Good morning, Saints.
You know, when I got up this morning and looked outside, the thought came to me that no matter what the weather is, there is always some creature, being man or beast, that likes that weather. Whether it is rain or snow, cold or hot, we all have a preference as far as an environment goes.
But, you know, there is an environment—a large environment—that God wants to bring us into. It is not like any other. It is even Christ Himself.
And He uses different ways to do that. There are different methods and ways that He brings us into that environment. What we want to do this morning is look at an aspect of that—something that has actually been on my heart for a while. I just sat on it and waited, and here I am, so I trust it is of the Lord.
So, let us just start with a word of prayer.
Lord, as we continue in Your presence, we do want to confess that apart from You we can do nothing. We do want to confess that You have the words of eternal life.
No matter what I say, even if it be accurate, if, Lord, it is not of You, it is of no value. So we do want to pray and ask, Lord, for Your enabling to speak and to hear.
We just commit this time to You, Lord. We pray it will bring glory and honor to You. We pray in Jesus’ name.
Well, let me begin with asking a question: Have you found yourself going through a familiar or similar trial more than once?
You know, trials, or as we sometimes call them, storms of life, do come to the believer by the hand of God. And by the way, Jack, to give you a title, the title would be “Why Similar Storms of Life.”
Sometimes trials come for the reason of correction. We know that because of Job, how Job was directed by the Lord, and he went in the opposite direction, and he got on a ship. The Lord brought about a storm to begin to turn him back to Himself.
But we also find that the Lord brings about storms for the purpose of—I’m sorry—for the purpose of perfection, that is, spiritual maturity. And of these types of storms, we sometimes find a particular one recurs more than once.
The Lord, as it is or was, is rearranging a similar trying circumstance to teach us something deeper. Now, we know it is true: we often go through a similar storm because we are slow to learn.
But we may also find that we go through a similar storm more than once because the Lord, in His mercy, is teaching us something progressively deeper. He knows our frame and our unique weaknesses, and He knows what will be too much for us to endure throughout a single time.
I hope that does not mean my time is up.
Now, we find such a similar recurring trial coming about in the lives of the disciples. Do you remember? Do you remember the two occasions when the disciples were in a boat and found themselves in poor weather conditions?
Now, we know some of the disciples were fishermen by trade, and it would not have been unusual to find them in a boat or to find them in poor weather conditions. But there are recorded for us two specific incidents that were arranged by the Lord—that is, for their spiritual growth.
And we believe these two incidents were not only lessons for them, but are lessons for us today. So, we would like to look at these two incidents and hopefully glean something from them to show us something of the working of the Lord through similar trials, or storms of life.
Now, we find the first occurrence of the disciples in the boat in Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:35-41, and Luke 8:22-25.
Then we find the second occurrence of the disciples in the boat in Matthew 14:22-34, Mark 6:45-52, and John 6:15-21.
Now, what we want to do this morning is look at the two incidents out of Matthew’s Gospel, but we will also reference the other Gospels as well. We want to look at these two incidents separately, and then we are going to circle back and present an observation of how the Lord used two similar tests to reveal Himself in a larger way to the disciples.
Before we do so, we want to point out the major differences between the two events. The Lord was in the boat the entire time in the first incident, and He was not in the boat until later in the second occurrence.
Lastly, the disciples’ reaction at the end of the first occurrence was that they were amazed and fearful and stated, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” At the end of the second occurrence, the disciples worshiped Him and said, “Truly You are the Son of God.”
So, let us look at the first incident that we find of them being in the boat. That is in Matthew 8, and I am going to be reading out of the NASB. We are going to begin at—we have to throw in verse 18 first.
Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea.
When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him.
And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep.
And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!”
He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?”
Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.
The men were amazed and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”
Now, in looking at this first boating trip, let me first give a little background to the event. We find that before entering into the boat, the Lord had been teaching the disciples, in particular, the kingdom parables.
And as with any good teacher, first came the lecture, followed by the application. Even as in a science class, first comes the what? The lecture, followed by what? The lab, or going out into the field.
Now, we find in Matthew 8:18 that the Lord had given orders to go over to the other side of the sea. The disciples followed the Lord into the boat, and they headed off to the other side.
Now, we find in their traveling across the lake, a great storm arose. Mark and Luke tell us that a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, the waves were breaking over the boat, and it was beginning to be swamped.
You know, the Greek word for “storm” in verse 24 of Matthew’s account is seismos, and we derive the word “seismograph” from that. The word, on occasion in the Scriptures, is translated “earthquake,” or, you could say, “great shaking.” Does that sound familiar?
Now, the record tells us Jesus was asleep in the stern of the boat. He was exhausted from previously ministering to the disciples and the crowds for an extended period of time.
Now, I am sure you have heard of people whom they say could sleep through a storm. Well, Jesus literally did so. He was so exhausted.
But also, I believe He was able to sleep in the midst of the storm because He was always at rest in His soul. He trusted fully in His Father’s care. No anxiety or fear enveloped Him because He was always in perfect harmony and communion with God the Father.
No storm was able to shake Him out of His rest in God the Father.
Now, we know the storm had to be very bad because, even though some of the disciples were seasoned fishermen and must have gone through bad storms before, we find that they were fearful for their lives. The storm was like no other they had gone through before.
And we find they came to Jesus and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” The Gospel of Mark records that the disciples said, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing? Do You not care that we are perishing?”
You know, I think it is interesting that the disciples included Jesus in this statement. Maybe assuming if He had little concern for them, surely He would care enough to save Himself. How little did they know of Him at this time—the One who was going to gladly lay down His life for them.
Now, when we find ourselves in a storm, a great shaking, when we are being burdened excessively beyond our strength, to the point where maybe we are despairing even of life, do we find ourselves crying out, “Lord, do You not care?”
Do we find ourselves like the children of Israel who, when tested in the wilderness, cried out that God had led them there to destroy them? Do we find His words, “Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you,” to be words meaning very little to us—merely empty words?
Now, we do have to give the disciples credit because, though they probably had no idea what Jesus could do, they did go to Him for help. Even though they knew He was only a carpenter by trade and not a seasoned fisherman, I do not believe they went to Him until they had tried everything else they could try first. Does that sound familiar?
But though they knew He was only a carpenter by trade and not a fisherman, they had some understanding that He was different than other men and that He was able to do more than others could, for they had seen Him do miraculous things. But what could He do in this storm?
You know, knowing God cares for you is a tremendous thing. We need to know, as the children of God, that He cares for us. But though He cares, if He could not do anything about the great storms in our lives, it would just be mere sentimentality.
But we find in Romans 8:31, it says:
If God is for us, who is against us?
You know, Paul stated this in such a way as to challenge us to come up with any being, place, or thing that could come against us in moving us away from God and His loving care for us. The Lord is the believer’s rock, their shield, and high tower.
So, we find in this account that not only does the Lord care, but when He was awakened by the disciples, He did what? He got up and rebuked the wind and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.
You know, that which had become a great fear, and even life-threatening to the disciples, was but a way, or a vehicle, for the Lord to reveal Himself to them. He revealed not only His care, but that He had the power to bring them through this adverse situation.
The storm was used to reveal to the disciples their condition—how desperate they were. But it was also used to show the Lord’s character and ability. They had need to be brought to the end of themselves, to use up all their human resources, so they could begin to learn of the all-sufficiency of the Lord.
They had need to learn that where their self-hope ends, His enabling begins. He gently said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?”
You know, indirectly, He was saying to them, “Did I not tell you we would go over to the other side? Can you not believe that My word is trustworthy and that I am able to carry it out under all circumstances?”
“Can you not entrust yourselves to Me as your Master? Yes, I do care for you, and I know what is best for you, and I am able to bring about that which concerns you. I am preparing you for something which not only concerns you, but others as well. But you must be able to heed to My word.”
You know, we find that the disciples were shaken to the very core. It says that they were amazed and afraid, and that they said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”
I think we can understand why they were amazed. They had just seen nature, in one of its most dangerous expressions, bow immediately at His command. But why does it add that they were also afraid?
Surely an aspect of this fear was some awe and reverence of Him. But we also believe it was because their revelation of Him, their personal experience of Him, was still lacking at this time. Their understanding of who He is was, at this time, limited.
And because of this, there was still some lack of trust, which brings in an element of fear in it. You know, you can only trust someone to the degree that you know them.
Do we know the Lord? We can measure how much we know the Lord by how much we really trust Him.
But we know it takes time and experience to get to know the Lord. We find that the disciples, in this first experience in the boat, are dimly clear as to the person of the Lord. They have need to learn of His great love, His faithfulness, and His sovereignty.
But through this experience, the Lord is beginning to reveal Himself to them graciously, and they are beginning to see and understand.
Now, let us move on to the second occurrence of the disciples in the boat. We are going to read the text out of Matthew. It is Matthew 14, beginning with verse 22. We will read through the first part of verse 34.
Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away.
After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.
But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary.
And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea.
When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear.
But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”
And He said, “Come.” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”
When they got into the boat, the wind stopped.
And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly God’s Son.”
When they had crossed over—
Now, the New King James Version reads the last part of Matthew 14:33 as, “Truly You are the Son of God.”
Now, some of the background to this event is the feeding of the five thousand by the Lord. After the feeding of the five thousand, Matthew 14:22 says the Lord immediately directed the disciples into the boat and told them to go ahead of Him to the other side while He sent the crowds away.
The Gospel of John illuminates why the Lord gave orders to send the disciples to the other side. It was because Jesus perceived that the people were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king.
The Lord knew the motives of the crowd were not spiritual in nature, for they wanted to make Him king because He had fed them. The Lord also knew that the disciples at this time were still primarily thinking on an earthly and material level regarding the kingdom, and He did not want His disciples to be caught up in the misguided enthusiasm of the crowd.
So, as a hen guards and protects her chicks, so the Lord is guarding His own. We find He sent the disciples alone into the boat to go to the other side of the lake. The Lord then sent the crowds away, and He went up on a mountain by Himself to pray.
Now, it says when it was evening, the boat was a long distance from the land. Mark’s Gospel says the boat was in the middle of the sea, and in John’s Gospel it says the sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing.
In Matthew’s account, which we read, it says the boat was battered by the waves, for the wind was blowing against them. This word “battered,” which is translated “tossed” in the King James Version, can also mean to test or be tormented.
The disciples were being tossed. They were being tested, even tormented, by this strong contrary wind. The Lord is not with them in the boat this time, and they are probably thinking He is totally unaware of what is happening to them.
But He is aware, and is praying for them on the mountain. This is a wonderful picture of the Lord today as our great High Priest. He is interceding for us while we are journeying through this hostile environment.
Yes, He is aware. It says in Mark’s Gospel, He saw the disciples straining at the oars. The word “straining” is the same Greek word as “battered” in Matthew’s account. So, He was aware of their straining, their torment, their being tossed—all that they were going through.
Was He not the One who directed them into this situation? But why would He lead them by themselves into such a situation, so adverse?
It was so that they could be brought to a place of maturity, a place of faith where they would not be tormented, not be tossed to and fro by any or every storm.
Now, we find the disciples continued to fight against the wind that blew hard in their faces. They could have just given up and turned back with the wind and, as they say, just go with the flow. But they persisted because the Lord had directed them to go to the other side.
But they were tormented in the process. As we have already stated, the Lord is aware of what they are going through. He is aware of their distress. He is aware of their circumstance, and He knows exactly how and when to meet them in this situation.
They had been straining in this wind all night, probably exhausted to the point of giving up. The Lord waits until then. Why?
It is because He waits until they have expended all their natural strength and resources and come to discover that they do not have the ability in themselves to overcome the storm. It is then that He will come to them and show forth His strength in their weakness.
He allowed them to come to the place of putting no hope in themselves and to learn that they can always hope and trust in Him—to learn that the Lord is well able to fulfill His word, regardless of what storm may stand in their way to hinder or try and stop them.
You know, it may have seemed to the disciples like He arrived too late on the scene. But the truth is, He is never too late. He knows what they can endure, and He will not allow them to be tested beyond what they can handle.
So, we find it says He came walking to them on the sea. It is interesting how He comes to them. He comes to them on—or, may we say, above—the very thing that caused their torment.
He wants them to know that He is in control of everything. Everything is subject to Him.
Now, Mark’s Gospel states that when He came to them, He intended to pass by them, and when the disciples saw Him, they were terrified and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear.
You know, the Lord is always near, and He waits and is ready to respond to those who call out to Him, especially if one calls out in fear. And we find here, He says to the disciples, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
You know, it seems strange that the disciples appeared more frightened from seeing what appeared to be a ghost to them than from the storm they were in.
Is it not true that it is the unexplainable things that come into our lives that frighten us more than that which is plainly seen, though it be a difficult thing? The not knowing of what and why can cause great unrest in our souls.
But the Lord would say in such a time that there is purpose in this thing. It is not meant to destroy you, but to help you to grow in your faith in Me. “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
You know, in other words, He was saying to them, “I know, and I understand, and I am in control. Is there anything too difficult for Me?”
Now, most of us are familiar and can relate to the next part of the account, where, after the Lord reveals Himself to them, we find Peter saying, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”
Now, this word if should really be translated being. Thus, it would read, “Lord, being it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”
You know, what we seem to remember most about this incident is that after Peter got out of the boat and started walking toward the Lord on the water, he became distracted and frightened by the wind, and then he began to sink because he took his eyes off the Lord.
We seem to remember the failures, the times correction was needed in Peter’s life, such as when he was on the Mount of Transfiguration with the Lord and he opened his mouth and blurted out, “It is good to be here. Let us make three tents.” And he was interrupted by a cloud and the Father’s voice.
But have we ever found ourselves speaking out of season when we should have been quiet?
Or the time when the Lord revealed that He was going to be killed and raised on the third day, and Peter said, “This shall never happen to You.” And the Lord replied with those incredible words:
Get behind Me, Satan.
You are a stumbling block for Me;
for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.
Talk about being put in your place—being associated with Satan and called a stumbling block. Have we ever found ourselves being a blockade or a hindrance to the will of God?
Or how about when the Lord was washing the feet of the disciples? When He came to Peter, Peter said, “You shall never wash my feet.” And the Lord replied, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”
So Peter replied, “Wash not only my feet, but my whole body.” To which the Lord replied, “He who has taken a bath need only wash his feet.” You know, that is Peter for you—going from one extreme to the other.
But have we not, at times, also found our lives swinging like a pendulum from one extreme to the other, out of balance?
And then there is Peter in the garden, when the crowd came to arrest Jesus, and he pulls out a sword and cuts off the ear of the high priest. Have we not found ourselves having zeal, but not according to knowledge?
And lastly, when Jesus is arrested, we find Peter following at a distance, and he is spotted and accused of being one of Jesus’ followers, and he denies it even with an oath.
Have we not found ourselves denying the Lord in word or deed, or even possibly by being silent when we should have spoken?
You know, every day, every hour, every minute, we have a choice of whom we will deny. Will it be the Lord in an attempt to live for ourselves? Or will we deny ourselves so that we may be able to follow the Lord?
Yes, we remember the failures of Peter, but in all these incidents of his life, and especially in this one in Matthew 14, we find that Peter had a great desire to be with the Lord.
It caused him on the Mount of Transfiguration to say he wanted to stay there permanently. It caused him to say, “No, Lord, never shall You be killed,” because he did not want the Lord to be taken from him.
It caused him to say, “Wash my whole body,” or to pull out his sword, or even to follow the Lord in a time of danger when He was arrested.
You know, though Peter had on one occasion said, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man,” he was learning that Jesus was a friend who loves at all times, a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Yes, when the Lord revealed Himself to the disciples, Peter wanted to be with the Lord where He was, and he was willing to get out of the boat and walk on the water to get to Him.
Are we willing to step out, to possibly put our life at risk, to be closer to the Lord?
Yes, after Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water, his faith did falter. He began to sink, but he knew what to do when he was sinking. He cried out to the Lord, and immediately the Lord stretched out His hand and took hold of him.
Then the Lord said to Peter—and I paraphrase—“Peter, I know you want to be with Me. You want to trust Me more and more. But in order to do so, you need to understand yourself. You need to understand your weakness, your inability to trust and follow Me in your own strength.”
“But I am able to show forth My strength in your weakness. I am able to become your all in all.”
Yes, we find the life of the believer consists of learning to trust the Lord more and more. And storms are a necessary vehicle that the Lord uses to bring us to the place where we can see what we are made of and, more importantly, who the Lord is.
So then we find, when Peter and the Lord got into the boat, the wind stopped. We find the situation of the storm, and Peter’s experience, to be a great blessing to the other disciples as well.
Through this event, they saw that, in addition to Him being all-powerful, He is all-knowing and a very present help in time of need. We find again the Lord is faithful to His word, saying to the disciples that they were to go to the other side of the sea.
Now, we mentioned that we would circle back after looking at these two experiences and see how the Lord used two similar trials to reveal Himself in a larger way to the disciples. We pointed out that the major difference, then again, was that the Lord was in the boat the first time, but not in the boat in the second event.
We know in the case of the disciples that He was not always going to be physically with them. He made several references about His leaving, and that it was expedient that He go away so that they could receive the Holy Spirit to be His witnesses in His absence.
So, He began to train them thoroughly for that time. We can see in these two events that He trained them earnestly to trust Him: first while in His presence, then when He was not there.
They needed to learn the Lord is the same yesterday, today, and forever; that He is not limited by time and space.
What we see in the conclusion of the first event was that, to use the term, they were shell-shocked. For their response to Him was, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” They were beginning to come into a larger understanding of who He is—that He is unlike any other.
But in the second event, the Lord takes them deeper. He puts them in a storm by themselves. He seemingly is out of the picture, but He shows them that He is not physically there, but that He is still aware and cares for them and is able to come and be a present help in time of need.
They learn He is the Lord over time, space, and matter, and even over the unseen realm. For surely the enemy was trying to use this storm to destroy them. And we find that their response to Him at this time is, “Truly, You are the Son of God.”
But how does this relate to us today? The Lord has never physically been in our presence. So, we cannot say the Lord was with me as He was in the boat with the disciples in the first incident, and that He was not in the boat in the second incident.
But today, we find when He leads us more than once into a similar storm, He allows on the initial occurrence what we may call a human prop involved in the trial. It may be a thing or a person that the Lord allows to be there to assist us, as it were, through the trial.
But as He works to mature us further into faith, He sometimes puts us into a similar storm which does not have any human prop involved in it, and we feel as though we have been put into the middle of the ocean with a rowboat.
It is similar to learning how to ride a bicycle. The first time around, one starts with training wheels before the training wheels are removed the next time.
So, entering into a similar trial does not necessarily mean we did not learn anything the first time around, but that the Lord is taking us along progressively to teach us a deeper lesson.
And, as we said earlier, because He knows our weaknesses, He may be taking us along at a speed in which we can learn the lesson without causing us to become too overwhelmed, or possibly become offended in Him.
He nurses us along, as it were, not allowing us to be tempted beyond what we can handle. He wants us to come to the place where we can trust Him even when there is no outward evidence of His presence or care.
We are to be a people who learn to walk by faith and not by sight. For the truth is, He is always aware of our circumstances, for He has prearranged them. And He does care, and He means such times for good and not evil.
He is well able to come to us, even on the storm, and take us to the other side. He wants to bring us to the place where He becomes our all in all, where we, like Job, will say, “Though He slay me, I will trust Him.”
Though we may find in the storm that we have the sentence of death written within ourselves, it is all to the end that we will not trust in ourselves, but only in God who raises the dead.
Now, in ending, I would like to read what Peter learned regarding trials: 1 Peter 1:3-9.
We picked on Peter a while there, so we will read what he says now after the fact.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to His great mercy, has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this you greatly rejoice, even though now, for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,
so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.
May the Lord have mercy.