"But straightway Jesus spake unto them saying, Be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid."--Matt. 14:27.
All we have had about the work of the blessed Spirit is dependent
upon what we think of Jesus, for it is from Christ Jesus
that the Spirit comes to us; it is to Christ Jesus that the Spirit
ever brings us; and the one need of the Christian life day by
day and hour by hour is this,--the presence of the Son of God.
God is our salvation. If I have Christ with me and Christ in me,
I have full salvation. We have spoken about the life of failure
and of the flesh, about the life of unbelief and disobedience,
about the life of ups and downs, the wilderness life of sadness
and of sorrow; but we have heard, and we have believed, there
is deliverance. Bless God, He brought us out of Egypt, that He
might bring us into Canaan, into the very rest of God and Jesus
Christ. He is our peace, He is our rest. Oh, if I may only have
the presence of Jesus as the victory over every sin: the presence
of Jesus as the strength for every duty, then my life shall be
in the full sunshine of God's unbroken fellowship, and the word
will be fulfilled to me in most blessed experience, "Son,
thou art ever with me, and all I have is thine," and my heart
shall answer, "Father, I never knew it, but it is true,--I
am ever with thee and all Thou hast is mine." God has given
all He has to Christ, and God longs that Christ should have you
and me entirely. I come to every hungry heart and say, "If
you want to live to the glory of God, seek one thing, to claim,
to believe that the presence of Jesus can be with you every moment
of your life.
I want to speak about the presence
of Jesus as it is set before us in that blessed story of Christ's
walking on the sea. Come and look with me at some points that
are suggested to us.
1. Think, first, of the presence
of Christ lost. You know the disciples loved Christ, clung
to Him, and with all their failings, they delighted in Him. But
what happened? The Master went up into the mountain to pray, and
sent them across the sea all alone without Him; there came a storm,
and they toiled, rowed, and labored, but the wind was against
them, they made no progress, they were in danger of perishing,
and how their hearts said, "Oh, if the Master only were here!"
But His presence was gone. They missed Him. Once before, they
had been in a storm, and Christ had said, "Peace, be still,"
and all was well; but here they are in darkness, danger, and terrible
trouble, and no Christ to help them. Ah, isn't that the life of
many a believer at times? I get into darkness, I have committed
sin, the cloud is on me, I miss the face of Jesus; and for days
and days I work, worry, and labor; but it is all in vain, for
I miss the presence of Christ. Oh, beloved, let us write that
down,--the presence of Jesus lost is the cause of all our wretchedness
and failure.
2. Look at the second step,--the
presence of Jesus dreaded. They were longing for the presence
of Christ, and Christ came after midnight: He came walking on
the water amid the waves; but they didn't recognize Him, and they
cried out, for fear, "It is a spirit!" Their beloved
Lord was coming nigh, and they knew Him not. They dreaded His
approach. And, ah, how often have I seen a believer dreading the
approach of Christ,--crying out for Him, longing for Him, and
yet dreading His coming. And why? Because Christ came in a fashion
that they expected not.
Perhaps some have been saying, "Alas,
alas! I fear I never can have the abiding presence of Christ."
You have heard what we have said about a life in the Spirit: you
have heard what we have said about abiding ever in the presence
of God and in His fellowship, and you have been afraid of it,
afraid of it; and you have said, "It is too high and too
difficult." You have dreaded the very teaching that was going
to help you. Jesus came to you in the teaching, and you didn't
recognize His love.
Or, perhaps, He came in a way that
you dreaded His presence. Perhaps God has been speaking to you
about some sin. There is that sin of temper, or that sin of unlovingness,
or that sin of unforgivingness, or that sin of worldliness, compromise,
and fellowship with the world, that love of man and man's honor,
that fear of man and man's opinion, or that pride and self confidence.
God has been speaking to you about it, and yet you have been frightened.
That was Jesus wanting to draw you nigh, but you were afraid.
You don't see how you can give up all that, you are not ready
to say, "At any sacrifice I am going to have that taken out
of me, and I will give it up," and while God and Christ were
coming nigh to bless you, you were afraid of Him.
Oh, believers, at other times Christ
has come to you with affliction, and perhaps you have said, "If
I want to be entirely holy, I know I shall have to be afflicted,
and I am afraid of affliction," and you have dreaded the
thought, "Christ may come to me in affliction." The
presence of Christ dreaded!--oh, beloved, I want to tell you it
is all misconception. The disciples had no reason to dread that
"spirit" coming there, for it was Christ Himself; and,
when God's word comes close to you and touches your heart, remember
that is Christ out of Whose mouth goes the two-edged sword. It
is Christ in His love coming to cut away the sin, that He may
fill your heart with the blessing of God's love. Beware of dreading
the presence of Christ.
3. Then comes the third thought,--the
presence of Christ revealed. Bless God! When Christ heard
how they cried, he spoke the words of the text, "Be of good
cheer; it is I; be not afraid." Ah, what gladness those words
brought to those hearts! There is Jesus, that dark object appears,
that dreaded form. It is our blessed Lord Himself. And, dear friends,
the Master's object, whether it be by affliction or otherwise,
is to prepare for receiving the presence of Christ, and through
it all Jesus speaks, "It is I; be not afraid." The presence
of Christ revealed! I want to tell you that the Son of God, oh
believer, is longing to reveal Himself to you. Listen! Listen!
LISTEN! Is there any longing heart? Jesus says, "Be of good
cheer; it is I; be not afraid."
Oh, beloved; God has given us Christ.
And does God want me to have Christ every moment? Without doubt.
God wants the presence of Christ to be the joy of every hour of
my life, and, if there is one thing sure, Christ can reveal Himself
to me every moment. Are you willing to come and claim this privilege?
He can reveal Himself. I cannot reveal Him to you; you cannot
grasp Him; but He can shine into your heart. How can I see the
sunlight tomorrow morning, if I am spared? The sunlight will reveal
itself. How can I know Christ? Christ can reveal Himself. And,
ere I go further, I pray you to set your heart upon this, and
to offer the humble prayer, "Lord, now reveal Thyself to
me, so, that I may never lose the sight of Thee. Give me to understand
that through the thick darkness Thou comest to make Thyself known."
Let not one heart doubt, however dark it may be,--at midnight,--whatever
midnight there be in the soul,--at midnight, in the dark, Christ
can reveal Himself. Ah, thank God, often after a life of ten and
twenty years of dawn, after a life of ten and twenty years of
struggling, now in the light, and now in the dark, there comes
a time when Jesus is willing just to give Himself to us, nevermore
to part. God grant us that presence of Jesus!
4. And now comes the fourth thought,--The
presence of Jesus lost, was the first; the presence of
Jesus dreaded, was the second; the presence of Jesus revealed,
was the third; the presence of Jesus desired, is the fourth.
What happened? Peter heard the Lord, and yonder was Jesus, some
30, 40, 50 yards distant, and He made as though He would have
passed them; and Peter,--in a preceding chapter I spoke about
Peter, shewing what terrible failure and carnality there was in
him,--but, bless the Lord, Peter's heart was right with Christ,
and he wanted to claim His presence, and he said, "Lord,
if it be Thou, bid me come upon the water to Thee." Yes,
Peter could not rest; he wanted to be as near to Christ as possible.
He saw Christ walking on the water; he remembered Christ had said,
"Follow Me;" he remembered how Christ, with the miraculous
draught of fishes, had proved that He was Master of the sea, and
of the waters, and he remembered how Christ had stilled the storm;
and, without argument or reflection, all at once he said, "There
is my Lord manifesting Himself in a new way; there is my Lord
exercising a new and supernatural power, and I can go to my Lord,
He is able to make me walk where He walks." He wanted to
walk like Christ, he wanted to walk near Christ. He didn't say,
"Lord, let me walk around the sea here," but he said,
"Lord, let me come to Thee."
Friends, would you not like to have
the presence of Christ in this way? Not that Christ should come
down,--that is what many Christians want; they want to continue
in their sinful walk, they want to continue in their worldly walk,
they want to continue in their old life, and they want Christ
to come down to them with His comfort, His presence, and His love;
but that cannot be. If I am to have the presence of Christ, I
must walk as He walked. His walk was a supernatural one. He walked
in the love and in the power of God. Most people walk according
to the circumstances in which they are, and most people say, "I
am depending upon circumstances for my religion. A hundred times
over you hear people say, "My circumstances prevent my enjoying
unbroken fellowship with Jesus." What were the circumstances
that were found about Christ? The wind and the waves,--and Christ
walked triumphant over circumstances; and Peter said, "Like
my Lord I can triumph over all circumstances: anything around
me is nothing, if I have Jesus." He longed for the presence
of Christ. Would God that, as we look at the life of Christ upon
earth, as we look how Christ walked and conquered the waves, every
one of us could say, "I want to walk like Jesus." If
that is your heart's desire, you can expect the presence of Jesus;
but as long as you want to walk on a lower level than Christ,
as long as you want to have a little of the world, and a little
of self-will, do not expect to have the presence of Christ. Near
Christ, and like Christ,--the two things go together. Have you
taken that in? Peter wanted to walk like Christ that he might
get near Christ; and it is this I want to offer every one of you.
I want to say to the weakest believer, "With God's presence
you can have the presence and fellowship of Christ all the day
long, your whole life through." I want to bring you that
promise, but I must give God's condition,--walk like Christ, and
you shall always abide near Christ. The presence of Christ invites
you to come and have unbroken fellowship with Him.
5. Then comes the next thought.
We have just had the presence of Christ desired, and my next thought
is,--the presence of Christ trusted. The Lord Jesus said,
"Come," and what did Peter do? He stepped out of the
boat. How did he dare to do it against all the laws of nature?--how
did he dare to do it? He sought Christ, he heard Christ's voice,
he trusted Christ's presence and power, and in the faith of Christ
he said, "I can walk on the water," and he stepped out
of the boat. Here is the turning point; here is the crisis. Peter
saw Christ in the manifestation of a supernatural power, and Peter
believed that supernatural power could work in him, and he could
live a supernatural life. He believed this applied to walking
on the sea; and herein lies the whole secret of the life of faith.
Christ had supernatural power,--the power of heaven, the power
of holiness, the power of fellowship with God, and Christ can
give me grace to live as He lived. If I will but, like Peter,
look at Christ and say to Christ, "Lord, speak the word,
and I will come," and if I will listen to Christ saying,
"Come," I, too, shall have power to walk upon the waves.
Have you ever seen a more beautiful
and more instructive symbol of the Christian life? I once preached
on it many years ago, and the thought that filled my heart then
was this,--the Christian life compared to Peter walking on the
waves, nothing so difficult and impossible without Christ, nothing
so blessed and safe with Christ. That is the Christian life,--impossible
without Christ's nearness,--most safe and blessed, however difficult,
if I only have the presence of Christ. Believers, we have tried
in these pages to call you to a better life in the Spirit, to
a life in the fellowship with God. There is only one thing can
enable you to live it,--you must have the Lord Jesus hold your
hand every minute of the day. "But can that be?" you
ask. Yes, it can. "I have so much to think of. Sometimes
for four or five hours of the day I have to go into the very thick
of business and have some ten men standing around me, each claiming
my attention. How can I, how can I always have the presence of
Jesus?" Beloved, because Jesus is your God and loves you
wonderfully, and is able to make His presence more clear to you
than that of ten men who are standing around you. If you will
in the morning take time and enter into your covenant every morning
with Him, "My Lord Jesus, nothing can satisfy me but Thine
abiding presence," He will give it to you, He will surely
give it to you. Oh, Peter trusted the presence of Christ, and
He said, "If Christ calls me I can walk on the waves to Him."
Shall we trust the presence of Christ? To walk through all the
circumstances and temptations of life is exactly like walking
on the water,--you have no solid ground under your feet, you do
not know how strong the temptations of Satan may come; but do
believe God wants you to walk in a supernatural life above human
power. God wants you to live a life in Christ Jesus. Are you wanting
to live that life? Come then, and say, "Jesus, I have heard
Thy promise that Thy presence will go with me. Thou hast said,
"My presence shall go with thee,"--and, Lord, I claim
it; I trust Thee."
6. Now, the sixth step in this wonderful
history. The presence of Christ forgotten. Peter got out
of the boat and began to walk toward the Lord Jesus with his eyes
fixed upon Him. The presence of Christ was trusted by him, and
he walked boldly over the waves; but all at once he took his eyes
off Jesus, and he began at once to sink, and there was Peter,
his walk of faith at an end; all drenched and drowning and crying,
"Lord, help me!" There are some of you saying in your
hearts, I know, "Ah, that's what will come of your higher-life
Christians." There are people who say, "You never can
life that life; do not talk of it; you must always be failing."
Peter always failed before Pentecost. It was because the Holy
Spirit had not yet come, and therefore his experience goes to
teach us, that while Peter was still in the life of the flesh
he must fail somehow or other. But, thank God, there was One to
life him out of the failure; and our last point will be to prove
that out of that failure he came into closer union with Jesus
than ever before, and deeper dependence. But listen, first, while
I speak to you about this failure.
Someone may say, "I have been
trying, to say, `Lord, I will live it;' but, tell me, suppose
failure come, what then?" Learn from Peter what you ought
to do. What did Peter do? The very opposite of what most do. What
did he do when he began to sink? That very moment, without one
word of self-reproach of self-condemnation, he cried, "Lord,
help me!" I wish I could teach every Christian that. I remember
the time in my spiritual life when that became clear to me; for
up to that time, when I failed, my only thought was to reproach
and condemn myself, and I thought that would do me good. I found
it didn't do me good; and I learn from Peter that my work is,
the very moment I fail, to say, "Jesus, Master, help me!"
and the very moment I say that, Jesus does help me. Remember,
failure is not an impossibility. I can conceive more than one
Christian who said, "Lord, I claim the fulness of the Holy
Ghost. I want to live every hour of every day filled with the
Holy Spirit;" and I can conceive that an honest soul who
said that with a trembling faith, yet may have fallen; I want
to say to that soul, Don't be discouraged. If failure comes, at
once, without any waiting, appeal to Jesus. He is always ready
to hear, and the very moment you find there is the temper, the
hasty word, or some other wrong, at once the living Jesus is near,
so gracious, and so mighty. Appeal to Him and there will be help
at once. If you learn to do this, Jesus will lift you up and lead
you on to a walk where His strength shall secure you from failure.
7.And then comes my last thought.
The presence of Jesus was forgotten while Peter looked at the
waves; but now, lastly, we have the presence of Jesus restored.
Yes, Christ stretched out His hand to save him. Possibly--for
Peter was a very proud, self-confident man--possibly he had to
sink there to teach him that his faith could not save him, but
it was the power of Christ. God wants us to learn the lesson that
when we fall then we can cry out to Jesus, and at once He reaches
out His hand. Remember, Peter walked back to the boat without
sinking again. Why? Because Christ was very near him. Remember
it is quite possible, if you use your failure rightly, to be far
nearer Christ after it than before. Use it rightly, I say. That
is, come and acknowledge, "In me there is nothing, but I
am going to trust my Lord unboundedly." Let every failure
teach you to cling afresh to Christ, and He will prove Himself
a mighty and a loving Helper. The presence of Jesus restored!
Yes, Christ took him by the hand and helped him, and I don't know
whether they walked hand in hand those forty or fifty yards back
to the boat, or whether Christ allowed Peter to walk beside Him;
but this I know, they were very near to each other, and it was
the nearness of his Lord that strengthened him.
Remember what has taken place since
that happened with Peter. The cross has been erected, the blood
has been shed, the grave has been opened, the resurrection has
been accomplished, heaven has been opened, and the Spirit of the
Exalted One has come down. Do believe that it is possible for
the presence of Jesus to be with us every day and all the way.
Your God has given you Christ, and He wants to give you Christ
into your heart in such a way that His presence shall be with
you every moment of your life.
Who is willing to lift up his eyes
and his heart and to exclaim, "I want to live according to
God's standard?" Who is willing? Who is willing to cast himself
into the arms of Jesus and to live a life of faith victorious
over the winds and the waves, over the circumstances and difficulties?
Who is willing to say this,--"Lord, bid me come to Thee upon
the water?" Are you willing? Listen! Jesus says, "Come."
Will you step out at this moment? Yonder is the boat, the old
life that Peter had been leading; he had been familiar with the
sea from his boyhood, and that boat was a very sacred place; Christ
had sat beside him there; Christ had preached from that boat,
from that boat of Peter's, Christ had given the wonderful draught
of fishes; it was a very sacred boat; but Peter left it to come
to a place more sacred still,--walking with Jesus on the water,--a
new and a Divine experience. Your Christian life may be a very
sacred thing; you may say, "Christ saved me by His blood,
He has given me many an experience of grace; God has proved His
grace in my heart," but you confess "I haven't got the
real life of abiding fellowship; the winds and the waves often
terrify me, and I sink." Oh, come out of the boat of past
experiences at once; come out of the boat of external circumstances;
come out of the boat, and step out on the word of Christ, and
believe, "With Jesus I can walk upon the water." When
Peter was in the boat, what had he between him and the bottom
of the sea? A couple of planks; but when he stepped out upon the
water what had he between him and the sea? Not a plank, but the
word of the Almighty Jesus. Will you come, and without any experience,
will you rest upon the word of Jesus, "Lo I am with you alway"?
Will you rest upon His word, "Be of good cheer; fear not;
it is I"? Every moment Jesus lives in heaven; every moment
by His Spirit Jesus whispers that word; and every moment He lives
to make it true. Accept it now, accept it now! My Lord Jesus is
equal to every emergency. My Lord Jesus can meet the wants of
every soul. My whole heart says, "He can, He can
do it; He will, He will do it!" Oh come, believers,
and let us claim most deliberately, most quietly, most restfully,--let
us claim, claim it, claim it, CLAIM it.
FILL THE VOID HOME YOUTH PAGE KID'S PAGE HOW TO GET TO HEAVEN HEAVEN or HELL? ONLINE BIBLE OUR MISSION HELP US TO SHARE THE GOSPEL CONTACT US