Get Your Own

Our prayer is that you have lived out the purpose and plan that the Lord has laid before you this week.  How wondrous is the tapestry of our interwoven lives that He has stitched together.  We all have our own thread that He uses to bring the beauty of His handiwork together.  It is all our own.  Let’s talk about that…

I was drawn to  read this week in John 21 where we find that Jesus has shown Himself to the disciples after the resurrection.  The crucifixion has past, the burial of Jesus was performed, He arose as promised and now He has been seen very much alive and well.  How amazing it must have been for the disciples to witness all of this.  I can only imagine how they processed it all in their minds.  But, now what?  He has not given the great commission yet and they have not been filled with the Holy Ghost at Pentecost.  They are in an in-between time where things can get confusing.  Peter says something every country boy thinks about throughout these summer days, “I go a fishing.”  Remember, he and many of his cohorts were professional fishermen before Jesus said, Follow Me.  It seemed the only option for him I suppose.  I want to give you something to think about today and you tell me what you come up with.

When Peter launched out in verse 2 with nets in tow he also took at least 6 other men in the boat.  A bad day fishing is better than a good day working, except if fishing is your work.  They had not caught one single fish all night.  From the shore Jesus calls out inquiring of their progress.  Unknowing whose voice it was, they replied that they had come up with a goose egg, “0”!  This voice from the shore advises to cast the nets on the right side.  WHY NOT!  Well, they went from nothing to nets full in a matter of moments.  Now, notice this.  John the beloved, writer of this book of the Bible, realizes this is the voice of Jesus but Peter did not catch it.  Peter is, for some reason, fishing naked. So, he covers himself and heads to shore where Jesus is waiting with breakfast.

So far, Peter has walked away, taken others with him, not recognized the voice of God, and is naked.  Not a good score card so far.  Then after breakfast Jesus asks Peter the same question three times and gives an direct instruction on what He wants him to do.  Many times I wish I could hear the voice of God that clearly.  Then, Jesus gives Peter a direct prophecy about his future and what he will face in his later years.  Again, if I could know something like that directly from the lips of Jesus I’d do an Irish jig!  Jesus then makes this statement in verse 19, “Follow Me”, and Peter looks over at John and asks Jesus, “and what shall this man do?”  Jesus’ answer, “what is that to thee?”  In plain southern English that means, Mind Your Own Business and Get Your Own.  Jesus had a work for Peter and He had a work for John, but Peter was more interested in what Jesus would do with John.

Here is my message today.  Hey, Get Your Own.  Church member, don’t worry about what God is doing with someone else, Get Your Own.  Preacher, don’t worry about what God is doing with another preacher, Get Your Own.  Hey singer, don’t worry about how successful someone else is, Get Your Own.  Hey Sunday School teacher, don’t worry about what other classes are doing, Get Your Own.  Laymen and little ones, don’t worry about how God is using someone else, Get Your Own.  Now, you say, Preacher, what are you talking about?  Two things; Peter was not thankful that God had given him direct instruction, direction and prediction, and then, I believe we can spot a bit of jealousy in Peter toward John.

I will leave you with this.  Peter walked away from ministry for a moment and led others with him.  He could not discern the voice of God because he was always talking himself.  He ended up going back to something Jesus had called him away from and ended up naked.  Peter became frustrated at the probing self analyzing questions from Jesus and totally missed what God was revealing to him personally.  Finally, his focus was not on what Jesus said to him but what He was going to say to another disciple.  We have prayer and a Bible.  We can know what God says to us and can accomplish what God does through us.  Don’t worry about what God is saying or doing with someone else.  Get Your Own!  I will leave it right there for you to digest.

God Bless You!

BroAdamB