Will You Serve Jesus?

Will You Serve Jesus?

John 21:1-19

Sermon by Rick Crandall

McClendon Baptist Church - June 7, 2009

*I grew up in a different world. Fifty years ago there was a passenger train called “The Nancy Hanks” that ran from Atlanta to Macon Georgia, and then on to Savannah. When I was in the first grade, my parents put me on that train, by myself, to go visit my grandmother in Macon.

*You may be thinking, “They were hoping you wouldn’t come back!” But I made the trip to Macon just fine, because I was on the right track. Are you on the right track today? Do you think your life is moving in the right direction? A better question is this: Does God think your life is moving in the right direction? One of the best signs is whether or not you are serving the Lord. God’s Word shows us why we should all be serving the Lord.

1. First: Serve the Lord, because His care is unlimited.

*Jesus Christ is more than able to take care of you. He can help you with His unlimited wisdom. After Jesus rose from the dead, Peter and six of the other disciples decided to go fishing. Vs. 3 tells us that they fished all night, but they caught nothing. Most of those men were professional fishermen, but they caught nothing.

*The good news in vs. 4-6 is that Jesus was close by:

4. 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.

*We can see the Lord’s wisdom here: Jesus will always ask you the right questions. And at just the right time, He will give you the right answer.

*Darren Rogers explained, “The Lord knew where the fish were. The disciples had failed and it was time for Jesus to take over the situation. He told them where to cast the net. They obeyed, and they caught a multitude of fish. The difference between success and failure was the width of a ship! We are never far from success when we let Jesus give the orders. We are usually closer to success than we think.” (1)

*Jesus Christ can help you with His unlimited wisdom and with His unlimited wealth. We see a small example in vs. 5-11:

5. "Children, have you any food?’’ -- "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.’’

11. Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, 153; and although there were so many, the net was not broken.

*Jesus Christ is more than able to meet your needs. When we have nothing, He is there to supply us. And He is able to give us a super-abundance in life. Jesus is able to give us so much that our nets ought to be breaking. And then He is able to keep our nets from breaking.

*You may be going through some troubles right now. But trust in the Lord, because He will surely take care of you. He has already blessed and cared for us in countless ways.

*This week I thought back to one example from my life. It was over at Emmanuel Baptist Church in the mid-90s. It was a boiling-hot summer night, and we were getting in the car to go home from church. Standing at the car door, I waved good-bye to someone, then got in and started to put on my seat belt. Just them I heard a loud shot, like a gun going off.

*I got out of the car and saw two holes in the roof. Thank the Lord they didn’t go all the way through. And they didn’t come from a gun. The circuit breaker on the pole had blown out and hit the top of my car. I found the lead and copper piece on the ground the next day, and Entergy paid for the damage. But if I had waved two seconds longer, that piece of lead would have gone through my head.