Burley W. Moore-Bible Teacher

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Volume 16, Number 2 April Spring 2021

Keeping Your Eyes on Jesus

“And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. 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. But 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. 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 straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; 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. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.” (Matt. 14:22-33)

Introduction

In the 14^th chapter of Matthew, Jesus begins preparing His “disciples” for the coming crisis of His crucifixion in Jerusalem. Following the death of John the Baptist, Jesus withdrew Himself “into a desert place” to rest (v.13), but was “followed by a “great multitude” of people (v.14). Being “moved with compassion,” Jesus ministered to this crowed of “5,000 men besides women and children” (v.21) miraculously feeding them from “5 loaves and 2 fishes” (v.17). After Jesus felt that the needs of the “multitude” were adequately met, He continued on His destination to solitude. One reason why Jesus was so anxious to dismiss the crowd was no doubt because they wanted to make Him “king” (Jh. 6:15). There is no question that Christ will someday reign eternally as “King of kings” (I Tim. 6:15), but at this time it was premature for Him to assume such a role prior to fulfilling His mission as the Suffering Servant. When Jesus is made “King” it will be by the will of God and not by the will of man. It was in solitude that Jesus would spend time getting mentally, physically, and spiritually refreshed. I’m reminded of what Vance Havner once said, “if we don’t come apart and rest, then we’ll come apart.” It’s important for everyone to occasionally find time for rest and a change of pace from the everyday pressures of life. If Jesus, the sinless Son of God, sensed His need for private communion with the Father, insomuch the more should we.

Scripture names numerous individuals whom we consider to be spiritual giants. Not only does God tell us about their greatness, but also about their weaknesses. Elijah was one of two men in the Old Testament who was raptured, but there was a time in his life when his faith grew so weak that he ran from Jezebel. David was the greatest king of Israel, but he was not allowed to build the temple because of his wartime killings. Solomon was recognized as the world’s wisest man, but his heathen wives turned his heart from the Lord. Peter was the bravest of the 12 disciples, but he denied Christ 3 times before the cock crowed. Paul was one of the greatest New Testament preachers, but there was a time when he wasn’t forgiving of John Mark. Regardless of who the human personality may be, no mere mortal man will meet all your expectations. It’s been said, “expect great things from God, but beware of how much you expect from people.” The finest Christian on the face of the earth will disappoint you if you look at him or her long enough. Therefore, we need to learn how to keep our eyes on Jesus because He alone is God’s all perfect standard of holiness. He alone is God Who came to earth in human flesh to atone for our sins on the cross and satisfy His righteous demands against sinners. Christ left the portals of Glory to subject Himself to this sin cursed earth. That’s what it means when Scripture declares that He can “be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). This means that just as we will face many crisis’s in our lives, so did Christ. Being Sovereign God in human “flesh” (Jh. 1:14), did not make Him exempt from times of crisis, pain, and suffering, but it teaches us how to face and live through one crisis after another.

Keep Your Eyes on Jesus Because He Deserves Your Attention (v. 22-26)

Throughout His life, Jesus proved that He was Sovereign God come down from Heaven in a body of human “flesh.” Above all, when He died on a cruel cross, His body was buried in a borrowed tomb and on the third day, He did what no other person has ever done or ever will do. HE AROSE! YES! HALLELULJAH! CHRIST AROSE AND LIVES FOREVER AS OUR VICTOR OVER SIN DEATH HELL AND THE GRAVE! In our text, we have just one of many instances of Him being Deity because only our Creator God has and can grant the ability to walk on water.

“While” sending “the multitudes away,” Jesus “constrained his disciple to get into a ship and go before him” so that He could go “into the mountain apart to pray.” Being “alone” with the Father on the “mountain” pictures the present intercessory ministry of Jesus as our Great High Priest (Rom. 8:26, 32-34). It was during a time of intercession when Jesus became aware of His disciple’s danger. Today, the “born again” (Jh. 3:3) believer can rest assured that whenever we’re in a time of crisis, difficulty, trial, or trouble, our Mediator is holding us up to the Father. We need to note that this story occurred “in the 4^th watch of the night.” That means it was between the hours of 3 AM and 6 AM in the morning. Instead of being at home in bed asleep, Jesus was on a “mountain” praying and the “disciples” were being “tossed” about in a “ship.” Knowing the plight of His “disciples,” Jesus left the “mountain” and is seen “walking on the sea.”

The Sea of Galilee was notorious for having its waters quickly disturbed by sudden gales of wind that would sweep down from between the mountains. Just because these men were Christ’s “disciples” didn’t make them immune or exempt from the storms of life. In fact, Jesus knew the dangers that would befall them, but He sent them out “into a ship” so that He might demonstrate His watch-care and keeping over them. After a time of testing and trial, Jesus appeared to rescue and bless His frightened followers. Like these “disciples” of the past, current day “disciples” of Christ will be exposed to many different types of crisis, difficulties, trials, and dangers. Life in itself is a voyage wherein we’ll encounter many stormy situations. The hymn writer expressed it well when he penned the song, The Haven of Rest. “My soul in sad exile was out on life’s sea, So burdened with sin and distressed, Till I heard a sweet voice saying, Make me your choice, And I entered the Haven of Rest. I yielded myself to His tender embrace, And faith taking hold of the Word, My fetters fell off, and I anchored my soul; The Haven of Rest is my Lord. I’ve anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest, I’ll sail the wide seas no more; The tempest may sweep o’er the wild stormy deep; In Jesus I’m safe evermore.”

Don’t ever forget that for a Christian, our storms of trial are designed by God to discipline our “faith,” just like it was for the “disciples” in our text. In their moment of despair, Jesus showed up “walking on the sea.” However, with it being dark, they couldn’t tell at first that it was Jesus and thought it to be “a spirit.” In all likelihood, they probably thought they were staring death in the face and associated this “spirit” with a catastrophe that was about to overtake them on the “sea.” There are times, even with us, when we think Jesus is so far away, But, just in the “nick of time” Jesus appears as our lifeboat on the storm “tossed” sea. There is a passage of Scripture in Hebrews 4:16 that reads, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Notice these last few words, “help in time of need” which can literally be translated to mean “help in the nick of time.” When the Israelites were about to be overtaken by Pharaoh, God provided “help in the nick of time.” When the widow of Zarephath was preparing her last meal, God provided “help in the nick of time.” When the disciples were about to drown, God provided “help in the nick of time.”

Keep Your Eyes on Jesus Because He Desires Your Attention v.27-31

The “disciples” in our text were privileged to see Jesus with their physical eyes, but even today when Jesus cannot be seen with the physical eye, He must be seen with the eyes of “faith” because “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb. 11:6). Herein is a reminder that this kind of “faith” is a “gift of God” (Eph. 2:8-9). It wasn’t until the “disciples” heard the “voice” of Jesus that they recognized Him (Jh. 10:4-5). When “Jesus spake unto them” His “voice” broke through the darkness of the night. We must remember that for whatever the reason, “Mary” didn’t recognize Jesus after His resurrection until He called her name (Jh. 20:16). God’s people should be so familiar with God’s “voice” that they can readily identify it. God’s voice today can be heard from His Written Word and it is always comforting and reassuring to His people. His “voice” brings “cheer” to the downcast and calms the fears of those who are “afraid.”

Realizing that it was Jesus on the “sea … Peter” was no longer fearful and even requested permission to walk “on the water” to meet Him. Once Jesus issued the invitation to “come,” the impulsive “Peter” boldly began his miraculous walk. As long as he kept his eyes on Jesus, “Peter” was able to accomplish the impossible, but when he took his eyes off Jesus and “saw the boisterous wind” then he became “afraid” again and began “to sink.” Today, are we as professing Christians, looking at the circumstances or at the God of the circumstances? Anytime we look away from the very object of our “faith,” we’ll lose the necessary strength to stay afloat. The secret to overcoming life’s problems and getting through one crisis after another is keep looking to Jesus. Therefore, I call your attention to another old song that says, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.” What a person looks at will tell a great deal about his inward condition (Heb. 12:2a). Lot’s wife looked back, craving the land of Sodom and turned into a pillar of salt. Pharaoh looked at the departing Israelites and his army perished in the Red Sea.

Looking to Jesus, “Peter” cried out for the “Lord” to “save” him from drowning. It pleases God for us to call out to Him acknowledging our need of Him. Very graciously Jesus responded to Peter’s cry for help even though his “faith” had proven weak. “Peter” wasn’t charged with having no “faith,” but “little faith.” Although Peter’s “faith” was sincere, it was imperfect, just like yours and mine on this side of Heaven. His sin was not a failure to make a profession of “faith” but in the weakness of his profession. It’s easy to step out in “faith” but then take our eyes off the “Lord” when the going gets tough. Looking at anything other than Jesus will cause “doubt” to arise and fear to overtake the soul. If we can trust Jesus with our eternal destiny, then why can’t we trust Him during this short earthly journey to see us through the storms of life? “Peter” needed to grow in His love and trust in his “Lord” just like every Christian needs to do. In fact, he went on to write about knowing firsthand what it meant to trust the Lord when he wrote “casting all your care upon Him for He careth for you” (I Pet. 5:7).

Keep Your Eyes on Jesus Because He Delights in Your Attention (v.32-33)

When Jesus entered the “ship,” the “wind ceased.” The ragging storms pounding against the walls of your soul can only be overcome by the sweet peace of God’s presence. Despite the outward circumstances of life, a Christian can know internal “joy” through the indwelling Holy Spirit (Gal. 6:22). Having been delivered from the tempestuous “sea,” made the “disciples” sensitive to the deity of Christ. Their reaction to His mighty deliverance was that they “worshipped him.” Worship is not merely sitting in a church building an hour a week. It’s the giving of adoration, praise, honor, and glory to God in total commitment, including what you do on the Lord’s Day. Other than the Lord Jesus Christ there is no one else to whom “worship” is due (Jh. 4:23-26). We need to note in our text, that Jesus did not refuse their worship nor did He rebuke them for declaring that He is the “Son of God.” It delights the “Lord” for us to acknowledge and show gratitude for all that He has done, is doing, and has promised to do for “His people” (Matt. 1:21).

Closing

This present age will be one of storms and crisis after crisis for the collective church as well as for individual believers. As I write this edition of “The Traveling Pulpit” we can look back over the past twelve months and see a stormy crisis like none of us have ever witnessed before. The Covid-19 pandemic that covered the world did not surprise our Sovereign God. Through it all, He had a plan and purpose that we may never know. It certainly changed the meeting plans of many local churches and altered our manner of gatherings. With all the many deaths recorded, it ought to have caused a lost world to think about dying and their need of being prepared to meet God face to face in judgment. For the Christian, it should have reminded us of our mortality and the purpose for which our Lord has left us upon earth to serve as His witness.

Every believer must spiritually grow in “faith” (I Jh. 5:4) and learn how to walk on the “water” of life’s conflicts if we are to be spiritually victorious. When Paul went to Rome to bear witness for Christ, he went to walk on the “water.” When Martin Luther proclaimed the doctrine of Grace to the Roman Catholic Church, he went to walk on the “water.” But, don’t forget that it takes just as much “faith” to walk on calm “water” as it does on a storm tossed “sea” (Rom. 14:23). Therefore, looking at life’s circumstances can be depressing and cause us to be “afraid” if we take our eyes off Jesus. But, looking unto Jesus will give us “faith” to face the circumstances and realize that “we are more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Rom. 8:37). Don’t ever take your eyes off Jesus. ..........................Because of His Sovereign Grace…………………………..BWM

……………………………..BWM