Good morning. Let's all stand
together. We'll sing hymn number 132. 132. I serve a risen Savior, He's
in the world today. I know that He is living, whatever
men may say. I seek His hand of mercy, I hear
His voice of cheer. And just the time I need Him,
He's always near. He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus
lives today. He walks with me and talks with
me along life's narrow way. He lives, He lives, Salvation
to impart You ask me how I know He lives He lives within my heart
In all the world around me I see His loving care And though my
heart grows weary I never will despair I know that He is leading
through all the stormy blast. The day of His appearing will
come at last. He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus
lives today. He walks with me and talks with
me along life's new way. He lives, He lives, salvation
to impart. ? You ask me how I know He lives
? He lives within my heart ? Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian ? Lift up
your voice and sing ? Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ the
King The hope of all who seek Him, the help of all who find. None other is so loving, so good
and kind. He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus
lives today. He walks with me and talks with
me, along lies narrow way. He lives, He lives, salvation
to impart. You ask me how I know He lives. He lives within my heart. Be seated. We'll sing hymn number
272. 272 My hope is built on righteousness I dare not trust
the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus name on Christ
the solid rock I stand no other ground is sinking sand no other
ground is When darkness fills his lovely
face, I rest on his unchanging grace. In every high and stormy
gale, My anchor holds within the veil. On Christ the solid
rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand. His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood When all around my soul gives
way Heav'n is all my hope and stay On Christ the solid rock
I stand, All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground
is sinking sand. When he shall come with trumpet
sound, O may I then in him be found, Dressed in his righteousness
alone, Faultless to stand before the throne. On Christ the solid
rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand. Mark chapter 6. Mark chapter
6. I'm going to read 45 down through
52. 645 through 52. And straightway he constrained
his disciples to get into the ship and 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 evening was come, the
ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone owned the land.
And he saw them toiling and 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 by them. 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 the ship,
and the wind ceased, and they were so amazed in themselves
beyond measure, and wondered." Had a lot to wonder about, didn't he? Amen. Our Father, in the blessed name
of Christ our Lord, your blessed Son, who you sent to be our Savior,
sent to save us from our sin, save us from ourselves, saves
us from our self-righteousness and all the false hopes and false
refuges we made for ourselves. Lord, we thank that you come,
brought us out of them false refuges, Brought out of those
places to hide. Brought it out of our legalism
and fundamentalism and traditions. Oh Lord, thank you for doing
that for us. Lord, we couldn't do it ourselves,
didn't even know where we were. But Lord, you found us and you
brought us to yourself and we bless your holy name for that.
And Lord, I again praise you and thank you that you've allowed
us to meet here this morning Oh, as David said, I was glad.
Oh, I was glad when they said unto us, let us go unto the house
of the Lord. And Lord, we come here to worship,
to honor, glorify, magnify your blessed son, the Lord Jesus Christ,
and your sovereignty and your highness and your glory and your
power. Your majesty, immutability, all
the things that makes you God, all the things that makes you
inhabited eternity, that measures the waters in the hollow of your
hand, counts the stars in the heavens and the nations as just
a slight light dust on the balance. Oh God, to acknowledge you as
you are. You're God and beside you there's
none other. Lord, meet with us today. Oh,
meet with us today, and I pray for the lost among us. Oh God,
you're the only one that can open a heart. Lord, you're the
only one that can do anything for anybody. But Lord, please
make them hear your voice today, not mine, your voice. May the
voice of the holy God of heaven and earth, may the voice of our
blessed sovereign Savior be heard today in the heart and mind and
understanding of some here today. Lord, have mercy upon our lost
loved ones, bring glory to Yourself, and for those who've requested
special prayer, Lord, I pray for them. Pray for their heartache,
pray for their trouble, pray for their tears, and Lord, I
know that You're able to uphold us all. We bless You and praise
You. Meet with us, for Christ's sake.
Amen. Amen. Let's all stand together as we
sing the hymn of the day in the bulletin. A refuge for sinners the gospel
makes known. It is found in the merits of
Jesus alone. The weary, the tempted, the burdened
of sin Are never excluded from entering in This refuge for sinners God's
love did ordain In Jesus the Lamb from eternity slain In Christ
the Lord God's law and his justice are
now satisfied. Use us as often it may The blood
of our Savior Has put sin away Be seated. We have a special this morning. The sands of time are sinking. The dawn of heaven breaks. The summer morn I've sighed for. The fair, sweet morn awakes. Dark, dark hath been the midnight,
but day's spring is at hand. And glory, glory ever in Emmanuel's
land. O Christ, he is the fountain,
the deep sweet well of love, the streams on earth that taste
it. More deep I'll drink above. There to an ocean fullness is
mercy doth expand, and glory, The bright eyes, not her garment. But her dear bridegroom's face,
I will not gaze at glory, but on my King of Grace. Not at the crown he giveth, but
on his piercing hand, the menace of the glory of Emmanuel's land. Oh, I am my Beloved's, and my
Beloved's mine. He brings a poor, foul sin. into his house of wine. I stand upon his merit. I know no other stance, not even
where God re-dweller in Emmanuel's land. Yes, the land is of the
glory of Emmanuel's land. You know, in Bunyan's Pilgrim's
Progress, that's where old Bunyan after they, or Pilgrim, Christian,
after they brought him out of the City of Destruction, went
through the Valley of Slavs just spawned. They started on a journey
and where they wanted to end up was Immanuel's land. They
said, oh, I can see Immanuel's land from here. And he started
to cross the river. He started to cross the river.
He thought he was going to drown. But all of a sudden, he felt
stone under him, a rock under him. And he walked on that rock
the rest of the way and went into Emmanuel's land. I said,
well, we're going. We're going to Emmanuel's land.
Going to Emmanuel's land. I was talking to a fellow the
other day. And he got lots of religion. And anyway, we were
talking. He said, you know, he said, when
he witnesses to people, he asked them, if you died today, would
you go to heaven? And I said, that's not the issue.
I said, you know, the only reason why anybody wants to go to heaven
is because that's where Christ is at. If he wasn't there, it
wouldn't be heaven. But that's why we want to go.
Not just because we're going to die. I want to go where he's
at. I'm on my journey. I'm a pilgrim. I'm on my journey, and you are
too. one of these days we'll arrive in Emmanuel's land. We'll
get there, not because we did anything, because He'll get us
there. Oh, what a blessed hope we have, what a blessed hope.
Well, I read those verses to you about our Lord Jesus Christ
walking on the water, walking on the water. You remember last
week, our Lord fed that multitude, He created food He created food
out of five loaves of bread and two fishes. Meds fed about 10,000,
12,000 people, 5,000 men alone, not
counting their wives and their children and the young women
and all those things, it just said 5,000. And so after they
did that, after he did that, you know, they came over in a
ship. They was going to a desert place and got over there and
all those people followed them. Well, the ship's still there,
the ship's still there. And it says there in verse 45,
In straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the
ship and go to the other side unto Bethsaida, while he sent
the people away. And when he had sent them away,
he departed in a mountain to pray. Matthew also gives us a
count in Matthew 14, And there Peter comes walking to Him on
the water. But our Lord walking on the water, you know what the
first thing it shows us? That our Lord, people don't walk
on water. That's a law of physics that's
fixed. That's a law of physics. It's
impossible for a person to walk on water. An absolute impossibility. unless you're the one who creates
the law of physics. You know, our Lord, if He can
feed 5,000, 10,000, 12,000 people with five loaves of bread and
two fish and have 12 baskets left over, He suspends the law
of physics. He don't suspend it because He
controls the law of physics and He walks on water. I remember
one time a fella, I was watching the old TV, and this guy claimed
to be the Messiah. He was a black fella that claimed
to be the new Messiah, that He has come to save people. Well,
the fella He was telling that to, we said, Go get me a big
pan of water. And they went and got a big pan
of water and said, Now, if you're really the Messiah, stand up
on that water right there. You know, only Christ can do
this. Only the Lord Jesus can do that. And I tell you, they
didn't want, you know, He suspended, but no, no, He fed a multitude.
He can suspend the laws of physics because He IS the law of physics. And then He CONSTRAINED them.
That word CONSTRAINED, He straightway CONSTRAINED them. After He got
through feeding them people, the boat was still there, the
ship was still there, and to CONSTRAIN means to EMPLOY BY
FORCE. It means to CONSTRAIN. contrary to your nature, do something
contrary to your nature, and to what?s right contrary to what
seems to be right. It means to COMPEL using FORCE. Now, what FORCE did our Lord
Jesus Christ use to constrain His disciples to get into the
ship? They didn?t want to leave Him,
they didn?t want to go, that?s why He had to constrain them,
but what FORCE What compelled them? How did He constrain them
to get in that boat, to get in that ship and go to the other
side? What constrained them to do that? Just His Word. That's all it takes. I want you
to get in that boat. Lord, we'd like to stay with
you. Get in that boat. in that ship, and that s all
it takes. That s all it takes. It s the
love of Christ that constrains us. It s the force of the love
of Christ that constrains us, compels us to come to Him and
look to Him and believe Him and trust Him. And so they started
on the other side, and oh my, He sent them away, and then look
what it says, Well, He sent also the people away, and He sent
His disciples away. And when he had sent them away,
he went into a mountain. He went up to a mountain by alone
on the land. And another place it says he
went up there to pray. And that's what it says here.
He departed unto a mountain to pray and he was alone. He was
alone. Our Lord often did this. He went
alone to pray. Sometimes he took them with him,
sometimes he didn't. But now look what it says in
verse 47. And when even was come, dark,
getting dark, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and He
alone owned the land. And that ship was out there in
the middle of the sea, He said, in the midst of it. He was way
out there, miles and miles out from the shore. And our Lord
Jesus Christ is alone up on a mountain, and He s praying, He s praying.
And oh my, and the Lord sent them away, get in the ship and
go, and you know what He s fixing to do? ship was in the midst
of the sea, and His alone owned the land. Our Lord is going to
try these disciples faith. Oh, it s going to be sorely tried.
I mean, it s going to be put in the crucible. You know, that
s what Peter says. You know, the trial of your faith
being much more precious than of gold, though it be tried with
fire, that it might be found under praise, honor, and glory
at the appearing of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And our
Lord's gonna appear to him while their faith is being tried. Now
look what it says there in verse 48. They're out in the middle
of the sea, and he's alone on the land. Now, watch what it
says here next, And he saw them toiling and rowing, for the wind
was crossed contrary unto them. Now, He s alone on a mountain.
He s out on the land. How did He see them out in the
middle of that ocean? or that sea, how did He see them? How did He see them rowing? I
mean, they had the oars out. They didn t have the sails up,
they had the oars out. They said, You know, all these
fellas got them oars and just trying their best to GROW! GROW! And they was toiling. It says,
It was a hard labor. Toiling means hard labor. These
fellas were working, working, and then the Scripture said,
And Jesus saw them rowing, and toiling. There s a lot of folks
trying to get to land by their own efforts, toiling to be saved
by their own efforts. But our Lord Jesus Christ SAW
them. He s way over here on the land.
They re miles away. What does that tell us? Our Lord sees us right where
we are. I tell you, whether we are in
a burden, whether we're in a trial, whatever's going on in our lives,
our Lord Jesus Christ sees us where we are, and He saw them. Oh, my! And it says here they
were roaring, and the wind was contrary to them. What does that
mean? That the wind was against them,
blowing hard against them. And it said over in Matthew that
the waves were big, great big waves. And oh my, they weren't
going anywhere. They weren't gaining any ground.
They were just spinning their wheels. The wind kept them from
going. The wind was contrary to them,
the waves was against them. And oh my, and in fact, the wind
may have pushed them back just a little bit. They wasn't going
anywhere. They was rowing, they was towing,
but they wasn't making any progress. And that's the way religion is.
They can row, they can tow, but they ain't going anywhere. They
wasn't going anywhere. And the Lord sees men the way
they are. And I tell you what, that ship,
it says in Matthew, was tossed with waves and the Lord saw them. And oh my, bless His name. You know who sent them to go
out in that boat, in that storm? He did. Who sent the wind, was
it contrary to him? He did. Who sent the waves, that
was great? He did. Why would he do that? Well, if you got faith, mark
her down. He's going to send a storm. You
mark it down. He's going to send a storm. Oh
my. You see, he's the master of the
sea. He s the sovereign of the sea. The winds obey Him, the
waves obey Him, and He sees us, He sees us. He sees us just exactly
where we are in our labor, in our labor. I tell you, I was
talking to a dear preacher last week and I said, You know, everything
about preaching, everything about being a believer has WORK involved
in it. Labor husbandman, soldier, toiling, working, walking, running,
looking, everything is active. There s nothing static about
being a believer, absolutely nothing static about it. Nothing
ever stays the same. Our days are not always the same. And God said here He sees us,
He sees us, our He sees our toil, and He sees our worries. Oh, some people worry, and I
mean, you know, these people got things to worry about. Don
t bother me to see people worried about things. If you get a bad
diagnosis, no wonder you d worry. I d worry too. There s reasons
for us to worry sometimes, and most of the time we don t worry
about ourselves as much as we worry about somebody else and
their bad news. But oh, He sees us, He sees our
burdens. Oh my, everybody's, everybody,
you know, in the last week, everybody in this building, at some time
last, this last week, had a burden. If not for themselves, for somebody
else. And a burden means to put something
on your shoulder that's heavy. And I tell you, people have burdens. And I, you know, and our Lord
sees them burdens. Oh my! Seize our trials! And you know why they seize all
these things? Because He sent them in the boat, He did it!
He sent the waves, He did it! He sent the wind contrary, He
did it! And whatever happens in our lives, mark it down, He
sends it! He sends it! That makes it a
little easier to bear, don t it? A little easier for me, it makes
it a little easier to bear. But oh my! Then look what it
says here in verse 48, And he saw them tolling and rowing,
the wind was contrary unto them, and about the fourth watch of
the night, now this is 3 o'clock, watch starts at 6, to 9, to 12,
to 3, to 6, and that's what they did. He's going out on the fourth
watch, beginning at the fourth watch of the night, 3 o'clock
in the morning, what does He do? He comes unto them, He s
going to go to them, He s going to go and He s going to see them
in their trouble, He s going to visit them in their trouble,
He s going to visit them in their trial, He s going to go right
where they are, He s going where they re rowing, going where they
re toiling, going where the wind s contrary to them and where
the waves are great and big, He s going to them Ain't you glad he comes to us?
Now watch what happens now. Well, how does he get there?
Walking upon the sea. Wait a minute, ain't them waves
big? They are. Ain't that wind bad? It is. Oh, but that don't mean nothing
to him. Oh, anybody that can save a sinner,
I mean a genuine bonafide sinner, can go wherever he pleases and
however he pleases. And he's walking, he just steps
over the waves. That wind is not bothering him. Oh my, he's walking upon the
sea. You know, that just don t happen. People don t walk on the sea. People don t walk on the sea,
but HE DOES! He said He doeth according to His
will in the heavens, the earth, and the seas, and ALL deep places. You know where He found Jonah?
in a whale s belly. And you know what Jonah found
out? Salvation s of the Lord. And that s what these fellows
are going to learn. If I m going to be saved out of this storm,
this rowing and towing and getting this wind contrary to me, somebody
s going to have to do something with this He said, that's what Jonah says,
salvation of the Lord, these fellows are fixed to find out,
it's the same thing. God never changes, it never changes. Oh man, then look what it says
there in verse 48, after he walked upon the sea, and it says, would
have passed them by. Now wait a minute, there's two
times that Christ would have passed them by. That was on the
disciples on the Emmaus Road, you remember that? And they walked
out of Jerusalem, it was about a seven-mile walk, and they got
out of town, and they and our Lord were just gonna go on, gonna
go on. And they said, oh, no, no, no,
no, no, no, please, it's late, late, late, you need something
to eat, you come in our house and eat with us. And he did,
he stayed and ate with them, and when he offered thanks, they
knew right then who it was. But our Lord would have passed
them by, would have passed them by. Why would he have passed
them by? Oh my, why would he have passed them by? Why would
he start to pass them by? What it would have looked like
if our Lord just walked right on by them, left them laboring,
toiling, rowing, that wind blowing and the waves beating against
that little old ship. What would it have been like?
Well, do you think He would leave His people alone in a storm like
that? Has He ever left any of His people
in a storm? Has He ever left His people,
never ever come to them when their charts was troubled? Has
He ever failed to come to anybody when they're in the storm? Oh,
we sang that song, you know, How Firm a Foundation ye Saints
of the Lord is laid for your faith. in His excellent Word. What more can He say than to
you He hath said? And oh, my! Oh, what would it have
looked like if He had walked on by? What would WE look like if He
had walked on by us? How would we have got through
some of our heartaches? How would we have got through
some of our troubles? How would we have got through some of our
darkest days if He had walked right on by us? How could we have got down when
our despair was this awful? What would we have done when
death visits our home? How would we have got by if the
Lord left us in those places? Left us alone, walked right on
by us. What would have happened? You know what would happen? We'd
still be in the storm and couldn't get out of it. Couldn't get out
of it. But oh, my. But you know why
he's going to act as if he passes by them? He's going to make them
depend on him and cry out to him. They're the only one who
can do anything for him. He acts like he's gonna pass
him by. You know why? Oh, Lord, please pass me not,
oh, gentle Savior. Hear, hear my cry. Look what they says now. And
oh, my, he's gonna wash the piers. And then look what he says. But
when they saw him walking upon the sea, they saw him, they saw
him, and they saw him walking on the sea. But oh, look, what
did the world had happened? They supposed it had been a spirit,
that same word means a phantom or a ghost. They thought that
here's a ghost walking by us. Here's somebody else, this is
a phantom walking by here. People don't walk on the water,
and the fact is that they thought the Lord Jesus was still on the
mountain along praying. What's he out here on the water?
He's not, nobody's supposed to be out here on the water, especially
in a storm like this. It's the spirit and they cried
out. They cried out. Oh, they scared them and they
all started hollering. And look what it says there in
verse four. They all saw him. Every one of them saw him and were troubled. They were
troubled. Listen, now you imagine this,
you're in a boat, you're in a storm, and you're working like mad to
make some progress, rowing, toiling, sweating, and then here comes
somebody WALKING, WALKING in this storm, walking on the water. How in the world do you reckon
you would have reacted? Huh? They all, they were troubled.
Oh, they certainly didn't expect to see Him. The last person they
expected to see was the Lord. That's the last person they expected
to see out in the middle of the sea. They surely didn't expect,
last time we saw Him, He was going up on a mountainside. And
that's why they were troubled. Oh, they all saw him with trouble,
they left him alone. Didn't expect to see him, he
was walking on the sea. And oh my, and listen to what
it says, because they were troubled and they cried out, immediately
he talked with them. How did he talk with them? Spoke
to them. How do we hear from him? He speaks
to us. He speaks to us from His Word, speaks to us by His Holy
Spirit, and He talked with them. And He told them something. He
didn't just talk with them, He told them something. What did
He tell them? Be of good cheer. That's exactly what Paul told
that captain on that ship. Be of good cheer. The Lord appeared
to me tonight, and He said, everybody on this boat's gonna be saved. All of them, all of them. He says, you be of good cheer,
be happy. You know, people, everybody wants
to be happy. That's why our Lord said, you fellas, be of good
cheer, smile, let your fears stop, let your cries stop. And you know what? He says, be
of good cheer. Why would you be of good cheer?
Because it is I. It's I am. That's what it means.
It is I am. I am. Who's I am? Moses in that burning
bush on the mountain. Who's I am? When Moses is getting
ready to go down to Egypt, who am I going to tell him sent me?
Tell him I am, that I am sent you. He said, I'll tell you,
that'd make you be a good cheer. When the Lord Jesus comes to
you, can He comfort your heart and comfort your soul and comes
to you in your trial, comes to you in your heartache. And He
comes to people in times like this. And now I say, He said,
be a good cheer. Oh, Lord, I ain't got nothing
to be happy about. Well, yeah, you do. Why? Because I'm here. I am here. I AM GOD HERE! Oh, my. Oh, and then look what else He
said. Be not afraid. Be not afraid. Be not afraid. I'm here now. I saw you toiling. I saw you rowing. I saw the wind. I saw the waves. And I come here
to do something for you, huh? Oh my, come here and do something
for you. Oh, look what happens now. What's
hard for them is easy for our Lord. The sea is contrary to
them, the waves is contrary to them, the wind's against them.
But oh, what's hard for them, making them hard to row and labor
and toil, it's easy for the Lord. It's easy for the Lord. What
seems to be so hard for us, it's easy for Him. It's easy for Him. It's easy for Him. And that's
why He said, It's I. It is I. It is I. It is I. Now I want you to look
with me over in Matthew 14. Let's look at this same story
over here in Matthew 14. This is a different part of it,
and we need to see this. Matthew 14, 28. Oh, my. He puts the things under
His feet, the things that's hard for them to deal with. Our Lord
just puts them under His feet, puts them under His feet, and
oh, my. Again, you find the multitude,
verse 24, but we ll start at verse 28. You know why, Lord? Again, verse 27 here it says,
Jesus spake unto them, Be of good cheer, it is I, it I am,
be not afraid. Now, watch what happens now.
When Peter found out it was the Lord Jesus, and Jesus spake unto
them, Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be you, bid
me come unto thee on the water. Lord, if it s you, if it s you,
bid me come unto thee on the water. Was Peter being presumptuous? Was Peter tempting the Lord? Was Peter trying to be something
that he wasn t supposed to be? No, I believe Simon Peter here
was showing great, great faith. I believe he was showing great
faith. Oh, my! No other disciple said, Lord,
if it s you, I d like to come off this boat and come to you.
None of the rest of them said that. Only Peter said, Lord,
if it s you, BID me come unto you. Bid me to come to you, and
bid me to come to thee, not just come to you, but come to you
on the water. If you can walk on water, Lord, I want to walk
on water. Whatever you do, that's what
I want to do. Whatever you are, that's what I want to be. Wherever
you are, that's where I want to go. And that's what he's saying
here. I believe Peter was showing great
faith here. No other disciples made this
request. And I'll tell you something,
Peter expresses the desire of every believer. Bid me come unto
thee. Come to Christ, oh my, whatever
it is, as Peter expresses out of all of us, coming to Christ. He said, Lord, bid me come to
you, come to Christ, come to the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ. I wanna do this, don't you? I
do, I want to come to Christ, I wanna know Christ, I always
wanna know Christ. I do not, well, I know me enough
to know that if it wasn't for Christ, I wouldn't last long
as an old saying goes, a snowball in the blast furnace. Oh, Lord,
he said, Peter, I come, come. Oh, my Lord, bid me come to thee. And I came. The scripture says,
no man can come unto me except the Father which sent me dry.
And no man can come until the Lord. If the Lord says, come,
you're coming. And I tell you, He told me to
come, I came. He tells me to come, I come.
He tells me to look and I'm looking. He tells me to believe, I'm believing. What else are we going to do? He tells me He's the way. Well,
I want to go His way. He tells me He's the truth. Oh,
Lord, I want the truth. He says, Hear my sheep, hear
my voice. Lord, I want to hear Your voice. Oh, bid me come. Oh, we can't. until he bids us, and when he
bids us, guess what happens? We come. Oh, we come. Oh, listen, look
what he says here in verse 28. Lord, if it's you, bid me come
to thee on the water. Oh, my. He wanted to emulate
his Lord. He trusted Christ. And look what
our Savior said to him. He said, come. He said, come. Oh, bless his name. He said,
come. You know, if he said, come, we
could come. That's the gospel. That's the
gospel. Our Lord says, come. COME UNTO
ME, ALL YOU THAT LABOR AND ARE HEAVY LADEN, I'LL GIVE YOU REST.
THE SPIRIT AND THE BRIDE SAY COME." Oh my! He said, Come. That's the call
of the Gospel. That's what we said over and
over and over again preaching the Gospel. COME TO CHRIST! COME
TO CHRIST! COME TO CHRIST! And let me tell
you something, you can come to Christ and not move a muscle. so many people in this building
this morning are coming to Christ right now, in their hearts, in their minds,
in their souls, they re coming to Christ. Oh, Lord, I come, weak, weary,
and worn. Lord, I come. I come. Oh, my. Now, let me give you
four things in order for Peter To come to Christ, four things
had to happen. Four things had to take place.
First of all, Christ had to command him. He said, Come. He said, Lord, bid me come. Christ
said, Come. Christ has to give the commandment.
He said, Come. The second thing had to happen.
He had to leave the ship. He had to get out of that ship.
Huh? He had to leave it! HE HAD TO
LEAVE IT! HE HAD TO LEAVE IT! And look
what it says there also, in verse 29, when he said, Come, and when
Peter was come down out of the ship, HE HAD TO COME DOWN! HE COULDN'T COME DOWN! Oh, Scott
Richardson said it, and I heard him say countless times, Come
down, how far to come? All the way to the dust. Make
your headquarters in the dust. Get wrapped down in the dust.
And that's why Peter had to come down. Come down. Oh, my. He had to come down. People have to come down. Come
down. And then look what else they
said here now. And not only that, but he had to walk on the water.
And Peter was come down out of the ship. He walked on the water. And where did he go? where was
he on his way to? To go to Jesus. That s the only
reason he wanted to walk on the water, to go where Christ was. There s no other reason to walk
on the water unless you re going where Christ is at, and that
s where he said he wanted to go to Jesus. He wanted to go
to the Lord Jesus Christ, and he went to go to Jesus. Oh, coming
to Christ is ALWAYS initiated by His command. Always. Always. Bartimaeus? He commanded
him to be brought. Zacchaeus? Commanded him to come
down. Lazarus? He commanded him to
come forth. And Christ, when He makes a commandment,
He has to initiate what He does. And oh, look what happens now.
But He saw the wind. This is us. This is us. He saw the wind, boisterous,
strong, and the margin says strong, and he was afraid, and he began
to sink, and he cried, saying, Lord, save
me! Lord, save me! Lord, save me! Don't you think
He is saved? Yes. Don't you think He walked on
the water? Yes. Did Christ tell Him to come? Yes. But, oh boy, sometimes we just
get right about there, and how many times we cry, Lord, save
me. Save me. I'm gonna cry that till
I walk into glory. As long as I'm in my right mind,
as long as I got a brain in my head and I can think, and I can
think, I'm gonna always say, Lord, save
me. And one of these days, the scripture
said, our salvation's nearer than when we believe. One of
these days, as old Ralph Bard used to say, we're gonna be plumb
saved. Gonna be plumb saved. Oh, I hear
about a believer going home and I can't help but always rejoice.
I just can't help it, I just can't help myself. But oh my,
and look what happened. Immediately, Jesus stretched
forth His hand Stretched forth his hand. You
know, that's why Christ has to do that. He has to stretch forth
his hand. He stretched forth his hand. What happened to him?
And caught him. Caught him. You gonna fall? No, you ain't. I got you. You
gonna sink? No, you ain't. I got you. I caught you. He caught him. He caught him. And I'll look what it says here
in verse 32. And when they were come into
the ship, the wind ceased. And they that were in the ship
came, and listen to this, worshiped Him, saying of a truth, Thou
art the Son of God. Oh my, come, he said, Peter,
come. And when he commands, come, come
to Christ. You know when you come to Christ
and you leave the boat, you know some things you have to leave
behind? Coming to Christ, you've got to leave your evidences,
leave your evidences, leave your evidences, leave your experiences,
leave your knowledge, leave your feelings, just come to Him, just
come to Him, come to Him. You get out of the boat, you've
got to leave everything else. and for everything else. Our Father, our blessed, blessed
Father, thank you for allowing us to meet here today. Thank
you for the blessed gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Lord,
we see you feeding the multitude. Then we see you walking on the
water. We see you saving your people. We see you comforting
your people. We see you making your people
cry out to you, look to you, trust you, believe you, come
to you. And then, oh Lord, so many times
in our coming, we falter, we stumble, we sink, but you catch
us every single time. You always catch us. We're about
to fall, but Lord, you catch us. You keep us. And I thank you for that. Oh,
how I bless you for that. Bless this gospel today to the
hearts and minds of the hearers. May some ears have been opened
today for Christ's sake we pray. Amen. Amen. Reach out and touch
the Lord as He passes by. He's not too busy to hear your
heart's cry. He's passing by this moment,
your peace to survive. REACH OUT AND TOUCH THE LORD
AS HE GOES BY. Ain't it wonderful to see how
Christ treats His people? See all the things our Christ,
our Lord Jesus does. And He does it all to make us
keep coming to Him. Keep coming to Him. I'm thankful
for it. Lord bless you. See you tonight,
6 o'clock, God willing.