sf341 - Overcoming Man's Despair - 5 of 7 The Miracles of the Master (John 6 16-21)
Overcoming Man’s Despair
The Miracles of the Master – Part 5 of 7
John 6:16-21
Matthew 14:22-33
INTRODUCTION
Series Background
We have seen through these miracles that Jesus is the answer for man's greatest need. In turning the water to wine, we see that Jesus is the answer to man's disappointments. In the healing the Nobleman's son, we learned the cure for man's doubt. In the healing the invalid, we learned that Jesus could defeat man's disability. Through the feeding of the 5000, we saw how Jesus fulfills man’s desires. Today we will see how Jesus overcomes man’s despair.
Scriptural Background
The Feeding to the 5,000 was the lesson that set the background for this event. This is a tremendous test; the disciples were near shipwreck. There are several miracles here: the miracle of Jesus walking on the water, the miracle of Peter walking on the water, the miracle of Jesus calming the storm, the miracle of the boat being instantly on the other shore.
Often we find ourselves in a similar situation, life is filled with storms. We need to know what to do when the storm comes.
Where I come from we have thunderstorms. Sometimes they can be quite violent. Virgie, my wife’s aunt lives with us. She is very afraid of storms. When Micah, my youngest daughter was very small, Virgie taught her what to do when it stormed. One day it began to storm and my daughter, Micah ran and sat down on the couch. She told me, “Daddy, unplug everything, sit on the couch and be quite.” She knew what to do when it stormed. When the storms of life come do you know what to do?
1A. THE PROBLEM OF THE STORM (Matthew 14:24‑25)
1B. They were in the Middle of the Problem
They were in the “middle of the sea.” They were about 3-4 miles (5 kilometers) from shore. They found themselves caught in the middle. Life has a way of putting us in the middle.
2B. Everything was against them
The Scripture says, "The wind was contrary." It was a strong wind. Often it seems that everything is going against us. The winds of life blow contrary or against us.
3B. It was the Darkest Hour
The "4th watch" was the last watch of the night. It was dark and dangerous. The disciples did not know which way to go. They had a threefold problem: the distance from the shore, the direction of the wind, and the darkness of the night. God arranged it as an illustration of the problems we all have.
2A. THE PERFORMANCE OF THE SAVIOR (Matthew 14:25‑27)
Verse 27 literally says, "take courage, I am. Don't be afraid." Jesus used the name of God, the name "I am." This is the name for the great self existent God, it is a very holy name!
1B. This Name is a Declaration of Deity
Jesus was saying, “I am in charge here.” We need to see him as the Christ in the midst of our storm who is in charge.
2B. This Name is a Proclamation of Presence
Not I was, not I am going to be, but I am. This is the eternally contemporary Christ. He is just as real, just as near, just as dear, just as precious, and just as present today as He was then. He is with you right now, He is the eternal "I am."
3B. This Name is an Announcement of Abundance
"I am" is an unfinished sentence. Jesus says, “I am” and we can fill in the blank. He is all we need. Paul understood this truth when he wrote in
Philippians 4:19 (NASB) 19And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Again, Paul wrote in
Colossians 2:10 (NASB) 10and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;
Not only is Jesus is necessary, He is enough!
Whoever you are, He is enough
To the artist He is altogether lovely. To the architect He is the chief cornerstone. To the banker He is the hidden treasure. To the baker He is the living bread. To the biologist He is the life. To the builder He is the sure foundation. To the doctor He is the great physician. To the educator He is the great teacher. To the farmer He is the Lord of the harvest. To the florist He is the Rose of Sharon. To the geologist He is the rock of ages. To the jurist He is the righteous judge. To the jeweler He is the pearl of great price. To the lawyer He is my advocate. To the publisher He is the good tidings of great joy. To the philosopher He is the wisdom of God. To the preacher He is the word of God. To the sculptor He is the living stone. To the statesman He is the desire of all nations. To the theologian He is the author and finisher of our faith. To the traveler He is the new and living way. To the sinner He is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. To the saint He is the son of the living God, our savior, our redeemer, and our Lord. He is the I am!
3A. THE PROGRAM FOR THE SAINTS
Jesus shows us what we should do when we are in the middle of a storm.
1B. We need to see Jesus (Matthew 14:26)
We must spend enough time with God. We must spend time with God in prayer and reading His word until we see what they saw. They saw that what threatened to be over their heads was already under His feet!
Ephesians 1:22 (NASB) 22And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,
You cannot drown when your head is above the water!
John 16:33 (NASB) 33“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
2B. We must hear Jesus (Matthew 14:28‑29)
After the vision, there must be the voice! (Romans 10:17) We must have a word from God. Do not get out of the boat until God tells you to
There are many false prophets they teach a perverted gospel they say, “God wants to supply your needs. God can supply your needs. You get what you want by faith” so far so good. Here is the flaw – they tell you to “Name it and claim it.” You cannot claim it until God names it.
Faith is our response to God! He has a word for you, get quite until you hear Him. Where God leads, God provides.
3B. We must obey Jesus (Matthew 14:29)
Peter obeyed Jesus. Faith is our venturing everything on God's faithfulness. When Peter walked on the water, he was really walking on the Word. He believed God and did something about it.
The Bible is a book to be believed. We need to start obeying the Lord. We like the safety of the boat. So we sit and watch the Lord pass us by.
When we obey Him, we prove Him (Matthew 14:30).
Simon Peter did not drown and neither will you. Simon may not have walked very far but he walked further than the rest of the disciples. It is safer to be on the waves with Jesus than in the boat without Him! Simon faltered because he looked at his circumstance and not his Savior. We are commanded to keep our eyes of faith firmly fixed on Jesus.
Colossians 2:6 (NASB) 6Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,
Jesus will not let you drown.
Psalm 37:23 (NASB) 23The steps of a man are established by the LORD, And He delights in his way.
Peter got back to the ship one of two ways... he walked or Jesus carried him. Both are great ways to go.
When we obey Him, we will worship Jesus (Matthew 14:31‑33).
Why did Jesus walk on the water? So the disciples would know He was sufficient for them. The storm was a highway that brought Jesus to them! The problem was only a vehicle that brought Jesus to them! It brought Jesus in reality to them (v.33) "truly you are the Son of God."
APPLICATION
No matter what your problem is, he will come to you in it!
In the midst of your storm when life is the darkest and the wind is blowing against you. He comes to you right now. Whatever it is that seems to be over your head is already under His feet!
John 6:16-21
Matthew 14:22-33
INTRODUCTION
Series Background
We have seen through these miracles that Jesus is the answer for man's greatest need. In turning the water to wine, we see that Jesus is the answer to man's disappointments. In the healing the Nobleman's son, we learned the cure for man's doubt. In the healing the invalid, we learned that Jesus could defeat man's disability. Through the feeding of the 5000, we saw how Jesus fulfills man’s desires. Tonight we will see how Jesus overcomes man’s despair.
Scriptural Background
The Feeding to the 5,000 was the lesson that set the background for this event. This is a tremendous test; the disciples were near shipwreck. There are several miracles here: the miracle of Jesus walking on the water, the miracle of Peter walking on the water, the miracle of Jesus calming the storm, the miracle of the boat being instantly on the other shore.
Often we find ourselves in a similar situation, life is filled with storms. We need to know what to do when the storm comes.
Where I come from we have thunderstorms. Sometimes they can be quite violent. Virgie, my wife’s aunt lives with us. She is very afraid of storms. When Micah, my youngest daughter was very small, Virgie taught her what to do when it stormed. One day it began to storm and my daughter, Micah ran and sat down on the couch. She told me, “Daddy, unplug everything, sit on the couch and be quite.” She knew what to do when it stormed. When the storms of life come do you know what to do?
1A. THE PROBLEM OF THE STORM (Matthew 14:24‑25)
1B. They were in the middle of the problem
They were in the “middle of the sea.”
They were about 4 miles (5 kilometers) from shore. They found themselves caught in the middle.
Life has a way of putting us in the middle.
2B. Everything was against them
The Scripture says, "The wind was contrary." It was a strong wind.
Often it seems that everything is going against us. The winds of life blow contrary or against us.
3B. It was the darkest hour
The "4th watch" (3:00 am) was the last watch of the night.
Ø It was dark and dangerous.
Ø The disciples did not know which way to go.
They had a threefold problem:
Ø the distance from the shore
Ø the direction of the wind
Ø the darkness of the night
God arranged it as an illustration of the problems we all have.
2A. THE PERFORMANCE OF THE SAVIOR (Matthew 14:25‑27)
Verse 27 literally says, "take courage, I am. Don't be afraid." Jesus used the name of God, the name "I am." This is the name for the great self existent God, it is a very holy name!
1B. This name is a declaration of deity
Jesus was saying, “I am in charge here.”
2B. This name is a proclamation of presence
Not I was, not I am going to be, but I am.
This is the eternally contemporary Christ.
He is just as real, just as near, just as dear, just as precious, and just as present today as He was then. He is with you right now, He is the eternal "I am."
3B. This name is an announcement of abundance
"I am" is an unfinished sentence. Jesus says, “I am” and we can fill in the blank. He is all we need.
Philippians 4:19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Colossians 2:10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
Not only is Jesus is necessary, He is enough!
Whoever you are, He is enough
To the artist He is altogether lovely.
To the architect He is the chief cornerstone.
To the banker He is the hidden treasure.
To the baker He is the living bread.
To the biologist He is the life.
To the builder He is the sure foundation.
To the doctor He is the great physician.
To the educator He is the great teacher.
To the farmer He is the Lord of the harvest.
To the florist He is the Rose of Sharon.
To the geologist He is the rock of ages.
To the jurist He is the righteous judge.
To the jeweler He is the pearl of great price.
To the lawyer He is my advocate.
To the publisher He is the good tidings of great joy.
To the philosopher He is the wisdom of God.
To the preacher He is the word of God.
To the sculptor He is the living stone.
To the statesman He is the desire of all nations.
To the theologian He is the author and finisher of our faith.
To the traveler He is the new and living way.
To the sinner He is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.
To the saint He is the son of the living God, our savior, our redeemer, and our Lord. He is the I am!
3A. THE PROGRAM FOR THE SAINTS
Jesus shows us what we should do when we are in the middle of a storm.
1B. We must look to Jesus (Matthew 14:26)
We must spend time with God in prayer and reading His word until we see Jesus in our circumstances.
Ø They saw that what threatened to be over their heads was already under His feet!
Ephesians 1:22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,
You cannot drown when your head is above the water!
John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
2B. We must listen to Jesus (Matthew 14:28‑29)
After the vision, there must be the voice! (Romans 10:17)
Faith is our response to God!
3B. We must obey Jesus (Matthew 14:29)
Peter obeyed Jesus. Faith is our venturing everything on God's faithfulness.
The Bible is a book to be believed.
When we obey Him, we prove Him (Matthew 14:30).
Ø We are commanded to keep our eyes of faith firmly fixed on Jesus.
Colossians 2:6 As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,
Ø Jesus will not let you drown.
Psalm 37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way.
Ø Peter got back to the ship one of two ways... he walked or Jesus carried him. Both are great ways to go.
When we obey Him, we will worship Jesus (Matthew 14:31‑33).
Ø Why did Jesus walk on the water?
So the disciples would know He was sufficient for them.
Ø The storm was a highway that brought Jesus to them
It brought Jesus in reality to them (14:33) "truly you are the Son of God."
APPLICATION
No matter what your problem is, he will come to you in it!
In the midst of your storm when life is the darkest and the wind is blowing against you. He comes to you right now. Whatever it is that seems to be over your head is already under His feet!