Together we're looking at the miracles of the Lord Jesus in the Gospels. We're looking at those instances where individuals find themselves in the midst of a crisis, but how those various crises give way to a miracle. We're looking at Christ in the crisis. And this evening, I'd like you to turn with me to Mark chapter six, Mark chapter six and verse 45, Mark chapter six and verse 45. A very well-known portion of scripture, no doubt. Mark chapter six in this particular narrative here is Jesus walking on the water. Jesus walking on the water. Mark chapter six and verse 45. The word of God says this. And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people. And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray. And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. And he saw them toiling and rowing, for the wind was contrary unto them. And about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out, for they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid. And he went up onto them, into the ship, and the wind ceased. And they were so amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered, for they considered not the miracle of the loaves, for their heart was hardened. And amen. And we know God's word does not return unto him. Boy, here in the word of God, as I said, it's a well-known portion of scripture, Jesus walking on the water. I'm sure you know of another miracle that takes place whenever this happens. Peter walks on the water, but I haven't read that account tonight, and you'll see why I haven't read it as we get further on in our sermon tonight. But I want you to bear that in mind. Peter gets out and walks on the water. In this here instance in the word of God, I want you to picture this, I want you to get this even. Every time the disciples get into a boat in the gospels, they are tested. Every time. The disciples get into a boat in the Gospels they are tested. This story here tonight is so familiar to us that it doesn't really shock us anymore. But as we approach this biblical story this narrative we need fresh eyes. We need a fresh appreciation for the Lord Jesus who was able to walk on water as if it was solid concrete. Here the Lord Jesus after he had multiplied the loaves and the fish he compelled his disciples to get into a boat and go to the other side. of the Sea of Galilee. This was really at the height of the Lord's popularity. The disciples, especially Judas, no doubt, would have welcomed the crowd who gathered after the feeding of the 5,000. You'll remember after the feeding of the 5,000, a crowd gathered and they sought to make Jesus their king. The Lord knew the crowd's motives. He knew they weren't spiritual, so he sent them away. And he sent his disciples away as well. No doubt, because he knew that they would perhaps be swept up by this growing popularity. Now, as Jesus sent them away, did Jesus know that there was a storm coming? Of course. So then why did he deliberately send his friends into danger? Well, I have to say tonight, friend, quite the opposite is true. The Lord Jesus sent his disciples away from the danger of the crowd. The danger of being swept up by this fanatic crowd who sought to make Jesus their king. He was protecting them as he sent them away. And then afterward, Jesus withdrew to a solidary place to pray to his father. I have to just take a wee pause there whenever I say that. Would it not be absolutely wonderful to hear the Lord Jesus pray in such a place? Would it not? I mean, imagine the Lord Jesus pray. After all, Jesus wouldn't have prayed the same way you and I pray. He didn't have to ask to be pardoned of any particular sin. He didn't have to ask the father to help him conquer any habitual sin in his life. He didn't have to ask the father to remove any depraved nature or subdued within himself. No. It would have been wonderful to hear him pray. The Lord Jesus was a praying man. I don't need to tell you that this evening. You already know that the Lord Jesus was a praying man. In fact in the gospel of Luke you could really write over the gospel of Luke the gospel of prayer. Because it's really the prayer life of the Lord Jesus. The other gospels say that Jesus was in the Jordan and the spirit descended upon him as a dove. Luke says it happened while he was praying. The other gospels say that Jesus chose the 12 disciples. But Luke makes the very important point that he was praying all night before he chose them. Now they're not in contradiction with each other. It's just Luke's emphasizing that he's a praying individual. The other gospels say that Jesus died on the cross. Well they all do. But Luke makes the emphasis that he was praying for those who persecuted him. The other gospels say that Jesus went on a mount and he was transfigured. Luke tells us that he was praying as he was transfigured. You can see here that the Lord Jesus was a praying man. On more than one occasion in the life of our Lord, it's recorded that he continued in prayer all night. Luke chapter six, verse 12. And it came to pass in those days that he went up into a mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer. At other times, he awoke early in the morning, withdrew himself while it was yet dark to pray to the Father. You know, an interesting thing that you'll find in the Gospels, Jesus seldom prays for anyone that he heals. Jesus seldom prays for anybody that he heals. You know why? Because he'd already spent time beforehand praying before the healing ever took place. Older saints refer to this as being prayed up. You're prayed up. And it's the secret to victorious Christian living. I wonder, dear friend here tonight, are you prayed up? Are you habitual in prayer? Is it a discipline in your life? Do you give time to corporate prayer? I imagine you do because you're here tonight. Do you give time in your private life to prayer? Is it important? I trust that it is. And here in our story, Jesus dismisses the multitude. He dismisses his disciples. It reminds us, you and I here tonight, that there comes points in our week, in our month, in our year, whenever we have to dismiss the affairs of the world, the cares and concerns of individuals, our family, our friends, members of our own community, and we have to say, there's gonna be a time here where I'm gonna spend it in prayer. The Lord Jesus did this. The Lord Jesus did this. And when you find yourself in trouble, Maybe perhaps you think to yourself, maybe like these disciples did this night, whenever you find yourself in trouble, in a difficult circumstances, maybe you say to yourself, I must have done something wrong. Perhaps I've missed God's will. Perhaps God's punishing me. And that's why I find myself in the midst of a storm. But I want to tell you, friend, the disciples weren't in the midst of a storm by disobeying God. They were in the midst of the storm because they obeyed him, because they obeyed him, not because they rejected God's will. but because they embraced it. The Bible says that Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go and they obeyed. At times, dear brother and sister in the Lord, you'll find yourself in troubled waters because you did the right thing, because you obeyed. I often think of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego whenever I think of this, how their faith was witnessed by King Nebuchadnezzar, who was astonished that the fire didn't consume him. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego obeyed God and were cast into a fire. Why? Because of who was watching. Because of who was watching. Whenever they came out of the fire, Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 3 and 29 says, therefore I make a decree that every people, nation, and language which speak anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be cut in pieces because there is no other God that can deliver other than this God. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were cast into a fire because of who was watching. I wonder, dear friend, in your Christian life, whenever you're cast into a fire, is it because someone's watching? I wonder how do you deal with a fire when you're in it? Because there are people watching. These disciples find themselves in the midst of this storm because they obeyed. But you know the beautiful thing about this? The beautiful thing, I believe, is verse 48. Verse 48 in our passage tonight, the first four words, I think, are beautiful. And he saw them. And he saw them. And I think that's an important thing. Here's the Lord Jesus. Now, here's the Lord Jesus, and he's up on a mountain, and there in the middle of the lake, in the lake of Galilee, Sea of Galilee, the middle of it's about four miles in. So they're in the middle of the Galilee Sea. Jesus is up a mountain and he sees them. He sees them. Now, I imagine he's seen them with physical eyes. I imagine he's seen them with physical eyes. But can I tell you a friend tonight, the Lord Jesus Christ sees you with his omniscience. The Lord Jesus Christ sees you tonight with his omniscience. Walking on the water is not the only miracle we see here. We see Peter walking in the water in different gospels. I want to tell you a friend tonight very simply, Christ sees you. Christ sees you. Christ knew precisely where the disciples were. He knew exactly what was going on. And so he came to them in their hour of desperation. Whenever they needed him, he saw them. He saw them. He's seen the stroke of every oar. I want to tell you, friend, he hears the groan of your heart. He hears every half-crooked sigh, and he sees every eye that sheds a tear. Christ sees you. And I love how the end of verse 48, and be careful not to misunderstand it, the end of verse 48 it says, and would have passed by them. Literally what it means is he desired to come alongside them. Whenever they were in the ship, he didn't mean to go past them walking, but to come alongside them in the ship, to come alongside them in the boat. I want to tell you a friend tonight, Christ sees you and he comes alongside you. In the situation you find yourself in, he comes alongside you. In my simple mind, whenever I picture this, I like to picture the Lord Jesus untossed and unmoved by the waves. Can you picture it tonight in your mind's eye? Everybody else is being tossed to and fro in the ship and here's Jesus walking. Resolute. Resolute. And walking towards the disciples. In John chapter 6 verses 18 to 19 it says this, and the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew. So when they had ruled about five and 20 or 34 longs, they see Jesus walking on the water and drawing nigh onto the ship and they were afraid. Though they were only to travel a short distance, this storm was so violent that despite all their efforts, they were driven nearly four miles into the midst of the sea. And it was about the fourth watch of the night between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. So, estimates, they've probably been rowing for about eight to nine hours. Eight to nine hours, rowing. They're totally exhausted. In this passage, it says that they were blown off by a storm, and when Jesus seen them struggling, he came to their aid. You notice that Jesus, Jesus doesn't tell his disciples what to do. He doesn't just tell them what to do. He didn't stand on the shore and shout, this is what you should do in the midst of your circumstance. He didn't stand in the sea and say, row a bit harder there. No. In the point of their desperation, the Lord Jesus Christ came alongside them. In the midst of your desperation, you don't need advice. You need a miracle. You need somebody to show up. And that's exactly what Jesus did here. He intervened in the storm. God just doesn't stand on the shoreline telling us what to do. He meets us in our pain. He meets us in our fear. Our desperation, our storm, our discouragement. He doesn't stand in the shore, he meets us in the storm. That's what he does. Job chapter nine and verse eight reminds me of this passage, or I'm reminded of it even. Who alone stretches out the heavens and tramples down the waves of the sea but God, but God. You wonder why the disciples didn't recognize him here in this passage. The answer is very simple. They weren't looking for him. They weren't looking for him. Whenever the circumstances around them grew so desperate, so dire, they weren't looking for him. They were struggling on their own with the oars. They were not looking for the Lord. In John 21 and seven, therefore the disciple whom Jesus loved, listen to this, therefore the disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, it is the Lord. This story in John 21 is much later on. It's after the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. It's called The Breakfast on the Beach. Whenever the disciples are on a boat and they see Jesus on the shoreline. It's funny in this story here nobody recognizes the Lord. But in John 21 it says this. Therefore the disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter it is the Lord. Here they're on a boat at a different time and they recognize him. Or one man recognizes him. John. John recognizes him. I think before John was known as John the revelation writer, he was John the beloved. John the beloved. Here's the disciple who rested beside the Lord Jesus in the upper chamber whenever they had that last supper meal. Here's the one who was closest to him. The one who was closest to him was the one who recognized him. Individuals, I wonder how close you are to the Lord. This story here illustrates a profound mystery actually in and of itself. This story that we read here or the story even of Peter, the story of that Peter walking in the water is found in Matthew 14. Matthew 14 and verses 28 to 29. This is what it says. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou bid me come unto unto thee on the water. And he said, come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. This part of the story in Matthew 14, as I said, illustrates a profound mystery. God in his sovereignty interacts with man's own initiative. God in his sovereignty interacts with man's own initiative. Peter says, Lord, if it be thou, call me out onto the water. I think there's tiring theology in his words. that are easy to miss. We might assume that Peter was held up by his faith. You hear that? Peter's faith held him up. I want to tell you now that's false. And I don't care what any commentary Bible scholar or Bible teacher tells you, that's false. That's not accurate. It wasn't Peter's faith that kept him afloat. And you're going to tell me that I'm splitting hairs here. It was Jesus. It was Jesus. And Peter knew that. That's why he didn't leap out of the boot on his own initiative. He asked the Lord Jesus to command me to come. What Jesus was doing was honoring Peter's faith. But it was Jesus who was keeping him afloat. Jesus was keeping him afloat. Peter didn't walk on water. He walked on the word of the Lord. Didn't walk on water. He walked on the word of the Lord. And it's true that when Peter's faith weakened, he began to sink. But the fact he cries out to the Lord Jesus illustrates to us that he knew where his hope resided. He knew he was holding him up. He knew it was Jesus. Notice that Jesus doesn't call any of the other disciples to join him on the water. Peter took the initiative and Jesus honors it. Humanly speaking, if Peter had not taken the initiative here, I wonder what would have happened. I wonder what would have happened. I wonder, dear friend, tonight, what might we be missing in our story when we don't take the initiative? James chapter three and verse two is just that little sentence I believe is so important. You have not because you ask not. You have not because you ask not. Peter's request, Lord, if it is you, it's funny that it's not condemned by the Lord. Can you imagine that? Lord, if it's you, call me out on the water. You don't see Jesus replying, Oxford Peter, who else would it be? Who else do you know walks on water? Of course it's me. No, no, he didn't lecture Peter. And so Peter gets out of the boat and begins to walk on the water. Now, Peter probably did not walk very far on the water, but he walked further than me and you. He walked further than our disciples, I know that. And you have to remember, undoubtedly, the very important thing here. You remember whenever we were looking at the feeding of the 5,000 together? We were looking at the 12 baskets and how we said each disciple was given a basket. Jesus was telling them, look at this, remember my provision, remember my power. You have to remember that undoubtedly here in this story, which takes place just after the feeding of the 5,000, Mark chapter six, verse 30 and onward, This takes place just after the feeding of the 5,000. Undoubtedly, the disciples had the loaves, the baskets, in the ship with them. They had the baskets and the ship with them. And when they looked at those 12 baskets, they should have realized that the God who told them to go to the other side was the God who was able and the God who provided and the God who was powerful in the midst of the storm. They didn't even look at the baskets. It says there in verse 52, for they considered not the miracle of the loaves, for their heart was hardened. The Lord says to them, I'm giving you these baskets to remind you of my power. There's no doubt in the ship with them, and they still doubted him. They still doubted him. I wonder, dear friend, here tonight, and I ask this very, very sincerely, I wonder, do you have any memories that you consider leftover bread? If you know what I mean. I wonder, is there a basket in your life? Is there a time that you can look to whenever God provided? Whenever you see God's power at work in your life, I wonder do you and I have a basket that we can turn to and be reminded that's a time whenever God moved in my life. Surely he'll do it again. The disciples didn't do it. Peter didn't do it. And yet Peter walked out in the water, and we read in Matthew's Gospel in Matthew 14, when he saw the wind was boisterous, he was afraid. Perhaps Peter expected the storm would cease whenever he stepped out on the invitation of the Lord. I want to tell you, friend, whenever you step out of the boat into the sea with the Lord Jesus, the trouble doesn't cease. Sure, it doesn't. You meet people and they tell you that Christian living's easy. I would love to meet that person. I would love to meet them. Peter might have thought, I'm saying might have thought, might have thought whenever he stepped out onto the water that it would be peace whenever he was there, but it wasn't. It wasn't. And so Peter immediately begins to cry out, Lord, save me. And what does the Bible say? Immediately, Jesus caught him. Immediately, Jesus caught him. Instant confession brought instant salvation. And yet Christ, I find this unique. Yet Christ doesn't immediately take Peter back onto the ship. He doesn't grab him and say, right on you go. No, no. You see, there's no help on the troubled boat anymore. There's no help for the sore believer on the boat. It's better to be in the midst of the sea, in the arms of Jesus, than to be on the boat, is it not? It's better to be in the midst of the sea, in the arms of Jesus, than on the boat. Deuteronomy chapter 26 and 8 tells us of the mighty hand and outstretched arm of the Lord. Isn't it better to be in his arms in the sea than on the boat? The wind was against Peter. The wind was against him. But the living word was for him. The living word was for him and that was enough. Immediately Christ took Peter's hand and caught him even as he was sinking. And only then, after he had caught him, did he rebuke him. We have to be careful not to switch those circumstances, by the way. You don't rebuke somebody and then catch them. That's not how it works. He first caught him, and then he taught him. If you know somebody who's slipping, sinking, as it were, you don't stand and rebuke them. And after they sort themselves out, you go and say, good man. No, first they're caught, and then they're taught. It's a very important word that we should remember not to reprove others until we first help them with their difficulties. I wonder do you and I do it? It's so easy. It's so easy. And then the Lord Jesus begins to ridicule Peter. You have little faith. Why did you doubt? It's interesting. He didn't say you have no faith. Peter had a little faith, and a little faith was enough to enable him to walk on water, to walk over raging storms, to walk over a raging sea and experience what no other human being had experienced or ever will experience. Jesus' question here, whenever he asked Peter in Matthew 14, sorry, why did you doubt? In Matthew 14, Peter doesn't give an answer. And that question, that question must remain without an answer. Why did you doubt? Doubt. That question does not have an answer. Because there's no rational or sensible answer that can be given. In your life, whenever you've doubted the Lord, if I was to ask you, why did you doubt? No rational answer can be given. Because God is good. Because God provides. Because God is powerful. No believer, no believer can ever find the least purpose for doubting. It doesn't happen. And yet we do because we're human. But it shouldn't. It shouldn't. Here in this particular passage, as we bring our message to a close, there's just one thing I'd also like to bring out. It wasn't until the last watch of the night does Jesus come. When they had long struggled, and the boot is out in the very middle of the sea, and the storm is at its fiercest, that's whenever Jesus comes alongside them. I want to tell you something, friend, and it might be difficult to hear this, but it is the truth. Heaven's clock ticks. at a different rate than yours and mine. Heaven's clock ticks at a different rate than yours and mine. God's timing often is not designed to give us relief, even though sometimes it does. It's designed not just to give us relief, but to give us revelation. To give us revelation. Jesus waited till the worst moment and he came alongside them for revelation, not just relief. And then Jesus climbs into the boat and the wind dies, John 6 and 21. Then they willingly received him into the ship and immediately the ship was at the land where they went. I think that's unique too. Listen to that again. Then they willingly received him into the ship and immediately the ship was at the land. So they were in the midst of the sea a moment ago. When Jesus gets in the boat, they're in the land. I think that's a miracle in itself. I don't want to dwell too much on that because you might think that's a bit ungraspable things there. But I think that's a miracle in itself. John reports that the boat immediately arrived on the other side even though they were in the middle of the sea. I think you can scarcely imagine that after an act of power so magnificent and so kingly as Jesus walking in the water that he would have seated himself on the boat and the boat not be on the other side. He hardly would have sat on the boat and let the men roar and pull the oars and communicate with one another over the midst of the storm. No. No. Just as Jesus had commanded the waves to uphold his weight, these mindless elements to support him, the Lord Jesus Christ here does another miracle, I believe, anyway. I believe. The stilling of the wind in this story is not the climax of the story. The stilling of the wind or the walking on the water is not the climax of the story. The climax of the story actually is the fact that in Matthew 14, in Matthew 14, the disciples worship Jesus. It's actually the first time they do worship him. Matthew 14, hard to believe 14 chapters on. It's the first time they properly worship him with his full title. The miracle of Jesus walking in the water more than anything else convinced the disciples that he was indeed the Son of God. It was the first time the disciples said to have worshipped Jesus. In Matthew 2, the wise men worshipped him. In Matthew 8, a leper. In Matthew 9, a synagogue ruler. But here, it's the first time the disciples worship Jesus with his full title, the Son of God. Jesus was called the Son of God by the disciples, a statement that was built on the fact that they asked an earlier question. If you turn with me in your Bible to Matthew chapter eight, Matthew chapter eight and verse 27, Matthew chapter eight and verse 27, just very quickly. Matthew chapter eight and verse 27. The Word of God says this, but the men marveled saying, what manner of man is this that even the winds and the sea obey him? They asked an earlier question, what manner of man is this? And they answered their own question in Matthew 14. Truly, this is the Son of God. You are the Son of God. You see here tonight how the Lord Jesus Christ is an individual who sees us where we are, who sees us in our pain, who sees us in our storm, in our discouragement, and he comes alongside us for relief and for revelation. He's an individual who is there for you, who is there for you. Peter's experience is like what the psalmist says in Psalm 94 verse 18. When I said, my foot slippeth, thy mercy, O Lord, Help me up. When your foot slips, Jesus holds you up. Beautiful, isn't it? When your foot slips, the mercy of God holds you up. There is only one who knows all the answers to my woes. He will all my needs supply when I in faith to him cry. You and I serve a savior who is for us tonight, who is for us. You and I serve a Savior who meets us in the storm. Amen. He meets us in the storm. And amen. Amen.