Monday, October 1, 2007
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Now, it can't be good news when a lifeguard yells, "Everybody out of the water!" He did that day I was in the water at the Jersey Shore. My first thought was "Jaws!" Since I didn't have my shark repellent that day, I got out very quickly. But sharks weren't the problem. Drowning kids were. These three kids were too close to a jetty, it was high tide, and the kids were in big trouble. And so, the lifeguard cleared the water, and then a bunch of lifeguards plunged into the surf. Some were swimming, some were rowing. Hundreds of people were lined up along the beach watching this life or death drama. Now the beach patrol guys got there before these kids disappeared, and it's a good thing. There was no way those kids were going to be able to swim their way out of this. They were rescued, but they didn't contribute a thing to being saved.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "Unnecessary Drowning."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 14:27, and it's an incident from the life of Jesus and His disciples. But more importantly, it's also a picture of how a person begins a personal relationship with God. There's a major surprise in this passage for many of us religious people. Here's what it says. Jesus knows the disciples are in a terrible storm. He has not been with them. He comes walking on the water to them and He says, "'Take courage, it is I. Don't be afraid.' 'Lord if it is You,' Peter replied, 'Tell me to come to You on the water.' 'Come,' He said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, and he walked on the water, and he came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind he was afraid, and he was beginning to sink, and he cried out 'Lord, save me!' And immediately, Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. 'You of little faith,' He said, 'Why did you doubt?'" Now Peter was like those children I saw at the shore. He's drowning, he's dying, he's unable to rescue himself, and He gives this simple but powerful prayer: "Lord, save me." It might be time for you to finally say that to Jesus.
See, we like to think that somehow we'll be able to swim to heaven ourselves. After all, we believe in God, right? Maybe you say, "Well, I go to His meetings," and you give to His causes, you try to keep His commandments, you even work in His work. But God gives us a sobering description of our true spiritual condition in Ephesians 3:1, and His opinion is the only one that counts really. He says, "You are dead in your sins." Dead! Sin has cut us off from God. It's left us powerless to get rid of the sin that keeps us from eternal life. But there's hope! Ephesians 2:8 says, "It is by grace you have been saved, through faith. This is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast." The Bible says we're saved by the rescuer God sent into the surf for us - His Son, Jesus.
But many who believe they could rescue themselves by their own goodness aren't going to make it. None of us will. So many of us have believed the lie that eternal life is a reward for our performance, but this says it is not by works. Eternal life isn't a reward, it's a rescue. If we could have made it, God's Son would have never given His life. The only possibility we have for being saved is to put all our trust in the Rescuer, Jesus Christ. To say to the Lord, like Peter, "I can't make it to you Lord, I'm pinning all my hopes on You, on what You did to save me." See, tragically, many good, decent, religious people are in for a terrible, eternal shock. They weren't good enough for a perfect God. No one is. And they will drown unnecessarily with the nail-scarred hand of Jesus reaching out to them, but they never grabbed it.
If you've never done that; if you're not sure your sins are forgiven, if you are ready to belong to Jesus, would you tell him you want him right where you are. Tell Him, "Jesus, I am turning from my sin to the One who came to save me from it. You're my only hope. I'm Yours." I would encourage you to go to our website, because there is a simple explanation of how to be sure you've begun your relationship with Jesus Christ. Just go to yoursforlife.net. Or I'd be glad to send you my booklet about this. It's called Yours For Life. If you'll just call and ask for it, it's yours - 877-741-1200.