Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. The disciples were battling a storm and water, but Jesus walks in the water. He is greater than the water. He has total authority over the storm, over your health, over every circumstance of life. Why?
He's the Christ. He's the Son of God. He is greater than any difficult circumstance that you are in. You fear the storm? He walks on water.
Welcome to the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor Jean Monroe. When trouble looms on the horizon, it's natural to look for a way out or a way of escape. But today, John reminds us that followers of Christ can weather any storm. even though we might forget or falter. We're learning to find and follow the guiding light of Jesus through the storms of life.
Our message is titled, Walking on Water. And here's Pastor John Monroe. I trust you're enjoying the series on encountering Jesus. as we see different people encountering Jesus in John's Gospel. The reality is that when we follow Jesus from time to time, we may find ourselves in the storms of life.
Followers of Jesus are not immune from suffering. trials and problems. Life is often hard and fair. full of unexpected twists. Loss.
Disappointments. and seemingly insuperable obstacles. Have you ever found yourself in a storm? How did you respond? Where did you turn in the midst of trouble?
Will discover today that in the storms of life, the Lord Jesus reveals Himself. in a fresh And in a powerful way. Are you ready to encounter Jesus? In Dante's Inferno, he writes. in the middle of the journey of life.
I found myself in a dark Wood. Have you ever found yourself in a dark wood? Have you ever found yourself in a dark night? a very successful Dentist friend of mine in Pittsburgh was diagnosed with a nerve problem Problem in his arms. and his hands, with the result that he will never again work as a dentist.
In the middle of life, in the middle of a very successful life, a very successful and lucrative career. He finds himself in a dark Would An athlete receives a career ending injury A businessman sees his business going down the tubes. An employee is fired. A marriage ends in divorce. A friend is betrayed.
A seemingly healthy person is told that she now has a terminal illness. In the middle of the journey of life. They find themselves in a dark Would. Last Sunday morning, we considered the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand as we looked at the opening verses of John chapter six. and learn that Jesus is the bread of life.
who gives us eternal Life. In our passage this morning, we will learn not only that Jesus is the bread of life. He is The guide of life. That is, not only will Jesus feed your soul, He will direct. Your steps.
He will be your guide. particularly as you go through the dark wood. The dark night. the storms. of life.
Today do you find yourself in a dark wood? Do you find yourself in a dark night? Do you find yourself in a storm? We learned this morning that followers of Jesus Christ do go through storms. We do go through difficulties and overwhelming situations, yet in the middle of the storm and through the storm.
We have a constant guide to We have a constant protector, our Lord, Jesus Jesus Christ. And here the middle Of a journey on the Sea of Galilee, the disciples find themselves. In a dark night, but in the storm. in the darkness. A miracle takes place.
Jesus comes. walking. on water. Let's turn in our Bibles to John chapter six. and read from verse sixteen through twenty one.
We're going through the Gospel according to John this morning. Uh we come to John 6. Verse sixteen, last Sunday we thought of the first fifteen verses.
Now we continue in verse 16. John 6 then verse Sixteen. Here is the word of God to us.
Now when evening came, as his disciples went down to the sea, And after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. and it had already become dark. And Jesus had not yet Yeah. And the sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. when therefore they drove about three or four miles as they beheld Jesus walking on the sea.
and drawing near to the boat. and they were frightened. But he said to them, It is I. Do not Be afraid. They were willing, therefore, to receive him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land.
To which? They were going. What a wonderful story. We learned that in the storms of life Jesus Praise For us, that may surprise you, but we're going to learn that is the case. In the storms of life, Jesus prays for us.
Now think of the setting of this storm. After the feeding of the five thousand, the crowds, as we see in verses fifteen and sixteen of John six, the crowds come to Jesus trying to force him to be their king. After all, someone who can feed thousands of people from five loaves and two fish surely can free them from the oppression of Rome. They see Jesus as a kind of freedom fighter. As someone who's going to give them political and social and economic freedom, they want to make him their king, but Jesus will have none.
of that. the multitude have a fundamental misunderstanding. of the nature of the Messiahship of the Lord Jesus. John has already told us in his gospel, right in the first chapter, that the mission of Jesus was not to come as a political freedom fighter. His mission was to come as a Lamb of God.
Who takes away the sin? of the world. The crowd do not understand that first there is suffering And then there is glory. First there is the cross. And then the crown.
They want a crown. They want the kingdom. They want a manifestation of the glory of the Lord, but they don't understand. the cross. And so Jesus withdraws from the multitude, and here in verse 17, he instructs.
His disciples to get into the boat and to go ahead of him to the other side of the lake, to Capernaum. and after dismissing The multitude, Jesus goes into a mountain By himself. To pray.
Now John doesn't say that expressly, but turn with me to Mark chapter 6. Where we will learn this. in the parallel account in Mark chapter six. Six. Mark, six.
Verse forty five. Matthew also gives the account. And stays much the same. Mark 6, verse 45, and immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side to Bethseda. while he himself was sending the multitude away.
and after bidding them farewell, He departed to the mountain. to pray. He goes. To the mountain. to pray.
After the feeding of the five the multitude are no doubt in an upbeat mood. How wonderful it is. that Jesus can feed thousands of people With five loaves and two. Fish. And so they begin to row again across the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum following the instructions.
of Jesus. They cannot feed thousands from five loaves and two fish, but one thing they can do is to row a boat. They are fishermen. Here is Peter and Andrew and James and John, these tough men and others with them. They can surely handle crossing a lake that they are very familiar with, that they have grown up on.
They're Galileans, and so they can handle this assignment. Go to the other side, certainly, Lord. And so they begin. Thoreau. Unexpectedly.
There would changes Because a high wind arises, the sea begins to churn. And the sea is against them, and by this time, It is dark. Bad enough to be in a star, much worse. when it's night time.
Now the Sea of Galilee is six hundred feet below sea level. And as the sun set, Cool air sometimes displaces the warm moist air or Over the water, resulting in a downrush, resulting in a storm on the lake. And this is what happened on this occasion. The disciples find themselves caught. in a storm.
Have you noticed? that successes and highs in life are often followed by storms and difficulties and troubled waters. Such was the case. For these disciples. And to make matters worse, Jesus is nowhere to be seen at the end of verse 17, and Jesus had not yet come to them.
They're in a fierce storm, they're fighting for their life and their master is absent. Where is he? He's at the mountain. And he's in prayer. Jesus.
is praying. Jesus is interceding. For them?
Some of you Today are presently in a dark wood, You're in the middle of a storm. Life has taken an unexpected turn.
some disappointment, some tragedy, some problem, some seemingly insuperable obstacle has come into your life, some contrary wind of very difficult circumstances is blowing against you and the going is very, very tough. The waves are turning around you. Darkness is all around. There does not seem any way out. And you wonder If you're going to survive, you wonder if you will make it another day.
Now it is true that Storms sometimes come into our life when we're disobedient to the Lord. Last year, we considered the little story of Jonah. and learned of a man who should have known much better running away from the Lord. He is making a foolish, in fact, sinful decision, turning his back on the Lord, running away from the Lord, trying to live his own life, do his own thing.
Sound familiar? and he finds himself in a storm. But in this story, in John chapter six, The disciples are not running away from Jesus. It is Jesus who told them to go to the other side. They're obeying the Lord.
And in obeying the Lord, they find themselves in a storm. Storms in life. Dark nights of the soul. don't always mean that we're out of God's will. This storm was in the Lord's plan for his disciples.
And any view of the Christian life that gives the impression that some try to do, that the Christian life is always upbeat, is always shouting, Praise the Lord, and always clapping of hands and saying, How wonderful it is to be with Jesus is very false. Christianity. It is unrealistic. Not only is it unrealistic, it is unbiblical. It is certainly Not New Testament Christianity, Jesus says in the world you will have two.
tribulation. No follower of Jesus. Is exempt from storms of life. Many of you here could testify of storms which have blown unexpectedly into your life. In a split second, your life can be turned upside down.
By some unforeseen circumstance or event right at the top of the hill, Right, when life seems to be going so well, you can be plunged, it seems, into the abyss. But Remember this in your storm. Jesus was on the mountain. Pray. Jesus is praying for you.
He knows your name. He knows every detail of your circumstance. He's watching over you. The Bible says that Jesus is our great high priest, that he is presently at the right hand of our father and our god. And says the writer of Hebrews in Hebrews 7, verse 25, he always lives.
to make intercession. for them. Jesus is alive. He continues To work for us, he is interceding for us, interceding for you at the Father's right hand. Paul writes in Romans 8:27, and he who searches the heart knows the Spirit's mindset because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
We have. The man Christ Jesus interceding for us as we go through the storms of life, in the storms of life. First, Jesus prays for you. Secondly, In the storms of life. Jesus comes.
to us. Jesus did come. to the disciples in the storm. But notice when the storm began, Jesus did not immediately go to the disciples. They had rode, we're told, in verse.
nineteen they had rode about three or four rode about three or four miles. probably at the midpoint of the crossing. We're in the middle of the storm. And Jesus now comes. Walking.
On water, wouldn't you have loved to be there? You say, Well, why didn't Jesus come quicker to the disciples? Why did he allow them to go into a storm? He must have, being God, you must have foreseen the storm. Why did he put them into the storm?
And in the middle of the storm, why did he allow them to roll for such a long time before he came to them? They must have been exhausted, they must have been struggling with this fierce storm. Why didn't Jesus come sooner? Have you ever asked the Lord that question? Why don't you help me now?
Why are you delaying, Lord? Have you learned that in the storms of life Jesus' timing is often different from ours, And we sometimes ask, Where are you, Lord? Why don't you come now? But when he did come to the disciples, as come he did, he came in a totally unexpected way. They would never, ever have foreseen this.
He comes. Walking. on the water. Who is this? who walks on water.
Who is this who calms the storm? Which is why John is writing his gospel. He's writing this gospel with these signs to demonstrate that Jesus of Nazareth is no ordinary man, he's not just another rabbi. He's not just another prophet. He is God incarnate.
Notice what Jesus says when he comes to them, verse 30, and he said to them, It is I. Two words in Greek, ego and me. It is I. Literally translated, I am. Who is this who comes walking on the water to the disciples?
What does he say to them? I am. I um Do you recognise that? He is the eternal I am. This is, in the Old Testament, God's personal name.
We normally pronounce it Yahweh. R let's read of that in Exodus chapter three. The second book in the Bible, all of you can find that. Chapter It's the story of Moses being called by God to go before Pharaoh and to liberate the people, lead them out of Egypt into the promised land. Understandably, Moses is a little concerned about this daunting task, forgetting who it is who is calling him to do it.
Exodus 3. Verse thirteen. Then Moses said to God, Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel. And I shall say to them, The God of your fathers have sent me to you.
Now they may say to me, What is his name? What shall I say to them? What's God's name? And God said to Moses, Exodus 3.14, very important verse. I am Who I am.
And he said, Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, I am has sent me to you. And God furthermore said to Moses, Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, The Lord. Yahweh. The God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob has sent me to you. This is my name forever.
And this is my memorial to all generations. Who is God? What name? What's your personal name, Lord? It is Yahweh, I am.
Hmm. I am. That name was so sacred, it is still sacred to the Orthodox Jew today, that when they're reading the Old Testament Scripture and they come to this personal name of the Lord that we normally pronounce as Yahweh, in the Old King James, it was Jehovah. The Jews don't pronounce it. It is too sacred, it's too holy, it's God's personal name, and so they put in another name of God, Adonai, meaning Master, Lord.
It is so sacred. Who is God? I am. He is the self-existent God. God describes himself exclusively in terms of who he is in himself.
That's what we mean when we say that God is self-existent. You can't do that. If I come to you and say, Who are you? What's your name? You don't say, I am.
We define ourselves In terms of things outside of ourselves, but not so, God. He is self-existent. He is independent. He needs no one or nothing. He is the eternal I am, the God who was, who is, and whoever shall be.
I am. Who I am. And when Jesus comes to the disciples, he says to them, I am. Doesn't make much sense in English, so the translators in most translations say it is I. Literally, I Um The God who is all-powerful, but also the God who is personal, the God who is with His people.
He is the sovereign Lord of the universe. He's saying that He's God. And he is in control of the storms. Of course, he is, he's the creator. And because of that, He's so great.
He's so powerful. that he can even walk. on water. and he comes to the disciples and unexpected ways. When we're in the middle of a storm, We have our own ideas as to timetable and strategy, don't we?
If you're like me, you do. No sooner are you aware of the problem than you start trying to figure it out, you start trying to solve it, and as you pray, you find yourself almost trying to give God advice as to how this problem is going to work out. Let me give you some suggestions, Lord. Here is the timetable that I would like you to follow. Here is the strategy.
Step one, step two, step three, and step four, here is the solution. You ever been there? I think most of us have. But God It's not like us. God has his own strategy.
God's timing is often different from ours. He has his own reasons and his purposes. Perhaps the seeming delay in calming our storm is to purify us. Perhaps it's to increase our faith, perhaps it's to demonstrate his glory. Often it's impossible to know his purposes and to understand his timing.
We are so impatient, and we sometimes want to. to do things in our own way rather than wait on the Lord. But Here is the good news. Here is the gospel. Jesus does come.
to his people. He's not a God who is remote. He's a God who comes to His people in the storms of life. And we must understand that God's delays are not God's denials. Here is another example of divine mathematics.
When Christ is on board our ship, Huge problems. become Small ones. You got this huge problem? insuperable difficulty in your life There's no way you can solve it. When Christ is on board.
that huge problem becomes tiny. We learned last week that the tiniest thing in his hand is much. Conversely, When he is with us, what seems to us to be huge is in fact tiny. It's no problem. Why?
He is the great. I am. And he comes in the storms of life and surprises us With his grace. At a time of our deepest need, the When we seem unable to continue as these disciples were, tired as they're roaring against the contrary wind, discouraged in the dark, Jesus comes. in his unexpected, miraculous way, he walks.
on water. As the sovereign master, he has his plans, of course he has, and he is in Control. Not you, not me. He is in control. Therefore, We must learn to trust him.
with all of our heart, knowing that He is with us. and he will be our guide. Listen to Isaiah 41, verse 10. Do not fear. You say, wait a minute.
You know my circ circumstance, John. Do not fear. For I I'm with you. Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you.
Surely I will help you. Surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. The right hand in the Old Testament, the symbol of power and of strength. The Lord is upholding us with his righteous, with his holy right hand. He will.
rescue us. He will support us. Not only is Jesus praying for us, Jesus comes. us This is the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. and a message he's titled Walking on Water.
If you want to replay any of today's message, you can find it online when you go to our website at theverdict.org. Today, John reminds us to put our full trust in the power and guidance of Jesus Christ. But when we do face those storms of life, Sometimes that's easier said than done. And that's why John has written a special guide book titled Trusting God in Tough Times. Be encouraged by biblical evidence that God can be trusted, and discover why having a God-centered perspective will change your life.
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Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? Can you identify with the disciples? Are you in the midst of a storm? Be assured. Jesus has promised never to leave us nor forsake us.
in the stormiest of waters, in the fieriest of furnaces, in the darkest of nights, Jesus is with you. and for you. He sees exactly your situation. He will never abandon you. He cares for you.
So don't panic. Keep looking to Jesus in the storms of life. Join me next time as we continue to look on the miracle. of the walking on water. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict.
I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mm.
