INTRODUCTION:
There is a word from the Lord for you in the house. I'd like you to say that by faith, and say, "There is a word from the Lord for me".
Now look at somebody else and say, "There is a word". Put it in the chat.
Everybody in the room say it.
There is a word from the Lord for you! Yes, you! That's my title today.
We're going deeper. We're going to pick up on last week with our walk with Jesus.
We're going deeper. This message is called Yes, You! Look at somebody else and say, "Yes, you".
READ/ PRAY
Has God been bringing forth in your life lately some stuff you really didn't want to see?
Has God been bringing forth in your life lately some issues you didn't want to deal with?
Could it be he brings those things forth for a greater purpose.
This is what we see with Simon.
Are y'all with me so far?
There is a word from God for you…yes, you…right now.
He goes, "Simon, if you'll do what I say, you can have what I see that you can't see".
"Simon answered, 'Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.'
When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled…" (The word is nod), because their hands are full. Peter nods at John. "Hey, get over here and help me, man
By the way, some of us can only receive so much of what God wants to do because we don't have the right partners, or we don't have the right network, of people around us. The nets were breaking. Well, you need more nets. "…their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink".
This is the surprising part of the text, and this is where I want to pick up. "When Simon Peter…" Which one?
Both!
The one he was before he met Jesus and the one he can be as he follows Jesus.
Simon Peter. You thought that was a first name and a middle name. Nuh-uh!
Jesus is a name changer, a miracle worker. Promise keeper!
Here is The miracle of it was that God saw the Peter in Simon even before Peter did.
? God sees the patient, kind, loving, joyful, free you before you even believe you exist.
The surprising part of the text is that Simon Peter… They're both in the same boat.
It kind of represents the flesh and the Spirit to me when I think about it.
When he sees all the fish in his boat, you would think he'd be happy. "Oh, thank you, Jesus! PTL. [Praise emojis]".
But he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man"!
For he and all his companions were astonished at what God saw beneath the surface and brought forth to his boat.
"[They were] astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John…" Nobody expected this. "…the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, 'Don't be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.'
That's not what you want him to say. You want him to be like, "Don't be afraid, Peter. From now on, I'm going to go fishing with you every time, and I'm going to show you every spot. You're not going to have to fish all night and catch nothing anymore. You're going to have some five-minute fishing trips. I'm going to just tell you where to put down the nets, and Boom"!
Because that's what we want God to do. Right?
"No, PastorTim. I want God to take 15 years to fix my problem. No, Pastor Tim".
I give Simon Peter credit for his self-awareness. Self-awareness is a wonderful thing. Self-awareness will save you from doing stupid things, but self-awareness, as you're about to see in this text, can only take you so far.
Simon is aware of his sinfulness, but he is not yet aware of his "Peterness".
(I'm making up a word just to make a point.)
Simon says, "Go away from me, Lord; I'm a sinful man"! He's scared. You would be too. "How did you see that at the bottom of the ocean?
We've been fishing here all night. We've been fishing our whole lives. You're a rabbi. You're a carpenter.
You know more about the water than we do, and you've worked with wood your whole life.
If you saw that beneath the surface, I wonder what you see in me".
Jesus could see what Simon needed and it was on the bottom of the sea.
He sees what you need, but your Simon is in the way of your Peter.
What attracted me to the text for our study was the contrast.
It was the contrast between Jesus, who knew everything and needed nothing, and Peter, who needed everything and knew nothing.
He didn't know the fish were down there. He didn't know the power was in him to be a rock that God could build on as he took the gospel to Cornelius, which unleashed the Word of God into the Gentile world.
He didn't know any of that in that moment, yet Peter was already in the boat. Purpose was already in the boat.
That preacher that was in Peter was in the same boat with Simon.
You could spend your whole life playing "Simon says," "Simon says touch your nose. Simon says touch your ear. Simon says touch your head".
My inner Simon tells me much worse stuff than that. You know, "Simon says cuss him out. Simon says don't call them back. Simon says don't try to do it; you're going to look stupid. Simon says give them a piece of your mind". "Simom says take a drink no one will know it."
Jesus is calling Simon into Peter and He is doing the same today in you Yes You!
Jesus say Simon you must follow me...... Yes You!
? So, I want to take you for a moment to Passover night before Jesus goes to the cross to die for Simon, James, John and Judas and you too…yes, you.
"You may be saying "See there, Preacher, I've been going to church since I was about 6 years old. My mama used to take me over there to the vacation Bible school. I'm not really one of these sinners".
Have you ever heard of self-righteousness? That's a pretty good sin too.
You can't see it on the surface, but if you let down the nets far enough, there's a Simon inside all of us.
Don't let anybody make you feel inferior, like you can't praise God, like you can't worship God, like God can't use you. Don't you ever let them do that to you. At the moment you think Peter is so self-aware… He has seen miracles. He has seen blessings. He has seen healings. Jesus even healed Peter's mother-in-law.
Moving through the text Simon Peter Let's Jesus down in the garden a couple of times by not watching and by sleeping instead of praying
They come to take Jesus away peter again is a disappointment he draws his knife and cuts off the ear of the officer. Jesus heals the ear.
Luke 22:54: "[They took Jesus away to] the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them".
? This is the moment I want you to see. While Peter was sitting by the fire denying Christ…
That may have been you lately.
?I don't mean you deny believing in God;
?I mean you are denying his purpose in your life.
?You are denying what he spoke over you.
?You're not playing your part.
?You're not showing up.
?You're sitting by comfort, fire, waiting to see what's going to happen next.
This was crazy to me. I thought the message was prepared, y'all. I came out to preach it. The Lord said, "Look one more time". Peter sat by the fire. A servant girl saw him and said, "This man was with him". "But he denied it. 'Woman, I don't know him…'" "Not me". Yes, you.
A little later someone said, "You are one of them". Peter said, "Not me"!
Has that been the posture of your heart? "I can't do it, God. I don't have that knowledge. I don't have that perseverance. I don't have that self-control. I'm stuck. Nobody showed me how".
?A third time, a little later, another asserted, "Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean". "Peter replied, 'Man, I don't know what you're talking about!' Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed".
This is what I saw. Verse 61: "The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter". What did he see? Peter…even as Simon sat by the fire.
Even in your addiction, even in your mistake, even in your denial… He can't deny himself.
If we are faithless, he is faithful.
What did Jesus see when he looked at Simon sitting by the fire?
He saw Acts 2:14
I'm going to tell you exactly what Jesus seen in that moment he lookd at Peter.
He doesn't look at him… "What a failure. What a waste. I never should have saved him. I never should have given him a chance. I never should have put him there. I never saw that coming".
? Jesus looks at Peter by the fire in the courtyard outside the office of the high priest, and he sees the Peter in Simon.
Failure can be isolating. When you’re in the middle of a failure, you often feel ashamed and just want to be alone. But Jesus is with you always, even in your greatest failure.
To help you through your failures, Jesus does three incredible things:
1.) Jesus prays for you
Even before Peter had failed, Jesus told him, “I have prayed for you, that your faith will not fail” (Luke 22:32 ).
Even at this very moment, Jesus is interceding—praying—for you.
The Bible says, “He is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf” (Hebrews 7:25 NLT).
2.) Jesus believes in you
In fact, he expects you to heal and recover. That’s why he told Peter before his big failure, “When you have repented and turned to me again . . .” (Luke 22:32 TLB).
Jesus knew Peter would sin and fail and eventually come back to him.
The truth is that we all fail, and we fail repeatedly. Your biggest weaknesses are habitual.
You don’t just do them one time and that’s it. You do them over and over. But God isn’t there just for the big, one-time mess-up. He’s there for the mistakes you make over and over again. Though you fail repeatedly, Jesus will always believe in you.
3.) Jesus shows you mercy
Jesus is more willing to show mercy than you’re willing to ask for it.
When you’re down, Jesus doesn’t beat you up or add to your guilt. Instead, he saves you.
In John 21 , just weeks after Peter had denied Jesus, Peter and some other disciples went fishing. Though they fished all night, they caught nothing. At dawn, Jesus called to them from the shore and told them where to throw their nets.
“So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it” (John 21:6 NLT).
When Peter followed Jesus’ instructions, he caught more fish than he could possibly handle. Jesus is ready to do the same for you. He can do more in five minutes of your life than you can do in 50 years of planning.
Here’s more good news: God’s mercy toward you is not dependent on your performance.
The Bible says in Lamentations 3:22-23 , “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (ESV).
Friend, you may give up on God, but he’s never going to give up on you. Jesus is praying for you, believes in you, and will always show you mercy. No matter what you do, God is faithful.
PRAYER
God, this is a moment for you to bring forth out of broken nets amazing glory, amazing purpose, amazing grace. I have spoken today to the Simon, but you see the Peter. I thank you, Lord, that everybody under the sound of my voice right now is going to survive the sifting because you're praying for them, because you live to make intercession, because you are our Great High Priest, Jesus.
Just lift your hands right now and say,
"I will survive the sifting.
Not only that, but I'm going to get knowledge and self-control and perseverance.
I went in Simon, and I'm coming out Peter, because God knows what's in me".
Yes, me. Yes, you. I want you to claim it by faith right now. Say, "That word was for me". Now receive it.
I'm already chosen
I know who I am
I know what you've spoken
I'm already loved
More than I could imagine
And that is enough.
