Page 25 - Back to Bethlehem

tired and they aren’t even half way obeying the Lord. It’s
impossible without a miracle to obey the Lord.

That’s the background. Let me set it up so we can get the
principle. There are three ways to relate to Jesus. Keep in mind
that we are talking about faith. I’m going to describe three scenes
and in each scene the disciples don’t move. Jesus moves but the
disciples don’t move. In the first scene, Jesus is on a mountain
praying and the disciples are on a stormy sea. Mark 6:46&47,
“And after bidding them farewell, He departed to the mountain
to pray. And when it was evening, the boat was in the midst of
the sea, and He was alone on the land.”

In the second scene Jesus is walking on the water and
He’s going to go past them. Mark 6:48, “And seeing them
straining at the oars, for the wind was against them, at about the
fourth watch of the night, He came to them, walking on the sea;
and He intended to pass by them.” So, the disciples are on the
sea and Jesus is on the mountain. The disciples are on the stormy
sea and Jesus is walking by.

Here’s the third scene, Mark 6:51, “And He got into the
boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were greatly
astonished…” He’s on the mountain, He’s on the sea and He’s
in the boat. At this point Matthew talks about Peter walking on
the water. But we aren’t going to look at that part. That was just
teaching the lessons of the loaves again.

So, I’m suggesting that we are on a stormy sea and we
can relate to Jesus on a mountain, we can relate to Jesus walking
by or we can relate to Jesus on the boat. Think about it. Which
would you rather have? Would you rather have Jesus on the
mountain or Jesus walking by or Jesus in the boat?

Let me discuss each of those. The first one, Jesus on the
mountain, Matthew 14:23, “...and after He had sent the
multitudes away, He went up to the mountain by Himself to pray;
and when it was evening, He was there alone.” Mark 6:46, “And
after bidding them farewell, He departed to the mountain to