At the Bottom of the Sea

I want to share a story with you this evening, friends. We live in a day of grace, where the awe for the gospel is extended. The duty required is to come to Christ and believe on Him.

Even if you are the biggest sinner in town tonight, you're not too big or too bad for God to save. Jesus said, I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Are you a sinner, friend? Then this message is especially for you.

I want to share a story with you this evening, friends. And I know you will enjoy it, for it's a real humdinger. Take off your hats and pull up a chair while I tell you about a sea captain who ran illegal cargo.

I know some of you sailors will really enjoy this. Listen to this sea captain's remarkable story. I was the captain of a smuggling boat.

At dawn, we discovered a Coast Guard boat in the distance. But the Coast Guard was still a long way off, and we soon saw her turning toward us. We couldn't possibly get away.

We all knew what would happen if we were caught. Not only would the boat and cargo be confiscated, but we would all be sent to prison. There was a dead silence while we stared at each other in dismay.

The Coast Guard was coming up fast behind us. Suddenly, I thought of a way out. Hastily, we rigged a screen at the stern to hide our deck.

Then I set them in a line to hand up the cargo and pitch it overboard. We worked fast. Nothing was heard but the splash of the cargo dropping into the sea.

The hold was empty and fast. We'd soon be finished. I saw the ship's boy was exhausted, so I sent him to see if the Coast Guard was very far off.

In a minute, he came rushing back, gasping, It won't sink! I ran to the stern of the ship. The sun was just rising behind us. And there, in that long line of light, were the packages of cargo bobbing up and down in our wake.

The first package in line had just reached the oncoming Coast Guard boat. Helplessly, we stood and stared. The proof of our guilt was spread out for all to see.

It rang in our ears. It won't sink! In prison, from time to time, I would resolve to correct my ways. But resolving is one thing and doing is another.

As soon as we were free, I went back to smuggling. A few years later, I went out in a boat at night. It was New Year's Eve, and in spite of myself, I began to review my life.

I saw myself as a child, saying my prayers. I heard my mother tell of me, of one who came down from heaven to bring life to the world. The more I thought, the more horrified I was.

God had created me, and I had lived and was still living, as though there was neither God nor eternity. I got down on my knees and prayed that God would help me. I vowed I would be another man.

I wouldn't touch a drop of liquor. I made many more resolutions about what I would do and what I wouldn't, and I began to feel very good about myself. On further reflection, I saw that there were a lot more things I ought to clean up.

I must throw overboard everything that didn't belong. My life was to be completely changed. My resolutions were getting more serious.

My heart grew lighter, and I was happy in the thought that I had become a new man, having made this decision. It seemed as if everything was in perfect order. I was ready to go back to land when, suddenly, the moon broke through the clouds and shone across the water to my boat.

The memory of that morning, when, chased by the Coast Guard, I had cast the cargo into the sea, came over me with overwhelming power. I heard the cry, It won't sink. How blind I was.

I had tried to lighten the ship by casting the cargo overboard, and there it was, all floating behind me like an accusing line, stretching up to the throne of God. All that I had done, said or thought, was there before God, and it wouldn't sink. A fool that I was.

I thought I could drown on my wickedness without a thought of the holiness of God. If I'd been able, from that moment on, to do only that which was good, it would not have changed the evil done in the past. What good was it to be forming good resolutions for the future when the past couldn't be hidden? Tears filled my eyes.

I was hopelessly lost. Then I remembered something. Hadn't I been told about Jesus, the Savior of sinners? Hadn't He died on the cross for me? And if I turned to Him now, wouldn't His precious blood wash away my many sins? Wasn't there grace and mercy for even a big sinner like me? All at once, everything was clear.

Yes, the Lord Jesus had died for me. He had borne the punishment of all my sins. The verse, through sins and iniquities will I remember no more, came to my mind that they would be cast to the bottom of the sea.

I was filled with joy, entirely relieved of my burden. I turned my boat toward the shore. I had gone out a lost sinner, but I was coming back redeemed by the Lord.

Hallelujah! Well, I love that story. Don't you, friend? In the book of Micah, we read in chapter 7 and in verses 18 and 19, Who is a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger forever because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again.

He will have compassion upon us. He will subdue our iniquities and thou will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. The original translation reads, he will cast all our sins into the bottom of the sea.

Yes, God is a God of mercy who alone can pardon sins. When we venture our all on his dear son, Jesus, and own him as Savior and Lord, then God takes all our sins to the bottom of the sea of forgetfulness, where they will never, ever rise against us again. And we can say with the saints in revelation, unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, Christ's reception of sinners is clear.

If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.