I aint MOVE'd yet! (John 21.1-14)
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 27 viewsNotes
Transcript
After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way.
Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples.
Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.”
He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish.
That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea.
But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.
When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread.
Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.”
So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn.
Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord.
Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish.
This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
Intro:
Every good actor/actress needs a great director to guide them....
If not......
.....you could be good and still be going in the wrong direction!
And sometimes our lives are going in the wrong direction because we are great Actors and great actresses in our own movies......
........but we’re moving to a script that the Director wrote!!
And without the Director......
We are just ACTING through our parts........
....but our MOVES may not be RIGHT
(pause and expound)
Look at it now....
After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples.
According to the text......
Jesus brings himself into view.
The disciples are seeing more of Jesus’s Glory in this visual
.......there is still flesh, and humanity which gives Jesus his physical form.
.....but it’s almost as though it would be impossible to miss seeing him in this moment because of the glory.
(pause)
And......
....the significance in this is that it says,
Jesus wants to be seen!!
And my Godview says.....
God is not a God that wants to be hidden from us.......
But instead.....
Our God shows us exactly where he is in our lives.........
(pause and expound)
Look at it now....
Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
According to the text.....
.....Peter is ready to return to doing what he was doing before they met Jesus and retired from their professions.
Peter says,
“I’m going back to my original occupation as a fisherman”
(slight pause)
And as soon as Peter says this....
......the other disciples responded by saying,
We’ll come and help you....
(pause)
And I dont’ know what actually caused Peter to MOVE back to his fishing boat.....
But I do know that it made me consider something incredibly important which is this...
Jesus says in.....
I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.
........and at the end of verse 3 it says,
“but that night they caught absolutely NOTHING!”
(pause)
And I dont’ know about you......
.......but I don’t like coming up empty
......especially after I have put in a lot of effort!
(pause)
But one thing you can count on Freedom......
.......whenever we MOVE without Jesus
.......we will always come out with NOTHING.
(pause)
Now here’s the interesting thing about it.......
They were fishing when they were supposed to be fishing from a fisherman’s perspective.
Because.....
The time of night they were fishing was the perfect time to go fishing...
But in spite of their expertise as fishermen.......
......the bible says that 0 fish were caught in their nets.
(pause)
Notice now......
.....that in verse 4 Jesus does not show up at the best time to catch fish based on a fisherman’s watch or timing.
Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
According to the text.....
Jesus shows up just after daybreak...
And so.....
Jesus doesn’t show up until the supposedly best time to see results has passed......
(slight pause)
.......He waits
......until the time that Peter and the disciples consider to be the best time to go fishing has past.......
And then.....
.......right after that is when Jesus shows up!
(slight pause)
Jesus shows up in front of them......
.....when they think that the best time to act has passed behind them
(pause)
And...........
Jesus has a habit of doing this doesn’t he.....
(slight pause)
When Lazarus had died.......
Jesus waited until he was stinking so bad nobody wanted to go near his tomb.........
......and then he tells the disciples,
“I am glad I was not there when everybody thought I should have been there.....”
(pause and expound)
And what I am discovering Freedom is that.......
Whatever we like to call the best time for action is when Jesus waits....
And then......
Right after that time expires........
.......that’s when Jesus shows up!
(pause)
Watch the text....
.....because the rest of verse 4 says....
Jesus shows up at just after daybreak and stands on the beach....
And watch this......
“But the disciples did not know that it was Jesus”
Now the amazing part about this is that according to the previous chapter.....
.......They have already seen Jesus TWICE after the resurrection.
(pause)
But.......
.......for some reason on this THIRD time they can’t quite recognize him.
(slight pause)
They can SEE him........
.......but they can’t recognize him
(pause)
And here’s what I like about this........
....because even though they can’t recognize that this is Jesus on the THIRD time.......
........the MISSION is TOO BIG
......for Jesus to turn around and walk down the beach away and just leave them in their boat
(pause)
That’s the kind of God we serve!
We serve a God who loves us enough to STAY even when we can’t quite recognize Him......
(pause)
Now that’s LOVE.........
(pause)
See we want to make God act like we act......
Because......
.....if someone were to not RECOGNIZE us with our OVERLY IMPORTANT selves
......we will
GET UP
.........and WALK OFF!
(pause)
But Jesus doesn’t do that does he.......
The disciples don’t even know its him.......
.....and IN LOVE Jesus says in verse 5,
“Have you caught anything?”
(pause and expound on the LOVE)
And Freedom......
This question that Jesus is asking the disciples is deeper than they hear it!
(pause)
Because.....
.....Jesus is asking this question in order to know if He needs to help them.
But......
......I see the disciples hearing this question as if it is coming from a complete stranger who may want to buy some fish from them.
(pause)
They think they have a custormer.........
.........and Jesus is trying to see if they need SUPPORT
(pause)
I wonder........
........how many times our hearing has been so shallow
......that we have treated Jesus like a complete stranger that wanted something from us,
.......when in all actuality Jesus was trying to find out if we needed His SUPPORT!
(pause and optional expound)
And according to the text.......
......the disciples resonded by saying,
“NO.....we haven’t caught anything”
(slight pause)
Now.........
this was a really “BIG” No.......
Because they are fishing with a NET
......but according to the text
......EVEN with this huge NET
.......they have not caught not even ONE fish!
(pause)
Freedom family.......
Have you ever made something that you thought was a BIG MOVE
........but didn’t catch NOTHING?!?
(pause)
Freedom.....
......what happens when the NET does not PRODUCE?
......NOT even ONE fish
(pause and expound)
Now......
.......here’s what messed me up!
He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish.
Now let me clarify something..........
They STILL don’t know that this is Jesus....
So basically.......
In the mind of the disciples this is still a complete stranger
(pause)
And so.......
This complete stranger says to them.......
Cast your NET that has not PRODUCED anything back into the water
(pause................)
This time when you throw your UNPRODUCTIVE NET back out there do something UN-ORTHODOX and throw it on the RIGHT side over there behind you.
(pause..............)
And I know you NORMALLY fish at night but do this while the SUN is out!
(pause)
Now Freedom.......
This verse doesn’t really sound as crazy to us as it should because....
........we already recognize Jesus
(pause)
But just go with me for a minute........
Because right now in this text.......
.......the disciples have every reason NOT TO MOVE
.........but according to the text
........They LISTENED and FOLLOWED the instructions of this COMPLETE stranger!
(pause)
Freedom......
Jesus.....
.....didn’t force them to act
He simply.......
.......opened his mouth and told them to try something different!
(pause)
And this is when I heard Jesus saying in my Spiritual imagination,
“Make your MOVE!”
(pause and shift)
M- Masterfull movement even after failure
The disciples actions were guided masterfully after a night of catching absolutely nothing.
Masterful - Root latin word - Magister
Chief, Head, or Director
And so when you make your MOVE you need a Director to guide your actions even after a failure.
That’s what makes our story so beautiful........
Because.........
......we failed
........and then God Masterfully directed our NEXT move!
Notice, the disciples did not have to escape the waters after their failed attempt at fishing.
God did something Masterful right there where they were!
.....God directed their movement!
(pause and expound)
Watch this....
O - Open minded movement even after failure
The disciples were skilled fishermen, but they were open minded and humble enough to try something different after what they tried didn’t work.
Never be afraid to MOVE after a failure....
When fear tries to paralyze you........
........that’s when you get even more flexible
(pause)
If the disciples would have refused to BE OPEN.......
.......they would have been left with an EMPTY NET
But in my spiritual imagination I see them deciding.......
......anything is BETTER than sitting here with NOTHING!!
(pause and expound)
Watch this......
V - Voice activated movement
Jesus was not moving physically to Guide the actions of the disciples. He simply opened his mouth and spoke to them.
And they had to be willing to MOVE..........
“At His Word”
(pause)
In Lukes Gospel this story actually shares Peters response to say,
“Nevertheless..............At thy Word”
(pause)
When the Centurion Soldier approached Jesus for his servant’s healing.....
....He said to Jesus,
“Just say the Word and my servant will be healed!”
(pause)
And I wonder if there’s anybody......
in here who has what it takes to MOVE when all you ahve is “A Word”......
(pause)
And......
.....when your life is “Voice Activated”
.....with a WORD switch....
It will convince you like it convinced the disciples.....
......to confront whatever is challenging you!
(pause)
And.......
Just when you thought your Long..........UNPRODUCTIVE night was going to lead into an UNPRODUCTIVE morning......
Jesus will show up and say something that sounds like.......
“CAST your NET to the other side”
(pause and optional expound)
Watch this........
E - Move with Great Expectation
Pay close attention now because this is not an anesthetic type of expectation that keeps us from moving.....
This is an inspired level of faith that says,
When I move my outcome is going to be affected as a result of my next move...
(Pause)
Jesus says to the disciples.....
When you make your move.....
.....You will find some!
Look at it now.....
Because the night before they didn’t catch Not even ONE fish with a BIG NET.
(pause)
But Jesus says.....
I need your EXPECTATION to become GREATER after your NOTHING EXPERIENCE.....
Now here’s the challenge......
Because when you have NOTHING......
......the temptation is to COMPARE
But when God is behind your M.O.V.E.
.......the only thing you can COMPARE it to is GODNESS
....and so it just becomes a GREAT EXPECTATION.....
Because we can’t think high enough to HOLD all God can do for us....
(pause)
That’s why the biblical writer wrote it out in Ephesians 3.20......
Now to him who is able...........
.....to do immeasurably
…MORE
.....than all that we ask or imagine
....according to His power that is at work within us...
(slight pause)
And that’s why Jesus tells the disciples....
When you Make your MOVE.......
(slight pause)
.....You WILL
(slight pause)
.....NOT MIGHT
.....but you WILL
(pause)
Find SOME.......
(slight pause)
Not ONE.......
......but SOME.......
(pause)
Listen.......
You’re not going to go from NOTHING to MINIMAL........
(slight pause)
THis is GREAT EXPECTATION.....
Your’e going from NOTHING to UNIMAGINABLE........
(pause)
And according to the text......
Once they threw the Net out..........
......they couldn’t BRING the NET back into their boat
....they had so much fish!
(pause/expound and shift)
And the Lord told me.......
.......to tell somebody that if you haven’t caught anything yet...
(pause)
It’s only because....
.....You haven’t made your M.O.V.E. yet”
(pause)
But.....
once you get ready to make your M.O.V.E.
......your BOAT is going to be too small to pull in what you CATCH
(pause)
In other words......
This M.O.V.E.....
.....is going to be more than you can handle
(pause)
I would say.....
“You aint gonna believe this......
But I wish you would believe!
Because......
everything that happened before this was MOTION....
…but it wasn’t a M.O.V.E.
(pause)
But in reality.....
......You aint made your M.O.V.E. yet
(pause)
But HERE it COMES............
When the disciples were using MOTION.......
........they caught NOTHING.
But.......
.......when they made their M.O.V.E.
.......they couldn’t PULL it all in it was so GREAT!
(pause)
So they had to DRAG it back to the BEACH where Jesus was...
(pause)
And I hear God saying..........
If the NET is empty through the night
Don’t worry.....
It just means.....
You aint made your move yet....
Because.....
Once I show up After what you called the BEST time...
(pause)
When the MASTER touches your movement fully.........
And when you OPEN your mind to His teaching.......
And when your life becomes Voice Activated with the WORD.....
And when your EXPECTATION becomes GREAT
(pause)
This is what its SUPPOSED to look like!!!!
“Who’s READY to M.O.V.E!”