Surviving the Crisis

All of us experience crises in life. You've experienced a time of unexpected and disappointing circumstances. Perhaps you went into work one day and were terminated. Perhaps it's a serious illness. Perhaps it's a broken relationship. Perhaps it's the death of a loved one. And the question we're thinking this morning is how do we who are followers of Jesus Christ hope, cope?

How do we survive in the crises of life? me not only to hear the Word of God, but to see it. Matthew chapter 14, we're going through this gospel, some of you think rather slowly, but we're making our way through the gospel of Matthew and today come to Matthew 14, verse 22, immediately he, that is Jesus, made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up in the mountain by himself to pray.

When evening came, he was there alone. But the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night, he came to them walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified and said, it's a ghost, and they cried out in fear. But immediately, Jesus spoke to them saying, take heart, it is I, do not be afraid. And Peter answered him, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.

He said, come. So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid. And beginning to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me. Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, oh you of little faith, why did you doubt? And when he got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, truly, you are the Son of God. And when it crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and brought to him all who were sick, and implored him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment.

And as many as touched it were made well. Isn't that an outstanding passage of Scripture? First of all, I want us to learn a truth that you already know, but a truth that while we know it intellectually, I think often we forget it, and this is one of the great truths of the people of God, and it is this. In the crisis, Jesus is with you.

I want you to get, I want you to grasp that. I want you not only to understand it intellectually, but I want you to feel that, and I want you in your life to put that into practice and to integrate this into all of the circumstances of life that in the crisis, Jesus is with you. Even when you feel alone, when you feel abandoned, Jesus is with you. Now, as you look at our text, Matthew has told us, as we saw last week, of the feeding of the 5,000, five loaves and two fish.

Jesus takes it, blesses it, multiplies it, and feeds thousands. Then the Lord Jesus dismisses the cross, tells them to go home, and He makes the disciples get into the boat to go to the opposite side, but He, as He does throughout the Gospels from time to time, He goes up into a mountain alone to pray. There are times when He takes all of the disciples. There are times when He takes the inner circle, but on many occasions, He prays alone, and this is one of the examples, that He is alone in prayer with His Father. Now, Matthew doesn't tell us the content of His prayer. No doubt He's having communion with His Father and His God. He is the perfect Son of Man, and He's praying to His Heavenly Father. And while we don't know the content of His prayer, no doubt He is reaffirming why He came to earth to suffer and to die, and I am positive that He was praying for His disciples.

They're not there. He's not with them in the boat, but He sees them, and He knows exactly what's happening to them on the Sea of Galilee. He knows about the wind. He knows how they're feeling, and He's praying.

Left to themselves, the disciples get into trouble, don't they, as we do. Here's a wonderful truth, that in your crisis, Jesus is praying for you. He knows every single detail of your painful struggle.

He knows you feel terribly alone. He knows you feel the wind is against you. Did you notice that in verse 24? It says, they were beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. Now these, at least some of them, are seasoned fishermen. They know about the sea. They know about boats.

They know about storms. There's Peter, the bold leader. There is Andrew. There's James and John. They're fishermen.

This is their home territory. These that were known every inch of the lake, but they are in a crisis, and the wind is against them. And no doubt, Jesus seemed far away from them. As He's praying alone to His Father, He sees them. One of the joys of being part of the family of God here at Calvary is, and many of you tell me about this over and over again, that when you're going through a crisis, brothers and sisters here are praying for you. I heard this week a woman said to me, Pastor, I don't know how I would have got through this apart from the prayers of the people of Calvary.

You've experienced that, haven't you? You've gone through a crisis, a difficult day, a situation, and brothers and sisters here in your life group, your Bible study, people you know that you sit beside, they say, I'm praying for you. That's tremendous.

That's a wonderful gift, isn't it? And we're told in Scripture to pray for one another, but there's something even greater. That not only are your brothers and sisters praying for you in that crisis, the Lord Jesus himself is praying.

The Father's right hand, our great high priest, our Lord Jesus Christ is interceding for us. You are on his prayer list. Someone told me this week, Pastor, I pray for you, you're on my prayer list, I pray for you first thing in the morning and last thing at night.

And I said, thank you for doing that. It's wonderful to be on someone's prayer list, isn't it? And to know that they are praying for you, not just saying that, but actually day by day praying for you. Wonderful to know, but this is something better, that our Lord Jesus Christ intercedes for us. You say, is that really true?

Yes, it is. Listen to Paul in Romans chapter 8, a magnificent chapter. He says in Romans 8, verse 34, who is to condemn? Feel under the Lord, someone's condemning you. Who is to condemn? Christ is the one who died. More than that, who was raised.

We're going to celebrate that at Eastern Parade. Not only did he die, more than that, he's raised from the dead. And he's at, says Paul, at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. He dies for us, he's buried for us, he's raised for us, he ascends for us. And now, as our great high priest, our magnificent Lord Jesus Christ is interceding for us. Again, the writer of Hebrews, in Hebrews chapter 7, verse 25, Hebrews 7, 25, towards the end of the chapter, consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him. That is, we come to God through our Lord Jesus Christ, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, in his endless death, never again will he die. He's eternally alive, and one of the things he's doing for us, he is interceding for us. In your crisis, Jesus is praying for you.

I find that remarkable, isn't it? The grace of God that he prays for you, he's interceding for you. Now, we also see this, that while the disciples felt deserted, Jesus never leaves his people. And when our Lord comes to the disciples in their crisis, as the wind is against them, as they're tired and discouraged, first they don't even recognize him. They're so overwhelmed by the storm. Can you picture it?

The high wind, the waves, there's wind on the sea, the lake is high, and they're battered and they're bruised and they're tired, they've been growing for a long time. And when the Lord Jesus comes, such is their condition, they say, it is a ghost. It's almost comical, isn't it? Until we realize there are times in our life when the Lord Jesus, as it were, draws near and we're so absorbed and we're so distracted by the problems and the difficult situation, we fail to realize that Jesus is with us. Now, you say, why? Why did he send them all on alone? Couldn't he have prayed some other time? Did he really need to go to the mountain alone to pray? Why did he leave them to toil and to row so long? They must have been exhausted, struggling against the strong wind. I mean, if he loves them, why didn't he come sooner to the disciples? After all, it was the Lord Jesus who told them to get in the boat and to go to the other side. They were doing exactly what he wanted and to find themselves in this excruciating, difficult crisis.

Verse 25 tells us it was the fourth watch. That's between 3 and 6 a.m. That's a tough time for a crisis, isn't it? You ever woken up at 3, 10, 3, 15? That situation weighing on you, that impending surgery, that struggle in your marriage, that situation with your daughter, that difficult situation at work, in your business, a problem in the church as you serve him and you wake up at 3, 10 and you turn and you twist at night and then you look at the clock, it's 4, 30. It's a tough time, isn't it?

These are much easier in the light, aren't they, at night. On the fourth watch, as it were, that's a difficult time. So they're cold, they're tired, they're discouraged.

They're expending a lot of energy, but they're not making much progress. John tells us in his account in John 6 that they had rode about 3 or 4 miles, a reminder that we in our crisis get so fixated with the problem. Sometimes trying to solve it ourselves, we get so fixated with the problem and the difficult circumstance that we don't recognize the Lord.

We don't recognize the presence of the Lord. And it was at the lowest time, it was at the darkest time of the night. It was when they were very, very tired. It was when the wind was against them that Jesus comes to them. Of course He loves them. He'd call them, Peter, follow me, Matthew, leave your taxes, come and follow me. Of course He loved them.

Of course He cared for them. They were around Him, He'd prayed for them, He knew them, He cared, and He comes and He dispels their fears. In the crisis, yes, Jesus is with them. And many of you have learned, as I have learned, that in the crisis, the Lord's timing, the Lord's purposes and plans are often very different from ours, aren't they? And sometimes in our tiredness, sometimes in our weakness, sometimes in our fear, and perhaps even in our pride, we're apt to advise the Lord what to do instead of realizing that He is going to come.

He's always with you in your time of need, your darkest hour, that severest time, in the midst of your greatest fear, Jesus is with you. I want you to reflect on that truth. I wanted to grip your soul today.

I don't know your circumstances. But here is a truth that I find gives me great security. It grounds me. It helps me. It gives me confidence in the Lord.

It gives me a hope that irrespective of what will happen around me, Jesus is with me. Friends may leave you. Friends may betray you. Friends may let you down, don't they? Even your own family may not understand.

Some of you have had family abandon you, family misunderstand you in the midst of the crisis where you expected help and a hand on the shoulder, and people to come close to you, you find that in the crisis sometimes you're terribly alone, aren't you? But Jesus is always with you. Listen to the words of Moses in Deuteronomy chapter 31. Joshua is about to go into the Promised Land. You say, Hallelujah. Yes, Hallelujah, but there's a huge problem. The Promised Land was filled with pagan nations who were going to attack the people of Israel. Scary situation, isn't it? How would you like to be the commander in chief? Deuteronomy 31 verse 7, Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, be strong and courageous for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them and you shall put them in possession of it, verse 8.

Here it is. It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you.

He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. Not only Joshua is the Lord going to be with you, but the Lord in fact is going to go before you.

The Lord is ahead of you. You will never go anywhere, Joshua, where I, the Lord, have not already been. So I'll never leave you. I'll never forsake you. I don't want you to fear. I don't want you to be dismayed, Joshua, irrespective of the circumstances.

I am with you. What a promise. Over a few pages in our Bibles to Joshua who needed to hear it again. Joshua 1, verse 9, have I not commanded you? Yes, Lord, you've told me that before.

But I need to hear it again. I need you to remind me of this truth. Be strong and courageous. I say to you, brother, I say to you, sister, be strong and courageous today. Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed. Why, why God? You don't understand the obstacle.

Yes, I do. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go, wherever you go. There is no place, there is no situation, there is no circumstance where the Lord is not with you.

He's with you wherever you go. Someone says, well that's the Old Testament, John. All right, let's turn to the New Testament. Although we believe the Old Testament, these truths are for us. Hebrews 13, verse 5, keep your life free from love of money. If you have a love of money, no doubt, no wonder you're anxious. No wonder you have these sleepless nights, covetousness will keep you awake.

Be content with what you have, yes, that's the answer. For He has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you so we can confidently say the Lord is my helper, I will not fear, what can man do to me? Magnificent, isn't it? I will never leave you nor forsake you. The Lord Jesus never asks you to go anywhere where He has not first gone if you follow Him. Not only is He with you, He is before you. Yesterday the Lord Jesus was with me.

Today the Lord Jesus is with me. Tomorrow the Lord Jesus will be with me. Ten years from now, the Lord Jesus is with me.

You say, John, you might be dead by then. Yes, I may be dead by then, but the Lord Jesus will still be with me. A million years from now, the Lord Jesus will be with me.

Rapture tells us, the rapture, when we're caught up, what happens? We will be always with the Lord. We will be forever with the Lord. For all of eternity, God will be with His people.

We sang about that in that wonderful song, Is He Worthy, that there is a time. The question is asked, will God Himself dwell with His people? And we say with a resounding yes, yes, God will be with us. In the New Jerusalem, Revelation 21 verse 3, it says, He, God, will dwell with them. God Himself will be with them as their God. The New Jerusalem, the Father's house, imagine, imagine Jesus living in your house, a few adjustments would have to be made, wouldn't it? Imagine the great privilege of being with God. In the Father's house, God, here is a promise, that God in His amazing grace, don't ask me to explain it, it's all of grace, that He longs to dwell with His people, with His redeemed. And for all of eternity, we shall be with the Lord. He's with me now.

He's with you now. In the crisis, Jesus is with you. Finally, in the crisis, Jesus is greater than your circumstances.

Did you get this? He's with me, but Jesus is also greater than my circumstances. You say, John, you don't understand my situation. My situation is absolutely hopeless. Bear with me.

Give me a chance, right? This passage is for you if you feel that. Who is the one who is with us? Who is this Jesus? That in a sense is why Matthew is writing his Gospel. Matthew is telling us who Jesus is. He's the all-powerful God. He's the Christ, as the disciples say when He comes in their boat in verse 33, truly you are the Son of God.

What have we learned in our study of Matthew? This one heals the leper. This one gives sight to the blind. This one can heal at a distance. This one can raise the dead.

This one can take five loaves and two fish and feed thousands and thousands of people so there's an abundance left over. Such is the grace of our magnificent Lord Jesus Christ. He calms the storm. He walks on water, demonstrating not only His presence in the crisis, but His power over the crisis. There are those who say, you know, He didn't really walk on water. One fellow says, no, He's really, Jesus is really paddling in the shallows and when He came as the disciples came and He wasn't really walking on the water, He's just paddling in the shallows and the disciples are so distraught, they think He's walking on water.

By then did Peter say, Lord, save me. As Peter began to say, no, this is God incarnate. The one who is supreme over the water. The one who can say, can speak to the winds and the waves that they obey Him. So the disciples said earlier, what kind of man is this that even the winds and the waves obey Him?

What kind of man is this who walks on water? He's not an ordinary man, He's not just a prophet, He's not just a teacher, He's not just someone who provides a wonderful example of love. This is God incarnate. As Matthew has said, this is Emmanuel, God with us, there is none like Him, nor will there ever be anyone like Him. Do you not think He can deal with your problems if He can walk on water?

Is your problem really more difficult than that? When you're in that crisis, remember this, that God is greater than your circumstance, that Jesus is God and He's greater than your circumstances. And here, in a majestic way, in the storm, don't you love this passage, that Jesus reveals His deity to the disciples. He comes to the disciples in a totally unexpected way, walking on water, walking on the sea. Verse 26, the thing is a ghost, the thing is a phantom.

What does He say? Verse 27, Jesus spoke to them saying, take heart, it is I, do not be afraid. It is I, translation of two little Greek words, ego, emi, ego, you know the word for ego, the Greek word for I, emi, I am, His answer is, I am.

Don't be afraid. Who is this one who comes walking on water? It is I am. Jesus is the eternal I am. Over and over again in the Gospel of John, John tells us that Jesus says, I am the bread of life. I am the light of the world. I am the way, the truth and the life.

I am, I am. He's the great I am. In conversation with the Jews when they're talking about Abraham, He says to them, before Abraham was, John 8, I am. Not I was, a true statement, it's more than that, He's the eternal God. Before Abraham was, the great forefather who had lived and died hundreds of years ago, Jesus is saying, before that, I am. Do you know your Bible? You know the Old Testament, who is the I am? Here is Moses, afraid to go to deliver the people in Egypt, but he says to God in his conversation, well, if I'm asked, who is sending me?

What's your name? God gives a strange answer. I am who I am, God's personal name, strange thing.

I am who I am. God is the self-existent one. We are creatures, we're dependent upon God. God is dependent of no one. He is God. He is the great I am, I am who I am.

God describes Himself exclusively in terms of Himself. He's self-existent. He's eternal God.

He is the great I am. Who is this one who walks on water? Who is this one who calms the storm? Who is the one who takes five loaves and two fish and feeds thousands? It is God incarnate.

It is I am. Therefore He's in control of the storm. Therefore He is, my dear brother, greater than your circumstances. He is the sovereign God.

So in that crisis, if you're like me, you tend to scheme, you tend to strategize, you try to wonder what's going on, understand this, that Jesus is greater than your circumstance. And His timing is different from ours. He has His reasons that we don't always understand. He has His purposes, He has His will. But Jesus is a God who comes to His people, He's not a remote God. He's a God who comes to us in our crisis, revealing His power and His love.

His delays are not His denials. And so often at a time of deepest need, some of you have experienced this, haven't you? The time of your deepest need, Jesus comes to you and surprises us with His grace.

Comes in unexpected and miraculous ways. Peter, whatever you want to say about Him, I admire the man. Yes, He's outspoken. Yes, He gets it wrong sometimes, but of all the disciples, He's the one who steps out. He's got faith. He sees the Lord walking on water, and so He gets out of the boat and actually walks on water. No wonder in the Gospels, He's such a strong witness. He walks on water.

But did you notice He only walked for a time? When did Peter begin to sink? Verse 30, but when he saw the wind, he was afraid and beginning to sink, he cried out, save me, don't you love it? Keep your eyes on Jesus and you're fine, Peter. Look at the storm and the wind and the circumstances and you're walking on water.

It's not a smooth lake, don't think of that. This is a storm and He's walking above it. Jesus Christ is giving Him the power to actually walk on water and He sees the storm and He begins to sink. And then the Lord gets on board with Peter. John in his account in John 6 says, the disciples were glad to take Him into the boat.

Of course they were. They knew the Lord. They knew now they were saved. Now the Lord is on board. He is greater than their circumstances.

In the crisis, make sure Jesus is in your boat. Stop focusing on the wind. Stop that whining. Stop that self-pity.

That discouragement of your difficult circumstances. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Trust Him. He's with you. He'll guide you. He's greater than all of your circumstances.

He's in control. And with Jesus on board, what seems to be a huge problem becomes very, very small. What does it say here? Verse 32, when they go into the boat, the wind ceased. Dramatic. One minute, there's a fierce, fierce wind. Jesus comes on the boat and the wind stops like that.

No wonder they said, truly, this is the Son of God. In the crisis, Jesus is with you. In the crisis, Jesus is greater than your circumstances. Thirdly, in the crisis, this is difficult, but this is very, very important. In the crisis, practice the presence of the Lord. Practice the presence of the Lord. If you're like me, the crisis can be so overwhelming that that becomes your total focus.

Don't do that. I'm saying to you, this is difficult, but you need to spend time with the Lord. Our circumstances distract us. They discourage us.

Sometimes people, members of Calvary Church, when they go through a crisis, they do something which they shouldn't do. They want to stay at home. It's like an animal hurt. They want to lick their wounds. They say, oh, I couldn't come. I couldn't come to church. They're so overwhelmed.

They're staying away from the people of God. Don't do that. I understand it. I understand for many people there's a natural tendency to shrink, to cut yourself off from other people.

Don't do that. Practice the presence of God. The disciples had followed Jesus. They knew Him.

They'd listened to Him. See, the more you're in the presence of Jesus, the more you will be like Him, reading His Word, particularly the Gospels. Listen to Jesus. Pray.

Look around. Give thanks for the way God in His grace has saved you, has helped you over the years. That will deepen your faith. Daily trust Jesus. You get up, perhaps after a sleepless night.

You go into the shower. Praise God. If you can sing, sing.

If you can whistle, whistle. But you can pray and thank God and say, this day, Lord, I need your help. This day, I'm going to trust you with all of my heart.

I'm not going to lean on my own understanding. I want you to direct my ways. What am I doing? I'm practicing the presence of the Lord. I'm inviting the Lord, as it were, into my situation. You have a difficult marriage. Why have you never invited the Lord into your marriage? Why are you so slow to get down on your knees with your wife or your husband and ask for God's help? Your personal life is a mess.

What's going to change it? Invite the Lord into your life. Repent of your sin. Get back in a right relationship with God. Trust the Lord with all of your heart. Bring him into that confusing situation. At work, pray. If you've got fellow believers, pray with them so that you are inviting the Lord Jesus Christ into your situation, into your family, into your life, into every aspect of your life.

What a difference that will make. Yes, the wind is against you. The crisis is tough. You feel you've been rowing for hours. You sometimes feel, don't you, that you just can't go on another minute. Spending a lot of energy and you feel hopeless, hopeless. There are people in these circumstances that in fact feel so hopeless that they take their lives. You know some of them.

Yes. I've known believers in Jesus Christ in a situation which had been so overwhelming. I got deeper and deeper.

Have you ever felt you've been sucked into a hole and you can't get out of it? And there's people in these circumstances that take their life, brother, sister, don't do that. I'm telling you, the Lord Jesus Christ is greater than your circumstances when you hear his voice. Take heart. Be strong. Be courageous. It is I. Do not be afraid.

Do you hear that? Jesus is saying as you face that situation, don't be afraid. That surgery, that difficult business situation, that personal crisis, that thing you want to avoid, don't be afraid.

You got fears? He walks on fears. He walks on water. He's an all-powerful God and he can do all things. I'm reminding you, as Matthew is reminding you, who Jesus is.

We added in that song from one voice. They're telling us who Jesus is. He's not an ordinary man. The Psalmist says, your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters, yet your footprints were not seen. Sometimes God's at work in our life. Often God's at work in our life and it's unseen.

We don't realize it, do we? God's working behind the scenes, orchestrating things for his glory and for our good. Charles Spurgeon said, he who counts the stars, scientists don't know how many stars there are, billions of them. He who counts the stars and calls them by their names, God not only knows the number of the stars, he's got names for them all.

Isn't that wonderful? This is the God who's with us. Calls them by their names. He's no – is in no danger of forgetting his own children. That's the God. Fathers, mothers, you don't forget your children.

We certainly don't forget our grandchildren, do we? Here is our wonderful God, calls us to himself, knows our names. The good shepherd John 10 tells us he knows the names. He knows the names of the sheep. He knows you. He loves you. He cares for you. His eye is on the sparrow and I know he watches you. Practice the presence of the Lord.

Thank God for that. Look to him for his help. And remember this, the disciples were as safe in the middle of the storm as they were ashore. You are always safe, but I want you to practice the presence of the Lord. Psalm 46, the mountains are tumbling into the, into the sea. Just learned of the, of the volcano in Iceland not too far from Goodney's home and we're thinking of the volcano and looking at pictures of it. Can you imagine living close to a volcano and there's, the earth is crumbling and there's an earthquake and mountains are going into the sea.

That's the picture. Furthermore, the enemies of Israel are against it. The nations are against Israel. Psalm 46, how does it begin? God, that's it, begins with God. God is a refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear. Verse 10, be still and know that I am God. Stop fretting, stop worrying.

Do you hear? What Jesus is saying, don't be afraid, stop it. Be still and know that I am God.

You will survive the crisis. Jesus is with you and he's sovereign over the circumstances. And as you commit it to the Lord, you will know that peace.

We sometimes sing the old hymn, oh the peace my Savior gives. Peace I never knew before and my way has brighter grown since I learned to trust him more. The brighter your way, the more you trust him. No, it doesn't immediately mean the crisis will go, but it does mean he'll give you a peace and the more you trust him, the brighter your way.

If you want to go your own way, your way of selfishness, the way of the world, your way will get darker and darker, but the more you trust Christ, the more you commit your way to him, the brighter the way will be. He's promised to be with you in the crisis. He's promised to bring you to the other side. No authentic follower of Jesus, no child of God, not one of the redeemed will ever be lost.

He holds us with his powerful hand. He says, I give unto my sheep eternal life and they shall never perish. Listen to the words of Jesus in John 6, all that the Father gives me will come to me and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. If you're not a follower of Jesus Christ, I'm asking you to come to the Lord Jesus Christ. He will not cast you out. I realize you're sinful, I realize you're messed up, I realize you don't deserve salvation. Some of our new members read Ephesians 2 reminding us that it is all of grace and he will receive you, he will not cast you out for Jesus says, 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 I should lose nothing of all that He has given me but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life and I will raise Him up on the last day.

How wonderful. Have you come to Christ? Have you come to Christ?

The sailing may not always be smooth but the landing is always safe. If you commit your way to the Lord, it will not necessarily reduce all the problems in your life. That's not the promise of the Gospel. The promise of the Gospel is that if you come to Jesus Christ, He'll forgive your sins, He'll give you eternal life and you'll never perish and He'll be with you forever and in every circumstance of life He can deal with it.

And not one of the redeemed, not one of them will be lost because we're kept by the power of Almighty God Himself. Finding yourself sinking under your trices. Do what Peter did when he began to sink. I like Peter, don't you?

He actually walks on water, what would that felt like? You see, by his faith was weak, yes the Lord said that, oh you have little faith, but he did have faith. And one of the things Peter did I want you to do when he was sinking, he didn't look to the disciples. He didn't be overcome by self-pity. He said, Lord, save me.

That's what you have to do. Look to the Lord for salvation and for help. And while Peter wasn't always looking at Jesus, he looked too much at the wind, but when he looked at Jesus, Jesus was looking at him and stretched out his hands. And Peter took it. Will you take his hand? Will you invite him into your boat? We read in our passage about those who touched the fringe of his garment.

Will you just reach out and touch the fringe of his garment? Trust him in the dark. Trust him when the winds are against you.

Trust him and do not doubt. Isaiah the prophet writes, fear not. There it is.

Are you listening to this today? Fear not. For I have redeemed you. We're redeemed with the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Your last life, you're a follower of Christ, you're redeemed.

For I have redeemed you. I've called you by name. The Lord Jesus calls us by name. Peter, follow me. John, follow me. John, follow me. Evelyn, follow me.

He calls us by name. You are mine. We belong to him. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you. My brother, my sister, that difficult crisis, that storm of your life will not overwhelm you. That is the promise of the gospel, that Jesus is with you.

Here is how to survive the crisis, no Christ. Reach out and take his hand. Every day, look to Christ, the author and the perfecter of our faith. Trust him.

Invite him into your boat. And do you hear again his words? Do you hear it as he comes to us? It is I. Do not be afraid. Do you hear him?

It is I. Do not be afraid. Our Father and our God, help us.

Help us to trust him more and more. There's some who've never yet come to the Savior. Their sins are not forgiven and they're on a road that leads to destruction. I pray, Father, that they will come to you.

Open your eyes. We thank you of the promise of the gospel, that those who come to Jesus, he will not cast out. We thank you that he took Peter by the hand and both of them went into the boat. We thank you for the miracle of conversion. And we thank you for this truth, that we who are your followers, who love Christ, that he has promised to be with us and to go ahead and to help us. Open comfort and strength, Father, and hope to your people this morning. Some bowed now are in crisis.

Some have got crisis coming ahead. Help them, Father, strengthen them. Help all of us to keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and the perfecter of our faith. In whose name we pray. Amen.