school and share the Gospel with your classmates at lunch and watch as some scorn you.
* Begin to tithe; give 10% of your income to the Lord’s work through the church and it may be in the aftermath of that decision that you lose your job.
Obedience to Christ does not give us immunity from difficulties.
Obedience to God’s will might place you in the middle of a storm, but obey God anyway, knowing that Christ is sovereign over our dilemmas!
The disciples had to learn this.
During the storms of life we may lose sight of Him, but He never loses sight of us!
The disciples were in the place of peril.
Where was Jesus?
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