Prove It
“Walking on Water”
John 6:16-22

“Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.”  – John 20:30-31

Miracles are less common acts of God.
Signs are miracles that prove the identity of Jesus.

Miracle
	Empty Tomb
	Water into wine
	Healing of a son
	Healing at a pool
	Feeding of 5000+

Signs
	Jesus offers complete turnarounds
	Jesus provides and replenishes
	Jesus’ word is good
	Jesus always has a future for us
	Jesus is all you need

John 6:16-22 (Mark 6:45-52, Matthew 14:28-33)

Storms
	Will come (John 16:33)
	Throw you off course
	Seem bigger than us

“It is I; don’t be afraid.” – John 6:20b

Fear
	One of the most common emotions
		
Jesus knows that fear is serious!
	In the Gospels
		125 commands from Jesus
			Do not be afraid
			Have courage
			Take heart
			Be of good cheer
			Fear not
		8 commands to love God & neighbor

Fear
	Corrodes our confidence in God’s greatness
	Turns us into “control freaks”
	Deadens our ability to recall

Jesus’ presence
	He comes to us

It’s not the absence of storms that sets us apart, but who we discover in the storm that separates us!

Jesus’ presence
	A hard heart is blind to it (Mark 6:51-52)
	He calms the storm in us: peace
	
Biblical peace is the Hebrew word shalom. In Jewish culture it was known not as the absence of something but the fullness of the presence and wholeness of God in our life. Shalom means tranquility. It means harmony and peace and completeness. Peace is not offered in moments, it is offered every moment. It is for us to go after and to appreciate. It is an awareness of everything of the presence of God in every single thing we do. It is not just situational calmness. It goes beyond that. It is the Lord filling our life. The peace of Christ enables us to live surrounded by natural conflicts while still not being overcome. When turmoil tries to tackle us, we are able to stand upright in the midst of that just like a Palm Tree. – Joel Schmidgall

“The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” – Psalm 92:12

The presence of Jesus, when recognized, is the defining element of life!