He Did . . . He Did It ALL & He Still Does!
- He made them get into the boat.
- He sent them onto the other side.
- He sent the crowds away.
- He climbed up to the mountain by Himself to pray.
- He stayed long into the evening.
- He went there alone.
- He knew.
- He understood that while He prayed, the storm would come upon the sea.
- He had made the storm.
- He caused the sea to become a tumult.
- He knew the wind was contrary.
- He made the middle of the night, the hours between 3-6 a.m. Time belongs to Him.
- He walked on the sea that he had made to calm the storm that He had allowed.
- He knew how much they could handle because He had created them.
- He brings calm and peace deep within them, even though at first, they were terrified and thought that clearly they were seeing a ghost. (Matthew 14: 22-26)
“But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying,
‘Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
(Matthew 14: 27)
- He calmed them, each one of them—Individually.
- He gave them courage. He allowed the one to walk upon the sea.
- He knew what would occur when that one took his eyes off Him and instead looked upon the sea.
- He knew the one would sink because of his fear.
- He heard the one sinking, crying out because of his fear.
- He spoke words of peace, of truth, of the one’s lack of faith—within the storm.
- He spoke words of peace, of truth, of the one’s doubt that He could & would do what He says He will do—Save him from the storm. (Matthew 14: 28-30)
“But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’
Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him and said to him,
‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’
When they got into the boat, the wind stopped.
And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, ‘You are certainly God’s Son!’
(Matthew 14: 30-33)
- God knows what we can handle; He created us.
- God knows what storms we will face; He created us & He created the storms.
- God knows our fears & He knows the peace only He can bring to our being.
- God knows that we need Him, every single day—Individually.
- God knows we need a Savior; He knew when He created us & He knows it still.
- God knows we need to meet Jesus & God knows we need to walk with Jesus every day.
- God knows we will face temptation to—Do this life—alone, even after we belong to Him.
- God knows & He sent Jesus, to save us from our doubt.
- God knows & He sent Jesus, to compel us to “Come!” to Him. (Matthew 14: 29)
- Jesus calms our fears.
- Jesus calls out to us individually.
- Jesus takes hold of each one of us, one-by-one.
- Jesus calms every storm.
God is God; Jesus is God; God’s Holy Spirit is sent from God to Dwell Within Us At Our Salvation.
- God allows us to walk within the storms of life. Where we place our eyes is EVERYTHING!
- God knows we need to keep our eyes on Jesus so we are able to navigate the storms of life.
- We NEED to SEE Jesus & We NEED to REMEMBER Jesus Is The Son of God!
- Others Watch Us (the Believers, the Christians) Navigate the life-storms.
- Others See Jesus Through Us (the Believers, the Christians) &
- Others See the Truth of Jesus—“You are certainly God’s Son!”
Three NOW-Followers of Jesus spoke the truth of Jesus.
John, the apostle, the one who walked with the Savior, recorded Jesus’ words—
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”
(John 5: 24)
- When we believe God is God &
- When we believe God sent Jesus to the world &
- When we trust God who gave His only Son to die upon the cross for our sins &
- When we trust in FAITH that God raised Jesus back to life—THEN
- We will receive Eternal Life.
- We will not come into God’s judgment because we have given our hearts to Jesus.
- We will not ever be separated from God at our death because we will pass into life—eternal.
- It is a Promise of God.
- It is a Promise of God for All People.
One-time atheist C.S. Lewis who now BELIEVES the TRUTH of God wrote it this way—
“Christianity is a statement, which, if false, is of no importance, &
If true, of infinite importance.
The one thing it [Christianity & Faith] cannot be is moderately important.”
Saul, the persecutor of Christians, who one day met God and saw the TRUTH of God.
Yes, that Saul who became a changed man, who became the evangelist—the apostle Paul.
- Paul understood what Jesus Did for him.
- Paul realized that Jesus Did It ALL for him.
- Paul accepted the truth that Jesus Died on the Cross to save him (for Paul).
- Jesus Died & Was Buried & Resurrected to New Life Three Days Later.
- Easter Sunday is a Celebration of the New Life Jesus Gives to Each One of Us—Individually!
- Easter Sunday is a Celebration of the Way & a Celebration of how we have been Re-Made!
- Paul believed in FAITH.
- Paul confessed his FAITH in Christ.
- Paul’s new life in Christ did not mean that his life would become Storm-Free!
- Paul wrote these words about our life-storms, about how we can trust the peace and calm only Jesus brings to help us remember how Jesus Did . . . Jesus Did It ALL & Jesus Still Does!
“For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, [we receive Jesus Christ into our earthly bodies] so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves,
we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;
persecuted, but not forsaken, struck down, but not destroyed;
always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.”
(2 Corinthians 4: 6-11)