Take your Bibles and turn to the book of Mark, chapter number six. It's amazing how you hear this in me anyway, I guess, same for everybody. You hear songs, even songs you've heard a lot, and then things just jump out at you. Like, I cried, come heal my broken spirit. There's a lot of broken spirits in this world, aren't there? And a lot of broken people. They're looking for answers in all of the wrong places. There's great healing in the Savior, is it not? And that's the answer, and there's victory there. Amen, appreciate that song. Mark chapter number six, we're gonna look at a familiar portion of scripture. I should say, I mentioned the meat, it wasn't just me smoking it, that's where I got the sunburn, but I appreciate Brother Devin Bard's help with that and some guy on YouTube. If I knew his name, I'd tell you, but without either one of them, it wouldn't have happened today. So it's amazing the things you can learn on YouTube. If you're looking for the blue wispy spoke, it's just things I know now that I'll never forget. But I do appreciate Brother Devin's help. But Mark chapter number six, we're gonna look at a very familiar miracle here, but something that I think can help us a little bit this evening. In verse number 45, and straightway, So Mark 6, verse 45, and straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people. And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray. And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. And he saw them toiling and rowing, for the wind was contrary unto them. And about the fourth watch of the night, he came unto them walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out, for they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid. And he went up unto them into the ship, and the wind ceased, and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. Let's pray. Lord, please help us now as we take a look at the word of God together this evening. Lord, you have a message here for us, for each person. I'm convinced of that, that in your word, in any given passage, you've got a message for anybody who's willing to hear and listen. Please help us this evening to rightly divide the scriptures in Jesus' name. Amen. As I've already said, this is probably one of the most famous miracles in all of the Bible. It's one that you kind of, you know, even people who don't know much about the Lord or, you know, the Bible or been in church much, they've kind of probably heard something about Jesus walking on the water and really his even historically it carries with it a bit of controversy because it's one of those things that folks who just have a hard time just taking the Bible for what it says sometimes want to go at and try to explain away and try to make it well maybe it was this I mean you know you come across writers you know about maybe he was writing, you know, the shore extended and the shallow water, whatever it was, but the Bible, not just once, but there's three accounts of this in the four gospels. There's Matthew, Mark, and John that give the account of this, and it says he walked on the water. Now, I just believe he walked on the water. I don't think that should be controversy to anybody who's willing to just believe the Lord. I'll just say, just kind of, just, dovetailing in with the song there and just the thought that I shared with you that hit me out of the song. It's a much greater miracle that he can heal broken spirits than that he can walk on the water. So if you've been saved, it shouldn't be a problem to believe that he walked on the water because saving you and saving me is a much greater miracle than him doing that. So I have, this preacher has no problem believing what the Bible says that Jesus walked on the water here. And so here he is, and he has come to his disciples in this story that plays out. The timing here is kind of interesting, and it really fits in with the story. We'll get to it towards the end and how this ties together. The timing of this seems to be immediately after the 5,000 were fed. Now, when you look in the Scriptures, in the account, in the way it's given, at verse 44, they are kind of cleaning up from the feeding of the 5,000. And I'll tell you that had to be a lot of work to feed 5,000 even though the food was there just distributing it to it. I mean we I'm tired and it was only like 35 teenagers that we that we fed. I mean 5,000 people would be a lot to take care of and it's quite a a big endeavor that they were on. And have you ever been a part of a big day like that? Sometimes in the ministry, like working in Central Baptist Church and what we do, there are certain days that we have where it's just an intense many different many hours of the day it's just it's a special event or you know people are visiting the property like a leadership conference or something and it's an all-day endeavor and when they when they leave Not that you're glad to see them go, but there's a bit of relief of, ah, it's over, and it went okay, it went well, and Pastor Brown always has a famous way of looking at it. He'll always say, it'll be midnight soon. I'm not getting it exactly right. It's fleeing me, but something like, it'll be midnight soon, in other words, It'll be midnight. It'll be over. Whatever happens, happens. If it goes smoothly, it does. If it doesn't, it doesn't. And you know, sometimes you need that to get through it. There's not, not normally at the end of those days do I think, all right, now I'm going to go get in a boat. It'd be great to go get in a boat and row for seven miles. That's never crossed my mind immediately afterward. But the Bible says in verse 45, and straightway he constrained. So it seems like that day, it was an immediate type of event. Now the book of Mark is written in a very fast-paced, sort of writing, and Mark moves along quickly and covers a lot of things. If you wanna compare Mark to the other Gospels, you know, Matthew will talk about something in chapter four and Mark will be in chapter one still, and I mean, he's just boom, boom, boom, buzzing through things, but it seems like this all happened very tight together, all perhaps even in the same day, it seems very clear in the same day, and he says, and straightway he constrained his disciples. So they had just finished this up, You can imagine they were very tired. And then they are constrained, the Bible says, talk more about that in a minute, to get in this boat to a road to the other side. From what I understand from studying it out, seems like it would be about at least a seven mile trip across this body of water that they were going to. And so there they go. And in the middle of it, they're gonna hit this storm. Now, remember, what were, when you think about the disciples of Jesus, what was one of the dominant occupations of those men? Fishermen, right? They were men who understood the water, they understood boats, they understood all of those things, and I can just imagine that they probably had some opinions about whether or not they should go or not. But they went and that storm hit them. You know, they had a way, now I'm sure they weren't always accurate then either, but they had ways of kind of telling, hey, what's the weather gonna be like? You know, what's it, you know, certain things that would indicate to them. And so I don't know if there were indicators to them or not as to what the weather might be like, but they did what they were asked to do and they got in this boat and they start to row across and If you compare it to the John account, it gives a measurement of how far they went. They spend most of the night. They only make it about half the way. The wind is fighting against them and they're dealing with all of this. And then Jesus comes walking on the water to them. And he the bible says he would have acted as if he would go past them, but they cried out they were afraid They didn't know what was going on. Jesus comes to him steps in the boat takes care of the storm and gets him safely to the other side mark and John leave out what might be the most famous part of the story, which is peter getting out of the boat walking on the water so we're not we're going to leave poor peter alone this evening, but That happened and Matthew tells us about that. But I want you to notice some things walking through this story this evening that I think might can help us and might can encourage us but also challenge us and really maybe get our minds and hearts where they need to be. First of all, I want you to notice out of this that they were constrained. That's a word the Bible uses here and it's used in other places to describe how they got in this situation. The Bible says straightway, he, that's Jesus, constrained his disciples. This indicates a sense of urgency. The word constrained means to, if you dig into it, figure out what it's talking about, it means to necessitate or compel. In other words, there wasn't really an option given. It wasn't, gentlemen, would you like to make camp here on the shore? Or would you like to go ahead and press on in your journey and go to the other side? We'll take a vote on it here and see. That's not how it worked. Not from the indication of how Scripture stated. The Savior told them, this is what I want you to do. I want you to get in this boat and I want you to go to the other side. So then that leads us to understand that Jesus then sent them into a bad situation. Now you can be super spiritual. So, oh, Brother Boyle, obviously since the Savior sent them there, you cannot call it a bad situation. From a human standpoint, it was a bad situation. I've been on the water a little bit, mainly fresh water. not a lot of salt water but I remember one time being taken out on the Long Island Sound to the race there where the tide starts coming in and it was not a large boat and I'll never forget being in fairly calm water there in the Sound looking what looked like from here to the back of the building you could see waves that were when they were coming our way and these waves look like they would swallow the boat and we're and we're we're fishing and the guy that I'm with I'm just trusting that he knows what he's doing and he he looks up goes oh we better move and I'm the only all right I yeah we better and you know the goal was to stay on the good side of the tide and let it push the bait fish in and catch and And I remember, I mean, it's a little unsettling. It's a lot unsettling to be in a situation like that. So Jesus then sent them into what, as humans, we would say is a bad situation. Say, really, is that true? It's hard for us to think that maybe sometimes we would be constrained to go into something that we see as not a good situation. But I want you to consider this. Either Jesus did not realize that there would be a storm. But you understand that's not the case. He is God in flesh. The Bible in the book of John identifies him as creator. I think Jesus knew there was going to be a storm. Or you would have to assume that he knew there would be a storm, but he just gave them foolish advice. But we know that that's not the case either. So what do we have to conclude here? Is that Jesus knew about the storm, but he still sent them into that storm because it was part of his plan for them. You know, it's hard sometimes for people to wrap their mind around the concept of why would God allow me to go through this, but yet he does at times. He allows us to deal with the things of life, like in this case, men who are fishermen, who are on a boat, who are used to that, know about storms. He allows us to deal with these things for a purpose so that ultimately he can be further honored and further glorified through our life. It's a reminder that God's chief, The chief purpose for me in my life here on this earth is not for me to be comfortable at my optimum point. I like to be comfortable. I like air conditioning, and I like pillows, and I like the padded pews we've talked about. I like being comfortable. But you know what, that's not the main goal of my life, to be comfortable. The main goal of my life as a believer should be that God gets the optimum glory that he can through me while I'm here on this earth. And sometimes that might involve me confronting something that I would rather not confront. Given the state and the status of these men, they were tired. And you have to appreciate them just physically here for what they were doing. Dealing with the feeding of the 5,000, they had been out in the wilderness on their feet, getting in that boat, rowing and going, even if it was calm, just being able to deal with that and handle that and get to the other, with a goal of getting to the other side, that's quite a feat, quite an endeavor. And on top of that, a storm came, and the Bible tells us that Jesus constrained them. In other words, It was part of his plan for them to face that storm head on so that he could get honor and he could get glory through what was done. What's your main goal this evening? To be comfortable or to give him glory? You know, there's a lot of folks on mission fields around the world that aren't necessarily very comfortable, but they're doing what God gave them to do. You know, we have missionaries who went to a mission field and they weren't there that long, and an uprising, an insurgency took place. And you know, as humans, sometimes that can cause us to start to question things, can't it? Oh, I knew they shouldn't have gone over there. I knew they shouldn't have tried that. Sometimes people will commit themselves in a way to the Lord, an area of their life to the Lord, and it will involve them, things won't go so smoothly. And the immediate reaction is, oh, I don't know if I should have tried this or not. I don't know if I should have done this or not. No, it might just be that you were constrained by our Savior, and it was His will and His purpose for you to go through and to deal with it. So not only were they constrained, I want you to notice, secondly, right here in this story, not only were they constrained, but they also were watched. They were watched. Verse number 46. When He had sent them away, He departed into a mountain to pray. And when he was come, and when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea and he alone on the land. And he saw them toiling and rowing. He saw them toiling and rowing. How did he see them? What does this mean? Well, I think that his seeing them here is a testimony to his deity, to who he was. I don't think it's just he was on a good lookout point and saw them. Notice all the factors that are at play here. The Bible tells us that he was on land and they were in the sea. The Bible tells us, and if you look at the John account, that he gives a measurement that they were about 25 to 30 furlongs out, which figures to approximately three and a half miles. They were not only in the sea and he was on land, but they were far out there in this sea and he was on the land. On top of that, it was dark. The Bible says, when even was come. He would walk to them, the Bible says, during the fourth watch of the night, that correlates to three o'clock in the morning. It's hard to see in front of you at three o'clock in the morning. It's not hard for us because there's lights everywhere. But if you've ever been anywhere where there are no lights, I'm glad for the lights. I'm glad they're there. I was one time plowing the parking lot. It was that huge storm we had. We got like 30 plus inches all at once. And the truck got stuck and it couldn't plow anymore. And I was on the end of the Spring Street driveway. I got the truck down there, and I thought, okay, if I'm here, at least I'm close to the road, maybe we can dig it out in the morning. And it was dark in the middle of the night, and I got out, and I mean, it was snowing. I don't think I've ever seen it snow that hard. And I start walking back, and I start thinking about those old stories of the farmers, you know, who walk to their barn, and they die trying to get back, because they can't get back to their house. But thankfully, thankfully, There was a light I could see at the end of the gym. And I thought, all right, if I can make it there, at least I'll be there. And so I'm glad for it. But if that wasn't there, it would have been scary. It would have been dark. So the fact that he saw them here meant that he was showing, he was letting them know. He was seeing something that they didn't think he could see. They were being watched here in a careful way by one who cared for them, even though they felt detached from him. He knew right where they were and exactly what they needed. Remember that. He knew right where they were and he knew exactly what they needed. And he would go to them. Now, it almost seems, it almost reads like he saw them at a certain time, but he didn't necessarily immediately go to them. And that wouldn't be inconsistent either. You remember in John chapter number 11? They got word that Lazarus was sick. Did Jesus immediately go? No, he didn't. He delayed his timing, why? Well, remember, what does this show us about him? It shows us that he is more than a man, that he is God, and that his timing is always then right. He would come to them, he would pass by their boat, and it would not be a moment too early, and it would also not be a moment too late. Isn't that the hardest areas that we have to trust the Lord? When we think it should happen now, But God says, no, it's not going to happen now, it's going to happen then, and we just think it's going to be too late. But just tell me right now, I mean, don't tell me, but just think, in your life, there's a lot of folks in here who've lived the Christian life, folks listening online, has God ever been late? Once, has he ever been late? There's not a believer that can honestly say, yeah, he was late that one time and boy, he really messed things up. No, he knew exactly when he needed to show up in order for his plan to be carried out, in order for his purpose to be carried out. He knew exactly where they were and what they were dealing with. There's a lot of folks in despair about various things in any given time. I mean, it can be that way. Remember this, there's a God in heaven who sees you And he will do exactly what needs to be done when it needs to be done, not a moment too early and not a moment too late. I won't turn there, but the book of Habakkuk phrases it this way. It's a little turn of a phrase. He says, though he tarry, he will not tarry. It's almost a seeming contradiction, but it's not. It's a play on words saying he won't be a minute too early, but he also will not be a minute too late. Why? Because he's God, he knows the perfect timing. And so they're there in the middle of this storm, in the middle, the Bible says they are toiling in rowing. It's a very difficult thing that they are involved in, and Jesus is able to watch them. Hold your finger there. Turn to Matthew chapter number six really quickly. It reminds you of what Jesus said. I wonder, now these men, they had heard this message, I wonder how many of them lived up to its truth. Therefore I say unto you, verse 25, take no thought for your life. You think there was anybody on that boat taking thought for their life in that moment? He says, take no thought for your life what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor yet for your body what you shall put on. Is not the life more than meat and the body more than raiment? He said, don't take thought for your life, because there's more than just you. There's more to it than what you're worried about. Behold, the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you, by taking thought, can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow and they toil not, neither do they spin. And yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothed the grass of the field, What's he telling us there? Hey, if I can watch and know all the birds, and I can watch and take care of all of the flowers and the grass of the field, don't you think that I am capable of watching out for you? Could it be that when we are doubting what is going to happen in a given circumstance that we are really doubting whether or not God is capable of doing what needs to be done? So here these men were, toiling and rolling, but they were being watched. They were being watched by one who cared. There's a part of this that I don't completely fully grasp, but I like it. Look at in verse number 50, this is when Jesus comes walking to them and says, for they all saw him and were troubled. They didn't know what they were seeing, and I don't think you or I would have fully grasped it either. We've never seen anybody walk on water like this. But immediately he talked with them and saith unto them, be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid. Now I think that this conversation had to be a little bit interesting, because I don't think it was done at like room inside climate controlled environment level. It was a storm, there was wind going on. I imagine there was some sort of elevation of the voice in order to be heard. But the Bible tells us before that, in verse 49, before he even spoke to them, they saw him, and he supposed he was gonna walk by. And they were afraid, and they cried because they were afraid. They didn't necessarily cry out, Lord, please help us, because they didn't really recognize it was the Lord. They just cried out in fear. But you know what? He still responded. You know, a parent that has a child, there's two different kinds of cries. Mom, Dad, I need you. And then there is that cry that is not specific, but it is an alarm that says they need me, and which a good parent, you know what, they respond to both, don't they? They respond when that blood-curdling scream comes from the other room and the child is too distraught to even know what to cry out for and yet they respond because they know that that tugs at the heart in a certain way and they know a response is needed here. These men were crying out and they didn't know exactly what they needed, but Jesus, he came to them. The book of Hebrews says that he is able to succor them who are tempted. He comes to us in our time of tempting. He comes to us in our time of trial and tribulation, just like he came to them here on the water and in this time of storm. When he greets them, he does not chastise them, but he greets them with pleasantries. He says to them, be of good cheer. It is I, be not afraid. Almost like if he had run into them in the marketplace. Be of good cheer, a greeting. It is I, be not afraid. You see, it was a reminder that they were watched, moving quickly here. Thirdly, they were amazed, verse 51. He went up to them in the ship and the wind ceased and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure and wondered. They had witnessed something that they had never witnessed before. They saw something and they didn't know what to do with it. You know, the believer who has a dynamic walk with the Lord will never reach a point where they have seen everything that Jesus can do. And they realized here, and then when you start putting it all together, just if we stopped right here, you put all this together, If there had been no rowing into the storm, there would be no seeing exactly the levels that God was capable of going to deliver His children, and thereby increasing and bolstering their faith. But I wanna go to a fourth thing in a verse that we did not read in our opening, but it's right here and it ties all of this together and I want you to notice this. They were chastised. Now, they were chastised here publicly to us and later they're going to be in the same way chastised in another situation, but look at verse number 52 and here was the chastisement. It says, for they considered not the miracle of the loaves, for their heart was hardened. So now it all starts to come together. Jesus had just fed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fishes. They had just seen that take place, had they not? I mean, it was recent that it had taken place. What should that do to one's faith? We just saw you feed a crowd of thousands of people with a little boy's lunch of five loaves and two fishes. All right, fellas, go get in the boat. We're gonna see if you've learned anything in class today. And they get in the boat. and they're in the boat and the storm comes and they get afraid and they get terrified and apparently not one person in that boat went, hey fellas, just relax, Jesus just fed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fishes, I'm sure this will all work out. As a matter of fact, it says this, their hearts were hardened. How quickly can a heart become hardened? How quickly can we forget what God has done for us in the past, and how that should be proof and evidence that he can do it again in the future. We just need to trust him. Say, oh, I am nervous about something that's taking place. Oh, what's going to happen? What's gonna happen to our country? What's gonna happen in our world? Has the Lord never worked before? Is he not capable of working again? Could it be that these times of doubt and even confusion, and I'm just pulling this from the scripture, come not from just normal humanity, but it comes from a heart that has been hardened towards the things of the Lord. See, that's our tendency. We've always got to guard against it. If the disciples can, in just a matter of hours, forget the lesson of the five loaves and the two fishes to where it meant nothing to them in the middle of the sea, then you know what? You and I need to be careful. that we don't forget the things that God has already done for us in the past. There have been many people that get angry and bitter at the Lord because they don't like how something is going in the moment. And they never think to look back and take inventory of all the things that he has done in the past and let that be a testimony to them that you know what, he did it then, he can do it now as well. They had a hard time getting it, but I suspect it's because it's something that we all have a hard time getting. Look at Mark chapter eight quickly. We're almost done here. Mark chapter eight, it's almost like Jesus said, all right, they didn't get it the first time, we need to do it again. And in Mark chapter number eight, you know what he does? He feeds 4,000. Similar story, different details, but similar stories. A big crowd is fed with a few. He begins to teach his disciples afterwards about beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and they had not eaten bread themselves, and they start questioning, is he kinda getting on us because we haven't eaten bread? In Jesus, verse 17, when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, why reason ye, because ye have no bread? Perceive ye not, neither understand? Have ye your heart yet hardened? There it is again. The disciples, hardened hearts, soon after the Lord had done something for them. Verse 18, having eyes you see not, and having ears you hear not, and do ye not remember when I break, verse 19, when I break the five loaves among 5,000, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They said unto him, 12, and when the seven, 4,000, how many baskets, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, seven. He said unto them, how is it that you do not understand? Has the Lord ever done anything in your life before? Of course he has. Then why worry about what might be that you can't really control? If he constrains you to go through it, you know what, he's got a plan for it. So I don't understand the plan. We don't even have to understand the plan. Is it clear now that God had a plan for sending them through this? He did. If nothing else, He knew that, you know, in May 2021 at Central Baptist Church, they would open to this passage and there would be things that we would learn from it. There was lots of purposes for them to go through this. But for them individually, they needed to learn that the God who had provided for them yesterday is the same God that will provide for them today, and you know what? It's the same God that will provide for them tomorrow. They don't have to worry about it. They don't have to fret and fear about it. Why is your heart hardened, he said. You know, it's easy to get that hardened heart, isn't it? The scripture just calls it like it is, does it not? That seems kind of harsh almost. I mean, you understand what these guys had just gone through? Yep, and they did it with a hard heart. I don't want to do it with a hard heart. We shouldn't want to do it with a hard heart. You know, I could go back, just thinking about this message and preparing for it, thinking about it. You know, I thought about some things that the Lord has done for me in the past. And that helps me to remember because there's a lot of the future that I don't know what is gonna happen, but I know he did it in the past. If I know he did it in the past, I know he can do it today, and I know he'll do it tomorrow. I just need to make sure I'm in his boat, make sure that I'm toiling at the right things, So I don't even think I'm making great progress. They didn't make great progress, that's not the point. Make sure I'm in his boat, make sure I'm toiling in the right things, and know that he is capable of doing exactly what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, exactly how it needs to be done. I don't know exactly who this might be for tonight, I suspect it's for us all in some way. But maybe tonight you just need to you know, in a quiet moment, whether you write it down or think about it, just think back about putting inventory together some things God's done for you in the past. Because you'll never know when you'll find yourself in the midst of a storm somewhere, and you don't want to do so with a hardened heart. That was the problem these men faced, and God was going to send them through it again until that heart was softened, until it was ready to use, until he could do with them what he needed to do, and I'm thankful that he did. Dear Lord, we thank you for this day.