Sermon Tone Analysis

22

Last week we saw that Jesus and His disciples went to get some down time after such a busy time and to come to terms with the death of John the Baptist but a multitude of people, about 8000, were waiting when they landed.

An opportunity had presented itself, an opportunity not wasted but now what?

The people had been fed and they had witnessed the miracle.

Now, it was time to have alone time again.

This time, however, Jesus made His disciples go away in a boat whilst He stayed behind.

The disciples were on their own.

Jesus was on His own.

But even if this may have been so His disciples were never really alone.

23

Jesus went up the mountain to pray.

When did we ever set aside time to pray by ourselves, alone?

Jesus needed to, had to, spend time with His Father.

This was especially true now as the people of that area wanted to make Him king according to John’s gospel.

But His mission was not about becoming king but to suffer and die for those He came to save.

So, Jesus needed to pray and He did so for a minimum of 6 or 8 hours.

It had been a long and exhausting day but His strength was not found in sleep but by reinvigoration through fellowship with His Father.

Prayer was to help Him refocus on what God wanted Him to do.

In fact, Jesus did nothing without His Father’s say so:

This begs the question then that if Jesus had to spend time alone with God in order to know what God wanted them to do, to say, and to teach why do we think we can do without prayer?

It is prayer that causes us to be able to go on, to have power for living and cause us to capture and cast down every thought that is against God that arises within ourselves and others, and to grasp God’s intentions and will.

24-25

Then sometime between 3 and 6am Jesus could see the disciples in the boat about 3 miles off shore and that they were going nowhere fast.

It was Jesus’ instructions for them to go across the lake, so this was His will.

Listen carefully, it may be God’s will for us to go through troubled waters, to struggle with life’s issues, to seem to be going nowhere and everything is just against you; remember that the disciples were doing what Jesus told them to do; they had done nothing wrong.

To have only gone 3 miles after rowing for a few hours means that they really had had it tough remembering that many of the them were seasoned fishermen.

Do the disciples get an answer for all this trouble?

Do they simply take it in their stride?

Do they complain?

The fact is that life will throw all sorts of things at us.

Indeed it was Jesus who said:

We can have peace in the midst of a storm even though it can be very hard going but trouble will come nevertheless but we have to remember it is only temporary; this world has been overcome by our Lord and in Him we can trust.

26-27

Is that Jesus?

Has He died?

Is that His ghost?

Help! Mark’s gospel tells us that Jesus was simply going to pass them by!

But their fear got the better of Him.

Don’t worry boys, it’s me!

As we just read in John He also says here: Be of good cheer!

Nothing to be afraid of here.

It is remarkable just how similar these words are.

Is that what some of you need to hear today?

Be of good cheer!

There is nothing to be afraid of.

Nothing at all.

He says: I am with you no matter what and you’ll come through the other end and wonder what all the fuss was about.

Right in the midst of it all Jesus is here.

It is all a matter of perspective, you see.

If this life is all that is on offer then you will be forgiven to think that you are having a bad dealt hand but it is not, is it?

This life by comparison to eternity is but a blip.

I certainly empathise with the fact that trouble does not feel like it but we must not get too caught up on feelings but upon God’s promises, instead.

This is why, from this week, I am including promises of God on the bulletin for us to think about and take in.

These are facts, truth that we can rely upon whether we are feeling up or down.

These have potential to transform us if we allow His Word to penetrate us.

28-31

Peter never ceases to amaze.

Jesus was walking on the water in the midst of a very windy night, so it was incredibly dark, blustery and the waves were choppy.

These were dangerous waters.

I like to be on a boat during these kinds of times so it was one August Irena and I and our nephew went down to Penarth pier to catch The Waverley to go over to Ilfracombe.

Only the boat could not dock for the water was turbulent and instead it took a chunk out of the pier, which was shocking for us waiting there on the pier.

They gave up and ruined my trip of a lifetime!

But it was treacherous and probably a good thing we did not get to go onboard.

We only need to remember a paddle steamer that sank a couple of week’s ago.

So, it is all the more the surprising that Peter, even though he is impetuous, was willing to climb out of the boat at all.

Credit must be given where due.

He did not get out without permission from the Captain of the Sea.

Jesus told him: “Come!”

The permission was granted but it actually became a command.

Come!

And wow! Peter walked on water.

So, now we have had two people who have walked on water: Jesus and Peter.

We forget this.

What an experiment!

What faith!

What is faith?

Is it not our word for ‘trust’?

He trusted Jesus completely.

He got out of the boat and walked upon the water.

Suddenly Peter became aware of his environment and realised that it was more dangerous than at first it seemed.

And he took his eyes of the ball.

Well, not the ball, but his eyes off Jesus.

Friends, how apt this is for us.

When is it that we make a mountain out of a molehill?

Is it not when we take our eyes of Jesus and place it upon the problems around us? I’m being a little unfair with the mountain out of a molehill for Peter’s molehill was a mountain, a mountain of waves.

So, even if the problem is truly a mountain our eyes should not be upon that but upon Jesus.

Do we take to heart what God says?

He will never leave you nor forsake you.

He will not allow things to be so overwhelming according to Isaiah 43.

And so on, again with the promises of God.

So, the question again is: Who do we trust?

Do we trust that what we see about our circumstances is right or do we trust that what God says about our circumstances are right?

Remember from God’s perspective everything else is small in comparison, for even the earth is His footstool.

Peter absolutely trusted Jesus but then he got distracted.

And he sank straight into what he saw was the problem.

But let us not treat him so harshly for I wonder how we would have fared.

I wonder whether we would have even dared to get out of the boat.

But even when he sank He cried out to Jesus for help and immediately He was there to take him by the hand.

This is the grace of God.

Even when we fail He doesn’t let us drown.

Oh, and how we fail!

He still does not let us go down to what we deserve but picks us back up and back to safety.

Why did you doubt? was the question Jesus asked Peter.

You were doing so well!

You can sense disappointment in Jesus for He wanted Peter to succeed.