Mark

[0:00] Mark chapter 6 verses 47 and 48 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 and about the false watch of the night he cometh unto them walking upon the sea and would have passed by them.

[0:49] Oh that the Lord would grant that grace that is so much needed to look into his holy word.

[1:04] We need grace, we need the power of God to shine in it. I was thinking as we were singing that beautiful hymn just now all the grace that shines in some of those poets all the experience that they passed through and how they were so helped and favoured of God to put those things into words.

[1:46] Well, oh that the Lord might help us to say a few more things regarding these words before us.

[2:01] We want to try and come as we might be helped to the 48th verse and he saw them toiling and rowing.

[2:16] I know we tried to speak a little very feebly this morning about this toiling and rowing.

[2:27] I don't know what we should say this afternoon but it is with me. And I know this that the people of God know much of this in their experiences what it is to be found in this pathway toiling and rowing.

[2:56] Toiling and rowing because the wind was contrary. That's what it was. That's why they were toiling and rowing. And how often that is so with the people of God.

[3:12] And if you and I are his children we shall prove it. Friends, the word makes it perfectly clear there's no easy way to heaven.

[3:28] It's through much tribulation. tribulation. But friends, tribulation will either be sanctified to us and we should be humbled under it or we should be hardened and rebellious.

[3:49] where we need them to be humbled. Also, it comes to mind that word in I think it's Isaiah 38 I wouldn't be sure but by these things men live.

[4:14] What things? these winds. These contrari things. These crooked things. These painful things.

[4:27] These things that we don't understand. Why have they come our way? We may have tried our utmost to steer clear of some things.

[4:43] but they have come. We couldn't stop them. It may be personal.

[4:57] It may be it may be in our families. It may be our loved ones. But friends, these things come.

[5:19] They're what we might see as those contrary winds. winds. And it was those contrary winds that were causing the disciples to toil and ride.

[5:40] They were trying their best. They were laboring. Maybe getting exhausted.

[5:50] making no end way. Nothing they could do about it because of the contrary winds. Isn't that what we find in our pathways?

[6:10] We try and seek the Lord again and again. But how often there are contrary winds.

[6:23] How often the enemy intrudes and troubles and tempts and makes many suggestions.

[6:35] But you see what what hits us the hardest is this. The Lord seems to hide his face.

[6:47] You see as we said this morning the disciples were in the ship. They were in their right place. Yes they wasn't in their wrong place.

[7:00] The Lord had commanded them to do it. And you and I might find this very often in our pathway that we're in the right pathway.

[7:12] We're trying to serve the Lord. We're trying to walk in his ways but all the things that come upon us and trouble us.

[7:26] and you may have well prayed your way along begging that the Lord would prevent these things taking place.

[7:43] and who is involved but there's travail.

[8:25] I suppose toiling and rowing in rowing and travailing are much alike really. but friends what do we bring when Israel travailed she brought forth.

[8:51] So friends if we're travailing or if we're toiling in rowing shall we bring forth.

[9:04] if we're toiling and rowing or travailing what are we doing? We're struggling against powers often evil powers temptations the unbelief of our hearts.

[9:27] The disciples were struggling against the powers of the wind the waves. But as we said this morning they didn't give up.

[9:44] And friends can you and I give up? What does it mean to us? What would it mean to us if we gave up?

[9:56] Wouldn't it mean despair? I felt I generally often always feel very troubled as to what to read for the second time regarding a word and I wondered whatever I was going to read today and I looked up the word to see if there was any references I couldn't see any references regarding these two verses at all but it came to me about Jacob and Joseph oh how vivid their pathway was how they travelled but how the

[11:00] Lord led them forth by the right way and how providence unfolded the book you know that's very wonderful and I love to see it God's providence unfolds the book and his timing is perfect you see how Joseph's brothers were determined to have their revenge they hated him they hated his dreams but what they didn't realise was that those dreams were not Joseph's dreams they were God's dreams God took them into the heart of Joseph God revealed to Joseph the things that were to come to pass and his brethren and his father rebelled they couldn't accept him not realising that

[12:10] God was behind him and that one day they would literally bow before their youngest son youngest brother but friends the goodness of the Lord in it the Lord knew what he would do you see the Lord says I will work and who shall let it Joseph mustn't be killed they were tempted to kill him but no Joseph must be spared and as you know one thing led to another God's providence unfolded the book there was the pit at a convenient time they cast him down it it was dry he was he was safe no harm came to him but he hadn't got to stop there he got to move on he got to go into the land of

[13:23] Egypt how it was brought about the travelers they came that way he was sold but then you see there was a connection to Pharaoh the king the wonders of these things friends I know Joseph was troubled and so would you and I be and the word of the Lord tried him of course it did you know the various things that took place it's all recorded he was falsely accused he was cast into prison he was there two years but the Lord was with him the Lord manifested his presence from time to time here and there friends the

[14:39] Lord is still the same today you and I are in his hands our circumstances are in his hands our families are in his hands the number of our days is in his hands the preparation for death is in the Lord's hands death draws on a pace we are continually being reminded of the certainty of him first one then another is removed and they enter into eternity and they are seen no more I suppose many of us could look back over many years and count up quite a number no idea what that number might be but it must be quite a number but friends the question is are you and I am I prepared you see left to ourselves we just cast it off we are we are apt to think and say all sorts of things well you might say

[16:25] I've got a hope in his mercy the Lord has led me in his paths he has blessed me he has done various things and that might well be true but where are we to die is our religion alive or is it dead is it stagnant friends David knew what it was for his religion to be stagnant do you and I I find I have to cry unto the Lord many times to quicken me into life quicken me into life friends if the

[17:32] Lord called for us this night and took us into eternity are we ready you might say well I believe the Lord has showed to me that he has an everlasting love toward me that he has put his sin my sins away he has cast them all into the depths of the sea that may well be friends but how is it to die is faith still in exercise are we still enjoying the joys of his salvation do we feel the sacred presence of the

[18:35] Lord is with us or are we just jogging along in an empty formality as we have done perhaps many years friends there's been many that have had a religion that looked right but it was wrong it was only of the head they never got to heaven they were cast out they were turned away they had a name to live they were dead they looked like the people of God they spoke the same language but they hadn't got the experience in their heart that was the difference how is it with you and I is there something going on now at this time in our hearts or are we dead are we just going on in an empty form are we saying oh well that will be alright when the

[19:55] Lord comes he'll take me to be with forever with him friends it's a very solemn place to get into dead unconcerned what about our sins well you say the Lord's pardoned my sins he's told me so but what about all the sins that you and I are sinning daily daily hourly are we conscious of it does it concern us friends if we're rightly exercised if we're spiritually in a healthy state we should be very concerned about it especially as we draw closer and closer to the end of our lives it will be the language of the the hymn writer where he says something like this am I made a real

[21:12] Christian am I his or am I not am I washed in the redeemer's blood I haven't got it right and I may have got more than one hymn I don't know but friends this is the this will be our language before our God this will be the concern and the exercise of our heart am I his is it well with me will it be well with me friends we can't if we're spiritually healthy we can't be satisfied with the form of things we can't be satisfied to go on and on and not hearing his voice we should want to hear his voice we should want to know he's near we should want to know his eyes upon us you say

[22:17] I know that that is so we should want more than that we should want to feel it we want to experience it it's experience friends that counts it doesn't matter what people might say these days there's many things that are said which are false they're not true there's many that say oh I want a teaching ministry I don't want experimental religion friends what a sorry place to come to with no experience no experimental religion real religion is experimental from the beginning to the end and so it is in the word of God and that's perfectly clear do we know the Lord or do we not do we know his voice or do we not do we know when he's in the service in the preaching of the word friends it's nothing to do with the minister regarding the power the application of the word it's all of grace it's the power of

[23:45] God blessed be his holy name and when the Lord speaks his blessed word will be heard and it will come right where we are and it will profit us and it will lay with us it will abide with us and these are the things friends that we shall want if we're living souls and we won't be satisfied with the form the letter however truth true it may be it's the power that we want the application of the word well friends he saw them he saw them toiling in rowing for the wind was contrary unto them the wind was contrary unto them and it wasn't only contrary unto them it was the fourth watch the darkest hour now often friends we find this we seem to get into we do we get into various trials and troubles and circumstances and it gets it deepens it gets worse and worse and friends very often we find before deliverance comes it's the dark it is the darkest hour just before it was so here the fourth watch of the night there they were toiling in rowing oh friends is that where you are today toiling in rowing is it the darkest hour is it is it got worse steadily worse is is your prayer today give me

[26:35] Christ or else I die have you come to that place no open self tempted tormented perhaps by the adversary the devil but oh friends the Lord saw he saw them you know we do say don't we often times the Lord he never comes too late he never comes before his time he doesn't come too late the Lord knew where the disciples were he knew what time of the night it was he knew that things were at the darkest point and that the winds were so powerful that they couldn't make any head wire at all but he saw them

[27:55] I like that friends he saw he still still the same same God today friends he knows what's tormenting you he knows whether it's the enemy he knows all that is taking place in your life maybe at the present it may not be personal it may be relative maybe your loved ones it may be in the family ah friends what a mercy the

[29:00] Lord sees all he saw the prodigal son didn't he he got right away from religion right away from his father's house into a far country he thought well I shan't be seen here my way won't be edged up here no doubt he thought many things like that but how how wrong he was how his pathway was ordered by God how he was driven to the footstool of mercy where he had to repent he had to confess his sin and he had to return to his father's house ah friends how blessed how sacred ah there's been many that have said

[30:20] I'll never go back never go back I don't doubt the prodigal son never thought he'd go back he probably vowed he never would but he had to you see there's a question of life and death and when it comes to a question of life and death when it comes to a question of let's put it straight friends heaven or hell when it comes to that then friends we have to think then we have to act it give me Christ or else I die because we know it is revealed to us by the power and spirit of God that hell is our portion hell is our just desert because of our sins because of the pathway that we walked in ah friends oh the

[31:38] Lord sees his children as they are toiling in trying to press forward trying to find the Lord going backward and forward cannot find him I don't doubt that was the fourth watch as it were the darkest hour with the one in the canticles where he where she said saw ye him whom my soul love is she didn't get any encouragement did she but she went a little further and she found him you see friends these things are personal they're personal we know the

[32:40] Lord sometimes uses various means he sometimes uses his servants to lead a child of God in that pathway where they are blessed very sacred friends very wonderful very humbling to be used of God but the power is his it's not the man the man is serving God the man is doing God's bidding in oh how essential it is friends to be emptied of self that we might be used of our God well he saw them toiling in rain 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 all the wonders of God and his power he came in the most least expected way he came walking on the sea something that was never heard of something that was never seen but here we have the son of God is there anything too hard for me

[34:32] God says there was his disciples in the midst of the sea on their own in the boat and the Lord wanted to join them and he did friends the Lord doesn't need anything to use as it were he's not like us we're dependent on means various means such as transport and so on but our God he commands he is able to do anything he can walk on the sea he can hide himself as it were disappear vanish out of their sight and many things might be said regarding the power of God but in this case the Lord chose to come walking on the sea they were staggered they were amazed the words tells us that they were amazed because of this miracle the miracle that the Lord had already done regarding the bread and the and the fishes didn't mean anything to them why because their hearts were hardened they'd seen these things so many times you know friends we're no different are we you take our life your life my life don't we take it for granted day after day that we should still be here tomorrow friends we don't know whether we shall be here tomorrow how many of those that we have known and loved that have gone before us they've gone in a moment of time many have some without warning others have had warnings it's been half expected but when the time has come it's been instant gone friends how we need to be exercised about these things concerned about these things our life it's personal we we must not we want the law to deliver us from passing these things on and applying them to others we can easily do that but friends and you know sometimes we say well we should if the Lord didn't apply it to them it didn't but friends we we need to be listening for ourselves

[38:49] I know you're on your side perhaps to me well we should pray for one another so we should but when we come to the house of God friends what do we come for isn't it to be led in his past isn't it to have tokens and confirmations that the Lord has a love toward us that he does care for us that he does know where we are and what we're in and don't we want the pathway sanctified to us you and I can't say unto the Lord choose thou the way and lead on not of ourselves we don't know what that may mean what that may be but when the Lord is near then we can when he is near to us and he is precious we can trust him then and we can leave it all in his hands well friends oh that the Lord might bless something from these things

[40:13] I feel there's there's so many things that might be said regarding this world but I haven't got the ability but may the Lord bless something of the few things and may there be that which shall prove to be of him because if it's been of him that will be blessed that will be profitable to us may the Lord bless his word for his name's sake amen amen