October is “Pastor Appreciation Month,” so I’d like to express my gratitude to King Jesus, our Chief Shepherd, for the ministry of my human pastor, Ryan Cochran.
God has blessed Pastor Ryan with the gift of teaching. He has a knack for explaining biblical truth in a way that benefits believers at all levels of spiritual growth. What Thomas Spurgeon (son of Charles Spurgeon) wrote of the book Pilgrim’s Progress can be said of Ryan’s preaching ministry: “Here is milk for babes and meat for men . . . Moreover, the meat is such that the ‘babes’ will enjoy a taste of it, and the ‘men’ will be all the better for a sip or two of milk.”
On January 26, 2020 Pastor Ryan preached a sermon entitled “Following Jesus in Sorrow and Stress” at Broadway Christian Church (Fort Wayne, Indiana). It’s my favorite sermon of 2020 and contains a powerful look at Matthew 14:13-33 – the account of two of Jesus’ best-known miracles: the feeding of the 5,000 and the walking on water. Pastor Ryan makes a compelling presentation of how Jesus did these miracles for the spiritual growth of Jesus’ disciples (and us).
Several “discipleship lessons” are drawn from the passage:
1 – The importance of rest and solitude
2 – Offer what we have to Jesus for His glory
3 – Take a risk
4 – Remember who we are trusting
It is this fourth lesson that I’d like to focus on, because this is my favorite part of the sermon. Listening to this exaltation of Jesus made my spirit soar into the heavenly realms, for the deity of Christ is described in a way that makes one of Scripture’s most important teachings (Jesus is God) also one of its most practical teachings (because He is God, we can trust Him in times of sorrow and stress).
To set the context, let’s read Matthew 14:25-33.
25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” 29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” 32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
The following is a transcript of the 4th discipleship lesson: Remember who we are trusting.
Pastor Ryan’s comments:
“This is the first time the disciples worshipped Jesus in the gospel of Matthew. Throughout the gospel, up to this point, they have been amazed by Him. They have committed their lives to Him. They give praise to God when they see Him do amazing things. They watch Him heal people. But here, they worship Him.
They offer Jesus something they know only God can receive. And Jesus receives it.
The story of Jesus walking on the water is a revelation of who Jesus is. Matthew was a brilliant story teller . . . with divine help. That’s a great combination for a story like this.
This story reveals to the disciples and to us that Jesus was more than a great teacher. He was more than the smartest person who has ever lived. He was more than a miracle worker. He was more than the Messiah. He is all of those things. And He is God in the flesh. The Creator of heaven and earth climbed back into the boat with Peter . . . and they worshipped Him.
Throughout the Old Testament there is only One who has power over the sea, and it is God the Creator.
Job 9:4-10 says this:
4 His wisdom is profound, his power is vast. Who has resisted him and come out unscathed?
5 He moves mountains without their knowing it and overturns them in his anger.
6 He shakes the earth from its place and makes its pillars tremble.
7 He speaks to the sun and it does not shine; he seals off the light of the stars.
8 He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.
9 He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.
10 He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.
Psalm 77 says this:
16 The waters saw you, God, the waters saw you and writhed;
the very depths were convulsed.
17 The clouds poured down water, the heavens resounded with thunder;
your arrows flashed back and forth.
18 Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, your lightning lit up the world;
the earth trembled and quaked.
19 Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters,
though your footprints were not seen.
And Psalm 107 says this:
23 Some went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters.
24 They saw the works of the Lord, his wonderful deeds in the deep.
25 For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves.
26 They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;
in their peril their courage melted away.
27 They reeled and staggered like drunkards; they were at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress.
29 He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven.
Throughout the Old Testament, there is only One who has power over the sea, and it is God the Creator.
Then there is another example of Matthew revealing who Jesus is. Right in the middle of this passage, when Jesus and Peter are having this conversation, Jesus says to them, “Take courage. It is I.” In Greek that is “Ego eimi” – which is, “I am.”
“Take courage. I am.”
The name that God gave to Moses at the burning bush was “I am.” When Moses asked God for His name before going to lead His people out of Egypt, God said, “My name is ‘I am.’ ” And in this story of Jesus rescuing His disciples from the storm, Jesus says the same thing about Himself. And Matthew puts it write in the middle of the story. There are 90 Greek words before that phrase and 90 Greek works after that phrase, and right in the middle, “I am.” It’s as if Matthew had some help writing this.
Friends, this story reminds us, as followers of Jesus, we need to remember who we are following. We are following the Creator of heaven and earth. You are following the One who made you. He is the One who knows you and designed you. He knows what He designed you for and what is best for you.
And not only is He the Creator of the universe and the constellations, but He is also the lover of your soul, the One who knows the innermost parts of you, who knows your thoughts better than you do. The One you can’t hide from, even when you hide from yourself. He is the One who knows you for who you are, the deepest places of your heart – both the good and the glory of who you are, and also the bent and twisted desires of your heart. He knows all of that. And He loves you!
He is the Creator of heaven and earth, and He is the lover of your soul.
And that is who you follow.
It can be a great encouragement when our brothers and sisters in Christ tell us to not be afraid, to take courage, to not fear. But when the Creator of heaven and earth and the Lover of our soul says, “Don’t be afraid,” you don’t have to be afraid.
Jesus is seeking to make us, His disciples, a particular kind of people in the world: people who are at rest even in times of sorrow and pain; people who are non-anxious in a world that is going crazy; people who don’t fear; people who take the time to look at their own hurts and pain and allow God to heal that, so they can then turn and serve others from a place of love and compassion rather than obligation.
Jesus is seeking to make us a people of courage in times of our stress; people who are willing to take risks and to fail, because we know we are following Jesus, the One who can reach out and save us, and that He will.
And because we know that we are following the Creator of heaven and earth, the Lover of our souls, we can trust Him. We can trust Him.
END OF SERMON TRANSCRIPT
The deity of Christ is no dry doctrine. It is a fountain of spiritual life for all who follow Him.
Knowing and believing that Jesus is God has become precious truth for me. In 2004, After 20+ years of atheism, God used C.S. Lewis’ explanation of Christ’s divine nature to bring me to repentance. (You can read about that here:
https://godwrotethebook.com/meet-the-man-who-led-me-to-christ/)
But embracing Jesus as God is not only essential for our justification, it is also indispensable for our sanctification. May we live every day with ever-increasing awareness, acknowledgment and adoration of Christ as the Creator of the universe and the Lover of our souls.
NOTE: To listen to all of Ryan’s sermon on Matthew 14, visit:
http://www.broadwaychristian.org/messages
Just scroll down to “Media Archive” and input the date “1/26/2020” and you can listen to the sermon and/or download the MP3 file. Enjoy!
The headlines in our local newspaper stated the grim facts:
