Once again, seeking the help
of Almighty God, I'd like you to turn to the psalm that we
read together, Psalm 107, and the text you'll find in verses
23 and 24. They that go down to the sea in ships
and do business in great waters, these see the works of the Lord
and his wonders in the deep. quite an unusual text that I'd
laid on my mind really this morning or last night and yet it's actually
quite wonderful. It sort of brings the pathway
of the Christian into a voyage of a sailor stepping out from
the shore getting into his boat and going to do business in the
great waters. The great waters, the ocean of
the love of Christ, going forth with Christ as his helmsman,
as his captain, going forth onto the ocean of life and then being
brought into storms of life and the ups and downs of the Christian
pathway and then being brought safely to the heavenly harbour
right at the end. Such is the Christian pathway
as many of you have experienced that it is at times Storms, waves
and winds We mount up to the heavens at one point, having
been blessed by the unsearchable riches of Christ, having been
blessed by some token of good for our never-dying soul, and
then we are brought down again into the depths as we experience
the balancing of the clouds, the balancing of the weights
and the measures of the experiences of the Christian life. And so
we go up one minute and we are plunged down into the depths
the next minute and our souls are often melted because of the
trouble and the experiences that we pass through. We cannot grasp
the heights and the lows of the riches of God's pathway that
he is causing us to walk in and we reel to and fro. We look at
everything that is taking place and we're so overwhelmed with
all that is taking place in our lives. We stagger under the weight
of what God is causing us to walk through and we are like
drunken men at our wits end. We do not know what to do. Neither
know we what to do but our eyes are up unto thee. They cry unto
the Lord in their trouble and he brings them out of their distresses.
And so the storms of life cause that sailor, cause those sailors,
cause the Christians to cry unto the Lord in their trouble. Once
they have staggered to and fro like a drunken man and they collapse
almost on the floor and they cry out unto the Lord in their
trouble and he brings them out of their distresses. He makes
the storm a calm so that the waves are still. Then they are
glad because they be quiet. So he brings them onto their
desired haven. And that is the summary really
of the Christian life. It is we are drawn out of the
shores of this world and we are brought onto the ocean of God's
love, God's favour, God's blessing, God's pathway and we set sail
on this journey and Christ leads us through all manner of experiences
but ultimately to bring us to our end, that desired haven. which is that safe port, that
safe place, which is heaven itself. And so there is that going down
and doing business in great waters. Every fisherman must leave the
shore. If he is to catch any fish, if
he's going to do any work, if he's going to provide for his
family, if he's going to succeed in his career, he cannot stay
on the shore. He must launch out into the deep. He must launch out and push his
boat out into the sea. And then he must begin doing
business in the great waters of the ocean. And when he is
there, out in the ocean, it's then that he sees the wonders
of the deep. He sees the providence of God,
as it were, catching those fish. He sees the great sea creatures. the great whales, the sharks
and the wonderful creation of Almighty God. He sees the darkness
of the night. He sees the beauty of the stars
and the moon. He sees the the storms brewing. He sees the providence of God
in his his protection. And so naturally, the fisherman,
as he launches out into the ocean to to do his work, It is on the
ocean that he experiences the greatness of God, the wonders
of the deep, the works of the Lord. If you remember, Jesus,
as he preached on the seashore, he was accompanied by many fishermen. Some of his apostles were fishermen. Those men who'd grown up on the
lake of Galilee, they were experienced fishers. They were experienced
fishermen. And they knew what it was to
launch out into the deep at night, to go and gather there, to cast
their nets and to gather in the fish for their families and for
their businesses. And there they saw the wonders
of the Lord. But as Jesus was preaching in Luke chapter five,
They'd had a bad night. They hadn't been able to catch
any fish and the Lord Jesus was preaching on their ship and he
speaks to them. Matthew chapter, Luke chapter
5. And it came to pass that as the
people pressed upon him to hear the word of God he stood by the
lake of Gennesaret and saw two ships standing by the lake. But
the fishermen were gone out of them and were washing their nets.
And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and
prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And
he sat down and taught the people out of the ship. And when he
had left off speaking, he said to Simon, launch out into the
deep and let down thy your nets for a draft. Simon answered,
Answering said unto him, Master, we have toured all night and
overtaken nothing. Nevertheless, at thy word, I
will let down the net. And when they had this done,
they enclosed a great multitude of fishes for their net break.
And so Simon Peter and his fellow workers, fishermen, had been
fishing all night and they had caught nothing. But Jesus tells
them, launch out into the deep and let down your net for a draft. Those that go down into the sea
in ships and do business in great waters, they see the wonders
of the Lord. And so he had to launch out into
the deep. He had to cast his net into the
sea. And as he did so in obedience
to the Lord Jesus Christ, he caught a great multitude of fishes. He had to leave the shore and
go out into the sea. And you and I, we have to leave
the shore. The scripture tells us, deny
yourself, take up your cross and follow me. The shore signifies,
I think we can say, the world. Leaving all that we know, the
security of this world, all that we've known before. The earth,
earthliness. And we're to launch out onto,
into the deep. onto the ocean of God's love. We think of the ship as like
the ship of faith. As we look at a ship on the sea,
it has to look seaworthy. We were asked to get onto a ship,
we would want to examine it to make sure it was suitable for
us to get on. It was seaworthy. And so this
ship of faith, it is seaworthy to enable us to waft over the
ocean of God's love, to leave the shores of this world and
to sail forth with the Lord Jesus Christ. By faith we step from
the world onto this boat and we go forth with the Lord Jesus
Christ as our captain. They that go down to the sea
in ships and do business in great waters, these see the works of
the Lord and the wonders of the deep. And so the shore must be
left. Simon had to go out into the
deep to cast his net and to catch the fish. There must be that
going out, that launching out away from the shore. On the shore
there are reefs and rocks. So the boat is to go out into
the deep, to sail away from the shore Sailing too close to the
land, it brings many dangers. Satan likes us to sail close
to the shore. He doesn't like us to launch
out into the deep and go wholehearted with the Lord Jesus Christ. He
wants us to sail close to the shore where the reefs can bring
shipwreck or the rocks can dash our faith. We need to go out
into the deeper, the deeper waters. It says, they go down and do business in great waters.
These see the works of the Lord. It was in the deep water that
Peter caught his fish. Not close to the shore. He had
to be obedient to the Lord Jesus Christ and to launch out nevertheless
at thy word. He had tried all night and caught
nothing yet at the word of Christ he launches out into the deep
water and casts his net into the sea and he catches a multitude
of fishes. It is in the deep water that
the angel appeared to the Apostle Paul. when the Apostle Paul was on
his way to Rome and he had gone with the Romans in their boat
and they entered into a great storm. He was in the deep water. He was out in the open ocean
unprotected. There was nobody else to help
him. They couldn't get to land. They
committed themselves to the wind and to the waves But it was there that the angel
came and met with him. In Acts 27 verse 20 it says, When neither
sun nor stars in many days appeared, no small tempest lay on us, and
all hope that we should be saved was taken away. all hope was
lost. In the middle of the ocean, waves
and wind, there's nothing they could do. They'd launched out
from the shore and gone out into the deep. They'd abandoned all
hope. When you abandon all hope, what
can you do? You cry unto the Lord in your
trouble and he brings them out of their distresses. But after
long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them and said,
Sirs, you should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed
from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. Now I exhort
you, be of good cheer, for there shall be no loss of any man's
life among you but of the ship. For there stood by me this night
the angel of God, whose I am, and whose I serve, saying, fear
not Paul thou must be brought before Caesar and lo God has
given thee all of them that sail with thee wherefore serves be
of good cheer. I believe God that it shall be
even as it was told me. Albeit we must be cast upon a
certain island.' And so they had launched out into the deep.
Storm had raged. They had abandoned all hope of
being saved. In other words they thought they
were going to die. This is the end. But then the Lord appeared. The angel of the Lord is sent
to his servant and tells him, do not fear, do not worry. The
Lord is in control of all of this. Although you have abandoned
all hope, yet all hope is not lost because the Lord is in control
of all things and he is going to bring you to his desired haven. He is going to bring you to where
he wants you to be. He wants you to be cast upon
a certain island where you can come and bring the gospel to
these heathens. And so even though they're in
the midst of the sea, waves and fear filled them, that God was
in control and he sends his angel. I love that. Fear not, Paul,
for thou must be brought before Caesar. God was going to do it in the midst of the sea. They that go down into the sea
in ships and do business in great waters. These were great waters.
Waters that were so great they believed they were going to die.
But there in that storm, in that storm the angel appears. Fear
not Paul. These see the works of the Lord
and his wonders in the deep. What about the apostles? The
apostles were sent by the Lord Jesus Christ
across the sea and there was a storm. They were afraid. But Jesus came to them walking
on the water in John 6. In verse 16 it says, and when
even was now come his disciples went down unto the sea and entered
into a ship and went over the sea towards Capernaum and it
was now dark and Jesus was not come to them. Those that go down
and do business in great waters, what? These see the wonders of
the Lord. They were going out, they were
launching out into the deep in the darkness and the sea arose
by a great wind that blew. So when they had rowed about
five and 20 or 30 furlongs, which is about three and a half miles
out from the shore, they're out in deep waters, they're far from
the shore, there's a darkness, there's a storm, Jesus comes
to them. They see Jesus walking on the
sea and drawing an eye onto the ship and they were afraid. But
he said unto them, It is I, be not afraid. Then they willingly
received him into the ship and immediately the ship was at the
land with which they went. Those that go down into the sea
in ships and do business in great waters, these see the works of
the Lord. But they had to leave the shore.
On the shore there was that safety. Their feet were planted firmly
on the ground. But three and a half miles out
to sea and there's a storm. There's nothing they can do apart
from cry unto the Lord in their trouble and the Lord comes to
them walking upon the sea. There in the storm, in their
fear, in their perplexity, they see the wonder of the Lord. Jesus
walking on the sea. And it's in the deep, it's in the deeps, the depths,
that these wonders are seen. You see, Paul eventually got
to the shore. The apostles miraculously appeared
at the shore as soon as they entered into their boat. and then they tell the story. Those who are listening they
are hearing what we say tales of the sea. There are many stories
written about the tales of the sea. Things that have happened
at sea which the sailors bring back to land and then they speak
it to others. And so those who stay on the
seashore can only experience the tales of the sea. What has
taken place in the midst of the ocean but they weren't there. They didn't fully experience
the wonders of the Lord, the works of the Lord and his wonders
in the deep because they have remained on the seashore. And it's easier to remain on
the seashore. that's all you will hear. You'll
just know about stories of what have happened to other people,
what has taken place in the lives of other people but it will never
take place in your life because you're staying on the shore.
You're not willing to launch out into the deep on the ocean
of God's love, on the ship of faith with the Lord Jesus Christ
as the captain of your salvation. Not willing to step out in faith
and launch out into the deep. And you won't see the wonders
of the Lord. You see, the first step of faith
after a person has laid hold of the Lord Jesus Christ is to
step into the water. Now these fishermen to get into their boats they
have to launch their boats out into the sea and they got wet. We say they got their feet wet
and if you're going to fully follow Christ going to have to get wet. You're going to have to be baptised
to fully follow the Lord Jesus Christ. And it is the deep waters
of baptism but it is a step of faith and obedience to the Lord
Jesus Christ. It's the start of your voyage
of climbing into the boat with the Lord Jesus Christ and committing
your life to him. If you stay onto the shore you
can't be used. You'll never enter into fellowship,
true fellowship with the church. You'll just sit on the shore.
People will tell you wonderful stories of the greatness of God
about his works in the deep but you're just hearing tales of
the sea and you'll never experience them yourselves because you're
not willing to launch out into the deep. You'll never see the
true works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep. There are many deeps that the
Christian goes through and that first step is a deep step but
it's a step of faith and obedience to the Lord Jesus. Once you have
stepped forward into that step of faith and you are brought
into church unity then you are able to be used for Christian
service. It is another deep by which we
pass through. In Christian service, in obedience
to Christ, in using our gifts and our abilities for the benefit
of the church and the advancement of the gospel. It's another deep
that we pass through. But in that deep you see the
wonders of the Lord. You see the works of the Lord.
You see the Lord using useless servants for his glory by using
weak vessels to carry the precious gospel. And so Christian service
is a deep. As you launch out onto the ocean
of God's love, there are those storms that will come. Jesus
says it is through much tribulation that you have to get to the port.
And so there are the deep trials that we pass through. Yet Christ
is the captain of our ship. Christ is the helmsman and he
steers us through this ocean of trouble. There are great heights that
we go to. there are those great depths
that we go down into yet they are ultimately to bring us to
our desired haven. The heights make us praise the
Lord and the depths make us cry out to the Lord. It's the deep of our battle with
sin and Satan and the world And it is a deep but the Lord is with us in it.
As we have looked at recently of the armour and everything
that's given to us to enable us to go forward and to fight
in this deep battle. Also there's those deeps of fear. The apostles were filled with
fear. As they were out in that ocean they were filled with fear
and Christ spoke to them, don't fear, fear not. In here they
go up and they go down, they mount up to the heavens, they
go down to the depths, their soul is melted because of trouble. There are times, aren't there,
in our Christian experience that our souls are are literally melted
because of the heat of the pathway. We're at our wits end, we don't
know what to do or where to go or who to speak to but then our
eyes are aimed up to God. So anything can be a deep in the pathway of a Christian
but these deep Pathways bring us to see the
wonder of the Lord. And he brings us to that desired
haven. He makes the storm a calm so
that the waves thereof are still. Remember Jesus Peace be still. And there was a calm. And they
marvelled, even the winds and the waves obeyed him. The same
Jesus who stilled the storm for the apostles, the same Jesus
that was in their boat is the same Jesus that is in your boat
and my boat. He can cause our storm to calm
in an instant. He can cause our trouble and
our anxiety to cease in a moment. But if he does not do so, it's
because he's still using it to bring us to our desired haven.
All to make us, the hymn says, sick of self and fond of him. and they are glad because they
be quiet so he bringeth them to their desired haven. The Apostle Paul was thrown,
wasn't he, onto the island to begin another work. The island
that you and I will be cast onto will be the island of heaven
with its port for which we will enter in and there will be that
peace. The battle and the storms of
this life will be over and we will be brought into a place
where there'll be no more tears, no more sorrow, no more death,
no more storms. And we'll be able to see the
captain of our salvation, we'll be able to see face to face the
captain of our ship, our helmsman who has brought us safely through. And we'll be able to testify
of his goodness and his mercy. They have followed us all the
days of our life and then we will dwell in the house of the
Lord forever. They that go down to the sea
and ships, that do business in great waters, these see the works
of the Lord and his wonders in the deep. May the Lord add his
blessing. Amen. Our final hymn is from Gadsby's
again, 415, to the tune 526. 415. Glory to God on high, let
earth and skies reply, praise ye his name, his love and grace
adore, who all our sorrow bore, sing aloud evermore, worthy the
Lamb. 415. How sin's tremendous flood breached
his name! Tell what his arm has done, what
scourge from death he won! Sing his praise! He who hath felt his blood, sealing
your peace with God's salvation. Dear Lord and Almighty God, we
thank Thee that Thou art able to make the storm a calm. We thank Thee that Thou art in
control of all things and that Thou would bring Thy people to
their desired haven at last. We pray, Lord, that Thou would
then make us ready to meet Thee. Do work within our hearts and
within our souls. Do prepare us to stand before
Thy face. We pray thou dismiss us with
thy blessing and do bring us here upon thy day if it could
please thee. Now may the grace of the Lord
Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father with the fellowship
and communion of the Holy Spirit to be with us now and forevermore.
Amen.