Part of our conversation was regarding how that the Lord himself is our salvation. That he doesn't offer salvation, he doesn't provide salvation, he is the salvation of God. And whenever the Lord commands a sinner to believe or to come, Whenever he commands the dead to rise, the lame to walk, the blind to see, they do.

They always do. And we know that he does that spiritually in the preaching of the gospel. That's very clear throughout all the Word of God. It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save, to save the spiritually blind, to save the spiritually lame, to raise the spiritually dead. And even after the Lord saves us, He's still saving us. He's continually saving us.

We think that we can do things, you know, without the Lord, and we tend to gravitate toward that idea. We get independent, don't we? until we hear the gospel. That's why we come and hear the gospel all the time, because it's easy for our minds to stray from the simplicity that's in Christ. But the Lord, we say, well, we can, you know, we can love one another. But the Lord didn't say love one another. He said, love one another as I have loved you.

That's what we're striving toward. That I need him for. That I need. I need him for I need a new nature. to love at all, to love spiritually at all. And I need constant power and blessing from God to love like He loved in any sense whatsoever. And here's the simple truth. There are statements in the scripture that sort of are the statement on a lot of truths that we know and understand, and here's one of them. When you think about how much you need him, remember this verse, remember what the Lord said to his disciples, without me, you can do nothing. You can't love, you can't believe, you can't have peace, you can't be long-suffering, but the fruit of the Spirit is born by us and in us by the spirit of christ that dwelleth in us and so everything is him all of our salvation and this is that just the first point i want to make is that our our salvation is ongoing we don't we don't stop needing him and we need to have that understanding going into verse 30 here when he saw the wind boisterous now Up until that time, what did Simon see?

He saw the Lord. He was afraid of Him at first. He thought he misunderstood the situation. He thought the Lord was somebody that he was not, like we often do and have to be reminded. But when he saw the wind, when he saw what he was up against, when he saw his own inability. He's walking on water, but then he comes to the realization, I can't walk on water. He looks away from the Lord, and immediately he was afraid.

And I guarantee you, that'll be our experience as believers. The minute we look away from him, we'll be afraid. There's nothing to see beyond him but our inability. There's nothing else to see. We can't take on anything. We can't win any victory. We can't overcome any trial.

And this walking on the water here and coming to the Lord Jesus Christ and then seeing the wind and beginning to sink, this can be a lesson for many things. You say, well, that's salvation, that's when he saves us. Well, it is, yeah, it sure is. We're saved by looking to Christ and only to Christ. If you look anywhere but Christ, you're not gonna have any hope. You're gonna despair, you're gonna fear. And that's the truth, and we see it as believers.

We continually got to look to him. Soon as we look away, soon as we look to the flesh, As soon as we look at what we're up against, and not to the Savior, we're going to despair, we're going to sink. And it could be a picture of a lot of things that we experience, but the basic elements, if we've learned anything in the scripture, it's that we have to see the basic elements of what took place.

Simon had a desire for the Lord to bid him to come to. He didn't just say, I'm gonna come down. He wasn't popping some chewing gum, saying, I'm gonna go, you know, make a decision for Jesus. He said, Lord, bid me come. If it's all right with you, if you will, I can be, I'll be made clean. You can make me clean. And then the Lord said, simply come. What a beautiful word that is. Leave where you are and come where I am.

Again, salvation, trials, every day, in prayer. When we come to the Lord in prayer, we don't just have a quick little talk with Jesus. We've got to come away from where we are and go where he is. and kneel before his throne. We understand who we're speaking to and that nothing else matters but him and my need of him and his all sufficiency to meet my every need. That's what prayer is. So in every sense.

So he looked away and he began to sink and he cried. He cried. Where do people who don't know the Lord, what do they do when they begin to sink? When you have no one to cry to? Simon was able to cry to the Lord and immediately, immediately, his only problem at that particular moment was gone. gone, taken away. What a wonderful comfort it is to know that we have a Lord to cry to. We have a Lord that doesn't calculate man's will and decisions and input into the matter. He's the Lord and he does as he pleases in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of this earth and none can Question him none can stop him none can stay his hand or say into him. What do us though? We can't even question what he does That's who I want to cry to Who else is there? Who else is there?

The Lord can use us to comfort one another in trouble, but we need him to save us Well, I'm already saved Chris, yeah, but you need you still need to be saved You need to be saved tonight. You need to be saved Not that salvation is temporary or can be won or lost like some kind of earthly prize, but his salvation is an eternal work, and it's carried out in time as well. Lord, save me.

All faith is full of doubt and unbelief. Again, we have that one scripture that kind of is the heading of a lot of truth. Lord, I believe help. You know how much of our experience falls under that title? Lord, I believe help. Lord, I know you help. I believe, but I doubt. I know, but I'm foolish and weak. There's a but there in our faith, isn't there? Even the Lord said the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. So all faith is full of doubt and unbelief. Our faith, it took faith for Peter to step out on that water. It took faith, really, from the Lord for him to even consider the idea. This was not a calm patch of water. This is not water you wanted to go into.

And yet he said, Lord, bid me come to thee. Knowing he had confidence that the Lord would make that, OK, I'm going to be able to do it if the Lord says do it. And there's another lesson embedded in that too. If the Lord makes it clear, if he commands you to do something, you're not going to suffer for it. Not ultimately, not spiritually, not in the long run. It may cause physical suffering. It may cause trouble. It may cause heartache. It may cause sadness in the flesh.

But whatever the Lord says, you're never gonna be the loser for obeying him. If Simon just jumps in the water, then he's on his own. But if the Lord bids him come, he's not gonna be the loser coming when the Lord said come. And that's gonna be true for all of us throughout this life. Faith, the Lord gives faith. What a great gift from God to believe Him.

It's just, it's not as complicated as people say it is, and it's not as sentimentally foolish as people think. Well, faith just means, you know, trusting that everything's gonna work out all right. What do you mean everything working out all right? Religion applies it to when somebody is deathly ill, you know, everything's gonna be all right, we just gotta believe. Well, your definition of everything being all right may or may not come true. That person may well die. Where is your faith in? If that's what your faith is based on, a good outcome from your point of view. And what good was your faith? Faith is believing God. It's believing God will do what he said he'll do. that he did what he said he did, that he is who he said he was, and that he'll do what he said he'd do.

And by faith, Moses chose the reproach of Christ as greater riches than the treasures of Egypt. That's not an easy leap. That takes supernatural faith given by God. By faith, Abraham believed God, for he reckoned him faithful who had promised and believe that what God had promised he was able also to perform.

Do you believe that? I don't believe that somebody is going to recover from a deathly illness because I just have a positive attitude. But I believe God will do what he said he'd do. Don't you? By God's grace. We believe that. Because he's God. He's God. His promises are yay and amen in Christ, the rock, the dependable rock that cannot fail and doesn't try.

In the lives of Moses and Abraham and in our experience, we see that though we do believe, our constant prayer is, Lord, help my unbelief. And this is not a one time prayer. that Peter prayed here, Lord, save me. How many times have you prayed that prayer in your heart over the years? Lord, save me, save me. Don't give me a hand up. Don't meet me halfway. Save me, save me.

Over the years, for many, many years, We've all seen waves and winds. And when we should have had our eyes fixed on the one who bid us to come, and he didn't just bid us to come down an aisle, he bid us to come to him, and that's for good. That's not a one-time experience. That's to lay hold of him and not let go.

And we look away. We consider things that are not factors. Was the wind a factor when the Lord Jesus has come in power, in grace, in beautiful, almighty sureness? Is the wind really a factor in whether you're going to get to him or not? That's us. We look away to things that aren't really a factor. They just appear that way to me. What's going to keep me?

What's going to separate me from the love of my Savior? Remember those things that are mentioned there. Shall trouble, shall evil, shall death even, peril, sword, Whatever catastrophe, whatever dreadful thing comes upon me, how is that a factor? How is that going to separate me from the love of Christ? The love of God, which is in His Son. Those waves couldn't separate Simon from the Savior, but in his mind they could, in his doubting they could. He feared that they would, but we should have kept our eyes fixed on the one who bid us to come. This is a brief and urgent prayer. You're not going to have time, are you? You're not going to have time to make all the words sound pretty. When you're sinking, when you're sinking, there's no time for eloquence. There's no time for pretense. Don't you hate pretense? Don't you hate the formalities of religion? Any formalities for that matter, really.

When it comes down to what's important. When it comes down to what's vital. I don't want to sound pretty. I don't really have to think about how it comes across when the building's on fire. And I'm telling people, get out, get out, get out of here, save yourself, run, danger. And as the scripture says, as if you're pulling them out of the fire. I don't stop to fix my hair when that's the case.

This is God, be merciful to me, the sinner. Is that eloquent enough for you? God, have mercy on my soul. I think that'll do it, won't you? If it's from the heart, God, be propitious to me on the mercy seat. Let the blood of the lamb speak for me from the mercy seat. Lord, save me. It's not terrible. Well, God, I think the, I'm so thankful that I'm better than everybody else. I do this and I do that and blah, blah, blah. God have mercy on me.

You see the difference? The publican was doing the same thing. Simon is here. Lord save me. He's crying for help. When I say help, I don't mean to leg up. This is an appeal to the only one who can save a sinner. Lord, only the sovereign Christ can save. We don't contradict and oppose and denounce the Jesus of religion who wants to and can't, who leaves everything up to you.

Because we want to be mean about it. Because we just like stirring things up. Because we like to be able to boast that we know more than other people. That's not why we do it. It's because that Savior can't save you. They call Him a Savior. But He's waiting on you, and you can't do anything. That pathetic little Jesus is waiting on a dead man to take the first step. That's why we insist on it. That's why we insist that you look to the throne for salvation. You look to the Lord Almighty. If He leaves it up to you, you'll drown in your sins. If the Lord Jesus Christ said, well, here I am, if you can get, you know, I came all this way, I came halfway, I came up to the ship, here I am, if you can just...

No, no, He didn't leave him down there. He took hold of him and pulled him out. What about your Savior? Did He do that for you? He said in John 10, I lay down my life for the sheep and they shall never perish. The fact that He shed His precious blood for you, which was Him being the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world now, He covenanted in eternity to be your surety. to redeem you with His precious blood. That commits Him to you, that ties Him to you forever. He cannot let one hair of your head fall to the ground without His approval and blessing, without Him turning it into a blessing for you. Because He committed Himself to His sheep, I lay down my life for them, and now guess what?

They're good to go. They're not ever going to perish. They can't fall. They may stumble. I'll lift them up. If they fail, I'm their victory. If they fall, I'm their strength. They shall not perish. On what basis? I died for their soul, that's what. How many of this evening are praying to a God who cannot save? That's why we're insisting on it. My Savior's hand is not shortened that He cannot save. If He will, He can make you clean tonight, if He wants to. That's who you come to and say, Lord, would you have mercy on a wretch like me? I know you can. I know you can. And I've got to know whether you will or not.

He's never turned a wretch away like that. Peter never looked back at the boat. He didn't say, John, throw me a rope. He disregarded human ability when it came. When he realized where he was in his predicament, he looked away from the Lord, but he never doubted who his hope was. He didn't try to swim back to the boat.

This is also faith. Paul said in Philippians 2, I've suffered the loss of all things. And you know what he was talking about when he said, I've suffered the loss of all things? Not the bad stuff he had done, the good stuff he had done. I was circumcised. I was a Hebrew of the Hebrews. I was a Pharisee. As touching the law, I was blameless.

And when he saw the Savior and saw his condition, when he began to sink under the weight of the law, he said the commandment came and sin revived and I died. And he was sinking just like Peter was. And he says, I count all that but done that I may win Christ and be found in him. He cried out to the Lord, whoever calls on him like that.

The Lord said, I'll save you. I'll save you. Simon Peter put all of his hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord save me. If that doesn't work out, he's a goner. People don't try Jesus. Isn't it time to try Jesus? I've tried rehabilitation. I've tried therapy. I've tried this pill and that pill.

Look, there's nothing wrong with any of that stuff, but it's not gonna save you. You're not gonna find peace there. If you don't have it in Christ, you're not gonna get it there. You're not gonna be saved by trying the Lord among a string of effort to do something for yourself. You're gonna have to abandon everything else, everybody else, all other hope when it comes to your soul now.

I know whom I have believed, and I'm persuaded. I'm convinced that he's able. That's a good thing to be persuaded of, that he is able. Well, I just know I can make it. I know I can make it. Well, you're not going to make it that way. With that attitude, you're not going to make it. You can't make it. But I'm persuaded that he is able. keep that which I've committed unto him against that day."

This is a prayer with complete confidence in the ability of the Savior to save. Lord, save me. It's a prayer that acknowledges ability. If the Lord can't save you, why would you say, Lord, save me? By God's grace, he believed. that his only hope was a person. But I'll tell you this, it also acknowledges complete inability in self. If he had said, Lord, I'm getting in a little trouble here, I might need some help.

That's different than save me. That's a lot different than save me. You've abandoned all other hope when you say save me. Paul said we worship God in the spirit, and we rejoice in Christ Jesus, and we have no confidence in the flesh. Lord, save me, save me, save me. I don't need new doctrine, I don't need better doctrine, I need the Savior, I need a Savior.

No confidence in my flesh, no confidence in your flesh, no confidence in the flesh. Will the person that I love, will my loved one come to know the Lord? Well, I'll tell you this, I don't have any confidence in their flesh. So you know what my prayer is? Lord, save them. Save them. We gotta understand that now. It's the spirit that quickeneth the flesh, profiteth nothing. And this is personal, isn't it? This is between Him and the Lord. We got to do business with God's Son and nobody else. Nobody else has any say in it. Nobody else is a factor in it. The Lord can use people. Don't misunderstand me.

He can use people to be a blessing now. But this is business that's got to be taken care of between you and God's Son. And this is about as personal as it gets. Lord, save me. Save me. He didn't say, Lord, I believe in the doctrine of salvation of sinners by the sin atoning death and representative righteousness of Christ. It's fine to use all that rhetoric. That's fine. But Lord, save us.

It's one thing to believe in the doctrine of the immaculate, sinless, holy son of God and the effectual sin atoning blood and how the Christ is our bread. Christ is our food, our necessary food. He is spiritual life. But Christ said, he that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath life.

Do we understand what he was saying there? We've got to be completely committed. And that's where he brings us. We can sing, you know, Jesus saves. And that's all fine and well. I'm glad he saves, but we've got to come to the place where our hearts cries, Lord, save me.

Save me. I suspect, knowing a little bit about my own wretchedness, I suspect that sinners will go to hell, knowing that the Lord, only the Lord saves. Lord, save me. means you've hit rock bottom. You are rock bottom. And you need, from your heart, you require the salvation that is the Son of God. I'm sinking because of what I am. Because of my nature, I'm sinking. If I was a fish, I'd be fine. But I'm not. I'm a sinner. Sinners sink. Sinners can't walk on water. Sinners can't come to Christ either.

Did you know that? Y'all do, I know that. They need for him first to come to them and bid them come. And how does this story end? What an ending to the story. Christ has saved us. He is saving us. He shall save us. If we're saved at all, we're still coming to him.

Peter wrote in first Peter two, four to whom coming as into a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, the chosen of God and precious. I'm still coming. I'm still coming. Still coming. Still crying, Lord, save me. I need the every hour. I need thee every hour. Paul said, I press toward the mark. My great heart's desire is that I may know him.

Don't you know him, Paul? Look how long ago you met him. You've been preaching for him. Don't you know him? Yeah. Well, what are you saying then? I want to know him. I want to know him. I'm still coming. I'm still pressing toward the mark. which is Christ Jesus. Are we going to make it? Are we going to make it, you reckon? If we do, here's how.

Immediately, Jesus. That's the title of the message tonight. Immediately, Jesus. That's the only way That's the only ending to this story that's good for us. We need him and we need him now. We need him now. Immediately, Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him.

He was sinking and the Lord caught him and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? He gently rebukes him. But you know what he's really saying there? If somebody said, if he said that to you, why did you doubt? What's he really saying there? I don't want to put words in the Lord's mouth, but this is clear, isn't it? He's saying, I was here the whole time.

What are you worried about? What are you worried about? Why did you doubt? Why did you look at the wind when I'm here? Why did you worry about your inability when I'm standing here? Well, I'm the one that bid you come. Wherefore didst thou look away from me? Wherefore didst thou look at the waves?

They have no, they're not a factor in this thing. He caught him. That's my testimony. Not I made a decision, or I did this, or I came to a knowledge. He caught me. I was falling and He caught me. My part in salvation was I needed saving. It's not the strength of our faith that saves us. He doubted. But it's the object of our faith that saves. And there's just one object of saving faith, and that's the Son of God. Salvation is of the Lord. Simon was a doubter, but here's our hope. He was a caught doubter. That's my hope. I'm full of unbelief, but I'm an unbelieving wretch that was caught by God's Son. Thank God for catching grace.

Our, as soon as our thinking comes into, as soon as human reasoning comes into it, we sink. Whoa, those waves are huge. Right down, right down the water, under the water. You know what I love about this? One final thought in closing. That word caught there, if you look up that word caught, immediately, Jesus. Aren't those two words beautiful? That's my testimony, immediately, Jesus.

He stretched forth his hand and caught him. That word caught means to lay hold of. He didn't put out a helping hand. He didn't offer his hand. He caught him with it. He laid hold of Simon Peter that day and saved him. And you know, in Philippians 3, 12, where Paul said, not as though I had already attained, I don't count myself to have apprehended, either we're already perfect, but I follow after, I pursue, I run. If that I may apprehend that for which also I apprehended of Jesus Christ. I want to lay hold of him who laid hold of me. Same word in our text. He said, Jesus Christ laid hold of me. That's salvation. That's the Lord's great glory. He has mercy on sinners like us. Let's thank him and praise him for it.