Drop It (2)

Intro

Drop It…remember, this is ultimately about making him LORD.

Matthew 16:24–26 ESV

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

Last time we talked about dropping our past…looking back. Learned about Mary Magdalene.

Today, we look forward towards our future. Looking at PETER.

DROP YOUR PLANS

God’s plans for your life are better than your plans

You get asked constantly: “What’s your plan after high school?”

It’s okay to make plans; to dream about the future.

I wanted to be an air force pilot, a surgeon, an engineer, I had all these different routes I dreamed about taking.

I know you do to; the point of tonight is NOT “don’t make plans.”

The point is, don’t make plans without first making Jesus LORD.

Not just calling him that; ACTUALLY letting what he wants, what’s best for the kingdom, be what shapes your decisions.

When we talk about dropping your plans, we’re talking about dropping this idea that YOU know what is best for you, and embracing the truth that you don’t, but God does.

Peter

John 1:35–42 ESV

35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).

Andrew was following; tells his brother.

Jesus meets him, immediately gives him a nick name.

Time passes.

Luke 5:1–11 ESV

1 On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 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. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

Wasn’t “full time follower” at first.

Jesus had also met Peter one other time; in Luke 4, he heals Peter’s Mother-in-Law.

So Peter had decided that Jesus was the real deal. So far, he was only following from a distance.

He was a fisherman

Not rich, but relatively stable; people gotta eat.

This would have been his plan for his entire life; fish to provide, grow old and die.

No upward mobility, no promotions; very simple life with very simple plans focused around

money

family

friends

Jesus comes and turns it all upside down.

“my plan isn’t for you to spend your life catching fish, time to come be a fisher of men.”

What’s peter’s life look like from there on out?

Travels w/ Jesus

front row seat to the work God is doing

Witnesses the death/burial/resurrection

preaches sermons where thousands are saved

performs miracles

commits his life to GOD’S Plan for it, not his own. Gives his life spreading the Gospel.

Drop your plans

This is NOT a message about going into full-time ministry; about doing what I do, or being a missionary.

If God calls you to do that, that’s great!

But the bible tells us that NOT MANY OF US should become full time ministers of the Gospel.

Does that mean not many of us should let God make the plans for our life?

OF COURSE NOT

This is about more than that.

The church doesn’t need more pastors and missionaries;

IT NEEDS MORE CHRISTIANS THAT ARE SOLD OUT FOR THE GOSPEL!

Do you have big plans ahead? Do you have big choices about schools, and careers, and families; of course.

But as good as ALL of those things are; NONE of them are what’s most important.

They are all means to an end.

Our ENTIRE life should be about expanding the kingdom of God.

About knowing Jesus, and making him known to the world around us.