“Jesus Walked on Water…But Their Hearts Were Hardened”
Russell H. McCullough / Archdale church of Christ, 2525 Archdale Drive,
Charlotte, NC 28210
www.archdale.org / gospelcall.blogspot.com - Date: 3 April 2016
Text: Mark 6.45 - 52
Thesis: It is far more
terrifying to have a hard heart than it is to drown at sea in a storm!
1
Introduction – Weather Terror on the Sea of
Galilee
A.
According
to research done by John McArthur and from Wikepedia:
· At 682 ft. BELOW sea level, the Sea
of Galilee is the lowest fresh water lake in the world.
· It is a maximum of 150 ft. deep, is
13 miles long, 8 miles wide and has a circumference of 33 miles.
· The depth drops most gradually south
to north while it drops most radically east to west.
· The Sea of Galilee is a 3 level
monomictic lake. The top strata is the
highest temperature with the lowest strata the coldest. In the summer, the strata mix to a more
uniform temperature and re stratify in winter.
· In OT times it was known as Lake
Gennesaret. In the NT times it was known
as the Sea of Galilee by the Jews and the Lake of Tiberius by the Romans. Today it is known by most people as Lake
Kinneret.
· The Sea of Galilee if fed from
underground springs but mainly from melting snows from 9,200 ft. high Mt.
Herman via the Jordan River.
· Because of the lakes unique
stratification, the algae content is perfect for a food source for fish. The record comes from a 1896 singular boat
catch of 9,200 lbs. of fish!
· The bowl effect of the lake is created
by mountains mainly on the east, north and west sides of the lake. From the North and Northwest, they typically
rise 1,500 ft. over water level and 3,100 ft. over water level the North and
Northeast.
· Even today, the Sea of Galilee
provides 50% of all water in Israel.
· The Sirocco summer winds are very
predictable. The average wind speed in
the month of July is 29.9 mile per hour.
These winds typically blow between noon and six daily during the summer
months.
· The winter winds are far more
chaotic, violent and unpredictable.
These result from colder air falling off the mountains and colliding
with the much warmer water surface temperatures. The city of Tiberius once had waves so high
that hit the city, that they invaded the city some 200 yards from its shore.
· Few environments could illustrate the
Lord’s power over nature than His conquest of the Sea of Galilee!
· There are other parts of this
occurrence that are not recorded in Marks gospel.
1)
Mark
is all about ACITON, appealing to a Roman audience.
2)
Matthew
is all about the KINGDOM OF GOD, appealing to a Jewish audience. (Chpt. 14)
a.
The
boat was beaten by the waves
b.
Peter’s
attempt to walk on the water
c.
The
wind ceased when Jesus climbed in
d.
They
worshipped Him as the Son of God
3)
John
is about THEOLOGY, specifically about the Divinity of Christ. (Chpt. 6)
a.
WHY
Christ ordered them into the boat
b.
They
were at a distance of 3 – 4 miles
c.
The
miraculous arrival…IMMEDIATE!
2
6.45 – Terror from Inside
A. The terror of the unknown order
B. The terror of separation
C. The terror of neglected prayer
3
6.46 – 50a – Terror from Outside
A. The terror of the night
B. The terror of the open sea
C. The terror of the imagination
D. The terror of the Spoken Word
4
6.50b - 52 – Terror Yet to Come
A. The terror of Jesus’ subjecting the winds and the waves
B. The terror of their ignorance of the loaves and the fishes
C. The terror the hard heart – THE MOST TERRIFYING THING OF
ALL WHEN ENCOUNTERING JESUS CHRIST!
5
The Meaning of the Text
A. The terror of being
out of control of one’s circumstances
B. The terror of ignorance of God’s Word
C. The TERROR of NOT
being TERRIFIED because of the HARDNESS OF HEART!
6
The Challenge of the Text
A. We must surrender
our circumstances to God
B. We must no longer remain ignorant of His Word
C. We must NOT harden our hearts towards Him as they did in
the rebellion or else…WE WILL BE TERRIFIED FOR ALL ETERNITY!
7
“The Gospel Call”
·
Surrender
your boat to Jesus
·
Trade
your terror for His peace
·
Give
Him your broken and contrite heart by obedience to the gospel
·
Die
to the love and practice of sin
·
Repent
of all your past sins
·
Confess
His Name before men
·
Be
immersed into His burial and rise to walk a new life…one FREE FROM TERROR!
·
My fifth great uncle was Hugh Gaston who was
rector at the Ballywillan Presbyterian Church (pictured above left) in County
Antrim, Ulster Plantation (Northern Ireland) and wrote the most dangerous book
of his time; Gaston’s Collections. It
allowed “the ploughman to know more Bible than his clergyman.” Hugh fled to South Carolina where he died
prematurely of the measles. He is buried
just one hour south of Charlotte in Chester County, S.C. in “Burnt Meeting
House Cemetery.” Uncle Hugh continues
to inspire my ministry to this very day.
You can read more about Uncle Hugh here: http://www.ballywillanpci.org/rev-hugh-gaston
Ruins photo courtesy of: ballywillanpci.org.
