Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. Dear In the middle. Of a journey on the Sea of Galilee, the disciples find themselves in. In a dark night, but in the storm. In the darkness.
A miracle takes place. Jesus comes. Walking. On water. This is the verdict with Pastor John Monroe.
This daily program is a media ministry of Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. There's a big difference between knowing about God intellectually and knowing Him personally. When life gets out of control, you need more than facts. You need the person of Jesus. Today, John discusses the importance of Jesus' presence in the middle of life storms.
Here's Pastor John Monroe with this message. walking on water. Last time we began to look at John chapter 6. when Jesus was walking on the water. Yes, Jesus who is God.
and the Creator of all things, can walk on water. and in the storms of life he comes to us to give us hope. to help us, to guide us. In the middle of the storm, Jesus reveals himself. in this miraculous way.
What storms in life have you experienced? would have been some of the worst moments of your life. When we focus on the difficult circumstances, and look at the dark clouds around us were plunged deeper and deeper. Into pain, despair. and even depression.
But remember to look to Jesus. He can walk in water, he can do all things. and He comes to give us hope. John 6 then verse Sixteen.
Now when evening came, 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 had rode about three or four miles 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 gone. 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.
Jesus. goes into a mountain. by himself. To pray. 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 lives and their master is absent. But is he? Is that a mountain? And he is in prayer. Jesus.
is praying. Jesus is interceding. for them. 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 miles. Probably at the midpoint of the crossing. We're in the middle of the storm. And Jesus now comes.
Walking. on weather. Wouldn't you have loved to have been there? You say, Well, why didn't Jesus come quicker to the disciples? You ever asked the Lord that question?
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?
Just 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 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?
God has his own strategy. 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. And he comes in the storms of life and surprises us With his grace. 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. 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 to us.
Thirdly, in the storms of life, Jesus cares. for us. He cares for us. for us. Jesus cared for the disciples.
and brought them Peace. I wouldn't be surprised if the disciples thought As they were in the middle of the storm, that Jesus had forgotten all about them. They would be thinking he is on safe land. Sleeping peacefully through the night, no doubt. Here we are in this wretched storm, straining every fiber of our being to survive, and he's not even here.
There'll be a feeling of abandonment, a feeling of being forgotten by their Master. The one who had told them to cross to the other side, he's not even with them. But Jesus does care for them. Jesus does love them. and at their weakest point Jesus came walking on water.
It's true. It's always darkest before the dawn. And notice the gracious words of Jesus, verse twenty. It is I. Ego in me, I am.
Do not Do not. Be afraid. Fear. Fear. Yeah.
And when Jesus came into the boat, the wind ceased. And the disciples were completely astonished. Verse twenty one. They were willing, therefore, to receive him into the boat. And immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.
One verse contains a lot, doesn't it? They received him into the boat. And immediately there is sure. Jesus comes walking on water. He brings immediate calm to the storm.
He brings them immediately ashore. What seemed to be impossible. is now solved. in an instant. They're ashore and all is well, they're safe, they're on dry land.
Oh, Jesus cares for them in the middle of the storm and brings them his peace. Psalm eighty nine verse nine You rule over the raging sea when its waves mount up. You steal them. I want to remind you. That Jesus cares for you.
and brings his peace. And you're Storms. Do you sometimes feel abandoned? by the Lord, do you? You feel abandoned by the Lord?
You sometimes feel that Jesus doesn't understand. You're a little frazzled. Fretting Full of fear. Feeling you just can't go on any further. You've been rowing for hours and hours against the contrary wind and you're getting nowhere.
You're rather cold, you're tired, you're discouraged, you're self-pitying, there is seeds of bitterness beginning. You're surrounded by darkness, you're expending a lot of energy, and you're getting nowhere. Let me remind you. That Jesus knows all about you. And Jesus cares for you.
It's true, his eye. is on the sparrow. and I know he watches you. and he still stands supreme in as the sovereign Christ and the storms of life and says peace. Be still.
John 14, verse 27: Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. I think most of us have found that the world can give us a lot of things. One thing it can't give us is peace. Let not your heart be troubled.
or fearful, Jesus says, John fourteen, verse twenty seven. Don't be troubled. Don't be fearful. Peace I give you my piece, my special piece. I give to you.
And in the middle of your storm, Jesus comes to you and says, It is I. Do not. Do not. Be afraid. The disciples were battling a storm on water, but Jesus walks in the water.
Don't miss this point. He is greater than the water. He has total authority over the storm, over the water, over creation, over all of life, over your family circumstances, over your finances, 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. Do you fear the storm? You feel the water? He watched. on water.
He walks on our fears. He He is the all-powerful God who can do all things. He is greater than all of our fears. Psalm 77, verse 19, Your way is in the sea, and your paths in the mighty waters. Do you know one of the most frequent commands in the Bible?
Fear not. Fear not. How gracious of God, He knows we're often fearful, He knows we're often anxious. Don't fear, don't worry. Do not be afraid.
Don't panic. Don't be anxious. In the middle of your storm. Don't be afraid. Don't be anxious.
Jesus is praying for you. Jesus is coming. Jesus cares for you. Jesus loves you. He brings his peace.
And the disciples We are as safe in the middle of that storm as they were on dry land, and you are as safe in the middle of your storm as you are on dry land. and the storms of life. Jesus cares for us. and brings his peace. So the peace my Saviour gives Peace I never knew before.
And my way has brighter grown Since I've learned to trust him More. Have you learned to trust him? More. There's a final one before we close this morning in the storms of life. Jesus brings us safely home.
Yeah. I love this one. He prays for us. He comes to us He cares for us. He brings us safely home.
The disciples arrive safely on the other side, verse 21. And when Jesus came walking on the water, John says they were willing therefore to receive him into the boat'. How wise. to receive Jesus into the port. Have you received Jesus in your boat.
Do you have a personal trust and faith in Jesus Christ? After the first service, woman stopped me. She said, you know, I I believe in Jesus, but I don't have a personal Faith, a personal belief. In Jesus Christ, She was saying that she sees Jesus. No doubt she believes that he's the Son of God, but he's not in her boat.
There is not a person relationship. between her and Jesus. Not in her boat, not in her home, not in her heart, not in her life. Are you like that? He's outside.
But he's not inside. You first must receive Jesus. Into your heart and life as your Savior and Lord. He's the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, dies for your sin, rises and is alive. Will transform you.
Forgive your sin. But you must invite them. into your boat. And there are believers in Jesus Christ here, and you say, Well, I have received Jesus Christ as my Savior, but let's face it. There are areas of your life, perhaps the area of your storm.
area of your work. A relationship.
some other situation where you have not invited Jesus. Into your home. Your marriage May be very difficult, and you really haven't invited Jesus into your marriage, or you say we've got a Christian home, but But that just means you go to church, you've not invited Jesus Christ in to solve that problem. You're paying lip service to it. and some other difficulty in life.
Today Will you invite Jesus into your boat. Can you imagine going through life alone? I can't imagine it. Knowing that at any time we may find ourselves in a storm. Knowing at any time I may be ushered into eternity, how foolish to go through life.
Without Jesus Christ. I don't know how long the disciples took to row the three or four miles. We read of in verse 19, but whenever Jesus came on board, verse 21, at once the boat was at the land to which they were going. Everything was transformed.
Now Jesus is on board. He told them to go to the other side, that's what happened. Mission accomplished. The disciples are now safely to the other side. safely home.
and Jesus always. Always. Always. brings his children. safely.
Home. Oh, it's true. Storms, tragedies, bereavements, unexpected difficulties overwhelm us from time to time. And the waves buffet us, and we're sometimes lacking in faith, and we sometimes get discouraged, and our faith is sometimes weak, and we sometimes feel that we can't go on, and we sometimes feel we may have been abandoned, and we're sometimes afraid, and we're sometimes discouraged. But Jesus never ever abandons his people.
That's why we sang Great is Thy Faithfulness. There is not one person here, however saintly you are and however godly you are. can say that you have always been faithful to God. Your faith is sometimes weak, it's sometimes stumbling. Peter, one of the followers, denied Christ.
But Jesus is always Always. Faithful. And what he has promised He will do. and he has promised To keep us in the storm and to bring us safely through the storm. He's promised to bring us safely to the other side, to bring us safely home.
Both Goody and I come from fishing families. On my mother's side, my grandfather was a Fisherman. all of his life. Goodney's paternal grandfather was a fisherman all of his life. Fishing.
in the North Sea. a difficult sea to fish. one where there's a lot of storms, one where there's a lot of g gales. And there's many a Scottish boat, there's many a Faroese boat left the harbour. seemingly in good repair.
heading for the fishing grounds disappear. You see Too rough. The gales Too strong. the board. too frail.
Lost. Let's see. And so from time to time we would hear that a boat Hadn't come back to the harbour. and would never come back to the harbour. Lost.
Let's see. But no child of God. is ever ever. Lost. in the storm.
Look at Verse thirty seven. John six verse thirty seven All that the Father gives me shall come to me. And the one who comes to me, I will certainly not cast out. There, you have God's sovereignty and human responsibility in the same verse. You come to Jesus and he will not cast you out.
You ask him to come on board and he will not say no. Verses thirty eight, For I've come down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that of all that he has given me, I lose nothing, I lose not one. But raise it up on the last day. And this is the will of my Father, that everyone who believes the Son And everyone who beholds the Son and believes in him may have eternal life.
And I myself will raise them up on the last day. That when we come to Jesus Christ, He gives us eternal life. And Jesus is going to say in John chapter 10: I give unto my sheep eternal life, and they shall never die. Never perish. Not one.
The cipher will be lost. All will be brought safely home to heaven. It is true that the sailing may not always be smooth. But the landing. will always Be safe.
It is true that we go through storms, And the sailing may not always be smooth. But the landing. On heaven shore. is always Safe. Isaiah again.
forty-three verses one and two. Fear not. For I have redeemed you, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
Spurgeon, a great preacher. Writes, there is no bridge and no ferry boat. We must go through the waters and feel the rush of the river. The presence of God in the flood is better than a ferry boat. The sorrows of life may rise to an extraordinary height, But the Lord is equal to every occasion.
We are precious to God. He paid an incalculable price for For our salvation, we belong. to him Since he paid so much for us, He is never going to part with us. Whatever happens, He will be with us.
Well said. The peace, the calm, the security in the storms of life come not from what we know, but from who we know. Therefore. Trust. Trust.
the sovereign Christ. who is in control. Trust them in the dark. Trust him in the storms. Trust him when the winds are contrary.
Trust him. Trust him. Trust him. Cast all of your cares, all of your doubts, all of your fears on him. He will daily sustain you with his righteous right hand.
He cares for you. and in the storms of life. Welcome. the master on board. He's called the captain of our salvation.
You're sailing through life. Why would you go alone? Why not have the captain? Why not have this one? At the helm.
directing your steps Charting your course. And when we turned to set our own course He graciously comes and says no. Not that way. This way, as we read His Word, as we confess our sins. The disciples were willing to take him on board.
Make sure that Jesus is on board, that he's directing your steps, that he's the captain of your salvation. Don't push him away as sometimes people do when they're angry with God and when they feel that God has been unfair. They push God away, they're bitter with God. Don't come on board. Don't do that.
and in the difficulties of life When a brother or sister comes to you and Says he or she will pray for you or to help you, don't push them away.
Sometimes Christians, when they go through difficult times, they stop coming to church. They get bitter against God, and in a sense, they're pushing God away. Don't do that. That's the very last thing you should do. Invite the Savior.
into your boat. He loves you. He cares for you. He will set the sail. He will chart your course.
And he will always lead you safely to the other side. He is the great I am. He says, I am the bread of life. I'm the light of the world. I'm the true vine.
I'm the way, the truth, and the life. I'm the resurrection and the life. I am the great God. All the waves may be strong against you. and the huge waves may be coming into your boat.
And the winds may be very, very strong, and the night may never be so black, but Fear not. Even though your anxiety level is as high as it has ever been, fear not, fear not. The Sovereign Christ loves you. is with you. And he's in control.
of every circumstance he walks. on water. and in the storm. Will you listen? Listen.
to his voice. I know the storm may be very noisy. And I know the winds may be very fierce. I know that the waves may be crashing around you. And I know It is scary in the dark, and the voices of your fellow passengers may be very, very loud, but listen.
Listen. Jesus is coming to you. Today Hear his voice. It is I. Do not.
Do not. Be afraid. This is the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. Today we're concluding a message titled Walking on Water. But don't go anywhere just yet, because John'll be right back with his closing remarks.
As we heard today, knowing about Jesus simply isn't enough. What we need is an actual relationship with him. especially when life gets difficult. As we navigate tough situations, we can sometimes be tempted to lean on ourselves rather than trust in God. To help encourage and equip you to have a God centered perspective no matter the circumstances, John has written a wonderful personal guide book called Trusting God in Tough Times.
We'd love to send you a copy, completely free, as our gift to you. To receive a copy of Trusting God in Tough Times, just go to our website at theverdict.org. Before we close today's program, we invite you to join in what God is doing through these daily biblical messages. by supporting us with a financial gift of any amount. Your generous contributions help bring these gospel messages to your local community and send them to new listeners all around the world.
So partner with us today by going online to the verdict.org. The verdict is a ministry of Calvary Church in South Charlotte. were located on the corner of Highway 51 and Ray Road. If you're looking for authentic Bible-based teaching in a community of Christ-centered fellowship, then we encourage you to visit us this coming Sunday. We'd love to welcome you and connect you with our growing community.
For more details about our church and our current Sunday service times, visit theverdict.org.
Now. Here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? How will you respond to these crises and storms of life when they come?
Some people are bitter. In their pain they lash out. or may be overcome with self pity, and hopelessness. Jesus wants us to look to him. to trust him in the storms of life.
Today. Do you hear him speaking to you? Don't be Afraid.
Next time we'll take a short break from this series Encountering Jesus. and turn to the delightful Old Testament book of Ruth. I hope you'll join us. 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.
