The Right Reason to Fear

Laurel Bible Church

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The title of today's sermon is, The Right Reason to Fear. The Right Reason to Fear.

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John chapter 6. We find two sign wonders in this chapter. Last week we looked at the feeding of the 5 ,000.

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Today we'll look at the sign wonder of Jesus walking on the Sea of Galilee. And so please stand with me for the reading of God's Word.

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John chapter 6, and we'll start back at verse 1 for the context.

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I'm reading today out of the Legacy Standard Bible. John chapter 6. After these things,

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Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee or Tiberias. Now a large crowd was following him because they were seeing the signs which he was doing on those who were sick.

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Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he was sitting down with his disciples. Now the

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Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. Therefore Jesus, lifting up his eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to him, said to Philip, Where should we buy bread so that these people may eat?

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And this he was saying to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him,

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Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.

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One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him,

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There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?

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Jesus said, Have the people sit down. Now there was much grass in the place, so the men sat down and number about five thousand.

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Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated, likewise also of the fish, as much as they wanted.

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And when they were filled, he said to his disciples, Gather up the leftover pieces so that nothing will be lost.

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So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

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Therefore, when the people saw the sign which he had done, they were saying, This is truly the prophet who is to come into the world.

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So Jesus, knowing that they were going to come and take him by force to make him king, withdrew again to the mountain by himself alone.

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Now when evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, and after getting into a boat, they began to cross the sea to Capernaum.

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It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. And the sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing.

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Then, when they had rowed about twenty -five or thirty stadia, they saw

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Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat, and they were frightened. But he said to them,

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It is I, do not be afraid. So they were willing to receive him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

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You may be seated. The right reason to fear.

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Jesus taught his disciples not to be afraid. Not to be afraid of those who can kill the body but not the soul.

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He said as much in Matthew. He said to fear God who can destroy both in hell.

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In other words, don't fear the earthly things, but rather eternal consequences.

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Matthew 10, and do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul, but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

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The apostle Paul told the church in Philippi to work out whether they were genuinely saved with a serious and genuine self -evaluation.

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Philippians chapter 2. So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

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King Solomon explained that fear of God is truly wise. Proverbs chapter 9.

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The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

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And so as we think about this passage before us and the command to not be afraid, we also have to think about the fear of God.

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Actually, fear is a gift from God. When it's a godly fear, and we can think about even fear in the preservation of our life, an instinctual fear, and what

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I'm talking about is if you're swimming out in the ocean, and you know you're swimming with great white sharks, you should rightly be fearful and get out of the ocean.

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Maybe for our context, you're on a hike, or you're at Glacier National Park, and you're on a summit, and you're walking along this edge with a big drop.

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Instinctually, we are fearful. There's a preservation there that we are sane.

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We are not lunatics. We should have a healthy fear to keep us alive, to keep us safe. You know, if you see a grizzly bear at Yellowstone Park, you don't go up to it and pet it, because it will eat you.

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Now, there is common sense tied to that, because we recently went to Yellowstone National Park, and there's always the folks that want to take a selfie with the 500 ,000 -pound bison.

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And you just think, what are you doing? Well, they don't have a healthy fear.

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Something's going on in their mind. And unfortunately, we see these viral clips of people being gored or, you know, the bison charges, and in some cases, people have died.

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So, fear isn't necessarily bad in that way, but fear can also be sinful when placed in the wrong things.

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And so, when we are going through adversity, trials in life, as Jesus commanded, and we have this record in Matthew, oftentimes we are fearful of things here on earth while ignoring the sovereignty of God, the

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God who made the world. And so, here we are where we have this kind of sinful misplaced fear that can lead to anxiety and stress and not knowing what's going to happen.

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And sometimes when we go through trials, we can let that sinful fear even turn into a sort of accusation against God's goodness, and we can't see the whole picture.

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He can. And so, fear can also be sinful when placed in the wrong things.

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In the book, Men Counseling Men, A Biblical Guide to the Major Issues Men Face by Dr.

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John Street, there are seven biblical principles of fear that are helpful to think about.

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They're helpful and also convicting. And so, these are the biblical principles of fear just sort of scratching the surface.

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Number one, ungodly fears are directly related to what you think about.

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Ungodly fears are directly related to what you think about. Often our minds can get away from us and we start thinking about the what -ifs, and that can lead you to a place of fear and panic.

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Number two, when sinfully fearful or panicked, you are focused on the circumstances rather than on God.

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And you're looking at the problem, you're looking at what's happening to you, and your perspective is sort of vertical, you're looking at what's going on, and you're focused more on that than you are on God.

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Number three, when you are panicked, you're focusing on yourself. There's an inward focus, there's a panic, and there isn't a focus vertically looking up at God who is actually in control of the situation.

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Number four, when you are engaged in a fear panic episode, you are fearing something else more than you are fearing

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God. When we fear God alone, really what can hurt us?

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There's really nothing else to fear but the one who has made creation, the creator. Number five, when you succumb to ungodly fear, it will motivate you to commit other sin.

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And so when fear happens, we're not thinking correctly, and oftentimes what we'll do is we'll take shortcuts and we'll compound the situation and make it worse by just, you know, sinning and taking shortcuts, not doing what the

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Bible says. Number six, ungodly fear and panic accomplish absolutely nothing worthwhile.

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As Jesus told His disciples and those listening in the Sermon on the Mount, don't worry about tomorrow, tomorrow has enough trouble of its own.

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Yeah, fear accomplishes zero, absolutely nothing. And number seven, not being right with God can lead to anxiety, fear, and panic.

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And so we want to have a right relationship with God as we deal with these struggles in this life.

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In the fifth sign wonder, when Jesus walked on water, we find a powerful moment when fear and faith intersect.

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The disciples are in a boat far from shore battling a storm. In the middle of their struggle,

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Jesus comes to them walking on water. Naturally, they're terrified, thinking they see a ghost, but Jesus immediately speaks to them saying, it is

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I, do not be afraid. This scene illustrates a profound truth about fear and faith.

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The disciples' fear was understandable. They were in the middle of a storm, facing something they hadn't faced regularly in their lives.

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And it's a storm, you don't go out into the middle of the lake and put yourself in peril, yet Jesus' words redirect their fear, reminding them that their fear should not be rooted in the unknown or in the storm, but actually in the absence of Christ.

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Think about a child learning to swim. The water is deep, the child is nervous, the fear of sinking is real, but the parent standing right there in the pool says, it's okay,

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I'm here, don't be afraid. The child seeing the parent knows they are safe.

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The fear of the water fades because they trust in the parent's presence. And in the same way,

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Jesus' presence in the storm should change how we face our fears. The right reason to fear is not the storms of life themselves, but the absence of Christ in our lives.

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If we face challenges without Him, our fears are justified. But when Jesus is near,

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His command to not be afraid is not just a comforting word, it's a command based on the reality of who

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He is, God with us, stronger than any storm and closer than our fears.

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This teaches us that the real danger is not the storm, but forgetting that Jesus is with us in it.

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When we recognize His presence, our fears diminish because we understand that no storm is greater than our

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Savior. In this passage this morning, John recorded the fifth sign wonder showing

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Jesus' complete control over creation, so that you can stop being afraid in times of adversity and uncertainty and see the necessity of trusting

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Jesus in all aspects of your life. Three encouraging elements of the fifth sign wonder, the preeminence, the phenomenon, and the prompt.

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The preeminence in verse 15, the phenomenon in verses 16 and 19, and the prompt in verses 20 and 21.

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Three encouraging elements of the fifth sign wonder. Look at verse 15. So Jesus, knowing that they were going to come and take

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Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.

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Verse 15, the preeminence, Jesus' omniscience.

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The preeminence of Christ means that in Jesus' omniscience, He is before all things, and in Him, all things hold together.

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Colossians 1. The psalmist writes it like this, Psalm 44, would not

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God find this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart. Or how about Psalm 139, even before there is a word on my tongue, behold,

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O Yahweh, you know it all. And then Psalm 147, great is our

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Lord and abundant in power. His discernment is infinite.

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And so an important verse here, as John sets the stage for the sign wonder,

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John uses the verb form of the Greek word for knowledge. And this is a participle, and it's important that I point this out.

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Notice the verb ends with an ing. So this is a completed action in the past that is continuous in the future.

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It's not that Jesus knew or He had discovered, as in to become into a state to know something.

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Jesus knowing the heart, He's known in the past, He knows now, and He will forever be in a state of perfect knowing.

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He didn't have to solve the case or weigh the facts. This wasn't human intuition based on their body language or shouts from the crowd.

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This is the pre -eminence of Jesus as the Son of God. The attribute of omniscience is on display here.

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And it takes us back to chapter two and the theme of John telling his readers how the witnesses responded to Jesus.

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Some responded by wanting to see more miracles and the spectacle, yet they didn't believe.

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John recorded Jesus' omniscience in the account of the Samaritan woman at the well. But he also included the insert of how

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Jesus was treated in his hometown as he went through Samaria into Galilee.

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And we see this now theme popping up. Chapter two and chapter four, there's little inserts in there that tell us how the folks were responding to what they were witnessing.

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And of course, the end of chapter two, following the first sign wonder of turning water into wine and cleansing the temple,

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John adds a critical detail. He says that Jesus knew the hearts of men and he didn't entrust himself to those who had witnessed the signs because he had no need for anyone to bear witness to him about man, for he knew what was in man.

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And also, again, we see it at the end of chapter four. The Samaritans believe, but then as Jesus leaves

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Samaria, as he's going on to Galilee, John has to throw in a note that the prophets are never honored in their own hometown.

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And he's telling the readers that that is what is in store for Jesus as Jesus goes from Samaria to Galilee, that they won't believe in him.

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They won't honor him there. What we see here in the fifth sign wonder is not Jesus arriving at a knowledge of someone or something.

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Jesus is not acquiring information through some kind of means. This is not him grasping the significance or meaning of something.

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This is to be aware of something, to perceive, but not like human perception.

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This is a divine, all -knowing perception. For he knew all men and because he had no need that anyone bear witness concerning man, for he himself knew what was in man.

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Here's a helpful definition of omniscience. This is from the Stanford Encyclopedia.

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I thought this was helpful. Quote, omniscience is the property of having complete or maximal knowledge.

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Along with omnipotence and perfect goodness, it is usually taken to be one of the central divine attributes.

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Once source of the attribution of omniscience to God derives from the numerous biblical passages that ascribe vast knowledge to him.

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Thomas Aquinas, in his discussion of the knowledge of God, cites texts such as Job 12, with God our wisdom and strength he has counsel and understanding, and Romans 11, oh the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God.

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Another source is provided by the requirements of formulating one or another theological doctrine.

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For example, the doctrine of divine providence holds that God has a plan for the world, according to which all things are in his care and work out according to his good will.

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As Thomas Flint puts it in his book Divine Providence, to see God as provident is to see him as knowingly and lovingly directing each and every event involving each and every creature towards the ends he has ordained for them.

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Omniscience. Jesus knew what the Jews who witnessed the the feeding of the 5 ,000 were trying to do, and therefore he departed alone to a different part of the mountain.

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The gospel of Mark tells us that he had gone to a desert place intentionally before he had performed the fourth sign wonder of feeding the 5 ,000.

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That was his intention, but he couldn't because the crowd was so big that followed him.

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The gospels of Matthew and Mark also tell us that he had gone to pray. John's inclusion here makes it clear that Jesus was at the top of the mountain keeping watch over the ship.

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Very likely he prayed for the disciples and the crowd understanding their intentions, while also knowing that he was about to manifest his glory to the disciples in the fifth sign wonder.

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In verse 15, after the miracle of feeding the 5 ,000, the people were so amazed by Jesus's power that they wanted to take him by force and make him their king.

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But Jesus, knowing their intentions, withdrew to the mountain by himself.

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This moment reveals his omniscience, his divine knowledge of their hearts and intentions.

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Imagine a chess master playing a game against an amateur. The amateur, full of excitement, thinks they have the perfect move that will secure their victory.

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But the chess master, having already anticipated every possible move, knows exactly what the amateur is thinking.

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With calm precision, the master makes a move that not only blocks the amateur's strategy, but also reveals that the game was never out of the master's control.

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And in the same way, Jesus, as God, knew the hearts of the people.

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They saw his miracles and they wanted to crown him king, but their understanding was limited.

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They sought a political savior, someone to overthrow Roman rule and restore Israel's earthly kingdom, but Jesus knew their desires were misplaced.

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He wasn't there to fulfill their limited vision, but to accomplish a much greater plan,

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God's plan of salvation for all humanity. This passage reminds us that Jesus, in his omniscience, sees beyond our immediate desires and intentions.

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He understands our hearts better than we do ourselves. While we might be tempted to force our own plans on him, thinking we know what's best,

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Jesus gently but firmly guides us toward his perfect will.

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As humans, we often want to make Jesus into what we think he should be, a provider, a problem solver, a means to an end.

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But Jesus, in his divine wisdom, knows what we truly need.

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He's not just a king who meets our immediate needs. He's the king who reigns over all, guiding us according to his perfect knowledge and love.

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This passage helps us reflect on the importance of trusting in Jesus's omniscience and submitting to his divine plan, rather than trying to impose our limited understanding on him.

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Just as the chess master sees the whole board, Jesus sees the entirety of our lives, and we can trust him that his way is always best.

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In verses 15 through 21, John recorded the fifth sign wonder, showing

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Jesus's complete control over all creation, so that you can stop being afraid of adversity and uncertainty, and see the necessity of trusting

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Jesus in every aspect of your life. Three encouraging elements of the fifth sign wonder, the preeminence,

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Jesus's omniscience. Jesus knows the heart of man because he is

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God, and therefore possesses the divine attribute of omniscience.

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And next, in verses 16 through 19, the phenomenon, the miracle, Jesus's miracle.

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Look at verse 16. Now when evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, and after getting into a boat, they began to cross the sea to Capernaum.

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It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. And the sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing.

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Then, when they had rowed about 25 or 30 stadia, they saw

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Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat, and they were frightened.

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John now sets the scene by telling us that it is dark. The evening had come, that Jesus was still up on a different part of the mountain by himself.

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Knowing where he was planning to go, the disciples got in the boats and they went ahead of him to Capernaum.

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Based on verse 15, it seems that the disciples may have been caught up in the misdirected excitement towards Jesus.

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The disciples were obviously drawn to him, and there would have been an unwillingness to part with Jesus.

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And we need to take into account that they embarked at night, leaving Jesus alone on the mountain. Jesus had not yet come down, so you can imagine they probably hung out a bit, sort of lingered there in hopes that he would still be joining them.

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Some time had passed and the darkness had come on. The historical context of the geographical realities of the sea are important for us to understand as well.

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This is actually a lake but is referred to as the Sea of Galilee, and the description of the

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Sea of Galilee is important for us. When you stand there on the edge looking across, it is so huge, you just can't fathom that this is a lake.

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It's massive. And so in God's kind providence, I was able to go to Israel, and as you're standing there looking out, as I'm standing there in this, what they think is the exact place where this took place,

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I'm looking out, imagining what it must have been like. When I was there it was glass, it was flat.

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But that lake gets churned up, and it's like the ocean. People die out there. And there's sort of like a haze over the land on the other side because you're in the desert and sand gets whipped up.

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If you have driven around here and you're looking at the bluffs, the rims, and you can just see all the way out, and it's like crystal clear, high definition, and then other times you look out and it kind of like looks hazy.

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You're like, what's going on? Is there smog in Montana? But no, it's the ash from some fires nearby, and it sort of looks blurry.

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It's sort of like that. But when you're standing there looking out, it just hits you, the miracle that took place there.

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It is so massive and huge, you can't imagine trying to cross it. It's almost like you can barely make out that there's even land on the other side.

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You're just looking out at infinite water. Very big. One commentator noted thus, the

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Sea of Galilee is 650 feet below sea level, 150 feet deep, surrounded by hills.

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These physical features make it subject to sudden wind storms that would cause extremely high waves.

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Such storms were expected on this lake, but they were nevertheless frightening.

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When Jesus came to the disciples during a storm walking on the water three and a half miles from the shore.

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I appreciate the LSB translation here because it includes measurements that correspond accurately to that time in history.

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And the sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing then when they had rowed about 25 or 30 stadia.

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25 or 30 stadia is approximately three to three and a half miles.

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They're not near the shore. Three and a half miles, three miles in, they might not even have been able to see the shore.

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Yeah, they're not near the shore. They're in the middle of it. They're in the middle of it. The gospel of Mark actually adds the note that Jesus saw them in the

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And Mark records it like this. He saw them straining at the oars.

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They're not having an easy time here. So the disciples were putting forth all of their strength to overcome the waves and bear on against the headwind, and clearly they were not making any progress, no effect.

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And we have to think that Jesus saw this from the mountaintop, through the darkness of the night.

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Of course, He didn't need to see. He knew. His heart was with them.

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Yet, in His perfect timing, He didn't give them relief until His time, until He decided, until His time came.

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John is recording for us that the disciples were obviously terrified. The gospel of Mark gives us added clarity in that they probably thought they were seeing a ghost.

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This is real fear and terror, and it's real danger. This is life -threatening trouble.

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But we can think if they had already witnessed all that He had already done, many being present at the different miracles that we don't have recorded, they may have even expected something miraculous could happen.

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But there was a problem. Jesus wasn't with them. Jesus wasn't with them. They are extremely frightened, and in that fear, there was an expectation that Jesus would not be there.

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In other words, they weren't prepared for His help. There is an underlying implication and important connection that John is making between fear and faith.

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Faith is a mental ascent in our minds that expects God to act on our behalf, but not just that, that He would act for our good.

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Faith. There's hope. In other words, praying with expectation, trusting

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God with expectation. And when we live in this expectation, we can overcome our fears.

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The Gospels of Matthew and Mark give extra information telling us that this took place between 3 and 6 in the morning.

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Out in the middle of the dark, in the early morning, surrounded by imminent threat and misunderstanding

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Jesus coming to them and seeing a specter or an apparition, we can only imagine the terror.

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If we put ourselves in their shoes, we can only imagine that Jesus would appear to them like a dark, moving speck out on the water, out on the frantic waves and waters, and then it would have shifted to perceiving a human figure.

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You can only imagine, what am I looking at? What living thing, what living human being could possibly be out here?

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Are they floating? Where's the boat? It seems they never dreamed that this imperceivable figure could be their

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Lord. And we do the same in the middle of our adversity and uncertainty. We often miss our freest mercies.

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Not only do we think them distant when they are near, but we often think the best mercy is the worst.

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And then recognizing Him in the middle of this miracle of Jesus, walking on water unfazed, the phenomenon,

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Jesus' miracle, walking on the Sea of Galilee. I love how the

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Puritans commented on this. The Puritans stated this, what

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Job celebrates as the distinguishing prerogative of God, who alone spreadeth out the heavens and treadeth upon the waves of the sea?

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And this challenge, what challenges us, what trial challenges as God's unapproachable prerogative to gather the wind in His fists and bind the waters in a garment?

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Proverbs. Lo, this is here done in flesh by the

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Son of Man. And the outcome is recorded. The outcome was belief.

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We look to the other supplying gospels here, Matthew chapter 14, verses 32 and 33.

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And when they got into the boat, the wind stopped, and those who were in the boat worshiped

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Him, saying, You are truly God's Son. And it takes us back to the point of these sign wonders being recorded.

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This is recorded in Matthew, Mark, and John, not in Luke. But John is telling us why this miracle.

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He actually gives us some more information we'll get to in the later verses. Remember the point of all this.

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Miracles are miracles. Sign wonders are a miracle, but there is a spiritual truth in every sign wonder.

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And so, what is the spiritual truth in this sign wonder? That Jesus is Lord over all creation.

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He is sovereign over all creation. He has power over all creation. But what is the point?

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Well, the point is that seeing that Jesus of Nazareth is sovereign over the natural laws of this world, that you would make a mental ascent and realize

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He is the Son of God, the Messiah. And what does John say? That by believing in Him, you may have eternal life.

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That's the point. That's the point. And so, we need to understand what their response was.

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As John is pointing out some of the witnesses' response of unbelief, here we see belief. The account of Jesus walking on water in John 6 is a vivid display of the power of trust and the dangers of misplaced fear.

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The disciples were terrified as they battled the storm. But when Jesus appeared walking on the water,

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He told them, it is I. Do not be afraid. And this moment shows the contrast between trusting in Jesus and giving in to fear.

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Envision two hikers lost in a dense, dark forest at night. One hiker has a small flickering flashlight, and he is consumed by fear, constantly imagining the worst, wild animals, unseen dangers, even getting lost.

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His fear grows as he relies solely on his dim light, which barely cuts through the darkness.

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The other hiker, though equally aware of the potential dangers, remembers he has a

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GPS device. And that device can guide them safely out of the forest.

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Instead of focusing on what could go wrong, he trusts in the GPS, knowing it will lead them back to safety.

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His fear is real, but managed, directed by his trust in the reliable device rather than on his immediate surroundings.

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In the same way, the disciples faced a real storm, and their fear was understandable.

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But their fear was misplaced when they forgot who Jesus was and focused only on the storm.

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The wrong reason to fear is rooted in the circumstances around us, just like the hiker's fear was based on the darkness and unknown threats.

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However, the right reason to fear, which is tied to reverence and trust, comes from recognizing that without Jesus, we are truly lost.

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When the disciples saw Jesus walking on water, their fear should have shifted from the storm to a healthy reverence for the one who has power over the storm.

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Trusting in Jesus doesn't mean the storms won't come. It means knowing that he is greater than any storm.

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Like the second hiker, we should focus on trusting the one who has the power to lead us through any situation, rather than being consumed by the fear of what could happen.

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And the application is clear. When we face life's storms, we can either be paralyzed by fear of the unknown, like the first hiker, or we can trust in Jesus who guides us through the darkest times.

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The wrong reason to fear is rooted in our circumstances. And so we have this morning three encouraging elements of the fifth sign wonder.

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The preeminence, Jesus's omniscience, and the phenomenon, Jesus's miracle. The right reason to fear is acknowledging the power and presence of Jesus in our lives, which leads us to trust him fully.

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And then finally, the prompt, verses 20 and 21. The prompt,

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Jesus's encouragement. But he said to them, it is I, do not be afraid.

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So they were willing to receive him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

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And so the prompt is important here. It comes really in the form of a command. The gospel of Matthew and Mark record

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Jesus saying, take courage. What exhilarating words to hear in the middle of this deadly situation, in the middle of being gripped with fear, the sovereign

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Lord of creation essentially saying, be of good cheer. What we have here in the original language is actually an

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I am statement. We miss that in the translation. The Greek, ego eimi.

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And so we have I am statements all throughout this gospel, and some that are emphatic, that are tying

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God's attributes directly to Christ. And actually, we have one right here.

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We can literally read verse 20, I am he, stop being afraid.

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What an amazing thing to hear. John uses the Greek word meaning to fear, to frighten, to terrify, to be in an apprehensive state.

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This is being afraid, often in the sense of becoming frightened. And it's often used to denote the thing or what one is afraid of.

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This word is pretty specific and narrow in meaning. Only actually two nuances in meaning in the

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Greek. The first is to be afraid, to fear, to be in a state of terror and fright.

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And the second is very important for us as Christians. There is now no condemnation in Christ Jesus.

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This isn't the fear of wrath or judgment, not for the Christian. No, the second meaning is very important.

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It's to have a profound measure of respect for, to have reverence, respect.

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It gives special reference to fear of offending God. This is not fear of wrath.

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The prompt is both a command and an encouragement. Take courage and be of good cheer.

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I am. You can stop being afraid. This is not a one -off.

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This is not, do not be afraid. It is stop being afraid.

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If God, the creator of the universe, gave His life that by believing in Him you may have life yourself, what is there to fear?

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Yahweh is our God, Jesus of Nazareth, the Son. We have no reason to fear.

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We don't have to go on fearing. If God is our friend, He gave His life that we may live.

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Because I am, you don't ever have to be afraid again.

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This is final. Psalm 23 puts it like this, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

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I fear no evil. Why? For you are with me.

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Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Isaiah 54, no weapon that is formed against you will succeed, and every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn.

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This is the inheritance of the slaves of Yahweh, and their righteousness is from me, declares

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Yahweh. Paul put it like this in Romans, Romans 8, what then shall we say to these things?

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If God is for us, who is against us? He who indeed did not spare

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His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will

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He not also with Him graciously give us all things? And we see the disciples' response, that they willingly welcomed

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Jesus into the boat. Their fears were transformed into wonder and delight.

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But John gives an added detail that we don't have in the other Gospels. We have here a miracle within a miracle.

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And immediately, the ship was at the land. We don't see this in the Gospel of Matthew or the

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Gospel of Mark. Added details that John gives to his readers, that just augments and supplements the other

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Gospels. The implication for us is that the storm was suddenly or instantly calmed, and this little piece of wood floating on this raging sea was instantly propelled by the power of Jesus.

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Jesus is over all creation. He is the Lord of creation. This boat, this little piece of tree bark, instantly glided through now the calm waters.

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The disciples were wrapped up in wonder and all that had happened, and without understanding or heeding the rapid motion, they were instantly found to be at port at where they had been going.

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And this eyewitness account of Jesus walking on water constitutes the fifth sign wonder, recorded in the historical record of the

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Gospel according to John. John demonstrates his purpose as the writer of this account to show that Jesus is the only

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Son of God and Messiah. This sign wonder clearly demonstrates Jesus's divinity,

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His deity, in showcasing His sovereignty over the natural laws of the created world.

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Jesus's command to not be afraid in verse 20 is more than just a comforting word.

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It's a powerful encouragement, grounded in His divine authority and love.

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When He speaks these words, it's not just to calm our immediate fears, but to remind us that we can trust

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Him in every storm of life. Let's pretend you're on a plane during heavy turbulence.

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The plane shakes, the lights flicker, the passengers around you start to panic, but then the pilot's voice comes over the intercom, calm and steady.

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He says, we're going through some turbulence, but there's no need to worry. I've flown through conditions like this many times before, we'll be through it soon.

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Please remain seated and trust that I have everything under control. And hearing the pilot's calm and confident voice gives you reassurance.

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You might still feel the turbulence, but your fear starts to fade because you trust that the pilot knows what he's doing.

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His experience and composure reminds you that the plane is in capable hands.

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In the same way, when Jesus commands us to not be afraid, He's like that pilot speaking into our turbulent situations.

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His words are not just wishful thinking, they are grounded in His sovereignty and power over every circumstance.

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Jesus doesn't promise that we won't face storms, but He does promise that He's with us in them and that He's in control.

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The application for trusting Jesus in the middle of a trial is similar to trusting the pilot during the turbulence, just as you would follow the pilot's instructions, staying seated and trusting that He knows how to navigate through the storm.

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We are called to trust Jesus by holding onto His promises and obeying

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His commands, even when things are uncertain, especially when things are uncertain.

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In the uncertainty of the trials of life, there is one unchanging certainty that you can rely on no matter what, and it's

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Jesus Christ, the unchanging one. He is reliable. And this might mean staying grounded in prayer, reading

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Scripture to remind yourself of God's faithfulness. And there's an intentional choice that needs to be made, choosing to focus on His presence rather than focusing on the severity of whatever the trial is.

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When you trust in Jesus' command to not be afraid, you're acknowledging that He is greater.

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He is greater than any trial you will ever face. His words are an encouragement because they come from the

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One who has already overcome the world. Just as the pilot's experience reassures you during turbulence,

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Jesus' power and presence give you the competence to face life's storms without fear.

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It's really not you facing them. You're not alone. Jesus is with you, knowing that He is in control and that He will see you through.

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We have to remind ourselves that when Jesus is with us, we have nothing to fear. And we can go back to Psalm 23, written by King David.

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Even though you're in the valley of the shadow of death, in the original Hebrew it says it's a dark, gloomy valley.

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Actually, it doesn't say death. Darkness, gloom, you can't see in front of you, you don't know what's in front of you, this is dangerous, life, peril.

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But that's not the destination. Even though I walk through the valley,

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I will not fear, for you are with me. Jesus isn't taking you to the storm and leaving you there.

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He's getting you through the storm. He's moving you through the trial. And we have to remind ourselves that when

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Jesus is with us, we have nothing to fear. And there is no time in our lives as Christians that Jesus is not with us.

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He has given us His Holy Spirit, has He not? 2 Timothy chapter 1, for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of what?

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Of power, of love and self -control. Three encouraging elements of the fifth sign wonder.

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The preeminence, Jesus's omniscience. The phenomenon, Jesus's miracle. And finally, the prompt,

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Jesus's encouragement. When Jesus is with us, we have nothing to fear.

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And there is no time in our lives that Jesus is not with us. No time.

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Trouble in life is a certainty, but responding in fear does not have to be for the

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Christian. An important principle concerning the Christian life is the biblical way of handling trouble.

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The author of How to Handle Trouble, J. Adams, points out that adversity is something that every

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Christian will encounter. We must be equipped with a biblical understanding of how to handle it when it comes.

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And there are six steps to remember when faced with adversity and uncertainty. The first step is to recognize

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God is in the problem. God is in the problem. We must see that God is actively at work in history.

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Even those events we label as trouble, that's the providence of God. It isn't by luck or coincidence that things happen in our lives.

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In Psalm 103, King David tells us that the Lord is on His throne in heaven and He is sovereign over all.

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Sovereign over all includes our troubles. When we remind ourselves of this, we're able to give thanks to God in the middle of the trouble in life because of our faith in God's providential care for His children.

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The second step is to remember God is up to something. God is actively working in our lives.

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We see that in the life of Joseph and that his brothers plotted evil against him, but God planned it for good.

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We often do not see right away what that good is, but it's certain we will not if we are focused on our troubles and not

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God. God has His own plans. His will be done, not ours.

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Our thought should not be on what God is doing. It should actually be on what God is doing in the trouble, but not on the trouble itself.

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It should not be on the trouble itself. Otherwise, we'll fall into sin. We'll compound the problem.

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The third step is to believe that God is up to something good. God works everything for good for those who love

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Him. Romans 8. For the Christian, it is essential to remind ourself and others of this truth so as not to get weighed down by this world.

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God is good and God does good. Matthew 7.

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James, the half -brother of Jesus, tells us that the testing of our faith, trials, troubles, produce endurance, which leads to spiritual maturity.

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Those are both good things that God is doing. The fourth step is to discover where and how

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God is at work. The apostle Paul tells us that God is at work in us to do

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His will and what satisfies Him. Philippians 2. God works in our hearts through the

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Holy Spirit. When we have an eternal focus, we are able to see how and where God is at work within us.

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The fifth step is to get involved in what He is doing. We get involved in what God is doing by not looking at the trouble, but look for opportunities, by looking at opportunities that God has provided in the middle of the trial.

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Don't look at just what's going on in the trial. Look for an opportunity in the middle of the trial to tell others about God, to be able to tell others about the hope that you have in you.

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And the sixth and final step is to expect good effects. Expect good things.

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Pray with expectation. It's not going to serve anyone, not you and not anyone around you, if there's a joyless resignation that there's just another bad thing down the road.

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No, it's okay to have an expectation that God has good things planned for you, even in the middle of the trial.

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Good effects. These steps really give us several good effects of handling trouble in a biblical way.

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Your attitude will be affected. Christ will be exalted. You will encourage other believers.

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You will advance the good news. When we put our attention on God and not on our troubles, then we will be able to live out these biblical principles on handling adversity and uncertainty.

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God loves us and has given us what we need to live a life of godliness, His Word and His Holy Spirit.

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And we can live this way even when faced with troubles. As Christians, our hope and trust is in the

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Lord Jesus Christ. He will sustain us. Jesus always comes to us in the storms of life.

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The words of God to Isaiah, Isaiah 43, when you pass through the waters,

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I will be with you. And when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep you over.

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And we can think, why did the disciples not recognize Jesus? Because they weren't looking for Him. They weren't waiting by faith.

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If they had been, they would have recognized Jesus instantly. The disciples jumped to the false conclusion that His appearance was that of a ghost.

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Fear and faith cannot live in the same heart. Fear frequently blinds the eyes to the presence of the

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Lord. In this passage, Jesus showed Himself to be in complete control and command of the elements, which is something that only

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God can do. John is showing us this sign wonder to demonstrate Jesus' control over creation.

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But most importantly, the response of the disciples, belief. But immediately,

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Jesus spoke to them saying, take courage, it is I. Do not be afraid. The disciples recognized

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His divinity and responded with a confession of faith in Jesus as God. The wind died down, then those who were in the boat worshiped

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Him saying, truly, you are the Son of God. In the passage this morning,

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John recorded the fifth sign wonder showing Jesus' complete control over all creation so that you can stop being afraid of adversity and uncertainty and see the necessity of trusting

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Jesus in all aspects of your life. Three encouraging elements of the fifth sign wonder, the preeminence,

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Jesus' omniscience in verse 15. Jesus knows the heart of man because He is

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God and therefore possesses the divine attribute of omniscience. The phenomenon, Jesus' miracle in verses 16 through 19.

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The right reason to fear is acknowledging the power and presence of Jesus in our lives, which leads us to trust

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Him fully. And the prompt, Jesus' encouragement in verses 20 and 21.

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When Jesus is with us, we have nothing to fear and there is no time in our lives that Jesus is not with us.