I do want to greet those who are, I think there's about 13 families online. So we greet you and we're glad you're with us. And the Larsons are online. In fact, I see Nathan's picture. For some reason, he's the primary picture on this monitor here. But Nathan is here. But I get to see his smiling face looking at me right here. So thank you for that, Nathan. Appreciate that. Let's turn to John chapter six. And I know it's hard to hear in the back. I was back there and I went ahead and turned off all the fans because I couldn't hear a thing. Is it okay back there, Corey? Can you hear? Okay. Let's turn to chapter six. We're going to be spending our time in John chapter six, but we're only going to be reading now a few verses. So let's stand together as we read God's word together. starting in verse 16. When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. And when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking the sea, coming near the boat, and they were frightened. And he said to them, it is I, do not be afraid. Then they were glad to take him into the boat. And immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for your word because you've promised to nourish us and do the work in our live of sanctification as we dwell upon it as we apply it, as we use it as the sword that it is. We pray now that you would give us insight and wisdom into our souls as we labor to think through and stay focused on what it is you're teaching us from this section of the scripture. We pray all these things in Christ's name. Amen. Be seated. And as you know, probably most of you know, Steve and Caleb are at a father-son retreat. And Steve is actually speaking at that retreat too, so we're missing them this morning. I want to start with a question. How does God craft faith in us so as we embrace Him by faith and we live by faith, we become useful tools in His hands? How does that process work? How does He grow faith in us? How does He work to prepare us for this life now, not live for our own little kingdoms, but live for His kingdom? How does God do that? Well, I want to put that question out there for you and make an observation that may not seem like it connects, but trust me, it will later. Here it is that there is a significant and even profound difference between amazement and faith. There's a profound difference between amazement and faith. In John 6, we get to see Jesus with his disciples with him and he's moving them forward in their faith. from a place of elementary faith to a growing faith, from being amazed by Jesus to having faith in Jesus. Jesus was meaning to transform them by his grace so that they would become different human beings, men who live in a radically different way. That's what he's doing. Although these guys, I don't think, grasp it at this point, they were in the 24-7 school of discipleship. They were being discipled every moment. And the typical way that they were being discipled in Christ seems to be that Christ would put them in a moment of difficulty where there was some circumstance or some need that was way out of their ability. And just when they were about to be confused or in despair, He would reveal His glory, the glory of His power, the glory of His compassion, glory of His grace. And it was that combination of difficulty and glory that was meant to change them because they weren't just to be informed, they were to be transformed by that grace. So Jesus is in process with his disciples. He knows their heart. He knows their faith and lack of understanding, perhaps. He knows where they need to be in their understanding of who he is, and he needs to take them to a place beyond amazement. in the miracles that they're witnessing, at the place of not understanding who He is, to a more complete level of faith that can take them through the deep waters they're going to be facing. So even now, I want to apply that to ourselves and our incomplete faith, and maybe even our amazement who Jesus is. We're tempted to get satisfied. in our walk with the Lord and our reliance on ourself, I think it's easy after you've been a believer for a while to become overconfident in your abilities to navigate life. So let's look at the overall context of chapter six. And I would encourage you to keep it open because we're going to keep going back there. Let's look at the context of what chapter six is going on. And it's interesting that all the gospels include this event. and each telling of it is in different details and emphases that the writers have. Previous to this event in Chapter 6, at the beginning, Jesus had taken five barley loaves and a few fish and he'd given thanks to God, and he had fed at least 5,000 people with them. John tells us that because of Jesus' healing signs, a large crowd was following him. Now this was just before Passover, the biggest religious festival for the Jews. And there might have been many people in the area and many that were journeying. And so many people are traveling and somehow arriving in mass to hear Jesus. And there is a crisis developing that Jesus sees and he uses and he makes sure his disciples are aware of that. So in verse 5 of chapter 6, if you're there, you can follow along. Lifting up his eyes then and seeing that a large crowd was coming up towards him, Jesus said to Philip, where are we to buy bread so that these people may eat? He said this to test him. That's interesting, for he knew what he would do. And Philip answered him, 200 denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each one of them to get a little. So one of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, there's a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many? So Jesus says, have the people sit down. Now there was much grass in the place, so people sat down, about 5,000 in number, and Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost. so they gathered them up and filled 12 baskets with fragments from five barley loaves left by those who had eaten." Now, we know that miracle very well, and so we almost pass over some of this, but I'm going to try to see what's going on there. Jesus and his disciples find themselves in a situation of immediate need. Elsewhere, it says they were in a remote area, And they're going, how can we possibly take care of the needs of this crowd? Matthew records that Jesus tells the disciples to give them something to eat. Can you imagine? You guys give them something to eat. It's an impossible situation, seemingly without any possible solution. But clearly, Jesus is intentionally creating this situation of need. And then he meets the need by effortlessly feeding 5,000 or more. In fact, there's a precise amount of leftovers. Jesus said to his disciples in verse 12, gather up the leftover fragments that nothing may be lost. Then verse 13 says something that surely has more meaning than just counting. So they gathered them up and they filled how many baskets? 12 baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. Why 12? Surely it's no mere coincidence that there's 12. and 12 disciples gathering those baskets, that food. So following this, the crowd is beginning to talk about Jesus among themselves as a prophet who's to come into the world. And Jesus at this point recognizes that the crowd was on the verge of coming forcefully to make him king. And so he withdraws to the mountain by himself and sends the disciples ahead in a boat. So that's the story of John 6, 1 through 15. But the ultimate point of that miracle, as we see later in the chapter, was to point to Jesus himself as the bread of heaven. The point was not mainly about Jesus giving bread to satisfy our stomachs, but that he's bread to satisfy our souls. But the people were blind to this truth. And so we see later in verse 26, Jesus says later on, So verse 15 says they wanted to make Jesus king. In other words, they believed on him as a great source of prosperity and food, and even as a prophet, but not a savior from sin, and not as someone to follow with all their life and put their faith in, not as the son of God anyway. So even the expectation of the people at the time would have been for a Messiah who would come and bring in this new golden age of Israel and would throw off the yoke of Roman oppression. But this event of the feeding with 5,000 was clearly a sign that pointed to Jesus himself as the bread of life. And as Jesus makes this clear in the second chapter, he says it time and time again. Verse 35, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger. Verse 41, I am the bread of life that came down from heaven. 48, I am the bread of life. 51, I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. Verse 55, my flesh is true food. He's kind of making it explicit here. And so that's what the miracle of the loaves and the fishes was pointing to generally, but for his disciples it was pointing specifically to the fact that Jesus will always be there for his disciples to take care of them personally in this kind of this crisis. And he shows this by seeing to it that 12 baskets, 12 full baskets are left over, one for each apostle. Can you imagine their conversation following that event? and gathering the 12 baskets that were full. So the miracle had a public message for all and a personal lesson for the 12. In fact, I want to make an observation here that there are several areas, there are several audiences here that Jesus, I believe, is dealing with. There's the larger crowd. Jews who were looking for a liberator, a Messiah, who were following him because he was healing, he was performing miracles. Then there was this smaller group that are called followers and even sometimes called disciples. Then there was the 12. There was these three layers of groups that were there. As we follow this, we see there's different responses, but all of them start with amazement. So let me propose the lesson that Jesus is ultimately trying to get across to all those he preached to was not just amazement, but bringing to them to the point of faith. in the sun or rejection. Amazement would not accomplish his purposes. And in this case, it was leading him to be proclaimed king by the crowd, which interestingly is the same kind of scenario that Satan tempted him with in the wilderness. You know, we encounter plenty of things to be amazed at. Think of the last time you were amazed at something or someone. While you're doing that, I'm going to drink. So, have you ever taken, talking about amazement, have you ever taken someone to Yosemite who has never been there before? What do they experience? It's amazing, isn't it? Amazement at these fires, this Del Porto fire. I was checking the stats on it, It's at 375,000 acres, I think. It stretches from Fremont, basically, to the San Luis Reservoir, and from the edge of Fremont almost to the southern edge of Tracy. You know how big that is? That is half the size of the state of Rhode Island that has been burned over there in Del Porto. And then there's the LZZU, and there's the one over by the Ballards and the Santa Cruz Mountains. I think that's amazing. And my amazement lately was with my heart. I have had two echocardiograms, and in this last one, I had to lie on my side, so I was able to see the technician with the monitor. That is an amazing thing to see a live color presentation of your own heart and see the flow of the blood and see all the valves opening and closing. It's a little bit frightening at first, but you're realizing, wow, this muscle is doing this non-stop. for the last 67 years of my life, in fact, and if it ever stops doing that, I won't be alive anymore. It's just, it's, how many of you have seen that? Some of you have seen an echo of yourself? It's a little disconcerting, but there are amazing things, but you know, those things don't necessarily change our lives in ways that are significant. and ways that are life-changing, and ways that are sanctifying, at least not in and of themselves. This crowd sees and recognizes this miracle that has taken place, and they're about to come and take him and proclaim him king by force. They're amazed and impressed enough to follow him and be around him. But Jesus knows that this kind of amazement will not move the crowds towards anything good at this point and won't accomplish his purposes. So back to the story of the disciples on the lake. Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to be king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by the sea. He got into a boat and started across the sea to Capernaum. And now it was dark and Jesus had not yet come. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. Now, three or four miles may not sound like a lot because when they had rode three or four miles, they saw Jesus. Three or four miles with a wind against you in a fairly large boat can be a long ways. And they see Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat and they were frightened. And he said to them, it is I, do not be afraid. And they were glad to take him into the boat. And immediately they were on the land to which they were going. And Mark adds, Now understand the disciples had been a witness to many miracles and healing by Jesus. They had probably recently returned from being sent out by Jesus two by two to preach repentance and to heal the sick and to cast out demons. So it's not as though they are just now encountering Jesus and hadn't seen the miracles and hearing the preaching. They had been fully immersed in Jesus' ministry. And so at Jesus' direction, they're trying to cross the Sea of Galilee. They're facing an impossible headwind. They're in the midst of an angry sea, and they're unable to get to where they're trying to get to. And according to the time given in the passage, they had probably been rowing for maybe eight hours. And it's the fourth watch of the night, which is between three and 6 a.m. in the morning. And they're utterly exhausted, they're utterly frustrated, and they're in an utterly impossible, futile, dangerous situation that is way beyond their control to get on top of this thing. Now, this tells us something we need to understand, I think. Jesus wanted them to be in this moment, didn't he? This moment was not in the way of his work of transformation. This moment was not outside of his divine power and his divine compassion. This moment was not an obstacle of the good thing that he was trying to do in them. He knows exactly where they'll be. He knows exactly what he's doing. This moment is part of his plan, and he knows about the wind and the waves. He's not surprised. So we have to ask ourselves, I think it's fair to say, why would Jesus leave his disciples in this situation? When we see this order of events, it's fair, I think it's important to understand what scripture is trying to teach us, to ask the hard questions of why. Why would a God of mercy, why would a God of compassion, why would a God of power, a God of grace and love ever choose his children to be in this kind of a moment? And I think in Matthew's telling of the story, we have a little insight. Matthew says this, and when they got into the boat, the wind ceased, and those in the boat worshiped him, saying, truly, you are the son of God. I think there's an application to draw out of that right now. Jesus brings hardships and sometimes crisis into our lives, often to bring us to the point where we need to be. Jesus understands who we are, and he will move us to maturity. That's his desire. He will not leave us in infant faith. So here are the disciples. We see an amazement that is even expressed in fearful reverence. In fact, we're told there that they worshiped him, but their understanding of who Jesus is remains lacking because it says in the other verse, their hearts were hardened. I believe it also tells us that we can worship him, but still have very little faith. In the case of these disciples, they had been a witness to amazing things, participated in amazing ministry. And so the application, I think, for us right here is don't make your sense of amazement and perhaps an amazing spiritual experience or a worship event or even exaltation of Jesus, don't make that the end of your maturity and somehow think you've arrived. Apparently falling down and worshiping Jesus in awe is not necessarily an example of great faith, is it? The crowd is amazed at Jesus, the disciples are amazed, but Jesus' purpose in this terrifying event is to bring about real faith. In the miracle of the loaves of the bread, the disciples didn't have to do anything but pass out the bread and collect the leftovers. And on this event on the Sea of Galilee, the disciples didn't do anything that saved them except to call out for him. And immediately John makes the point that the sea was calmed and they were at their destination. So on one level, Jesus was showing by miracles and signs who he is, but the purpose was to teach about the fact that he was bread and not their Messiah King to lead Israel in the way that they were expecting. And then on another level, Jesus intends to offend many people, to lose followers, and to winnow down those who were amazed and impressed with the bread to those to whom he had truly called. And his intention was to move them from amazement to faith. There is a culture in much of the church even today that is oriented more towards amazement than faith. It's often called an attractional ministry or being an attractional church. There are varieties of this, but generally takes the form of a church focusing on how can we make church more attractive and relevant? How can we make worship more immersive or more pleasurable? There are other examples of churches who aim to attract by signs and wonders ministry that seeks to draw people in by a variety of appeals, whether it be healing, words of revelation, ecstatic displays. There are churches that appeal to success and prosperity that surely God wants for you. There are churches who are therapeutic in their focus. We will give you the tools to solve problems, escape addictions, and put you in a support group. Jesus is marketed as the great terrorist. So this draw of our hearts to be amazed and impressed, to meet our felt needs, and even entertained is still a significant part of religion. It always will be. What can Jesus do for me? the cost versus benefit calculation. We can fall in the trap of pursuing what we perceive Jesus can give us instead of just seeing Jesus for who He is, exalting in His glory and His grace, and in doing so be changed and sanctified. So right here is a good place to ask ourselves, how I move from amazement to faith. What does that look like for me? What is God doing in my life that is intended to move me to deeper faith and trust and depth? And am I cooperating with that process or seeking to find ways out of the process when it gets too uncomfortable or inconvenient? Now, what's surprising, I think, about John's telling of this event is that this short set of verses about walking on the water occurs in the middle of this larger teaching of Jesus as the bread of life. John spends 15 verses telling about the feeding of the 5,000. And then this short narrative about the event on the sea, he spends a small amount of verses. And then after that, there are 50 verses of Jesus explaining and expounding on himself as the bread of heaven and the bread of life. John doesn't spend any more times talking about this miracle of walking on the water. All of chapter six is devoted to unfolding the implications of the miracle of feeding the 5,000. That miracle gets a whole chapter of attention and explanation. This miracle gets none. John is not telling this miracle of walking on water and coming to see his way of setting the stage. for a larger point about Jesus' ability to walk on water. That's not his concern here. Instead, this miracle is embedded in the story of the feeding of the 5,000. And apparently this miracle in John's mind serves that story. And I would conclude that John is telling this short and amazing incident of Jesus walking on the water to clarify something in the story about the loaves and the fish and Jesus as bread. It is for his disciples, his true followers, something like this. and you give and give and give until you think you can give no more, I will take care of you. I will always be enough for you. I will pour out my life to give bread to the world. I will be your satisfying, all satisfying bread. If you pour out your life, the more you satisfy others, the more I will be your satisfaction. The more you give life to others, the more I will give life to you. When you encounter situations out of control, like being on the sea in a storm, I am with you and I will take care of you. Jesus was teaching the disciple lessons of faith. With the feeding of 5,000, Jesus coming to the disciples on the water, and by the way, Matthew's account adds the part about Peter walking on the water. Jesus was extending their faith. They had already been out ministering and healing, casting out demons, but their faith was weak and their understanding of Jesus was incomplete. It was safe to say, it's safe to say all of our understanding of Jesus is incomplete. Part of the process we're in is God moving to bring us closer to completeness. I think we tend to think if I can just get to such and such place in my life, I'll have this sense of arrival. Maybe you've been there that if just this would happen or that would happen, You know, I remember in my life of things that I said, well, if this would just be the place when I when I graduate from high school or when I graduate from college or I get accepted to a certain program, or maybe when I get married, or when I bought a house, or we got all the kids out of diapers at one time. And when I got the car I wanted, or when I grow to my business to a certain size, or when I reached my financial goals, when I do something, right? Fill in the blank. We're always saying, well, if I could just get here, I would be much more happy, I would be satisfied, and I would have arrived. Jesus takes this groundwork and these lessons of faith and affirms and extends them to the spiritual needs the very next day as he applies the miracle of the bread to our spiritual condition. He says, you are seeking me not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of bread. do not work for bread, food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life." See, the crowd is focused at that point on what they got from Jesus, and they even remind Jesus about Moses giving them bread, and they say, well, what sign are you going to bring? And Jesus responds by saying that the manna was from God, and that the bread of heaven is actually he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. The rest of chapter six is explaining how he's the bread of life, and I'm just going to read a short section there. In 48, he says, I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." The Jews then disputed among themselves saying, how can this man give us his flesh to eat? And so Jesus continues and puts it in even stronger terms. He says, on the last day. So Jesus' emphasis is to point to himself, not primarily as the provider of bread, but what is truly important, eternal life. So as Jesus proclaims these hard sayings, he brings the different groups that I talked about of his followers to their intended destination. The general crowd he was teaching here at the synagogue in Capernaum at this point, who was looking for bread, responded on unbelief. It says, the Jews in 52 disputed among themselves saying, how can this man give us his flesh to eat? But the even more serious crowd that was following him, and they're even called, not only followers, they're even called disciples at this point, they rejected it outright. It says in verse 60, when many of his disciples heard it, they said, this is a hard saying, who can listen to it? And after this, many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. But the 12 were growing in their faith and understanding of who Jesus is, and they're beginning to understand. And in 67, Jesus says to the 12, do you want to go away as well? And Simon Peter answers him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. and we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God." So, final application. Is your focus on knowing and believing in and exalting in Christ, or is it your temporal needs, your wants and desires? Have you moved from amazement to steps of faith? What do we learn from this longer story of the loaves and the fishes? Jesus is the true bread of life. And then we have the excursions into the story of Jesus walking in the water. And yes, God will take care of our needs for bread and being with us in the midst of storms, but partaking of Christ is so much more than seeking things. It is the partaking of Christ himself. It is understanding that Jesus is moving us from one level of maturity to the next, one level of sanctification to the next. from glory unto glory, as it's put by Paul in Corinthians, and embracing that sometimes difficult and painful process as we grow from simple amazement to faith. God will take us where we have not intended to go in order to produce in us what we could not achieve on our own. We need to teach and encourage and comfort one another with the theology of uncomfortable grace, because often this side of eternity, God's grace comes to me in uncomfortable forms. We long for the grace of a relief, and someday that will come. But right now, what I actually need is the grace of refinement. I need to be changed, I need to be transformed, and I need to become a person of faith. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for the story of these disciples on the sea. and what Jesus is trying to do in their lives in this time of crisis, of where do we get bread, where do we calm the sea, and Lord, what you're trying to teach us. We pray, God, that we would be open to those uncomfortable places that you put us, in order to grow and to mature and to see your work accomplished in our lives of moving from just amazement with you to faith in you that impacts every part of our lives. We pray all these things in Christ's name. Amen.