The One Who Walked On Water

This is Christ the King Sermons. Christ the King Sermons is a ministry of Christ the King Presbyterian Church located in Raleigh, North Carolina. CTK is a community rooted in the depth of the gospel, refined by hard conversations, fueled by meaningful relationships, and committed to redemptive work in Raleigh. Amen. What great news that is. How holy and wonderful and amazing is our God.

You may be seated. Hey, good morning, CTK. My name is Paul Deschamps. I'm one of the pastors here and as we turn our attention to God's word this morning, we have a real treat. I'd like to introduce and welcome our good friend Chris Cooper. Chris is the campus minister for Reformed University Fellowship at NC Central. He's been a dear friend to our church for a long time and we're a big fan of him and his ministry. So let's welcome Chris as we turn our attention to God's word this morning. Welcome, Chris.

Good morning, CTK. How are you doing this morning? My name is Reverend Christopher Cooper and I am the campus minister for RUF at North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina. I could tell you so much more, but my job is not to sit up here and give you a sales pitch. But come talk to me after service. I have cards and everything that can tell you what to pray for and ways you can actually give to us as we continue the work on the only HBCU with a RUF here in North Carolina, which is North Carolina Central University.

And I am super grateful to be here today. CTK, you always have been a blessing. You always have been supportive. And I am grateful for your leader, Jeff, who is not here, for inviting me to come and bring you the word.

Now before I get there, as we were going through confession, I was reciting the same things that you were reciting, and I was like, hold up, man. They're preaching my sermon. So can I just come up here and say amen and be done because this is good?

But first, let us read God's word, then I'm going to pray, and then after that, I'm going to get into the word.

The Scripture Reading

So today, we'll be coming from Saint John, sixth chapter, sixteenth verse through the twenty-first verse. And it says:

When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat and they were frightened. But he said to them, "It is I, do not be afraid." Then they were glad to take him into the boat and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going. — John 6:16-21

Prayer

Let us pray. Father God, thank you. Thank you for waking us up this morning. Thank you for breathing the breath of life into us so that we may come here and worship your holy name. Holy Spirit, do what you always do. Lead us and guide us into truth, Father God, because living in this world, we can read so much and hear so much. It can take us off the beaten path, Father God. Holy Spirit, be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our pathway because walking this Christian walk, we can get off the pathway so easily and feel so alone like you're not there with us.

Holy Spirit, soften the hearts of men so that the word of God, which is in seed form, may be firmly rooted in our hearts, Father God, producing a tree full of fruitfulness, Father God, not for our glory, but for your glory alone. Put Chris Cooper behind the cross and allow your glory to show forth this morning. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

The Message

As we look at this particular part of scripture and we find ourselves at Saint John, sixth chapter, we come to a place where Jesus just has performed a miracle. Right? And in performing a miracle where he took the five loaves and two fishes—which we learned in Sunday school growing up—and providing for all these people while also giving them spiritual nourishment, human beings do what human beings do. They realize after this miracle they go on to say, "You know what? He is the king, and he is the one that John talked about in the beginning, the one that he couldn't even tie his shoe or his sandal, the one to bring forth the kingdom." So let's go and prop him up, and let's make him king.

It is amazing to me how human beings are always trying to make somebody the greatest of all time. When he was already born to be the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, he was already born to hold that mantle. But guess what? If we don't put our stamp of approval on it, then it must not be so. But he already had the stamp of approval because he is the only one and true living God.

And after that, he goes off with great humility, and he goes to the mountains, and he goes to pray. Right?

And I believe the disciples were probably just as engaged as those who saw the miracle, and then he tells them, "Look, I'm going away, and what you need to do is go down to the sea and start making your way to Capernaum." So the disciples do what they are commanded to do. They start making their sails to the sea and they start rowing and paddling.

The scripture lets us know that obedience to God's will is not always easy. Being faithful to God's will is not always easy. All they were doing was what they were told. They were being faithful. They were being trusting, and they were being obedient. So they go to the Sea of Galilee. They get to the boat. They start rowing, and everything looks fine. But by the time nighttime hits and they've gone three to four miles, a strong wind starts to happen. Waves start coming up against them.

I got this preconceived notion that if God told me to do something or if his scripture is leading me a certain way, then because I'm walking in Christ, it's got to be easy. He's going to give me the wisdom. He's going to give me the strength, the power, and the knowledge to maneuver. It can't be that hard. But don't you know, even though they were obedient in God's will, a storm still came. A storm still came.

You are not opposed to the storms of life. You are not opposed to some of the waves that are going to hit you from just living on this old sin-filled earth. You are not opposed to dealing with some real mental struggles, some real heartfelt struggles, some real physical struggles, all because you are walking faithfully in the will of God. Don't you know the storms are going to come? As a matter of fact, it is very biblical for storms to happen with your obedience in Christ.

Joseph—Potiphar's wife didn't do nothing wrong. He was walking for God, and she just wants a piece of Joseph. Joseph runs to the hills.

Wherewith cometh his help. Flee from youthful lust. — Referenced passage

He did the exact right thing, yet he was lied upon and put in prison. He hit the storm. He hit his waves. Moses—

Let my people go. — Exodus

They get out from among them, and not only do they get out from among them, they plunder them, take a lot of things with them. But guess what? They had to get to the Red Sea and it looked like they were about to die with the army coming against them. The storm hits, but in each and every moment, don't you know Jesus shows up? Even though we have to encounter many trials and tribulations to actually test our faith while being faithful and obedient to God, don't you know that Jesus hasn't left you and he still shows up?

Jesus Is Present Within Your Storms

The second thing from the text is that Jesus is still present within your storms. Don't think for a second because it feels like he's in the mountain praying or feels like that he's far away, that he is not looking, that he doesn't see what's going on, that he is not presently feeling what you're struggling with, that he doesn't understand that your boat is being rocked or that the lightning is coming this close to taking your life away from you. You know what? He didn't look at them and just sit there and say, "You know what? I don't want no business with them." But he actually started walking towards them.

Let me give you an illustration. I got man pride. I am a loving husband. I'm not the best person to put together a desk or a chair. But because I have pride and because I'm a man, I'm going to try to do it anyway because I got to prove myself. So I'll get whatever it is because my wife probably ordered it from Amazon, and it's going to stay in the box unless I move. And I'll start putting it together. I'll get the instructions. This sounds good. I get the words. I get the instructions, and I get all the utensils, and I start doing what I do. And I always get stuck at a part where I feel like I got it down packed, but I'm really not doing it right. And then I actually start mumbling under my breath, "Got to be kidding me, man." I feel like my little boy comes out. I feel like ninja kicking this thing. And the whole time, my wife is walking by. She's peeking, and she's going in the other room. I refuse to ask for help. I just allow my pride to keep going.

Just like the disciples were rowing in the storm, I've been rowing at this thing, but guess what? Now the waves and the storm are hitting me, and I feel stuck. And when I feel stuck, I get frustrated. I get angry. I get a little frightened. You want to know why I get a little frightened? Because I know my wife is probably going to come in, figure it out with the answer, and I'm a little frightened and fearful because I'll be thinking, "Man, why couldn't I do that, and why am I so dumb?" You get what I'm saying?

I get hopeless and faithless. I can't trust myself. I don't know what to do. At this point in the text, I feel like the disciples are at that same place. When life makes a standstill, we've been rowing three to four miles, the storm of life hits us, we get frustrated, we get angry, we start hesitating. Should I have been obedient? Is this really the will of God? Am I really faithful? My faith weakens. I can't trust.

But look, I'm not saying Sante Cooper is Jesus. Don't take that. But once Sante sees that I hit my boiling point, and she comes out of nowhere, walks behind me, she looks at the instructions and the place where I was trying to get to, she gets it done correctly, and eventually the chair is made. She walks towards me in the time where I feel most hopeless.

Because you start standing still and you're rowing and you're doing the things of God, and that storm got you frustrated, it has you afraid, and it has you hopeless, and you don't know what to do. Your faith is just a little weak, and you feel like you're failing the test. Just like my wife is roaming around, Jesus is roaming around. He's not leaving you. He's seeing you. And once when you're about to give up, he comes in, and he walks towards you.

And here's what I love about Christ. I watch cartoons with my twelve-year-old son. He doesn't come and say, you know, hey guys. I love the way he introduces himself. He says, it is I. Now I don't know about you, but in my imagination, that's one of the coolest things to say when I'm at that moment. Like, it is I, disciples. Do not be afraid.

Who Is "I"?

Who is I? We know throughout the text who I is. If you've been going through the gospel of John, Saint John four, the woman at the well. Many husbands—she's just looking for a drink, she just needs water so she don't have to thirst no more. Jesus talks to her, shows compassion to her in her time of need and being kicked out. And he said, look, woman, I'll give you some water that you can drink from so that you may never thirst again. Who am I? I'm the ever-loving fountain of life that is eternal that you can drink from forevermore when you feel a little parched in life.

Saint John five, he goes to the place where a dude needs healing. Comes up to him, what did he say, thirty-eight years? He's just sitting there in his ailments, hopeless and everything like that. He tells him what to do, and then he is healed, and they start to question him. Who am I? I am the one who comes when you down in the dumps, you physically ill, and you can't move. I am your healer. Oh, it is I.

Saint John six, before we get to this point, people need to be fed. People are hungry. Jesus shows compassion. He said, what do we have? Five loaves, two fishes. They break it and everybody is fed. Who am I? He's basically saying, I'm the all-sufficient one. If you have a need, I will fulfill it. It is I. I'm walking towards you. No need to be afraid. No longer do you have to worry. No longer do you have to feel anxious. Cast those cares upon me because I care. No longer do you have to not know that you will get through the storm. Why? Because I am here. It is I, the answer to all of your storms.

Only Jesus Can Be the Answer

And here's the third thing from the text. Only Jesus can be the answer. Only Jesus can be the answer. They was trying to row through it. They was trying to do it. Guess what? They weren't getting anywhere. When these storms of life come, they start battering us and beating us. The only person who we can have faith and trust in to get us through—it says, you know what? When they stop being afraid, they just invited Jesus. He just walked in the boat. They came in and they said, next thing they know, they are on land. They are on land.

Look. I don't know about you, but I was sinking deep in sin far from the peaceful shore. I was trying to row through this life on my own boat through the sea of this world. And even though I felt like I could move a little bit according to the world's standards, and it may look like I was something and that I had something going on, a storm hit, and I quickly realized that all I deserved was deathly sorrows.

That no matter how much I paddled, no matter how much I rowed, no matter how many accomplishments I had, no matter how much I thought I was a good person, I couldn't do nothing with the waves of sin and what it had for me. I couldn't do nothing with the storm of sin and what it had for me. I was stuck and I was drowning.

But there is a savior named Jesus who had compassion on me and had compassion on us, who came into the world, who saw the storm of sinfulness that brought us low to death, nigh unto him. And he came and he saw and he walked towards us. And the way he walked towards us is he knew we couldn't overcome it. We couldn't get to the land where we would find rest. We couldn't get to the land where we would find peace.

We couldn't get to the land where it would be within his presence because we had lost it. And he takes up a cross—whipped in his side, thorns on his head, mocked, beat, spit upon—and says his own people, even though he came to be the light of the world, they did not accept him. And he saw the storm, and he walked towards us, and he died on the cross because he knew we were stuck and could not move.

He rose again, and he didn't leave us hopeless or without a helper. He went back to his father after chilling with his disciples and many witnesses seeing him after forty days. Sent to helper. And because of this, when the storm captured me and had me at a homeless state, a helpless state, a faithless state, a non-trusting state, a broken state, he walked towards me.

And by his grace and through faith—not anything that I deserved, but a free gift given by him—when the storms of life was drowning me, he invited him in our hearts. We accepted his word, his power, his love, his mercy, his grace. And now no longer does the storm have victory over us, but because of Christ being in the boat, we have victory over the storm, and now we're in the land with milk and honey, in the land with a rest that we've never felt before, in a land where it is loving, where he is our high tower, where he is the drink that we partake of, where he is the bread of life that we eat. We are in a land that is forevermore, that is eternal, and it is because of Jesus. Hallelujah. It's because of Jesus. Only Jesus can do it.

Closing Exhortation

Keep being obedient. Keep being faithful. Keep trusting. Just know that the storms will come. That doesn't make you far off. It doesn't make you less likely to think that Christ is with you. But in those moments, understand that he is present and he is walking after you. But here's the thing: in knowing that, humble yourself to trust him more. Allow him to stay in the boat, keep guiding you, and keep leading you through the storm, and guess what? He will take you to the land where you are supposed to be.

And then you can pray in your prayer from Psalms 93:4 where it says:

Jesus is mightier than the thunders of many waters. He is mightier than the waves of the sea.

Hallelujah. I had stopped there, right? The Lord on high is mighty. We are mighty because he controls it all. He tames it all. He loves us through it all. He guides us through it all. He keeps us through it all. He preserves us through it all. He is mighty and you are his children. So keep having faith. Keep growing. Keep going even though you may feel stuck because Jesus is right there with you. Amen? Amen.

Prayer

Father God, thank you. Thank you for your word this morning. Thank you for loving on us, Father God. Your steadfast love, steadfast is continual with no ends, Father God. Your steadfast love is forever and we are so grateful for that because life can get hard. Our faith can be tested. Our hope can be drained. We can give up sometimes, Father, but we are so grateful that even in those moments you are there with us, that your love still surrounds us, that you still carry us, and that you still lead us and guide us to a land that we don't deserve.

Thank you for all that you have done and that you continue to do, Father God, in the lives of your saints. We love you. We need you. In Jesus' name, amen.