Let's begin by turning to Psalm
119. Psalm 119. As you all know, I had the flu
last week. I believe I had the flu when
I was a young boy. But I know I had the flu when
I was a young teenager, about 13. And then I had the flu again
when I was 26 years old. I know it was 26 years old. So
if it was indeed 13, 13 years later, I had the flu. All right. I just had the flu
at 39 years old, 13 years later. So hopefully I'm good till 52. But last Saturday, a week ago
Saturday, I was talking with Irene Moody on the phone. And I called her to ask her if
she would come play the piano for us last Sunday morning because
Hannah was going to be home with Sophie. She had the flu. And
Irene said, I would. I would love to. But I can't
make it because I'm sick too. I won't be there. And then I,
in all of my wisdom, in all of my knowledge, in all of my understanding,
proceeded to tell her about some supplements that I take that
really boosts my immune system. And I believe it helps me fight
off sickness. And no sooner than the words
came out of my mouth, I was brought down. I was brought down. Man, I was weak. I was weak. The nights were rough. The days were not much better.
It was rough. Nothing like what some of our
brethren endure. I'm not even going to pretend
to insinuate that I had it worse than and our dear brethren. But I thought about this verse
of scripture right here. I thought about it in light of
our text this morning. Psalm 119 verse 71. David said, It is good for me that I have
been afflicted. God sends sickness. You know that? We do everything we can in our
power to keep from it. We take it all. I wash my hands
and wash my hands. But God sends sickness. We do not get sick by chance. We just don't. Everything in the world that
He created, He created this world and everything in it, all those
little germs were made by Him. And everything in the world that
He created is under His control. It's under His rule and His power. Every bit of it. A sparrow cannot
die and fall to the ground unless he gives permission. Isn't that
the truth? Is that not the truth? Most people
don't know that. But that's the truth. That's
what the Word of God says. A sparrow cannot die and fall
to the ground unless he gives permission. A leaf cannot let
go of a tree and fall to the ground unless he gives permission. In the fall, the wind blows and
you see all those leaves doing all that. You know what they're
saying? Can we fall yet? Yes. A germ cannot fly through the
air and infect a human being unless he gives permission. It's
all by permission and David said it is good for me that I have
been afflicted. That I might learn that. That I might learn thy statutes,
learn your truth, your word in the matter. This morning I want
us to understand that and I want us to enter into that in light
of eternity. In light of eternity. I want
us to see if the Lord will cause us to enter in to what grace
it is. What absolute goodness and grace
and mercy it is. that he would open our eyes to
the point that we see what we really are and it breaks us. You know how good that would
be? You know what mercy that would be? If it just crushed
us, I mean brought us down, Not that we acknowledge that we understand
what the Word of God is saying. Yes, I see that's what it's saying.
Yes, and I see that's what it's saying. Uh-huh, I got it. That
is what it's saying. Not that. Not that. I pray we would see how good
it would be for us if we could say this Word right here has
absolutely stripped me of everything I thought I was. everything I
thought I was, but it was so good for me. It was so good for
me that God afflicted me, and I pray we'll see why here in
just a minute. With that in mind, go with me now to the text. It's
Mark chapter 6, Our Lord has just taken five
loaves and two fish and fed a multitude of people with them. Verse 44
says, Mark 6, 44, And they that did eat of the loaves were about
five thousand men. That's an amazing account, isn't
it? That is an amazing account. Five thousand men. Now, we're
going to read just a few verses right here, and I want to show
you something that is more amazing than that, I believe. This is
absolutely amazing. Verse 45 says, and straightway,
that means immediately, straightway he constrained his disciples
to get into the ship and to go to the other side before unto
Bethsaida while he sent away the people. And when he had sent
them away, he departed into a mountain to pray. And when even was come,
the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the
land. And he saw them toiling in rowing,
for the wind was contrary unto them. And about the fourth watch
of the night, he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and
would have passed them by. Passed by them. I'm going to
tell you in just a minute that every time I read this, I got
those two words mixed up. I just did it again. Passed by
them. Verse 49, But when they saw him
walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit and cried
out. For they all saw him and were troubled. And immediately
he talked with them and said unto them, Be of good cheer,
it is I, be not afraid. and he went up unto them into
the ship and the wind ceased and they were sore amazed in
themselves beyond measure and wondered. Now watch this verse
right here. For they considered not the miracle
of the loaves for their heart was hardened. Unbelievable isn't it? That's
unbelievable. was already hardened to what the Lord had done for
them. I read that and I thought how could their heart already
be hardened? The Lord fed 5,000 people, thousands
more with women and children. with five loaves, two fish. They handed it all out. They
saw it firsthand. They saw the basket never ran
dry. And then he put them immediately
in a ship and he sent that multitude away and already their heart
was hardened. They'd already forgotten about
it. It was already put out of their
mind, out of sight, out of mind. It meant nothing to them. Nothing. The glory of His ability,
His work, His goodness, His provision, His kindness,
hardened. Just hardened. That is every single one of us
in this room. Isn't that unbelievable? That's every soul on earth. It's
every single soul on earth. We are all born into this world
with a hardened heart, aren't we? A hardened heart. A heart that does not acknowledge
God. A heart that does not thank God. and love God and trust God. Now, men and women do acknowledge. Some would hear me say that and
say, that's not true. Men and women do acknowledge
the God that they've made up in their mind. They love that
God. They worship that God. But it's not the true God of
the Bible. Men and women are not born into
this world with a heart that loves and acknowledges and worships
the true and living God. And it crushes me. I mean, it
crushes me to know that men and women are leaving this world
every day. They're leaving this world every
single day totally oblivious to the wrath that is waiting
for a hard heart. A man told me a few years ago
about another man we both knew who had died. He told me that
he passed away. And when he said that, I said,
oh no. And he told me, it's okay. He
was right with God. And as soon as he said that,
I thought, how do you know? How do you know? I know where
he attended worship. They didn't preach one stitch
of truth in that place. It was all lies. Not one fiber
of truth. But still, men and women just
assume they're right with God. Oh yeah, we're right with God.
How do you know? I tell you one thing that I do
know. This flesh right here, the flesh of this man that is
standing before you right now is not right with God. It is not right with God. It
is full of sin. crown of this head to the sole
of this foot. That's all it is. It's just full
of sin. It's full of wickedness. This
hard heart right here is not right with God. Not if it stands
alone. And because of that, I don't
want to meet God alone. I don't want to go meet God alone.
And you don't either. And thanks be unto the Lord Jesus
Christ. We don't have to. We do not have
to. That's the greatest thing I know
to tell sinners. You don't have to go meet God
alone. I foolishly wondered before,
what will I say when my name is called? I'm not going to say
anything. When Gabe Stoniker is called,
Jesus Christ will say, here, we're here. Here is our record. You don't have to go meet God
alone. God in mercy has chosen to call some sinners to Christ. Isn't that good news? He has
chosen to pay their debts. Every sin we've committed requires
a payment. And we've racked up a big account. But He chose to pay every single
debt on that account. He chose to take those sinners
and wash them clean. And He chose to give them a brand
spanking new heart. one that loves God, the true
and living God, one that acknowledges God, thanks God, and trusts God. And here's how he does it. Verse
45 in Mark chapter 6. And straightway he constrained
his disciples to get into the ship. He put his own disciples
into that ship, didn't he? Straightway he constrained his
disciples to get into the ship and to go to the other side before
unto Bethsaida while he sent away the people and when he had
sent them away he departed into a mountain to pray. Now think
about how precious this is. All right. He put them in this ship knowing
a storm would meet them. That's the whole reason he put
him into a ship. He put him into a ship for one
reason, so that a storm could meet them. He was going to afflict
them. And as he sent them into the
middle of the sea, at that same moment in time, he went up high
into a mountain to pray. When that time came, for that
affliction of mercy to come. At that exact moment in time,
he was high in his holy mountain, praying. There about to, with
much fear and trembling, see the horror of the condition therein.
And that's what he brings a sinner to see. A sinner is born into
this world and life is good. Man, life is good, business is
good, love is good, friends are good. And one day, all of a sudden,
God goes, see yourself. And it's bad. Oh, wretched man that I am. I had no idea. And at that same moment in time,
whenever God sends His child to see the condition He's truly
in, He, right up there in the heavens, making intercession
for them, praying for them. In John 17, He said, I pray for
them. He said, I pray not for the world.
But for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine."
He was praying for them. He knew they were about to head
out into this storm and he was praying for them. Verse 47, And
when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea,
and he alone on the land. And he saw them toiling and rowing
For the wind was contrary unto them. Now here they are basically
drowning in the sea of Tiberias. They're giving it all they have.
And they're getting nowhere. And those waves are overtaking
this ship. Here they are drowning in the
sea of Tiberias. Here we are drowning in our sin. Men and women are spinning their
wheels through this life, aren't they? rowing struggling running
When it comes to salvation and when it comes to eternal life,
they are getting nowhere. I Mean they're getting nowhere
rowing and toiling Drowning in our own sins verse 48 says and
about the fourth watch of the night He came to them walking
upon the sea He left His holy mountain of communion with God
the Father, didn't He? Here they were, drowning in their
sin, and He left His mountain of communication with His Father,
and He came down to them right where they were, in all of their
hopelessness, in all of their helplessness. And he planted his feet and he
walked through the very sea that was taking him down. That's just what he did for you
and me if we belong to him. That is exactly what he did.
He touched our infirmities. All that ocean of sin that was
killing us, dragging us down, he touched them. He tread a path
right through them. I love how it says at the end
of verse 48, He would have passed by them. I just told you, I kept reading
that. Every time I read through it, I kept reading through this
saying He passed them by. He would have passed them by.
Finally it hit me, He would have never passed them by. I mean
never. We sing, we just sang it, Pass
me not, O gentle Savior. He would have never passed them
by. Never. He chose them. He loved them. He came there
to die for them. He came there to gather them
to Himself and be with them forever. He would never have passed them
by. But He would have passed by them. He would have passed
by them. Turn with me over to Luke 24.
Luke 24 verse 13. And behold, two of them went
that same day to a village called Emmaus, two walking on the road
to Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about three score furlongs. And they talked together of all
these things which had happened. And it came to pass that while
they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near and went
with them. But their eyes were holden that
they should not know him. And he said unto them, What manner
of communications are these, that ye have one to another as
ye walk, and are sad? And the one of them whose name
was Cleopas answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger
in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to
pass there in these days? And he said unto them, What things?
And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was
a prophet, mighty indeed in word before God and all the people,
and how the chief priest and our rulers delivered him to be
condemned to death, and have crucified him. But we trusted
that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel. And beside
all this, today is the third day since these things were done.
Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished
which were early at the sepulchre. And when they found not his body,
they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels
which said that he was alive. And certain of them which were
with us went to the sepulchre and found it even so as the women
had said, but him they saw not. Then he said unto them, O fools
and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken,
ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into
his glory? And beginning at Moses and all
the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the
things concerning himself. And they drew nigh unto the village,
whither they went." Now watch this. And He made as though He
would have gone further. Don't you love our Lord? Don't
you love His character and His personality? Who He is, His mind,
His heart, His way? Here He is talking to them, expounding
everything in the scripture concerning Himself. Telling them the gospel,
the good news of every bit of it. And they are eating it up.
They are hanging on every word of it. I never, I didn't know
that story meant that. That's what Noah's Ark represents. And then here they get to the
end of their journey, their house, and he makes as though he's just
going to keep on going. Verse twenty-nine, But they constrained
him, saying, Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the
day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with
them. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he
took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them, and
their eyes were opened. and they knew him and he vanished
out of their sight and they said one to another did not our heart
burn within us while he talked with us by the way and while
he opened to us the scripture the whole time they were walking
he was doing all talking in the hearts of those two men were
doing all the burning And they said, oh man, they got to the
end of their journey and he acted like he was going to go on and
pass them by. And they said, no, please come stay with us. Please keep talking to us. He did the same thing to blind
Bartimaeus. That beggar on the side of the
road, that poor old beggar. Bartimaeus heard everybody saying,
he's passing by. Here he comes. He's passing by. Blind Bartimaeus started crying,
Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. All this big crowd
of people and this poor little man, you know how many people
you think are standing in front of him. He didn't have a front
row seat. Crying behind everybody, Jesus, thou son of David, have
mercy on me. And everybody standing around
him said, Hush, he does not have time for you. You're going to
miss him anyway. He's passing by right now. And
he cried to more, Lord, please have mercy on me. And I love
how it says that God Almighty stood still. Looked right at him and said,
Bring him to me. Our Lord knows how to draw His
own to Himself, doesn't He? He knows how to make this heart
cry, no, please. First, He shows us our need,
and then He gives us a heart to cry out for mercy. And I'm
going to tell you, when God moves on a heart, that heart starts
begging. It starts begging. Go with me
to Matthew 14. I think this is a very sobering
statement. One man made this statement.
He said, We can know how God saves sinners and not be a saved
sinner. You know that? We can know how
God saves sinners and not be a saved sinner. It is not enough
for me to know that I must cry out to God for mercy. I must
cry out to God for mercy. You know that? I must cry out for mercy. And
when God afflicts the heart of His own, that heart will cry
out for mercy. And this is the greatest cry
a sinner could ever cry. This is Matthew's account of
our text. Look at verse 22. Matthew 14, 22. And straightway
Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship and to go
before him unto the other side while he sent the multitudes
away. And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into
a mountain apart to pray. And when the evening was come,
he was there alone. But the ship was now in the midst
of the sea, tossed with the waves, for the wind was contrary. And
in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went unto them, walking
on the sea. And when the disciples saw him
walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit,
and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto
them, saying, Be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid. And Peter
answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto
thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter
was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go
to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous,
he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, Save me. Greatest cry ever spoken. Three words. Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched
forth his hand and called him. Lord, save me. That heart right
there acknowledged who must do the saving and who needs to be
saved. Save me. Me. It's not enough to know that
we must cry out. We must cry out. And if we belong
to Him, He is going to give us a merciful affliction that makes
us cry out. We will. We will. If He does
not, if we do not cry out, then He's not working on this heart.
That's what it means. He shows us our need and then
He gives us an urgent heart to cry out for mercy. And every
heart that cries out will hear this. Go with me back to the
text. Mark 6 verse 49 says, But when
they saw Him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been
a spirit and cried out. For they all saw Him and were
troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto
them, Be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid. And he went
up unto them into the ship, and the wind ceased, and they were
sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wandered. Once the
Lord opens the eyes of a sinner, Their sin, they didn't see their
sin before. And now all of a sudden their
sin starts coming wave after wave. Like this torrential storm. But once a person sees Christ,
that storm brings horror, it brings fear. But once a person
sees Christ, and once a person sees what he endured to put away
the storm of that sin, they're all taken away, every one of
them, all taken away. Once they see that, the winds
cease. they cease. That sinner finds
himself in the ship with the Lord Jesus Christ. And every
single time, this is what he says, every time, it was so good
for me that I was afflicted. It was so good for me. Years
ago, there was a man that had something happen to him. I don't
know what it was, but he was put in a wheelchair. For the
rest of his life, he was crippled. And this man kind of lost it
all. He just kind of lost it all,
and he was sitting in his meager apartment in his wheelchair one
Sunday morning, and he turned his TV on, and as soon as the
screen came on, there was Brother Henry with his finger pointed
at him. Henry Mahan was a pastor who had a television broadcast,
a gospel television broadcast, and he came on right in the middle
of the broadcast. And there he is with his finger
pointed at him, and he said, now, this is the first thing
the man heard. He said, now, there are a lot
of differences between me and you. There are a lot of things
that are different about me and you. But he said, there is one
thing that me and you most certainly have in common. He said, I'm
a sinner, and you're a sinner. And that guy got so mad he turned
that TV off and he said, I ain't no sinner. Who's he calling a
sinner? And he sat in that wheelchair
and finally he said, well maybe I am a sinner. And he turned
it back on. And Sunday after Sunday he watched
the gospel come through that television. And God had mercy
on that man's soul and he saved him. And years later, he made
this statement. He said, I believe God put me
in a wheelchair to save my soul. You know what he was saying?
It was so good for me that I was afflicted. God was so good to
me in all of my affliction, put me in a place of need It is so good for a sinner, so
merciful for a sinner if God would afflict him, if God would
show him his sin and bring him down. Because once he starts
going down, he will cry, Lord, save me. Save me. And I'm going to close with this.
I love this. Verse 53 says, When they had passed over, they came
into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore. And when
they were come out of the ship straightway, they knew him and
ran through that whole region roundabout and began to carry
about in beds those that were sick where they heard he was. And whithersoever he entered
into villages or cities or country, they laid the sick in the streets
and besought him that they might touch, if it were, but the border
of his garment. And as many as touched him were
made whole." Verse 55 does not say, "...and went through that
whole region round about." It says, "...they ran." I love that. As soon as they got there, they
knew who was in the ship with them. They got on the land and
they ran. They started running frantically. Quickly. Are you sick trying
to find somebody who's dying? Are you sick? Are you really
sick? Peter said, James, help me get
him. And they ran him. Lord, here's somebody who's afflicted.
Can you please help him? And then they ran and found somebody
else. Are you sick? We're all sick. All of you. Andrew,
we need help. We have a bunch of sick and afflicted
people who need Christ. And they ran them all. All that
they could. They ran them all to the Lord
Jesus Christ. I can hear them hollering at
each other. Time's wasting, man. Let's go. And time is wasting, isn't it?
Time is wasting. Let's all cry out for mercy right
now from the depths of our sin and our affliction. Lord, save
me. Save me. If he gives you that heart to
cry, you cry because he already has. You cry that and immediately
you'll be called. I promise. All right, let's stand
together.