Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 9th of August, 2026.  If all went well, a recording of the service may be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams for the older services or https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch3115/streams for later services.]

Family, our world throws so many distractions at us every single day.  There are so many things we have to do, so many places we need to go, so many tasks to be completed.  Our attention is pulled this way and that, in all different directions, seemingly all at once.  We’re presented with reports and findings that contradict each other.  Which do we believe, if any?  Which way do we turn?  How can we shut out all the noise so we can focus on what really matters?

When He heard that His kinsman John, the Baptist, had been executed by Herod, Jesus went off by Himself to a deserted place to grieve.  But the multitudes always managed to follow Him no matter where He went, or why.  So when they gathered around Him, He took pity on them and began teaching them and healing their illnesses and infirmities.  When it grew late, the crowd needed to eat, but there was no food, only five loaves and two fish.  Jesus took these meager portions, gave thanks for them, blessed them, and over five thousand people were fed, with plenty left over.

Please listen and follow along as the Apostle Matthew gives us a first-hand testimony of the miraculous event that happened next, in verses 22 through 33 of the 14th chapter of his Gospel account, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

22 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. 24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.

25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.

27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”

28 And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”

29 So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”

31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

33 Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”

--Matthew 14:22-33 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for inspiring Matthew to write down so much of Jesus’ ministry so it would be saved for us to read about today.  Matthew and John both walked with Your Son, and Mark and Luke gathered the recollections of the others who were with Him during those three short years.  Without their reports, and the letters of Paul, we would not know Jesus like we do.  Father, please open our hearts to pay heed to Your message this morning, to receive Your word.  Touch each of us with Your most Holy Spirit that we might be moved to better serve You.  In the precious name of Christ Jesus we pray.  Amen.

The little Guideposts magazine once noted that, “Nothing that is valuable is achieved without effort. Fritz Kreisler, the famous violinist, testified to this point when he said, ‘Narrow is the road that leads to the life of a violinist. Hour after hour, day after day and week after week, for years, I lived with my violin. There were so many things that I wanted to do that I had to leave undone; there were so many places I wanted to go that I had to miss if I was to master the violin. The road that I traveled was a narrow road and the way was hard.’”

Kreisler experienced those distractions that I mentioned a bit ago, yet he kept his attention on one thing.  He said that mastering the violin was like traveling a narrow road, requiring constant and disciplined focus.

Jesus said, “Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”  (Matthew 7:14 (NKJV))  If we want to stay on that narrow way and not get lost, we must keep our focus on Jesus.

Matthew is the only Gospel writer who recorded and told of this particular event for us, of Jesus walking on the surface of the sea and Peter’s attempt to do so.  This story speaks of faith, and of how tenuous our human faith can be, and usually is.  “O you of little faith”, Jesus said.  “Why did you doubt?”

Peter believed Jesus could do anything He wanted to do, so he knew that if he asked Jesus to command him to walk on water, and if Jesus would do so, that he could indeed walk on water.  He was sure of it.  His faith was strong.  And Peter was doing fine, at first – walking on the water toward his Master.  But then he took his eyes off of Jesus.  He was distracted by the wind and the waves.  The storm raging around him pulled his attention away and he began to sink into the sea.  “Lord!  Save me!”, he cried, and of course Jesus did.  And as they climbed into the boat, the storm ceased.

There was a time when the Pharisee Nicodemus – a teacher of the Jews – wanted desperately to speak with Jesus.  He acknowledged that Jesus had to have been sent from God, for how else could He do all those wondrous works and signs.  Please hear a part of their conversation, as recorded by the Apostle John in verses 12 through 17 of the 3rd chapter of his Gospel account…

12 “If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” 

--John 3:12-17 (NKJV)

John 3:16 – the verse known round the world by believers and non-believers alike – is in that passage, but I want to look at what Jesus said before this.  He used an analogy that He must be lifted up just as the serpent was lifted up in the wilderness.  This refers to the records of Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness after escaping Egypt, when God sent fiery serpents into their camp after they had sinned.  Please hear what God said to Moses, and how Moses responded, as saved for us in the Book of Numbers, chapter 21, verses 8 and 9…

8 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

--Numbers 21:8-9 (NKJV)

It makes no sense that simply looking at the figure of a snake on a pole could cure someone of snakebite, but it did.  It makes no sense that simply believing in Jesus as Lord could grant us eternal life in heaven, but it does.  This isn't about making sense.  It's about having faith, faith in God’s promises, faith that God can do anything.  The people had merely to turn their eyes upon that bronze serpent to live.  We have merely to turn our eyes upon Jesus to live forever.

So, what do we do when bombarded daily?  How do we ignore all the world’s distractions?  How do we block out all the noise?  How do we maintain our sanity?

By keeping our focus on Jesus.  By not letting whatever is going on around us pull our eyes off Him.  By knowing that when we do get in trouble, His hand will save us.  He may not calm the storm raging around us, but He will calm the storm raging within us if we will stop, look at Him, listen to His words, and trust wholly in Him.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus.  Look full in His wonderful face.  And the things of earth will grow strangely dim.  In the light of His glory and grace.

In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for showing us that reason may mislead us, that what makes sense might not lead us in the right direction.  Through Your word to Moses and Your inspiration to Matthew and John to record Jesus’ words, we know that in the final analysis, faith is all that matters.  Faith leads us to truth, and truth to everlasting life.  We thank You, Father, for giving each of us a measure of faith.  We trust You, Father, when You tell us it’s all about faith, so we nourish our faith, keeping it strong and growing.  Sadly though, Father, too often we let our faith weaken as our spirit weakens.  We grow lukewarm or even cold when hard times hit.  Please remind us, Father, that all things will pass, and that any suffering we endure in this present age will not compare to the glory and joy which will be revealed in us and to us.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment so that each of us can speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your and our Lord’s commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, thank You for using the incident that Moses and the children of Israel experienced in the wilderness to express what You would soon endure, and how it would affect us, how our faith would play a crucial role in dealing with it.  You knew that You would be raised up on a cross, and all anyone has to do is turn their eyes upon You, to focus on You, and they will live.  We look to You, Jesus, for our comfort, our guidance, our healing, and for Your love.  And we thank You, Lord.

Please help us be a better witness for You, of Your teachings, of Your mighty deeds, and of Your love.  Please help us love in the same way that You love: selflessly, unconditionally, sacrificially.  Help us show Your love and God’s love as we reach out to others, sharing the wonderful Gospel message.  Help us carry out the mission You gave us, seeking the lost sheep and leading them to You.

Holy Spirit, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  All this we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.