Obedience is Key to Miracle
Christ Offers Relief On Nervousness & Anxiety • Sermon • Submitted
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HOOK
We’ve been instructed to “stay at home” five weeks ago, we are hunkered in our homes— shelter in place— unable to work
26 Million Americans filed for unemployment— it was more than the number of jobs created in one decade lost in one month! That’s tremendous setback!
As of last night— confirmed Covid-19 cases here in the US is 956K— close to 44k deaths while 102k have recovered
Globally there is almost 3 million cases of confirmed Covid-19 cases— nearly 203k deaths while around 837k had recovered
184 countries are suffering this unparalleled pandemic— a crisis that most of us have never seen before— Only God can do this!— but WHY?
Pat Robertson— the 90-year old Televenagelist who founded 700 club [christian broadcasting network] suggest that “same sex marriage” and “abortion” among the reasons for Covid-19
Kanye West said: Christians have a right to righteous anger [in your anger do not sin Ephesians 4:26]
Pat Robertson suggested that God won’t end the coronavirus pandemic until people turn from their wicked ways— we had AIDS— God tap it off with Covid-19! [2 Chronicles 7:14]
14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Is God a cruel God?
I thought God is love? — If He is love, why then will he allow this unprecedented suffering to inflict mankind? — I believe God has a purpose for this global suffering not just for unbelievers, but for Christians as well as the church
Before I tell you the biblical purposes for sufferings, let me just clarify reasons why suffering occurs;
God causes it
An individual brings it on himself
Someone intentionally causes another persons to suffer
Human error may unintentionally cause suffering
An act of nature that results to damage, injury or death
Regardless of reasons for sufferings— God has the ultimate say on all things— He is in control!
6 The Lord does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths.
If you have gone over the book of Job you will find a man— a very faithful man who had everything in life— he had a beautiful and happy family— enormous wealth [one of the richest in that generation]— surrounded with servants— and a lot more affluence in life
In an instant, he lost everything! — it was not self inflicted, nobody did that to him— it’s not human error either— and not a result of nature’s disaster!
Satan asked for it [Job’s sufferings]— God allowed it [Job 1:12]
God permitted the sufferings of Job— a very faithful man!— BUT WHY?
God will not allow suffering without a purpose— Here’s five (5) of them— 5 R’s
Repentance— Suffering is a call for us and others to turn from treasuring anything on earth above God [Luke 13:4-5]
4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
Reliance— Suffering is a call to trust God and not the life-sustaining props of this world [2 Corinthians 1:8-9]
8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.
Righteousness— Suffering is the discipline of our loving heavenly Father so that we come to share his righteousness and holiness [Hebrews 12:6, 10-11]
6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”
10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Reward— Suffering is working for us a great reward in heaven that will make up for every loss here a thousandfold [2 Corinthians 4:17]
17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
Reminder— Sufferings reminds us that God sent His Son into the world to suffer so that our suffering would not be God’s condemnation but his purification [Philippians 3:10]
10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
I know that a lot of us are suffering right now!
“In different ways we suffer, but miracle is our common prayer.”
Regardless of the gravity of our suffering, we are all longing for one thing— MIRACLE! — by the way miracles only happens to those who believe— to those who do not believe— they just mere coincidence, and accident, happened by chance!
It was about two weeks after Jesus resurrected from the dead when His disciples started to go back to their way of life— back to the place where it all started— the Sea of Galilee [otherwise known as the Sea of Tiberias]
Around 3 years earlier when Jesus started calling His disciples— among those disciples were Peter, Andrew, James and John [sons of Zebedee]— and it was in this exact same spot
The years in between are recorded in the gospels— fishing, healing, teaching, preaching, suffering, discipling, rebuking and many many other events and MIRACLES in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ
Let’s take a look at the story of Jesus and the Miraculous Catch of Fish
About two weeks after Jesus resurrected from the grave, He appeared again to His disciples by the Sea of Galilee [Tiberias]. And this is how it happened-- Simon Peter, Thomas [Didymus], Nathanael [from Cana], James and John [sons of Zebedee], and two other disciples were together.
Peter told them, "I'm gonna go fishing!" The gang said, we will go with you. So they went out and got into the boat, but they did not caught anything!
Early the next morning, Jesus stood at the beach few hundred yards from His disciple on the boat, but the disciples did not know who it was.
Jesus howled at them saying, "Friends, did you catch any fish?" They replied and shouted NO!
Then Jesus told them, "throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." [why on the right side, why not on the left side of the boat?]
WHEN THEY DID [they followed without any questions asked, that was when a MIRACLE happened], they were unable to haul the net because of the enormous number of fish.
Then John told Peter, "it is the Lord!." And as soon as Peter heard what John said [it is the Lord], he wrapped is outer garment around him and jumped into the water.
The rest of the group followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish. When they landed on the shore, they saw a stock of wood burning with fish on it and some bread.
Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught." Right away, Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net to the shore.
It was full of large fish, 153 [I'm curious, what is the significance, why the author recorded the exact number of fish they caught?]But despite of the volume of catch, the net was not torn.
Jesus said to them, "come and have breakfast." No one dared to ask him, "who are you?" They just know that it was the Lord [the glorified body of Jesus is somehow different from his appearance before his death and resurrection].
Jesus came to them, took the bread and gave it to them, and he did the same with the fish.
This was the third time the Lord Jesus appeared to His disciples after he was raised from the dead.
Let’s take a closer look by reading the exact accounts of events as recorded in the Gospel of John [This is the last scene in this gospel]
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1 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. 5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. 6 He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. 7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. 9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
Three things are obvious in this passage:
A bunch FISH [in this passage alone the word “fish” was mentioned 8 times]
An act of OBEDIENCE [in verse 6 underscore the phrase “when they did”]
And a great MIRACLE [miracle took place after they obeyed what Jesus told them without asking questions]
OBEDIENCE IS KEY TO MIRACLE
OBEDIENCE IS KEY TO MIRACLE
Let’s try to further rip this passage open— that we may receive the Lord’s impressions for us today!
As you get to know Jesus more and more— you’ll conclude that the Lord uses every opportunity, using circumstances, surroundings and earthly things to illustrate His lesson
And this encounter is among those instances that Jesus utilized to teach His disciples [that included you and I, if you’re a follower of Jesus]
LOOK
LOOK
I’M GOING OUT TO FISH
Just in this passage alone, the word “fish” was mentioned 8 times
On many occasions Jesus taught them using fishing as metaphor— when they were first called by Jesus to follow Him— at that exact same place where they are now— this is what Jesus told them
18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him. 21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them,
WHEN THEY DID
They were unable to to haul the net in because of the large number of fish [verse 6]
This is when the act of obedience came into play— they obeyed without questioning what Jesus told them to do
Is this the kind of obedience you have towards Jesus?
Remember, “In different ways we suffer, but miracle is our common prayer.”
Obedience is Key to Miracle
IT IS THE LORD
Then the disciple whom Jesus loved [John the beloved] said to Peter, “it is the Lord”— He jumped into the water and rushed towards Him
After witnessing another miracle— they just knew that it was Jesus for no one else can do such things apart from Him
IT WAS FULL OF LARGE FISH, 153
I wanna highlight this phrase— I am truly curious why the author has to record the exact number of fish they caught that morning
It could be that he wants us to count the people that we bring to the Lord?— by counting, you do not just count them as heads— you record significant information about each of them
That’s why in Agape we keep records of our church family members— we’re NOT building an empire!— We keep records of them because we value every soul— we want to know when they were born, how are they doing, how could the church be of better service to them
How they may be involved in ministry?— We want to help each member to discover how God had SHAPEd them so they may live purposeful lives!—
If there’s one thing you should know and remember about Agape, it’s this— AGAPE is not an In & Out drive through! — it is not an event you attend to, it is a family that you belong to
The process of spiritual growth begins with Believing— but it does not end there!— It only starts there!— First is you Believe in Jesus, then you Belong to His church, then you Become more like Him in the process!
That is why I believe John recorded the exact number of fish they caught to impress on us about the importance of Responsible Stewardship— and counting our members, getting to know them is not building an empire, but rather Responsible Stewardship— we want to know them, because we love them, and we want to help them..
BUT EVEN WITH SO MANY THE NET WAS NOT TORN
This process is still part of the Lord’s miracle— the elasticity of our capability
In ministry parlance you will hear the words like plateau, break 100, break 200 etc— when you hear these terms, they are referring to the numerical growth of church— basing their opinions on church statistics and the physical capacity of their churches, they established this invincible bench marks as far as church numerical growth is concerned
But look! If it is Jesus that is growing our church, there’s elasticity in our capacity! We are not bound within the walls of or church building [and image is going around the internet with the caricature of God and Satan talking to each other— Satan said, “with Covid-19 I closed your churches haha!”— but God replied, “on the contrary, I just opened one in every home”]—
If you have not read our church vision— this is a good time to revisit it!— The vision God gave to Agape 5 years ago, is what God is now beginning to fulfill! Life Groups, Home Churches, House Churches, Small Groups— whatever you call it, they all mean the same— they all mean gathering of believers— and Jesus said in Matthew, “where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them.”— and that’s a church!
Church, I just pray that you are remaining faithful, and see what God is trying to fulfill behind this global suffering!— We don’t get to hangout in person— but God has purpose for that— he wants families to shelter in place, stay in their homes and spend more time with God and with each other— I hope that you are seeing that, and that you are hunkered in your living room with your family right now, worshipping with us and every Sunday
FINALLY, NONE OF THE DISCIPLES DARED ASK HIM, “WHO ARE YOU?”
Well, because they knew it was the Lord Jesus— they know that no one could do such miracle except God
Quick recap! FISH! OBEDIENCE! MIRACLE!
OBEDIENCE IS KEY TO MIRACLE
OBEDIENCE IS KEY TO MIRACLE
Though Jesus was the Son of God— He learned obedience from what He suffered [Hebrews 5:8]
And in this particular miracle, Jesus used FISH— Why? Maybe because it is easily remembered!— Fish is part of our way of life— we eat it— it provides nourishments to our bodies— experts even claim that fish is healthier thank pork
So today— after the many words that the Holy Spirit made my lips to utter— this is what I want you to take home [social distancing that’s why take home only]— this is what I want you to feed on this week— this will be our healthy diet for the week—
Only a miracle can change our situation— but sometimes God does not change our situation, because He is trying to change our hearts— keep in mind, God is more interested in your character than your circumstances
TOOK
TOOK
This first take away that I have for you begins with the first letter in FISH— the letter F
Faith leads to Obedience
Hebrews 11 talks about faith— our hope and assurance about what we do not see— with this invincible enemy, we need our invincible God!
This part of the Bible talked about the faithfulness of Abel, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham— without faith it is impossible to please God!
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.
Instructions are found in the Word of God
James, the brother of Jesus talked about listening and doing— in his epistle he wrote..
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
Show your obedience to others
When the Apostles were persecuted by the jealous religious leaders, they are persecuted and arrested— they were thrown behind bars, but miraculously got out and went back to the temple courts to teach about Jesus
They were arrested again and brought in the full assembly of the Jewish ruling council [Sanhedrin]
They were questioned by the High Priest [the 71st person in the Sanhedrin] saying, “we gave you strict orders not to teach about this name [Jesus], yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you’re determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood
But this is how Peter and the other Apostles replied [Acts 5:29]
29 Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!
Finally..
Let Jesus be the King of your Heart
On Paul’s final charge to Timothy he encouraged him to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.
He told his spiritual son to fight the good fight of faith— take hold of eternal life— to keep the commands without sport or blame until the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ which God will bring about in His own time— [1 Timothy 6:15]
15 which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords,
Here Paul declared that, Jesus is the blessed One, the Lord of lords, and the King of kings
Let Jesus be the King of your heart— let Him be the mountain where you run
The fountain you drink from— let Him be the ransom for your life
Let Him be the wind inside your sails— your anchor in the waves— and the fire inside your vein
SHOOK
SHOOK
It all started with a FISHing trip
Led us to MIRACLES and a great lesson about OBEDIENCE
Faith leads to Obedience
Instructions are found in the Word of God
Show your obedience to others
Let Jesus be the King of your Heart
Let me invite you today to accept Jesus as the King of your heart
Let me invite you today to accept Jesus as the Savior of your soul
Let me invite you today to accept Jesus as the Lord of your life
ABCD OF Salvation
And to those who are with me in praying for a miracle— “In different ways we suffer, but miracle is our common prayer.”
From this fishing trip we had this morning— you’ll see that..
OBEDIENCE IS KEY TO MIRACLE
OBEDIENCE IS KEY TO MIRACLE