John 6 is a long chapter featuring an extraordinary day: a day when Jesus learned of the death of John the Baptist, taught crowds of people for hours, fed thousands of people miraculously and then walked on water to reach His disciples in a boat on Lake Galilee. If ever there was a day which demonstrated the secret to Jesus’s power, this was it.

Jesus did not perform miracles because He was God. He did miracles through the power of the Holy Spirit to show us that this is how life can be when we are connected to God Himself. After He had fed the five thousand, He sent His disciples off, dismissed the crowd and then went to spend time in prayer, alone, with God. Prayer was the very foundation of His life and He knew that He could not give out constantly without being filled again by God’s Spirit. This is a very important spiritual principle in life. Ministry is about service and giving, but we can only serve and give from the overflow of our relationship with God. We have to take time out to be alone with God, just as Jesus did. We need to seek God’s face, in the privacy of that one-to-one relationship. If we do not, we will have nothing to give and will not be able to serve people effectively, for our service must be based on the love of God which He pours into us and must be rooted in the very nature of God.

The Gospels show us Jesus rising early in the morning and going to pray outdoors (Mark 1:35) or, as in this case, praying at night. It doesn’t really matter where we pray. It doesn’t really matter when we pray. What matters is that we are praying, that we are seeking God for His presence and power in our lives. Some of us are morning larks, and for us, praying very early in the morning is our fuel. Others are night owls and are rejuvenated by prayer late at night. Some of us will have a quiet place in the house for prayer; others will enjoy praying while walking the dog or being outdoors. It doesn’t matter which we find suits our personalities best. What matters is that we all need time alone with God, without distractions, without other people, time spent simply enjoying His presence and pouring out our hearts to Him.

This time alone with God becomes the fuel for all we need. The good news for us, as Peter discovered when he walked on the water like Jesus, is that through reliance on the Father and dependence on the Holy Spirit, we too can be used by God to do miracles. Jesus did not do miracles because He was God. He did miracles through the power of the Holy Spirit to show us that this is how life can be when we are connected to God Himself. We often focus on the fact that Peter sank when he took his eyes of Jesus, but the truth is that he experienced the same miracle that Jesus did when his eyes were on Jesus. As we rely on God, as we remain connected and plugged in to Him, we can do the miracles He did. ‘Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.’ (John 14:12)

As we continued looking at the miracles (signs) in John’s Gospel, this morning we looked at when Jesus walked on water to the disciples in a storm on Lake Galilee (John 6:16-24). This was a sign which followed on from the feeding of the five thousand and reminds us that the miracles Jesus did demonstrated who He was and His authority and power over any situation. Often, we have compartmentalised faith, believing God can work in some situations (e.g. in healing or provision) but not in others (e.g. in rescuing us from stormy situations.) John is at pains to show us Jesus working in every situation life can throw at us to remind us there is nothing beyond His capability.

This miracle features in other gospels (Matt 14:22-34 and Mark 6:45-52), where different aspects are predominant (the stretching of Peter’s faith as he too walks on water or the power of Jesus over the elements, for example.) In John’s Gospel, what we see most plainly is how the presence of Jesus dispels fear and allows the disciples to reach shore safely. The presence of Jesus with us is what will bring us through all situations and what will dispel fear. This message ‘do not be afraid’ is repeated throughout the Bible. It’s what the angel said to Mary when he brought her news of God’s intentions to make her the mother of the Son of God. (Luke 1:30) It’s what the angels said to the shepherds when announcing the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:10) and to the women after Jesus’s resurrection. (Matt 28:5) It’s what Jesus Himself said to those women when He first met them on Easter Sunday: “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” (Matt 28:10) God’s word to us is so often ‘don’t be afraid’; all the more so when we meet Him in His splendour and glory, as John discovered later in that great revelation: ‘When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.’ (Rev 1:17-18) Jesus may be all-powerful, but He does not want His people to live in fear and terror. He comes to us with reassurance and comfort, even as we are awed by His presence. Fear is not part of the Christian’s clothing. God does not want us to be fearful, terrified people. Perfect love casts our fear. (1 John 4:18)

It is the presence of Jesus with us which transforms our situations. We do not necessarily sail through life on a smooth sea. The disciples, it seems, frequently ran into problems when crossing the Sea of Galilee; on another occasion, Jesus speaks peace to the wind and storms and stuns the disciples by His authority over the weather. (Mark 4:35-41) But every situation these disciples – many of whom were experienced fishermen – faced on the water was overcome by the presence of Jesus with them. On that occasion, He was in the boat with them asleep throughout the raging storm and they woke Him up, feeling that He did not care about them. He then spoke peace to the winds and storm and rebuked the disciples for their lack of faith.We often feel that Jesus is not with us during our times of trial or that He is (like then) asleep on the job. But the truth is that we overcome through His presence with us (see Romans 8:35-39, 1 John 5:4-5, Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 26; Rev 3:5, 12, 21). If we will accept the presence of Jesus into every area of our lives – not trying to live compartmentalised lives – then we will find we too can overcome through His love and His presence.

Dave spoke tonight from Matt 21:12-17, when Jesus overturned the tables at the Temple and accused people of turning God’s house into a den of robbers. This episode does not match our image of Jesus as ‘meek and mild’, but shows us how Jesus cared passionately about injustice. He did not want the money-lenders and others to exclude people through their practices and wanted all people to have access to worship and to a personal relationship with God.

Whilst this episode shows us Jesus in justifiable anger, we also see that He cared about people and wanted to ensure that all could draw near to God. He was frequently criticised for spending time with tax collectors, sinners and prostitutes, but this shows us how He welcomed everyone. People were drawn to Him; they liked Him. They recognised a warmth and acceptance which was not at all incompatible with holiness but which was very different to the sanctimonious pride shown by religious leaders.

We too need to draw people to God, welcoming them and accepting them as they are. God welcomes the rich and the poor, the clever and those not-so-clever, the able and disabled, the ‘good, bad and ugly.’ We too must work like Jesus to bring freedom to our society and to break down barriers of separation.

The origin of evil, and why God allowed it in the first place, is a mystery that has been debated throughout the ages. The Bible tells us that Satan (also known as Lucifer and the devil) was originally an angel. Isaiah 14:9-14 speaks of a ‘morning star’ cast from heaven to earth as a result of pride, the desire to be like God (see also Luke 10:18); other Bible passages indicate that other angels also rebelled with Lucifer, and that these demons still have influence in our world today. (Rev 12:3-4, Jude 1:6) It seems from Revelation 9:1 that this ‘star’ is actually referring to Satan and that the judgments described in these chapters are carried out by demons released from the Abyss.

We may never understand why God allows any authority at all to the devil, but it is clear from the Bible that this is not a contest between equal adversaries. God is all-powerful and all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Jesus. (Matt 28:18-20) Even when God allows the devil to do harm (as happened with Job, for example), this is restricted and limited. We are urged to submit ourselves to God and to resist the devil. (James 4:7) Though the judgments described in the book of Revelation are fearsome, we can be assured that God is the ultimate victor and the devil will not be allowed to do evil forever. Moreover, we see throughout the Bible that God calls people to repentance, giving them ‘countless second chances’ (in the words of a Rend Collective song) to us. What is frightening about Revelation 9:20-21 is that people refuse to repent, just as Pharaoh did when the plagues came on Egypt (Ex 8:15, 32; Ex 9:34). We should heed the command to ‘repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near’ (Matt 4:7) while we have chance.