R246 When All Arguments Cease Pt.1

God has an encouraging word for you and me today through the Bible-based teaching of Dr. Don Wilton on this edition of The Encouraging Word. What a powerful title!

This is When All Arguments Cease. Over the next couple of days, Dr. Don Wilton is going to be taking us both to the book of Matthew and the book of John about this concept of how God changes us from the inside out and changes both our actions and reactions. Again, as we open the Word together, know that we're open to connect with you in a number of ways, both on the phone at 866-899-WORD. Many people are asking about the fresh resources from Dr. Wilton's son, Dr. Greg Wilton. Take a look on our website at that fresh new book, The Origin of Everything.

That's on our website, www.tewonline.org, and many more resources. Great places to connect with the power of God's Word. And now, Dr. Don Wilton. Will you turn with me your Bibles this morning to John's Gospel and Chapter 6. Now we're going to be using a parallel passage this morning in Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 14.

You may want to turn there and keep your finger in there because the account of what Jesus did in Chapter 6 is also recorded in John, in Matthew Chapter 14. I want you to listen to the title of this message this morning as we begin. It's entitled, When All Arguments Cease. When All Arguments Cease. You know, if you're anything like me, you enjoy debating.

I think that it would be fair to say that all of us as people enjoy arguing and debating about all kinds of subjects. As I travel around our communities and have the privilege of meeting with different people from time to time, it's remarkable the number of times that I encounter people who have something to say and to debate about God. That's why I love that hymn of invitation, Just As I Am, without one plea. No more argument, no more debate, but that thy blood was shed for me and that thou would bid me to come to thee, O Lamb of God, I come.

The hymn writer there was talking about the fact that all arguments come to an end. Writing here in the Gospel of John, Jesus does many things among the people that surrounded him. One of the things that he did was he demonstrated his power in public. We saw that in the first 15 verses of John, chapter six. There was a public demonstration of the power of God.

And last week, we looked at a special place and a special time and a special gift that was given by a special person and then served by special people. And the special consequences of the outpouring of God's Spirit upon his people as a result of the public demonstration of the power of God. But beginning in verse 16 of John's Gospel, Jesus demonstrates his power not in public, but rather in private. We have a private demonstration of the public power and demonstration of who God is. And something remarkable happens in John, chapter six and beginning at verse 16, because it is here that we have recorded for us and the parallel passage in Matthew 14 that Jesus walks on the water.

What an incredible thing. There's so many of us today who would say, well, that's impossible. I'm sure that the skeptics were everywhere. And I have no doubt, my friends, that numbered among those skeptics must certainly have been even the disciples, those who love the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, I'm going to show you that I think that there was no doubt that Jesus numbered his disciples among some of his greatest skeptics. The disciples were the ones who many times argued most of all about theological disposition, about doctrinal stance, about the way in which we should operate, about religious rights and religious wrongs, about ritualism, about the way things ought and ought not to be done. But if there is anything that we understand and that we may suggest from John chapter six is that all arguments came to a sudden stop when Jesus walked upon the water. I wonder if there's someone here today before we read God's word who is here in the middle of an argument.

Maybe it's not anything verbal. Maybe you've had every kind of argument and debate about your relationship with Jesus Christ. Maybe you've had every kind of excuse. Maybe you have every kind of reason as to why you have not become a part of what God is doing at First Baptist Church.

Maybe you have a whole list of excuses as to why you are not ready to say yes to the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, in just a few moments, we're going to ask you to consider your verdict. And according to God's word, we're going to give you an opportunity to step out out of your seat and say all arguments are over. God has spoken. Jesus Christ has walked upon the water.

There is no more debate. I am willing to surrender everything that I am to the lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, let's see what happened in this remarkable passage. Here's what the Bible says. When evening came, the disciples went down to the lake. Remember, they were up on the mountainside. And of course, in verse 15, the Bible tells us that Jesus after the miracle on the mountainside, he withdrew himself and he went away by himself. He didn't want his disciples around him. He just didn't want them there.

I wonder why he didn't want them there. You know, in verse 16, when evening came, his disciples went down to the lake where they got into a boat and they set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing, the Bible says, and the winds grew rough. When they had rode three or three and a half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water. And I'm sure we would all agree they were terrified. But he said to them, it is I.

Don't be afraid. Now I want you to turn to Matthew chapter 14. Because in Matthew's account, of course, Matthew was there too. In Matthew's account, Matthew writes about the private demonstration of the public power of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pick up at verse 27 of Matthew's gospel. Wonderful to hear all those pages turning in God's house. Verse 27 of Matthew chapter 14, but Jesus immediately said to them, take courage. It is I.

Don't be afraid. Lord, if it's you, Peter replied, tell me to come to you on the water. Come, Jesus said. Then Peter got down out of the boat and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid. And beginning to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me. And immediately, Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.

You of little faith, he said, why did you doubt? And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Let's go back to John chapter six and verse 20. But Jesus said unto them, it is I.

Don't be afraid. Then they were willing to take him into the boat and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading. Now, the next day, the crowd that had stayed on the opposite side of the lake realized that only one boat had been there and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone.

Then some boats from Tiberius landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. And once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and they went to Capernaum in search of the Lord Jesus Christ. May I submit to you today, my friends, that when all arguments cease, men and women are going to go in search of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I'm convinced today that there are literally hundreds of thousands of people all across these United States of America who are in search of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are going to be literally hundreds of thousands of people who are going to come searching for the Lord Jesus Christ. There are people here today in this great church who are searching for the Lord Jesus Christ.

My prayer for you, my friend, is that all arguments, as far as God is concerned, will cease today because Jesus has walked upon the water. But I want you to notice four special things about what happened here in this passage this morning. You see, when all arguments cease for these disciples, four things happen to them. You could call them criterion, perhaps. You could call them circumstances. You could call them requirements.

You could call them sets of rules. But I'm going to say to you that if we understand what happened to the Lord Jesus Christ when he walked on the water and why he demonstrated privately the power of his faith to his disciples, I believe, friends, that there are amongst many others, I'm sure, four basic fundamental issues that these disciples had to come to grip with in order for all their arguments to cease. Number one, all their arguments ceased when they, number one, recognized the danger that surrounded them. All the arguments they had ceased when these disciples recognized the dangers that surrounded them. There are three things that I noted about these dangers. Number one, their recognition of that danger lay in the direction in which these disciples were headed.

Did you notice that? The recognition of the imminent danger that the disciples were in lay implicitly in the very direction in which these disciples were headed. It was away from Jesus Christ.

I don't want to read too much into this text, but a great Bible expositor, John Phillips, made this point and I agree with him wholeheartedly. It seems almost significant, my friend, that these disciples after they had seen what Jesus did up in the mountaintop, they were dispersed and they went downhill away from the presence of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. And I'm going to submit to you today that if we understand what happened here, my friends, that's exactly what happens in our progressive understanding and recognition of the imminent danger that surrounds us when we are in the boat without the Lord Jesus Christ. We move downhill away from the presence of the only one who has the capacity and the authority of God to calm the storm and to walk on the water.

I wonder if there's someone here today who's in the boat of life and you've gone downhill and you're riding that boat outside and away from the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, I don't know why Jesus sent them away by themselves. I think Jesus understood his disciples, don't you? I think maybe Jesus, when Jesus in verse 15 of John chapter 6 understood that there were people who misunderstood his messianic message. There were many people in Jesus' day who believed that Jesus was not so much the saviour of the world as he was the deliverer from Roman oppression. These people believed that Jesus was camped on the outskirts of Jerusalem on his aircraft carrier waiting to invade the little nation of Israel and rid them of the scourge of the Roman oppressors and of the military authorities, but Jesus did not come to deliver them from a secular oppression. Jesus came to them as the saviour of the world, but his disciples were struggling with it. Forgive the interruption.

What a powerful statement though. Dr. Wilton issuing that reminder that Jesus didn't come just to help the Jews with the Romans. Oh no, he came for each of us, to help us to be our saviour, the saviour of the world. Boy, we'd love to talk with you and pray with you about what's going on in your life. Here, ten days or so into the month of January, there are many of us still making fresh commitments, not necessarily resolutions, but commitments to spend more time in God's Word. And the Heaven, Life and Resurrection daily devotional book, the leather-bound devotional we made available at the end of the year, we still have a few of those left. If you're interested, visit our website, tewonline.org, and look how you can get your copy. Or you can also just call us and ask for your copy. Our phone number is 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673. And those of us answering the phone, we are as excited to pray with you or help you find resources. Just know that we're here for you.

That's 866-899-9673, or meet us online as well at tewonline.org. Now back to today's great teaching with Dr. Don Wilton. So he said, I'm going away by myself. I don't know, maybe he understood, maybe he understood the fiery nation of the Apostle Peter, don't you think? Maybe he understood the temper of James and John. Maybe he understood the zealot, zealotcy of the Simon the Canaanite. Maybe he understood the hidden motive of Matthew, the tax collector.

Maybe he understood the analytical nature of Luke, the doctor, but he sent them away and outside of the presence of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. These men had to recognize the danger that surrounded them because they were headed in the wrong direction. But I want you to notice as they recognize the danger that surrounded them, it not only lay in the direction in which they were headed, but it lay in the darkness that began to overcome them. Friend, it's guaranteed.

You want to guarantee this morning? Outside of Jesus Christ, darkness will overcome you. The Bible says that Jesus is the light of the world. And the Word of God teaches us most clearly here in verse 17, when they got into the boat, they set off across the lake because it was now dark. Can you imagine being in that boat on the Sea of Galilee without Jesus Christ encompassed and overwhelmed by darkness? What helplessness and what hopelessness. The Bible says that the world outside of Christ is engulfed in the sinfulness of mankind, that darkness covers the earth and that the world outside of the Lord Jesus Christ is lost. These men were in the boat without Jesus.

I wonder if there's someone here today worshipping with us and you're in the boat, but you're headed in the wrong direction and your world is covered in darkness. But there's a third thing to notice about the recognition of the danger that surrounded them. It wasn't just their wrong direction. It wasn't just the darkness that covered them. But in the third place, it was the dread, the dread that overcame them. It was unbelievable.

The Bible says that they saw Jesus approaching on the water. They were scared to death, folks. Have you ever been really scared to death? I remember about 25 years ago, I've just got to tell you this. I was in Africa and I was on the Indian Ocean sitting on a surfboard.

Yes, a man of my caliber. My wife remembers this day very well. And I was sitting on a surfboard in a place called Port Alfred.

Beautiful. And on those beautiful big waves, man, waiting for the waves to catch. Used to love being out there in the sea.

And over there on a peninsula where I could just see them, there were two men fishing. And all of a sudden, they started to shout and wave at me. Hey, hey, hey, hey. I said, this is jolly nice. How very pleasant of them to wave at me when I'm out here in the middle of the Indian Ocean. So I waved back my royal wave, you know.

I said, gentlemen. Of course, they couldn't hear me, but I waved. Well, two minutes later, they were going quite berserk.

Waving at me and shouting and waving at me and looking, shouting at me and doing everything. I waved back again. And they were pointing like this and screaming. And I couldn't hear them. And I looked at them again. And then I looked a little bit further down, about 30 yards away. I saw exactly what it was they were waving at me about. It was a great white shark.

And its fin was about that high out of the water. And guess what? He had lunch written all over his face. I tell you, if ever I believed what my grandmother always said about me, that I was delicious, it was right then. Because, I mean, I was going to be a meal just in one bite. That's all it took.

Just like that. Boy, and he was coming. Now, folks, I'm here to tell you today, that is the first motorized surfboard you've ever seen in your life. I want to tell you, I had that board. There were no waves to catch. I caught a wave.

I put that thing at right angles. I was paddling so hard, it was going backward and forward like this. When I got onto the beach, my wife said, it's okay, you're on land.

I was still going. I don't think I've ever been as scared as I was that day on a surfboard with a great white shark chasing after me. But, friend, I want you to know the Bible says that the dread that overcame these men, as they were in that boat by themselves, headed in the wrong direction, overwhelmed by the darkness that surrounded them, was a spiritual dread. It was a physical dread.

It was an all-encompassing dread. Because the Bible says that man outside of Jesus Christ is absolutely helpless and hopeless. And there is no beach that you can head for. There is no place of protection outside of Jesus Christ. There is no solace outside of his full voice. There is no love that could ever take the place of the love of God in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. May I submit to you, my friends, that when all arguments cease, there must be a recognition of the danger that surrounds you. My Father has said a thousand times to me, Son, a man, a woman will never come to know Jesus until they realized how lost they really are. A person will never come to know who God is until they understand who they really are. That's what happened to the prophet Isaiah when he came into the presence of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. And he said, woe is me because I am undone. I stand in the presence of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

And I'm a miserable wretch compared to the holiness of Almighty God. There must be a recognition of the danger that surrounds you. But I want you to notice in the second place that these disciples, all their arguments ceased when they realized the presence of the Savior who approached them. All arguments ceased when they realized the presence of the Savior who approached them.

Verse 20, the Bible tells us that they saw him coming along when they had rode two or three miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water, and they were terrified. But he said to them, it is I. Be not afraid. What a tremendous joy to understand and to realize, my friends, that all arguments cease when you realize the impact of the presence of the approaching footsteps and the loving arms of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, it's our prayer that as you've heard God's word proclaimed with clarity and truth from Dr. Don Wilton, that you've also heard the loving voice of God that you really are embraced by the loving arms of Jesus Christ. I pray that you're open not just to what Dr. Wilton has said, but what the Holy Spirit is speaking to you. And I pray you'd also open your heart to what Dr. Don wants to share next. Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ?

I'm so happy to hear that. Why don't you pray this prayer with me today? Dear God, I know that you love me very, very much. And I know that the Lord Jesus Christ came and died on a cross so that I might be forgiven of my sin. Today, I repent of my sin. I confess my sin to you, and I invite you to come into my heart and into my life, I pray. In Jesus' name, I pray. If you've prayed that prayer, let me be the first one to welcome you to the family of God.

This is wonderful. I hope that you know how much I'm going to be praying for you and how very important this is for me. Call us so that we can talk to you and connect you in the right place so you can begin this wonderful journey. Perhaps you just prayed along with Dr. Wilton moments ago to give your life to Christ for the very first time, or perhaps it's time to recommit your life, to rededicate your life.

And here in the month of January, there's a lot of talk about resolutions, but oh, we are excited that God gives us a fresh perspective on every day. And if you need a new beginning, we have wonderful resources. As a matter of fact, if you've given your life to Christ today or rededicated your life, Dr. Wilton has wonderful free resources he wants you to have if you'll call us. Our number is 866-899-WORD.

Jot the number down, store it in your cell, we're available 24 hours a day, 866-899-9673, or meet us online. You'll also find great resources like the fresh new book from Dr. Wilton's son, Greg. Here are the details. It all begins with God. Journey with Dr. Wilton as he takes you back to the beginning. Genesis Back to the Beginning message, plus the bonus book, The Origin of Everything, will help you come face to face with some very foundational faith issues. You will also find answers to foundational questions about who you are and why you are here.

This is a must-have gift to purchase for yourself, a friend, or loved one, including your child or grandchildren, to help them know truth when the enemy attacks. Call us at 866-899-WORD, that's 866-899-9673, to request the life-changing message, Genesis Back to the Beginning, and the bonus book, with your gift of $25 or more per set. Thank you for supporting The Encouraging Word as we continue to proclaim the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. Let's stay connected on our website, that's www.tewonline.org. The Encouraging Word