WEBVTT 00:00:06.959 --> 00:00:12.720 This sermon was recorded at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota. 00:00:21.600 --> 00:00:36.079 The Old Testament person named Job has become associated, right, rightly or wrongly, with pain and suffering and agony. 00:00:38.000 --> 00:01:00.159 But if you can sort of divorce your mind from that reality and look at Job in an entirely new way, you might begin to see that Job is all about the gospel of God's sovereignty. 00:01:01.600 --> 00:01:04.879 The gospel of God's sovereignty. 00:01:05.439 --> 00:01:11.760 The good news that God is in absolute control of all things. 00:01:13.519 --> 00:01:16.799 Now, what are you going to do with that truth? 00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:35.359 When we see Job in that light, it should come as no surprise then that Job's experience serves a supporting role to our account in Matthew's Gospel. 00:01:35.760 --> 00:01:56.640 If you would join me, please, in Matthew chapter 14, if you are visiting with us or a guest of ours this morning, we've been working our way through Matthew's gospel, and we find ourselves this morning in Matthew 14, where we see the sovereignty of God on display. 00:01:57.120 --> 00:01:58.879 Matthew chapter 14. 00:01:59.920 --> 00:02:04.000 Going to begin reading in verse 22, if you would like to follow along. 00:02:04.319 --> 00:02:08.000 We'll make our way through verse 33 this morning. 00:02:09.759 --> 00:02:21.039 Immediately it says, Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side while he dismissed the crowds. 00:02:21.759 --> 00:02:28.319 And after he dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. 00:02:29.199 --> 00:02:34.240 And when evening came, he was there alone. 00:02:35.520 --> 00:02:44.479 But the boat, by this time, was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 00:02:45.599 --> 00:02:56.080 And in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus came to them, to the disciples in the boat, walking on the sea. 00:02:57.280 --> 00:03:02.960 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and they said, It's a ghost. 00:03:04.719 --> 00:03:06.879 And they cried out in fear. 00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:12.000 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, Take heart. 00:03:12.240 --> 00:03:13.439 It's just me. 00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:16.000 Do not be afraid. 00:03:17.439 --> 00:03:23.280 Peter answered him, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. 00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:26.719 He said, Come. 00:03:27.919 --> 00:03:32.080 So Peter got out of the boat and he walked on the water. 00:03:32.639 --> 00:03:35.039 And he came to Jesus. 00:03:36.159 --> 00:03:39.919 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid. 00:03:40.240 --> 00:03:44.400 And beginning to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me. 00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:55.039 And Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, Oh, you have little faith, why did you doubt? 00:03:56.319 --> 00:04:00.240 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 00:04:01.680 --> 00:04:11.199 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, Truly, you are the son of God. 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:23.839 Lord Jesus, may we leave this place this morning worshiping you because you are the Son of God. 00:04:26.639 --> 00:04:37.519 Lord, I am wholly inadequate to reveal the depth of your identity displayed in this situation. 00:04:37.920 --> 00:04:46.399 So may your spirit work in us to enable us to know you even better today. 00:04:46.959 --> 00:04:47.600 Amen. 00:04:49.680 --> 00:05:04.879 This account teaches us that the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ informs and motivates our worship of Him and our trust in Him. 00:05:06.079 --> 00:05:19.519 Everything in this passage is about the deity of Christ and how we, as His followers, as His disciples, respond to who He is. 00:05:20.800 --> 00:05:23.040 The story is told in three parts. 00:05:23.439 --> 00:05:34.240 If you were following along in the ESV, you can see that each one of them begins with the word immediately, connected then to an action of Jesus. 00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:37.759 We don't find this word often in Matthew's gospel. 00:05:38.480 --> 00:05:43.199 Mark uses the word immediately a lot, over and over and over again. 00:05:43.439 --> 00:05:45.519 Matthew doesn't do that as much. 00:05:45.600 --> 00:05:50.480 And so when he does, especially in quick succession, we ought to pay attention. 00:05:50.560 --> 00:05:52.160 We ought to see, hey, what's going on here? 00:05:52.240 --> 00:05:53.839 Why is he doing this? 00:05:54.959 --> 00:06:02.800 Now the second of the three occurrences and the third of the three occurrences seem quite normal. 00:06:03.519 --> 00:06:07.839 They take place just in the natural progression of the storyline. 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:11.519 So in verse 27, the disciples are terrified, right? 00:06:11.600 --> 00:06:18.079 They see Jesus, this ghost, walking on the water, and they're terrified, and immediately Jesus speaks. 00:06:18.319 --> 00:06:19.439 He reassures them. 00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:21.439 That's normal, that's natural. 00:06:21.759 --> 00:06:25.279 Verse 31, Peter is sinking in the water. 00:06:25.519 --> 00:06:33.040 The waves are threatening to come over him, and immediately Jesus reaches out to rescue him. 00:06:34.480 --> 00:06:40.639 The first occurrence of the word immediately seems out of place. 00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:47.600 Jesus had just fed the 5,000, which we looked at the last time we were in Matthew's gospel. 00:06:48.959 --> 00:06:51.279 The disciples gathered up the leftovers. 00:06:51.360 --> 00:06:52.480 You remember that, right? 00:06:52.639 --> 00:07:01.360 They gathered up the leftovers and gathered them into twelve large baskets, so they had far more left over than they began with. 00:07:03.439 --> 00:07:07.759 They gathered up the leftovers and immediately they got into a boat. 00:07:08.800 --> 00:07:10.480 Why so quickly? 00:07:12.399 --> 00:07:13.120 Why so quickly? 00:07:13.279 --> 00:07:17.279 And if you pay attention to the details, you'll notice that the crowds are still there. 00:07:18.079 --> 00:07:32.480 While the crowds are still surrounding Jesus, he orders his disciples to get into the boat, and after they get into the boat and start across the sea, then Jesus starts dismissing the thousands upon thousands of people. 00:07:34.399 --> 00:07:37.519 Why in such a hurry to get into the boat? 00:07:37.839 --> 00:07:42.560 Couldn't the disciples at least stick around and help Jesus send off the people? 00:07:43.120 --> 00:07:44.959 What's so bad about that? 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:56.480 There doesn't seem to be anything here in the storyline of the gospel that necessitates Jesus sending his disciples away immediately. 00:07:58.959 --> 00:08:11.680 Yet if we think about it and look with greater care, we will see that that is a key to seeing how the deity of Christ informs and motivates our worship and our trust. 00:08:12.000 --> 00:08:19.360 For Jesus is the direct cause of the disciples' terrifying situation on the Sea of Galilee. 00:08:19.519 --> 00:08:21.120 This is in the middle of winter. 00:08:21.839 --> 00:08:34.480 Middle of winter, there are wind storms that come in over the Golan Heights and they funnel down to the valleys and they stir up the water into massive waves. 00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:48.000 Yet Jesus made the disciples get into the boat. 00:08:48.159 --> 00:08:52.960 It's a word that means to compel or to force someone to do something. 00:08:54.799 --> 00:09:02.399 It's the only time in the Gospels where it's recorded that Jesus forced his disciples to do something. 00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:04.639 It's interesting. 00:09:05.440 --> 00:09:13.759 Why would Jesus make his disciples order them to get into the boat while he dismisses the crowds? 00:09:14.639 --> 00:09:17.759 They're made to leave the feeding of the people early. 00:09:18.080 --> 00:09:20.000 They're made to get into the boat without Jesus. 00:09:20.159 --> 00:09:25.440 They're forced to go across the Sea of Galilee while Jesus remains behind. 00:09:25.679 --> 00:09:33.279 So the disciples are unknowingly heading into a difficult and potentially dangerous winter storm. 00:09:34.080 --> 00:09:44.080 And Jesus knowingly made them get into the boat and head out into the sea to meet the storm. 00:09:46.480 --> 00:09:49.200 Now the text here is clearly about Jesus. 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:54.399 All of the immediate actions are about Jesus. 00:09:55.120 --> 00:09:57.679 He immediately forces the disciples to get into the boat. 00:09:57.759 --> 00:10:00.480 He immediately answers their fears in the middle of the night. 00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:02.559 He immediately rescues Peter. 00:10:02.720 --> 00:10:05.519 Jesus is the main character of this account. 00:10:05.759 --> 00:10:07.519 He is its subject. 00:10:07.840 --> 00:10:14.240 But everything about Jesus is for the benefit of the disciples. 00:10:17.120 --> 00:10:19.360 It's for your benefit, too. 00:10:20.639 --> 00:10:26.399 But we have to understand benefits properly. 00:10:27.519 --> 00:10:34.480 When I was in grade school, elementary school, I would sometimes come home from school at the end of the day and ask my mom for a snack. 00:10:39.200 --> 00:10:45.840 But my family ate supper at 5:30 on the spot. 00:10:47.039 --> 00:10:53.440 And so my mom would most often say no, because, in her words, it would ruin my supper. 00:10:54.159 --> 00:10:56.320 Oh, I hated that phrase. 00:10:59.679 --> 00:11:04.879 There were times when I thought I would starve because I didn't get anything to eat. 00:11:05.120 --> 00:11:08.559 And that was back in the day when they didn't give us snacks at school, right? 00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:13.360 But her saying that was a benefit to me. 00:11:13.840 --> 00:11:14.240 Right? 00:11:14.799 --> 00:11:24.960 She understood in wise parenting that I needed the nutrients and the benefit from eating a meal, not just having a little bit of a snack. 00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:31.279 And if I ate a snack, I wouldn't eat as much of the meal, and so wouldn't get as much of the nutrients. 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:39.519 Her saying that I couldn't have a snack was for my benefit. 00:11:40.639 --> 00:11:45.679 But I don't necessarily feel in the moment that it's a benefit, do I? 00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:54.000 In the moment I'm feeling my stomach growling, I'm feeling it tighten, and it wants more food. 00:11:55.200 --> 00:12:05.759 So not having food is not a benefit in my mind, but from the mind of a parent to a child, it is beneficial, is it not? 00:12:07.360 --> 00:12:16.480 My friends, you must grasp this truth that Jesus loves you and sends you into storms for your benefit. 00:12:19.840 --> 00:12:33.840 If you only see it as harshness, you will not grow to see him in the fullness of his deity and so come to worship him and trust him as you should. 00:12:35.679 --> 00:12:43.840 I'm sure that the disciples did not see the benefit of going out onto the lake without Jesus. 00:12:44.720 --> 00:12:55.200 I'm sure they failed to see the benefit of having to move those massive roar oars against the waves and the sea all night long. 00:12:58.320 --> 00:13:09.840 I'm sure they didn't notice at all the benefit of being scared out of their minds out on the water in the middle of the storm while seeing someone walk on the water miles from shore. 00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:15.360 See, here's a hard truth. 00:13:17.039 --> 00:13:21.840 It's hard because it's hard to get through our systems of thinking. 00:13:22.879 --> 00:13:31.279 Jesus may indeed send you into terrifying circumstances. 00:13:31.919 --> 00:13:41.919 He may send you into trying circumstances, into travail of all kinds, so that you might know him better. 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:48.720 He may send you into situations that will test your faith. 00:13:49.360 --> 00:13:58.799 The Lord may send you into places and circumstances that, from a human perspective, seem to be far, far from the grace of God. 00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:03.759 Even out of reach of Jesus' help. 00:14:06.159 --> 00:14:12.799 Here are the disciples out in the middle of the Sea of Galilee, while Jesus in their minds is still on the hillside, back with the people. 00:14:13.120 --> 00:14:14.240 He's miles away. 00:14:14.399 --> 00:14:16.799 He can't help them in the middle of the sea. 00:14:24.559 --> 00:14:34.080 But we ought always to know that Jesus is always in the trial with us. 00:14:35.360 --> 00:14:39.840 He is always at the end of the terrifying circumstances. 00:14:41.200 --> 00:14:45.519 And we must see him in the midst of it and trust him and worship him through it. 00:14:45.759 --> 00:14:56.879 But just because disciples face difficult and dangerous situations does not mean that the Lord has not sent them into the storm. 00:14:59.919 --> 00:15:08.320 Jesus already told these same men that he was sending them out into a world that hated Jesus. 00:15:08.639 --> 00:15:09.600 And what did he tell them? 00:15:09.679 --> 00:15:12.480 He said, if the world hates me, then they're going to hate you. 00:15:12.799 --> 00:15:16.399 If the world wants to be rid of me, they're going to want to be rid of you. 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:31.360 They needed to learn the lesson that the will of the Lord may include horrendous situations in life, even at your Lord's direct order. 00:15:37.120 --> 00:15:39.200 Can we learn that lesson? 00:15:43.919 --> 00:15:49.919 Can we learn the lesson that Job learned? 00:15:52.320 --> 00:16:04.240 God's people often hear from supposed preachers and prophets that God wants you to always be happy, healthy, unhindered, having an easy life. 00:16:04.720 --> 00:16:07.360 That's a false gospel, my friends. 00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:09.279 That's not in your Bible. 00:16:09.440 --> 00:16:11.679 That's not the Jesus of the Bible. 00:16:11.919 --> 00:16:18.720 For here he sent his disciples directly into a situation that would challenge them to the core of their being. 00:16:18.960 --> 00:16:26.399 These are seasoned fishermen who are fighting for their lives, scared out of their minds. 00:16:29.360 --> 00:16:35.200 Oh, but Satan and his minions so often get the blame for these kinds of trials in our lives, don't they? 00:16:36.720 --> 00:16:44.879 Every test, every pain, every agony that we face must be the result of evil forces at work in the world. 00:16:47.360 --> 00:16:52.639 Well, that kind of teaching is at best insufficient. 00:16:53.600 --> 00:16:56.159 It doesn't give you the whole story. 00:16:56.399 --> 00:17:01.440 Of course, Satan can and does do things if God so allows him. 00:17:01.679 --> 00:17:03.360 Job chapter 1. 00:17:04.160 --> 00:17:05.599 Satan's at work in our world. 00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:07.119 He's the prince of the power of the air. 00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:08.799 He's the ruler of this dark world. 00:17:08.960 --> 00:17:11.119 Of course, he's going to be at work. 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:20.880 But it may very well be that God is the one ordering us into the boat for his eternal glory and for your greatest benefit. 00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:32.480 I know that this can be difficult to wrap our brains around because we've been trained. 00:17:32.720 --> 00:17:49.440 Really, we've been molded by avoidance of difficult truths to view God as only holy, loving, and kind and generous. 00:17:49.599 --> 00:17:53.440 And so we've turned him into a sort of cosmic Santa Claus. 00:17:56.000 --> 00:18:09.359 Yes, God is loving and generous and kind, but his goal is to bring glory to himself and to make his people into the image of his son, and that may take some trial by fire, with God Himself kindling the fire. 00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:18.559 Following Jesus often requires challenges of our faith. 00:18:19.519 --> 00:18:30.079 And he sends us into these challenges to gain clarity about his deity so that our worship and our trust might grow. 00:18:32.880 --> 00:18:35.599 Jesus sent the disciples away. 00:18:37.200 --> 00:18:40.319 Then he sent the crowds away. 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:44.160 And he remained alone. 00:18:44.880 --> 00:18:51.039 Now keep in mind that all they wanted at the beginning of this day was some downtime. 00:18:52.160 --> 00:18:59.119 If you back up in the context, the disciples and Jesus were taking a little bit of a vacation day. 00:18:59.839 --> 00:19:05.359 Just to get away, to get away from the people, to get away from the crowds, to rest, to have some relaxation. 00:19:05.920 --> 00:19:09.119 And then they end up dealing with thousands upon thousands of people. 00:19:09.279 --> 00:19:17.039 And not only do they not get a rest, Jesus spends the night praying on the mountainside, and the disciples spend the night rowing. 00:19:23.119 --> 00:19:26.720 This is the refreshment that they get. 00:19:27.920 --> 00:19:34.240 Jesus spends the night alone praying, and the disciples spend the night fearing for their lives. 00:19:37.680 --> 00:19:39.839 My friends, hear this clearly. 00:19:41.119 --> 00:19:42.960 You do not feel this. 00:19:44.079 --> 00:19:49.359 But the truth is that God uses sleepless nights to teach you about Him. 00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:58.480 God uses fearful nights to cause us to know Him more deeply. 00:20:02.319 --> 00:20:07.599 Darkness has arrived, and the boat is three to four miles from land. 00:20:08.480 --> 00:20:10.960 The other gospels give us that information. 00:20:11.200 --> 00:20:15.359 That would leave them about one to two miles from the opposite side. 00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:28.400 If you do the math in your head, that means they've spent six to nine hours crossing two-thirds of the sea. 00:20:31.119 --> 00:20:38.400 They're still far from land, they're in a deep portion of the lake, and it tells us that the boat is beaten by the wind. 00:20:38.559 --> 00:20:43.920 That the wind is personified here as though the wind is taking a wrecking ball to the boat. 00:20:45.519 --> 00:20:50.640 The wind is the one beating the boat as though to break it into pieces. 00:20:53.759 --> 00:21:00.799 In chapter 8, in a similar account, the emphasis was placed upon the waves working to capsize the boat. 00:21:00.960 --> 00:21:07.599 Here, the emphasis is on the wind driving the waves against the boat, keeping them from moving forward. 00:21:07.759 --> 00:21:12.640 They keep butting up against those waves in the wind, and they can't make headway. 00:21:16.640 --> 00:21:20.000 The word beaten is a strong, strong word. 00:21:20.640 --> 00:21:26.559 It means to torment or to harass, to keep on doing it, even to torture. 00:21:26.720 --> 00:21:33.039 It's used outside of Scripture to refer to the torture method of being stretched out on the rack. 00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:36.960 You can go home and research that more on your own. 00:21:39.200 --> 00:21:48.799 It's used in Scripture of sickness torturing a person, of the pains of childbirth, of mental anguish or pain. 00:21:49.279 --> 00:21:51.920 It speaks of intensity of torment. 00:21:52.079 --> 00:21:55.039 It's even used of end time judgment. 00:21:55.279 --> 00:21:59.759 So the dominant idea here is of severe, intense distress. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:03.200 All because the wind is against them. 00:22:04.480 --> 00:22:07.759 It's beating them down, it's wearing them out. 00:22:11.759 --> 00:22:16.240 And Jesus made them get into the boat. 00:22:20.079 --> 00:22:33.839 Whatever your theology, you have to wrestle with the reality that Matthew says, our Lord made us get into that boat. 00:22:39.359 --> 00:22:43.200 And in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus came to them. 00:22:44.640 --> 00:22:45.920 It's between 3 a.m. 00:22:46.079 --> 00:22:46.720 and 6 a.m. 00:22:46.880 --> 00:22:47.920 in the morning. 00:22:49.680 --> 00:22:51.039 Remember the story, right? 00:22:51.119 --> 00:22:55.519 The disciples see in the afternoon that the day's moving along. 00:22:55.680 --> 00:23:00.720 Jesus, we need to get the people out of here so that they can go find a meal before the day ends. 00:23:01.680 --> 00:23:05.039 Jewish way of thinking, the day ends about 6 o'clock. 00:23:05.519 --> 00:23:07.039 Jesus feeds them. 00:23:09.119 --> 00:23:12.400 Then sends the disciples away, then dismisses the people. 00:23:12.640 --> 00:23:18.640 So they probably got onto the boat somewhere six, seven, eight o'clock, maybe. 00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:30.400 And now we're three, four, five o'clock in the morning. 00:23:31.039 --> 00:23:34.880 And they've been rowing against the wind all night. 00:23:38.240 --> 00:23:40.079 They would have been weary. 00:23:41.680 --> 00:23:43.119 Like my voice? 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:45.039 Thank you, gentlemen. 00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:49.200 Appreciate you fighting against the Prince of the Power of the Air. 00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:51.440 Whatever that is. 00:23:55.680 --> 00:24:05.920 These poor guys, they would have been weary, exhausted, numb in body and in mind. 00:24:09.759 --> 00:24:13.680 Imagine rowing for six to eight hours on those wooden oars. 00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:16.000 Their hands might be bleeding. 00:24:17.839 --> 00:24:23.279 They would be fatigued, frazzled, and probably frantic. 00:24:26.160 --> 00:24:32.240 And Jesus just come strolling along on the water using the waves as his own personal highway. 00:24:36.720 --> 00:24:40.960 Walking on the water was something that only God did. 00:24:42.319 --> 00:24:47.039 And if you miss that, you miss everything about this passage of Scripture. 00:24:47.519 --> 00:24:52.960 I told you that Job plays a supporting role in this account. 00:24:53.200 --> 00:25:03.839 It's because in Job chapter 26 and verse 12, it says that God, by his power, stilled the sea. 00:25:07.200 --> 00:25:12.240 Most likely Job is the oldest book in your Bible. 00:25:13.759 --> 00:25:17.119 Probably written sometime around the time of Abraham. 00:25:17.279 --> 00:25:18.880 We don't know exactly. 00:25:20.160 --> 00:25:26.240 But putting all the clues together, it is most likely the oldest book in the Bible. 00:25:27.200 --> 00:25:36.720 And that means that as far back as our written record goes of our faith, the understanding is that God is in control of the waves. 00:25:37.440 --> 00:25:46.960 Oh, but it starts before that, because back in chapter 9 of Job, it talks about God alone stretching out the heavens and doing what? 00:25:48.160 --> 00:25:52.640 Trampling the waves of the sea. 00:25:54.160 --> 00:25:54.799 What? 00:25:56.319 --> 00:25:57.839 Yeah, that's your God. 00:25:58.559 --> 00:26:04.000 That's why Habakkuk would say about God's authority and God's sovereignty. 00:26:04.319 --> 00:26:07.599 You trampled the sea with your horses. 00:26:08.079 --> 00:26:10.079 The surging of the mighty waves. 00:26:10.240 --> 00:26:11.279 This is your God. 00:26:11.440 --> 00:26:14.400 Behold, your God, Isaiah says it. 00:26:15.279 --> 00:26:22.400 So the disciples catch a glimpse in the night of something on the surface of the water, something like a ghost. 00:26:22.640 --> 00:26:29.359 It's likely still dark, or at very best, just the beginning rays of dawn coming across the water. 00:26:30.640 --> 00:26:32.480 So what are they seeing? 00:26:35.519 --> 00:26:37.119 They're terrified. 00:26:38.480 --> 00:26:39.920 They're terrified. 00:26:40.160 --> 00:26:45.839 They're sleep deprived, they're fatigued, they're scared out of their minds as they perceive a phantom on the water. 00:26:47.440 --> 00:26:48.559 They're terrified. 00:26:48.799 --> 00:26:56.480 The same word, terrified, is used in the Greek translation of the Psalms in Psalm 77, verse 16. 00:26:56.640 --> 00:27:03.839 It says, When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid. 00:27:06.319 --> 00:27:10.480 Indeed, the deep troubled, trembled. 00:27:12.640 --> 00:27:15.200 Your way was through the sea. 00:27:16.720 --> 00:27:19.839 Your path through the great waters. 00:27:21.759 --> 00:27:23.920 Yet your footprints were unseen. 00:27:26.720 --> 00:27:28.960 See, the psalmist got it, didn't he? 00:27:29.839 --> 00:27:39.440 The psalmist said, When you put together the biblical picture of your God, he is sovereign over the greatest fear that sailors might know. 00:27:40.799 --> 00:27:47.440 The thing that they cannot control, the wind and the water and the waves, God tramples them. 00:27:48.400 --> 00:27:49.920 It's his personal highway. 00:27:50.079 --> 00:27:51.440 His way is through the sea. 00:27:51.519 --> 00:27:53.839 You can't even see his footprints. 00:27:55.440 --> 00:27:57.359 This is your God. 00:27:57.519 --> 00:28:00.640 Of course, we know all along that it is Jesus. 00:28:00.799 --> 00:28:03.039 The men on the boat didn't. 00:28:05.839 --> 00:28:11.920 And the issue is not that they thought they were seeing a ghost. 00:28:13.599 --> 00:28:17.599 The issue is that they didn't fully understand Jesus. 00:28:19.680 --> 00:28:21.519 Let that sink in. 00:28:23.200 --> 00:28:34.640 If they fully understood Jesus, they would have recognized God trampling on the waves of the sea. 00:28:37.039 --> 00:28:41.039 They didn't grasp his power even after the feeding of the five thousand. 00:28:42.319 --> 00:28:47.759 They couldn't translate his power then to the unknown. 00:28:49.519 --> 00:28:50.559 Let me say that again. 00:28:50.720 --> 00:28:56.400 They couldn't translate Jesus' power to the unknown. 00:29:01.039 --> 00:29:01.839 Storms. 00:29:08.160 --> 00:29:14.640 Storms show us, they reveal the inadequacies of our theology. 00:29:17.680 --> 00:29:28.720 The trials and the circumstances of life that God brings to us reveal the realities of what we know and what we believe. 00:29:31.200 --> 00:29:38.319 The disciples did not consider that Jesus could know of their situation and walk on the water to overtake them. 00:29:39.680 --> 00:29:42.799 They did not consider that he sent them into the storm. 00:29:43.440 --> 00:29:48.559 They were still growing in their understanding of his deity and growing in their worship and trust of him. 00:29:48.799 --> 00:29:56.400 And they needed to fully grasp that Jesus possesses all authority and is able to save. 00:30:00.799 --> 00:30:03.839 Try to put yourself in this impossible scenario. 00:30:22.160 --> 00:30:24.799 And it's windy out at Devil's Lake. 00:30:25.200 --> 00:30:32.880 Your friends are out there in the boat in Devil's Lake, and they're really wrestling to get back to shore. 00:30:34.480 --> 00:30:37.599 And you come walking up on the water to the boat. 00:30:39.599 --> 00:30:41.599 How do you introduce yourselves? 00:30:44.160 --> 00:30:45.200 Serious question. 00:30:45.839 --> 00:30:47.359 Don't worry, it's just me. 00:30:48.559 --> 00:30:49.200 What? 00:30:50.160 --> 00:30:52.319 How does that make any sense? 00:30:53.759 --> 00:30:56.559 People don't walk on water, right? 00:30:58.480 --> 00:31:00.079 What does Jesus do? 00:31:01.200 --> 00:31:08.480 How does Jesus let the disciples know that it's him instead of an apparition dancing on the waves of the sea? 00:31:09.279 --> 00:31:15.039 How would you convince your friends of a reality that defies all human explanation? 00:31:16.640 --> 00:31:18.240 Be courageous. 00:31:19.599 --> 00:31:20.799 That's what Jesus says. 00:31:20.960 --> 00:31:23.039 Take heart, literally, be courageous. 00:31:23.200 --> 00:31:26.079 It's I, don't be afraid. 00:31:26.880 --> 00:31:28.559 Now let's be honest here. 00:31:30.079 --> 00:31:31.039 It is I. 00:31:33.200 --> 00:31:35.599 Who is who is I? 00:31:37.119 --> 00:31:41.519 So you think you're seeing a ghost, and a ghost says, Don't worry, it's just me. 00:31:43.039 --> 00:31:44.640 What do you do with that? 00:31:46.160 --> 00:31:50.079 It tells you nothing about what your eyes are telling your brain. 00:31:50.240 --> 00:31:54.880 In fact, if I see a ghost and the ghost says to me, hey, be courageous, it's just me. 00:31:55.039 --> 00:31:57.119 I'm probably going to be more afraid. 00:31:58.880 --> 00:32:00.720 I doesn't help. 00:32:01.039 --> 00:32:02.799 But in this case it does. 00:32:03.119 --> 00:32:04.720 We have three options here. 00:32:05.039 --> 00:32:07.200 One, they recognized his voice. 00:32:10.240 --> 00:32:13.440 That might not be what's going on here since it was so windy. 00:32:13.599 --> 00:32:16.480 How do you recognize someone's voice in the midst of the wind? 00:32:16.960 --> 00:32:17.440 Maybe. 00:32:22.319 --> 00:32:25.200 Maybe there's more than we can see at face value. 00:32:25.279 --> 00:32:28.720 Maybe they could begin to sense his features. 00:32:29.359 --> 00:32:30.079 Maybe. 00:32:31.279 --> 00:32:36.160 Maybe hearing Jesus' voice cut through their fear a little bit and they got some clarity in their thinking. 00:32:36.319 --> 00:32:41.119 I would think that it would settle them down to some extent, but I think there's really something more going on here. 00:32:42.000 --> 00:32:43.839 There's a third option. 00:32:44.880 --> 00:32:53.039 And we really come to know more about this third option at the end of the Gospel accounts in the Gospel of John. 00:32:54.079 --> 00:33:00.079 Because in the Gospel of John, Jesus says something over and over and over again. 00:33:00.559 --> 00:33:06.079 For example, in John chapter 6, he says, I am the bread of life. 00:33:07.599 --> 00:33:12.720 In chapter 8 of John, he says, I am the light of the world. 00:33:14.240 --> 00:33:19.519 John chapter 10, he says, I am the good shepherd, and I am the door of the sheep. 00:33:19.680 --> 00:33:23.599 In John chapter 11, he says, I am the resurrection and the life. 00:33:23.839 --> 00:33:27.440 And throughout John, that's a theme that comes up again and again and again. 00:33:27.519 --> 00:33:33.119 It's an important one because of John chapter 8, beginning in verse 45 or so. 00:33:33.279 --> 00:33:36.240 There's this interaction between Jesus and the Jewish people. 00:33:36.720 --> 00:33:41.440 And they ask, Jesus, are you really greater than Abraham our father? 00:33:41.599 --> 00:33:47.359 And Jesus said, Truly, truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am. 00:33:50.720 --> 00:33:51.359 I am. 00:33:52.559 --> 00:33:57.759 You see, I am was the name of God that was declared to Moses in the Old Testament. 00:33:58.160 --> 00:34:04.079 When Moses was to go to Israel and said, Hey, it's time to pack up and go, we're leaving, God's leading us, and they asked, Well, who sent you? 00:34:04.240 --> 00:34:06.240 Tell them, I am sent you. 00:34:09.440 --> 00:34:11.360 The I am is the creator of all things. 00:34:11.519 --> 00:34:16.639 The I am is the covenant God who saves his people, and so they sought to stone Jesus for blasphemy. 00:34:16.800 --> 00:34:19.760 Now look at Matthew chapter 14, verse 27. 00:34:20.159 --> 00:34:24.719 Immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, Be courageous, I am. 00:34:27.039 --> 00:34:28.320 Do not be afraid. 00:34:31.039 --> 00:34:32.320 Literally what he says. 00:34:33.280 --> 00:34:34.719 Be courageous. 00:34:35.760 --> 00:34:36.400 I am. 00:34:38.239 --> 00:34:43.920 This is the first time we find I am used this way in the New Testament. 00:34:45.679 --> 00:34:47.119 Be courageous. 00:34:47.679 --> 00:34:49.119 I am not a phantom. 00:34:49.280 --> 00:34:51.920 I am the God who tramples the waves. 00:34:52.880 --> 00:34:54.000 Do not be afraid. 00:34:54.159 --> 00:34:57.440 I am the ruler of the wind and the sea. 00:34:58.079 --> 00:35:05.440 You're not seeing a spirit, you're seeing Emmanuel, the great I am, and with me you have no need to be afraid. 00:35:05.679 --> 00:35:12.079 Friends, theological truths are not easily grasped amidst terror and fear. 00:35:14.480 --> 00:35:22.000 Disciples must labor to write them on their souls before and after times of fear. 00:35:23.119 --> 00:35:41.119 God's children must learn of his deity and turn their hearts, their souls, their minds and their bodies to worship and to trust outside of those times, so that when those times come, our natural response to fear and uncertainty is trust and worship. 00:35:42.880 --> 00:35:46.880 See, Matthew wrote this not right after they stepped out of the boat. 00:35:49.440 --> 00:36:13.039 Matthew wrote this at least a decade or two decades later, so that the early church and all who follow would know that the Lord sends us into trying situations, so that we might learn that He is the great I am, that He is fully sovereign, He is fully trustworthy, and He says to His disciples, Are you ready to follow me? 00:36:16.880 --> 00:36:19.840 And in the midst of that situation, Peter's bold. 00:36:23.519 --> 00:36:24.400 Peter's bold. 00:36:24.559 --> 00:36:26.159 Peter answered him. 00:36:28.000 --> 00:36:30.000 It's an emphatic statement. 00:36:31.039 --> 00:36:39.360 Peter understands to some extent that Jesus is Lord, and so he submits to Jesus in asking the Lord to command him to climb out of the boat. 00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:45.840 In the grammar of the sentence, he's telling Jesus, Lord, command me, order me. 00:36:46.079 --> 00:36:49.679 You ordered me into the boat, now order me out of the boat. 00:36:50.719 --> 00:36:55.840 And the rest of the disciples are thinking, what has gotten into his head? 00:37:00.159 --> 00:37:05.440 We might think that Peter was being, as usual, boldly presumptuous self, and that may be right. 00:37:05.679 --> 00:37:06.960 That may be right. 00:37:07.920 --> 00:37:14.639 But we need to notice that Jesus does not rebuke Peter for being boldly presumptuous. 00:37:15.920 --> 00:37:18.079 The rebuke comes for doubting. 00:37:23.039 --> 00:37:24.000 Jesus. 00:37:24.880 --> 00:37:35.599 Jesus not only possesses the power to walk on the water, he possesses the authority and the power to bestow that right on other people as well. 00:37:38.800 --> 00:37:42.159 So he orders Peter to come. 00:37:43.599 --> 00:37:45.840 It's an imperative, it's a command. 00:37:46.639 --> 00:37:59.039 And in that moment, the Lord who rules the waters gave the authority to his disciple to make the waves his personal highway. 00:38:01.519 --> 00:38:05.280 Peter acted in greater faith than the rest of the disciples. 00:38:06.079 --> 00:38:11.679 He was the only one to believe that in the presence of the I Am he too could walk on water. 00:38:11.920 --> 00:38:19.280 And Peter became the first and last human created human being to walk on water, but he is human, after all. 00:38:19.440 --> 00:38:24.480 And very quickly, apparently, his eyes see the wind-driven waves. 00:38:26.159 --> 00:38:30.239 Maybe spray from the water is hitting him in the face. 00:38:31.920 --> 00:38:39.599 His eyes see the billowing of Jesus closed, and he instantly assesses the situation and realizes this is the perfect time to worry. 00:38:44.400 --> 00:38:49.360 And his eyes are taken off of Jesus and focused on the situation around him. 00:38:50.320 --> 00:38:51.840 And he begins to sink. 00:38:54.719 --> 00:39:01.760 I can't get beyond sometimes the irony that Peter's head is nearly underneath Jesus' feet. 00:39:06.000 --> 00:39:10.480 Before Peter had submitted to Jesus and asked for Jesus to command him. 00:39:10.800 --> 00:39:13.840 Lord, if it's really you, command me to come out under the water. 00:39:14.000 --> 00:39:17.199 Now, perhaps in a point of irony, he commands Jesus. 00:39:17.440 --> 00:39:18.800 Lord, save me. 00:39:18.960 --> 00:39:21.360 Don't just stand there, do something. 00:39:23.360 --> 00:39:25.360 And what an act of grace. 00:39:26.559 --> 00:39:28.239 Peter took his eyes off Jesus. 00:39:28.320 --> 00:39:29.440 He doubted, he feared. 00:39:29.519 --> 00:39:32.159 We might say, You get what you asked for, Peter. 00:39:32.559 --> 00:39:33.760 You deserve it. 00:39:34.079 --> 00:39:36.320 You're the one that stepped out of the boat. 00:39:39.440 --> 00:39:41.119 Verse 30 is important. 00:39:43.679 --> 00:39:50.239 When you read this in the language it was written in, the word saw comes first. 00:39:52.000 --> 00:39:59.039 Meaning it's it's put in that first place on purpose so that we might notice that that's the important thing here. 00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:01.119 Peter saw. 00:40:05.199 --> 00:40:09.599 When you stepped out of your house today to get into your car, what was the first thing you saw? 00:40:15.519 --> 00:40:19.199 Did you trust first or did you see first? 00:40:21.119 --> 00:40:25.360 See, in the midst of this trial, Peter is seeing with his eyes. 00:40:25.440 --> 00:40:28.559 He's not trusting with his heart. 00:40:29.760 --> 00:40:33.679 He was focused on what could take him down, not on who could keep him up. 00:40:34.719 --> 00:40:39.119 His senses were trained on what could kill him, not on who could give him life. 00:40:40.400 --> 00:40:47.440 His heart was stirred to worry by the waves rather than stirred to trust in the sovereign of the universe. 00:40:48.079 --> 00:40:50.960 Now, this might be a fisherman's natural inclination. 00:40:51.199 --> 00:40:53.519 As a fisherman, he needed to pay attention to the water. 00:40:53.679 --> 00:40:55.119 He needed to pay attention to the waves. 00:40:55.199 --> 00:40:59.519 He needed to see what direction the wind was coming from, the way the boat was floating. 00:40:59.599 --> 00:41:00.880 But that's the problem. 00:41:02.320 --> 00:41:08.000 The problem is when we look at our circumstances from our natural inclinations. 00:41:10.000 --> 00:41:14.000 Peter, when he looked at life from his natural inclination, doubted. 00:41:15.760 --> 00:41:20.800 There's only two times that this word is used in the Gospel of Matthew, once here and once in chapter 28. 00:41:23.679 --> 00:41:25.039 Makes it significant. 00:41:25.519 --> 00:41:31.199 Speaks of a wavering of the mind, a double-mindedness, a going back and forth between two opinions. 00:41:31.280 --> 00:41:33.840 And it just shows us that Peter is just like us. 00:41:34.639 --> 00:41:41.679 We know that we should not take our hearts and minds off of Christ, but we so often struggle with having our eyes on life. 00:41:43.920 --> 00:41:46.639