Becuase He Lives!!!!!!!

BECAUSE HE LIVES!!!!

Rev. Scott Epperson

4/1/07

(Mar 1:16) Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

(Mar 1:17) And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.

(Mar 1:18) And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him.

TO HAVE PRUPOSE

Here we find the Lord walking down by the wayside and here he finds two men which we know now is Peter and Andrew. They are fishing here in the ocean and I don’t know how well they were doing but no doubt at there best they were the least among men.

Notice the Lord said, “I will make you fishers of men”, I don’t know if they understood what that meant but notice they did not hesitate to as the bible says,” forsook their nets and follow him”.

This was their lively hood and for them to so quickly forsake it would tell us a lot about what they thought of their life at this point.

Christ knew their hearts and knew that without him they had no purpose.

THE PARALLEL

This text is a great parallel of how Christ found us. We were the least among men even at our greatest moments whether we thought we had the biggest catch or not we were empty and without purpose.

Thank God that the Lord walks by the wayside in life to catch the lowliest of men. He took you and I who were fishing for something, really we were fishing for anything that would bring happiness or peace to our lives, but seemingly every time we got a big catch it got away. He took me and you and gave us purpose and identity, he said, I will make you fishermen of men”. Just as Simon Peter we have purpose and identity. It doesn’t matter what comes my way, what I may gain or lose in this life because I know now why I am here, I know now who I serve and I know him personally.

WITHOUT PURPOSE

(Joh 21:3) Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately: and that night they caught nothing.

Now suddenly the man has changed. He was so happy and content and full of life and purpose, but now he is ready to go back to the old life of emptiness again. What has made this difference? Christ has been crucified and now it seems that once again life is the winner and once again his life is pointless and without purpose. He is going to go back to fishing again back to the only thing he knows, just existing.

I thought about this scripture and I think I can understand were Simon is coming from. You know with out Christ I can see how :

A man who has just lost everything, his wife , kids, might set down and consider suicide. The only thing that gave him purpose in life is gone and there is no reason to think he might ever have it again.

A person who lives for their job, a person who has allowed their job to be the center of their life might set down after losing it all and think . Why try? I will just end it all.

Why work your whole life for something, or somebody , suffer and toil through trial after trial and trouble after trouble only to one day lose it all or even if you did keep it, you would one day die and rot with no hope or eternity beyond the grave. That is what the world lives for and thinks like. But thanks be to God that we can have purpose and hope for our lives and our eternity. Why? Because he lives!!!!!!!!!!!

(Mar 16:5) And entering into the sepulcher, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.

(Mar 16:6) And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.

(Mar 16:7) But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.

GO TELL PETER

If Christ wouldn’t have rose from the dead, Peter would have just been nobody and nothing, just existing and no reason no point, but because he rose again Peter had hope, and reason, and potential.

Church we need to go tell the world that Christ has risen and there is life and life abundant.