Deep Water, God, and You

One of the most calming passages of the Scriptures is the 23rd Psalm. It is here that in the midst of this Psalm, God speaks of leading us beside still waters. When that is mentioned, what a beautiful scene of pastoral serenity. I remember as a teenager going up to northern Minnesota for camp in the summer, and to be out in the meadows, and to be out in the tall green grass, and to be able to have the flowing still water going by.

Not the kind that rushes like a stream, but just that gurgle, just that smoothness, just that serenity that is spoken of here in the Psalm. When we consider this Psalm, it's not only one that is speaking of death, so often it is spoken of or addressed at funerals. But the 23rd Psalm is really a Psalm about life, and it's a Psalm about the chapters of life. And there are times that God does allow us to experience the calm of still waters.

And oh my, it's wonderful. And we love those chapters of still waters when they come in our life. It's then and there, at that time, in the chapter of still water, that God wants us to honor Him, and remember Him, and stay focused on the source of those provisions of the still waters. But we're not going to be speaking about still waters today, so I hope you haven't given me a title yet on this message.

The question that I have for you this afternoon is simply this. What happens when the waters are not still, and or the waters run deep? All of us at one time or another have experienced deep water. For a moment, allow me to take you back into your childhood and join me at the pool. All of us have been at a pool at one time or another in a motel or a hotel, and the parents would get the room and take us over the pool, and throw us in.

We have a couple of hours of relaxation after many hours of long travel. Remember what it was like when you were in that pool when you got in? Kind of maybe kind of slowly ease your way in, especially if it was a cold pool, you know, starting with the little pinky, and then the foot, and then the leg, and finally getting in. But you would gradually work your way down, maybe especially when you were smaller, to the first step, and then the second step, and then the third step, then finally you get on the floor of the pool, and the shallow end, and you thought you were really big stuff.

But you sure wanted to make sure that your feet were touching the bottom of the pool. And then, as you got older, maybe you kind of slowly moved out, and you kind of bounce up and down. You bounce up and down off that pool, up and down, up and down, so that your head would at least pop out of the water, and you look, and you tell your momma or papa, look how far I'm going into the pool. I'm getting further and further and further. And then sometimes, if you just wanted to do it the speedy way, you get along the edge, and you know, you think you're really cool as you kind of went along the edge, holding on to that edge, and working your way down to where it was, eight feet, or nine feet, or 12 feet deep.

Those were the neatest pools. And boy, you thought you were something, but you wanted to be in your comfort zone, and you didn't want to let go, because there was deep water underneath you. It is interesting that the Bible speaks not only of still waters, but much more so in the discourse that is presented.

It speaks a lot about deep water, in relationship to God's presence and power, in crafting and molding humanity into a completeness that is not found in the shallow and the still moments of life. And it is in this setting of deep water where our toes seemingly cannot touch the bottom that it seems as if our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ accomplished some of their most important work with us.

And thus, when you think about it, in that sense, in the greater sense, deep water, like still water, can also be a blessing at the end of the experience. The title of my message to you this afternoon is simply this, God, Deep Water, and You. Allow me to repeat it, if you missed it. God, Deep Water, and You. And there is a specific purpose in the title that I present to you because none of these ingredients stand alone. They all come and work together in a package for a purpose. So to illustrate this point, I'd like to move us through several accounts that we find in the Scripture that speak of deep water.

And then at the end of the message today, I want to go to the end of the book. I want to go to the book of Revelation. And I'd like to share a thought with you. Because any book of the Bible, in any Scripture of the Bible, is like a jewel, and it has many facets, and you can look at it many ways.

And I'd like to just kind of end the message with just a little thought out of the book of Revelation. So God, Deep Water, and You, let's move into the stories, and let's go right to the beginning. Would you join me, please, in Genesis 1? Because it's interesting, the creation account of Genesis reminds us that God is not a stranger to deep water.

God is not a stranger to deep water. In fact, the book of Genesis reminds us that He created them. It is God that created deep water and continues to shape those deep waters, to shape us into His image. In fact, as you have your finger there in Genesis 1 and verse 1, let's go to Psalms. Hold your place in Genesis for just a second. But join me if you would in Psalm 135. And let's just take a look here for a moment at the purpose of deep water.

In Psalm 135 and in verse 6, Whatever the Lord pleases, He does in heaven and in earth, in the seas, and in all of the deep places. God created the deep places or the deep water to serve His pleasure. And what pleasures God more than anything than His overall purpose to create man in His image and after His likeness, and bring many sons to glory into His kingdom through Jesus Christ. So it is interesting where you and I humanly sometimes think of deep water as a threat. God says His creation, which includes deep water, pleases Him. With that thought, then, let's go back to Genesis 1 and verse 1, where it says, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep waters, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the faces of the water. Kind of interesting. Right at the very beginning of Scripture, isn't it fascinating? You and I are not there yet. We'll be included like the title in the moment. But what is there in the beginning? There is deep water, and there is God. And He's not a stranger to that. As we appreciate and as we understand the Bible, we believe in the sense that Genesis 1 leads into what we call a recreation story.

That the world had in that sense become Tohu, and Bohu had gone into a state of confusion because of the rebellion of Lucifer and his angelic cohorts, and how they rebelled against God. Because of Lucifer's pride, and because of his fear, and that Lucifer's way and Lucifer's rebellion came to nothing.

And then here we are in Genesis 1. The world is basically just this deep water, and the Spirit of God is hovering over the water, and then God begins to do something, which is the story of the rest of the Bible, where God takes something that is nothing, and makes it into something for His glory. Isn't that what the Bible is about? Whether it be about the physical earth, or whether it be about us, it's always about God taking that which is nothing, and making it into something for Him. And that's what He does.

Because here we have this entire account where God reaches now down into the deep waters and pulls out the dry land for you and for me, for the apple of His eye, for His creation, that He might take them from dust to divinity.

Notice what it says in verse 3. Then God said that there be light, and there was light, and God saw light that it was good, and God divided the lights in the darkness, and God called the light day, and the darkness He called night, and so the evening and the morning were the first day. And then God said that there be a firmament in the midst of the water, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And thus God made the firmament and divided the waters which were under the firmament, from the waters which were above the firmament, and it was so. And God called the firmament heaven, and so the evening and the morning were the second day. And then verse 9, God said, let the waters under the heaven be gathered together in one place, and let the dry land appear, and it was so. And God called the dry land earth, and the gathering together the waters He called the seas. And God saw it all, and He said, it's good. The reason why I'm moving through this, because humanly you and I are adverse to deep water. It makes us nervous, it makes us scared, we are out of our comfort zone. The reason I start right at the very beginning is to allow us to understand, number one, that God is no stranger to deep water. Number two, God owns the skies, the land, and the sea. They are all within His kingdom, they are all within His sovereignty, and they are all within His reach. And that's why the account was given, and was to be passed down, perhaps either by written word and or by oral word before the flood. So that people, you know, the lesson of Genesis is not just a geographical lesson, it's a lesson in God's sovereignty.

That He is here. That He's not just an absentee landlord, but He is involved in our life. But those that came after Adam and Eve, they lost track of the story. They came to a point where they did not respect God's sovereignty, and they did go their own way. At least that's what the scripture tells us, that the days before Noah were very, very evil days, and it only came down to where only one individual feared and respected God, and that individual's name, the man, Noah. We discover history in Genesis 6, a story dealing with what? Deep water. In Genesis 6, join me there, and let's take a look at what we can learn about this. A little bit about ourselves and a lot about God. And let's pick up the thought in Genesis 6, verse 5. Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every attempt at the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry, and or that he repented or changed his mind, that he had made man on the earth, and he was grieved in his heart. And so the Lord said, I am going to destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am just sorry that I made them.

Then verse 8. But, but is one of those big words in the Bible. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. We're going to come back to understand why he found grace or favor in God's eyes.

But let's notice how God did use deep water. We find the story in verse 17, where it says in Genesis 6, chapter 7, verse 17, just a chapter over, Now the flood was on the earth for forty days, and the water increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth, and the water prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters. Noah couldn't touch his toes at the bottom anymore. That ark was going up. And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered, and the waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered. All the mountains of all the earth. This was not a localized flood in the Middle East. This was a universal flood. It covered all the mountains. Verse 21 tells us, all flesh died. Verse 22 tells us that the nostrils, the breath of life, the spirit of life was snuffed out. Verse 23, So he destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground, both man and cattle, creeping things and bird of the air, they were destroyed from the earth, and only Noah, only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive, and the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred notice and fifty days. It's interesting. So often we understand that Noah found favor in God's eyes. We know the story that all of humanity died. Save Noah's family. But maybe it's a note of interest that we look here at chapter 7 and verse 16 to begin to understand the lesson of deep water in our life. After all the animals had come to the ark, that God led to the ark, wasn't that Noah was the greatest zookeeper in the world? The animals were brought to the ark. But then notice verse 16, So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And then notice, very short, very simple statement, but it's all about God.

And the Lord shut him in. Have you ever noticed that before? It wasn't about Noah being a master of survival skill. This was not about Noah being a master boat builder. Noah and the family themselves, as much as they found favor in God, were about to go on the cruise of their life.

And God was involved from the beginning. He stayed involved with Noah. And at this juncture, he seals, he closes, you notice this tangibility factor of God touching, in that sense, the door of the ark. And sealing this son of favor, along with his family, to the ark. Now, he was sealed into that ark for a purpose for us to understand, to allow future generations to understand that God is not afraid of deep water. That God can bring you and me, no matter what our deep water issues are today, that he will never leave us, nor forsake us, or abandon us, and already has a plan that perhaps we don't even understand at times, that he is there to secure our future in him. In fact, if you'll join me up at chapter 6 in verse 14, maybe you've never noticed this about this scenario that's occurring on deep water.

All of the instructions about the ark, and notice what it says, make yourself an ark of gopher wood, and make rooms in the ark, and then notice it. Again, very simple verse, and cover it inside out with pitch. Have you ever noticed that before? Are we talking about having a tar party? Is that what this is all about? Is this just, again, a part of Noah's boat building exercise? No, not at all.

Let's understand that that pitch that brought all the elements of that boat together to keep it together, and to seal it, and to seal the inhabitants of those that were inside of the ark from the divine judgment that was being visited upon the earth. That pitch in Hebrew, in the original tongue of the Bible, is kippur. We've all heard of Yom Kippur. We've all heard of the day of atonement, as we refer to it in the Church of God community. This was the beginning, and this was the type of recognizing what God would send, and the instructions He would send, and the instrument that He would send, of the ultimate pitch. The ultimate sealing that separates us from divine punishment and allows us to have life. The thought here is of Jesus Christ, the ultimate Yom Kippur, the ultimate covering, the one that stands before God and us, and secures us by His atoning sacrifice of the divine judgment of God. It's interesting that here our God, who is with us as a companion in deep water, as in real time He is dealing with Noah and what we call the family in the ark, is already looking ahead. His plan is already in place. While He in that sense is watching Noah put that pitch on the outside of the ark and the inside of the ark, He recognizes that there needs to be a divine pitch. He recognizes that there needs to be a divine element that ultimately will secure us from that greater judgment than just simply that of being in deep water.

So we'll see these examples, and we notice the example of the pitch. We notice the example of God shutting the family into the ark. To recognize that again, it was not by Noah's boatbuilding, but by God's rescue and by God's grace. It says that Noah found grace. Grace is not just simply a New Testament phenomenon. God has always desired that all of His children might experience that grace, that favor, that invitation, that involvement, that follow-through.

It's interesting here that by the sealing of that boat, you recognize this, that in talking about deep water and individuals that are what we call in over their head, maybe you're there today in your own life, is simply to recognize that we recognize that an individual that is drowning cannot save himself. If you're out like this in the water, you know, like this, splashing, and out there, if you're drowning, you can't rescue yourself. In fact, we're taught that when we move towards an individual that's drowning, you always want to come from what? The rear, because otherwise that person will lock on to you and take you down with them in a death grip.

But a drowning person can't take their own hand and take the nap of their hair and pull themselves out of the water and put themselves on dry shore. You might want to try that this weekend in the pool. You can't do that. The whole object lesson of grace is always to recognize that all of us at one time or another have been drowning. All of us have been in deep water, and to recognize that an arm had to reach and pick us up and rescue us and bring us to safe shore. I'd like to show you a very exciting verse here in Genesis 8 and verse 1. One of my favorite verses in the Bible that always kind of just look at, and I get a smile. Because notice what it says, then God remembered Noah and every living thing and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth and the water subsided. Now what is this telling us that somehow God had a senior moment? Hello! Noah's down there! Forgot all about him! Oh no!

You're supposed to be laughing at this point. What is this telling you and me? We know that God does not forget. We know that God is God. The word here remembered in the Hebrew, when you understand that, means that it says that the terminology, it was imprinted in God. When you imprint something, when you imprint something, it creates a deepness, doesn't it? An impression. And it was imprinted on God to remember exactly what he had promised to Noah, what his plan for Noah was, what the purpose was, and the provisions that would be secured to bring that purpose to the fore. God never loses anybody in deep water, Noah and or you and me. And God wants to know, like Father Noah did, that we will trust him even when our toes don't touch the bottom and or we don't have toes and or there is no bottom. Think that one through for a moment, because we're going to talk about that a little bit later. And Noah not only entered the ark, but he stayed there. And he's had a remarkable example. Let's look at another deep water scenario. Join me, if you would, in the book of Jonah.

The book of Jonah, which in its beginning is a different story, has a different intro than the story of Noah. But there's a lesson here that we'll learn.

If you are looking for Jonah in your Bible, just go right before Micah. But then you have to know where Micah is. And Micah is right before Nahum. I'm letting you have a chance to get there for a moment. Let's for a moment consider the story of Jonah, who wrote a different story when it comes to deep water. I think many of us are to a degree familiar with the story of Jonah. We often talk about Jonah and the whale, even though it was not a whale per se. And we'll talk about that in a moment. But to recognize that Jonah was a man that was called to be a preacher. And to be a preacher of repentance, he was called to be God's watchman. We just heard the song in the special music, Kenine, meaning, I am here and or send me. But Jonah was just the exact opposite.

Jonah thought that God was out to get him. And we know the story that the Word of the Lord came to Jonah. And he said, Jonah, here's what I want you to do. I want you to go and preach a message of repentance to your enemies. I want you to go to Assyria. Well, that's the last thing that Jonah wanted to do. Why would I want to go help the enemies of my people? And so Jonah decided that instead of going east, he was going to go west. He was going to take a cruise to Spain. And it says here, interestingly in verse three, but Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the eternal. And he went down to Jaffa and found a ship going to Tarshish. And so he paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish, which is modern day Spain, from the presence of the Lord. It is interesting in verse three, you might want to jot this down as students of the scripture, that twice in verse three, it mentions that Jonah thinks that he is going to leave the presence of the Lord. Now we have a problem here, people, and here's the problem. Jonah, like so many people in the Middle East at that time in antiquity, thought of God as being a localized deity. He was the neighborhood God. So often when you go to the museums of history and you look at the idols at the people of Canaan had in their possession, they were very small. They were very portable. You kind of took them with you. You could take them with him or you could leave them. You know that old expression, take it or leave it? Well, that's what happened with these gods, because you could put them right in your pocket. And so Jonah had this idea of God just being very, very limited, and that somehow he could leave the presence of God rather than remembering what David had said 300 years before that, hey look, I'm God and I own all that pleases me, both the earth and the sea and the deep. But Jonah said, God, I'm going to drop you off at the seashore. Just like you tell your kids you're going to drop them off. We've all done that, and I'll be back at such and such a time. Jonah had this thought that somehow he could drop God off at the seashore and couldn't go any further. Well, God was going to use deep water to teach Jonah a lesson to bring him to completion. And we noticed this, that if you'll come with me to Jonah 1, let's pick up the thought in verse 11, because as we know the seas came up. And Jonah had a completely different viewpoint of deep water than God. And that's why I want to bring out this little bit of scripture to you, friends, is simply this, is that Jonah looked at deep water as an end. God looks at deep water when we're in it as his beginning in us, of developing a new chapter, of bringing us to completion.

Jonah looked at deep water as disaster. God looked at it as discovery. How do you, how do I look at it when we are in those deep water moments of life? Well, here's what Jonah wanted to do in verse 11. Then he said to them, what shall we do? Or the men were saying, what shall we do to calm the seas down? For the sea was growing more compactuous. And he, Jonah, said to them, pick me up and throw me into the sea, and then the sea will be calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me. Nevertheless, the men rode hard to return to land, but they could not. For the sea continued to grow more tempetuous against them. It's interesting that the Gentile pagan individuals were trying to save Jonah's life more than the man of God. It's kind of an interesting aside. And therefore, they cried out to the Lord and said, we pray, O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man's life, and don't charge us for the innocent blood. For you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you. So they picked up Jonah, who was probably already as mad as a wet hen, much less the storm that was upon him, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows. And so they tossed the man of God, I say that loosely at this point, overboard, and what happens? Verse 17. Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah.

And Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.

Let's remember something, friends. God has already visited the future, and he waits for us there. And God has a purpose to bring many sons to glory. He has a plan to back that purpose, which is through Jesus Christ. He has made promises that he says that he will never leave us nor forsake us. And he makes provisions on the ground to allow those promises to happen.

God understood what Jonah was going to do. And out of love for Jonah, and out of love for us to understand from this story, he prepared a big fish. And what is interesting is what comes about in that great fish. Maybe you've never looked at the prayer of Jonah. Let's understand what it's like. Then Jonah prayed to the Lord, his God, from the fish's belly. Remember what I said earlier, that so often, humanly, when we're in deep water, we're out of our comfort zone. So we look at deep water as what? A disaster. God looks at deep water as a discovery about what he wants to do with our life. Jonah said, I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, and he answered me, and out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice, for you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the floods surrounded me, and all your billows and your waves passed over me. And then I said, I have been cast out of your sight. And yet, in that discovery in the belly of this great fish, Jonah was able to come to the point to understand, yet I will look again toward your holy temple. The water surrounded me, even in my soul, the deep closed around me. Weeds were wrapped around my head, very graphic, very graphic. And I went down, talk about deep, to the moorings of the mountains, and the earth with its bars closed behind me forever. And yet, you have brought up my life from the pit. Remember what I... let's all look up here a second. Remember what I mentioned? A drowning person cannot save himself. The hand of rescue must come from afar, and take that person up, and bring him to safe shore. That's really what grace is. It's not about us, it's about God. There's nothing that we can do of and by ourselves to merit either God's attention, or God's desire. It's a gift. God makes a choice. God reaches into our lives like he did with Jonah, brings us up, even in moments of deep water, and is preparing things that maybe right now, we don't know how long we're going to be treading out there, but God has prepared. I just believe that, that God has prepared a solution to whatever you might be going through. And so we notice then that it says, when my soul faints within me, I remember the Lord, and my prayer went up to you, into your holy temple. And then notice at the very end of verse 9, salvation is of the Lord.

Here I was on my own thinking I could save my skin from going to the Assyrians.

Salvation is of the Lord. And just for the kids that are out here today, chapter verse 10 is just one of those more graphic moments in the Bible. God has a way of just reminding us what we are left to ourselves. So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto the dry land.

Houston, we have arrived. Touchdown.

In a carpet, a vomit. And now Jonah would be ready to be used.

Deep water was not a disaster. It was a discovery point of who God was, who He was.

And now He could say, Henein. Here am I. I am ready. But deep water scenarios are not just simply reserved for the Old Testament. We also find them in the New Testament as well. Join me if you would in Mark 4. In Mark 4. And as we're going through these, let's understand that all of us at one time or another, people that are in this room, some of us are by the still waters, some of us are in the deep waters right now. Let's understand that life does not play any favorites. Chapters come, chapters go.

And we must understand, to be God's servants, we must understand both how to praise God and remember God when the waters are still, and remember that God has a purpose, a plan, and promises and provisions when the waters are deep and our toes don't touch to the bottom. Notice Mark 4, very interesting account that we find here early on in the ministry of Jesus Christ. We become acquainted that believers, you know as Christians, we call ourselves believers. But even believers are not quarantined from deep water and or storms, even when they have a relationship with Jesus Christ. In Mark 4 and verse 1, let's pick up the thought here. It is of note here that we find Jesus preaching from about. Mark 4 verse 1. And again, He began to teach by the sea, speaking of the sea of Galilee, and a great multitude was gathered to Him so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the multitude was on the land facing the sea. That was the way that your voice could be amplified in those days by the voice coming across the water and the hills coming down probably created somewhat of an amphitheater kind of atmosphere. So here was Jesus preaching a sermon on a boat on the sea to the masses who most likely was gathered around Him, but the disciples. And they heard the sermon.

Little did they recognize that within that day or within hours they were going to have to practice what was being preached. Before we go any further, can I ask you a question, please? When we come to services, are we really listening? Are we really internalizing? Do we really recognize that within minutes, if not hours and days, that these words that are being offered to you could be words of life that you may need them, that the Holy Spirit and you might need to bring them back up on the radar of your spiritual screen to guide you? You know, when we pray, do we, when we wake up the morning and we pray or the noon hour or night whenever we're praying and we're on our knees and then we get up, are we ready to go out and meet our prayers? To meet our prayers and to recognize how active God is in our life? Well, here they were. They'd been on this boat. And then notice verse 35. Verse 35. On that very same day, hours later, when evening had come, he said to them, let us cross over to the other side. And now when they had left the multitude, and they're here on the Sea of Galilee, they took him along in the boat as he was. And other little boats were also with him. And a great windstorm arose and the waves beat into the boat so that it was already filling. This boat was going down. But he was in the stern asleep on a pillow and they awoke him and said to him, teacher, don't you even care that we are perishing? Now, what was going on here? It talks about a windstorm. And it's interesting that the word in the Greek is seismos. Now, when we hear the word seismos, we think of the word seismic. We normally think of earthquake. In other words, this was like an earthquake storm. This was very turbulent. It was shaking everything up. How could this be, especially when everything had been so peaceful? How many of you have been to the Holy Land before? Can I see a show of hands? And how many of you have been up on the Sea of Galilee?

Okay. The Sea of Galilee, we often think of the hill country of the Galilee. We often use that phraseology. But we've also got to recognize, even while there's hill country of the Galilee, the Sea of Galilee is at 680 feet below sea level. Even with all those hills around it, it is still in a geographical trough. And what occurs all of a sudden, when you least expect it, because it's down low, it's down low, the weather comes in off of the Mediterranean. And what you have there is, you have cold air coming in off the Mediterranean, meeting warm air in the interior. And on the western tier of the Galilee are hills. And what happens is that cold air meets the warm air, and it compresses, just like we are having the Santa Annas right now. We're not stranger to this phenomena. And what occurs is, then it goes through those funnel-like canyons, picking up speed, comes down into a very low area, and boom! Before you know it, you can have wind in that vortex going every which way. Some people have gone to Galilee and said, you know, this can't be true. They need a little lake. Sea of Galilee is about 13 miles long. It's about six miles wide. It's about 150 feet deep. People have visited there and said, these stories don't make any sense. And all of a sudden, one of these seismic storms come up, and they have to run away from the shoreline, because 20-foot waves can develop on the Sea of Galilee. What is interesting? You might want to jot this down as students of the Bible, so we understand the storms on the Galilee. Number one, they come suddenly, and number two, they are violent. They are sudden, and they are violent. Isn't that sometimes what happens when we get all of a sudden to deep water? It comes suddenly, and it can come violently. Have you ever noticed, or am I the only one, that life is basically what's coming your way that you haven't planned for? And it comes at times suddenly and violently. And this was what was happening to these disciples. And they came to Christ and said, hey, don't you even care that we are perishing? Don't you know what is going on? Here they were. The disciples were panicking.

Even though they'd already been with Christ for a while, they had seen this man do miracles, but now it's interesting. And here's the difference in the story, friends. It was about them. They were in deep water. Their toes couldn't touch the bottom. And at the very time when they needed Christ the most, he seemed unaware and unconcerned. Now, why was he asleep? A couple of reasons. Number one, it might have been that he was exhausted. That day had spoken when you're speaking, when you're doing public speaking. It can wear you down physically. You can get tired. Also, all the crowds that were probably there, the milling around, whatever it was, he could have been physically tired for the moment. He also could have just gone to sleep knowing what he was going to need to do. So often in the scriptures, especially in the book of Luke, it always says that Jesus knew what he was going to do. What he wanted to know, as he does with us today, when we're treading and we're in deep water, is not what is he going to do, but what are we going to do? And Jesus was far from being not concerned. I think you know that and I know that. The reason why this story is met out in real time and now for us in the Bible is that this is much more than just simply about a physical storm. This was to allow followers that would come down through the ages to know how to handle the storms of life that rush in on us and can change everything.

When the cold winds of sorrow come, when the hot winds of passion come, when the storms of doubt knock up against us, what will we do? Where will our eyes be? Verse 39, then he arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, peace be still and the wind ceased and there was great calm.

Remember the words of David that God has created the earth and the sea and the deep places for what pleases him. But he said to them, why are you so fearful and how is it that you have no faith?

Jesus understood that he had more difficulty with those that were following him than the wind that was storming around them. He said, peace be still and those words still come down to you and to me today as we face the the deep water in our life and like the disciples we have two options. Number one, first option, when the storms of life come and we're in deep water. Number one, you can worry and judge that God the Father and Jesus Christ do not care and are not concerned. You do not care, you are not concerned. If I had those conversations or am I the only one? I'm watching your eyes, trying to figure it out. God's asleep. I want God to be like my little cosmic bellboy. Ding, ding, ding, ding. I've been treading enough. I've been treading enough. Getting tired down here, beginning to sing. Don't you know where I am, God? You can worry and judge that God the Father and Jesus Christ don't care. You can just worry all day long. You know, worry. Let me define worry for you a moment. Worry is like a trickle of fear that kind of moves across your mind and your heart. A little like a little stream. You know, when you don't deal with that little stream, that little trickle of fear, you know what happens after a while? It becomes deeper and deeper and then it becomes a channel. What had been a little trickle and had been a little stream, have you ever noticed that? It becomes like a channel and everything, all of your life's energies and all of your life's resources drain away into that which had initially been a trickle and becomes a channel.

Worry is a responsibility that God has not given us. Worry was not created in heaven. Worry is, well, it's down here, which brings us to the second point. You can worry. Or the second point is you can resist fear and we can put our trust in God and recognize that He is right there with us for the duration of the ride. Christ wasn't swimming in from the shore. He wasn't a lifeguard looking out from a lifeguard up post. He was on the boat with them and then we must trust Him to care for us. And if the storm itself that swirls around us is not stilled and immediately taken away because we know who God is, He can, we should have... It's very interesting here. It says, peace and be still. Join me if you would in John 1633 for a moment. In John 1633, the reason this was a deep water moment in the life of Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry, it was the toughest night of His life and the storm is all around Him.

He was about to be abandoned by His own followers, given up to the Romans by His own people.

And the next day He knew it, that He was going to be crucified. Notice what it says, These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. Remember what He said on the boat? Remember what He said on the lake? Remember what He said to the disciples as they faced deep water? Peace! Be still! That you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation.

There will be storms. There will be deep water. But be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.

What does good cheer mean? Does that mean we all kind of have a kumbaya moment and high five to the kingdom and kind of cheery and happy and kind of like a party? What does that word mean, cheer? It comes again out of the Greek because the Bible is written in Greek.

The word cheer, to be of good cheer, means to have courage and to have confidence.

Yeah, but how can I as a Christian have courage when I'm in deep water? Let's understand. It's a little bit like General George Patton said during World War II. Courage is fear that lasts a moment longer. It's what you do with the fear. Courage is fear that lasts a moment longer. In other words, humanly, our knees might be shaking, but our heart doesn't need to shake. And, you know, God will understand when our knees are shaking. He'll understand when we're treading that water. He'll recognize when we can't. Where's the bottom when I need it? You know, I'm tired. I need to rest.

What God is doing is it's like that famous thought in the book of Hebrews where the author of Hebrews brings out that, I want to take you beyond now, and I want to move you to completion, going on to perfection. You can appreciate perfection when being by still waters, but you only learn what perfection is by being in deep water. Let's go a step further. Join me back in Mark 14 for a moment because there's, as Paul Harvey says, the rest of the story here. And, actually, it's another time on the lake that I want to draw you to. And this is interesting, and I hope I can—did I say Mark? Pardon me, friends. Let's go to Matthew 14. In Matthew 14, because it's important, in discussing the subject of deep water in Scripture, it's very important to understand that deep water doesn't go down the drain all at once. Have you ever noticed, perhaps in your own personal life, how sometimes God takes us back, sometimes again and again, to the same spot, the same lesson, until we get it right? Or am I the only one? That God somehow allows the circumstances to come up again. Maybe we didn't handle it correctly the first time. Maybe we didn't confront it as our elder brother would have the first time. Guess what? Don't have to guess.

After this sermon, you don't have to guess. Just remember and be prepared that it will come up again, and God will take us right back to the same spot. We'll say, God, why are you doing that?

Because that's going on to perfection. Going on to perfection means that, ultimately, we are going to handle that as Jesus Christ would. Let's move forward in time. Matthew 14, guess what? The guys are back out on the lake again.

Immediately, Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side.

He sent the multitudes away. When he had sent the multitudes away, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. Now, when evening came, he was alone there. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was seismic. It was contrary. Most likely, it had come up suddenly and violently. Guess what? Again, just like life will.

Now, in the fourth watch, which means about 3 a.m. in the morning, notice, Jesus went to them walking on the sea. Now, this is kind of interesting. Some of the commentaries bring out some interesting thoughts about this. It's thought that this was perhaps in the springtime, perhaps even around the time of the Passover. Whenever you and I think of the Passover, we think of a full moon. No, God never wastes a miracle. Think about this for a moment. Why would Jesus walk on the sea if it was pitch dark and the guys couldn't see him?

God's working this. He knows the exact God never wastes a miracle. He knows exactly He's bringing it all to the fore. Here the disciples say, Oh God, where are you? Because they kind of remembered Christ from the fore. Where are you? And in the moonlight, coming across the sea, is the answer that they have been praying for. And they saw Him walk on the sea and they were troubled, saying, It's a ghost! And they cried out with faith. Is that what your Bible says?

It does? No, it says they cried out with fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, again notice, there's that term out of John 16 33, Be of good cheer, of confidence, of knowing.

It's me! Don't be afraid. I thought about all of this. And I understand this. When we are in deep water and we are praying to God for answers, do we recognize the answers when they are coming our way?

And do we accept the answers that God provides in faith or in fear? Here they recognized, or didn't recognize, here they were concerned about the answer that was coming their way. And what is interesting, if you notice verse 27, if you want to do this with your pen, this is interesting. You might want to circle the word immediately, but immediately Jesus spoke to them. He didn't have them turning and pausing in the wind. When I see this word immediately, it kind of reminds me in the book of Daniel. Remember when Daniel was praying for answers, and he was wondering if his prayers were bouncing off the marble, the ceiling in the palace, and the angel Gabriel came to him and said, in Daniel 9, he says, from the time that you began to speak and you had a need for God's answer in your life, the answer had gone out from God. Are you with me? Immediately. That's the kind of confidence that we need to have and to understand that, that rather than looking around, we need to look up. But now we need to go to something else, a little bit deeper, a little bit more personal, and it's the rest of the story. Notice here what happens here at the end of the story, because he says, be a good shear, it is I, don't be afraid. So often we separate the stories rather than recognizing the fullness of what God wants us to understand, because now it's going to go from a group to an individual. And the reason this individual comes to us, because this individual is us friends, it's Peter, Mr. Human Being, extraordinary, for being so human. And notice what happens. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. And so he said, come. And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. Now this is kind of interesting. We lose the sense, let's all look up here a second. Think about this for a moment. Let's take the scripture as it says. I see Bob back here, Mr. Sailor, how often have you gotten out of a boat and gotten under dock? When he got, this is called, this is the PowerPoint, you don't want to miss it. I am the PowerPoint. He gets out of the boat and steps on the water. To get out of the boat and on the water, he had to pull up his shorts or his toga, whatever was there, and he had to step on the water.

Have you ever thought that one through for a moment or does it just kind of pass?

Got out of the boat, he steps on the water, Jesus has come, and away we go. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid. And he cried out saying, Lord, save me.

And immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him and said to him, Oh, you of little faith, why did you doubt? And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

Then those that were in the boat came and worshipped him, saying, truly, you are the Son of God. Let's understand this perspective about Peter as we begin to conclude a few thoughts.

Sometimes we can be very, very hard on Peter.

And we need to understand again that Peter reflects us to a degree. When Peter says, Lord, is it you? And can I walk on water? Peter did not put Christ to the test, but it is Peter that is the one in the boat that identifies him.

Have you ever noticed that in the Gospel? How often it is Peter that comes up with the $64,000 question? He says, you are the Christ! Remember that one? You are the Christ! Who said that?

It is Peter, the human being! He said, you are it! And he was not afraid as much as the others.

He identified Christ. He said, Lord! And then we come to the next problem, though, that when you see where Peter was, even in deep water, the passion of Peter was simply this. And we need to pray that this is our passion. Peter had a passion that wherever Jesus Christ was, he himself also wanted to be. He never wanted to be distanced from his Master.

You know, it's interesting when you think about Peter on that night of betrayal, even as Peter did his pardon that three times it's mentioned in Luke, is it not? That it is Peter that's in the courtyard. It's Peter that is in the courtyard. It sets him up for more problems when everybody starts interrogating him. But there's this thing about Peter that wherever Jesus Christ was, he wanted to be as snug as a bug in a rug and right next to him.

But also Peter's impulsive nature caused him a lot of grief, didn't it? Whether it be sinking in the water, that's where the phraseology comes, Petering out, going down. Did Peter out?

So his impulsiveness at times took him where nobody else was willing to go, because he wanted to be as close as possible. It would cause him to sink, be it on land or in sea. But again, here's the point that maybe you've never heard about Peter before that I'd like to share it with you, please. But what is so unique to Peter, and doesn't have to be totally unique, and hopefully our story is, whenever he sank, wherever he was on land or sea, he always reached for the help of Jesus Christ. And each falter of his own weakness never removed him further from Christ, but closer to Christ. Have you thought that one through? Think about it. Each of his falters moved him closer, not further. Interesting. And hopefully that can be our story.

You and I must, as Christians, come to the point where we are comfortable with the deep water moments of life. We need to come to the comfort of understanding that God will never leave us nor forsake us, that he is not only on our boat, but that as we yield our human vessel to him, that Jesus Christ says, I will be the captain of your salvation. And there will be times that we will not be able to touch the bottom of the events that are happening in our life. We will not be able to reach for the shore. It will not be by our own human works. And we'll have to recognize that, at times in the Christian world, and on the spiritual journey that God has in front of each and every one of us, there is no rock bottom. Only the foundation of Jesus Christ and his life and his death and his resurrection, and that he is much more than just simply about pitch on the inside of an ark. That he not only offers salvation, but like the disciples of old on the Sea of Galilee, he offers companionship of the storms that we are going through.

That's the message that I have for you today. Let's conclude by looking at Revelation.

Revelation, and let's go to the last chapter. No, actually Revelation 21, verse 1. A thought, a conjecture. Please don't put this into concrete. It just, shall we say, fits in a little bit with the story today. Just a thought, because what I'm about to bring out can be actually tackled through three or four different channels. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth.

For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. And it's interesting then, notice what it says here at the end of verse 1. And also there was no more sea, no more sea. And then I, John, saw the Holy City, New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven. Why is there no more sea?

Have you ever thought about it for a moment, that the reason why God has placed the deeps and the oceans to a degree is to keep man apart from one another because of man's nature, thus to serve ultimately the plan of God. But a conjecture, just a thought, just kind of an icing on the cake in the subject that we're talking about. When those new heavens and those new earths come down, there'll be no more need for deep water. Because the citizens of the new heaven and the new earth, that new Jerusalem that comes down from above, they will have come to understand the lessons of deep water. They won't need deep water in their life anymore.

They will come to recognize that Jesus Christ has said, Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. I have overcome the storms of life. I am not apart from the storm. I am in the storm with you. I am in the boat with you. And the boat is sealed by my sacrifice. And my Father is looking down from heaven and knows exactly what you're going through. Be of good cheer. Understand the purpose and the reason behind deep water to bring you and to bring me to completion, going on to perfection.