Thompsonville Worship Hour

Abandoned Ship

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

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Series Code: TWH

Program Code: TWH180421A


00:30 I'd like to encourage you now
00:31 to go with me to the Lord in prayer.
00:34 And if you have your Bibles this morning,
00:37 which you do, we're going to first read the scripture,
00:43 we're going to have prayer,
00:45 and then we're going to open the Word.
00:50 Open to the Book of John 21.
01:00 And we're going to read together verse 7.
01:05 Notice I used the word together.
01:09 I'd like us to read the scripture together.
01:14 John 21:7.
01:16 It's on the screen to my right,
01:19 if you could see that, wonderful.
01:22 If not, use your Bibles. Let us read.
01:26 "Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter,
01:32 'It is the Lord!'
01:34 Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord,
01:38 he put on his outer garment, for he had removed it,
01:43 and plunged into the sea."
01:48 Loving Father in heaven, this morning,
01:52 as we think of the call on our lives,
01:58 may the obstructions between You and us be removed.
02:04 And may with reckless abandon,
02:06 we do all in our power
02:10 to close the gap between us and You.
02:15 This morning, Lord, I invite Your Holy Spirit
02:18 to come and speak to our hearts,
02:21 take this message that is in written form
02:25 and add to it the power that will reach into the heart
02:29 and life of the ones
02:31 that you know most need to understand and hear it.
02:36 And because You will do this, I thank You now in Jesus' name.
02:41 Amen.
02:44 There's something about abandoning ships
02:47 that seem to be a difficult thing to do.
02:53 Whenever you scan the pages of American history,
02:57 you find that our country is not immune to stories
03:03 and timelines that refer to abandoning ships.
03:08 We all know that oftentimes the most famous one
03:11 we refer to is the Titanic.
03:16 When, in fact, only those that abandon ship
03:20 were listed among the survivors
03:23 because when the ship was going down,
03:25 they understood that at certain points in your experience
03:31 you've got to let go of those things
03:33 that were your former points of security
03:37 and then dive by faith into the waters of deliverance.
03:43 Another very famous story, the Andrea Doria,
03:48 a ship that was built
03:50 and it was a symbol of Italian pride.
03:54 It was a ship way ahead of its time.
03:56 It was intended to restore the economy of Italy.
03:59 It was a luxurious ship,
04:01 a very long and a very powerful one.
04:04 It was built with three stages of class for the passengers,
04:10 about 300 cabins for first class,
04:14 about 250 cabins for,
04:17 what they may refer to as middle class,
04:20 and for tourist class which is in fact low class,
04:24 they had more than 700 cabins.
04:27 This was one of the first ships ever built
04:29 with three swimming pools on it.
04:33 It was a very luxurious ship,
04:35 beautiful in its detail, meticulous woodwork.
04:40 And the cabin crew of more than 500 were taught
04:42 how to entertain the cabin passengers
04:45 and to give them
04:46 what they referred to as top-class service.
04:50 People were desirous to be on the Andrea Doria.
04:55 And her voyage from Italy
04:58 to the Northern coast of the United States
05:01 was one that people prided themselves
05:04 in being a part of until Andrea Doria
05:08 met her fate as another Scandinavian ship
05:14 hit her broadside close to Nantucket on the east coast.
05:19 And it's now listed as one of the largest tragedies
05:23 in maritime history.
05:26 But once again, only those that abandon ship
05:29 because when the ship was hit, it listed to one side
05:33 and half of the lifeboats were under water.
05:37 So they could not access them.
05:40 But because they were not far from land,
05:42 people decided it's time to abandon ship
05:45 and only those that abandoned ship
05:49 were among the survivors.
05:51 A sad story.
05:53 And when you begin to look at that
05:55 and begin to parallel that with the Christian journey,
05:57 you'll discover that the difference between
06:01 who we are and who we can be
06:04 is often in our reaction to the crisis of our lives.
06:10 But also the difference
06:11 between who we are and who we can be
06:13 is also in our reaction to the revelation of Jesus.
06:18 When Jesus reveals Himself,
06:20 our reaction to the revelation of Jesus
06:23 will determine the difference between
06:26 who we are and who we can be.
06:31 That's why today the story is so familiar
06:34 and so important to me.
06:35 I have taken on a character in the Bible
06:37 that in some degrees reminds me in many ways of me, Peter.
06:45 This impetuous, fast-talking, slow-thinking disciple
06:52 who when exposed to the power of Jesus,
06:55 one day the Lord synchronized his mind and his mouth
07:00 and he became a power in the work of the kingdom.
07:03 Can you say amen to that?
07:04 The Lord synchronized his thoughts.
07:08 And when you look at the life of Peter,
07:10 you realize until we come to the place
07:12 where we realize that the only one
07:15 in control of our success is Jesus.
07:18 We will wear ourselves out trying to produce results.
07:24 The only one that can bring us success is Jesus,
07:28 until we realize that,
07:32 we will wear ourselves out trying to produce results.
07:38 Come with me to the story in John 21, abandoned ship.
07:43 John 21 and we're going to walk through just 7 verses.
07:49 It's quite a long story,
07:51 quite a bit that's included in that.
07:53 And sometimes, my sermon thoughts
07:58 come out of my own personal devotion,
08:01 my own personal devotion.
08:03 And during the week
08:04 when my wife and I were reading,
08:06 as I mentioned to you, you probably heard that
08:08 one of my favorite devotional books
08:11 outside of Ellen White's devotional books
08:14 is a man by the name of Oswald Chambers.
08:16 And Oswald Chambers has a very classic way
08:20 of approaching stories in the Bible.
08:21 Am I right, Karen?
08:23 He would sometimes take a portion of a scripture
08:25 and then unfold it in such an artichoke way
08:31 that by the time he gets to the heart
08:34 of the focal point, he carries you all the way
08:39 and when he gets to the heart of the focal point,
08:43 you say, "I've never seen it that way before."
08:48 Let's begin by looking at how Jesus can accomplish
08:53 the impossible with the improbable.
08:57 John 21, "After these things,"
09:01 the Bible says, "Jesus showed Himself again
09:05 to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias,"
09:09 after what things,
09:11 after He convinced Thomas that he was the risen Christ.
09:15 After Thomas' doubts were evaporated
09:18 with his encounter with Jesus,
09:19 after these things, Jesus showed Himself again
09:24 to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.
09:27 "And in this way He showed Himself."
09:30 In this way.
09:33 The setting of the story is the disciples decided
09:40 to go on a cruise without Jesus.
09:43 But when you study
09:44 the character of these disciples,
09:46 one thing I've decided to do in this particular message
09:49 is take a peek at the life
09:50 and the character of each of these disciples
09:52 that were listed in this narrative.
09:55 And what I've come up with
09:56 is when you study the characters
09:58 and the life of these disciples,
10:00 it actually encourages me
10:02 that God can accomplish anything with anybody.
10:07 Amen.
10:09 Look at the characters in verse 2,
10:12 "Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael,"
10:18 who we also know as Bartolomeu, "of Cana in Galilee,"
10:23 And Cana, the wedding of Cana, we were there,
10:26 "the sons of Zebedee," that's James and John,
10:29 "and two others of His disciples were together."
10:32 These in this particular passage remain unnamed.
10:36 But we have enough to go ahead and start
10:38 with understanding that who we are
10:41 and who we can be...
10:45 will be determined by our reaction
10:47 to a revelation of Jesus.
10:49 In other words, when Jesus reveals Himself,
10:52 our reaction to the revelation of Jesus
10:55 will determine that who we were,
10:58 we no longer have to be but who we can be,
11:01 we will desire to be like Jesus.
11:05 But consider Simon for a moment.
11:07 According to historians, Simon was impulsive,
11:11 spontaneous, and reckless.
11:14 Go to Matthew 14:28.
11:16 Look at one of the ways he was reckless,
11:19 reckless abandonment, impulsive, spontaneous.
11:21 In other words,
11:23 when all the other disciples are in a boat with Him,
11:25 Simon would be the one that would say something
11:27 that nobody else would say.
11:30 He would come up with an idea
11:31 that nobody else would come up with.
11:32 He would make a request that nobody else
11:34 in their right mind would come up with.
11:37 And notice this one which ended in trouble.
11:40 Matthew 14:28,
11:42 when Jesus was standing on the waves in an angry moment,
11:46 the Bible says, "And Simon and Peter answered Him
11:49 and said, 'Lord, if it is You," verse 28,
11:55 Matthew 14:28, "And Peter answered Him
11:58 and said, 'Lord, if it is You," do what?
12:02 "Command me to come to You on the water."
12:06 Can I make a point at this venture in the sermon?
12:11 When you are walking with Jesus,
12:13 don't allow the challenges of your faith
12:17 to add an if as it relates to Jesus.
12:21 If you are able,
12:23 the Lord sometimes does not respond
12:26 to our requests because He knows exactly
12:29 what is needed for us to get a deeper revelation
12:33 of who He is if you are impulsive Peter.
12:38 Peter was also cowardly, unreliable, and erratic.
12:43 Look at Matthew 26:74.
12:47 Matthew 26:74, impulsive, spontaneous,
12:51 and reckless on one side
12:52 but cowardly, unreliable, and erratic on the other side.
12:57 You remember when Peter was standing with Christ,
13:00 he says, "I'm willing to go all the way with You.
13:04 I'm willing to die for You."
13:07 But let me tell you something, be careful what you declare
13:10 because when you declare something,
13:12 the Lord will put you to the test to see
13:14 whether your declaration can be transferred into action.
13:19 Don't make a declaration
13:21 that you are not willing to live up to.
13:23 Because when they identified Peter
13:25 as being one of the disciples,
13:26 notice his reaction "This cowardly, unreliable man
13:30 who also is spontaneous, impulsive, and reckless,"
13:33 At the moment when Jesus needed a witness
13:35 to stand in His behalf,
13:37 notice how Peter distances himself
13:40 from the one he claimed to love.
13:42 The Bible says, "Then he began to do," what?
13:45 Verse 74, he began to do what?
13:47 "Curse and swear, saying, 'I don't know the Man!'"
13:51 Now I want to pause here and just bring out something
13:53 that you may not have caught before
13:55 because I liked it, when I preach a message,
13:56 when I share a sermon in the Bible,
13:58 I like to learn something new.
14:02 Not new for the sake of new
14:04 but I like to learn something new.
14:05 And when you study the story,
14:07 when Jesus later asked Peter after Peter was restored,
14:10 after the resurrection when Jesus asked Peter,
14:14 "Do you love Me? Do you love Me?
14:18 Do you love Me?" He did it how many times?
14:21 Three. Three.
14:22 The reason why He did it three times
14:24 is because Peter was asked three times if he knew Jesus.
14:31 "You look like one of His disciples."
14:33 "I'm not him.
14:36 Your speech betrays you, I'm not him.
14:40 I don't know the..."
14:41 But you look just like...
14:42 "I'm not him," and that's when he began to curse
14:44 and swear that he did not know who Jesus is.
14:49 The Lord will take you through your failures.
14:54 And show you your need.
14:58 The Lord in the presence of the other disciples
15:01 questioned Peter's determination to be faithful.
15:05 And when Peter failed the Lord publicly,
15:08 the Lord wanted Peter
15:10 to profess his dedication to God publicly.
15:13 So in the presence of the other disciples,
15:16 Jesus is questioning Peter,
15:18 "Do you love Me more than these?"
15:21 In other words, these guys you always hangout with.
15:24 Do you love Me more than you love these?"
15:27 And he asked him three times and you know
15:31 Lord, he got to the place, Lord, you know I love You.
15:34 Let me tell You something,
15:36 God will take you back to the failures of your life
15:40 until your love for Jesus is genuine.
15:43 Amen.
15:45 Because it's easy to say we love Him
15:49 but when the trials and the challenges come,
15:52 what we profess
15:54 and what we are willing to perform in our lives...
15:59 There's a difference between what we profess
16:01 and what we actually perform in our lives.
16:04 The good news is although he was cowardly, unreliable,
16:07 erratic, impulsive, spontaneous, and reckless,
16:09 when the Lord got a hold of Peter,
16:12 the same theologian said,
16:13 "Peter became courageous in the face of scrutiny,
16:17 unyielding to popular opinion
16:19 and faithful despite the dangers."
16:21 Can you say amen?
16:23 He was the man
16:24 that Jesus chose to preach on the day of Pentecost.
16:28 This man who knew what repentance was,
16:30 was the first one to say, "Repent and be baptized.
16:33 Repent and be converted." You know why?
16:36 For the first time he could proclaim repentance
16:38 because he repented.
16:41 For the first time he could proclaim
16:43 the need to be converted,
16:46 for the Holy Spirit to come into our lives.
16:49 And let me make a point here.
16:51 When you are converted, when you do repent,
16:56 you make room for the working of the Holy Spirit.
17:00 But until we get to the place where we repent,
17:02 there is no room for the Holy Spirit
17:05 to work in our lives.
17:06 We are working based on sheer emotion,
17:08 sheer ability, and sheer skill.
17:10 But when we put skill, and emotion, and ability aside,
17:14 and make room for the Holy Spirit to work,
17:16 there is no limit...
17:22 of the usefulness when putting self aside,
17:26 we make room for the working of the Holy Spirit.
17:28 There is no limit to what we can do
17:30 when we make room for the Holy Spirit.
17:32 Amen? Amen.
17:33 And let's go back to the story, verse 3.
17:36 Verse 3.
17:37 That was just fodder for the beginning.
17:41 Verse 3 of John 21.
17:46 Jesus is on the shore, the evening is coming in,
17:50 the sun is setting,
17:52 and Simon who always has something to say,
17:56 notice what he says.
17:57 Verse 3.
17:58 "Simon Peter said to them, 'I'm going fishing.'
18:04 And they said to him, 'We are going with you also.'
18:09 And they went out
18:10 and immediately got into the boat
18:14 and that night they caught," what?
18:23 As fishermen they understood the craft of fishing,
18:28 but they did not understand the commander of the sea.
18:32 What I've learned when I read that particular chapter,
18:35 I've learned that the actions, our work,
18:38 and our efforts, any action, any work,
18:41 or any effort that does not include Jesus
18:44 always results in nothing.
18:47 And how much? Nothing.
18:52 Whatever happened... Nothing.
18:54 I thought you... Nothing.
18:56 Everything we do,
18:58 the prerequisite to any success that we can ever experience
19:02 is Jesus has to be
19:04 in the center of everything we do.
19:09 These men knew the sea,
19:11 but they did not know the commander of the sea.
19:13 They had the experience with the sea,
19:15 but what they needed was experience with Jesus.
19:18 They understood the craft,
19:20 but they did not understand
19:22 how the God of all possibilities
19:26 was about to work in their lives.
19:28 That's why you have to keep in mind experience
19:30 is the poor substitute for God's providence.
19:34 Experience is a poor substitute for God's providence.
19:39 Sometime you will discover that the greatest barrier
19:41 between you and being effective
19:43 in the work of God is experience.
19:46 Let me develop that very quickly.
19:47 You see, that's the reason why the Lord didn't come,
19:49 that's the reason why He didn't choose the men
19:51 that knew so much, that's why He didn't go,
19:55 that's why the men in the church,
19:56 the Pharisees, the Sadducees the Scribes,
19:58 the Essenes, the leaders,
19:59 the men that were well qualified,
20:01 the Lord couldn't do hardly
20:02 anything with them because they knew too much.
20:07 He had to choose men
20:09 that didn't know anything about theology,
20:11 that never preached a sermon,
20:13 did not even understand what the torah was.
20:16 He had to choose men that were at the base of society,
20:19 men that were cussing, drinking, smoking...
20:24 And you thought, Lord, can't you do better than that?
20:27 Well, let me tell you something,
20:28 the Lord looks at the heart, not just at the exterior.
20:34 He doesn't look at the qualifications on paper.
20:36 He looks at the possibilities in the life.
20:39 He doesn't just get us
20:41 because we have qualified ourselves.
20:42 He likes to go to those who are pretty empty,
20:44 so He can fill them up.
20:46 Because oftentimes, when we are filled with ourselves,
20:51 the Lord can do very little with lives
20:54 that are filled with themselves.
20:58 These men understood the sea,
20:59 but they did not know the commander.
21:01 They had the experience,
21:02 but they did not have the experience with Jesus.
21:05 So up until this point,
21:06 they just had a half-hearted devotion.
21:09 They knew what to do,
21:11 but they did not know that the key to any success
21:14 is not what to do
21:16 but who is involved of accomplishing it.
21:19 And they had what I call half-hearted devotion,
21:22 which is, in fact, the same as no devotion at all.
21:24 Consider the words of Christ, three very quick scriptures,
21:27 go with me to Matthew 12:30.
21:29 This is why half-hearted devotion
21:31 never accomplishes anything.
21:34 Half-hearted devotion never accomplishes anything.
21:38 Notice how Jesus says that...
21:40 Jesus is the all or nothing master,
21:44 it's not some but it's all or nothing.
21:48 Notice these very powerful words.
21:50 Matthew 12:30, the Bible says,
21:53 "He who is not with Me is," where?
21:56 "Against Me, and he who does not gather with Me,"
21:59 does what?
22:01 "Scatters abroad." It is all or nothing.
22:04 Amen, Louis? It is all or nothing.
22:07 There is no gathering, a little with,
22:09 there is no being with Me partially.
22:11 "He who is not with Me is against Me."
22:13 Notice that when you talk about discipleship,
22:16 there is no third category.
22:19 Let's go to another one, Luke 9:62.
22:21 Luke 9:62, turn there with me. Luke 9...
22:28 I like to hear the Bible pages turning.
22:30 Luke 9:62.
22:33 "But Jesus said to him,"
22:35 talking about complete devotion,
22:37 "no one," how many, church?
22:40 "No one, having put his hand to the plow,
22:43 and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
22:48 No one.
22:49 So when the Lord calls you just like Lot's wife,
22:52 don't look back
22:54 because when you begin to look back
22:56 you are not fit for the kingdom of God.
22:58 And we know that at certain points in our lives,
23:01 not only have we looked back...
23:05 But we began to live like we did in the past.
23:10 And finally one more, Matthew 10:37.
23:13 Now this is a powerful scripture,
23:17 not that they all are not
23:18 but this one goes to the cellular position
23:22 of why relationships,
23:24 parental relationships, temporary relationships,
23:28 family relationships don't allow any of them
23:30 to get in the way
23:32 of complete dedication to Jesus.
23:35 Matthew 10:37, the Bible says,
23:37 "He who loves father or mother more than Me is," what?
23:41 "Not worthy of Me.
23:42 And he who loves son or daughter
23:45 more than Me is," what?
23:48 "Not worthy of Me."
23:51 Commitment to Jesus cannot be limited
23:54 by personal preferences.
23:57 That would mean that we are Lord
23:59 and He is following us.
24:01 But it says in Luke 6:46, "Why call Me Lord, Lord
24:04 and do not do the things which I say?"
24:06 And I've learned and I have discovered more and more
24:10 that the more we put aside self,
24:12 the more room Christ has to work in our lives.
24:16 The more we begin to cut-off
24:17 the things that got our attention,
24:20 the things that we put our energies in,
24:22 and our faith, and our trust in,
24:24 when we get to the place
24:26 where we are willing to give our all,
24:27 He even makes it even clearer
24:29 because some people when they think about Jesus,
24:32 and I've heard people ask me this.
24:33 They said, "Pastor,
24:34 what do I have to give up to join your church?"
24:37 You've heard me say that before.
24:39 And I said, "Brother, you don't give up anything.
24:40 Matter of fact, you get everything
24:42 when you follow Jesus."
24:44 Look at Matthew 19:29.
24:47 Some people think of Jesus as a taker
24:50 but Jesus is a giver.
24:52 He is not a taker.
24:53 Amen, somebody? Amen.
24:55 You know that Jesus has been blessing your life,
24:57 He is not a taker.
24:58 If He takes anything,
25:00 He only takes what's not good for us.
25:03 But He gives us something far greater
25:06 than what we are used to have.
25:08 Matthew 19:29, the Bible says, "And everyone," and how many?
25:13 "Everyone who has," notice this,
25:15 look at all the connections,
25:17 "left houses or brothers or sisters or fathers
25:23 or mother or wife or children or lands,
25:29 for My name's sake, shall receive," what?
25:35 "A hundredfold, and inherit eternal life."
25:40 That's some serious connections.
25:43 Some people are tied to their house,
25:46 some people are tied to their brothers and sisters,
25:48 their family.
25:49 My wife and I used to be like that.
25:51 We didn't have a house, we still don't own a house
25:54 but when we made our decision to be in the ministry,
25:55 we were tied to family.
25:57 We said, "Lord, we'll go anywhere but California."
25:59 You know why? Because we were tied to family.
26:02 But the Lord had to separate us from family.
26:06 He had to separate us from the people that knew us,
26:09 so that we could get to know Him.
26:12 Brothers, mothers,
26:15 children, wife, any lands,
26:19 possessions, if you are not willing
26:22 to get rid of any of those things,
26:24 you'll never inherit eternal life
26:26 and the other thing about it,
26:27 you will never be able to get more than what you have.
26:30 And in particular, this was to the rich young ruler
26:33 because when Jesus had laid down the perimeters
26:35 for the rich young ruler,
26:36 He says, "Sell all that you have and follow Me."
26:39 And Peter said, "Lord, that's a hard saying."
26:41 Who then can be saved
26:43 and the Lord had to let Peter know he is not losing anything,
26:47 the little he has will be replaced
26:50 with the abundance that I have.
26:54 Be willing to give it all.
26:56 Anything or anyone that's preferred
26:58 above Christ is selfish.
27:01 Matter of fact, a man by the name of Luis Morris wrote,
27:03 "You can always tell when a person
27:06 is selfish and well-informed
27:08 because his views are pretty much your own."
27:11 When a person agrees with you,
27:14 we often say, "He is well-informed."
27:16 What I want to be able to do is agree with Jesus,
27:18 what do you say?
27:20 This self-centered world.
27:24 A selfish man died
27:25 and on his tombstone was the epitaph,
27:30 "Be yourself is about the worst advice
27:33 you can give to some people"
27:37 when he wants us to be like Jesus,
27:39 be yourself in the self-centered world.
27:42 Let me insult your sensibilities
27:44 for a brief moment.
27:46 You know, Christians are rightfully offended
27:47 that there is so much profanity in society.
27:49 Amen, somebody?
27:51 But what Christians fail to realize is the first,
27:54 the worst four letter word is self
28:00 'cause self will do more to condemn us
28:04 than anything else.
28:07 And what Christ was trying to do
28:08 was get self out of the way.
28:11 But the disciples were fighting with parameters of worship,
28:15 fighting with the parameters of dedication to Christ.
28:18 The parameters were not the parameters
28:20 that Jesus was establishing.
28:22 You see, you can be a member
28:23 but a member means we belong to each other.
28:26 A disciple means we belong to Christ.
28:29 And when you decide to be a disciple,
28:32 it's a step higher than just being a member.
28:35 Discipleship is following somebody
28:37 beyond your point of comfort.
28:39 But membership simply means you are part of the group.
28:44 When the Lord gets a hold of your life,
28:46 He takes you from membership to discipleship.
28:48 Look at Mark, look at Matthew 16:24.
28:52 Matthew 16:24.
28:55 Talking about total dedication, total dedication.
29:02 The Bible says, "Then Jesus said to His disciples,"
29:04 what did He say?
29:06 "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him," do what?
29:10 Let him do what?
29:11 "Deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."
29:17 Denial of self means the cross is ahead of us
29:22 but after the cross comes the crown.
29:29 When I work on my sermons,
29:30 a lot of times, my wife is reading.
29:33 And there was a quotation she read last night
29:35 which I just took a portion of it
29:37 from the book Desire of Ages.
29:38 And it was an amazing quotation.
29:40 The reason why discipleship is so widely important
29:43 as Jesus says, "Follow Me."
29:45 Tell me again, "Follow Me."
29:47 Following Jesus is widely important.
29:50 Understand carefully
29:52 because when we run ahead of Jesus,
29:54 servant of the Lord says, "When we run ahead of Jesus,"
29:57 This is powerful, "When we run ahead of Him,
30:00 we face Satan before He does.
30:04 But when we follow Him, He faces Satan before we do."
30:11 If we run ahead of Him, we'll come in contact
30:13 with Satan before He gets there.
30:17 But if He is the one leading and we're following Him,
30:19 He faces Satan before us.
30:22 I want to keep in step with Jesus, what about you?
30:25 Amen.
30:26 It makes a difference between what our experience is
30:31 and what it can be, keeping in step with Jesus.
30:35 Now let's get to the story and wind it up.
30:39 John 21:4-5,
30:41 they were fishing all night
30:43 and they came up with absolutely nothing.
30:47 But at the intersection of our failures,
30:50 then Jesus shows up.
30:53 Look at John 21:4-5,
30:56 at the intersection of failure,
30:59 Jesus shows up.
31:02 "But when the morning had now come,
31:06 Jesus stood on the shore,
31:09 yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
31:13 Then Jesus said to them,
31:16 'Children, do you have any food?'
31:18 And they answered," what?
31:20 "No."
31:22 At the intersection of our failures,
31:25 Jesus shows up.
31:26 But when did He show up,
31:28 He showed up at the night or in the morning?
31:30 The morning is synonymous to Jesus
31:32 replacing our darkness with His light.
31:34 Jesus is shedding light on our circumstances,
31:37 on our situation.
31:38 And the gap between our failure and our blessing
31:41 is quite narrow
31:42 because what Jesus tells them to do next
31:45 you'd think that they could have figured it out themselves.
31:47 Look at verse 6. Look at verse 6.
31:52 And He said to them and by this way,
31:54 by now they still don't know it's Jesus.
32:00 "And He said to them,
32:02 'Cast the net on the,'" what side?
32:05 "'On the right side of the boat,
32:07 and you will find some.'
32:10 So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in
32:14 because of the multitude of fish."
32:18 Now I want to take you back, are you ready?
32:22 I want to take you back
32:23 to show you what just happened there.
32:26 We read in few verses earlier, just in case you missed it,
32:32 Peter's failure began with the word
32:35 or with the statement "I am going fishing."
32:39 Who's going? Who's going?
32:41 "I am going.
32:43 I am in charge of my destination.
32:44 I'm in charge of my journey."
32:46 The disciple's failure began with the phrase,
32:49 "We are going with you."
32:54 They both decided without asking Jesus
32:56 where to go fishing and how to go fishing.
33:01 They went on their own recognizance.
33:03 They made up their own minds.
33:06 They decided their own journey,
33:08 "I'm going," "We are going."
33:11 But I want you to understand
33:13 the success that they experienced
33:17 was preceded with the salutation "he said."
33:22 Now I got to say that again.
33:24 Peter said, "I'm going,"
33:25 the disciple says, "We're going."
33:28 But when Jesus said, when Jesus came to them
33:31 and spoke and they heard the words, "he said."
33:35 It is only then that they experienced success
33:39 in their lives.
33:41 Do I need to unpack that?
33:43 Whenever we follow a "he said",
33:45 come on, whenever we follow a "he said",
33:48 it is the precursor to our success
33:50 not "I am" or "we are"
33:53 but what does he want us to do when we follow a "he said."
33:57 Amen.
33:58 It's a precursor to success.
34:00 Amen, somebody? Did you get it?
34:01 We could do whatever we want to do
34:03 but oftentimes we find ourselves
34:05 at the point of nothing, no results, failure
34:09 because it's what we want to do.
34:12 "I am", "we are",
34:14 but Jesus comes at the intersection
34:16 of their failure and says, "He said."
34:18 And when he said,
34:20 they cast their net on the right side.
34:23 Understand this carefully,
34:25 the right side is not only the opposite of the left side
34:28 but the right side is the contrast to the wrong side.
34:34 Sometimes people think they are doing the right thing...
34:41 When success is that far away.
34:45 They were not in a ship, I used the word "abandon ship"
34:48 because it sounded good, they were not in a ship,
34:52 they were in a boat, a fisherman's boat,
34:56 which at best could have been about 12-feet or 9-feet wide
35:02 for the number of men that they had on that ship
35:03 or that boat.
35:05 And the difference between failure...
35:07 They cast on the left side, the side of failure.
35:12 That's why in the scriptures you find, always,
35:14 the sheep are on the right side,
35:16 the goat on the left.
35:18 He set the saved on the right, the lost on the left.
35:21 When they cast their net on the right side,
35:24 they experienced the success that the Lord always knew
35:28 that they could have but He was the difference.
35:30 They had to do it the way that Jesus said to do it.
35:33 Amen. Do it the right way.
35:39 That's why David the psalmist said in Psalms 33:4,
35:43 "The Word of the Lord is right
35:46 and all His work is done in truth."
35:48 "The Word of the Lord is right
35:51 and all His word is done in truth."
35:54 When we do it the right way,
35:56 when we do it according to God's Word,
35:59 there will be a change in our personal devotion to Jesus.
36:03 Amen?
36:04 Now you know the reason
36:05 why there is not often change in our personal devotion,
36:07 let me wind it up with this.
36:09 You know why there is no change in our devotion to Jesus?
36:12 It's because just like the disciples,
36:16 we listen to the words of Jesus,
36:20 but it doesn't prompt any action in our lives.
36:28 The story said when Jesus gave the command,
36:32 the Bible said, "They cast."
36:35 What did it say? "They cast."
36:41 Success was on the right side,
36:42 but there was something that they had to do,
36:44 they had to respond to the directive of Jesus.
36:47 When the Lord says,
36:48 "Put the net on the right side,"
36:50 what did they have to do, they cast.
36:52 They had to cast something forward
36:54 in order to experience the successes
36:57 that Jesus had said they could experience
37:00 they cast.
37:02 The Word of God always requires an action.
37:07 Always an action.
37:08 You never get to the place of reading God's Word
37:10 that He does not challenge you to do something.
37:12 In the Bible, you always find three things,
37:14 every scripture you read
37:16 will say something about the devil,
37:17 it will say something about Jesus,
37:19 and it will always leave a requirement for you.
37:24 "They cast."
37:25 They couldn't just listen, they had to make a decision.
37:28 That's why as we wind up,
37:29 we go to the decision that they made.
37:31 Let's go down to the last part of the verse,
37:33 John 21:7.
37:36 John 21.
37:38 I'm going to go right to that,
37:39 John 21:7 because the title is...
37:44 What's the title of the message?
37:47 What's the title of the message?
37:49 Abandoned Ship.
37:51 The question is what prompted Peter to abandon ship.
37:53 Verse 7. Verse 7.
38:00 To this point, they still don't know it's Jesus
38:04 but notice who discovers it.
38:07 "Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter,"
38:14 what did he say?
38:15 "It is the Lord!" Now this is powerful.
38:18 I mean, I've learned to understand that the words
38:20 are there with power in each one of them.
38:22 You know why he knew it was Lord?
38:25 Because he loved Jesus. Because what?
38:30 He loved Jesus.
38:32 When you love Jesus... Did you get that?
38:35 When you love Jesus,
38:37 you are familiar with His voice.
38:48 But here is the pivotal point.
38:50 "Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord,
38:56 he put on his outer garment, for he had removed it,"
39:00 the actual Greek said, "For he was naked."
39:03 "And plunged into the sea."
39:05 He put his clothing on,
39:07 so that when he had an encounter with Jesus,
39:09 he would not be unclothed.
39:12 He put on his garment and what did he do?
39:15 He plunged into the sea.
39:20 The Christian journey is anything but logical.
39:25 But who in their right mind would plunge into the sea?
39:29 Why did Peter plunge and not the other disciples?
39:33 This is where the message winds up,
39:34 why did he plunge?
39:36 You see, Peter finally reached the place
39:38 where he was willing to do
39:39 whatever it took to get to Jesus.
39:42 And all he needed to hear,
39:44 listen carefully, is that it is the Lord.
39:47 When he knew that it was the Lord,
39:49 Peter recalls because this was the not the first encounter
39:51 Peter had in a boat.
39:53 If you go back and look at the chronicle of Peter,
39:55 Peter recalled that in the midst
39:56 of one of the most ferocious storms
39:58 in Mark chapter 4, when the storm had come up
40:01 and it was beating against the boat,
40:03 and the waves were filling in, and the winds were blowing,
40:06 and the sea was boisterous all around them,
40:09 in the middle of one of Peter's worst storms
40:12 when he was trying to save himself,
40:15 he found Jesus sleeping in the boat.
40:18 And when he recalled the Savior's act,
40:22 in the part of his salvation,
40:24 the Lord he found in the past said,
40:26 "Peace be still" and the Bible says,
40:28 "There was a great calm."
40:29 So in the moment,
40:31 the Lord brings us back to those familiar moments.
40:33 Peter remembered, "Wait a minute,
40:35 I was in a situation like this before."
40:37 And the Lord stilled the waves,
40:38 He calmed the sea, He hushed the winds.
40:42 But that's not the only thing he remembered.
40:43 This fisherman that was familiar with the ocean,
40:46 he goes back to another occasion
40:48 when the angry sea was around him
40:49 and he called the Lord and said,
40:51 "If it is You, call me out to the waves"
40:54 and he went out and walked on the water.
40:56 And when he began to lose sight of Jesus
40:58 and began to sink, his simple prayer,
41:00 "Lord, save me" resulted in his salvation.
41:04 He recalls these moments on the sea.
41:07 I've begun to learn that the Lord takes us back
41:10 to the experiences of our past
41:12 to know that in the new experiences,
41:14 we can have a different attitude
41:17 about the way that God can deliver us.
41:19 Amen, somebody? Amen.
41:20 Why take this man to the sea? So get this now.
41:25 The Lord delivered him before in the storm.
41:28 The Lord saved him again from drowning in a storm.
41:33 This time, this new Peter,
41:37 this converted Peter, this redeemed Peter,
41:42 if there is one thing Peter learned
41:45 from all his failures and his past
41:48 is that you don't have to be afraid of Jesus
41:52 in your future trials.
41:58 I'll be back tomorrow.
42:01 If there is one thing, brethren,
42:02 you can learn in your future
42:04 through the trials of your past,
42:06 when the Lord...
42:11 See, Louis... If there is one thing...
42:16 If there is one thing you could learn...
42:19 If there is one thing you could learn
42:21 about the trials of your past
42:23 that the Lord delivered you from
42:27 is you don't have to worry about
42:28 the trials of your future.
42:30 Amen.
42:31 You see, this is the reason for the plunge.
42:33 You see, this time,
42:35 the sea wasn't a factor between Peter and Jesus.
42:38 But it had been on two other occasions.
42:40 This time its unpredictable nature
42:42 was no longer the heightening of his fear.
42:45 This time Peter didn't care about the depths of the sea,
42:47 he just plunged.
42:49 This time he didn't wait for the Lord to call him,
42:51 he just plunged.
42:53 This time he didn't ask for anybody to go with him,
42:56 he just plunged.
42:58 It was a personal experience between him and Jesus.
43:03 He plunged.
43:05 He abandoned ship, the safety of his precincts.
43:09 He no longer needed a conformation
43:11 that the future is going to be bright,
43:12 he trusted the Lord in whose presence he stood.
43:15 Amen, somebody? Amen.
43:18 You see, often, we live in the safety of our boat.
43:21 When sometimes we got to get out of it
43:24 to meet Jesus in the unstable places of life.
43:30 The fishermen, the fishermen,
43:34 Peter, the fisherman represents those
43:36 who have spent their lives in the safety of their ship
43:40 and made their own surroundings,
43:44 the accoutrements of their lives,
43:46 the reason for their safety.
43:47 And the Lord comes along
43:49 and finally the very things that brought fear in your past,
43:53 no longer brings fear in your present.
43:55 And when you hear and you know that it is God
43:57 that's calling you, you plunge.
44:00 You plunge. You abandon ship.
44:05 You see, it is in the unstable moments of life
44:08 that we finally get to know Jesus.
44:12 It is when the ship of our life
44:14 is breaking apart that we can abandon ship
44:19 and still know that we'll be safe in Jesus.
44:22 Amen.
44:24 Amen? Amen.
44:25 Abandon ship.
44:27 This morning, somebody's ship is tossing,
44:34 somebody is in the middle of angry waves,
44:38 somebody doesn't know how to handle
44:40 the increasing of the wind and the rising of the ocean,
44:43 and they have built their own ship,
44:46 their own place of safety, their own place of security.
44:50 But I want to tell you, this morning,
44:51 God is saying to you by faith,
44:53 Jesus is saying to you by faith,
44:55 "You don't have to be fearful of the angry waves.
44:58 You don't have to be fearful of the angry sea.
44:59 You don't have to be worried about the future
45:01 and how it's going to workout."
45:02 If you know it is the Lord, you got to sometimes plunge.
45:08 You got to do what? You got to plunge.
45:12 Now the other disciples got to Jesus
45:14 but they got there after Peter.
45:17 He went to make sure that this time
45:19 there was no doubt in the heart of his Lord
45:21 that there was anything between him and Jesus.
45:27 If there is somebody here today,
45:30 there maybe more than one,
45:31 if there is somebody here today
45:33 that God has for some reason
45:35 taken you to the unstable places of your life
45:38 and the waves are unpredictable
45:42 and you're in the night of your fishing,
45:44 you're coming up with nothing.
45:46 And today,
45:50 you are willing to abandon the place of your own safety
45:53 and dive into the moment with Jesus.
45:56 As I sing this song,
45:58 I want you to just simply stand where you are.
46:00 I want to pray for you today.
46:02 I want to pray that God will take you away
46:03 from the atmosphere of your own security
46:07 to let you know that He is the one
46:08 that commands the sea.
46:11 You maybe a fisherman but He made the sea.
46:14 You may have been catching things in the past
46:18 but this time the Lord wants to catch you.
46:21 If that's your desire, this morning,
46:23 to change the course of events in your life,
46:26 as I sing this song, this morning, just plunge.
46:29 Just stand where you are,
46:31 if you want to come down for prayer,
46:32 I invite you to do that.
46:34 But today, God is calling you to plunge,
46:38 put your life where He can change you,
46:40 put your life where He can deliver you.
46:42 This morning, He's calling you. Listen to this song.
47:11 If the ship of your life
47:15 Is tossing on the sea of strife
47:20 You need someone
47:26 If you feel so all alone
47:30 And your house is not a home
47:35 You need someone
47:42 If you feel life isn't fair
47:46 And there's no one left to share
47:49 All those lonely day and nights
47:55 When things just won't turn out right
47:59 And you want someone to share
48:03 And someone to just be there
48:07 You need someone
48:14 So I give you Jesus
48:20 He's the peace
48:22 That passes all understanding
48:30 I give you Jesus
48:35 He's that perfect love
48:37 That casteth out all fear
48:45 I give you Jesus
48:50 He's the water that you drink
48:54 And never thirst again
49:00 I give you Jesus
49:05 My friend
49:09 I give you Jesus
49:15 Listen...
49:18 If the pressures all around
49:22 Have your spirits to the ground
49:25 You need someone
49:32 If your body is in pain
49:36 And your health you can't regain
49:40 You need someone
49:47 If at times that you have tried
49:50 With all the strength you had inside
49:54 And it seems that you have failed
49:58 Remember on the cross He's nailed
50:01 All that bitterness and grief
50:05 To give you peace and sweet relief
50:10 He is that someone that you need
50:15 So I give you Jesus
50:22 He's the peace
50:23 That passes all understanding
50:31 I give you Jesus
50:36 He's that perfect love
50:38 That casteth out all
50:43 Fear
50:47 I give you Jesus
50:51 He's the water that you drink
50:55 And never thirst again
51:01 I give you Jesus, my friends
51:08 Yes, I give you Jesus
51:12 He's everything, He's the one you need
51:17 I give you Jesus, my friend
51:24 Yes, I give you Jesus
51:46 You know, this morning the Lord is calling someone.
51:51 He says, "You've tried it so many ways
51:56 and your nets are empty, unfulfilled,
52:00 your plans have not worked out the way you desired them to,
52:05 your investments, whatever they maybe,
52:09 just don't produce any results.
52:14 Whatever you've confronted just comes up empty every time
52:16 and there is no great distance
52:18 between your failure and My success.
52:20 But if you just do it My way,
52:23 if you just do it My way,
52:28 if you come to this side of My plan,
52:32 it's going to work out.
52:34 It's going to be all right."
52:37 There may be a void in your life today...
52:42 The place of your security is no longer there.
52:47 The person on whom your trust
52:50 was so established is no longer there.
52:57 But it's in this trying moment that somebody sent,
53:00 I hear his voice,
53:02 I think that's the voice of Jesus.
53:04 It is the Lord.
53:07 And if you know it's the Lord,
53:09 this is your moment to just plunge in.
53:13 Don't worry about anybody else.
53:15 It's not about what they can do for you.
53:17 It's those moments when all you need is a garment
53:22 and a desire to close the gap between you and Jesus.
53:25 So today,
53:30 if there's a special prayer that's in your heart,
53:34 just raise your hand where you are.
53:36 I'm going to pray this morning.
53:41 Gracious heavenly Father, thank You for giving us Jesus.
53:45 He is the peace that passes all of our understanding.
53:51 Sometimes we begin journeys
53:54 that bring us to a wall in our lives,
53:57 and we can't go over it and we are frustrated.
54:01 Sometimes we make choices that bring us zero results.
54:06 And once again we wonder, is it the Lord.
54:13 But today, Father, on the ship of our unstable journey,
54:19 on the waters of our unstable experience,
54:22 in the depths of the unknown we pray that today by faith
54:26 we can plunge
54:28 and close the distance between us and Jesus.
54:31 We could abandon.
54:34 With reckless abandon, we could just dive in and say,
54:37 "This time I'm not worried about the waves.
54:40 This time I'm not concerned about the sea.
54:42 This time I don't even really care who is with me,
54:45 I'm just going to plunge in because I know it is the Lord."
54:51 And so, Father, deliver us
54:53 from those challenges in our lives,
54:55 deliver us from the faithless places,
54:58 the places that seem to be so reliable,
55:00 deliver us from them.
55:03 And may we find hope, and courage, and strength,
55:05 and just the knowledge of being absorbed
55:09 how wonderful it is that Peter dove in to the water,
55:12 experience the complete surrounding
55:15 of the promise of Christ.
55:17 May we leave this place today,
55:18 Lord, knowing that Your Word is sufficient for us.
55:22 We can be surrounded in the knowledge
55:24 that everything is going to be just fine.
55:26 We are plunging in today, we're abandoning ship,
55:30 and we're swimming to You.
55:33 Thank You, Father, for identifying us.
55:37 Thank You for being patient with us
55:39 through the failures of our past experiences.
55:42 Thank You for the moments that we were just like Peter.
55:48 May You be glorified.
55:49 We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.


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Revised 2018-05-30