Thank you for tuning us in tonight. I'm Pastor Darrell Bailey with People's Valley Baptist Church. We want to thank you for listening to our message tonight. Our hope is that through God's word of truth, to build up lives into the kingdom of God. We want to make sure that in all that we do through the word of God, with action to glorify our savior, Jesus Christ. And now as we get ready to go into the wonderful word of God, I'm glad that we have his blessed assurance that he will always be with us no matter what. And so tonight, as we get ready to go into the wonderful word of God. I hope and pray that you can go with me tonight as we look at a message. We're normally in the book of Ezekiel, but because of our upcoming events this week, we're going to be in Matthew chapter 14, verse 22 through 30. There's two other corresponding scriptures that goes along with our message tonight. We're going to be preaching about the ghostly apparition that saved the disciples. This is kind of like a Halloween message in a sense, because tonight as we come together, October the 30th, the 5th of just then, 5783 of the Hebrew calendar tonight, and as we speak about the ghostly apparition that saved the disciples. But before we go any further, we wanna send out our love to some of our family. Brother Ed Cochran passed away, Friday, October the 28th. And so we want to lift him up and all of his family, Sister Jo, Eddie, and Dana, Carla and Mark Portis and Kevin, of course all the family Cindy and Allison. You know, Mark, oh, so each and every one, I know that I get to say a lot of names and I'll leave someone out, but we just wanna let them know that we're lifting them up in our prayers and how heavy our hearts are knowing that their father has passed away. And so there'll be a celebration of life that'll be conducted at three o'clock Tuesday, November the 1st in the chapel of Owen's Funeral Home. with Reverend Justin Gossoway, Reverend Seth Bunch, and Bobby Mullinack affiliating. Please, you keep them in your prayers as you pray for them. And we're gonna have a word of prayer for them here shortly as well. Along with, we had, there was a prayer announcement from Richie this morning at church about Jack's shadow. And Jack's shadow is a two-year-old boy that They had last Friday after four hours in the ER, they thought was constipation, but they received that the little boy actually has several cancerous tumors in his abdomen. And so they need your prayers. A two year old that has cancer. And so please remember their family. He starts his chemo today and we're asking for prayers, they say. Daniel and Sydney Shadle. And so we want to lift up this little man. I'll tell you, that's going through such a hard time at such a young age. We want to lift him up. And we also want to lift up the Cochran family as well, as they're our family. We love them. And those that can, gather around and be with them Tuesday during the visitation from 1 to 3. And the celebration of life, that'll start at 3 o'clock at Owen's Funeral Home. Amen. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, you're the Lord of life, the conqueror of death. Grant to these in their time of bereavement, the joy, the consolation of hope that when we part from those taken away by death, that we may say in our hearts that we shall meet them again. Give us, Lord Father, the strength, and Lord, give that family the strength as we pray for them. You always tell us that as we come unto you that, Lord, that all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly and hard, and you shall find rest under your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is life. Lord, I pray God on behalf for all of our church family. I pray for this little young two-year-old boy, Jack Shadle, that has cancer. Father, that you would be the one that would give him Lord, the power of healing. Lord, that you would give him your protection. Lord, because of who you are. Lord, you are our shepherd. You are the one that will never leave us nor forsake us, that you're always with us even to the end of the age. And so Lord, you said that you'd prepare a table before us in the presence of our enemies, that you would anoint our head with oil, that our cup would overflow. And so Father, I pray Lord, I pray, God, for those troubled hearts, that they would not be afraid. Give them peace that will transcend all understanding, that will guard their hearts and their minds in Christ Jesus, that we pray for these great needs within our families at Peoples Valley Baptist Church and among the Cochran family, God, that are hurting through this time, knowing that their loved one is in your presence. But still, Father, We pray that the Holy Spirit would come to the hearts of sorrow and turn them, Lord, with your strength, God, that you would give them a garment of spirit to cover the heaviness of their minds, and Lord, to give them, Lord, your strength during this time and hour, Lord, where even though they know Father, that he's with you, the missing of his presence and with a family, a father that loved his children. He was the bow that bit the arrows in that family. And so we lift them all up and ask you to give them strength and courage. And Lord, I pray for these men of God that will speak over the family, that they will be used greatly, that will give a comfort and remembrance of the Word of God that will be a great blessing to the family during their time of need in Jesus's marvelous mighty name. Amen. As we get into the Word of God tonight, many of us will begin to realize that God is so good. God knows exactly what we need when we need it. Here we see that tonight when we look at a message that you've given us that We know that anybody can walk on the land, that's easy. The land is man's natural element, but the test is, can you walk on the sea? Can you walk on the sea of your tribulation and sorrow? Can you walk on the stormy waves of your temptation? Can you walk on the sea of your disappointment or loneliness or affliction, amen? Boy, a sad word that come to Jesus and the disciples of the death of John the Baptist that had been murdered, amen. But I'm going to tell you, we look and we begin to realize that God knows exactly what we need when we need it. Amen. How that the death of our friends deserve the tribute of of our prayers, amen. And so each and every one of us, as we go through very tough times, how that Jesus compelled the disciples against their wish to get in the boat by themselves and to start across the lake to the other side. He climbed a mountain in order that he might be alone in prayer. And there you can see him climbing higher and higher up the side of the mountain, perhaps pausing now and then to turn and look at the disciples, amen. And he was beginning to fade and disappear on the distant horizon, praise God. Many of us can realize that God is wanting to do something great in all of our lives, amen. And so when we look over to the Word of God and what the Lord wants to do in all of our lives, amen, each and every day as we go through life today. God has something special for all of us, amen. God wants to do a great work. And I hope and pray that tonight, as you listen to the message that God will give you, that you need in the time and hour as we remember our families that are in need as well. And so thank God as we look and realize that the ghostly apparition that saved the disciples, amen, we focus on Matthew chapter 14, Matthew chapter 14, amen, of all the different of texts, amen, that we have Mark chapter 14, verses 22 through 30, excuse me, Matthew chapter 14, verses 22 through 30, Mark chapter 6, verse 45 through 51, and John chapter 6, verses 16 through 21. I'm glad that Matthew was talking about, he says, it's a ghost that they saw when they was out on the storm in the boat. where Jesus had sent him away, amen. And so he said, in verse 25, and in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went unto them walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled saying, it is a spirit. And they cried out for fear. But in verse 27, but straightway Jesus spake unto them saying, be of good cheer in his eye, be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid and beginning to sink, he cried saying, Lord, save me. You know, I'm glad it was during that fourth watch of the night that as the disciples, they thought that it was a ghost and they cried out in fear, amen. In Mark chapter 14, amen. In Matthew chapter 14, in Mark chapter six, the Bible says that, I like this, in verse 48, he saw that his disciples were straining at the oars because they were rowing against the wind. So sometime between three and six o'clock in the morning, he came to them walking on the water and he was going to pass them by, but they saw him walking on the water. It's a ghost, they thought and screamed. And they were all terrified when they saw him, but Jesus spoke to them at once. Courage, he said, it is I. Don't be afraid. I'm glad that as the King James begins to tell us that They thought it had been a spirit and they cried out, amen. And so in Mark chapter six, verses 45 through 51, amen. But I thank God in John chapter six, verse 19, the Bible says the disciples had rode about three or four miles when they saw Jesus. John was the only one that looked out and recognized that it was Jesus walking on the water, coming near the boat. And they were terrified. Don't be afraid, Jesus told them, it's I. You know, even though Mark and Matthew, they saw a spirit, they saw a ghost, but I'm glad that it was Mark in verse 48, that when Jesus was going up to pray, that all of a sudden he began to recognize that they were in trouble. You know, tomorrow's Halloween for many. It's a time of celebration. Kids get dressed up in their costumes. They go trick-or-treating. Adults attend company parties. Everyone has a great time. And if you visit your local bank, your clerk will be dressed in a costume. Hospitals, grocery stores, even public schools have decorated themselves with all the themes of Halloween. It's innocent enough sometimes, but in addition, Halloween has become one of the biggest sales promotions of all time, second only to Christmas. And so, It reminds us of November the 10th. It'll be the 47th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior. It was overloaded with iron ore. They didn't realize as they set out to cross that lake that a great northern storm was coming their way. Massive waves hit the Edmund Fitzgerald and rapidly sank that ship. Somebody remember the song of Gordon Lightfoot that he sung about it, eh man? But I'm gonna tell you, as a mystery as that is of the legend, amen. Christ had to constrain his disciples to leave to go to the other shore. They argued against going. There were several reasons why the use of the constraint was necessary, because first, right after Christ had fed the crown, they wished to take him by force and make him king. In John chapter 6, verse 15, Christ knew the view of the Messiahship. It was time for Christ to move on for others needed his ministry He wanted the disciples to make use of what little daylight remained for crossing the lake And so how important to see that christ needed time alone for prayer in matthew chapter 14 verse 23 And just as important christ wanted the disciples to begin learning one of the most important lessons of their lives and that would be his presence would always be with them Not necessarily his physical presence, but his spiritual presence. I tell you, Sister Carla, Brother Eddie, I'm gonna tell you, God's presence will always be with you in the storms that come up along the way. And what they needed was a great trust in him. And so I began to realize that as we look at this storm tonight, the ghostly apparition that saved the disciples, the Lord's presence makes all the difference in the world. We remember back in Matthew chapter eight, verses 23 through 27, he still the tempt us on the sea. One of the things that we're going to be talking about tonight is Christ's presence is assured by a personal preparation in verses 22 and verse 23, a man where he tells us a man and Matthew chapter 14. Verse 22 and straightway Jesus constrained the disciples to get into a ship and to go Before him under the other side while he sent the multitudes away and verse 23 and when he had sent the multitudes away He went up into a mountain apart to pray and when the evening was come he was there alone I'm gonna tell you as We look and realize in that preparation, in that personal time of prayer in verses 22 and 23, the Lord's present makes all the difference in the world. Amen. And I'm glad that it demonstrated by what Christ himself did. The lesson is forceful. He got along for prayer. And there's time when long sessions of prayer are needed, no matter the circumstances. If Christ sensed the need, how much more that we should. Christ sent the disciples across the lake. He dismissed the crowd, and then he got alone in prayer. So much had happened. Jesus was just drained and exhausted. The temper had confronted him once again, offering the easy way to secure the loyalty of the people. They were ready to acclaim him king, but he knew that human proclamation was only the way of the devil. He had to secure salvation for men through death and resurrection. He needed time alone with God. He needed to be renewed and strengthened. He was physically exhausted. He needed to recover a clear perspective of his mission. He was mentally exhausted. His mind was so tired it was probably like ours after intensive thought and labor. And so, He needed to be recharged with God's power, with the singleness of heart to do God's will. So much power had gone out of him, he was spiritually drained. And we see the lessons that are gleaned. He prayed on the top of a mountain, amen. The believer who stands on the top of a mountain and thinks, viewing the awesomeness of the country below. sees the massiveness of God, His power, His majesty, and His glory. The believer gains a perspective of God in man. He prayed on the top of the mountain. He prayed in the evening at a tender, warm time, a time when a person who has worked ever so hard and much being drained and needing a renewal, praise God. It's time when we review the day and look ahead tomorrow for what's going to take place that Christ prayed all alone. He needed to share with with God face to face, amen. He prayed on top of the mountain. He prayed in the evening. He prayed until the fourth watch from three to six a.m., probably seven or more hours. He prayed in a storm. A storm arose at some point long before 3 a.m. or the disciples would have already crossed the lake. But the importance of prayer to Christ is seen in the fact that he prayed for so many hours in the midst of a storm. And so, We begin to realize that we're just people. We're just Christians. We get tired so frequently, exhausted so often, tempted so much, pressured so tightly, strained so painfully. We fight to keep our minds on Christ. We struggle to maintain a moment by moment consciousness. of his presence. We wore to keep it our task and it takes its toll. It wears us down mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually. You're taking care of your family, your loved one, your husband, and all of a sudden it's wearing on you. Our only hope is to learn that Christ's presence, a consciousness of his presence is assured by prayer, much prayer. We must learn to spend that time alone with him. Praise God. And so I'm glad that each and every one of us, that person that lives in the mad rush is attacking, attack time and again by distraction after distraction. But we could remain strong and faithful to Christ without getting alone for prayer and renewal, the way Christ has chosen to teach us to trust. We're not self-sufficient. We want the assurance of his presence, and if we are going to do what he has sent us into the world to do, we must spend time alone with him. And one of the basic laws of spiritual growth and ministry, amen, he says, asking it shall be given you, seeking you shall find, knocking it shall be opened unto you. He said, watch and pray that you enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. And he spake a parable unto them of this. In that men are always to pray and not to faint I'm glad that the spiritual armor of Ephesians 618 is all put on with prayers always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit watching there unto with all perseverance and supplication for all Saints He says, pray without ceasing. And so we see that Christ's presence is assured by our personal preparation. Amen. But also Christ's presence conquers all fear because in verses 24 through 27, that the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves, for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. Listen, he said in verse 26, and when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, it is a spirit. And they cried out for fear. In verse 27, but straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid. For I'm glad that he compelled them uh to go into that boat amen i'm glad if we're going to follow the footsteps of christ we've got to remember that we have our own periods when we're alone the dread of solitude is a source of weakness no great discovery was ever made on a crowded street but in a quiet place of retirement hallelujah one of the most impressive things i thank god that The 88-year-long life of John Wesley was when he was taken with his last illness. He returned from the house of a friend. He had preached his last sermon on the text, Seek Ye the Lord, while he may be found, and his friends and housekeepers carried him up to his chamber adjoining the City Road Chapel. And I tell you, realizing that his end was not far off, the aged saint asked all of his friends and servants to leave him for a half hour by himself. Obedient to the desire, they all went out and left him. And there, John Wesley met his God alone, reviewed, I thank God, all of this life. that he had had for the Lord. The storms of life, when the disciples started out on their journey across the sea that night, all was calm and fair. The sea was peaceful. The wind was soft and gentle. The stars were beginning to come out. But by the time they were halfway across the sea, a hurricane broke over the ship. Peter, no doubt, took command. You could see him holding the tiller and getting the rows going, amen, and trying everything that they could. They lowered the sails, amen. They took to the oars, and while all was calm a little while, Now there was confusion, the rages over the sea, the ship tossed like a cork up and down, and the foam of the great gleaming in the blackness of the night began to be like a monster. Life has its storms, and like the start of the disciples that night, the start of life voyage is generally calm and favorable winds. But before long, your family, Those gentle winds change to contrary winds and hurricanes rage. And those winds are sure to give your ship of Zion a rock and forth. But I thank God the storm broke over those who were in the path of duty. The storm broke over Jonah's ship that seemed to be a scary thing. The storm breaks over the disciples who have obeyed the command of Jesus. and storms come in the path of duty as well. How many contrary winds there are that blow, that smite the body, the mind, the spirit, the winds of sorrow, the remorse, the sickness, the fear, and the discouragement. But however contrary the wind may be, it can never blow without God's permission. And I'm glad that from his mountain that he went up to look and pray. He could see now and then in the flashes of the light and the black speck of the ship as it tossed up and down on the waves. Christ always knows when you're toiling at the rowing. And the disciples no doubt wondered why Christ had sent them out into the storm and yet more why he did not come to them and steal the tempest. Perhaps they were tempted to feel that he had forsaken them. but Jesus saw them toiling at the rowing. And when the wind was contrary and the sea was at its hardest, many people are suffering greatly through the death of maybe a family member, their conscience of a great loneliness that's missing in their life. And you may ask yourself, does God really care? Can we count upon the sympathy of Christ? You may want to know if you could count on the sympathy of Christ. The story of this miracle, this verse, the ship was in the midst of the sea and he alone on the land. And he saw them toying and rolling for the wind was contrary under them. Yes. We can always count on the knowledge and the sympathy of Christ. There's no place where earth's sorrows are more felt than up in heaven. He saw them toying at the rowing and yet he delayed coming to them. Hour after hour they were allowed to struggle on the hurricane, wondering why did he not come to their help. The delay a part of God's plan of operation in the world. Ages passed after the fall of man before the Savior came to redeem us. 30 years of his life on earth passed before he began to preach in the power of the Holy Spirit. And when Mary and Martha sent word to him, whom thou lovest is sick, he waited three days before he started for Bethany. When he arrived there, Lazarus was dead. On his way to heal the daughter of Jairus, he stopped on the street of Capernaum to talk with a woman who had touched the hem of his garment. Praise God, her issue of blood was gone by the faith that she had when she touched the very hinges of his garment. And by the time that he started again, For the ruler's house, his daughter was dead. Expect then what may seem to you a delay in the coming of Christ. And yet these delays are not incompatible with his knowledge and his sympathy. Why did he wait that night so long to go to the rescue of the disciples, a man struggling with the waves and the wind? I don't know. Perhaps he wanted to wait until all hope had been given up, that there extremely might be his opportunity to teach them his power and revive their faith. But that is a mere conjecture. You cannot always know why Christ waits, but you can always know that God cares. He sees you toiling. at the rowing. The ghost, at length, he came to them, sometime during the fourth watch, that is, between the three and the dawning. He came to them at a time when human energies are at their lowest, when it's easy to yield to fears and despair. He come to them, but he was coming at a time that seemed worse than his delay. There are disciples in the ship holding on desperately. The mass, that it plunges in the waves, Peter's holding on to the tiller, and suddenly he cries out, look, what is that? And by the tone of his voice, which rose louder than the winds and the waves, and the other disciples knew that it was something terrible that Peter had seen. Looking off over the waves, they saw a ghost, a specter striding across the sea toward them. In their terror, they cried out aloud. Literally, they were afraid. That was not strange. because the world has never lost its power over this world in spite of all of the rationalism and unbelief. A ghost is something that we read about in the old books and see on the stage, and of course, it's not a ghost. But if you really believe that a ghost, a disembodied spirit, a messenger from the world of the dead was actually there walking down the aisle of a church somewhere, you would cry out, as the disciples did that night, and you would flee from that church house. The disciples cried out in terror when they saw Jesus walking on the sea to earth. They thought he was a ghost, a water demon coming to sink them, send them to the bottom of the sea. They thought they were going to perish in that storm. Now something worse than the storm was coming down on them, a ghost. They were fishermen and they could fight against the storm, but what could they do against a ghost? Often in our troubles, God's providence appears to us something other than it really is. And as Jesus seemed a ghost to the disciples that night, so God's providence at first may seem to us very harsh. And yet it was in the storm that night that they found and they knew Christ as they had never known him before. It was the darkest for them just before dawn. In their terror, the disciples were almost ready to leap into the sea rather than face that ghost. But then suddenly, they heard a voice. Be of good cheer, it is I. Be not afraid. The moment they heard his voice, the raging sea lost its terror. They no longer feared that ghost, amen, because Christ is present, conquers, All fear, praise God. And I'm glad that storm that arose while crossing the lake, amen. Boy, I thank God, each and every one of us. Jesus went to the disciples. He walked on the sea. He did not go to them immediately. Why? Because he needed to teach them to trust him, to obey his command no matter what happened to them. They were doing what he had told them to do so they could trust his care and his will. Because he needed to teach them to go about conquering the storms of life by using their own skill and strength. They needed to learn to use all the gifts they had in struggling against the storms of life. He would step in only after they had done all that they could do. Once their own strength and skill had been exhausted, the praise for salvation would go to God and His delivering power and not to man. The disciples were stricken with fear. They thought they were seeing a ghost. The physical and mental condition of disciples is important at this point. They were physically exhausted, having struggled against the storm for hours, and they were mentally drained from using all the skill at their disposal. Their lives were threatened. They were struggling for survival. But all of a sudden, out of nowhere, they saw a figure, an apparition, a ghost walking on the water, and they were frightened. bordering on going into shock, thinking that the death angel or some premonition of the death was at hand. Peter's impulsive request seemed to indicate this, but then all of a sudden, a voice shouted out, it is I. Be not afraid. Exhausted, frightened, shocked, fear, struggling for their lives, being face to face with a real apparition. The disciples were suffering an almost unbearable experience. Jesus gave assurance of his presence. Christ's sudden presence on the water was a great encouragement to disciples, and yet they were not quite sure it was him. Lord, if it be thou, his words and his presence are a marvelous revelation of his care and power to save us through the storms of life. Lo, I'm with you always, even unto the end of the world. And behold, I'm with you and will keep thee in all places, whether thou goest and will bring thee again into this land, for I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. I'm glad, as he said in Exodus, and he said, my presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. I'm glad the Psalmist said, the Lord is my strength and my shield, my heart trusteth in him, I am helped, therefore my heart greatly rejoiced with my song, will I praise him. Boy, I'm glad that he says I'm poor and needy, yet the Lord thinketh upon me. Thou art my help and my deliverer, make no tarry, oh my God. I'm glad, as Isaiah said, fear not for I've redeemed thee, I've called thee by thy name, thou art mine, and when thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers, thou shalt not overflow thee, when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. We should not turn back when the storms arise, no matter how terrible the trial, Christ is able to take the trials of life, make opportunities out of them, and it gives us the experience and the life of faith, praise God. Boy, I thank God, every one of us. The human distress at its height, terrifying experience. But the point is clear, we're helpless when we're caught in the greatest storms of life. But Christ's presence alone can save us through those storms. His presence alone can conquer our fears, and it can give us hope, and it can give us security. Storms can be moments of sorrow, self-conflict, temptation, decision-making, adverse circumstances. Christ is ever so near, ready to help those who will call out to him. His presence is most assuring, comforting, strengthening to the true disciple. But I thank God our third point that we see about this is that The Lord's presence makes all the difference in the world, amen. Because the first thing was in verses 22 and 23, Christ's presence is assured by a personal preparation. Verses 24 through 27, Christ's presence conquers fear. But in verses 28 all the way down to verse 31, Christ's presence stirs the hope of being saved. Peter's hope was stirred. He could be saved by Christ's presence. He has permission to join Christ. Peter's request was most unusual. It has always baffled people. We must picture the scene, the physical and the mental exhaustion, the hours of struggle for survival against the storm, the fear that strikes when thoughts of death face a person for so many long and unbroken hours, the fright of seeing a real apparition, the state of shock from confronting so much. I remember that Rick Bell and I were flying back from Holland and they were iced, getting on the wings and they had to de-ice it. I prayed, man, I tell you ain't nothing made me more nervous in that frozen weather, that ice was on the wings, amen, that all of a sudden I began to pray out to God. I had a fear about me because I was afraid of flying with ice on the wings. And I began to pray. I didn't care if Rick Bale was beside me. I know my Jesus and my Savior, and I trusted in Him. And I began to call out to my Lord and Savior when we was on that flight coming all the way back from Holland. This was my second trip. The first one was with the military. But I'm going to tell you, every time I fly, I'm a nervous flyer, amen. Here we see a man, Peter. In a condition that wants to be saved delivered from danger peter knew jesus both his power and he knew his love lord if i'll be Bid me come unto thee save me get me out of this danger. Peter was not thinking in the terms of miracles His mind was too occupied for that. He was in a hopeless situation. He wanted to be saved Peter was not wanting to go to Christ because he loved Christ. He loved Christ, but right now his thoughts were on the love and the power of Christ to save him. Christ was his only hope for being saved from death. Christ's presence stirred Peter's hope and Christ could save him. And Jesus' command was, come. Come. Christ was not merely giving Peter permission to come. He was commanding Peter, and when a person sees that Jesus is his salvation, the command is there, come. Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye buy and eat, yea? Come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Boy. Peter's faith faltered. Peter saw Jesus, his hope of being saved. He knew Jesus cared and loved and had the power to save him, and he had his eyes upon Jesus. And it was when he took his eyes off Jesus and focused on the storm that his faith began to weaken and he began sinking, that Christ saved him despite his weak faith. Lord, help thou mine unbelief. And there's some faith in the cry, Lord, help. I'm glad there's a picture of salvation in this scene. A man's hope is stirred. Christ's presence can save him. He has to join Christ, and Christ commands, come. The man begins to walk toward Christ, passing over the turbulent waves of life. All of a sudden, he turns his attention away from Christ to the storms of life, and he begins to seek. He sinks and he cries out in desperation, Lord, save me. And Christ reaches out and he saves him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, lost sinner. This poor man cried and the Lord heard him and saved him out of his troubles, as the psalmist said. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, and when my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock. that is higher than I." Hallelujah. Psalm 61, 2, the Lord's presence is the answer to the storms of life, to all of the stresses and to all the spirits. I'm glad that we're kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom, to whom be glory forever and ever. Jesus saved Peter, but he rebuked his faltering faith. And he saves a person with little faith, but he rebukes it. I'm glad that, you know what? The Lord can always use the weak things, but he cannot use the wicked things. You've got to come away from the wickedness of the world. You can be weak. The Lord can work with weakness, but he cannot work with wickedness. I'm glad the Lord said, if you have faith as a grain of a mustard seed, you might say into this sycamore tree, be thou plucked up by the root and be thou planted in the sea and it shall obey you. Because what did Hebrews say but without faith is impossible to please him for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that Diligently seek him Thank God we've realized that the Lord's presence makes all the difference in the world, hallelujah. Christ's presence is assured by a personal preparation in verses 22 through 23. Christ's presence conquers fear in verses 24 to 27. And Christ's presence stirs the hope of being saved in verses 28 down to verse 31. But Christ is present conquers nature itself, amen. And I'm glad that he is the sovereign Lord over all. He demonstrated his messiahship, adding proof upon proof to the believers to whom he was to entrust his cause, amen. He brought peace to the sea that reeled it to and fro for their sake. He would always be present to help them, no matter the severity of their trial. And he is for you tonight, church and family. We all must know this. We must learn that he could bring peace to any hopeless soul that would call upon him. Praise God. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Afraid in John 14, 27. These things have I spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace, and in the world you have tribulation. But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. He says, be careful for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God will pass us all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians chapter four, verses six and seven. I'm glad the Lord's present makes all the difference in the world because he steals the tempest on the sea. Christ's presence is assured by a personal preparation in verses 22 and 23. He conquers fear with his presence in verses 24 to 27. He stirs the hope of being saved in verses 28 through 31. Amen. I'm glad that he conquers nature in verse 32. But in verse 33, Christ is present, stirs confession and worship amen because I thank God it said in verse 33 then they that were in the ship came and worshiped him saying of a truth thou art the son of God he had been I thank God the disciples experienced a great relief a drained exhausted relief they had been saved and delivered from the life-threatening storm by the power of Christ never before had they witnessed such power there was no alternative uh alternative no other action to be taken They came and worshipped him, saying of a truth, Thou art the Son of God. And he understood more than ever before, not perfectly, but enough to acknowledge him as the Son of God. Man, whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father, which is in heaven. Amen. He said, also I say unto you, whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of Man also confess before the angels of God. Paul said in Romans 10 9 that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shall believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shall be saved. Praise God. And so whosoever denieth the son, the same hath not the father, but he that acknowledged the son hath the father also. Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning, that if, If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son and in the Father. And he said in 1 John 4, 15, Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him and he in God. Well, I think they not only profess belief but they worshiped him and there is a vast difference a man because the Bible says that it came to pass while he blessed them that he parted from them and Carried up into heaven and they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy in Luke chapter 24 Jesus I thank God knows exactly what we need when we need it every one of us Jesus had a strange command, but they obeyed him They had done a lot of ministry, and they encountered strong winds and heavy seas. Boy, Jesus come at the right time. There was a terror. There was a recognition. They were troubled. They were thinking they were seeing a ghost. They were filled with fear of the unknown, but especially with the awesome dread that we mortals have of a deity. Jesus called out, be of good cheer. It is I. Be not afraid. If God is as Jesus, you could trust him. You don't have to be afraid, praise God. And I'm glad that we all today, with Jesus in the boat, the journey to shore was made quickly. And when Jesus came in the boat, the wind ceased. The disciples worshipped him, saying of a truth that thou art the Son of God. A remarkable advance in their faith. They did not understand Jesus. They still thought in terms of a political kingdom. but they had learned from his teaching and his miracles that he was higher than they in character, in teaching, and in the exercise of God's power. And thank God, in calm and in storm, he will not forsake his children. Through Jesus, we learn that God is no nameless dread to fear, nor a ghostly apparition, but a father to be loved who desires to bring each one to life's true destiny. I'm glad as I close out and as we look at the ghostly apparition that saved the disciples, amen. I'm glad that of all the things that we see, when our faith falters and we begin to sink, he's there to stretch out his hand and deliver us as he did Peter that night. There's a story told of that was similar to the story of Peter walking on the water. One evening, long ago, a ferry boat was about to start from the island of Gazant off the coast of Flanders to Ostend on the mainland. The passengers were all aboard. Night was coming on. The skipper of the ship, before undoing the iron chain that held his boat to a stone at the quay, blew a warning blast on the horn to call any latecomer. Just then, a man appeared as if from nowhere and boarded the boat. he was bareheaded his garments had no ornament there was neither purse nor nothing or girdle on him and the better seats at the stern of the ship were seven persons persons of a higher class a cavalier with a girded spur curled mustached and jeweled beckoned cap a proud dapsle with a falcon on her wrist, her mother, a clergyman of high rank, a fat merchant from Burgess, a doctor of science from the University of Levain, and then the seventh one, he had a clerk with him. The moment they saw the advent of that late comer, they hastened to sit down so as to prevent him from taking a seat in their midst. The stranger gave a swift look at the stern, seeing that there was no room or welcome for him there. He went forward to the bow of the ship, where the poor and the plain people were gathered. There there were seven others counting himself. There was a young working woman with her little child second, third an old soldier, fourth an old wrinkled and ragged old woman who in her youth had been a prostitute and now sat crouched on a coil of rope. The fifth was a peasant with his six ten-year-old son and then the seventh was the stranger. and the old soldier and the young mother moved along and made room for the stranger. The skipper blew his horn for the last time. The ship was off on its journey for Austin, but the vessel had not gone far when the sea and the sky took on an enormous look and gave warning sounds and groans and murmurs of an anger that would not be appeased. In a moment, a hurricane broke over them. Suddenly, the clouds parted for a little above the vessel. All of a sudden, a light of all the passengers looked with amazement at that latecomber. His golden hair parted in the middle of a tranquil, serene forehead, fell in many curls on his shoulders. Outlined against a gray sky was a face sublime in gentleness and radiance of divine love. All the passengers were in fear for their lives as the ship plunged in the storm. The young mother cried out, oh, my poor child, my child, who will save my child? You yourself, replied that stranger. And when the mother heard his sweet voice, she had hope in her heart. The rich merchant, falling on his knees, cried out, holy virgin of perpetual succor, who art thou, art word. I promise you 20 pounds of wax, a statue if you would get me out of this. But the stranger spoke, the virgin is in heaven. The handsome young cavalier put his arm around the proud dapsle and assured her that he could swim and that he would save her. Her mother was on her knees asking for absolution from the bishop who was blessing the waves and ordering them to be calm, but was thinking only of his concubine, of where he was going to. The rage old prostitute cried out, oh, if I could only hear the voice of the priest saying to me, your sins are forgiven you. I could believe him. The stranger turned toward her and said, have faith and you will be saved. When the ship almost in view of where the destination was driving him back through the convulsions of the storm that it began to sink, the stranger stood up. He walked with firm steps on the waves, saying, as he did so, those that have faith shall be saved. Let them follow me. At once the young mother took up her child in her arms and walked with him on the sea. Then followed the soldier and the old prostitute and the two peasants. And last of all came one of the sailors, Thomas, whose faith wavered, who sank several times into the sea. But after three failures, he walked with the rest of them. The merchant went down with his gold. The man of science, who mocked, was swallowed up by the sea. The damsel and her lover, the bishop and the old lady, went to the bottom, heavy with their sins. But those who had faith followed the stranger, and they trod with him firmly to dry feet from the raging waters. And at length they reached the shore, and the stranger led them to a fisherman's cabin, where a light flickered in the window. And when they had all come in and were gathered about the fire, then the savior disappeared. Those that have faith, let them follow me. Can you walk on the sea? Anyone can walk on land, but can you walk on the sea? What is your sea? Is it a sea of sickness? Is it a sea of loneliness? Is it a sea of disappointment? Is it a sea of pain? Is it a sea of sorrow? Is it a sea of temptation? You can walk on it if you will. Will you make Peter's prayer? Bid me to come unto thee on the water. In the calm and in the storm, he will not forsake his children. Through Jesus, we learn that God is no nameless dread to fear, nor ghostly apparition, but a father to be loved who desires to bring each one of to life's true destiny. Father, Help us to stand strong with our prayers are not being answered. Help us not to lose heart, but to rather to continue to grow in faith that as we enter the narrow gate by receiving you, but Lord, we know that we need your help to stay on that narrow path that you have for each and every one of us. Help us to stand against all temptation. To disobey you would be harmful. Enable us to be the one of the few who finds all that we have to follow after you Because Lord your scripture reminds us Be strong in the Lord and the power of his might Thank you father that in my weakness you empower us that you share your power with whom you love I know that Lord, that God, that Lord help us in our times of being afraid. When we feel weak and when we feel the weakest, when you will show yourself strongest on our behalf, that we draw on your power and strength and we move forward to fearlessness, to do your will, to stand strong in all that we know for you to do. Father, thank you so much. Thank you for giving us this opportunity. Thank you, Father, for giving us a message a message, the ghostly apparition that saved the disciples. And I pray now, Lord, as this message goes out, that you'll help us to be more like you in everything that we do, all that we say, Father. We pray, God, take this message out to People's Valley, to Facebook, and to Sermon Audio, and continue to bless them in Jesus' marvelous, mighty name.