Scripture:
John 21:1-10 NKJV
[1] After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself: [2] Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. [3] Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We are going with you also.” They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. [4] But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. [5] Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?” They answered Him, “No.” [6] And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. [7] Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea. [8] But the other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits), dragging the net with fish. [9] Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread. [10] Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.”
Observation:
It was several years ago that this sermon came to my heart. I was speaking at a revival in the park. The music, food, and fellowship was an amazing time. I honestly had no idea what I was going to speak about but I knew I had been chosen to speak. As the day’s events went by, the LORD started speaking to me through the scripture. I was given an overview of Peter’s life, but it wasn’t all fluffy clouds and sunshine. Peter had faced some life changing things. That day on the shore of Galilee when Jesus spoke those few words to him, simple words, words that he would understand, “follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Those words were the beginning of something bigger than him. I’m sure that even though the language was something that he could understand, that there was still some confusion involved in how it was received, “fishers of men, what is HE talking about. I don’t know Peter but I’m going to follow HIM and see, are you coming… of course I am I was the first one HE spoke to.” Briefly flying over Peter’s life from that point forward actually gives us some insight as to why the LORD didn’t explain too much about where they were going or what it meant to be a fisher of men. As we read through all 4 of the gospels we see some absolutely amazing things happen, people getting healed, set free, and delivered from oppression, and possession, the blind being made to see and the lame able to walk. Peter’s mother in-law being one of them. I kind of wonder how that moment went. I mean we can read about it, but a lot of the details are just brushed over. How sick was she? Was it something that was fatal? I can imagine that it was, most illnesses were at that point. They didn’t have all the doctors and medical science that we do today. That must have been a hard moment for Peter, seeing his mother in-law unable to get out of bed. When she was healed by the messiah, I could almost see the light come to his eyes, and the smile on his face….. “There is hope, this guy is the real deal.” But as his life walking with Jesus continued, that wasn’t the only hard moment. In fact there were many more. Not all of them were hard to get through, some of them were very rewarding, but the hard ones are the ones he would have avoided if Jesus would have laid out the entire path to him. For example when Peter made the decision to follow Christ, had HE told him that day that they would develop a relationship that would change the world, I’m sure Peter would have asked how. The response at that time would have changed his mind about the next three years of his life, “Well Peter it’s like this, I’m going to teach you everything i can about the kingdom of heaven over the next 3 years, but the end of all this will be horrific. Not only will you be rebuked in ways that will level your pride, but you will have to watch me get drugged off to a kangaroo court, after being beaten to the point that my own mother won’t be able to recognize me. I’m sure you will not want to be next so you will deny even knowing me.” You see at the beginning of Peter’s walk with Christ he was not ready for any of that, and as we know some of those things were not revealed until they were just about to happen. It would have been too much too soon, and I’m sure Peter’s decision to follow Jesus would have been a little different had those things been mentioned from the start. But that’s not the end of it. You see after this moment that we have had the opportunity to read this morning. An amazing moment of restoration for Peter. What is not said in these verses or many other verses is that Peter died a brutal death. Hanging upside down on a cross, again not something mentioned the day Jesus walked by and said follow me. After the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, Peter returned to what he knew. We see it here as he tells the others… I’m going fishing. What I am proposing to you is this, if Jesus Christ would have exposed all the hard moments Peter was about to face due to a decision to follow the SAVIOR, I believe Peter would have said something to the effect of ….”Man, that all sounds very exciting, and I would love to join you…. But I think I hear a fish calling my name, and I don’t want to let it down. All the amazing moments that happened over the three year ministry of Christ would have been missed due to the desire to avoid the emotional pain that had to be faced in order to shape a man who was willing to die for what he knew to be absolute truth. Jesus knew the beginning from the end… HE is GOD, HE stands outside of time, HE knew what Peter would face, but HE only exposed the next step, that’s it, nothing more, nothing less.
Application:
I can’t tell you how many times I have wanted to stop, to give up, to turn around. It’s been a long, hard pain-filled journey. But I can’t. A lot of pastors will lead you to believe that life with Jesus is all unicorns and rainbows, but it’s not, they are selling you a lie. Making a decision to follow Jesus comes with a price. You can turn to all the fluffy stuff in the bible and get misled, the key is growing through the pain, not giving up, maintaining a level of joy in the suffering. Because if you are really walking with Jesus suffering and trials are coming. The thing is it’s not this life that matters. Everyone of the disciples faced a brutal death. Did they have some amazing moments, yes. Stephen saw the risen SAVIOR sitting at the right hand of GOD as he was being stoned to death for speaking the truth. Paul spent the better part of his ministry writing letters from a prison cell before he lost his head. That’s after being shipwrecked, snake bitten, beaten with stones and left for dead. What I am saying is the hard moments are what shape you. As I was typing that statement I was thinking about Jeremiah standing outside the POTTER’S house watching the vessel be shaped… then reshaped…. Then reshaped. The process was time consuming and took just the right amount of pressure. It’s easy to want to give up and not move forward. But when Paul talks about pressing on, it’s not because he didn’t know how to face the pressure. That pressure is what guides you to the shape GOD has in store for you. The Bible says HE makes some vessels for honor and some for dishonor. The more pressure you can take, the more honorable the vessel. I’m going to be honest here, because it’s what I vowed to do when I started to write these SOAPS several years ago. If GOD would have told me the plans that HE had for me, laying out every step, and explaining every painful situation. I probably would have just gone fishing. But as I face one situation. It brings strength for what’s next, and I’m not going to tickle your ears… there is a next. I’m going to tell you if you are not facing pressure, if life is smooth sailing, and the enemy is not lobbing fiery darts at you… you are not on the battlefield. The pressure builds men of valor. Full of the Holy Spirit Peter was even more of a stud than he thought he was. Standing up in the face of death on the day of Pentecost and telling all of Jerusalem the whole truth and nothing but the truth. He didn’t care what happened. It was the Holy Spirit and the painful situation he faced that created a man that had no fear. He was a water walking, gate kicking soldier of Christ, on the front lines of the battle, not running from anything, not going fishing for anything but men.
Prayer:
Father, we know that your plan may not be seen by most. It’s hard to see pain as a means of training, but that’s what your word teaches. We know that a lot of people can’t take what you have in store so they run from the battle, and I have to be honest I have thought about running, but that’s not the vessel you have made me to be. I have not decided to be on the front lines…. That’s just where you have placed me. I don’t even know if I can do this…. But you can…. and I trust you. Father, thank you for thinking about me, thank you for protecting me from me, thank you for the suffering that has and continues to shape me. Although we would like to think this is all about us, I know it’s not. Your word says that you have a plan. It’s not our plans that matter. It’s yours, our job is to do what your word says. Count it all joy when you face trials. It’s not an easy task but here we are through the power of the Holy Spirit doing just that. Today we just want to thank you for trusting us with this battle, although we know that you have already won. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus we pray amen.