The Unashamed Prodigal Sailor

This is the Pilot Episode

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Good afternoon, good evening, friend, whatever time it may be where you are. Welcome to the Tales of Faith by the Sea podcast. I'm grateful you are here. Perhaps you're listening from a front porch somewhere along the Gulf Coast. Perhaps you're driving home after a long day. Perhaps you're sitting quietly with a cup of coffee while the world settles down around you. Wherever you are, thank you for allowing me to spend a little time with you. This podcast was born from two great loves a love for the sea and a love for the gospel. The sea has taught me many lessons over the years. Some of them came through calm waters. Most came through storms. But every worthwhile lesson eventually pointed me toward Christ. Tonight I want to begin where every Christian story begins not with the sea, not with the sailor, not with the preacher, but with the gospel. In Romans the first chapter sixteen for I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Those words have echoed across centuries. A former persecutor wrote them. A man transformed by the grace of God wrote them, and every time I read them, I am reminded that the gospel is not merely a message about changing lives. It is the power that changes lives. Paul was not ashamed because he knew what Christ had done for him. And dear friends, I am not ashamed because I know what Christ has done for me. Those words have always struck me with unusual force. Paul did not say, I am proud of myself. He does not say, I am proud of my accomplishments. He does not say, I am proud of my religion. He says, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. That is a very different thing. Because the gospel is not about what we have done. The gospel is about what Christ has done. And if you are anything like me, that distinction matters. Because when I look at myself, I see failures. I see mistakes. I see weaknesses. I see seasons of wondering. But when I look at Christ, I see grace. I see mercy. I see forgiveness. I see redemption. And that changes everything. There was a time in my life when I thought I knew my own course. I knew enough about boats to navigate channels. I knew enough about weather to read the horizon. I knew enough about tides to avoid sandbars. But knowing how to guide a vessel is not the same as knowing how to guide a soul. Like many prodigals, I did not wake up one morning intending to wander from God. The drift happened slowly. One poor choice, then another, one compromise, and then another. A sailor rarely notices how far he has drifted until unfamiliar landmarks disappear. The same thing happens spiritually. Many people never intend to leave God behind. They simply drift. The current carries them farther and farther from the shore. Until one day, one day they realize they no longer know where they are. Perhaps that describes someone listening tonight. If so, take heart, because scripture is full of stories about wondering people being found. If you don't mind, I'm going to read from the book of Luke, the fifteenth chapter, the eleventh verse, and following. And he said, A certain man had two sons, and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me. And he divided his wealth between them, and not many days later the younger son gathered everything together, and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. Now when he had spent everything a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be in need, and he went and attached himself to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine, and he was longing to fill his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him, but when he came to his senses he said, How many of my father's hired men have more than enough bread? But I am dying here with hunger. I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your hired men. And he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his slaves, Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and sandals on his feet, and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and be merry. The prodigal son is one of the most beautiful pictures of grace in all the Bible. Notice something remarkable. The father never stopped being a father, even while the son was wandering, even while the son was wasting his inheritance, even while the son sat among the swine, the son changed locations. The father's love did not. When the prodigal finally came home, he expected condemnation. Instead he found compassion. He expected rejection. Instead he found welcome. He expected judgment. Instead, he found grace. Friends, that is the heart of God. The Father delights when wandering children return home. Not because they deserve it, but because he loves them. One lesson the sea teaches quickly is this self reliance has limits. A man may trust himself while the waters remain calm. But storms expose reality. Storms reveal weakness. Storms reveal need. Storms remind us that we are not nearly as strong as we imagine. The gospel begins there, not with human strength, not with human need, not with our own righteousness, with our inability to save ourselves. Many years ago I met an old fisherman who survived a hurricane in the Gulf. He told me the storm taught me something I had been unwilling to learn. I asked him what that was. He said that I wasn't nearly as much in control as I thought. The gospel teaches the same lesson. Salvation is not something we achieve, it is something we receive. If you will, turn with me to Ephesians, the second chapter, verses eight and nine. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works that no one should boast. Grace is God's gift to undeserving people. That is difficult for proud hearts to accept. We prefer earning things, working for things, achievings. Yet salvation comes through Christ. Not through personal merit, not through human accomplishment, not through self sufficiency. The sailor rescued from drowning does not boast about saving himself. He thanks the rescuer. Likewise the Christian praises Christ. Looking back I can see that God often used storms to redirect my life, not literal storms, though there were some of those. Spiritual storms, seasons of conviction, moments when God forced me to examine my heart, moments when I realized I had been trusting myself instead of him. And the Psalmist understood such moments. Let me read from the book of Psalms, chapter one oh seven, verses twenty three through thirty. Those who go down to the sea and ships, who do business on great waters, they have seen the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep, for he spoke and raised up a stormy wind which lifted up the waves of the sea. They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths. Their soul melted away in their misery. They reeled and staggered like a drunken man, and were at their wit's end. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distresses. He caused the storm to be still, so that the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad because they were quiet. So he guided them to their desired haven. I love this passage. Sailors venture into deep waters. A storm arises, their courage melts away, their wisdom fails. Then they cry unto the Lord, and God delivers them. Notice the pattern storm, helplessness, prayer, deliverance. Many testimonies follow that same path. People often discover God's strength only after reaching the limits of their own. The sea has a way of bringing men to the end of themselves. The gospel meets them there. Paul calls the gospel the power of God for salvation, not merely good advice, not merely moral instruction, not merely religious information. Power divine power, transforming power, saving power. The gospel changes lives because it points people toward a living Savior. The same Christ who called fishermen beside Galilee, the same Christ who welcomed prodigals, the same Christ who forgave sinners, the same Christ who died and rose again. That Christ still saves. Now if you will, allow me to read out of the book of Acts, chapter four and the twelfth verse. Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men, by which we must be saved. There is no other name, no other savior, no other sacrifice, no other source of redemption. The world offers many substitutes, but only one Christ can reconcile sinners to God. Only Christ can calm the storm within the soul. Only Christ can provide lasting peace. One of the most beautiful sights a sailor can witness is harbor lights after a difficult voyage. After days of rough seas, those lights represent safety, rest, home, hope. The Christian life is much the same. Every day brings us closer to the harbor Christ has prepared. Closer to home, closer to eternity, closer to seeing our Savior face to face. In the book of John, the fourteenth chapter, verses one through six, it reads Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am there you may be also, and where I go you know, and the way you know. Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you are going, and how can we know the way? Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Jesus speaks as one who knows the way, because he is the way. The harbor exists because he prepared it. The crossing is possible because he completed it. The destination is certain because he guarantees it. That is why Christians possess hope. Not because life is easy, because Christ is faithful. Friend, if you have wandered far from God, remember the prodigal. If you are battling storms, remember Psalm one hundred seven. If you are carrying guilt, remember the cross. If you're searching for hope, remember Romans one and verse sixteen, for the gospel is still the power of God unto salvation. The Father still welcomes prodigals, the Savior still receives sinners, and the harbor lights are still shining. Thank you for spending this evening by the sea with me. Until next time, may God's grace steady your vessel, strengthen your faith, and guide you safely home. Well, friends, our time together is drawing to a close. The tide is turning, the evening grows quiet, the gulls have settled upon their post, and the harbor lights are beginning to shine across the water. Thank you for spending this time with me by the sea. It is my prayer that something from God's word has strengthened your faith, encouraged your heart, and reminded you that the Lord is still guiding his people safely through every storm and every crossing. If the Lord wills, we will gather here again next Tuesday evening. Each week we will meet along these shores and listen to stories carried by the sea winds, stories from the Gulf Coast, of working fishermen and sailors, from storms and shipwrecks, from lighthouses and harbors, from deep waters of the ocean, and from countless lessons God teaches through his creation. Most importantly, we will open the holy scriptures together and seek wisdom from the eternal word of God. My hope is that these conversations will be a source of encouragement in the middle of your week. For faithful Christians striving to serve the Lord, perhaps these episodes can serve as a brief harbor of rest between the Lord's day assemblies, a place to strengthen the anchor, refill the lamp, and be reminded of God's promises. For those who may not yet know Christ, or may be unfamiliar with the Lord's Church, my prayer is that these studies will encourage you to open God's Word for yourself and discover the beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And if you are not presently a member of the Lord's Church, I would encourage you to seek out a faithful congregation of the churches of Christ in your area. One that strives to follow the teachings of the New Testament, honor the authority of Scripture, and glorify Christ in all things. The Christian life was never meant to be sailed alone. God designed his people to worship, serve, grow, and encourage one another together. As Hebrews reminds us, we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, but to encourage one another as we see the day approaching. Before we leave tonight, allow me to introduce myself properly. My name is Nathan Hampton, and I have the privilege of serving as a preacher for the Enan Church of Christ just outside Dothan, Alabama. It is a blessing to spend these moments with you each week. And I am grateful for every listener who chooses to join me on these voyages through Scripture. So until next Tuesday evening, keep your eyes upon Christ. Keep your Bible open. Keep your faith anchored in the promises of God. And remember that the captain of our salvation still stands at the helm. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He strengthen your faith when the seas are rough, may He comfort you when the nights seem long. May He grant you courage for every crossing and peace for every storm. And may we all continue sailing toward that eternal harbor, for storms never rise, tears never fall, and the light of our Savior never grows dim. Until next time, dear friends, thank you for joining me for Tales of Faith by the Sea. Fair winds, steadfast faith, and God's richest blessings to you. Thank you, and good night.