So if I was to ask you today what is real, how would you respond? What would it take for you to be convinced that something is real? In a world where computers make television shows seem to come alive to scammers conning people on the phone claiming to be someone they are not, the subject of reality desires to be questioned. Just not too many years ago, if you took a picture or video, it was believed those were authentic, original, and genuine. Today, such things can be manipulated to look like the original, where even law enforcement are not able to truly qualify these mediums as real or genuine anymore, without doing extensive analyst.
A seasoned Navy diver once exclaimed to a friend how diving in the deep ocean is a blast, but he soon discovered how the reality of diving was far more dangerous than people think.
He told of a situation where it was so deep and dark that it was almost impossible to keep from becoming disoriented and confused. It was a terrifying feeling—being under water, unable to see your hands in front of your face, not knowing which way is up, panic engulfing you. So the diver said to become recentered, he started to feel the air bubbles from his exhaling.
"When it's pitch black, dark, and you have no idea which way to go, you reach up with your hand and feel the bubbles. The bubbles always drift to the surface. When you can't trust your feelings or judgment, you can always trust the bubbles to get you back to the top. That’s reality."
Sometimes in life we get disoriented and desperate. At other times, we find ourselves drifting aimlessly and losing the reality of it all. In starting our journey today, I would like for you to genuinely investigate in your own life the reality of God—and if I was to ask you How real is Jesus to you, think seriously about your answer? Is Jesus the mighty son of God, who reaches down to you and pull you up in times of need, or is He someone who you imagine sitting on a golden throne, eating His grapes, drinking His wine to only just periodically see you and express His love every now and then? When you think of Jesus, what do you see? A real friend, or questionable acquaintance?
I think it would be safe to say that when we think of God, we are immediately drawn to a very majestic being that is beyond full comprehension, whose love cannot be fully understood and also whose existence is so beyond us without question that we just simply say to ourselves, we just don’t get it! No book can fully contain Him, no scientific study can fully explain Him, yet, the Gospel of Matthew tells us “Truly I say to you, unless you change and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 So whoever will humble himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven”. The omnipotent Holy and mysterious God is asking us, to have the faith of a child. From our Gospel reading today, we are going to start with one of the most beloved miracles that Christ is well known for—it defies all our common knowledge and laws of reality.
A little recap of what is going on first. Jesus had just finished giving the people several parables, from the mustard seed to the dragnet. Jesus received word that John the Baptist was beheaded, and then He fed thousands of people with only five loaves of bread and two fish. After they all ate and was satisfied Jesus gave the disciples instructions. They had a busy couple of days. Verse 22.
Immediately afterward He compelled the disciples to get into the boat and to go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. 23 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.
A few things I would like you to notice. Who’s idea was it to go into the boat? Jesus! Also notice Jesus didn’t pray with them or ask them to pray at that moment, all Jesus did was instruct the disciples to get into the boat, go to the other side of the sea, and they followed His instructions. This wasn’t a moonlight ride. It was near midnight, and then …the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary. I cannot tell you how surreal it is to be in the middle of a sea, let alone an ocean, stormy weather, pitch dark, cloudy skies and you are working the deck of a ship. Believe me when I tell you, it is a dreary experience. Not to mention we are talking about a boat maybe 20 feet long which is a toothpick compared to huge waves and wind. In addition, according to Matthews Gospel, the boat was near the middle of the sea. Sea of Galilee is about 10 miles wide and 13 miles long—relatively speaking they was nearly 5 miles away from land.
But then, out of what seems from nowhere, here we have the majestic scene that is quite magical and real which defies all logic. And in the fourth watch [3 to 6am] of the night He [Jesus] came to them, walking on the sea. 26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!”
Terrified! This wonderous, glorified majestic being that is waking right to their boat. What is this thing they thought? Is it not enough they are sea sick by now, waves crashing their boat, near pitch dark, cold, hungry and what ever else is going through their minds. Now they have this figure, defying all logic of reality to their understanding, walking on this raging sea right towards them. Could you imagine? To their thoughts, God all but forgot them. They knew Christ was on land—Christ Left them alone! But I want to remind you of what verse 25 says, “Jesus came to them!” They were not forgotten, they were not abandoned, they were not deserted, they never left Gods thoughts or prayers—even though they felt it, they experienced a period of loneliness, and their reality was Jesus was not physically with them. Jesus did not setup these disciples for failure by any means. God was with them all the way! Just NOT what they trusted. The disciples most understandably were raging in themselves with curiosity, fear, wonder, excitement all wrapped up into one ball. And then, they heard something. The majestic and powerful words that I know were sweetness to their ears.
And they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage[ be of good cheer ], it is I; do not be afraid.”
First of all, let me tell you, when the wind is blowing and waves crashing, its nearly impossible to hear someone 10 feet let alone 30 feet away on a open wooden boat. But, God made a way for them to hear Him. The next thing I want to ensure you understand is the words ‘it is I’ used here. In Greek it has the same meaning as what God told Moses “I am that I am.” The I am has come to them. Jesus voice, His presence alone became their reality to them. They knew His voice, they Knew it was God over all the other sounds of the sea.
The same Jesus whom just feed thousands of people earlier the previous day, the same Jesus that healed many who were sick and afflicted, the same Jesus who defied all logic of theology while continue to serve the people, the same Jesus who called each of these disciples out to be one of His, has just now, walked over five miles of raging waters, to save them from their demise. Their personal fear, their turmoil, their problem at that bitter moment has always been in the hands of God. The disciples are now understanding the ‘reality of His presence’ in their lives! This isn’t just Jesus, This Is The Son Of The Living God—Emmanual, “God with us!”
We hear about Jesus, we see the works of Jesus, we speak the words of Jesus. Who is Jesus to you, to us? Who was Jesus to these disciples? I tell you who Jesus was to at least one of the disciples, Simon Peter.
Peter responded and said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”
Let this sort of sink in for a moment. Peter the lead apostle basically says “Lord, if it’s you order me to come out of this perfectly good boat, try to come to you by walking on the water that is over 60 feet deep, in the midst of raging winds and waves, in the middle of the night, because that way I’ll know it’s you for sure.” In a way, Peter was fearful in his spirit, but he was willing to risk even his life if it was the slightest chance that that was indeed Jesus. So, what do you think Jesus response was? It wasn’t “Not today Peter, just ride out the storm for a little while longer!” -or- “Come to church tomorrow Peter and the rabbi can speak to you, if you can swim good!” Nope! Jesus said the most simplest words that I believe anyone could understand…”Come!” “Come!” Jesus answered Peters request. And Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, and came toward Jesus. There was no hesitation, no regret, it was the simple answer of ‘come’ that drove Peter to Jesus—but it was the desire in Peter to grow closer to His Lord and Savior.
Notice also, Jesus did not put conditions on Peters request! He did not make it more difficult, did not add more rules or regulations for Peter, Jesus met Peter where Peter needed Jesus! You see friends, Jesus should be the one thing we seek and thrive for everyday. He comes to our level to minister, to uplift, to save and to love. All Jesus is saying is “I am always with you. Come to me and I will give you rest!” The reality of His presence friends is knowing full and certain, He is the God of all things, who loves us unconditionally to meet our every need. Cherishes us by walking with us, to us and push us forward through the storms of life. But seeing the wind, he [Peter] became frightened, and when he began to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out with His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” Peter you was doing it? You was walking on the water towards Jesus! You was absolutely on high!
32 When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are truly God’s Son!”
What boat are you in today friends? What raging storm are you encountering where Jesus can come to your aid? Are you hesitant ore reluctant? Is it because you don’t know who Jesus is to you, or are you doubtful in having the faith?. Are you lonely, isolated, bitter or hard to where asking God for help maybe a sign of weakness. What ever the reason is friends, and there are many, I would like for you to reflect upon these few principles that will aid you in discovering the reality of His presence in our lives.
Principle 1: Do what the Lord tells you to do. Step out on blind faith. When Jesus told Peter to come, Peter didn’t wait! Even though we go through storms of life, I should add, disobedience can put us in a storm also. We should ache to hear the wonderful words, “Be of good cheer. It is I. Do not be afraid. I am with you always.”
Principle 2: Don't get so focused on the storm that you lose sight of Jesus. I didn’t focus much on this part of the story, but let me emphasize it here some. When Peter mustered up the faith to step out of his comfort zone, stepped onto the water, he began walking to Jesus, in the middle of the raging storm, pitch dark, where was his focus? On Christ! But just as soon as his focus was off Jesus, what happened? He began to sink!
Principle 3: You won't do anything great for God if you won't get out of the boat. If you would think about it, staying inside that boat is staying inside your ‘comfort zone.’ How many people have a comfort zone? It took that leap of blind faith, outside our zone in order for us to grow didn’t it? In order to experience Christ in a whole new way, Peter had to get out of the boat. The only person who could have stopped Peter from going out of the boat was Peter himself. Sometimes, we have to leave others in behind when we step outside the boat.
Principle 4: God will save us in the midst of our storms. How did Jesus and Peter get back to the boat? The Bible doesn't say—we assume they walked on the water to get back in the boat. The same God who gives us directions that leads us into the storm is the same God who meets us in our storm. The same God who will deliver us out of our storm, is the same God who will walk with us through the storm. God doesn't have to stop the storm. He provides for us in our storms.
The reality of His presence is God’s guarantee that he really will give us all that he promised; and the Spirit’s seal upon us means that God has already purchased us and that he guarantees to bring us to himself.
Is Jesus real to you? Is Jesus just a name, or something far more precious? Do we step out of the boat, or do we stay stagnant, where our hearts grow hard. In the Gospel of Mark, his account of Jesus and the disciples ended with a little different point. “their hearts was hardened.” A hardened heart friends is what we don’t want. A hardened hearts is peoples failure to recognize who Jesus is! The reality of His presence. Often times those who’s heart is hardened to God are the ones who have no desire to grow, they lack the wisdom of understanding because they did not desire to know, follow or trust the living God. Stubborn hearts. How many people know someone like that? Maybe the someone you know is you!
Friends, the closer you walk with God, the more you become Holy, the more you have strength, the more you experience God in full. It may be beyond our understanding, but its not beyond what God can provide to each of us, who desire to know Him and receive His forgiving grace.
Remember this! DO NOT FORGET JESUS IS REAL. The relationship with Jesus is REAL. Eternal Life is REAL. Everything about God that we learn, hear and obtain from the Holy Spirit, is REAL. Trust what you know to be real, over what you ‘feel’ is real. Amen.