Sunday Night Worship 1/26/2020

you can go ahead and be seated what an honor it is to be asked to preach yet again I do appreciate I want to reiterate what brother Tanner said about our Minister Trina I appreciate our ministry team thank you brother Levi for obeying the Lord you didn't know but that was my prayer before he came over there so thank you for that I appreciate a minister team that obey the Lord not just saying that because I'm part of it not just saying that because this is gospel tabernacle but I do appreciate our ministry team and

I am very much missing our pastor tonight had he not been sick you probably have been hearing him preach everybody just would have been probably better off for it too but I'll probably be playing a game tonight a minute to win it preaching so don't get too comfortable

we'll go ahead and put the scripture on the screen John 21 verse 3 through 17 so it'll be a little bit of lengthy breathing reading here so we'll just get right into the word of the Lord tonight and let him have his will in his way I just hope and pray that I can preach to you as the Lord has laid it upon my heart and that it can come across as maybe it has impacted in my life if it can help you the way it's helped me that's all I ask a ma'am because the first person I preach to is me

John 21 verse 3 through 17 it says Simon Peter saith unto them I go a-fishing they say unto Him we also go with thee they went forth and entered into a ship immediately and that night they caught nothing but when the morning was now come Jesus stood on the shore but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus then jesus saith unto them children have you any meat they answered him no and he said unto them cast the net on the right side of the ship and ye shall find they cast therefore and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fish is

therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter it is the Lord now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord he girded his Fisher's coat upon him for he was naked and had cast himself into the and then the other sciples came in a little ship for they were not far from land but as it were two hundred cubits dragging the net with fishes and as soon as then as they were come to land they saw a fire of coals there and fish laid thereon and bread jesus saith unto them bring of the fish which he have now called

Simon Peter went up and drew the net to the land full of great fishes 153 and for all there were so many yet was not the net broken and jesus said to them come and dine and none of the disciples Durst ask him who art thou knowing that it was the Lord Jesus then cometh and taketh bread and breaketh and giveth them and fish likewise

this is now the third time Jesus showed himself to his disciples after that he was risen from the dead so when they had dined jesus said unto Simon Peter Simon son of Jonas lovest thou me more than these Oh verse 15 he saith unto Him yea Lord thou knowest that I love thee and he saith unto Him feed my lambs verse 16 he say 'then in began a second time Simon son of Jonas let's just pray for a moment right now give me strength to preach this word

he said then a third time Simon son of Jonas lovest thou me Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time lovest thou me and he said unto Him Lord thou knowest all things thou knowest that I love thee Jesus and him feed my sheep

the story I just want to take a little time and many of us probably know this story and we anyone who has been around church for any length of time they know this story and Jesus had been crucified and he had been buried and he had been resurrected and he had been with his disciples two other times he showed himself to his disciples and his disciples were no doubt distraught no doubt worried no doubt in turmoil and and they they they didn't know what to do

so Peter he turns himself and he said you know what I'm gonna go back to what I know and he finds himself doing the very thing when Jesus first found him he returns to the lifestyle that he had not necessarily a bad thing he was a fisherman he returns to the thing that he knew the thing that he was accustomed to the thing that he had for an occupation he goes back to his fishing vessels and then the others say well we're going to go with you

now keep in mind these were men that the Lord had chosen he had picked them he called them by name chose them to come walk with him these were men that walked with him for years they cast out Devils they healed the sick they raised the dead they were there when Jesus fed the multitudes they were there when Jesus called Lazarus forth they were there when Jesus was crucified these men were men that were called of God they were selected they were the few that were taught of God they were the few that not only heard the parables but had the understanding of the parables Jesus didn't give that to everybody he says it's not meant for them to know the meanings of these parables

but unto you I will give you the meaning of the parables these men had a rare opportunity that it was afforded to no one else at that time these were men that walked with the Lord

yet we find them back on the ship fishing no doubt they thought what is the point Jesus died and he rose again they knew he was alive because he had showed himself to him two other times and they thought what's the point he's gone he's alive but he's done gone and we're now here we've got nothing we've got no one we were let's just go back to the thing the way things were let's go back to where we were before we met Jesus

Peter not only was he called but he was he was one of the special disciples he was he was chosen out of all the other disciples because Jesus told him that he would have the keys to the kingdom Peter was the first one to have the revelation to say thou art the Christ Peter was special he was one of the special few of the disciples that was chosen

Matthew 16 13 through 19 it says when Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples saying whom do men say that I the Son of Man am and they sent him some say that thou art John the Baptist some Elias and others Jeremias or one of the prophets he saith unto them but whom say ye that I am and Peter answered and said thou art the Christ the Son of the Living God he had a revelation before anyone else and Jesus entering has him

blessed art thou son Simon bar Jonah for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee but my father which is in heaven he saith unto Him thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it and I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven

Peter was very special because he had something that no other disciples was told he you gonna have the keys brother tanner I'm gonna give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven and you have power that whatsoever things you bind in heaven isn't rebound in earth and whatsoever things you loose in heaven is gonna be loosing her he didn't tell that to anyone else but he told that to Simon but yet Simon went back to fishing he went back to the thing that he knew he went back to where Jesus first found him

Simon Peter was the only one that had enough faith to get out of the boat now granted he might have started sinking but he had enough faith to get out of the boat I wasn't got out of the boat I hate water I swim like a rock straight down

Matthew 14 23 31 and when he had sent the multitudes away he went up into a mountain apart to pray and when the evening was come he was there alone but the ship was now in the midst of the sea tossed with waves for the wind was contrary

and in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them walking on the sea and when the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were troubled saying it is a spirit and they cried out for fear but straightway Jesus spake unto them saying be of good cheer it is I be not afraid

then Peter answered and said him lord if it be thou bid me come unto the on the water Peter was brain Jesus didn't tell him - hey Peter come on out Peter had the audacity say you know what can I come out to you walking on the water no one else in the boat said let me come out there walking on the water they had an understanding you don't work but Peter he knew if that's truly the Lord I can do that I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me so Peter had an understanding that hey I can do this with Christ I can go to him I can walk on the water

jesus said to him come and Peter was come down to the ship he walked on the water to go to Jesus but when he saw the wind boisterous he was afraid and began to sink he cried saying lord save me and immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him and said unto Him o thou little faith wherefore 'the this dow down little faith

but he was walking on the water no one else was but yet we find Peter back fishing he went back to what he was first doing he went back to where Jesus first found him back to what he knew

so why after all they had seen and why all they had done did they return to the old lifestyle after these men had witnessed countless miracles and countless miraculous things and they witnessed Jesus on the mountain and and they witnessed the heavens open up and they witnessed all these wonderful things that Jesus performed in miracle after miracle and the dead raised in the blind receive their sight why did they go back to their old lifestyle

it doesn't take long for the enemy to try to slip in just because you might be in a trial or a situation you see they were in they were in a situation they didn't understand what was going on Jesus everything that they had been taught and everything that they had believed up until this point was in their minds destroyed and and for all they knew they were going to be princes they thought Jesus was going to be the king and they thought they were going to be rulers over Jerusalem

but they didn't understand what Jesus was saying under them but they're in their minds they were destroyed they were tore down and they just had no hope hopeless hopelessness they had lost it

the devil will try to convince you in your trial even though you've may be walking with the Lord and even though you may have done things and seen things and been in places with the Lord in the and the services with the miraculous moving of the Holy Ghost when a trial comes your way and it will come your way these just slip in and say you know what it's just hopelessness don't just go back to what you were doing there the devil will try to convince you you've messed up and therefore don't go back to church because you messed up and

and he'll try to convince you in your mind that because you messed up you can't go back to church or you can't read the Bible you can't start praying because you were doing good but then you messed up and now you'll return to your old lifestyle in your old way of doing things so you know what you might as well just go fishing

you see they knew Jesus was alive because it said so in verse 13 it said this was the third time that he had showed himself they knew that he had been risen but yet they were still out fishing they still had made the choice to go fishing on the shore with Jesus Peter had a decision to make he was given a choice in the form of a question lovest thou me more than these and this

I apologize if this is something I may have preached before I feel like I preached it before I asked my wife before I preached this I told her the title oven and she said no I ain't never heard you preached that and I was like well you know I feel like I have but if I have I apologize this is what the Lord laid on my heart I don't remember doing it but you know what it's been preached I'm just hoping to preach it in a different way but he said

he proposed the question to him lovest thou me more than these this question and decision was so important he asked him three times lovest thou me more than these

I was curious of the scripture so I began to research I begin to study and and wonder what what was this passions passage of Scripture trying to better III I wanted a better understanding I wanted to understand what was going through the mind of Peter and why was Jesus asked him lovest thou me more than these what was he referring to these it was referring through the fish lovest thou me Peter more than these fish lovest thou me Peter more than these fish on the sea that you have caught

I first asked myself what what does these fish represent that Peter call I wanted to understand it I asked us the question what is the fish represent in your life only you can answer that question

there's fish flopping on the shore and if you've ever been fishing and you ever called a fish they don't just lay there on the shore when you take them out of the water they flip they flop they make a noise they jabber they want to do everything they can to get back in the water

153 fish flopping on the shore I can imagine that that sound was almost deafening that sound was almost probably louder than Jesus talking to Simon Peter saying lovest thou me more than these fish lovest thou me Peter more than these fish to these fish we're making the noise and they were getting his attention

and Peter's already had a history of getting his focus and getting his attention when he was walking on the water he focused on the storms rather than Jesus and Jesus asked him three times I think he was trying to get his attention lovest thou me more than these focus on me Peter forget about the fish but focus on me you see Peter was a fisherman

these fish represented more than just fish these fish represented more than just some food these fish represented a form of living these fish represented a lifestyle these fish they represented something more than just fish

I began to research I wanted to know what was the value of these fish what was 150 fish worth in that day in time and I found somebody luckily who had done the math online and I'm gonna go off of their facts as they it looked like it was difficult math so if their numbers were correct we're gonna assume that they are someone had calculated the sizes of the boat and they the scripture doesn't say how big the fish weigh says they were great fish 153 great fish and they calculated the sizes of these boats and they calculated the price of 153 fish of that day and time

and it was such a large catch of fish that this this fish on the seashore that they they was such a large catch that it represented financial independence so much so that just to condense the range down the estimated value of the fish for that day and time would have been the equivalent low in 12 years to 36 years of pay

someone was to come to you brother Tanner and say I'm gonna give you anywhere between 12 and 36 years of pay for just one day's work 12 to 36 years yeah man yeah I would love that too 12 to 36 years and and and to be more precise that was for each one of them that was not just for Peter that was 12.1 years of pay to 36.5 years of pay depending on the quality of the fish and the wages at that time for each one of the disciples lovest thou me

so as Peter stood there on the shore no doubt torn between the sound of the fish and the call of the master as I said if you've ever been fishing the fish don't sit there quietly they jabber chirping and flopping from they're making their sound and in no doubt Peter was closing his eyes and he was listening to the fish and he was thinking of all that he could achieve and all that he could have and he could have his own fleet of fishing vessels and he could be the the Bill Gates of that time and the Warren Buffett of that time with the fishing and

he could he could have control everything as far as the financial incoming and that represented 36 years of time and hard work and in effort put into fishing that it was right there flapping lovest thou me Peter more than these and he was listening to the fish and he was listening to the master and he was torn between the fish and oh yes Lord I love you but yet the whole time he was listening to the fish and he was listening to what they would say

I've come to tell someone tonight I don't know I don't know who I'm talking to maybe it's me but there's some fish that are trying to get your attention master kind of got all over my message this morning where your treasure is there is your heart also

there's some fish that's jabbering in somebody's life there's some flopping on the shore and there they're just jabbering jabbering jabbering scripture you might be in the you might be going through a trial but there's a blessing right there and you can grab this blessing and it's an opportunity you think oh this is such a great opportunity I have such a wonderful opportunity to catch these fish in the Lord saying lovest thou me more than this opportunity lovest thou me more than these fish

whatever that fish represents in your life is it is it wealth is it is it Fame is it fortune is it success what is that fish that presents in your life only you can answer the thing that's speaking in your life those fish flapping flopping they're getting your attention

peter was torn between the master and Jesus saying lovest thou me Peter more than these fish she loved us now me focus on me Peter ignore the fish Peter the marketplace was calling him all of them the marketplace was saying bringing the fish Peter bring bringing the fish just Jesus's Jesus will wait but Jesus wasn't going to wait this was only the third time that he had showed himself they needed crucial information that Jesus was going to give them that Peter would have missed out on and he taken the fish to the marketplace

don't miss out on your Jesus experience because you're too busy taking the fish to the marketplace he was torn between the fish and the call of the master no doubt he stood there talking with Jesus and his mind was just rolling over rolling-over of all the things that he could do with these fish what would draw your attention away from the Lord

these were men that had walked with Jesus these are these were men that had talked with Jesus these were men that wasn't necessarily sinners if you will I mean they had sinned but Peter probably thought you know what I had cursed God and and I had to Renaud and I had said I am NOT one of him and and he had denied Jesus three times

and maybe he thought that you know what I'm not worthy because I know Jesus is alive but what I did is is unforgivable what I had done is is beyond forgiveness and and and I am going to go fishing I'm going to go back to what I'd done because of my downfalls because of the mistakes that I had made and because I had denied the Lord three times that Jesus had done told him you're gonna deny me three times

Peter had the keys of the kingdom promised to him he had revelation of who Jesus was and yet he was torn between the fish in the marketplace lovest thou me more than these Peter Peter remember all those times you walked with me and remember all those things that you did he the disciples went out and they cast out devils and they healed the sick and and they raised the laymen and Jesus was no doubt saying Peter remember what you've done remember ignore that call of the fish and ignore that jabber and the flip-flopping and ignore that but lovest thou me more than these Peter

don't be like others who have chosen the fish brother Josh had mentioned a young lady this morning in his message who had prayed and fasted and and pretty soon had gotten wealth and had went away there's countless individuals that come to church and then I'm not preaching against wealth and they're not preaching against success I wish everyone success and everyone to have wealth but when it becomes the thing of our affection and when when the fish flopping on the seashore gets our attention more than Jesus asking us lovest thou me more than these there's something that we got to check

2nd Timothy 4 7 through 10 he said I have fought the fight I have finished my course I have kept the faith henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord shall give me at that day and not to me only but to all them also that love his appearing do thy diligence to come shortly and to me verse 10 for demas has forsaken me having loved this present world and is departed unto thessalonians

Intimus had loved the present world more than he had loved the Lord I think that's what Jesus was asking Peter lovest thou me Peter more than this present world more than this opportunity you have do you love me Peter enough to follow me Peter

do you love me enough to forget about these things that are drawing your attention than these things that have captivated your mind and this this success that all of a sudden you achieved Peter don't forget about me don't forget about me Peter but lovest thou me more than these fish lovest thou me Peter give me your attention Peter don't let these distractions get your attention

I have preached a while back about fighting bugs about how a soldier can war if he's fights the bugs that ended up in it will terminate his life but giving his position away Jesus was proposing the same very thing here when he said lovest thou me more than these Peter are you going to throw it all away for this if they go ahead and come to the music I told you it was minute to win it

I am persuaded that nothing shall separate us from the love of God but ourselves Romans 8 37 through 39 nay and all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us for I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come

it doesn't matter what you're facing those fish that are flopping trying to get your attention in the present or even in the future it doesn't matter what fish was flopping in your past and the devil using against you to tell you you're not worthy or that you have fallen short and there's no point in trying it doesn't matter what's being said

nothing shall separate you from God it says nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord

love us thou me more than these that convicted me so hard and as and it's bothered me so much I examine my own life every time I preach something Lord have I been listening to the call of the fish more than the call of the Lord have I been drawing my attention on things of success and in things of prosperity more than spiritual success and more than spiritual prosperity have my treasures been laid-up here in this world more than in heaven it's gotten me more than anyone else in this house I'll just go ahead and tell you it's gotten me before you got me

and we got a limited space up here at the front but I would ask if we could just all look inside our own heart ask the question Lord examined me create in me a clean heart Lord let my priorities be reflected upon you let my passion be upon you let my drive be for you let me hear the call of the master more than the flame and the flopping