For a large part of 2010 and 2011 our area experienced a major drought. In fact, it was the most severe in about 50 years.
Rainfall was well below the seasonal average for both years, with long stretches of 90+ degree days and almost that high for the lows.
There was a record stretch of triple digit days during this time.
All small lakes were either dry or mere mud puddles.
The earth was scorched.
No grass or hay for livestock.
Ranchers had to reach out for hundreds of miles to get hay. Sometimes as far as Florida.
Ranchers couldn’t water livestock, much less afford to feed them year ‘round.
So, naturally, they began to sell off their cattle, literally in droves.
It just so happened that Lisa and I bought a feed store the year before!
One definition of drought is: A prolonged absence of a specific thing.
Today’s message is titled Droughts and centered around Luke chapter 5 and John chapter 21.
Last week I asked “Am I the fear-filled Spirit void Peter denying Christ, or the Holy Spirit filled Peter proclaiming the gospel of Jesus”?
Have you ever had droughts of Jesus in your life?
Stand with me as we honor God while reading His word.
Luke 5:1-11 and
John 21:1-4 read both from my bible
You’ve heard me say before, that God works on the messenger, while the messenger works on the message.
Several weeks ago, Lisa and I were talking and these two passages from Luke and John came up.
We both had our “a-ha” moments about this scripture @ different times, but essentially, we thought it was the same story recorded by two different writers.
Spoiler alert: It’s not!
This message came about as a result of this conversation, and a series of conversations Roman and I had about a week ago.
So, just be warned, a conversation with me, is prone to be turned into a sermon!
But, I’m confident in saying the sermon won’t be directed AT you!
Today, I’d like us to examine these passages with the purpose of mainly focusing on our role as the church, but also our relationship with Jesus.
Considering, how these passages are similar, how the differ, and a little bit of how it’s translates into our lives.
But first: Did ya?
Did you read something this past week new in God’s word?
Or a familiar passage with new eyes?
I know I did!!!
Let’s go to the Lord.
Father, thank you for your living Word
That breathes fresh into our lungs every day
May we take your Word, and use it to glorify you and changes the lives of those we touch.
May we speak life into dry bones
May we make disciples, that make disciples
Amen.
re-read the two passages.
Let’s begin with the similarities:
The means in which both miracles came about
They fished all night and caught nothing
Christ’s presence created the miracle
Our weakness is made strength through Him
Y’all have heard me tell fishing stories, but my fishing was recreational.
For many of the disciples, fishing was their living.
I’m sure they smelled like fish, all the time.
I worked at the Black-eyed Pea Restaurants for years, and my clothes smelled like chicken fried steak!
Their clothes probably wreaked of fish, but even more than that, their hands reflected hard work.
If you were to put my hands and Ashley’s hands side by side, it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out who made a living with his hands!
In this first instance of similarities between the two passages, the fishermen were fishing. They were doing their part.
They weren’t sitting in their boats waiting for the fish to just jump on in!
They were casting and dragging their nets.
But prior to that, they made sure their boats were sea worthy, and nets in proper condition to catch fish.
So, this first similarity of both passages is they were prepared to work hard and were working hard!
Do you realize that is what is required of us as fishers of men?
2. Both passages, we see they fished all night.
1st passage: “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing (not a few, but nothing)
2nd passage: Jesus asks “Children, have you no meat?” Their reply “no”.
Was this outcome as a result of lack of skill? No
Were they lazy? No. They toiled all night
Lack what my mom calls “stick-to-it-ness”? No. They toiled all night.
Lack of fish in the sea? No. We see that as soon as Jesus appears, they caught more fish than they could handle.
As Christians, have we experienced this same drought?
Applied skills/gifts
Worked hard
Persevered
Plenty of fish in sea
Maybe we were doing for our glory, not His.
3. Christ’s presence created the success or the miracles.
Whether in the boat as in the 1st passage or
on dry land as in the 2nd passage, it was Christ creating the miracles.
We may be the instruments, but it is Christ creating the miracles when souls are saved!
4. Both passages we see man’s weakness made strength through Christ
1st passage we see Peter acknowledge his “nothingness”.
2nd passage Peter is restored.
This is my weakness, that I must allow God’s strength to shine in my witness, testimony and evangelism.
My talk story: 2 Corinthians 12:9 “And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
---ask several what their bible says---
There are some of the similarities, let’s unbox some of the
Differences
Now, I’m gonna ask that you stick with me for just a few minutes here, because I want us to see where we are as the church. The Ekklesia.
In Luke, this is laying out the visible church.
We see what the crowd sees.
In John, we see what Jesus showed His disciples alone…this is the invisible church. The Ekklesia. (repeat all for emphasis)
Here are some of the differences:
We see a difference in the orders given.
1st passage: “launch into the deep”
2nd passage: “cast the net on the right side of the ship”.
Again, hang with me here...
Think about it this way:
The first passage is an order to every minister. Every person who has a ministry. That’s you and me, right?
The second passage is the secret work of the Holy Spirit in God’s word.
Not only are we to launch into the deep, but also to receive discernment from the Holy Spirit to “cast on the right side of the boat”.
2. We see plural vs. singular:
1st passage: Luke 5:2 “and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.”
Luke 5:7 “So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.”
Luke 5:11 “So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.”
2nd passage: John 21:3 “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.”
Sometimes being fishers of men requires many boats, and many nets.
Sometimes it is one boat and one net.
However, in both of these passages we see the term “partners”.
We must acknowledge there is only one fold and one shepherd.
Unity demands this!
3. I’ve said it before, but the details of and in scripture amaze me and convince me that God’s word is real.
Another of the differences, is describing the numbers and sizes of fish.
1st passage: Luke 5:5–6 “But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.”
Luke 5:7 “So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.”
This week, I thought, “when the drought is over, the nets will be breaking and the boats sinking because of all the souls won”. That will be revival y’all!
But the reality is, some will escape through the torn nets, and because the boat is so full, some will jump out. Not everyone is going to accept Christ.
2nd passage John 21:11 “Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken.”
Large fish. We don’t see a size determination in 1st passage.
Not multitudes, but an exact number.
To me, this is the invisible church. Large fish and numbered! The is the Ekklesia!
4. The net-this is the one that I understand in my mind and feel in my heart, but I’m a little like Moses, and my tongue gets in the way!
Broken net: The visible church. The ones that got away. For whatever reason, they weren’t caught. Maybe for another day
Unbroken net: The invisible church. The ones that are caught and ready to be equipped to do God’s work.
That is who WE need to be church!
Let’s wrap this up for today.
In both passages, the disciples experienced a drought, much like the one we had in 2010-2011.
Why didn’t they catch any fish? Maybe Jesus was telling them they were fishing for the wrong meat!
John 6:27 “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.””
Are you going through a drought in your life?
I’m convinced that drought in 2010-2011 was a lesson in humility for me.
I didn’t realize it, but I was a prideful man.
In most everything I did, I experienced success.
I was confident in my ability to make it happen!
In that humility came a huge lesson, much like the one Peter experienced.
Let’s consider one last passage.
In Luke 5 Jesus tells the disciples they will catch men.
Luke 5:10 “and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.””
Matthew 4:19 “Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.””
Mark 1:17 “Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.””
I’d like us to notice a transition a little later on in John chapter 21.
Last weeks message was “what now?”, and this is a follow up from that message.
Go with me to John 21:15 “So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.””
When I was a kid, I knew when I was in trouble with my mom:
It was prefaced with: Delman Ray Lentz!
I see a little bit of my mom in Jesus right here: Simon, son of Jonah. Jesus is gettin’ all formal and everything. Not only that, He doesn’t call him “Peter”. He takes that away from him, for the time being, probably just to get Peter’s attention!
Here’s what I never realized before.
The first time Jesus asks Peter does he “love” him, He is using the word “agape” which essentially means “an unconditional love”. But Peter answers Jesus with the brotherly love “phileo”.
Jesus asks Peter a second time “do you agape love me” and Peter again replies with “yes you know I brotherly love you”.
I think Peter had finally come to realize that he could never love Jesus like Jesus loves him. He had become humble enough to realize that.
Shortly before this morning on the shoreline with Jesus, Peter said this:
Matthew 26:33 “Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.””
In John 21:15 “ do you love Me more than these?” Peter had already declared the because he loved Jesus more than the other disciples loved Jesus, he would never be made to stumble!
This is why Jesus asked Peter this very raw question.
Now, listen to how Jesus asks Peter this question the 3rd time:
John 21:17 “He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.”
This 3rd time, Jesus uses the phileo love, not the agape love to Peter, and Peter replies yes Lord, I realize I phileo love you, and could never agape love you as you love me.
Talk about humbling yourself before the Lord!
Are you experiencing a drought in your life?
Is it caused by:
pride?
disobedience?
or maybe even a falling away?
Just like Peter, we can be restored by Jesus.
and BTW, if it is any of the above or some other reason, you can be like the disciples and have breakfast on the shoreline with Jesus every morning!
Hallelujah!
