The gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ is for those of us who need a
righteousness other than our own righteousness, a righteousness that exceeds
that of the scribes and Pharisees, a perfect righteousness, the
righteousness of Christ. I meet so many people that claim
to have made the grade and be making the grade. If I believe they were half as
good as they claim to be, I'd be so depressed I'd never lift
my head again. But the truth is, we're all made
out of the same stuff. And it's not righteousness. It's dirt. So we need the righteousness
of another. Now, our critics say, and you
may have heard this, that religion is a crutch. And they say some
people are so weak, they need a crutch. And religion is that
crutch. Well, if they want to say it
that way, fine. I am weak. I do need a crutch. But it's
not just religion. It's the person of Jesus Christ
that I lean on and walk by. Christ is my Redeemer. Mr. Spurgeon said, if I might have
the choice between being abundantly wealthy or being brought to absolute
dependence on Jesus Christ, I should choose the latter. I believe it is a happier and
more divine life to live from hand to mouth, dependent on the
providence of God and having all confidence and trust in him
than it is to have all the abundance of this world and have nothing
wherein faith may exercise itself in my heart. I say amen to that. From this passage this morning,
Mark 4, I'm titling the message, The Voice of Authority. The Voice
of Authority. The scripture says at the end
of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7, 29, that Jesus taught them
as one having authority. and not as the scribes. The scribes, the Pharisees, the
chief priests, the elders of Israel, they claimed to be the
voice of authority. But the common people were astonished,
it said, at Christ's doctrine, for he taught them as one having
authority. They recognize his authority. And they stated the contrast,
not as the scribes. They just pretend to have the
authority. This one has it. So we have this voice of authority
here in Mark 4. You're familiar with the story.
The storm is raging. And Christ's disciples, some
of them experienced seamen, old fishermen. And they know this
Sea of Galilee like the back of their hand. And this is the
worst they've ever seen it. They're fully convinced they're
going under. And they say to the Lord in verse
38, Master, carest thou not that we perish. They were convinced. Have you
ever been convinced that you're going under? And you say to the Lord, maybe
not out loud, but in your mind, Lord, don't you care that I'm
going under? Don't you care that this is the
end of the road for me? Well, in response to that, verse
39, he arose. And rebuke to the wind. And this
voice of authority spake three words, peace. Be still. Nature responded, what we call
nature responded to this voice of authority. Immediately we
read, and the wind ceased and there was a great calm. Not just
a calm, but a great calm. It was one of those unusual times
when the surface of the sea was smooth as glass. The voice of
authority has spoken. Now these disciples, the last
line in the chapter, They looked at each other, shook their head,
and began to ask, what manner of man is this that even the
wind and the sea obey him? We have never in all our lifetime
seen any such as this or heard any such voice of authority. But the little statement I want
to talk about now is not during the storm or after the storm,
but before the storm, before they ever left the shore. This
voice of authority said to them in verse 35, these eight little
words, let us pass over unto the other side. This is a powerful
statement. of our Lord's sovereignty, rule,
and authority in all and over all. He's speaking to the twelve. Let us pass over on the other
side. It's not a suggestion. He doesn't
say who's interested in going. He doesn't say how many are interested
in going. It's not an invitation. There's no discussion about it. It's not a debatable proposal. It's the voice of authority making
a clear, positive, authoritative statement. Let us pass over onto
the other side. Now don't miss the symbolism.
Crossing waters in the scripture represents changing worlds, so
to speak. When Noah passed through the
floodwaters and got off the ark, it was a new world for him. Everything
was different. When the Israelites, those born
in Egypt, grew up in Egypt, never knew anything but Egypt, when
they crossed the Red Sea, it was a new world for them. And
then 40 years later, when another generation, born in the wilderness,
grew up in the wilderness, lived in the wilderness, never knew
anything but the wilderness, when they crossed the Jordan
into Canaan, It's a new world, a new life for them. So represented
in this text is the ultimate crossing as the Lord's people
journey with Him across the stormy seas of this life, passing over
with Him from this world into a blissful eternity. Precious,
precious picture. Now I have just three thoughts
about this this morning. I promise we won't be over an
hour. Just stay with me, okay? Three thoughts from these eight
words. Let us pass over unto the other side. Number one, there
is a select participation in this journey that's to be made. This force of authority speaks
to a specific company, his disciples. Not everybody was invited to
make the crossing. Of course, the 12 here are representative
of God's elect. And I say representatively, not
literally. We know Judas Iscariot was a
devil from the beginning. But there's many things in scripture
that are representative that are not actual. But they're representative
here of God's elect, the church. And he says to them, let us. He didn't say that to the multitude,
but he says that to the disciples, let us. John 15, 16, you have
not chosen me. but I have chosen you." This
word, us, let us, and I say this often, it's used throughout the
New Testament, not addressing the unbelieving world, but the
believing world. All of Paul's epistles are written
either to local churches or to individual believers like Timothy,
Titus, Philemon, and the other epistles of John,
Peter, James, and Jude. They're all written to believers. That's why they use the word
us so much, including themselves and other believers. And to understand that the word
us All through the New Testament, it's not Adam's race, but the
us is us believers. It's who Paul wrote to, it's
who John, Peter, James, they all wrote to. And to understand
that will help you with many verses of scripture. For instance,
Romans 8.32, he that spared not his own son, but delivered him
up for us all. You say, well, now that's universal
atonement. No, it's not. He didn't say he delivered him
up for them all, but for us all. Paul, a believer, is talking
to the believers at Rome. And by divine inspiration, he's
talking to believers now. It delivered him up for us all.
How shall he then not with him also freely give us all things? And so the us in our text here,
Mark 4, 35, is the disciples, talking about the disciples.
Now notice the multitude, verse 36, is sent away. Sent away. They're not part of this select
company who hear the voice of authority
to get in the boat. He speaks to whom he will and
says, let's move out. We're crossing over and the multitude's
left behind. One of the great heresies of
our generation is the implication of God's desperation. It's just not so. Old Brother
Kirkendall used to say, God is saving all he purposed to save,
and he's damning the rest. And he's absolutely just in doing
so. Our God is not losing the war. You say, but it looks like everything's
going to the dogs. Yeah, it's looked like that a
long time. The Communists are going to take
over by 1972, they say. Christ is coming by 1988, they
say. He's got to. The world's going to end at Y2K. Yeah. The Muslims are going to take
over. Yeah. I guess. What about God? Where's he at in all this? Same
place he's always been. on His throne, calling the shots. And He'll be calling them tomorrow
too. Our God is not losing the war.
What is happening in this world, sin is running its course. And sin will collect its wages, plunging multitudes into a much-deserved
eternity without God and without hope. And but for the intervening
grace of God, that's what sin would do to all of us. But Christ has said to his own,
get in the ship. Let us pass over to the other
side. And what if they say no? John
10, 27. My sheep hear my voice. and they follow me. All else will perish somewhere,
sometime, somehow, in this stormy sea of life. Really, the Lord Jesus Christ
is the ship. To be in Him is to make it across. That's the only way across. If
you're counting on anything else, it won't work. It doesn't matter
how religious you are, You say, but I've been a good person.
That's fine. There's a problem with being
a good person. How good is good? How good is good? To make it
on being good, you have to be as good as God is. His standard
is perfection. And that's why we must be in
Christ, not stand on our own. That's why the only people with
any hope of everlasting life are those in Christ, those who
have abandoned self, those who have said, I cannot swim across
this sea. I've had so many people tell
me, oh, I'll make it somehow. There is no somehow. There's
just one. There's just one. I can't do
enough. to survive in this stormy sea.
Neither can you. You must absolutely and entirely
abandon self, self-goodness, self-righteousness, self-works,
and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. You say, oh, I do. Well, let
me ask you this. What is it to really trust in
the Lord Jesus Christ? It is to obey him. It is to obey
him. Preacher Huntley used to tell
this story about this fellow. Years ago, it didn't take much
to entertain people. And this fellow that would roll
a wheelbarrow on a tight wire across the Niagara Falls. And he'd done it several times
and the crowd was gathered. He was going to do it again on
this specific day. And he turns to a fellow and said, do you
believe I can roll this wheelbarrow? across that wire to the other
side. The fellow said, oh yeah, I believe it. And the man said,
well, get in the wheelbarrow. That changed everything. That
changed everything. Christ didn't say to his disciples,
you believe we're going to make it? Think we can make it? No. He said, get in. And they got
in. That's how it works. That's how
it works. Obedient. That's the select participation. My sheep hear my voice, John
10, 27, and then decide what they want to do. No, my sheep
hear my voice and they follow me. Let us Let's do it, boys. We're going. We're going. Then
the second thought, not only a select participation, but the
sure preservation that's promised in this statement. Let us pass
over. Christ said nothing of going
under, but of passing over. He made no mention of a storm.
A lot of people fall out with the
Lord and say, well, yeah, I was going to trust the Lord, but
I didn't know it was going to be this rough. Yeah, well, it is. He said nothing to them of a
storm. He did not tell them, now boys,
in just a little while, you're going to wish to high heaven
you hadn't got in this boat. He didn't tell them that. And he never told him, you're
going to fear for your lives. He never told him you're going
to be fully convinced that you're going under and we're not going
to make it. He never told him none of that. He just said, let
us pass over. This is the voice of authority. The boat couldn't sink. It couldn't
sink. promises a safe passage, but
not a safe passage without storms. There are storms. They sang a
song a few years ago, and I don't like many of the modern songs,
as most of you know, I'm pretty critical. But this one said,
sometimes he calms the storm. And sometimes he calms me. I
like that. I like that. Now we really like
it when he calms the storm. Just move the trouble out of
my life and let me go on with my business. We prefer that. But sometimes he lets the storm
rage on. And right in the midst of it,
He calms me. But He'll do one or the other
for His children without fail. And it's not ours to choose or
dictate to Him which one to do, but He'll do one or the other.
He'll calm the storm or He'll calm you. I remember Paul prayed
about a certain storm in his life, very serious about it. Please remove this. The Lord
said, no, I won't do that. But I will give you grace. My
grace will be sufficient. I promise you that. Storms are no fun. Clouds hang
low. It gets dark. The winds are howling. The waves are high. Fear overwhelms you. Discouragement
takes a hold, producing hopelessness, depression. You testify, I'm sure, to go
under this time. I'll not survive this. But if
you're on board with him, his word was, his authoritative word,
let us pass over. We're going to cross. we're going
to cross. John 10, 28, and I give unto
them eternal life, and they shall never perish. In no case shall
they ever perish. Regardless of the storm, under
any circumstances, they shall never perish. Not one of us here this morning
knows the day or the hour when our crossing will be done. But
the Lord has it all worked out. I know many dear children of
God who are battling disease in the body, some battling finances,
some battling family problems. Many are very depressed even
over their sins and think God's getting even and they're depressed
over the numerous mistakes they've made in life. Maybe that's you
this morning. It's worn you out and you feel
all alone. The loneliness is great. The grief is almost too heavy
to bear at times. See, the only hope for any of
us in all this, all these storms, is to trust Christ. Lean on Him. He's been through your very storm
a million times with people like you. He knows the way very well, and
He'll go through it with you. A select participation. a sure
preservation. We're not perishing in this sea,
we're passing over it. And a third thought, and I'll
be finished, a settled destination. Let us pass over to where? To the other side. That's the destination. Now, from man's viewpoint, the
other side is a potential destination. We might make it. I hope I make it. But from God's perspective, it
is a positive destination. The issue is settled. This ship
is going to the other side. The little word unto let us pass
over unto what that little bitty word unto means. It means as
far as let us pass over as far as the
other side. That's the voice of authority.
This ship will not fail to reach the other side. And the other side for God's
children is not so much a place as it
is a condition. We'll be like Christ when we
get there. And to be like Him, is heaven
enough. When you've been sick in body,
when you've battled through the years, and when you've had all kind
of problems, and when sin has worn you out, and you'll get to that place if you're God's child, when sin
has worn you out, Streets of gold won't be a big
deal anymore. It's the blessed prospect of
being with him and being like him forever. And that gives comfort. That
gives comfort. Revelation 21 does name 10 things
that won't be on the other side. I'm glad for that. One, there
was no more sea, which means no more storms. Won't that be
grand? Two, no more tears. God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes. Three, no more death. there'll be no walking to the
graveside ever again. Four, no more sorrow. It's hard to imagine a life without a speck of sorrow of
any kind. Five, no more crying. In this world of sin, crying
is constant. All around this globe, somewhere,
someone, all the time, 24-7, crying, continuous. Six, no more
pain. No more pain. I confess I cannot appreciate
this like many of you can. I've been pretty healthy all
my days. But I go to hospitals and sometimes
I have to go to a big hospital, Charlotte, Greenville, that big
one in Greenville is something else. Floor after floor after
floor, long halls, rooms on each side, full of suffering people. No more pain. Seven, no temple
therein. No temple on the other side.
What does that mean? No material structure with an
altar of sacrifice with bloodstains on it. No. The last altar was
the cross. There will be no more of this.
Come down to the front and bow. This is not an altar. Altar is
a place of death. And the dying goes on in here.
And it happens as a result of one who died on the cross. And our sacrifice now is alive
forevermore. No temple therein. For the Lord
God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. Number eight,
on the other side, there's no need of the sun to shine in it.
For the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light
thereof. Number nine, there's no night
there. No oncoming shadows to end another
day of failure. How many times get ready to go
to bed and say, boy, today was a total flop. Failure. I messed up so much. I didn't
get anything done. Everything went backwards. No
oncoming shadows to end another day of failure. No night there. And number 10, best of all, on
the other side, No more sin. The cause of all the mess we're
in will be gone forever. Everything else is but symptoms
and the fruits of the problem. The problem is sin. No more sin. There shall in no wise enter
into it anything that defileth. In this world, by one man sin
entered and passed upon all men. But on the other side, the borders are closed. To put
a little pun in, the borders are closed. No invasion. Nothing foreign, nothing that
don't belong on the other side will make it to the other side. There shall in no wise enter
anything that defileth. In no case, no more sin. Those 10 things make me very
interested in the other side. What about you? What about you? We sing that old song sometimes
and it's so blessed when we think along this line that we're in
the ship with Christ and we're bound to make it home.