NXR Podcast - THE SERMON - Demons, Storms, And Jesus | Matthew 14:22-33
Aired: 2025-11-23
Duration: 45:58


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[00:00:27]  Continuing our sermon series this morning through the gospel according to Matthew.
[00:00:31]  Our text in particular is Matthew chapter 14, verses 22.
[00:00:36]  Again, that's Matthew chapter 14, verses 22 through 33.
[00:00:39]  I'll read our text for us in its entirety.
[00:00:42]  When I finish reading the text, I'm going to say, This is the word of the Lord, at which point I would appreciate very much if you would respond by saying, Thanks be to God.
[00:00:50]  One final time, our text for today is the gospel according to Matthew chapter 14, verses 22 through 33.
[00:00:57]  The Bible says this Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side.
[00:01:06]  While he dismissed the crowds.
[00:01:09]  And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.
[00:01:15]  When evening came, he was there alone.
[00:01:18]  But the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.
[00:01:26]  And in the fourth watch of the night, he came to them, walking on the sea.
[00:01:31]  But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified and said, It is a ghost.
[00:01:37]  and they cried out in fear.
[00:01:39]  But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, Take heart, it is I. Do not be afraid.
[00:01:46]  And Peter answered him, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.
[00:01:52]  He said, Come.
[00:01:53]  So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.
[00:01:58]  But when he saw the wind, he was afraid.
[00:02:01]  And beginning to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me.
[00:02:05]  Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, O you of little faith, Why did you doubt?
[00:02:13]  And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased, and those in the boat worshiped him, saying, Truly, you are the Son of God.
[00:02:22]  This is the word of the Lord.
[00:02:25]  All right, please be seated.

=== Christ's Perfect Intercession (12:31) ===

[00:02:27]  Two primary points in our text today that I want to emphasize.
[00:02:32]  The first is this the perfect intercession of Christ.
[00:02:37]  The perfect intercession of Christ.
[00:02:40]  Christ, the Son of God, he prays for you and for I. Secondly, the perfect sovereignty of Christ.
[00:02:50]  Not only does Christ pray for us in the midst of troubles, but he is also sovereign.
[00:02:56]  That is, he is authoritative and powerful over the trouble itself.
[00:03:01]  Christ is praying for us in our troubles, and Christ is sovereign over our troubles.
[00:03:09]  Now, the first thing to provide a little bit of context, theological context, for our passage today, I want to read from Job.
[00:03:19]  Chapter 1, verses 18 and 19, which says, This there came another servant and said to Job, Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead.
[00:03:43]  And I alone have escaped to tell you.
[00:03:47]  If you're familiar with the book of Job, Job is confronted.
[00:03:51]  He's wealthy, he's prosperous, and not only that, he is righteous.
[00:03:56]  There is no one like him at the time on the earth.
[00:03:59]  He fears God.
[00:04:01]  He has reverence and esteem for God.
[00:04:05]  It's genuine.
[00:04:06]  He loves the Lord.
[00:04:07]  And one of the practices that Job had cultivated is on a regular basis, not only offering prayers and intercession for himself, and we could assume by way of implication, his immediate household, including his wife, but even for his grown children who have started households of their own.
[00:04:27]  Job made it a regular practice that he would go after a particularly rowdy celebration of one of his adult children.
[00:04:37]  Let's just put it like that.
[00:04:38]  Job would go and he would make intercession on behalf of his grown children in case they had sinned the night before or done something rash or foolish or degenerate in the sight of God.
[00:04:50]  And so Job was wanting his whole extended family to be pleasing in the sight of God.
[00:04:56]  He feared God.
[00:04:58]  And then, on one single day, this rich, prosperous, wise, and most importantly, righteous man who feared the Lord gets news from multiple different servants of all these calamities and troubles that befall him simultaneously.
[00:05:15]  Right?
[00:05:15]  That he's been raided by the Chaldeans and his livestock, a significant portion have been stolen.
[00:05:22]  There's a storm over here and calamity over there.
[00:05:25]  But the greatest news, bad news, that he receives is the death of his adult children.
[00:05:31]  That they were in a house.
[00:05:33]  And that they were celebrating something, and a great wind came and blew down the house, and all of his adult children died.
[00:05:42]  Now, the reason why I feel as though this is relevant to our text today is for one primary reason.
[00:05:48]  In the very beginning of the narrative of Job and his suffering, we see that there is a cosmic wager, for lack of a better phrase, between God and Satan.
[00:06:00]  That Satan comes and stands before God in his council.
[00:06:05]  This divine counsel, and God asked him, From where do you come?
[00:06:09]  He says, From going to and fro over the face of the earth.
[00:06:13]  And then God says, Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him who fears me?
[00:06:18]  And Satan begins to challenge God and argue with God, saying, Well, he only fears you, he only seems to be righteous because you've blessed him, because he's rich, right?
[00:06:31]  Because he's prosperous, because you have given to him in this life good things.
[00:06:36]  But if those things were to be taken away, he would rise up and be fickle and curse you.
[00:06:43]  And so God allows Satan permission to go and tempt Job with tribulation.
[00:06:50]  And God sets the parameters.
[00:06:52]  Notice, number one, Satan is not in charge, Satan is not in control, he's not sovereign.
[00:06:58]  Standing above it all is the Lord.
[00:07:00]  So God says, Satan, you can do these things, but you can do no further.
[00:07:05]  And he sets boundaries.
[00:07:06]  For Satan.
[00:07:07]  And one of those boundaries is that Satan is not allowed to afflict Job's person in a physical capacity, at least at first.
[00:07:16]  That's the first round.
[00:07:18]  So Satan is allowed to go and torment Job and challenge Job in various ways, but he cannot afflict Job's flesh, at least in round one.
[00:07:28]  And in round one, one of the things that Satan does is because he can't afflict Job's person, his flesh, he afflicts everything else.
[00:07:37]  He takes from him his wealth, his livestock.
[00:07:39]  All these different things, and even his own children.
[00:07:43]  And we see that in the text that I've just read, namely Job chapter 1, verse 18 through 19.
[00:07:48]  And yet Job remains faithful.
[00:07:50]  He does not turn and curse God.
[00:07:52]  He continues to fear God.
[00:07:53]  Then Satan goes back to God and says, well, flesh for flesh, right?
[00:07:58]  Let's take it up a notch.
[00:07:59]  And that's when all of a sudden Satan is able to afflict Job in his person, his body, with profound sores and disease.
[00:08:10]  He's still, God is still sovereign even then and does not allow Satan to take Job's life.
[00:08:16]  But he is able to cause illness and pain and discomfort.
[00:08:20]  To Job's physical body.
[00:08:22]  But in round one, Satan is not sovereign.
[00:08:24]  He's never sovereign.
[00:08:26]  He's not able to afflict Job's person, but he's able to afflict everything else that Job cares for, including his children.
[00:08:33]  And so what takes place is a great wind.
[00:08:37]  And this is how we're getting back to our text with the storm and the disciples on the boat.
[00:08:43]  A great wind rises up from the wilderness, according to Job 1, verse 18 and 19, and blows against the four corners of the house where Job's grown children are gathered.
[00:08:54]  And causes it to collapse, killing his adult children.
[00:08:59]  Who did that?
[00:09:01]  Satan.
[00:09:02]  Who ultimately is sovereign over that?
[00:09:05]  God.
[00:09:06]  God allowed it, and nothing comes to pass that God does not allow.
[00:09:11]  And I know this one hurts, but that God allows and ultimately we can even say preordains.
[00:09:19]  God is not the author of evil, God does not do evil.
[00:09:25]  But God is sovereign over evil, over suffering, over sin, over Satan, over hell.
[00:09:33]  Even hell.
[00:09:34]  What makes hell so terrible?
[00:09:36]  Well, because hell is a place completely separate from the presence of God.
[00:09:42]  That would not be quite as tormenting, actually.
[00:09:46]  No, hell is completely separate from the presence of God insofar as we're speaking of the benevolent presence of God, the goodness of God, the kindness of God, the mercy of God.
[00:09:58]  No, but.
[00:09:59]  But it's not completely separate from God's presence in every regard.
[00:10:03]  In fact, what makes hell so hellish is not that God is absent, but God is there.
[00:10:10]  God is present even in hell, present in his judgment, present in his holiness, in his justice.
[00:10:20]  That's what makes hell so terrible.
[00:10:21]  We see David even in the Psalm saying, Where could I go from your presence?
[00:10:25]  Whether it's the depths of Sheol, the grave, the belly of the earth, or whether it's in the sea.
[00:10:31]  Or whether it's in the highest heavens, you are there.
[00:10:35]  On the mountaintops, in the valley, God, think of it logically from this standpoint God is one of his attributes because he's infinite.
[00:10:42]  He is God.
[00:10:43]  He is omnipresent, meaning he's everywhere.
[00:10:47]  There is nowhere that God is not, and that includes even hell.
[00:10:53]  And so God is sovereign over all things.
[00:10:55]  Satan is not an independent actor.
[00:10:58]  Satan has agency as a created being, but he's not sovereign.
[00:11:03]  All of his agency ultimately is directed, just as ours is, I might add, underneath the sovereign banner of God's authority over everything.
[00:11:12]  R.C. Sproul once famously said that there's not one maverick molecule in all the universe.
[00:11:19]  God is sovereign, he is in control of all things.
[00:11:23]  So, this great wind that capsizes the house of Job's adult children, that ultimately ends in their death, is underneath, in the highest order, the sovereignty of God.
[00:11:35]  But underneath the sovereignty of God, there is still, in this case, not human agency, but demonic agency, namely Satan himself.
[00:11:43]  Satan is the one who stirs up this wind, a supernatural wind, with a, I won't say divine source, but a supernatural source.
[00:11:54]  It's not a divine source in the sense that God does not directly stir it up, although God allows it, and we can say even ordains it under the banner of his sovereignty.
[00:12:04]  But Satan is the one who stirs it up in a direct sense and causes this wind to go and destroy the house of Job's adult children, putting them to death.
[00:12:15]  All of that A lot, but all of that to build the theological framework to make one very simple point.
[00:12:23]  Jesus, we know from this text and others, Jesus, who is God, the Son of God, he has authority over the wind and waves.
[00:12:34]  But according to Job chapter 1, verse 18 and 19, Satan does too a lesser authority, a subservient authority, ultimately subjected under God's authority.
[00:12:48]  But Satan actually does possess supernatural ability and power, at least to the degree that he can cause a wind strong enough to destroy a house and kill grown adults.
[00:13:05]  And I believe in studying this text, not just for this sermon this week, but over the course of years, because it's a fascinating text.
[00:13:14]  And for some of you, you're aware that I delve into a little bit of Nephilim appreciation from time to time.
[00:13:21]  I find it fascinating.
[00:13:23]  I think that this storm has a supernatural source, is what I'm getting at.
[00:13:28]  I don't think that this is a mere storm.
[00:13:31]  I don't think that it's just another day on the sea and the wind is a bit rowdy.
[00:13:38]  Some of just the natural causes, which even natural causes still again would fall underneath the sovereign banner of God.
[00:13:45]  But no, I think that this is Satan at war directly with Jesus.
[00:13:50]  He's trying to hinder Christ's mission.
[00:13:53]  He's trying to, if he can't get to Jesus directly, then to bring damage to those whom Jesus loves.
[00:14:01]  Does that ring a bell?
[00:14:03]  Does that seem familiar?
[00:14:04]  Satan can't get to Jesus directly, but he's going to try then to threaten and destroy the disciples who Jesus loves.
[00:14:13]  Satan has worked this strategy before.
[00:14:16]  This is not his first rodeo.
[00:14:18]  That's exactly what he did with Job.
[00:14:20]  Well, God set the banner of protection around Job's physical person, but.
[00:14:26]  He didn't say anything about his children.
[00:14:28]  So, if I can't hurt Job directly, I'll go and destroy who Job loves, namely his adult children.
[00:14:36]  Same strategy, same play.
[00:14:38]  Here he is now doing it with the greater Job, the better Job, Jesus Christ, the one who does never curse God, does never disobey God, and glorifies and fears God his Father perfectly in all things.
[00:14:54]  Satan is pulling out a classic play from his playbook.

=== Satan Demands, Jesus Prays (14:49) ===

[00:14:59]  Now, Revelation chapter 20, verse 13.
[00:15:01]  So we just basically concluded that Satan does have some lesser than God, of course, but some lesser power over wind and waves, natural elements, weather.
[00:15:15]  In addition to that, now I want to talk about that's the wind.
[00:15:18]  Let's talk about the waves.
[00:15:20]  Let's talk about the sea in particular.
[00:15:22]  This is Revelation chapter 20, verse 13, which says, And the sea gave up the dead who were in it.
[00:15:29]  Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.
[00:15:40]  The sea in biblical language often represents death.
[00:15:46]  Death.
[00:15:48]  Now, I'm aware that out of the sea, right, the sea itself in God's original creation, it teemed with life, right?
[00:15:55]  Fish of all kinds.
[00:15:57]  And out of the sea, we're able to produce food, right?
[00:16:01]  I mean, Japan has been living off the sea for, you know, centuries and centuries and said strict fish diet for Japan.
[00:16:08]  They also tend to live a little bit longer than we do.
[00:16:10]  So maybe we could learn something from Japan.
[00:16:12]  So, I'm aware that there are life elements from the sea, namely food.
[00:16:18]  And we can even harness the sea and produce certain energy.
[00:16:23]  Or we can drill for oil in certain portions of the Gulf and different areas of the sea, underneath, deep, under the waves, under the water, and even the earth itself.
[00:16:34]  So, I understand that in a natural sense, in a practical sense, there are elements of provision and life that come from the sea.
[00:16:41]  But in a symbolic sense, throughout the scripture, the sea is referenced.
[00:16:47]  As a parallel with death.
[00:16:50]  Here's another example to make that point.
[00:16:52]  Notice that elsewhere in Revelation, we're told that in heaven there is no sea.
[00:16:57]  Why?
[00:16:59]  Because the Bible uses elsewhere, Isaiah, Ezekiel, different places, language of heaven.
[00:17:04]  Now we don't know if it's literal or if it's symbolic, right?
[00:17:08]  There's arguments to be made on both sides.
[00:17:10]  But there is language, whether literal or symbolic, of heaven possessing water, rivers, streams.
[00:17:17]  A living river that brings life.
[00:17:20]  Ezekiel speaks of this in the new heavens and the new earth, but not a sea.
[00:17:27]  There's something about the sea in biblical language that represents chaos, destruction, and death.
[00:17:38]  But what do we see Jesus in our text today doing with death, namely the sea?
[00:17:45]  He tramples it underfoot.
[00:17:48]  Jesus walks on death.
[00:17:52]  Jesus treads on death.
[00:17:55]  The sea rises up and says, Don't tread on me.
[00:17:58]  And Jesus laughs and treads on it nonetheless.
[00:18:03]  Jesus is sovereign over death.
[00:18:05]  And the last of his enemies that he will defeat and promises to defeat that we see in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 is death.
[00:18:13]  Jesus will give one day the death blow to death itself.
[00:18:18]  And so we see a picture in our text with this storm.
[00:18:22]  There is great symbols here that we should not miss.
[00:18:26]  It is not a mere natural storm, and Jesus dealing with the practical elements of the storm to save his disciples who he loves.
[00:18:34]  That's powerful, and that's part of it.
[00:18:37]  And that would be profound enough in itself, but there's more.
[00:18:42]  When it comes to the wind, we can think of demonic origins, supernatural power stirring up the wind to destroy the disciples in the exact same way that Satan once did with a wind that destroyed the children of Job.
[00:18:57]  The wind, satanic power.
[00:19:00]  The waves, the sea, death itself.
[00:19:04]  And yet Jesus has power over both.
[00:19:08]  With a word, he silences the devil and the wind.
[00:19:13]  And with his feet, he tramples over death.
[00:19:17]  And he saves Peter as he's being swallowed up by death, reaches out and grabs him and pulls him up to life.
[00:19:27]  There's a lot to consider.
[00:19:28]  In your notes, I've written this Christ.
[00:19:31]  Though absent in body, he has never removed his eye from them, that being the disciples.
[00:19:37]  He prays upon the mountain while they struggle upon the waves, an image of his perpetual intercession for his church, whom the disciples would be appointed as apostles and leaders over the church.
[00:19:53]  The disciples, in a sense, they represent the church in utero, the disciples represent the church in seed form.
[00:20:02]  And what Jesus is doing for them is a picture of what he promises to do for us.
[00:20:09]  If we perceive him not, that is Christ, it is not that he has forgotten us, but that he works in hidden ways, teaching us to distrust ourselves and to cling to him alone.
[00:20:23]  The text opens up with the disciples being separate from Jesus.
[00:20:27]  By his command, we should remember.
[00:20:30]  Immediately, he made the disciples.
[00:20:33]  To get into the boat and go before him to the other side.
[00:20:37]  If you've been with us the last two weeks now, you'll remember that essentially what Jesus is likely doing here is he's still trying to get a little bit of privacy.
[00:20:48]  He's been trying now for multiple verses, almost an entire chapter could you give me a moment?
[00:20:55]  Is essentially what Jesus is saying kindly but saying nonetheless.
[00:21:00]  Remember he's just received word that his friends And relative, John The Baptist, has been brutally put to death by Herod.
[00:21:11]  He's been beheaded.
[00:21:12]  And when Jesus receives this news, he wants to go and grieve in a godly manner, a righteous manner, not sinning in his grief, but he wants to go and righteously grieve, and he'd like to do that alone.
[00:21:25]  And yet, immediately he's confronted by the crowds who come and find him.
[00:21:29]  And instead of being angry with the crowds and dismissing them, saying, Would you give me a moment?
[00:21:35]  Instead, he responds in compassion and he feeds them spiritually, nourishing their soul with the word of life, the bread of life that is himself and his preaching.
[00:21:45]  But he also then feeds and nourishes them physically in the feeding of the 5,000, his miraculous multiplying of the bread and fish.
[00:21:55]  And now he's trying to be alone again.
[00:21:57]  He's finally been able to get away from the crowds, but he still has those pesky disciples nearby, and so he's trying to find something for them to do.
[00:22:07]  He's trying to get a moment to be with his father in prayer.
[00:22:12]  And this is the opening scene of our text.
[00:22:14]  He made the disciples to get in the boat and to go ahead of him, before him, to the other side while he dismissed the crowds, getting rid of the disciples, getting rid of the crowds.
[00:22:26]  And after he had dismissed the crowds, this is verse 23, he went up on the mountain by himself, finally, to pray.
[00:22:35]  Not just to be alone, not to watch the new Netflix series, not just to get a nap.
[00:22:42]  No, he wants to be alone, but even in his aloneness, he desires to be productive.
[00:22:49]  In his aloneness, it's not truly alone, it's to be with the Father, to be with his Father, to be with our Father, and to pray.
[00:22:59]  And yet, even then, Satan now, right, he's kind of like the last character if we look at this story over the course of the last three weeks throughout the entirety of the chapter.
[00:23:10]  First, the crowds distract him.
[00:23:12]  Now, the disciples are a little bit in the way.
[00:23:15]  And then, once Jesus is able to get rid of both of these characters in the story, sending the disciples ahead of him in the boat, dismissing the crowds finally so he can get a moment, now Satan comes on the scene and still won't allow Jesus to be alone.
[00:23:31]  Not by threatening Jesus directly in his person.
[00:23:35]  Satan has already done that in the temptation with Jesus in the wilderness.
[00:23:39]  But Jesus proved to be triumphant.
[00:23:42]  So, what is Satan doing instead?
[00:23:44]  If he can't distract or harm or torment Jesus directly, He will go and threaten those whom Jesus loves, causing a great wind with the sea to threaten to capsize the boat where Jesus' disciples are in trouble.
[00:24:03]  And so, what does Jesus do?
[00:24:05]  Well, Jesus is on the mountain praying.
[00:24:09]  And although he is alone, separate physically from the disciples, spiritually he is still with them, and his mind is toward them.
[00:24:20]  His affection and compassion and care is directed toward them.
[00:24:26]  And when his disciples are threatened by Satan and a storm of supernatural origin, Jesus does what?
[00:24:36]  He is praying on the mountain for them.
[00:24:40]  He prays on the mountain while his disciples struggle upon the waves.
[00:24:46]  This is indicative of what we see elsewhere in Luke chapter 22, verses 31 and 32.
[00:24:52]  Where Jesus says to Peter directly, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you that he might sift you like wheat.
[00:25:04]  But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.
[00:25:09]  And when you have turned, repented from being tempted by Satan and giving in to that temptation in his three denials of Christ, once you have turned, repented, been restored, go and strengthen your brothers.
[00:25:26]  I remember a time in my life where I was struggling immensely.
[00:25:33]  And I was reminded of this text where Jesus promises Peter that although Satan had demanded to have him that he might sift him like wheat, Jesus promised Peter that he would pray for him.
[00:25:47]  And I remember struggling.
[00:25:50]  And I remember saying to the Lord in prayer, I don't want your prayers.
[00:25:55]  If you are sovereign over all things, including sin and suffering and Satan himself, And Satan, therefore, because you're sovereign over him, Satan must have permission in order to torment me or anyone else for that matter.
[00:26:12]  In the same way he had to ask permission in the case of Job, in the same way that he demanded to have Peter.
[00:26:18]  Well, I feel like Satan right now has me on the ropes.
[00:26:21]  And if you're actually sovereign over him, and I believe that you are, instead of assuring me that you'll pray for me as Satan tries to sift me like wheat, here's another idea, Jesus.
[00:26:33]  Why don't you just tell Satan no?
[00:26:36]  Keep your prayers and instead just tell him to stop.
[00:26:41]  I would prefer that.
[00:26:43]  Right?
[00:26:43]  That seems pretty glorious.
[00:26:45]  So I manifest your glory by showing your power over Satan, not by praying for me as Satan's giving me the old one-two punch on the ropes.
[00:26:54]  I mean, that's nice.
[00:26:55]  You could be up at the stands praying for me as I'm getting pummeled in the ring, but you could also hop in the ring and body slam him and just tell him no.
[00:27:04]  That would be awesome.
[00:27:05]  The crowd would go wild.
[00:27:07]  Jesus, Jesus.
[00:27:08]  Why not that tactic?
[00:27:12]  And there's a reason why not that tactic.
[00:27:16]  Because although that is glorious, and although Christ has done it and will, with finality, do it again namely, destroy Satan and cast him in the lake of fire that moment of him displaying his power over Satan has happened many times, and it will happen in a great culmination, in a great climax, with finality at the end of the age.
[00:27:39]  Jesus is not opposed to the suggestion that I arrogantly gave him.
[00:27:45]  However, the reason he doesn't only employ that strategy with Satan, manhandling him, completely dismantling him, the reason he doesn't exclusively use that strategy with Satan, when Satan comes and tempts us,
[00:28:01]  torments us, orchestrates suffering and difficulty and challenging in our lives, the reason why Jesus doesn't just tell him no, but instead intercedes for us on the mountaintop as we are struggling in the waves. Is because it builds our trust in Him.
[00:28:22]  Because trials and tribulation and suffering of all various kinds provide for us an opportunity to not put confidence in our flesh, but to put greater confidence in Christ.
[00:28:38]  Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail, and when you have turned, repented, strengthen your brothers.
[00:28:52]  Jesus is praying for us even now.
[00:28:56]  Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father and he continually makes intercession on behalf of his church.
[00:29:04]  Jesus will defeat Satan and, in a very true sense, already has defeated Satan.
[00:29:12]  But Satan still roams around like a roaring lion, seeking who he may devour.
[00:29:17]  There are still sufferings and trials and difficulties in this life, and God, who is sovereign over suffering, Sovereign over Satan still allows these challenges to varying degrees so that we might trust in Him, so that we might be confronted not merely with His, that being God's power, but be confronted in a way that we cannot deny with our weakness.

=== Peace Is Christ's Presence (03:45) ===

[00:29:48]  It's important that you see the glory of God, the strength of God, the majesty of God, but to truly appreciate God for who He is, it is in some ways just as important.
[00:29:59]  That you be confronted not only with God's glory, but with your weakness, your deficiency.
[00:30:09]  To appreciate the sufficiency of Christ, we must at times be reminded of the deficiency of man, that we have need of Christ because we're weak, that we desperately must cling to Christ because without him, we are nothing.
[00:30:28]  In your notes, I've written this when the storm is at its height, Then Christ comes near, not in the calm, but in the very midst of the waves.
[00:30:38]  So also does he ordinarily display his power in our lives, not by removing every trouble, but by showing himself sovereign over our troubles.
[00:30:49]  And Christ dispels the disciples' fear with a single word Take courage, it is I. Do not be afraid.
[00:30:57]  And here we find the foundation of all true peace.
[00:31:03]  Christ's divine presence.
[00:31:05]  Not our circumstances.
[00:31:08]  To put it another way, peace is this it is the presence of Christ, not the absence of storms.
[00:31:16]  True peace that surpasses all understanding is the presence of Christ, not the absence of storms.
[00:31:26]  And if Christ produced peace for us exclusively by calming storms, then we would see favorable circumstances as a source of peace rather than Christ Himself.
[00:31:39]  Remember, peace is not just a principle or a concept or an attribute.
[00:31:46]  Peace, ultimately, in the truest sense, is a person.
[00:31:50]  He is the Prince of Peace.
[00:31:54]  You cannot have peace given by God without receiving God Himself.
[00:31:59]  He is our peace.
[00:32:01]  And so, what is true peace?
[00:32:03]  Peace is Christ's presence with us.
[00:32:06]  Fear not.
[00:32:06]  Why?
[00:32:07]  Because the waves have ceased and the wind has stopped.
[00:32:11]  No.
[00:32:11]  Christ tells them, commands them to fear not before he actually calms the storm.
[00:32:18]  And so then, what is the impetus of his command?
[00:32:23]  What is the reason for it?
[00:32:25]  He says, Fear not.
[00:32:27]  But what does he say right before?
[00:32:30]  It is I. Why are we commanded not to fear?
[00:32:37]  Jesus does not command them not to fear only after having calmed the storm, he commands his disciples.
[00:32:44]  And so, too, even now, he commands you and I, his disciples, not to fear, but to take courage.
[00:32:52]  Why?
[00:32:54]  Because the storm has ceased?
[00:32:55]  No, even before that, because he's with us.
[00:33:01]  Because of the absence of unfavorable circumstances?
[00:33:05]  No, because of the presence of Christ with us.
[00:33:11]  It is I. Why are the disciples commanded to be at peace?
[00:33:17]  And to not fear, but to have courage, because the storm is still raging.
[00:33:24]  But Christ has now joined them in the storm.
[00:33:27]  He's near, and He is, after all, the Prince of Peace.

=== Gaze On Jesus Alone (12:24) ===

[00:33:33]  While Peter's eyes are fixed on the Lord, the water bears him up.
[00:33:38]  But when he regards the wind, he begins to sink.
[00:33:41]  Thus are we taught that faith stands firm only so far as it rests on Christ.
[00:33:48]  Now, notice this.
[00:33:51]  The moment that we turn to behold our challenges and measure our own strength against them, that is the moment we begin to fall.
[00:34:01]  Yet, even in sinking, Peter does not ultimately perish, for Christ stretches out his hand, and so he deals with us.
[00:34:08]  He permits our weakness to appear that we may better know our need.
[00:34:15]  When Peter begins to sink, at first he's doing pretty good, right?
[00:34:18]  Peter always gets a bad rap Oh, Peter, oh, Peter, oh, Peter.
[00:34:21]  He's so brash.
[00:34:22]  He's so.
[00:34:23]  You know, Peter's over there cursing again.
[00:34:25]  He's using words that we don't like.
[00:34:28]  Right?
[00:34:28]  Peter was not, you know, the tone police would not have appreciated Peter.
[00:34:32]  Peter was, you know, he was rough around the edges.
[00:34:35]  And we give him a bad rap for that.
[00:34:36]  We'll say, Peter's being extreme.
[00:34:38]  Peter's being hyperbolic.
[00:34:39]  Peter's being foolish.
[00:34:41]  Oh, Peter, what an idiot.
[00:34:42]  Peter, he's so immature.
[00:34:44]  Yeah, but, you know, at the same time, Peter has like all the home runs on the team, like all of them.
[00:34:51]  I mean, Peter's the one who, like, who do you say that I am?
[00:34:55]  You are the Christ, the Son of God.
[00:34:57]  That's Peter.
[00:34:59]  Here's the deal it's like Babe Ruth.
[00:35:01]  Babe Ruth had the most home runs.
[00:35:03]  He also had the most strikeouts.
[00:35:05]  The guy swung for the fences.
[00:35:07]  Always.
[00:35:08]  That's Peter.
[00:35:09]  So, Peter has some home runs.
[00:35:11]  I mean, he's got some great plays.
[00:35:13]  Hall of Fame disciple.
[00:35:16]  And he also has some like swing, miss, spin around, fall in his face, dirt in his mouth, like some embarrassing moments.
[00:35:24]  But the guy's got heart.
[00:35:25]  You got to give him that.
[00:35:27]  He's got heart.
[00:35:29]  And one of the things that I think I appreciate most about Peter is that he.
[00:35:32]  He's the person I just described.
[00:35:34]  Plus, as far as we can tell, he's probably the oldest of the disciples.
[00:35:39]  So he's actually not, right?
[00:35:41]  Because sometimes we can think, oh, he's brash.
[00:35:43]  It's probably because he's immature.
[00:35:44]  He just needs to grow up.
[00:35:45]  He's actually arguably the oldest one.
[00:35:48]  And he's still the most extreme.
[00:35:50]  You know, like John, when they're racing to the tomb, when they've received word that Jesus, his body, is no longer there, John beats Peter, likely because John was arguably the youngest of the disciples.
[00:36:03]  He could still run a little bit.
[00:36:05]  He had some youthful invigoration.
[00:36:09]  Peter gets there, winded, out of breath, last.
[00:36:12]  John is standing at the edge of the tomb.
[00:36:14]  Peter doesn't even stop for a moment.
[00:36:15]  He just barges in, pushes John out of the way.
[00:36:19]  He's the oldest, and yet, in some ways, he's the most childlike.
[00:36:23]  Not childish.
[00:36:25]  And there's a distinct difference between the two.
[00:36:27]  Not childish, but childlike.
[00:36:31]  He has the faith of a child.
[00:36:33]  When Jesus says, who do you say that I am?
[00:36:36]  You're the Son of God.
[00:36:38]  When he hears the word that the body of Jesus is gone and that perhaps he's risen from the dead, he barges into the tomb.
[00:36:47]  He wants to investigate it all himself.
[00:36:50]  And when Jesus approaches the disciples in the midst of a storm, walking on the surface of the water, it's Peter who says, If it is you, Lord, call me to come upon the waves and I will come.
[00:37:05]  Notice, he takes his gaze off of Jesus, yes.
[00:37:08]  He begins to sink in the waves, yes, but he's also the only disciple who even dares to get out of the boat.
[00:37:18]  Now, when he takes his gaze off of Christ and begins to sink, I've never thought of it this way until this week.
[00:37:27]  Why?
[00:37:28]  And I've always thought, you know, the answer to that question why does he begin to sink when he takes his gaze off of Jesus?
[00:37:34]  Well, it's because now he's looking to the storm, he's looking to the waves, he's looking to the wind, he's looking to his challenges.
[00:37:42]  Instead of looking to Christ, and by simply being distracted from the object, the true, the rightful object of our gaze, being Christ himself, by merely being distracted and looking to the challenge and the tribulation around him, that's what causes him to sink.
[00:38:02]  But as I was thinking about this a little bit more this week, I think there's another reason.
[00:38:07]  Not to say that the first is not true, but perhaps to flesh out that concept just a little more.
[00:38:13]  Another reason that perhaps Peter begins to sink is not just because he's looking at the challenges in unbelief, losing faith, feeling overwhelmed, but perhaps he's looking at the challenges and sizing them up.
[00:38:30]  He's not just looking at them in fear, but he's looking at them in an analytical sort of way.
[00:38:36]  Maybe he's looking at them and saying, I've got Jesus here, but if anything happens to where somehow I don't, if Jesus were to abandon me, if he was to leave me, I just want to get my bearings.
[00:38:46]  I just want to.
[00:38:47]  Assess my surroundings to see that if Jesus wasn't here in myself without Jesus, would I be capable of swimming back to the boat or making it to shore or holding my breath long enough for that next wave in order to come up again once it's passed?
[00:39:04]  I do think that there's probably an element of not just Peter being afraid of the waves and taking his gaze off of Jesus, but to ask the question why, he may be taking his gaze off of Jesus and looking at the opposite.
[00:39:21]  Surrounding him to see whether or not, in his own strength, if he would have the ability, the power to meet those challenges without Christ.
[00:39:36]  And when I thought of it that way this week as I was preparing for the sermon, I thought of how often I do that myself.
[00:39:44]  When there are challenges, yes, by the grace of God, he gets all the glory, but I'll go to him as a Christian in prayer.
[00:39:53]  And I'll ask for his aid, ask for his help.
[00:39:56]  But then, very often, I constantly have a contingency plan.
[00:40:02]  I'm constantly assessing, analyzing, and sizing up whatever challenge it is to see if Jesus doesn't come through can Joel find his way out of this?
[00:40:16]  Can I beat this particular challenge in my own strength?
[00:40:22]  And see, I don't think it's simply fear.
[00:40:26]  Is what I'm getting at.
[00:40:27]  I think it's also pride.
[00:40:30]  I don't think that Peter simply begins to sink because of fear, but because of pride.
[00:40:37]  When he looks to the waves, he fears and begins to sink.
[00:40:42]  But the question that I couldn't help but asking this week is why does he take his gaze off of Jesus in the first place?
[00:40:51]  Right?
[00:40:51]  Once his gaze has left Jesus and gone to the troubles that surround him, his circumstances, He sees how great they really are, knows that there's no way in and of himself that he'll be able to beat or best these challenges.
[00:41:07]  Then comes the fear, then comes the sinking.
[00:41:10]  But the question is why did he begin to look at the waves at all?
[00:41:13]  Why not just look at Christ?
[00:41:16]  And it's probably because fear is what caused him to sink, but pride is probably what caused him to look in the first place.
[00:41:26]  He wanted a contingency plan.
[00:41:29]  He wanted to see that if Jesus were not there, if Jesus were to suddenly leave him, abandon him, would he be able to make it on his own?
[00:41:41]  And that is something that I think we often struggle with.
[00:41:46]  We trust in Jesus, but we'd also like to know that if Jesus abandoned us, that we would still be okay in our own strength.
[00:41:57]  And the reality is that if the answer to that question is yes, Because there actually are some challenges that you might be able to beat in your own strength.
[00:42:08]  But it's precisely not because God doesn't love you.
[00:42:12]  It's precisely because he loves you that if that be the case, if you're currently experiencing some kind of challenge that in and of yourself you might be able to beat, because God loves you, he will bring you greater challenges.
[00:42:29]  If your current challenge is something that you have a contingency plan, And you'll be able to ultimately triumph over it whether Jesus shows up or not.
[00:42:38]  Then rest assured, if you belong to Jesus, if you are one of his disciples and he loves you, then eventually, not a matter of if, but merely a matter of when, he will bring you a challenge that you cannot triumph over.
[00:42:54]  Because it is imperative that you recognize that you need him.
[00:43:01]  Not merely yourself, but him.
[00:43:04]  He is the Prince of Peace.
[00:43:06]  Amen.
[00:43:08]  Lastly, when Christ enters the boat, it is then when he gives the command that the winds cease, that the storm stops, and the disciples, now saved, delivered, confess the true and only conclusion of this miracle.
[00:43:23]  They say, Truly, you are the Son of God.
[00:43:27]  Their confession teaches us that the purpose of all providential suffering is this that we may know Christ more rightly and trust in Christ more completely.
[00:43:41]  God in His sovereignty allows challenges, suffering, temptation, difficulty, troubles of all various kinds, so that in the midst of difficulty we might be forced to rely upon Christ and with His presence being with us, that we might see Him as our peace, that we might know Him more rightly.
[00:44:10]  It's through this storm.
[00:44:12]  And ultimately, Christ's sovereignty and power over this storm, that the disciples then receive a revelation of who Jesus is.
[00:44:23]  Truly, you are the Son of God.
[00:44:27]  And God uses suffering as a tool to create moments where we too might see His sovereignty over suffering and know His divinity, know His mercy, know His character.
[00:44:44]  that he is both powerful, omnipotent, and loving, omnibenevolent.
[00:44:51]  So in conclusion, the Christian life is not free from storms, but it is upheld in the midst of storms by the sovereignty of Christ.
[00:45:00]  If dangers surround us, then let us remember that he intercedes for us.
[00:45:06]  If we falter, let us grasp his outstretched hand.
[00:45:10]  And if our hearts tremble, let us hear again his voice, which commands us.
[00:45:15]  not just suggests to us, but commands us to take courage.
[00:45:20]  Why?
[00:45:21]  Because the storm has ceased.
[00:45:24]  No, even before the storm has ceased, because he is with us.
[00:45:29]  Take courage.
[00:45:31]  It is I. Let's pray.
[00:45:33]  Father, we thank you for your word.
[00:45:34]  We pray that you would bless it to your people, that it would do us much good, that it would nourish our hearts, strengthen our resolve, and steady our souls.
[00:45:46]  But most importantly, we pray that in the preaching of your word and the ways that you nourish your people, we might better live lives that glorify you.
[00:45:54]  We pray this in the name of your Son, Jesus.
[00:45:57]  Amen.