Thank you. God bless you. I will miss you, too. But it's
not that far away. I hope you'll come visit. And I will, too, from time to
time, the Lord willing. If you will, turn in your Bibles
to Mark's Gospel, Chapter 4. Mark, Chapter 4. In one of the
hymns we sang this morning, It says, he's the master of the
sea, billows his will obey. You have an illustration of that
in the last part of Mark's gospel, chapter four, beginning at verse
35. Christ calms the troubled sea,
and then he calms the troubled disciples. He speaks peace to
each. And the result is there's a great
calm. There's a great calm where there
was a great storm, it ceased. And then there was a great calm
in the heart of the disciples when they looked one toward another
and said, who is this? What manner of man is this? That in itself was the purpose,
one of the purposes of Christ in going through this storm that
he might display his sovereign power over everything and leave
this impression upon his faithful disciples. Look at verse 35 of
Mark chapter 4. And the same day, the day after
he had spoken so many parables, had given so many lessons to
multitudes of people, the same day when the evening was come,
he saith unto them, let us pass over unto the other side. And when they sent away the multitude,
they took him even as he was, tired. Flesh of our flesh and
bone of our bones. He got tired, Bob. Isn't that
something? That same one who shortly after
this would stand on the deck of that ship and say to the troubled
sea, peace, be still, literally he said, silence, and it obeyed
him. He was tired. He was God, as
demonstrated by his speaking to the sea, and he was man, demonstrated
by his needing sleep. And they were also with him other
little ships. And there arose a great storm
of wind, and the waves beat into the ship so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part
of the ship, asleep on a pillow. And they awake him and say unto
him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose. Oh, there's help now. There's
help now. And he arose and rebuked the
wind, and said unto the sea, peace be still, silent. And the wind ceased, and there
was a great calm. As great as the storm, so now
is great the calm. And he said unto them, why are
ye so fearful? Not just fearful, but so fearful. How is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly.
They stood in awe of Him, in wonder of Him, and said one to
another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and
the sea obey Him?" Our pastor's commentary on this
book, the Gospel of Mark, he gives a chapter to these verses,
verses 35 through 41, and entitles it The Parable of Every Believer's
Life. And so it is. This is a parable
of every believer's life. The title of my message, though,
is The Master of the Sea. The Master of the Sea. Listen again, verse 35, to the
captain of our salvation. That's important to remember.
He's the captain of our salvation. Had the disciples remembered
this, they probably wouldn't have been so fearful, because
the captain of our salvation issues the call. He says, let
us pass over unto the other side. And now hear the master of the
sea speak in verse 39. He arose, our captain, our master,
and rebuked the wind. and said unto the sea, Peace,
be still. And here's the result. The wind
ceased. It obeyed him. It knew the voice
of its creator, that same voice who in the beginning said, let
there be light. That same one who made everything
that is made now says that that troubled sea, those great waves,
that boisterous wind, silence. And the wind ceased and there
was a great calm. Is it any wonder that even the
enemies of our Lord went back to those who had sent them to
arrest him on one occasion and came back empty-handed and said,
you don't understand. They said, why have you not brought
him, the chief priest asked. They said, you don't understand.
Never a man spake like this man. We've never heard it on this
wise. He teaches as one that has authority. He's not like you. He talks like
one who knows what he's talking about. He speaks with authority. He speaks with power. And so
he does here. when he says, let us pass over
unto the other side. Thank God never a man spake like
this man because this man is unique. This man is in a class
by himself because this man is the God man. This man whom they
say we know his heritage, we know his father. He's just the
carpenter's son, Joseph, his mother, his brothers, his sisters. We know who they are, and we
know who he is. He's just the carpenter's son.
Oh, but he was more than that. He was more than that. To those
whose eyes he opened, he was very God of very God. Whom do the people say that I,
the Son of Man, am? He asked the disciples. Oh, some
say you're Elijah. Some say you're John the Baptist
risen from the dead or Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.
But whom say ye that I am? Who do you think I am? Who am
I to you? The world around us says, yeah,
we'll grant you this. He was a great teacher. He was
a reformer. He was a moralist. Oh, he was
a great example. He was even a martyr. But God,
but God. Oh, but he turns aside and asks,
who am I to you? Who do you say that I am? And
Peter spoke and he said, we know who you are. You're the Christ. You're the Messiah. You're the
anointed one that should come into the world. You're the son
of the living God. And you remember what our Lord
said to Peter. He said, Blessed art thou, Simon
bar Jonah. Simon, son of Jonah. Blessed
art thou, for flesh and blood didn't reveal that to you, but
my Father. My Father's done something for
you that He's not done for the high and the mighty, the religious
leaders, the elite. He's shown you. He's opened your
eyes and revealed to you who I am. Blessed art thou. And all brothers and sisters
tonight, if you and your heart can say, I know who he is. I know who he is. Let the people
say what they will. Let the world have what opinions
they will. I know regardless of what they
say, he's the son of the living God. He's the God man. Oh, blessed
art thou. God's done something for you
that man couldn't do, your parents couldn't do, you couldn't do
for yourself. He's given you the precious gift
of faith whereby you can embrace Him and know that He is the Son
of God. It's He that said, Again in verse
35, let us pass over it. That same one who said, this
man, I say unto you, this man goes home justified. Does that make it so? Does that
make it so? If he says it's so, it's so. Not if the preacher says so,
or Baptist, or priest, or Pope. But if he says so, it's so. If he says to that woman, thy
sins which are many are forgiven thee. I say unto thee, thy sins
are forgiven thee. Go in peace. Enter into peace. Enter into the peace of God and
peace with God. Thy sins are all forgiven. Oh,
if He says so, it's so. Regardless of whether folks like
it or not, whether folks believe it or not, it's still so. He makes it so. And when He bows
His head upon the cross, As the only mediator between God and
man, as our substitute, as our great high priest entering into
the very presence of a holy God, obtaining salvation, redemption
for us, and he cries, it is finished, then it's so. It so, He by Himself
purged our sins and put them away forever. It so. He's that same One who says here
to His disciples and you and I concerning this journey on
which we go. From here to glory, He says,
let us pass over into the other side. I'm so glad that he expressed
it that way, aren't you? He didn't say, you go. You go and I'll stay here. If
so, none would reach the other side. We read in Psalm 84 a moment
ago that the Lord shall give grace and glory. Everybody that experiences God's
grace will experience His glory. Everyone He saves by grace, He'll
bring the glory. Father, I will that those whom
You have given me, those who shall hear my voice in time,
and I will bring out of darkness into light, I will also Not only
that they experience my grace, the resurrection to life, but
they experience my glory. I want them with me where I am. I want them to see my glory. Isn't that something? And in
Revelation 22 we're told, they, all those given to Him by the
Father, all those entrusted into His mighty hand before the world
ever was, appear in glory, and we're told they, all they, without
exception, without a loss, shall see His face. Isn't that something? Talk about
heaven. talk about glory, talk about
bliss, they shall see Him who loved them and gave Himself for
them. He says, let us pass over unto
the other side, us, Himself included. Oh, if not, as we said, none
would reach the other side. None would reach glory. That
is what this is a picture of. None would reach heaven. None
would reach that place of eternal bliss. The place spoken of, turn,
if you will, to Revelation chapter 1, this place, or chapter 21,
I'm sorry. None would reach this blessed
place that John saw in Revelation chapter 21, verse 1. John says, And I saw a new heaven
and a new earth. For the first heaven and the
first earth were passed away. God was done with them. And as
a vesture, he folds them up and lays them aside, but he creates
a new heaven and a new earth. Peter said, Wherein dwelleth
only righteousness. And there was no more sea. And
I, John, saw the holy city. New Jerusalem. This is the church,
the church of the living God, coming down from God out of heaven,
prepared as a bride, adorned for her husband. And I heard
a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God
is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be
his people, and God himself shall be with them and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears. from their eyes, and there shall
be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there
be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. And He
that sat upon the throne, only He could make it so. He that
sat upon the throne, God over all and blessed forever, said,
Behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, Write, for
these words are true and faithful. If He had not included Himself
in the journey to glory, none would arrive to this place that
we read of. Without Him, without Him, There
is no us. Without the bridegroom, there
is no bride. Without the great shepherd of
the sheep, there would be no sheep. Without the light, we
remain in darkness. Without our glorious substitute,
there is now no salvation. But of him, that is God. Christ
has made unto us wisdom. and righteousness, and sanctification,
and redemption. Can you think of anything else
you need? Christ is all, Paul said, and
we are complete in Him. Oh yes, He's the bridegroom and
we're the bride. We're the product. Paul in Ephesians
2 said, we are His workmanship. He's the worker, and we are the
work. Oh yes, thank God, he says, let
us pass over unto the other side. I go with you. I want you with
me. I go to glory. But I go there
to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I'm not going to leave it there. Oh no. It won't be uninhabited. Oh,
no. I'm going to come back for you.
That where I am, there ye shall be. Ye shall be without doubt,
without question. Ye shall receive grace and glory. Every one of them appeareth before
God in Zion. Oh, He leads His dear children
along, does He not? Does he not? I asked Lindsay
the liaison that him, I asked him if we knew it. And he said,
yeah, we know it. The chorus says, some through
the waters and some through the flood, some through the fire,
but all through the blood. Some through great sorrow, but
God gives a song, doesn't he? In the night season and all the
day long. God leads his dear children along. Turn, if you will, to John chapter
12. This is just soon before our Lord's arrest, his betrayal,
his crucifixion. But he says in chapter 12, verse
23, to his disciples, the hour has come. The hour. Oh, the hour that the Son of
Man should be glorified. The hour that I shall accomplish,
accomplish the redemption of my people. The hour that I shall
be made sin. Verse 24, Verily, verily, truthfully,
truly, I say unto you, except the corn of wheat fall into the
ground and die, that was Him. He's that corn of wheat that
fell into the ground and died. It abides alone. But if it died,
and he did, he did. If it died, it bringeth forth,
not it might bring forth. We hope it brings forth. Perhaps
it'll bring forth. He speaks matter-of-factly. If
it died, It bringeth forth much fruit. John said, I saw a multitude
that I could number of every tribe, kindred, race of people
standing before the throne of God and before the Lamb. Who are these, John? Where did
they come from? Those are the results of the
fruit of the death of the Lamb of God that took away their sin. a multitude that none can number,
except the corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth
alone." Oh, and he died as he lived for us. Why did he come
here? Why did he leave Glory? Why? For us. for His people, for His
bride, for His elect, for those that the Father gave Him. This
is exactly what Gabriel told Joseph, didn't he? Remember,
Joseph lays upon that bed. And he's tossing and he's turning.
He just can't sleep. Because Mary, that one to whom
he was engaged, that he was going to take to be his wife, was found
to be with child. And he thinks, what can I do?
What shall I do? I don't want to make her a public
example. No, this is what I'll do, he
thought. I'll put her away privately. I'll send her away so nobody
will know the condition she's in. And remember what Gabriel
said to him. Joseph, don't be afraid. Don't
be afraid to take unto thee Mary to be that wife, because that
which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And when He's
born, oh, give Him that name which is above every name. Give
Him that name in which every knee shall bow and every tongue
confess. Joseph, call His name Jesus. Jesus. Why? Why? What does that mean? For He shall
save His people, all of His people, from their sins, all of their
sins. Hallelujah! What a Savior! He earned that name, did He not? Because He did exactly that. And it's He that says, let us
pass over unto the other side. In John's Gospel chapter 6, He
said, I came down from heaven. not to do mine own will, but
the will of Him that sent me. And this is the will of Him that
sent me, that of all, all, not one or two. You know, people
hear that you believe that awful doctrine of election, you know,
election. And they say, oh, you believe
one or two will be saved. No, no, no, no, no. You believe
only a couple are going to might be saved. Oh, no, no, no. There's
no might about it in the first place. There's no question about
it. There's no doubt about it. He
shall see it through the veil of his soul and he shall be satisfied. He'll be content for the joy
set before him. He endured the cross, the joy
of satisfying justice and bringing many sons to glory. Oh, I came
down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of Him
that sent me. And this is the will of Him that sent me, of
all, of all, a multitude, a multitude that none can number. Thousands
and thousands of thousands and hundreds of thousands. He shall
see it through the veil of his soul and be content with his
work. Be content with the fruit of
his sufferings. Oh, bring many sons under glory
that of all which he had given me, I should lose what? How many? How many? Zero. Zero, Joe. None. He won't lose none. The captain of our salvation,
the master of the sea says, let us pass over unto the other side. And so we shall. Oh, in Galatians
4, we're told when the fullness of the time was come, what happened? God sent forth his son, made
of a woman, made under the law to do what? To make salvation
possible. To make redemption possible. To do so much, but leave something
for the sinner to do. To leave the last step, the decisive
step, the deciding step up to them. Oh no, that's not good
news. Is that good news, Don? That's
not good news. Anybody that thinks that's good
news doesn't know what the gospel is. Oh no, the good news is this. He takes all the steps. He does everything. He came not
to just make redemption possible. He came to redeem His people,
to accomplish redemption for them. I come to do Thy will,
O my God. And which He did. He says, let
us pass over. Who's the most important person
in this passage? Who's the one that we could not
do without? On whom does the success of the
journey depend? On Peter? That old fellow in Rome says
he's a descendant of Peter. Does the success of the journey's
end depend on Peter? He said, I don't even know that
man. They were all fearful this night. They all said, don't you
care that we're going to perish? Oh no, it's depending upon Him. Not my faithfulness, but His. When I was a little boy, my grandmother,
I think it was my grandmother, because this little plaque was
in a lot of houses, on the wall it said, how did it read? Just one life will soon be passed,
only what's done for Christ will last. I don't think what I do is going
to amount to a whole lot. I don't think it's going to last.
But what He did, oh, that's going to last. What He accomplished,
that means something. His work satisfied God. Mine never could, never did,
never will. But His work brings me into a
complete acceptance with the Holy God. I'm in Him accepted
forever. He said, let us pass over in
two. the other side. Now look at verse
37. There they go. He's asleep. And suddenly, there comes a great
storm down. There arose a great storm of
wind. And remember, at least four of
these fellows were experienced fishermen. Peter, Andrew, James,
John. But they were They thought, man,
we're going to perish. And there arose a great storm
of wind and the waves beat into the ship so that it was now full. But remember who gave the command,
let us pass over. That makes all the difference.
He sent the storm. The storm was not out of his
control. All it was for their good and
his glory. One old hymn writer wrote, when
the storms of life are raging, and they do, don't they? They
do. Oh, how they do at times. When
the storms of life are raging, stand by me. When the storms
of life are raging, stand by me. When the world is tossing
me like a ship upon the sea, Thou who rulest wind and water,
stand by me. And He does. And what does He
say? Listen, listen. Turn away your
ear from the waves and the rushing of the wind. Listen, he says,
I'll never leave you, and I'll never forsake you. Come what
may, I will never leave you. Never. Oh, that soul that to
Jesus has fled for repose, he will not, he will not desert
to its foes. That soul, though all hell, should
endeavor the shake, he'll never, no never, No, never forsake. Turn, if you will, to Psalm 107.
The Psalms makes mention of the same thing we read of in Mark
chapter 4. In Psalm 107 verse 23. It says, They that go down to
the sea in ships that do business in great waters, These see the
works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth
and raiseth the stormy sea. He did that. Which lifteth up
the ways thereof. They mount up to the heaven.
They go down again to the depths. Their soul is melted because
of trouble. They reel to and fro and stagger
like a drunken man and are at their wit's end. At their wit's
end. Ever been there? Ever been there? Then they cry unto the Lord in
their trouble. And he bringeth them out of their
distresses. He maketh a storm of calm, so
that the ways thereof are still. Then are they glad, because they
be quiet. So he bringeth them unto their
desired haven." He says, let us pass over unto the other side. Oh, turn if you will to Luke
chapter 23. Luke chapter 23. He won't forget us. Remember
when Joseph laid in prison with the chief butler? And he was
released, the butler was, and he said, you mentioned me to
Pharaoh. Mentioned me. Don't forget me.
But the butler forgot all about Joseph and left him laying in
prison. Thank God our Joseph won't forget
us. He won't forget his own. In Luke
chapter 23, You have the picture of our Lord upon the cross. And
look at you, if you will, at verse 39. He hangs there between
two thieves, one on his left and one on his right. And at
verse 39 we read, And one of the male factors which were hanged
rowed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked
him. Now Matthew, Mark tells us that
at the first they both They both cast the same in his teeth. But
something happens to the one. Listen, he says, does thou not
fear God, seeing that thou art in the same condemnation? But the other, but the other. Oh, one said, save yourself and
us. He wasn't worried about Christ,
but himself. Oh, but the other. What happened? Oh, here's that blessed intervention
of God's divine grace. But the other was an object of
God's grace. I was looking this passage over
and referred to some commentaries. And one, which is usually very
good, made this comment. He said, we just can't know.
I was surprised when I read it. He said, we just can't know how
this change took place. And I thought, what? We can't know how this change
took place, Merrill? There's only one way it could
take place. There's only one explanation
as to the change that came over this dying thief. There's only
one explanation for it. The grace of God. He was an object
of God's grace. Grace changed him. We find here
that Christ, even here, even in this moment of weakness, even
in His dying hour, is mighty to save. We saw Him on the road
to Jericho. In the flesh, walking in hell,
and hearing the cry of Barnimaeus, oh, there he's mighty to save.
But here he hangs up on the cross. Here he's being made sin. And
one thief turns his eyes toward him and says, remember me. And
what do we see? Here is one who is at the very
trapdoor of hell. And grace's mighty arm reaches
out and snatches him as a bran from the burning. as a trophy
of God's mighty grace. The thief says, remember me,
remember me. He says, oh, can a suckling child
be forgotten by his mother? Yes, she may forget. But God
says, I'll never forget you. You're engraven up on the palms
of my hands. Oh, dear dying lamb, aren't you
so thankful for this? These old hymns are so many of
them accurate. God honoring and scriptural. That one that we sometimes sing,
dear dying lamb, thy precious blood shall never lose its power
till all the ransomed church of God be saved the sin no more. The thief says in verse 42, Lord,
remember me, remember me, nothing else matters. Nothing else much
matters, does it? And hear the answer of grace.
Hear the answer of grace. Barely I say unto thee. Here's
him speaking again. Here's the captain speaking.
Today, shalt thou be with me in paradise. Today, the thief
with nothing to plead, no works, no baptism, no merit, All but
this, this, thou shalt be with me. That makes the difference,
Myrtle, and that alone. With me, when you cross Jordan,
with me, when in a few hours you stand before God, with me
forever. He said, I'm the way, the truth
and the life. No man comes to the Father, but
by me. There's not different avenues
all going to the same place. Christ says there's only one
and I'm it. The only reason the thief entered
glory is because he was with Christ. Oh, he was his companion
in death, and now he's his companion in glory. He's there because
of what Christ did. His merits, his worth, his value,
oh, makes all the difference. Several years ago, I played with
Lindsey in his golf tournament with his brother-in-laws and
things. And he said, I asked him what
courses we were going to play, and some of them were public
courses, and they'll let anybody on, even me. And he mentioned
the club. The club. I said, Lindsey, I'm
not a member of the club. He said, but I am. I am. I'm going to get you in. You'll
get there because I'm a member. You don't need to be. You'll
go in on my membership. Oh, Christ told the thief, today
you'll be with me in paradise. Christ was the hole of salvation
to this dying thief. The dying thief rejoiced to see
that fountain in his day. And there may I, though vile
as he, wash all my sins away. Can I? Dare I? Oh, yes. Oh, yes. because he's able, King
Jesus, to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him. That morning the thief awoke
on that day of his execution. He awoke in that dungeon that
morning in a state of nature, fallen nature, in a state of
condemnation, a child of wrath, even like you and me. A child
of wrath, even as others. But at noon, by noon, he hangs
there in a state of grace. And by six o'clock that evening,
he's in a state of glory in the very presence of God, brought
there by the person and the merit and the worth and the value of
that one who said, let us pass over unto the other side. Brothers
and sisters in Christ, I think I'm looking at people now. Tonight,
I thought about this when I looked over my notes this afternoon,
that I will stand before people that have experienced the grace
of God and one day they shall experience glory as well. Because
to whom he shall give glory, we read in Psalm 84, he'll give
grace. Isn't that remarkable? We're
on a journey and storms will arise and our vessel will be
tossed. and our little bark will be tossed
to and fro, and we'll feel like surely we're going to perish,
but we won't. The only way the vessel of grace
can go under is if the captain goes under with it. And bless
God, that can't happen. That's why he said, I give my
sheep eternal life, and they'll never perish. Why? Because of
something in them? No, because they're in my hand. They're in my hand and no man
is able to pluck them out. Look at verse 39 and we'll wrap
this up of Mark chapter 4. And he arose. And he arose and
rebuked the wind and said unto the sea, peace be still. Silence. It's what he said literally. Silence. That's enough. And the
result and the wind ceased and there was a great calm. Oh, remember when the storm of
conviction raged in your soul. Remember when God, as old Barnard
used to put it, got you lost? Remember when the cry of your
heart was day and night, how can I be just with God? That's all that mattered. Nothing
else mattered. Nothing else was important. What
I had or didn't have, it didn't matter. My ambitions were all
withered up. All I wanted to do was to know
God. I wanted to lay down on my pillow
at night and know that I was reconciled to God. How can this
sinner be just with such a holy God? And when the captain of
grace, the master of the sea, come to our stormy heart and
said, Silence! Peace, be still, thy sins are
all forgiven thee." My soul, what a calm that was. Old Newton, that old slave trader
said, "'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my
fears relieved." Oh, how precious. How indescribably precious. Did that grace appear the hour
I first believed? Bunyan said as he walked along
the road that he wanted to tell the crows sitting on that plowed
field what God had did for his soul. Spurgeon said when he walked
from that primitive Methodist chapel that wintery morning that
he wanted to shout to every snowflake falling down what God had done
for his soul. He said, peace, be still. Be still, and there was a great
calm. Blessed is he whose transgression
is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom
the Lord imputeth not a nickel. My soul, what a calm that produces. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord imputed not iniquity. He will not charge with sin. In whose spirit there is no guile. Paul cried out, O wretched man
that I am, right now. An apostle, a preacher of grace. O wretched man that I am. not
used to be, but am right now. Who shall deliver me from this
body of death? And in the same breath, he says,
there is therefore now. I'm a wretched man. The things
I don't want to do, I find myself doing. The things I would do,
I do not. Oh, it's the sin that dwells
in me. There is therefore no condemnation to them who are
in Christ Jesus. Oh, how precious did that grace
appear the hour I first believed. And look at verse 41. And they
feared exceedingly. that is, the disciples, and said
one to another, what manner of man is this? They'd never seen
it all this wise before. Oh, this miracle on the stormy
sea seemed to make such an impression on them as none other, that even
the wind and the sea obeyed him. Oh, John Peter said, did you
see that? Andrew says to James, man, Did
you see that? Did you just see what He did? Did you hear what He said? And
do you see what happened? My soul, what kind of man is
this? And they viewed Him in a way
that they hadn't before. Such was the result of the storm. And it was good that they passed
through it. Because it brought them to a
view of Him that they hadn't experienced up to that point. Well, did they reach the other
side? Verse 1 of chapter 5. And they came over unto the other
side. Let us pass over unto the other side. And they came over
unto the other side. And so shall we. So shall we. Again, that old
slave trader wrote, through many dangers, toils, and snares, I
have already come. It was grace that brought me
safe thus far, and grace will lead me home, where we'll be
with Him. And we'll cast down our crowns
at His feet and say, Bob, do you remember when my soul, look
there, look there, look at that one who sits upon the throne.
Upon His head is many crowns. Lookie there! Worthy is the Lamb,
and we'll worship and adore Him forever and forever and forever,
crying hallelujah, hallelujah. What a Savior. What a Savior. God bless you. Thank you for
your attention. Lindsey, would you lead us in that hymn?