The NXR Podcast - THE SERMON - Demons, Storms, And Jesus ｜ Matthew 14_22-33

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00:00:26.800 Continuing our sermon series this morning through the gospel according to Matthew.

00:00:30.960 Our text in particular is Matthew chapter 14 verses 22 through 33.

00:00:36.300 Again, that's Matthew chapter 14 verses 22 through 33.

00:00:39.800 I'll read our text for us in its entirety.

00:00:42.180 When I finish reading the text, I'm going to say this is the word of the Lord,

00:00:45.700 at which point I would appreciate very much if you would respond by saying thanks be to God.

00:00:50.320 One final time, our text for today is the Gospel according to Matthew.

00:00:54.520 Chapter 14, verses 22 through 33, the Bible says this.

00:01:20.320 a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch

00:01:27.340 of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea,

00:01:34.040 they were terrified and said, It is a ghost. And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus

00:01:41.200 spoke to them, saying, Take heart, it is I. Do not be afraid. And Peter answered him, Lord, if it is

00:01:48.840 you, command me to come to you on the water. He said, come. So Peter got out of the boat and walked

00:01:56.020 on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and beginning to sink,

00:02:02.560 he cried out, Lord, save me. Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying

00:02:08.860 to him, oh, you of little faith, why did you doubt? And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased

00:02:16.400 And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, Truly, you are the Son of God.

00:02:22.320 This is the word of the Lord.

00:02:24.480 All right, please be seated.

00:02:27.240 Two primary points in our text today that I want to emphasize.

00:02:32.720 The first is this, the perfect intercession of Christ.

00:02:37.520 The perfect intercession of Christ.

00:02:40.300 Christ, the Son of God, he prays for you and for I.

00:02:46.400 Secondly, the perfect sovereignty of Christ.

00:02:50.240 Not only does Christ pray for us in the midst of troubles,

00:02:54.080 but He is also sovereign.

00:02:56.140 That is, He is authoritative and powerful over the trouble itself.

00:03:01.940 Christ is praying for us in our troubles,

00:03:04.900 and Christ is sovereign over our troubles.

00:03:09.540 Now, the first thing to provide a little bit of context,

00:03:13.120 theological context for our passage today I want to read from Job chapter 1 verses 18 and 19 which

00:03:22.400 says this there came another servant and said to Job your sons and daughters were eating and

00:03:29.440 drinking wine in their oldest brother's house and behold a great wind came across the wilderness and

00:03:36.500 struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead. And I

00:03:43.600 alone have escaped to tell you. If you're familiar with the book of Job, Job is confronted. He's

00:03:51.740 wealthy, he's prosperous, and not only that, he is righteous. There is no one like him at the time

00:03:58.520 on the earth. He fears God. He has reverence and esteem for God. It's genuine. He loves

00:04:06.740 the Lord. And one of the practices that Job had cultivated is on a regular basis, not only

00:04:14.380 offering prayers and intercession for himself, and we could assume by way of implication,

00:04:20.520 his immediate household, including his wife, but even for his grown children who have started

00:04:25.360 households of their own. Job made it a regular practice that he would go after a particularly

00:04:33.820 rowdy celebration of one of his adult children. Let's just put it like that. Job would go and he

00:04:39.800 would make intercession on behalf of his grown children in case they had sinned the night before

00:04:45.220 or done something rash or foolish or degenerate in the sight of God. And so Job was wanting his

00:04:52.760 whole extended family to be pleasing in the sight of God. He feared God. And then, on one single day,

00:05:01.520 this rich, prosperous, wise, and most importantly, righteous man who feared the Lord, gets news from

00:05:08.760 multiple different servants of all these calamities and troubles that befall him simultaneously.

00:05:15.760 Right? That he's been raided by the Chaldeans in his livestock. A significant portion have been

00:05:21.360 stolen. There's a storm over here and calamity over there. But the greatest news, bad news that

00:05:28.320 he receives is the death of his adult children, that they were in a house and that they were

00:05:33.720 celebrating something. And a great wind came and blew down the house and all of his adult children

00:05:40.960 died. Now, the reason why I feel as though this is relevant to our text today is for one primary

00:05:47.280 reason. In the very beginning of the narrative of Job and his suffering, we see that there is

00:05:53.640 a cosmic wager, for lack of a better phrase, between God and Satan. That Satan comes and

00:06:02.080 stands before God in his counsel, this divine counsel, and God asked him, from where do you

00:06:09.300 come? He says, from going to and fro over the face of the earth. And then God says, have you

00:06:14.300 considered my servant Job, that there is none like him who fears me? And Satan begins to challenge

00:06:20.060 God and argue with God, saying, well, he only fears you. He only seems to be righteous because

00:06:27.200 you've blessed him, because he's rich, right? Because he's prosperous, because you have given

00:06:34.200 to him in this life good things. But if those things were to be taken away, he would rise up

00:06:40.240 and be fickle and curse you.

00:06:43.140 And so God allows Satan permission

00:06:45.080 to go and tempt Job with tribulation.

00:06:50.300 And God sets the parameters.

00:06:52.480 Notice, number one, Satan is not in charge.

00:06:55.620 Satan is not in control.

00:06:57.160 He's not sovereign.

00:06:58.340 Standing above it all is the Lord.

00:07:00.280 So God says, Satan, you can do these things,

00:07:03.360 but you can do no further.

00:07:05.040 And he sets boundaries for Satan.

00:07:07.640 And one of those boundaries is that

00:07:09.100 Satan is not allowed to afflict Job's person in a physical capacity, at least at first. That's the

00:07:16.800 first round. So Satan is allowed to go and torment Job and challenge Job in various ways, but he

00:07:23.980 cannot afflict Job's flesh, at least in round one. And in round one, one of the things that Satan does

00:07:31.420 is because he can't afflict Job's person, his flesh, he afflicts everything else. He takes from

00:07:37.840 him his wealth, his livestock, all these different things, and even his own children. And we see that

00:07:43.980 in the text that I've just read, namely Job chapter 1, verse 18 through 19. And yet Job remains

00:07:49.560 faithful. He does not turn and curse God. He continues to fear God. Then Satan goes back to

00:07:55.100 God and says, well, flesh for flesh, right? Let's take it up a notch. And that's when all of a sudden

00:08:01.080 But Satan is able to afflict Job in his person, his body, with profound sores and disease.

00:08:10.680 He's still, God is still sovereign even then and does not allow Satan to take Job's life.

00:08:16.160 But he is able to cause illness and pain and discomfort to Job's physical body.

00:08:22.220 But in round one, Satan is not sovereign.

00:08:24.960 He's never sovereign.

00:08:26.020 He's not able to afflict Job's person, but he's able to afflict everything else that Job cares for, including his children.

00:08:33.760 And so what takes place is a great wind.

00:08:37.700 And this is how we're getting back to our text with the storm and the disciples on the boat.

00:08:43.280 A great wind rises up from the wilderness, according to Job 1, verses 18-19,

00:08:49.080 and blows against the four corners of the house where Job's grown children are gathered,

00:08:54.120 and causes it to collapse, killing his adult children.

00:08:59.160 Who did that?

00:09:00.800 Satan.

00:09:02.280 Who ultimately is sovereign over that?

00:09:05.260 God.

00:09:06.520 God allowed it, and nothing comes to pass that God does not allow,

00:09:10.900 and, I know this one hurts,

00:09:14.240 but that God allows, and ultimately we can even say preordains.

00:09:19.580 God is not the author of evil.

00:09:21.520 god does not do evil but god is sovereign over evil over suffering over sin over satan

00:09:31.840 over hell even hell what makes hell so terrible well because hell is a place completely separate

00:09:39.040 from the presence of god that would not be quite as tormenting actually no hell is completely

00:09:47.800 separate from the presence of God insofar as we're speaking of the benevolent presence of God,

00:09:54.140 the goodness of God, the kindness of God, the mercy of God. No, but it's not completely separate

00:10:01.040 from God's presence in every regard. In fact, what makes hell so hellish is not that God is absent,

00:10:07.900 but God is there. God is present even in hell, present in his judgment, present in his holiness,

00:10:16.720 and his justice, right?

00:10:19.840 That's what makes hell so terrible.

00:10:21.700 We see David, even in the Psalms,

00:10:23.360 saying, where could I go from your presence?

00:10:25.720 Whether it's the depths of Sheol,

00:10:27.780 the grave, the belly of the earth,

00:10:29.600 or whether it's in the sea,

00:10:31.480 or whether it's in the highest heavens,

00:10:34.020 you are there.

00:10:34.860 On the mountaintops, in the valley,

00:10:36.980 God, think of it logically from this standpoint,

00:10:39.480 God is one of his attributes

00:10:41.020 because he's infinite.

00:10:42.580 He is God.

00:10:43.420 He is omnipresent,

00:10:44.520 meaning he's everywhere there is nowhere that god is not and that includes even hell and so god is

00:10:54.280 sovereign over all things satan is not an independent actor satan has agency as a created

00:11:00.800 being but he's not sovereign all of his agency ultimately is directed just as ours is i might add

00:11:08.520 underneath the sovereign banner of God's authority over everything.

00:11:12.920 R.C. Sproul once famously said that there's not one maverick molecule in all the universe.

00:11:19.700 God is sovereign. He is in control of all things.

00:11:23.060 So this great wind that capsizes the house of Job's adult children

00:11:28.220 that ultimately ends in their death is underneath, in the highest order, the sovereignty of God.

00:11:34.900 But underneath the sovereignty of God, there is still, in this case, not human agency, but demonic agency, namely Satan himself.

00:11:43.480 Satan is the one who stirs up this wind, a supernatural wind, with a, I won't say divine source, but a supernatural source.

00:11:54.780 It's not a divine source in the sense that God does not directly stir it up, although God allows it,

00:12:00.180 and, we can say, even ordains it under the banner of his sovereignty,

00:12:04.680 but Satan is the one who stirs it up in a direct sense

00:12:08.500 and causes this wind to go and destroy the house of Job's adult children,

00:12:13.800 putting them to death.

00:12:15.040 All of that, a lot, but all of that to build the theological framework

00:12:20.060 to make one very simple point.

00:12:23.140 Jesus, we know from this text and others,

00:12:26.420 Jesus, who is God, the Son of God,

00:12:28.640 He has authority over the wind and waves.

00:12:34.580 But, according to Job 1, verses 18-19,

00:12:38.980 Satan does too.

00:12:40.980 A lesser authority, a subservient authority,

00:12:44.960 ultimately subjected under God's authority,

00:12:48.640 but Satan actually does possess

00:12:51.160 supernatural ability and power,

00:12:54.060 at least to the degree that he can cause a wind

00:12:57.900 strong enough to destroy a house and kill grown adults and i believe in studying this text

00:13:08.040 not just for this sermon this week but over the course of years because it's a fascinating text

00:13:13.780 and for some of you you're aware that i i i delve into a little bit of a of nephilim appreciation

00:13:20.220 from time to time i find it fascinating i think that this storm has a supernatural source is what

00:13:27.800 I'm getting at. I don't think that this is a mere storm. I don't think that it's just another

00:13:33.460 day on the sea and the wind is a bit rowdy. Some of just the natural causes, which even natural

00:13:40.740 causes still again, would fall underneath the sovereign banner of God. But no, I think that

00:13:45.980 this is Satan at war directly with Jesus. He's trying to hinder Christ's mission. He's trying

00:13:54.240 to, if he can't get to Jesus directly, then to bring damage to those whom Jesus loves.

00:14:01.760 Does that ring a bell? Does that seem familiar? Satan can't get to Jesus directly, but he's going

00:14:08.120 to try then to threaten and destroy the disciples who Jesus loves. Satan has worked this strategy

00:14:15.600 before. This is not his first rodeo. That's exactly what he did with Job. Well, God set the banner

00:14:21.600 of protection around Job's physical person,

00:14:25.440 but he didn't say anything about his children.

00:14:28.840 So if I can't hurt Job directly,

00:14:30.860 I'll go and destroy who Job loves,

00:14:33.960 namely his adult children.

00:14:36.040 Same strategy, same play.

00:14:38.560 Here he is now doing it with the greater Job,

00:14:41.080 the better Job, Jesus Christ.

00:14:43.200 The one who does never curse God,

00:14:46.600 does never disobey God,

00:14:48.440 and glorifies and fears God his Father

00:14:51.280 perfectly in all things.

00:14:54.080 Satan is pulling out a classic play

00:14:57.060 from his playbook.

00:14:59.240 Now, Revelation 20, verse 13.

00:15:01.940 So we just basically concluded

00:15:04.900 that Satan does have some lesser than God, of course,

00:15:08.920 but some lesser power over wind and waves.

00:15:12.740 Natural elements.

00:15:14.380 Weather.

00:15:15.660 In addition to that,

00:15:16.820 now I want to talk about, that's the wind,

00:15:18.700 let's talk about the waves.

00:15:19.980 Let's talk about the sea in particular.

00:15:23.040 This is Revelation 20, verse 13, which says,

00:15:26.300 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it.

00:15:29.800 Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them.

00:15:33.580 And they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.

00:15:40.420 The sea, in biblical language, often represents death.

00:15:46.420 Death.

00:15:46.800 now I'm aware that out of the sea right the sea itself in God's original creation it teemed with

00:15:54.040 life right fish of all kind and out of the sea we're able to produce food right I mean Japan

00:16:01.760 has been living off the sea for you know centuries and centuries and so strict fish diet for Japan

00:16:07.480 they also tend to live a little bit longer than we do so maybe we could learn something

00:16:11.320 from japan right so i'm aware that there are life elements from the sea namely food and we can even

00:16:18.960 harness the sea and and produce certain energy or we can drill for oil in certain portions of the

00:16:26.800 gulf and different areas of the sea underneath deep under the waves under the the water and even

00:16:32.420 the earth itself so i understand that in a natural sense in a practical sense there are elements of

00:16:39.180 provision and life that come from the sea. But in a symbolic sense, throughout the scripture, the sea

00:16:44.880 is referenced as a parallel with death. Here's another example to make that point. Notice that

00:16:52.780 elsewhere in Revelation, we're told that in heaven, there is no sea. Why? Because the Bible uses

00:17:00.560 elsewhere, Isaiah, Ezekiel, different places, language of heaven. Now, we don't know if it's

00:17:05.360 literal or if it's symbolic, right? There's arguments to be made on both sides, but there is

00:17:10.940 language, whether literal or symbolic, of heaven possessing water, rivers, streams, a living river

00:17:18.640 that brings life. Ezekiel speaks of this, and the new heavens and the new earth, but not a sea.

00:17:26.940 There's something about the sea in biblical language that represents chaos,

00:17:32.340 destruction

00:17:34.920 and death

00:17:37.000 but what do we see Jesus in our text today doing

00:17:41.420 with death

00:17:43.180 namely the sea

00:17:44.540 he tramples it underfoot

00:17:46.980 Jesus walks on death

00:17:50.580 Jesus treads on death

00:17:54.420 the sea rises up and says don't tread on me

00:17:58.000 and Jesus laughs

00:17:59.220 and treads on it

00:18:01.000 nonetheless

00:18:02.020 us. Jesus is sovereign over death. And the last of his enemies that he will defeat and promises to

00:18:09.400 defeat that we see in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 is death. Jesus will give one day the death blow

00:18:16.200 to death itself. And so we see a picture in our text with this storm. There is great symbols here

00:18:24.820 that we should not miss. It is not a mere natural storm. And Jesus dealing with the practical

00:18:31.080 elements of the storm to save his disciples who he loves that's powerful and that's part of it

00:18:37.100 and that would be profound enough in itself but there's more when it comes to the wind we can

00:18:43.840 think of demonic origins supernatural power stirring up the wind to destroy the disciples

00:18:50.880 in the exact same way that satan once did with the wind destroyed the children of job the wind

00:18:57.680 satanic power. The waves, the sea, death itself. And yet Jesus has power over both. With a word

00:19:08.800 he silences the devil and the wind. And with his feet he tramples over death. And he saves Peter

00:19:18.640 as he's being swallowed up by death. Reaches out and grabs him and pulls him up to life.

00:19:27.000 There's a lot to consider.

00:19:28.700 In your notes, I've written this.

00:19:30.000 Christ, though absent in body,

00:19:32.920 has never removed His eye from them,

00:19:35.620 that being the disciples.

00:19:37.600 He prays upon the mountain

00:19:39.500 while they struggle upon the waves.

00:19:42.200 An image of His perpetual intercession

00:19:44.900 for His church,

00:19:47.700 whom the disciples would be appointed as apostles

00:19:50.560 and leaders over the church.

00:19:53.840 The disciples, in a sense,

00:19:55.060 they represent the church in utero the disciples represent the church in seed form and what Jesus

00:20:03.500 is doing for them is a picture of what he promises to do for us if we perceive him not that is Christ

00:20:11.880 it is not that he has forgotten us but that he works in hidden ways teaching us to distrust

00:20:18.220 ourselves and to cling to him alone. The text opens up with the disciples being separate from

00:20:26.680 Jesus. By his command, we should remember, immediately he made the disciples to get into

00:20:34.660 the boat and go before him to the other side. If you've been with us the last two weeks now,

00:20:39.960 you'll remember that essentially what Jesus is likely doing here is he's still trying to get a

00:20:46.980 little bit of privacy he's been trying now for multiple verses almost an entire chapter could

00:20:53.620 you give me a moment is essentially what Jesus is saying kindly but saying nonetheless remember

00:21:01.200 he's just received word that his friend and relative John the Baptist has been brutally put

00:21:09.160 to death by Herod he's been beheaded and when Jesus receives this news he wants to go and grieve

00:21:16.960 in a godly manner, a righteous manner,

00:21:19.320 not sinning in his grief.

00:21:21.120 But he wants to go and righteously grieve

00:21:23.060 and he'd like to do that alone.

00:21:25.360 And yet, immediately he's confronted

00:21:27.280 by the crowds who come and find him.

00:21:29.860 And instead of being angry with the crowds

00:21:31.860 and dismissing them, saying,

00:21:33.580 would you give me a moment?

00:21:35.480 Instead, he responds in compassion.

00:21:37.940 And he feeds them spiritually,

00:21:39.760 nourishing their soul with the Word of Life,

00:21:41.900 the bread of life that is himself

00:21:43.760 and his preaching.

00:21:44.920 But he also then feeds and nourishes them physically in the feeding of the 5,000.

00:21:50.740 His miraculous multiplying of the bread and fish.

00:21:55.580 And now he's trying to be alone again.

00:21:57.620 He's finally been able to get away from the crowds, but he still has those pesky disciples nearby.

00:22:03.900 And so he's trying to find something for them to do.

00:22:06.940 He's trying to get a moment to be with his father in prayer.

00:22:12.140 And this is the opening scene of our text.

00:22:14.320 He made the disciples to get in the boat and to go ahead of him, before him, to the other side,

00:22:21.740 while he dismissed the crowds, getting rid of the disciples, getting rid of the crowds.

00:22:26.260 And after he had dismissed the crowds, this is verse 23, he went up on the mountain by himself, finally, to pray.

00:22:35.520 Not just to be alone, not to watch the new Netflix series, not just to get a nap.

00:22:42.000 No, he wants to be alone.

00:22:44.140 But even in his aloneness,

00:22:46.680 he desires to be productive.

00:22:49.520 In his aloneness, it's not truly alone.

00:22:52.160 It's to be with the Father.

00:22:54.580 To be with His Father.

00:22:56.140 To be with our Father.

00:22:57.900 And to pray.

00:22:59.520 And yet, even then, Satan now.

00:23:02.380 He's kind of like the last character

00:23:04.220 if we look at this story

00:23:05.460 over the course of the last three weeks.

00:23:08.360 Throughout the entirety of the chapter.

00:23:10.120 First, the crowds.

00:23:11.360 distract him. Now the disciples are a little bit in the way. And then once Jesus is able to get rid

00:23:17.580 of both of these characters in the story, sending the disciples ahead of him in the boat, dismissing

00:23:23.600 the crowds finally so he can get a moment, now Satan comes on the scene and still won't allow

00:23:29.420 Jesus to be alone. Not by threatening Jesus directly in his person. Satan has already done

00:23:36.540 that in the temptation with Jesus in the wilderness. But Jesus proved to be triumphant.

00:23:42.020 So what is Satan doing instead? If he can't distract or harm or torment Jesus directly,

00:23:48.460 he will go and threaten those whom Jesus loves, causing a great wind with the sea to threaten to

00:23:57.160 capsize the boat where Jesus' disciples are in trouble. And so what does Jesus do? Well,

00:24:05.960 Jesus is on the mountain praying and although he is alone separate physically from the disciples

00:24:13.880 spiritually he is still with them and his mind is toward them his affection and compassion and care

00:24:23.660 is directed toward them and when his disciples are threatened by Satan and a storm of supernatural

00:24:33.120 origin. Jesus does what? He is praying on the mountain for them. He prays on the mountain

00:24:41.620 while his disciples struggle upon the waves. This is indicative of what we see elsewhere in Luke

00:24:49.020 chapter 22 verses 31 and 32 where Jesus says to Peter directly, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded

00:24:58.820 to have you that he might sift you like wheat but i have prayed for you that your faith may not fail

00:25:08.940 and when you have turned repented from being tempted by satan and giving in to that temptation

00:25:16.120 in his three denials of christ once you have turned repented been restored go and strengthen

00:25:24.080 your brothers. I remember a time in my life where I was struggling immensely. And I was reminded of

00:25:34.400 this text where Jesus promises Peter that although Satan had demanded to have him that he might sift

00:25:41.540 him like wheat, Jesus promised Peter that he would pray for him. And I remember struggling.

00:25:48.660 And I remember saying to the Lord in prayer,

00:25:52.880 I don't want your prayers.

00:25:55.660 If you are sovereign over all things,

00:25:57.700 including sin and suffering and Satan himself,

00:26:02.280 and Satan, therefore, because you're sovereign over him,

00:26:05.340 Satan must have permission in order to torment me

00:26:09.600 or anyone else for that matter.

00:26:11.940 In the same way he had to ask permission in the case of Job.

00:26:15.160 In the same way that he demanded to have Peter.

00:26:17.640 Well, I feel like Satan right now has me on the ropes.

00:26:21.300 And if you're actually sovereign over him,

00:26:23.680 and I believe that you are,

00:26:25.040 instead of assuring me that you'll pray for me

00:26:29.000 as Satan tries to sift me like wheat,

00:26:31.280 here's another idea, Jesus.

00:26:32.960 Why don't you just tell Satan no?

00:26:36.280 Keep your prayers.

00:26:38.180 And instead, just tell him to stop.

00:26:41.240 I would prefer that.

00:26:43.380 Right? That seems pretty glorious.

00:26:44.960 This way, manifest your glory by showing your power over Satan,

00:26:48.880 not by praying for me as Satan's giving me the old one-two punch on the ropes.

00:26:53.920 I mean, that's nice.

00:26:55.420 You could be up at the stands praying for me as I'm getting pummeled in the ring,

00:26:59.540 but you could also hop in the ring and body slam him and just tell him,

00:27:03.660 no, that would be awesome.

00:27:05.380 The crowd would go wild.

00:27:07.060 Jesus, Jesus.

00:27:08.840 Why not that tactic?

00:27:12.320 And there's a reason why not that tactic.

00:27:14.960 because although that is glorious

00:27:18.240 and although Christ has done it

00:27:20.300 and will with finality do it again

00:27:22.900 namely destroy Satan

00:27:25.020 and cast him in the lake of fire

00:27:26.960 that moment of him displaying his power

00:27:29.600 over Satan has happened many times

00:27:31.720 and it will happen in a great culmination

00:27:34.460 in a great climax

00:27:35.520 with finality at the end of the age

00:27:38.740 Jesus is not opposed to the suggestion

00:27:41.540 that I arrogantly gave him

00:27:44.420 however the reason he doesn't only employ that strategy with satan manhandling him

00:27:51.740 completely dismantling him the reason he doesn't exclusively use that strategy with satan when

00:27:58.780 satan comes and tempts us torments us orchestrates suffering and difficulty and challenging in our

00:28:08.180 lives, the reason why Jesus doesn't just tell him no, but instead intercedes for us on the

00:28:15.020 mountaintop as we are struggling in the waves is because it builds our trust in him. Because

00:28:23.060 trials and tribulation and suffering of all various kinds provides for us an opportunity

00:28:29.580 to not put confidence in our flesh,

00:28:33.500 but to put greater confidence in Christ.

00:28:38.560 Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you,

00:28:41.840 that he might sift you like wheat,

00:28:43.780 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail,

00:28:47.260 and when you have turned, repented,

00:28:50.060 strengthen your brothers.

00:28:52.680 Jesus is praying for us even now.

00:28:56.140 Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father,

00:28:59.020 and he continually makes intercession

00:29:01.700 on behalf of his church.

00:29:04.840 Jesus will defeat Satan

00:29:06.640 and in a very true sense

00:29:08.920 already has defeated Satan.

00:29:12.020 But Satan still roams around

00:29:14.660 like a roaring lion

00:29:15.800 seeking who he may devour.

00:29:17.820 There are still sufferings and trials

00:29:19.740 and difficulties in this life

00:29:21.640 and God who is sovereign over suffering,

00:29:25.120 sovereign over Satan,

00:29:26.400 still allows these challenges

00:29:29.360 to varying degrees

00:29:31.700 so that we might trust in Him.

00:29:35.600 So that we might be confronted

00:29:37.760 not merely with His,

00:29:40.200 that being God's power,

00:29:41.600 but be confronted in a way

00:29:43.760 that we cannot deny

00:29:45.180 with our weakness.

00:29:47.920 It's important that you see

00:29:49.580 the glory of God,

00:29:50.760 the strength of God,

00:29:51.760 the majesty of God.

00:29:53.960 But to truly appreciate God

00:29:55.780 for who He is, it is in some ways

00:29:58.100 just as important that you

00:29:59.900 be confronted not only with God's

00:30:01.880 glory, but with your weakness.

00:30:05.560 Your deficiency.

00:30:09.180 To appreciate the sufficiency of Christ,

00:30:12.320 we must at times

00:30:13.760 be reminded of the deficiency of

00:30:15.920 man. That we have

00:30:17.940 need of Christ because we're

00:30:19.800 weak. That we

00:30:21.760 desperately must cling to Christ

00:30:24.760 Because without Him, we are nothing.

00:30:28.720 In your notes, I've written this.

00:30:30.060 When the storm is at its height, then Christ comes near.

00:30:34.280 Not in the calm, but in the very midst of the waves.

00:30:38.320 So also does He ordinarily display His power in our lives.

00:30:42.640 Not by removing every trouble, but by showing Himself sovereign over our troubles.

00:30:48.880 And Christ dispels the disciples' fear with a single word,

00:30:52.660 take courage, it is I. Do not be afraid. And here we find the foundation of all true peace.

00:31:03.240 Christ's divine presence, not our circumstances. To put it another way, peace is this. It is the

00:31:12.480 presence of Christ, not the absence of storms. True peace that surpasses all understanding

00:31:20.060 is the presence of Christ,

00:31:22.840 not the absence of storms.

00:31:25.820 And if Christ produced peace for us

00:31:28.800 exclusively by calming storms,

00:31:32.940 then we would see favorable circumstances

00:31:35.500 as a source of peace

00:31:37.120 rather than Christ Himself.

00:31:39.740 Remember, peace is not just a principle

00:31:42.860 or a concept or an attribute.

00:31:46.280 Peace, ultimately, in the truest sense,

00:31:48.960 is a person.

00:31:50.060 He is the Prince of Peace.

00:31:53.620 You cannot have peace given by God

00:31:56.460 without receiving God Himself.

00:31:59.080 He is our peace.

00:32:01.380 And so what is true peace?

00:32:03.260 Peace is Christ's presence with us.

00:32:06.100 Fear not. Why?

00:32:07.560 Because the waves have ceased

00:32:08.800 and the wind has stopped.

00:32:11.020 No.

00:32:11.840 Christ tells Him, commands Him

00:32:13.840 to fear not before He actually calms the storm.

00:32:17.480 and so then what is the impetus of his command what is the reason for it he says fear not

00:32:26.800 but what does he say right before it is i why are we commanded not to fear

00:32:36.620 jesus does not command them not to fear only after having calmed the storm he commands his

00:32:43.280 disciples, and so too, even now, he commands you and I, his disciples, not to fear, but to take

00:32:51.140 courage. Why? Because the storm has ceased? No, even before that, because he's with us.

00:33:01.000 Because of the absence of unfavorable circumstances? No, because of the presence

00:33:07.720 of Christ with us.

00:33:10.960 It is I.

00:33:12.840 Why are the disciples commanded

00:33:14.960 to be at peace

00:33:16.660 and to not fear,

00:33:19.100 but to have courage?

00:33:21.180 Because the storm is still raging,

00:33:24.440 but Christ has now joined them

00:33:26.300 in the storm.

00:33:27.820 He's near,

00:33:29.000 and He is, after all,

00:33:31.400 the Prince of Peace.

00:33:33.740 While Peter's eyes are fixed on the Lord,

00:33:35.920 the water bears Him up.

00:33:37.720 But when he regards the wind, he begins to sink.

00:33:41.820 Thus, are we taught that faith stands firm only so far as it rests on Christ.

00:33:48.460 Now notice this.

00:33:51.160 The moment that we turn to behold our challenges and measure our own strength against them,

00:33:57.520 that is the moment we begin to fall.

00:34:01.320 Yet even in sinking, Peter does not ultimately perish,

00:34:04.460 for Christ stretches out his hand and so he deals with us. He permits our weakness to appear

00:34:10.860 that we may better know our need. When Peter begins to sink, at first he's doing pretty good,

00:34:18.620 right? Peter always gets a bad rap, oh Peter, oh Peter, oh Peter, he's so brash, he's so, you know,

00:34:23.860 Peter's over there cursing again, he's using words that we don't like, right? Peter was not, you know,

00:34:29.700 The tone police would not have appreciated Peter.

00:34:32.280 Peter was, you know, he was rough around the edges.

00:34:35.180 And we give him a bad rap for that.

00:34:36.980 We'll say Peter's being extreme.

00:34:38.580 Peter's being hyperbolic.

00:34:39.900 Peter's being foolish.

00:34:41.160 Oh, Peter, what an idiot.

00:34:42.440 Peter, he's so immature.

00:34:44.080 Yeah, but, you know, at the same time, Peter has, like, all the home runs on the team.

00:34:50.080 Like, all of them.

00:34:51.740 I mean, Peter's the one who, like, who do you say that I am?

00:34:55.280 You are the Christ, the Son of God.

00:34:56.980 That's Peter.

00:34:57.520 right here's the deal it's like babe ruth babe ruth had the most home runs he also had the most

00:35:04.160 strikeouts the guy swung for the fences always that's peter so peter has some home runs i mean

00:35:11.340 he's got some great plays hall of fame disciple and he also has some like swing miss spin around

00:35:19.700 fall on his face dirt in his mouth like some embarrassing moments but the guy's got heart

00:35:25.340 you got to give him that he's got heart and you one of the things that i think i appreciate most

00:35:31.240 about peter is that he he's the person i just described plus as far as we can tell he's probably

00:35:37.040 the oldest of the disciples so he's actually not right because sometimes we can think oh he's

00:35:42.440 brash it's probably because he's immature he just needs to grow up he's actually like arguably the

00:35:47.440 oldest one and he's still like the most extreme you know like john when they're racing to the

00:35:52.780 tomb, when they've received word that Jesus, his body is no longer there. John beats Peter,

00:35:59.600 likely because John was arguably the youngest of the disciples. He could still run a little bit.

00:36:05.540 He had some youthful invigoration. Peter gets there, winded, out of breath, last. John is standing

00:36:13.220 at the edge of the tomb. Peter doesn't even stop for a moment. He just barges in, pushes John out

00:36:17.780 other way he's the oldest and yet in some ways he's the most childlike not childish and there's

00:36:25.660 a distinct difference between the two not childish but childlike he has the faith of a child when

00:36:33.840 jesus says who do you say that i am you're the son of god when he hears word that the body of

00:36:41.000 Jesus is gone and perhaps he's risen from the dead, he barges into the tomb. He wants to investigate

00:36:48.200 it all himself. And when Jesus approaches the disciples in the midst of a storm walking

00:36:55.020 on the surface of the water, it's Peter who says, if it is you, Lord, call me to come upon the waves

00:37:03.160 and I will come. Notice he takes his gaze off of Jesus. Yes, he begins to sink in the waves

00:37:10.820 Yes, but he's also the only disciple who even dares to get out of the boat.

00:37:18.780 Now, when he takes his gaze off of Christ and begins to sink,

00:37:23.600 I've never thought of it this way until this week.

00:37:26.880 Why?

00:37:28.600 And I've always thought, you know, the answer to that question,

00:37:31.060 why does he begin to sink when he takes his gaze off of Jesus?

00:37:34.940 Well, it's because now he's looking to the storm.

00:37:37.520 He's looking to the waves.

00:37:38.840 He's looking to the wind.

00:37:39.820 he's looking to his challenges instead of looking to Christ. And by simply being distracted

00:37:46.640 from the object, the true, the rightful object of our gaze, being Christ himself, by merely being

00:37:53.940 distracted and looking to the challenge and the tribulation around him, that's what causes him to

00:38:00.180 sink. But as I was thinking about this a little bit more this week, I think there's another reason.

00:38:07.080 Not to say that the first is not true,

00:38:08.780 but perhaps to flesh out that concept just a little more.

00:38:13.520 Another reason that perhaps Peter begins to sink

00:38:16.520 is not just because he's looking at the challenges in unbelief,

00:38:21.880 losing faith, feeling overwhelmed,

00:38:24.820 but perhaps he's looking at the challenges and sizing them up.

00:38:29.900 He's not just looking at them in fear,

00:38:32.080 but he's looking at them in an analytical sort of way.

00:38:36.540 Maybe he's looking at them and saying,

00:38:38.060 I've got Jesus here,

00:38:39.420 but if anything happens to where somehow I don't.

00:38:41.640 If Jesus were to abandon me,

00:38:43.360 if he was to leave me,

00:38:44.820 I just want to get my bearings.

00:38:46.500 I just want to assess my surroundings

00:38:49.180 to see that if Jesus wasn't here,

00:38:51.480 in myself without Jesus,

00:38:53.360 would I be capable of swimming back to the boat

00:38:56.580 or making it to shore

00:38:57.980 or holding my breath long enough for that next wave

00:39:00.900 in order to come up again once it's passed?

00:39:03.360 I do think that there's probably an element of

00:39:07.100 not just Peter being afraid of the waves

00:39:10.400 and taking his gaze off of Jesus

00:39:12.820 but to ask the question why

00:39:16.320 he may be taking his gaze off of Jesus

00:39:19.540 and looking at the obstacles surrounding him

00:39:22.260 to see whether or not in his self

00:39:25.640 in his own strength

00:39:27.600 if he would have the ability

00:39:30.480 the power to meet those challenges

00:39:33.040 without Christ.

00:39:36.260 And when I thought of it that way

00:39:37.520 this week as I was preparing

00:39:38.820 for the sermon,

00:39:40.480 I thought of how often

00:39:41.700 I do that myself.

00:39:44.000 When there are challenges,

00:39:45.360 yes, by the grace of God,

00:39:47.040 He gets all the glory,

00:39:48.580 but I'll go to Him

00:39:49.820 as a Christian in prayer.

00:39:52.900 And I'll ask for His aid,

00:39:54.940 ask for His help.

00:39:56.120 But then very often,

00:39:58.340 I constantly have

00:40:00.380 a contingency plan.

00:40:02.180 I'm constantly assessing, analyzing, and sizing up whatever challenge it is

00:40:08.060 to see if Jesus doesn't come through, can Joel find his way out of this?

00:40:16.360 Can I beat this particular challenge in my own strength?

00:40:22.840 And see, I don't think it's simply fear is what I'm getting at.

00:40:26.840 I think it's also pride.

00:40:28.820 i don't think that peter simply begins to sink because of fear but because of pride when he

00:40:38.180 looks to the waves he fears and begins to sink but the question that that i couldn't help but

00:40:45.320 asking this week is why does he take his gaze off of jesus in the first place right once his gaze

00:40:52.920 has left Jesus and gone to the troubles

00:40:56.560 that surround him, his circumstances,

00:40:59.080 he sees how great they really are,

00:41:01.600 knows that there's no way in and of himself

00:41:03.740 that he'll be able to beat or best these challenges.

00:41:07.260 Then comes the fear.

00:41:08.680 Then comes the sinking.

00:41:10.440 But the question is,

00:41:11.580 why did he begin to look at the waves at all?

00:41:13.780 Why not just look at Christ?

00:41:16.840 And it's probably because

00:41:18.340 fear is what caused him to sink.

00:41:20.540 but pride is probably what caused him to look in the first place he wanted a contingency plan

00:41:28.500 he wanted to see that if Jesus were not there if Jesus were to suddenly leave him abandon him

00:41:36.260 would he be able to make it on his own and that is something that I think we often struggle with

00:41:45.000 we trust in Jesus but we'd also like to know that if Jesus abandoned us that we would still be okay

00:41:54.300 in our own strength and the reality is that if the answer to that question is yes

00:42:00.760 because there actually are some challenges that you might be able to beat in your own strength

00:42:06.920 but it's precisely not not not because god doesn't love you it's precisely because he loves you

00:42:15.200 that if that be the case if you're currently experiencing some kind of challenge that in and

00:42:20.820 of yourself you might be able to beat because god loves you he will bring you greater challenges

00:42:28.300 if your current challenge is something that you have a contingency plan and you'll be able to

00:42:34.180 ultimately triumph over it whether Jesus shows up or not then rest assured if you belong to Jesus

00:42:41.000 if you are one of his disciples and he loves you then eventually not a matter of if but merely a

00:42:48.120 matter of when he will bring you a challenge that you cannot triumph over because it is imperative

00:42:55.520 that you recognize that you need Him.

00:43:01.080 Not merely yourself, but Him.

00:43:04.540 He is the Prince of Peace.

00:43:08.460 Lastly, when Christ enters the boat,

00:43:11.420 it is then when He gives the command

00:43:13.220 that the winds cease,

00:43:14.780 that the storm stops

00:43:16.600 and the disciples, now saved, delivered,

00:43:20.380 confess the true and only conclusion

00:43:22.260 of this miracle.

00:43:23.340 They say, truly, you are the Son of God.

00:43:27.640 Their confession teaches us that the purpose of all providential suffering is this,

00:43:34.160 that we may know Christ more rightly and trust in Christ more completely.

00:43:41.460 God in his sovereignty allows challenges, suffering, temptation, difficulty,

00:43:48.180 troubles of all various kinds so that in the midst of difficulty we might be forced to rely upon

00:43:58.200 Christ and with his presence being with us that we might see him as our peace that we might know

00:44:07.260 him more rightly it's through this storm and ultimately Christ's sovereignty and power over

00:44:15.740 this storm, that the disciples then receive a revelation of who Jesus is. Truly, you are the

00:44:25.240 Son of God. And God uses suffering as a tool to create moments where we too might see his sovereignty

00:44:35.740 over suffering and know his divinity, know his mercy, know his character, that he is both powerful

00:44:45.360 omnipotent, and loving, omnibenevolent. So in conclusion, the Christian life is not free from

00:44:54.380 storms, but it is upheld in the midst of storms by the sovereignty of Christ. If dangers surround

00:45:01.960 us, then let us remember that he intercedes for us. If we falter, let us grasp his outstretched

00:45:09.140 hand. And if our hearts tremble, let us hear again his voice, which commands us, not just suggest to

00:45:16.820 us, but commands us to take courage. Why? Because the storm has ceased. No, even before the storm

00:45:25.860 has ceased, because he is with us. Take courage. It is I. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your

00:45:34.380 word we pray that you would bless it to your people that it would do us much good that it

00:45:39.440 would nourish our hearts strengthen our resolve and steady our souls but most importantly we pray

00:45:47.300 that in the preaching of your word and the ways that you nourish your people that we might better

00:45:51.520 live lives that glorify you we pray this in the name of your son Jesus amen

The NXR Podcast - November 23, 2025

THE SERMON - Demons, Storms, And Jesus ｜ Matthew 14_22-33

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