Dear Friends,
When we left off last week, the people recognized that Jesus was that prophet spoken of by Moses (Deut 18). However, rather than following what Moses said to do (hearing Him), they thought He should hear them. They sought to take him by force, to make him a king. Therefore, Jesus departed again into a mountain himself alone. Jesus’ patience with those who wanted to take Him by force, to make Him a king tells me He will be patient with me too. Thank God.
Father, thank You for your patience with us, and your Son’s patience with us, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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.
John 6:16-21
We know from Matthew’s account of these events that it was Jesus who sent the disciples out into the Sea of Galilee to go to the other side. Therefore, Jesus purposely sent them into a storm. Why would He do that? Maybe the mob that was planning to take Him by force posed a greater danger than the storm He sent them into. Or maybe that mob would have been too great a temptation for the disciples, thinking that it was time to crown Him as King. In any case, Jesus knows what He is doing, even when He sends us into a storm. Contrary to the apostate preaching of the false prophets, Jesus never promised us health and wealth, at least not in this life. He promised us trials, tribulations, and persecutions. (Matt 13:21; Mark 10:30; 1 Pet 4:12) Jesus is preparing us for real life — eternal life. This vapor we call life is just boot camp. After Jesus finds them in the midst of the storm, He tells them, It is I; be not afraid. They must have been afraid or He would not have told them that. Sometimes Jesus uses storms to give us a course correction, as He did with Jonah. Sometimes He uses storms to increase our faith and prepare us for greater responsibilities that lie ahead, like He did in the life of David. However, as we can see from our text, when things look dark (v 17), Jesus comes to the rescue. In Acts 27, Paul got caught in a storm that destroyed the ship, but everyone made it safely to shore. Paul had to suffer certain other ‘storms’ simply to keep him humble. Jesus told him, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
Have you ever wondered why Jesus chose to walk on water? He could have just as easily teleported into their boat, just as He used teleportation to get them to shore in Verse 21. Jesus never used his miracles to show off so there must be a lesson in here. Water in the Bible is a type of the word. (Eph 5:26 et al) Jesus was demonstrating how we are to walk as Christians, especially when He sends us into a storm. We are to use the promises in the word to support us and keep us from sinking. That is how we take courage, overcome fear and doubt, and rise above the storm. We can only do this if we have 100% confidence that we have God’s perfect word. Satan has done everything he possibly can throughout history to destroy God’s word as well as our faith in it, but God is faithful. He promised to preserve his word. (John 10:35 et al) Therefore, I do not have to worry about whether men did a good job of preserving it. A year ago, I posted a three-part video series that documented how Satan has attempted to destroy the word throughout history. If you have not watched it I highly recommend you do so.
In closing, I recommend another video called Exodus – Patterns of Evidence:
https://tubitv.com/movies/500738/patterns-of-evidence-exodus?start=true
I recommend this film because we are constantly being told that there is no archeological evidence for the Exodus, which is simply not true. Bob Cornuke has found plenty. More on the timeline of the Exodus can be found here.
Finally, in the Bible, water is not only a type of the word, but also of the Spirit. (John 7:38f et al) The word of God and the Spirit of God are closely linked to one another. Not only do they share a common type, water, but Jesus said the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit… (cf Eph 6:17) Furthermore, not only was Jesus walking on the sea, but He was doing it in a storm. Water was undoubtedly splashing all over Him. By walking on the stormy sea, Jesus was creating a picture of walking in the Spirit. Despite the storm, however, despite being in the middle of the sea without a boat, Jesus was not afraid. Whatever storms life (or Jesus) may throw at you, if you walk in the Spirit and stand on the promises in the word, Jesus will uphold you. We know from Matthew’s account that Peter was able to walk on water as well — until he got distracted by the storm and took his eyes off Jesus; he then started to sink. Jesus then reached out and pulled him up out of the sea. What did Jesus tell him? O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? As long as we keep our eyes on Jesus, as long as we stand on the promises in the word, as long as we walk in the Spirit, we will be able to withstand any storm this world (or Jesus) may throw at us. We have nothing to fear. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Father, thank You for preserving your word as You promised to. Thank You for providing solid evidence demonstrating the veracity of your word. Thank You for giving us your Spirit as the earnest of our inheritance. Thank You for being a Strong Tower we can run into and be safe, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Prophecy Update: Jim Caviezel has been promoting his latest movie about human trafficking. He has asked for prayer for this movie to get traction in the theaters. In his promo video below, Caviezel talks about DUMBS (Deep Underground Military Bases), ‘famous people’, adrenochrome, and how these things tie into the trafficking of children. These things are covered up by the powers that be, but they are a sign that Jesus is coming soon. Jesus said Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. God help us if we ignore the plight of these precious children. Please pray for this film. Please pray for a critical mass of public awareness. First people have to believe it’s true before they can care enough to do something about it. Pray for the victims.
Craig Sawyer’s film, Contraland, is now completed, despite efforts to sabotage it. It can be seen here. Even though Sawyer’s documentary does not get into the darker things that Caviezel mentions I still found it hard to watch. Confronting this type of thing is always a spiritual battle. Father, please raise up judges and soldiers to put this evil away from among us. Let your will be done, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
