Purpose: The Calling of Peter

00:00:01 Speaker 1: And he saith unto them. Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. Matthew four nineteen. Dear Lord, thank you for calling each and every one of us to a life of purpose, mission, and fulfillment. We confess that we often feel weak and un deserving of the calling you've set before us. But we declare that it's not who we were that matters, but who we will become and who you will make us into. You will make us great, You will equip us for the challenges ahead. If we are faithful to surrender to you, you will put our hearts, heads, and hands to use for your kingdom. So to day we declare, surrender to you, Use us Lord, for your glory and your good. In Jesus's name, we pray Amen. Thank you for praying with me to day. You're listening to the Jesus Podcast, dramatic stories from the Gospel told in new and exciting ways. Keep listening to hear the gospel inspired story of Simon and how Jesus brought meaning to his life. If this podcast has brought value to your faith, we'd love it if you left a review and shared it with a friend. We want the story of Jesus to be known throughout the world, because when Jesus' story is told, lives are transformed. Gulls flew overhead as the sun crested gently above the horizon. The water was painted in light, shimmering with bright orange and pink. Simon wrote, his boat cutting through the glassy and condescened water. He was numb to the beauty of the morning. All he could think about was his failure. 00:02:10 Speaker 2: Another night, no fish, he grumbled. 00:02:16 Speaker 1: He and his brother Andrew had been up all night casting their nets or fish, but the sea yielded nothing. In the deeper parts of Simon's mind, he wondered if God was playing games with him. He rowed in frustration until the boat finally made it to the shore. Simon leaned his forehead against the masts and sighed, ah, worthless. Simon resigned himself to a life of toil, a namelessness. Little did he know his destiny was walking toward him just a few paces up the shore. 00:03:08 Speaker 3: Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror long enough to have that mini existential moment where you think who am I really? For many of us, our sense of identity ebbs and flows with the various seasons of life. As we grow and change with our surroundings, our interests change, our priorities shift, our relationships begin and then end. When our circumstances and relationships are put under strain, it can be easy to lose sense of who we are in the midst of it all. It's very easy to feel out of control. But what if our identity could be much more stable? Paul writes in Galatians two twenty, I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me the life I now live in the body. I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me. It's incredible what we'll discover we answer Jesus's call to follow him. As we learn about him, we find that we have much to learn about ourselves too. Welcome to the Jesus Podcast, a year of story showcasing the depth of Christ's love and the glory of God's truth. I'm Zach, your host from pray dot Com, and I'm excited to be with you today as we begin a new study through twenty unique encounters Jesus had in his earthly ministry. These people all have different stories, struggles, and shortcomings, but what isn't unique about each of these individuals is what society labeled the mass outcasts. Make sure to follow this podcast as we explore the transformative depths of God's love made available to everyone. In our first story of this mini series, will be introduced to a man named Simon, but you may know him as Peter. On the surface, Simon was a meager fisherman, simply looking to make ends meet. But underneath it all, the weight of life struggles eat away at his sense of purpose with each passing day. The lull of repetition and failure, alongside the doubts of being able to provide for his family, brings a mixture of apathy and discontentment in Simon's life. Without thought, Simon allows the internal war of finding his own identity to spill out into resentment towards his brother, who seems to be finding purpose beyond life of the Sea of Galilee. In a moment of what some might call coincidence, he meets Jesus, the promised Lamb of God. Though he may not have known it at the time, his initial encounter with Jesus would change the trajectory of his life. Forever, join me as we discover Peter's story and learn that our true identities can't be manufactured in and of ourselves, but can only be found by following Jesus. 00:05:40 Speaker 1: Simon leaned his forehead against the mast. The boat bobbed up and down, slowly lulling him to sleep. It groaned, knocked his head over and over again on the wood. 00:05:54 Speaker 2: All night, Andrew, all night. We're fisher men, and it's been weak since we've even smelled a fish. 00:06:04 Speaker 1: Simon threw himself face first into a pile of nets and mourned to his brother. They had toiled all night to no avail. Their nets were empty, just like their pockets. 00:06:18 Speaker 2: If we don't haul in a cat soon, the tax collectors will come knocking on my door and take my wife's earrings right off her ears. What are we going to do? 00:06:30 Speaker 4: Perhaps we shouldn't be fishermen. 00:06:31 Speaker 1: Andrew said, with a shrug. He threw the anchor off the bolt and tightened the rope, securing it close to shore. 00:06:40 Speaker 4: Maybe we're meant to do something else. 00:06:43 Speaker 2: Don't start that again, Andrew. I've heard enough about your blocust eating friend with a loud voice. 00:06:52 Speaker 1: Simon was referring to John the baptizer. Andrew had been following his teachings for quite some time. Andrew couldn't stop talking about him. Andrew came to work every day endlessly preaching about repentance, the coming of the Messiah, and making way for revolution. It all annoyed Simon to no end. If he were being honest, Simon was irritated that his brother had found some purpose beyond the monotony of fishing, not that he didn't find fishing in itself a worthwhile profession. Perhaps Simon would have found more fulfillment in fishing if he had been better at it. Yet each day was a struggle. Simon continually found himself in a maddening circle, toiling all night casting nets, pulling them back to find nothing, and casting them out again. Mornings were spent cleaning the empty nets. Then he would sleep to repeat the process. 00:08:05 Speaker 5: You're missing out on something. 00:08:06 Speaker 1: Groundbreaking, Andrew preached to his brother. 00:08:11 Speaker 5: Just the other day, John was baptizing when all of a sudden a man from Nazareth stopped him in his tracks. John told us that he was the Lamb of God, whatever that means. John was in near tears at the sight. 00:08:26 Speaker 2: Of him, a random man from Nazadith. You say, oh, yes, sounds groundbreaking. 00:08:34 Speaker 1: Simon replied with a sarcastic smile. He threw his nets on in the sand and pulled his hair back. 00:08:42 Speaker 2: Let's clean these nets and get out of here. I'm hungry and I need a bath. 00:08:49 Speaker 1: Simon began tending to the nets. His neck ached and his eyes were weary from a night that seemed to drag on forever. Simon's thoughts bound from self loathing to prideful denial of his failure. He ran the nets through a bucket of fresh water. Then he sat down and methodically untangled each thread. Another boat paddled up on the right side. It was James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They had fished all night as well and caught nothing. Simon gave them a resigned wave and gesture to his empty nets. Simon was the only one who hadn't been having any luck with fish. 00:09:36 Speaker 4: You fight guns, fish, and who am I? 00:09:40 Speaker 1: His words were soft and unheard by the rest. Simon had a knot in his chest attention of identity. He had failed at the only thing he had been asked to do his entire life. If Simon couldn't fish, he couldn't pay off his day at the tax collectors. If he couldn't fish, he couldn't provide for his wife and sick mother in law. Creases of disappointment at the sides of his eyes as Simon worked the nets. Just as he was about to finish, a small crowd walked down the beach. They were all following a man. He was of average height and wore craftsman's garments. However, there was a rabbinical sash around his shoulders. Clearly this man was some sort of teacher. 00:10:38 Speaker 5: Simon, that's him. That's the man I was telling you about, the one John said was the lamb of God. 00:10:46 Speaker 1: Simon rolled his eyes and groaned. The man was approaching, with a couple of dozen people behind him. Joyful clamors followed him, and smiles shone brightly on their faces. Simon didn't care. He wanted to lay down and sleep before facing his wife and telling her once again he'd failed to catch anything. Simon folded the last net and began walking away. Before he could take two steps, the man called out to. 00:11:21 Speaker 4: Him, Shalom, friends, my name is Jesus, would I be able to use your boat for a few minutes. The crowd will be able to hear me much better if I was up there. 00:11:33 Speaker 1: The stranger's voice was kind but firm. Andrew perked up when he spoke, but Simon was still ambivalent. 00:11:43 Speaker 2: Rabbi, we've been fishing all night. We would much rowtherer of course you can. 00:11:50 Speaker 1: Andrew interrupted, with child likely. Simon turned to Andrew and gave him a glare that only an older brother could give. Simon groaned again and nodded for Jesus to climb aboard. Jesus steadied his feet and began preaching to the crowd. Everyone was trens fixed by his words, including Andrew. Simon barely listened, dozing off as he leaned his head back against the nets. Just as Simon felt perfectly comfortable, Jesus turned to him and said. 00:12:31 Speaker 4: Let's go out into the deep and let out your nets for catch. 00:12:35 Speaker 1: Simon rolled his neck back and leaned forward. 00:12:39 Speaker 2: Rabbi, with all due respect, we've been feishing all night and caught nothing. There's nothing out there for us to day. 00:12:50 Speaker 1: Simon looked down at the water. It reflected his disappointment right back at him. Then he looked at Jesus. There was an earnestness about him that somehow made Simon. 00:13:04 Speaker 2: Relent nevertheless at your word, I'll try again. 00:13:12 Speaker 1: Simon had faithless faithfulness. He didn't believe anything would happen, but wasn't about to argue with Jesus. The two brothers rowed the boat out a dozen yards. The water was glassy and still. With a reluctant sigh, Simon cast out the net. He sat down and waited. A few moments passed, and Simon looked at Jesus with a raised eyebrow, as if to say, told you so. But just then Simon heard the sound of tightening ropes. The nets became taut and the boat leaned over. Simon and Andrew tumbled to the side and looked at the water. He was bubbling with activity. 00:14:04 Speaker 2: Pull the nets. 00:14:09 Speaker 1: Simon and Andrew heaved, but the nets were too heavy for them. 00:14:13 Speaker 2: If we don't hold this in soon they're going to break. 00:14:19 Speaker 1: They waved to James and John to come over and help. They paddled swiftly to help Paul in the massive catch. 00:14:27 Speaker 2: Almost there, just a few more bushes. 00:14:36 Speaker 1: Simon's arms felt tighter than the nets, and his hands burned under the moving rope. Jesus joined in and grabbed the edge of the net. With one final pull, they brought the catch into the boat. Fish scattered throughout the deck, so much so that the ship began to sink. 00:14:57 Speaker 2: Bring it in, Bring it. 00:15:03 Speaker 1: Simon yelled with nervous laughter. James and John loaded fish over onto their boat to keep Simon's from sinking. They reached the shore and leaped with unhindered joy, hugging each other and laughing uncontrollably. Standing in the background of laughter and pats on the back was Jesus. He leaned against the mast of Simon's boat with a satisfied grin. Simon held his head and laughed, but his laughter slowly turned upside down, and he was overcome with grief. He looked to Jesus and shook his head. Who are you, he whispered, But the answer was clear. He was exactly who Andrew said he was. He was the Lamb of God, the Hope of Israel, the Messiah. With a quivering lip and furled brow, Simon fell to his knees. He knew this was a miracle. Simon knew that Jesus was the reason he had caught such an enormous catch. He felt unworthy of such a gesture. He felt the sting of an undeserved blessing. Who was he to receive such a gift? Who was he to be in the presence of someone so powerful and holy? Simon could barely look Jesus in the eye. With a shameful glance upward, he. 00:16:49 Speaker 2: Whimpered from depart from me, for I am a sinful man. 00:16:59 Speaker 1: Simon was sh aching with shame, his heart ache from years of anger, sin and self doubt. Jesus, with compassionate eyes and a warm heart, said. 00:17:12 Speaker 4: You are fearful, Simon, I understand. 00:17:17 Speaker 1: Jesus leaned down to Simon and placed a hand on his shoulder. He met Simon at eye level, gazing into his soul and all the insecurities that had blaked him. 00:17:32 Speaker 4: Follow me, Simon, Follow me, and I will make you a fisher of men. 00:17:40 Speaker 1: Simon looked Jesus in the eyes. They were glassy and still like water, only they didn't reflect his insecurity. Instead, Simon sogged glimpses of his destiny. The aimlessness and self doubt weighing him down had sunk to the bottom of the sea. Simon stood up and left the fish to rot in the nets. He didn't need them anymore. Fishing had been a trade, but it was never who he was. Jesus saw the man behind the nets and the wounded sold underneath that rugged veneer. Simon was a boisterous, fighty and fragile ciner. Indeed, but it doesn't matter who you are before Jesus calls you. What matters is who you become once you begin to follow him. 00:18:46 Speaker 3: In Matthew four, we enter into some of the earliest moments of Jesus's public ministry. Having spent the majority of his life as a humble carpenter in the lackluster city of Nazareth, Jesus is quickly gaining traction among the local community. It's no one why this might be. According to Matthew seven, the crowds were amazed at his teachings because he taught us one who had authority. While many of the other rabbis and teachers of the time would just recycle truths that they heard from one another, Jesus had original thoughts. And they weren't just original thoughts. They were scandalous, but they also cut straight to the heart in a way that they had never heard before. People were awakening to Jesus's words and his ministry. The message of the coming kingdom of God that Jesus shared was profound. It offered a deeper look into the human soul than the vapid and repetitive teachings of his contemporaries. But Jesus offered more than in depth teachings. He was paving the way for a revolution, and it wasn't a revolution of politics, coups, or violence, nor was he making a bid to the throne and ascend to political power. The Jesus Revolution was a radical transformation of how we view God, his kingdom, this world, and even ourselves if we allow it. As we saw in today's story, Jesus spoke to the masses, but deliberately ministered to end of individuals like Simon, Individuals who were on the fringes and felt forgotten or perhaps ineffectual in their lives. Individuals who identified as failures and outcasts, even individuals who had no sense of identity at all. These were the ones Jesus personally called to follow him because he knew they were blank canvases to create masterpieces on Where others see failure, Jesus's opportunity. Where some see success, Jesus sees pride. Jesus doesn't look at the world through our lens of success and failure. He looks deeper into eternity, seeing beyond the accolades and straight into the heart. When people have a self determined mission or sense of identity, they're often hesitant to relinquish control. The danger of finding purpose and identity within ourselves is that as quickly as we can build ourselves up, we can be torn down. And maybe you lose your job more than the loss of a loved one or struggle in a relationship. With each of these blows to the ego are identity waivers until it's bound to crumble. You see, centering our identities on something like a profession, or a relationship or a hobby is shaky footing and shaky ground. Things change, but the Lord remains the same forever. We need a stronger foundation for our identities. So how might we have a deeper sense of identity? Well, like Simon, it begins with looking to Jesus. Think about the difference between the moment of looking at yourself in the mirror and the moment Simon gazed into the eyes of the Messiah, how quickly we can go from pondering who am I? To seeing everything we can be through Jesus Christ. You see, knowing God gives us a greater understanding of ourselves. When we look at ourselves through God's eyes, our purpose becomes much more clear. When we anchor our identities in Christ, we feel less anxious and out of control. Who God is and what he has called us to do is a far more firm and steady base to build our identities upon. He's not a God who looks down on us with disdain or frustration for our failures. He is a loving father who looks at us with compassion and calls us to be his children. When we submit ourselves to following Jesus, we're welcomed into his loving arms, the starting point of understanding who we really are meant to be. As Peter contemplates the bleak night of fishing, he finds himself molding over his purpose and his identity. Since he attached his purpose to his profession, he inevitably associated himself as a failure because he was failing to catch fish, and so hardset in his ways. He was that he turned a deaf ear to his brother, who spoke of possible hope and finding more in life than just fishing. Simon's ambivalence towards his brother's message is a warning for all of us. It demonstrates that ambivalence towards Jesus can hinder, if not prevent, our ability to admire him. Don't be too quick to dismiss others when they want to share what God is doing in their lives. You may think, oh, yeah, I've heard it. I've heard it. I've heard it. You don't need to tell me about it. I've been to church, I've heard the messages. Stop preaching to me. Hold on. Maybe someone is getting a glimpse into God's character that you have yet to peer into. Maybe someone has found purpose and joy worth sharing to you. Andrew had a testimony to share, but Simon was too agitated and consumed with himself to listen. He needed to wake up to what was happening. It wasn't until Simon appreciated the significant role Jesus could play in his life that he turned his heart towards adoration. And all it took was a simple act of obedience. You see, at first Simon was ambivalent about Jesus. But I love how he still had the attitude of, well, nevertheless, let's do it. Sometimes, that's all it takes. Faithless faithfulness is what I like to call it. There's something honest about this entire interaction that Peter has with Jesus. He isn't sure what Jesus is up to, but he obeys nonetheless. You see, God can do a lot with that attitude. He can do a lot with our willingness to obey him, even when we're irritated, doubtful, tired, and aren't sure what's going to come of it. So, even in real life, Deince Peter's faithless faithfulness to obey the instruction of Jesus gave him the opportunity to witness a mere glimpse of his power. And if Jesus can fill Peter's empty nets, maybe he could fill his empty hearts if given the chance. Surely, if this stranger from Nazareth seemed to work with a greater purpose, even this lowly fisherman from Galilee could too. We can trust that God has a special plan. 00:24:22 Speaker 4: For each of our lives. 00:24:24 Speaker 3: While we may not know every single detail of that plan. We can be sure that our purpose of following Jesus, being made more like him and glorifying him along the way will never change, and all it takes is our willingness to follow him with humble hearts of service and gratitude. Perhaps the plan isn't exactly what we expect, or even what we initially hoped for, but we can rest assured that God is in perfect control with each step. May we all experience the glorious intersection of God's grace and our efforts. We can cling tightly to the fact that there is a greater good God wants to accomplish in and through us, while holding loosely to what that looks like precisely. You see, You're not supposed to know every single detail of God's plan. If you knew all of God's plan mapped out from beginning to end, you would just be looking for shortcuts along the way. Jesus doesn't want to just show you the end goal of what you're going to be. He wants you to follow him. He wants to take you along a journey and a process. It doesn't take great skill, eloquence, or charisma. It takes willing hearts and hands. In our story, we also met some fellow fishermen, one of them by the name of John. This man would also become one of Jesus's closest disciples and a prolific leader in the early Church. Eventually he would write these words in First John three to two. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has yet to appear. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. We don't know the specifics of how God will uniquely work in our individual lives, but each of us, from the most socially accepted to the furthest outcast, has been given a purpose and a promise of being made like Jesus if we pursue him. What a glorious purpose that is, a purpose that compels us onward. Our last point here is that it might seem daunting to walk away from the life we know, but it's worth it. Simon and Andrew's nets were empty, and they weren't very good fishermen, clearly, but at least they knew what their life looked like. At least there was a predictability, even if it was predictability and monotony. But to see a change, we have to make a change. We have to stop looking inward to find purpose and identity and begin to look to Jesus. We have to change our perception of what's possible and believe that our God is a god of miracles, and our God can work miracles in our mundane and ineffectual lives. We have to look beyond the mundane to see the splendor of a life lived for and by Jesus. So I encourage you to allow Jesus into your life and leave nothing hidden from him. The more you give him, the more he will change you. God doesn't want to improve you, he wants to give you an entirely new life. And maybe, like Simon, were not perfec But a life of faith is not marked by perfection, but by consistency. Receive God's mercy that are new every morning and take that step of faith today. Failure isn't the end of faith, It's part of the process. So follow Jesus and you might just be surprised at what you'll find if you decide to give him your all. In our next story, we're going to meet another one of Jesus's twelve Disciples. This man is often unseen and unheralded in scripture, but we want to give him some light. It's a man named Nathaniel. Thanks for joining us for the Jesus Podcast. If you haven't yet followed, make sure to do so. That way you never have to miss an episode, and it helps us to get seen by more people. Thanks for making the mission possible. We love that you're here, and we love that you continue this journey with us