If Jesus is God

Introduction: Do you ever wonder why people say becoming a Christian is easy? All you got to do is ask Jesus into your heart. But have you ever thought about some of the other statements Jesus made such as…If you love me, you’ll do what I say. If you say you have fellowship with Him, but live in sin you are liar. If you deny me before men (your friends, boss, girl friend) I’ll deny you before my Father. Some will say Lord we did all these things for You, but i’ll say depart from my you workers of iniquity b/c I never knew you. It doesn’t seem to match up that just asking Jesus into your heart there is. From these four or five verses, Jesus puts more to salvation than a little asking Jesus into you heart and you are good to god! Today I want to look at the fact that you can be right in the middle of Jesus’ ministry, or tagging along in church, or you can know the answers and speak the language, you can be convinced of Easter Jesus dying on the cross and yet you can be hardened to Jesus in the worst way. The condition of our heart determines what we believe and then directs what we will do. Today I’d like to challenge you to be honest with yourself about the condition of your heart and then compare it to what you believe, and run it through the authenticity meter of what you do.

If Jesus is God, He can see everything about you.

this probably a little cheesy statement if I must confess. It sounds like a santa clause song about him seeing if you are bad or good.

But look at the text and see why this matters. Jesus has put the disciples in the boat and sent them across the lake. He dismisses the crowds and then goes to be alone.

While alone on the mountain he spends the next few hours praying. Usually when Jesus gets alone in the NT to pray something big is about to happen. It’s here where He reassures his mission, it’s here where He prays for the disciples who will lead the church, it’s here where Jesus prays for the future church, it’s in that alone time with the Father, He prays.

Then the text says the disciples are in the boat, struggling at the oar b/c of the wind.

Now this storm is happening in the forth watch of night. It is also a mile or more out into the sea. This is after midnight and before daylight. How does He see this?

Here’s how:

If Jesus is God, then Psalm 33:13“The Lord looks down from heaven; he observes everyone.”

If Jesus is God, then Proverbs 15:3 “The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, observing the wicked and the good.”

If Jesus is God, then Psalm 14:2 “The Lord looks down from heaven on the human race to see if there is one who is wise, one who seeks God.”

Just as God looks from heaven and sees mankind, and if Jesus is God, then He can see from heaven to earth and from land to sea.

But one more way He can see, Psalm 139:23–24 “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.”

He doesn’t just see you physically, he’s sees you spiritually. He sees the condition of your heart.

If Jesus is God, then 1 Samuel 16:7 “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have rejected him. Humans do not see what the Lord sees, for humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.””

Illustration:

Application

If Jesus is God, He can walk on water to get to you.

Again, my points are someone general and cheesy.

But think about what I said. The text says he saw them, saw their struggle, and took off after them.

Now before I get to the how to on this, lets consider the why He would want to.

1 Peter 5:7 “casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you.”

Psalm 8:4 “what is a human being that you remember him, a son of man that you look after him?”

John 3:16 “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

God cares about the condition of you! Therefore, He not only will leave the shore and walk to your boat, but if you believe He is God, then you believe He left Heaven to come to earth to take away the sins of the world!

Now how did Jesus do this? I don’t have some scientific reason to explain how he hovered like a newer Tesla over water. It wasn’t shallow water, and if it were an allusion then how did he get in the boat.

If Jesus was God then He walked on water.

Genesis 1:2 “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.”

Job 38:4–11 “Where were you when I established the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who fixed its dimensions? Certainly you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? What supports its foundations? Or who laid its cornerstone while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Who enclosed the sea behind doors when it burst from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and total darkness its blanket, when I determined its boundaries and put its bars and doors in place, when I declared, “You may come this far, but no farther; your proud waves stop here”?”

Hebrews 1:10 “And: In the beginning, Lord, you established the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands;”

Revelation 4:11 “Our Lord and God, you are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because you have created all things, and by your will they exist and were created.”

How does He get to you in your boat, well if he created the water, told it where it could stop, then it stands to reason He can walk on it to get to you.

But what is the typical response to people when Jesus starts walking toward their boat?

the disciples say they saw a ghost. I remember once i hear people call it a haint. I still don’t know what that word means. Maybe someone say its a ghost and someone said not it aint, and then they combined the word. Still not sure!

But with Jesus walking toward their boat, in a storm, completely visible all they possessed was fear.

Some people are right there with the disciples:

if Jesus gets in my boat what is that going to mean for me? Is He Going to change me? Is he going to change my situation?

Some don’t want Jesus getting in the boat, they know if He gets in the boat, things do change, and they are find struggling along without Jesus

Some have been hurt by the “Jesus world” and if Jesus gets in the boat, he brings all His followers, and man they can do some damage.

We could go on and on but I digress. What happens when Jesus starts walking toward your boat?

Illustration: Psalm 14:1 “The fool says in his heart, “There’s no God.” They are corrupt; they do vile deeds. There is no one who does good.”

Application: Either Jesus is God or He is not. Then Either Jesus is welcome in your boat or He is not.

If Jesus is God, He can get in your boat and control your weather.

Probably the cheesiest of the three points I know!

Notice that Jesus tells the disciples to take courage it is I. This isn’t a direct line to the I am statements of the Bible. But if Jesus is God, when He speaks to you or to the weather, things change. Therefore take courage b/c I am. Storm, peace be still, b/c I am

When Jesus gets in the boat two things happen.

the storm stops: they had already experience this when he was asleep and they were getting hit with a storm and they cried out that he didn’t care they were dying, and he asked them where was their faith. Faith in the boat? No! Faith in Him! Then they asks, who is that even the wind and the waves obey Him.

If Jesus is God, the winds and waves obey Him.

They will stir up or calm down

The disciples are astounded.

one of the other gospels say that the disciples say truly you are the Son of God.

To be astounded means:

In a moments notice they go to being scarred b/c of the storm, scarred b/c of a ghost (or haint, wherever you are from), or scarred and astounded b/c the Jesus you have been following just walked on water, got in the boat and everything changed.

Now notice this last section about the disciples.

Mark 6:52 “because they had not understood about the loaves. Instead, their hearts were hardened.”

The disciples have been doing ministry with Jesus for sometime. They have seen:

the lame walk

the blind see

the demon possessed delivered

the dead come to life

the diseased healed

the hungry fed on some kids lunch

and not Jesus walks on water, says take courage, and gets in their boat.

This last verse says that despite all they had seen, despite the doing ministry by going into towns preaching, healing, and casting our demons, they still did not believe!

They were hard hearted to Jesus being the Son of God.

They did not understand the loaves b/c of their hearts. They apparently hadn’t understood much of anything. And the Bible says it’s b/c of their hearts.

So see this:

the disciples were called, trained and participated in Jesus’ astounding ministry but did not have faith in Him and were not changed.

the disciples were sent out to preach, heal, and cast out demons, and they still did not have faith in Jesus.

The disciples saw miracle after miracle, and now they were seeing another thing they thought impossible, but they knew they couldn’t reason away.

The text says they didn’t get it. B/C of the hardness of their heart!

The condition of the heart matters…

Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it?”

Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Ezekiel 36:26 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”

Matthew 22:37 “He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”

But this is a decision you will make. Will remain in a state of hard heartedness or will I seek the Lord to search me and try me, show me the wicked and lead me in the way everlasting.

Finally, I want to show you something i’ve already touched on with out explaining it.

David was referred to as a man after God’s heart.

God had told Samuel that he saw Davids heart.

But just this week, if you are in a discipleship group you read the story of David and Bathsheba. David at that time, though his heart at one point seemed faithful to God, became rotten, he ignored the spirit of God, as he later said it was an aching in the bones, and he committed great sin.

But once he was confronted with his great sin, he penned those words for the Lord to search Him and create in him a clean heart and renew a steadfast spirit with him.

Maybe this is you. You are David looking at Bathsheba. Maybe you already took the plunge of sin. Maybe you are living in sin and nurturing that hart heart. Maybe you are hearing people confront you but you aren’t interested in Jesus getting in your boat.

Just know that today you are making a decision about Jesus being God. When you choose sin over Jesus, you say you don’t care that He’s God, b/c you know once you recognize Him as the Lord, He’s going to change more than your weather!

Conclusion