The Same Jesus Who Walked On The Water To Save His Disciples

Can Save You, Part 1 (Just Jesus Evangelistic Campaign, Day 68)
TEXT: John 6:16-21
16 And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto the
sea,
17 And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum.
And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them.
18 And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew.
19 So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs,
they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship:
and they were afraid.
20 But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid.
21 Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the
ship was at the land whither they went.
---------Today, I am continuing the daily Just Jesus Evangelistic Campaign
sermon series, which is aimed at sharing the Gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ with unbelievers and reminding Christians, in this
important election year, to keep the main thing the main thing -- and
that is reaching unbelievers with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ
and praying for their salvation, for the problem in America is not only
disobedient presidents, politicians, and people, but disobedient
pastors, preachers, and parishioners who have refused to obey the
Lords Great Commission which is to, Go ye into all the world, and
preach the gospel to every creature. and who have refused to obey
God's repeated commands to "pray without ceasing" for unbelievers,
believers, and political leaders. Yes, you should pray for the right
candidate to win; yes, you should vote for the candidate that the Lord

gives you peace about voting for. But, don't get caught up in it like the
world does. Nothing much is going to change until people get saved
and get their hearts right with the Lord.
This campaign is inspired by the following three verses: 1 Corinthians
2:2 which says, "For I determined not to know anything among you,
save Jesus Christ, and him crucified." Acts 5:42 which says, "And
daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and
preach Jesus Christ." And 2 Timothy 2:4 which says, "No man that
warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may
please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier."
This series is not for Christians necessarily. However, I do hope you
are one of those saints who still loves to hear the "Old, old story of
Jesus and His love" -- As another hymn says, "For those who know it
best Seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest." This series
is primarily for unbelievers, so they can hear and understand the
Gospel and be saved from sin and the punishment of sin which is
hell. This is message number 68.
Alexander Maclaren said, "Jesus is on the mountain while we are on
the sea. The stable eternity of the Heavens holds Him; we are tossed
on the restless mutability of time, over which we toil at His
command."
Our passage today picks up right after the feeding of the 5,000. When
Jesus perceives that the Jews are going to try to make Him king by
force, He discreetly leaves the scene and goes back up into the
mountain with his disciples. At this point, we are told, "When even
was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea." The accounts
of Matthew and Mark regarding this event inform us that Jesus
commanded the disciples to get in a boat and go back across the Sea
of Galilee. This is likely because He did not want them to get caught
up in the frenzy of the crowd eager to make Jesus king.

So, the disciples get into a ship and begin rowing across the Sea of
Galilee to Capernaum, which, as you recall, was one of the cities that
served as something of a headquarters for Jesus. Now, this sea is
over six miles wide, and it was set down in a valley with high hills on
the west. At night, when the warm air faded away, the cold air would
come rushing down into the valley and whip up violent storms on the
sea. As the disciples are rowing across the sea, doing what Jesus told
them to do, they are facing the wind as one of these storms suddenly
whips up, hampering their efforts so much so that, after a few hours
of rowing, they are only about halfway across the sea.
The Bible says the disciples were afraid. There is probably nothing
more frightening than a sudden storm on a sea and youre in a little
boat. It is probably similar to how you used to be afraid of a sudden
storm that caused the wind to blow and the rain to fall hard and you
heard the thunder and saw the lightning a possibly a tornado in the
distance. The disciples also didn't understand why Jesus had sent
them across the sea at night and not come with them. John notes, "It
was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them." After such a great
victory with the feeding of the 5,000 and the people realizing who
Jesus was, they probably felt that they were at a major turning point
in their ministry with Jesus. It must have been a huge let down that
night to be struggling across the sea alone without the miracleworking Jesus.
The Bible Exposition Commentary says, Did Jesus know that a storm
was coming? Of course. Then why did He deliberately send His
friends into danger? Quite the opposite is true: He was rescuing them
from greater danger, the danger of being swept along by a fanatical
crowd. But there was another reason for that storm: the Lord has to
balance our lives; otherwise we will become proud and then fall. The
disciples had experienced great joy in being part of a thrilling miracle.
Now they had to face a storm and learn to trust the Lord more. The
feeding of the 5,000 was the lesson, but the storm was the
examination after the lesson. Sometimes we are caught in a storm

because we have disobeyed the Lord. Jonah is a good example. But

sometimes the storm comes because we have obeyed the Lord. When
that happens, we can be sure that our Saviour will pray for us, come
to us, and deliver us.
People today, even some Christians, struggle with feelings of this
nature. They feel, at times, that God has abandoned them, that they
are all alone, that they have to handle their problems and issues by
themselves without assistance from God or man. You have probably
felt something like that in your life.
However, if we look at Mark's account of this passage, we see the
truth that the disciples did not realize at that moment. Mark says,
"And [Jesus] saw them toiling in rowing." From His perch high up on
the mountain where He was spending time alone with God, Jesus had
not forgotten His disciples. He saw them! He had His eye on them the
whole time. They may have felt like they were alone, but they were
never really alone. Jesus had their back the whole time.
That is one of the great benefits of having a relationship with God
through Jesus Christ. As God's child, you can rest assured that He is
looking out for you. He will never abandon you. He will never leave
you alone, no matter what your circumstances look like or how you
may feel. You will be able to sing a song that has comforted so many
down through the years:
Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heaven and home,
When Jesus is my portion? My constant friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
"Let not your heart be troubled," His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth, one step is all I see;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;

Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,

When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
I sing because Im happy,
I sing because Im free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.
Are you happy today? Are you free today? Do you have the
confidence that God's eye is on you, that Jesus has your back no
matter what you are going through in life? Would you like to have this
assurance? If so, here is how you can get it today.
First, please understand that you are a sinner and that you have
broken God's laws. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: "For all have
sinned and come short of the glory of God." Please understand that
because of your sins, you deserve punishment in hell. Romans 6:23
says "the wages of sin is death" This is both physical death and
spiritual death in hell.
But here is the good news. John 3:16 reads, "For God so loved the
world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
The phrase "For God so loved the world" means that if you are in this
world, God loves you no matter what you have done.
The next phrase, "that He gave His only begotten Son" refers to Jesus
Christ. He is God's son who suffered, bled, and died on the cross for
your sins and for mine, and He was buried and rose again.
Our next phrase is "that whosoever believeth in Him". The word
"whosoever" means anybody at anytime. The phrase "believeth in

Him" means to trust in Him, to depend upon Him, to rely on Him, or to

have faith in Him for your salvation.
Our next phrase, "should not perish", refers to eternal punishment in
a place called hell.
And, lastly, the phrase "but have everlasting life" means to live
eternally in Heaven with God.
The Bible also says in Romans 10:9 and 13: "That if thou shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine
heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved....
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Dear friend, if you are willing to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for
salvation, please pray with me this simple prayer: Heavenly Father, I
realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my
life. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I now believe
with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and
rose again. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul
and change my life today. Amen.
If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the cross, was
buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the
most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your
Lord and Saviour! For more information to help you grow in your
newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read
"What To Do After You Enter Through the Door". Jesus Christ said in
John 10:9, "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be
saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture."
If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior today, please e-mail me at
dw3@gospellightsociety.com and let us know. There is some free
material that we want to send you. If you have a prayer request,
please e-mail that to us as well, and we will pray for you until you tell
us to stop.

God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.