Lifestyle

Fresh Encounters with Jesus, Part 8, John 6:16-21
Pastor Tom Marcum, March 18, 2007

Over the last several weeks now, we have been walking together through the Gospel of John pausing along the way to watch the way that Jesus engaged the various people that He encountered in a wide range of settings.

And I’ve been leading us on this journey with a two-fold goal.

--For those among us who don’t yet know Jesus…those of you who know something about Jesus, but have not yet experienced him in a personal way…I’m hoping and praying that you will come to know him by our journeys’ end.

--And for those of us who do know Him…even those of us who’ve known Him for a very long time…I’m hoping and praying that we’ll be blessed with some fresh encounters that will help us to get to know Him even better.

And, based upon the feedback that you’ve been giving me, I’m convinced that process has already begun. And I’m confident that it’s going to continue, this morning, as we watch the disciples struggling to apply the lessons that Jesus had taught them just a few hours earlier.

If you were with us last week, you’ll remember that Jesus had taught those lessons as he and his disciples had retreated to a hillside for a time of rest and relaxation, only to find themselves surrounded by a crowd of more than 5,000 hungry people. Faced with the challenge of feeding this massive crowd the disciples quickly realized they were out of both resources and ideas, but Jesus calmly blessed a young boys’ simple lunch of 5 small loaves and 2 fish and the told the disciples to start handing out the food. So they handed it out and they kept handing out and eventually-miraculously-everyone was fed. They even had 12 baskets of leftovers.

And the point of the miracle was not simply to keep the crowd from missing a lunch. The point of the miracle was to teach the disciples some critically important lessons about who they were…who Jesus was…and how God works to accomplish His purposes in and through us.

--The first lesson was a lesson in humility. The disciples needed to know that they were utterly powerless to accomplish God’s purposes on their own. God’s purposes are only possible through God’s involvement.

--The second lesson was a lesson in sufficiency. Namely, that God is completely sufficient to accomplish all of His purposes. Not some of His purposes, but all of His purposes.

--And when you put those two lessons together, you’re now ready for the third lesson—a lesson in dependency. Because, on my own, I will always lack what is necessary to accomplish God’s purposes…and…because God never lacks what is necessary to accomplish His purposes…the most important thing that we can do if we want to see God’s purposes accomplished in us, through us and among is to remain completely and utterly dependent upon God.

Those were the lessons that Jesus taught the disciples …and us…through the miraculous feeding of those 5,000 plus people. Now, as we rejoin the story today, the lesson is over and it’s time for a pop quiz. It’s time to see how well the disciples had learned those lessons. And while the lessons were taught on a crowded hillside, on a sunny afternoon; the pop quiz is going to be taken in the middle of storm, in the middle of a lake, in the middle of the night. It was a real life situation that would challenge the disciples to apply all three of those lessons…and even learn a few more.

We pick the story up in John 6:16 which says,

(16) When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, (17) where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them.

Now let’s stop there for just a moment and try to picture the scene. Earlier in the day, Jesus and his disciples had retreated to a hillside to get a little rest only to be immediately drawn into another tiring ministry experience as they served lunch to some 5,000 people and cleaned up the leftovers afterwards. Now, evening has arrived and everyone is exhausted and the disciples, without Jesus, have climbed into a boat and set out on a 5-mile trip that will take them to Capernaum on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Now, let me quickly note that while the text here in John’s Gospel could lead us to conclude that the disciples had abandoned Jesus, but that’s not the case. Both Matthew and Mark make it clear in their accounts of this event that Jesus told them get in the boat and go and as they did, he retreated to a hillside to pray by Himself.

Let’s pick the story up in verse 18 where John says,

(18) A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough.
Matthew’s account says that the boat was “buffeted” by “waves” and “wind.” Mark’s account is even more descriptive adding that the disciples were “straining at the oars.” When you put all the accounts together, it’s clear that the disciples were now in a very scary situation.

Now, folks, if you’ve never been in on a really large lake when a really large storm breaks out, you may not fully appreciate just how frightening a situation like this can get. Years ago, in my youth…let me emphasize that—in my youth…two of my friends and I spent the night on a little island in the middle of a very large lake being slapped silly by our tent as it was beaten to pieces by a huge storm. When the sun finally came up, we saw that the ski boat that had taken us to the island was now stuck nose first in the sand. A couple of hours later, the Coast Guard pulled our boat out of the sand and we drove across the lake to safety by tailgating the Coast Guard cutter while huge waves crashed all around us. Even though I love all things water related, that was a terrifying experience that I will not be repeating by choice. All of which is simply to emphasize the fact that disciples were in a frightening place.

Now, it seems to me that there’s a lesson here that shouldn’t be missed. And to help us see the lesson, I want to contrast the experience of my friends and I with the experience of the disciples.

--My friends and I got stuck on that huge lake in the middle of that huge storm for this reason: we were stupid. We were inexperienced and we were stupid. Earlier in the day while we were water skiing, we saw storm clouds gathering overhead and we kept skiing. And then the rain started to fall and we kept skiing. And then the wind started to blow and we kept skiing. And when the waves finally got so high that we couldn’t ski anymore, it was too late. We couldn’t make it back to shore. So, we got stuck in the middle of a huge lake in the middle of a huge storm because we were inexperienced and stupid.

--The disciples, on the other hand, were neither. They were very experienced and very skilled in all things related to small boats, big lakes and bad weather. Question—So how’d they get themselves into this predicament? How did they end up in this scary place? Answer—By being obedient to the Lord. Jesus told them to get in the boat and go on ahead of him…and they did…and they found themselves in a very scary place.

So, what’s the lesson? Well, I think there are several, but today I want to focus on just two. And the first of those lessons is that being obedient to the Lord sometimes leads us to scary places. Even when we are doing exactly what the Lord wants us to do, we may still find ourselves at risk. And the risk can come in all kinds of shapes and sizes.

--Sometimes, the risk will be physical in nature. I can’t begin to tell you the number of times that I have sensed the possibility of imminent physical harm as a direct consequence of being obedient to the Lord. Even to the point of living with a death threat from a man whose violence was so well documented that the police recommended that I sleep with a loaded gun under my pillow. Sometimes ministry happens in unsafe places and involves real physical risk.

--Other times, the risk will be financial in nature. Some of you here today…I don’t know who you are, but I know you’re here…some of you are not bringing the tithes and offerings to God that God wants you to bring because you’re afraid that if you did you might not be able to pay your bills or you might have to change your lifestyle. Some of you…I don’t know who you are, but I know you’re here…some of you faithfully bring your tithes and offerings to God even though you don’t know how you’re going to pay your bills and even though you may have to change your lifestyle. But you’ve chosen to live with the financial risk that comes with being obedient.

--Sometimes, the risk will be relational in nature. To be obedient to God, you may have to risk losing a relationship, you may have to change the nature of a relationship and you may even have to end a relationship. I know that I have had to do so.

--Sometimes, the risk will be to long cherished dreams and plans. It’s entirely possible that the only way to keep walking in the direction in which God is leading you, is to walk away from a dream or a plan that means a great deal to you. Your plans and God’s plans may not always be able to coexist. You may have to choose one or the other.

And I could go on and on, folks, but the point is that being obedient to the Lord sometimes involves real danger and real risk.

And that brings us to the second lesson that we need to see here, namely, that storms are a normal part of the faith experience. Even good Christian people who are faithful to pray and serve and give and worship and study the Bible and seek God’s will and are passionate about living a life that is pleasing to God will still experience storms in their lives. God never promises that His children will have storm free lives. What He promises us is that He’ll be right there with us in the midst of the storm, that, ultimately, He’ll use our storms to accomplish His good purposes and that we can trust Him completely to lead us, comfort us, encourage us through the storm.

And one of the ways that God encourages and comforts us in the midst of our storms is through the memory of our previous experiences with His faithfulness and His power. “Yes, this storm is scary but I remember another storm even worse than this one and God was faithful to carry me through. I’m going to trust Him to carry me through this one as well.”

So, let me ask you, folks: Have you experienced the faithfulness and power of God in your own life? I have. Have you seen the faithfulness and power of God demonstrated in the lives of others? I have.

Folks, hold on to those memories and speak of them often because God will use them to comfort and encourage you the next time you need to trust Him in the midst of a storm.

We pick the story up verse 19 where it says,

(19) When they had rowed three or three and a half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were terrified.

No kidding. Here they are in the middle of a storm, in the middle of the night, exhausted and frightened and fighting to keep the boat afloat when suddenly a ghost emerges from the dark. Now, of course, we know that it was Jesus, but both Matthew and Mark tell us that the disciples’ first thought as Jesus came walking toward them was that they had seen a ghost.

And it was at that moment that Jesus did the most wonderful thing. He spoke to them. And, immediately everything changed. Verses 20-21 describe it like this:

(20) But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” (21) Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

So, Jesus met them in the midst of the storm, assured them that there was no reason to be afraid and the disciples did the best thing that they could possibly have done. They welcomed Him into the boat. And the crisis was over.

Question—What was the key thing that the disciples did to get safely through the storm?

Answer—They invited Jesus into the boat. They stopped “straining at the oars”…they stopped trying to fix the situation in their own strength…and they invited Jesus to get into the boat with them right there in the middle of the storm. And immediately the entire situation and their perspective were transformed by the presence of Jesus.
Hours earlier on a beautiful hillside surrounded by 5,000 hungry people Jesus had taught the disciples a lesson on the importance of staying constantly aware of their dependency on Him. And now, He’s sent them into a storm to help them see if they’d learned the lesson, because storms always reveal exactly what we’re depending upon. The way we respond to the storms of life will show us convincingly if we’re truly trusting in the Lord or if we’re still trying handle things ourselves.
So, let me ask you folks: Is there a storm in your life, this morning? If so, what has your response taught you about what you’re depending on? Are you still straining at the oars? Are you trying to handle it on your own? Or have you found that place of peace in the midst of the storm that comes when we acknowledge our need for Jesus’ help and invite Him to get into the boat with us?

I don’t know what storm you’re facing today, but I know that facing them alone can get very tiring, very fast. Why don’t you invite Jesus to get into the boat with you?