Sunday Gathering - John 6 : 16-21 - Erica Lugg - Sermon Only

in the middle of this. But the dark place that you are in, if that is where you are today, is not

evidence that Jesus is absent. Maybe it's the very place where he intends to reveal himself to you

more clearly, which is what we see towards the end of the story. I've written this down as number two,

second point, but like I said, I don't know. Verse 18 says, the sea became rough because a strong wind

was blowing surely if Jesus is involved and surely if we are being obedient to his word

surely that will mean in this life there won't be storms surely that that will mean that there

will be easy waters well we know all we all know the answer to that obedience to Jesus does mean

that he will take us into places where we feel uncertain and we can't see obedience to Jesus

will sometimes take us into places where it feels like we are up against a storm the gale starts

to blow around us and the wind and the waves become choppy. To get a bit of an idea of this

story I want us to think back to Matthew's gospel and I've put the timeline together. So the journey

across the Sea of Galilee should not have been difficult, these guys were experienced fishermen

so this wouldn't have been difficult for them. Depending on the route it would have been five

to eight miles that's all and in normal weather conditions it would have been completed in a

few hours. But John tells us it's already getting dark when they set out. Matthew says that Jesus

came to them during the fourth watch of the night, so somewhere between 3am and 6am, meaning

that they'd been battling the storm for most of the night. How many of you this morning feel like

you've been battling a storm for most of the night? Let's be honest here. Perhaps not even the night,

right toby a bit longer than a night maybe a week a month a year battling a storm this story gives

us this idea that this is wasn't just one moment in time this is wasn't a five minute battle this

was from the time it started to get dark till around three to six o'clock in the morning all

night intense battling most of the night and despite hours of rowing they had covered three

to four miles, leaving their destination so far ahead of them that it felt unreachable. And yet

when they looked back to the shore that they had come from, that would have felt like miles away

as well. How do you get there with all this wind and wave? The wind had slowed their progress to

almost nothing, turning what should have been a manageable crossing into an exhausting all-night

struggle in darkness and rough water and this is one of the hardest places for us to be in between

shores where the destination looks so far ahead we can't see we can't see the shoreline it's that

far it's dark the wind and the waves are raging against us and then when we look to the shore

because maybe it would be safer to go back and that looks equally as far away and we're now

suddenly sat between shores in this no man's land of no progress. Anybody identify with that

this morning? These were not inexperienced travellers, many of them fishermen who knew

the waters but hour after hour straining against the wind making no progress must have turned what

they had once decided was confidence into questions and probably fear. Maybe we identify with that

place this morning between shores the destination too far ahead the place we've come from too far

behind in this middle land wondering if what we had once been convinced was the voice of Jesus

really was his voice at all once sure about the direction and instruction we'd be given

only to find ourselves in a place of struggle and strain and pain the between shores where the

destination seems out of reach we're going back feels easier and we're giving up suddenly begins

to feel like an option it's really interesting but Nick mentioned that this morning that sometimes

and when I hear it and by the grace of God I don't want that for me sometimes it is easier

we feel just to stop in the middle of the between shores when Aidan was very little Aidan's our

eldest son he's 31 now but when he was about three years old Nick used to walk him to nursery

and the nursery school wasn't that far away

so it wasn't cruel.

He had to walk, it was good exercise.

It was far enough away to be a reasonable distance

for little three-year-old legs.

And on this one particular day,

Nick tells a story of how they were coming home from nursery

when suddenly the clouds began to gather

and there was a thunderstorm brewing.

And he was encouraging Jacob,

come on Jacob, come on,

oh sorry, not Jacob, Aidan, I forgot which child.

Come on Aidan, let's move faster

and his little legs were going

and then suddenly he just sat down and refused to go anywhere and the heavens opened and the

rain came down and Aidan and Nick completely drenched because Jacob, Aidan, because Aidan had

decided that the best option was to sit down and give in. Was that the best option? No, it was to

keep on going but we have that choice and sometimes we do feel like doing that, don't we? We do wonder

where is God in all of this? And the temptation to sit down in the middle always feels like a

reasonable option. But let me tell you something, you will always get far wetter sitting, doing

nothing than you will letting your legs keep going, keep going, keep going. So for the disciples this

was prolonged strain. It wasn't one terrifying moment, it was hour after hour of fighting

resistance. By the time Jesus comes to them in this miraculous sign walking on water, they are

exhausted, they are frustrated, they are disorientated, and they are far from either shore, in between

shores, in this no man's land. And one thing that I've noticed is that Jesus let them struggle

for a long time before he appeared. Praise the Lord. How does that feel? Because we live in an

instant world, well in actual fact when we've been struggling with something for a while, we want

Jesus to come through for us but in this situation Jesus let them it was in his plan because he had

something that he wanted to show them something that he wanted them to see that they would not

have seen had they not been in the dark in a storm battling for an extended period of time

this is incredible what is so amazing that Jesus wants to show you this morning that he will allow

you to go through struggle and strain, times of uncertainty and insecurity, what does he want to

show you? What does he want to show me? Questions that I am familiar with in my own times of struggle

and I say them, I try not to say them but I do say them, things like where God, where are you in this?

Well of course he's there, isn't he? How do I know? How do I know that God is with me? Because what?

Because he promised.

Yeah, but I don't feel it, Gerald.

Sorry, Erica.

Sorry, Erica.

Sorry that you don't feel it.

It's his promise.

The reason I don't need to say, God, where are you in this,

is because he's promised me that he's right there.

Yeah, but I don't feel it.

Let me tell you something this morning, that feelings are not the truth.

We have to recognize them and we have to see them for what they are.

But Jesus comes and he says, I am with you.

In fact, I am with you to the very end of the age.

in fact I was with you yesterday I'm with you today and I'm with you forever but in times of

confusion this no man's land I can hear myself saying God where are you and he says well I'm

right here because I never went anywhere why can't I hear you Lord well because I gave you an

instruction already I told you to get in the boat and go to the other side the promise was that we

were going to get to the other side but I can't hear you yeah well I've told you told you what to

do. And I can hear the disciples going through this in their mind. Jesus, God, Jesus, where are

you in all of this? Why can't we hear you? One of the things that I was so pleased with that Liz

said last week, she said that, remember she said about how Jesus said to Philip, how are we going

to feed all these people? Do you remember this bit? And it wasn't because Jesus didn't know how

to feed all these people. He was testing Philip to see if Philip had any expectation that God would

intervene. And the question that I went away with last week is, Erica, how much of life do you live

with zero expectation that God will intervene? How much? How much of your life do you live with

an expectation that Jesus will intervene? It might be a struggle and it might be dark and there might

be wind and rain, but Jesus has always got a plan. God has always got a plan. And surely that is a

hallelujah moment people he's always got a plan and Jesus did have a glorious plan one that they

would never have experienced if they'd not encountered the dark and if they'd not found

themselves between shores still with me point number something verse 19 says after the wind

and the rain comes they had rowed three or four miles when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the

water toward the boat. Suddenly, what a great word. The suddenly of God rarely arrives with

warning. It always comes unannounced and unexpected. One moment the disciples are straining

at the oars. One moment they are exhausted and frustrated, convinced that nothing is changing

and then suddenly Jesus comes to them walking on the water. And that's often the way God moves.

suddenly heaven breaks into our moment of darkness without announcement. It might be a conversation,

a breakthrough, a place that was not, a peace that was not there before, an answer, a revelation,

a walking on the water, a miraculous sign, anything at all. Suddenly God breaks into our moments

unannounced and unexpected. Suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat.

the very thing that they were battling to control the very thing that had caused

them fear and anxiety Jesus takes authority over isn't that incredible you know what my instinct

is to do is to manage I love managing stuff because I like to fix things and have it in nice

little neat boxes and know well this circumstance has arrived and so what I'm going to do is manage

it. I'm sure if I'd have been in that boat that day I'd have been managing people. I think if we

row like this and I think if we head towards that way and maybe if we adjust ourselves I would have

been managing I'm sure. My instinct in my situations is to manage the situation but Jesus doesn't

manage the storm, he rules over it and that's the difference between me trying to survive

and his sovereignty over my life they were rowing harder adjusting sails fighting wind trying to

stay afloat everything they did was reactive the storm controlling their actions and probably their

feelings but Jesus comes walking on the top of the thing that threatens them he is lord even over the

things that seem out of control to us yeah but I don't feel it feelings are not the truth he is the

truth, the way, the truth, and the life. The waves that were exhausting the disciples are beneath his

feet. The storm overwhelming them is under his authority. He is the boss of them. Oh, gosh. He's

the boss. He's the boss of the wind and the waves. He's the boss of the darkness. He owns it all.

And as I was preparing this this morning, well, not this morning, but as I was preparing this,

this morning I looked at that statement he is the boss and I thought I wonder what it feels like to

actually begin to speak to my circumstances and actually say let me just remind you who's the boss

Jesus is the boss of them verse 20 says it is I Jesus comes towards them saying it's I

do not be afraid and I believe that this is the turning point of the story

in John this is far more than Jesus coming up and going hey guys hi guys it's me Jesus in case you

are wondering who's coming across the water, standing on the river water, you know, it's just

me, Jesus, you know, hi, how you doing? That sounds really, really fluffy. He comes to them and he uses

the very words that he used when he spoke to Moses in the burning bush. In the Jewish mind,

those were the words God used when he revealed himself to Moses. I am who I am. Before you,

I was there, before the world I existed, my voice put the wind and the rain in place, it was my voice

that created the oceans, before when everything was dark and formless I existed, before you existed

I existed, before your problems ever existed I existed, I am, I am sovereign, I am the one that

is eternal I existed before existence even existed I am sovereign God the one who is not

controlled by circumstance darkness or chaos and so when Jesus said to them I am do not be afraid

he's not merely identifying himself as hey guys it's Jesus because that sounds really fluffy

he's revealing himself as God the God that Moses encountered at the burning bush is now standing

on the waves this is revelation moment in the darkness in the middle of the chaos in the middle

of the storm Jesus is revealing not only his presence but his identity and John wants us to

understand that the one standing on the waves Toby I want to encourage you this morning because I know

you're going through some stuff with your job right I want to encourage you that the one standing

on the waves of your circumstance is not merely a teacher or a miracle worker or a prophet but he

is the divine son of God and he says to you today I am do not be afraid I am do not be afraid I'm

not I'm not here to fix things tweak things I am the God of all creation and I come to you in the

darkness and in the storm and I remind you I am who I am guys don't be afraid don't be afraid

yeah I know but you don't know my circumstance he existed before your circumstance he existed

long before time he's existed before matter he's sovereign and he comes to you on the waves and

says do not be afraid I really want to encourage you with that I feel quite emotional Toby I want

to encourage you with that don't be afraid I am who I am he's revealing himself this is revelation

moment. And John wants us to understand that we're not talking about a teacher or a miracle worker,

we're talking about the divine son of God. And that changes everything about the next phrase,

do not be afraid. That command is rooted in revelation. If you do not know who Jesus is,

let me tell you now, you will live your life afraid of everything. When you know who Jesus is,

that he's not just a great teacher and he's not just the miracle worker, that he is the God of

the universe that word do not be afraid no longer sounds glib does it it sounds earthy it sounds

something that we can build our life upon rooted in revelation and Jesus is not asking you to

pretend that the storm is not real he's showing them that fear loses authority when you recognize

who Jesus is comes walking towards you in the wind and the waves lost my place but it doesn't

really matter. Their peace is not found in the storm disappearing immediately, but in the

revelation that it's the sovereign God who stands in the middle with them. We want Jesus to take

away the storms like that. It doesn't happen. Sometimes it does, but my experience is sometimes

it doesn't. But my anchor is not the wind and the waves, and whether they're there, my anchor is

Jesus. Verse 21 says, then they were willing to take him into the boat.

We spend so much of life wanting Jesus to deal with the chaos and the storms

while still wanting to keep control of the boat ourselves.

I'm just preaching to myself this morning.

I love it when Jesus does amazing things.

I love it when he comes through for me.

I love all those things.

But there's a part of me that likes to keep control of the boat itself.

And I don't believe I'm the only person in here.

Thanks, Mireille.

It's just me and you, the rest of them.

They're all good.

Rob's nodding, yeah.

I noticed that.

This wasn't just anyone getting to the boat.

Once they recognized who he was,

they willingly received him

into the place of struggle, fear, and limitation.

What do we do when we have a revelation

of who Jesus truly is?

Do we resist?

Do we want the miracle worker that stands on the edge

and kind of looks at our lives from a distance

and kind of throws best wishes in or good actions in?

Or do we actually surrender to him and say,

Lord please come and get into my boat and help me to navigate the storm. John's gospel unlike the

other two never actually tells us that the storm stops it doesn't say that it just says that they

get to the other side because I believe that John's gospel the light of the revelation of Jesus is what

stops that sorry the light of the revelation of Jesus the storm no longer exists. So the turning

point for them was not necessarily a change in the weather, but a change in their heart.

From fear to surrender, stopping striving to trust, stopping taking control, but allowing

God to step in. And for many of us, that's the real challenge of the storm. Not simply

whether circumstances change immediately. I'd love to say this morning that everything

is going to go back to diddly-do, everything is going to be fine. We don't know that, but

we do know the one who is Lord over it all. Charles Spurgeon, and I think this quote is

attributed to him, said this. He says, I've learned to kiss the wave that slams me into

the rock of ages. Shall I say that again? I've learned to kiss the wave that slams me

into the rock of ages. At the discipleship course this week, the first clip of the video

that they showed was a man a pastor from Syria Serbia sorry from Serbia and he says that he said

I wish persecution on the church in the west well that sounds a bit mean doesn't it

but then he goes on to explain why and he says that when we face those things it teaches us to

lean into the sweetness of Jesus the storm the darkness those situations we can't control

those things teach us to lean into the sweetness of Jesus and maybe the very storm that the

disciples feared became the place where they encountered a deeper revelation of who Jesus

really is and I pray that for our lives maybe today Jesus is not asking you to row harder

maybe he's asking you to recognize him trust him and willingly receive him into the middle of your

storm that you have been trying to manage on your own what would it look like to stop striving for

control and surrender and instead to trust his sovereignty some of us have spent so much time

staring at the waves that we've forgotten to look for the one walking toward us and the greatest

miracle in this story is not that Jesus walked on water, but it is that frightened, exhausted

disciples discovered who was standing before them. Let me say that line again. The greatest miracle

in this story is not that Jesus walked on water. Of course he did. He's God. Maybe the miracle

for my life for your life is that frightened exhausted disciples discover who is really

standing before them and maybe that is where worship begins not when every storm has settled

not when every answer has been question has been answered but when our eyes are lifted again

to the one who stands sovereign above the chaos and the one who comes towards us in the dark

saying i am do not be afraid i'm going to ask the musicians to um just come and play for us

as i was preparing this i could have gone down the route of a response where we

invite you forward to so that we can pray for you for the wind and the waves in your life and

the struggle and i don't really feel that i want to do that this morning because i know that god

already sees those things he already sees what you're going through he already knows that you're

in a dark place he already knows that there are wind and waves he already knows that and so I

don't want us to respond necessarily to those things although I'm really happy to pray for you

afterwards I'm really happy to do that but I just wondered if we could respond by kind of shifting

our sorry impression of him that maybe what we could do this morning is actually to give the

wind and the waves to him and the storms and those dark places and anything else that you're going

through actually just begin to give them to him as an act of worship so I'm going to ask the musicians

to play and I really believe that Jesus wants to reveal himself to you this morning saying I can't

see Jesus I don't know who he is I can't recognize him a prayer is that you would see Jesus this

morning there's an old hymn that says when things that surround me become shadows in the light of

you I worship you Jesus and what we need is that fresh view of Jesus so that those things that have

crept in and have and have taken focus and we've become fixated on because they are so real and so

near that when those things that surround us become shadows in the light of who Jesus is and if that's

your prayer this morning help me to see you Lord more clearly in this storm help me to recognize

you in the darkness, help me to trust you, relinquish control, help me to see you as you

truly are, God of all creation, therefore God of my situation. If that's you this morning I just

want to encourage you to stand with me and I'm going to pray. Jesus for so many of us the storm

has become so loud that we've lost sight of who you are and we've spent so much energy trying to

manage what only you can rule over and we've strained at the oars trying to hold everything

together in our own strength but today we choose to lift our eyes towards you again

and I choose worship over worry and striving and control. I choose worship. Thank you that you come

toward us in the darkness. Thank you that you are not absent in the storm. Thank you that the waves

overwhelming us are already beneath your feet. And Lord, just as the disciples willingly received

you into the boat, we choose to willingly receive you again in the middle of our circumstances.

We surrender again, not just the storm, but the control, not just the fear or the striving,

not just the outcome, we surrender ourselves. And as we offer ourselves now to you in worship,

this isn't escapism this isn't emotional it's not denial worship is our declaration that you are

greater than the storm worship is our choice to fix our eyes on the one standing above the waves

father this morning before anything changes around us we choose worship before every question is

answered we choose worship before the storm settles we choose worship because you are still

the great I am the eternal one the sovereign one the God who was and who is and always will be

the one who stands above the chaos and comes towards us in love this morning we choose worship

and I wonder church if we could stand together and just just begin to worship just give it

all to him, everything, just give it to him in worship.