Followed of God

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.

4 But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.

5 Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.
 Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.

12 Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.

I am not sure about you, but I find this text to be a very beautiful one indeed. Here Simon Peter, the same one that denied the Lord, has once again made a very executive decision. Perhaps he has forgotten how Jesus once called him off the boat, from among the nets, and out of the wreckage of his former life. As wonderful as the disciples hopes and dreams once were, it seems they found their fulfillment in Christ himself. So he called them in to come follow himself where he too would make them fishers of men. It is not so strange for Christ to come to seek and to save the lost. Nor is it yet such a strange thing for him to redeem the hopes and desires of men. For when Christ came, he came unto all even to the lost sheep of his house. See, some had gotten carried off and some had gotten lost on their own way. But how many know that he keeps all his whole house. It is not just some of it, part of it, or even a few. Notice as he changes their desires from one thing to the next. For it reflects the shift between this world to eternity, a new perspective or the gift of a different set of eyes. Yet here Simon Peter has denied the Lord only to go back again onto the boat to chase the ashes of his shattered dreams. Since his fishers of men teacher had died and with it his faith denied, it seems he is in a bad state indeed. See too how the focus shifts as the things of Heaven and of others are soon forgot. Like Mary Magdalene found, the Lord had indeed been taken, not by someone else but rather by themselves. See how the devil would love to shift your perspective and cloud your thinking. Perhaps he can even make you forget about Christ and his things as you with him wander off. Notice that Simon Peter had not gone alone. His example caused others to follow back after him too. Now you can call it backsliding or whatever you please. But how many remember the time the Lord showed them his own. See, the disciples, now that followed themselves, had gone out into the boat only to catch nothing. When you go out in your own power, under your own purpose, with your own authority, small wonder then that there are little results. Then so many of you complain that the church is dead and dying because it lacks all power. No my friends, you simply lack all of the Lord. Then dawn comes again to find an unfamiliar figure standing on the distant shore. Well might the disciples ought to have known him for they saw him many times before. Yet now their eyesight is dim, their understanding darkened. It is a sad state indeed when the church and God’s people have lost their vision. Without recognizing the Lord, anyone could have shown up, called ‘children’ and gotten a response. Notice how the slide to apostasy starts with denying the Lord, going astray, and in it being carried on off. But thank God for his mercy that he uses even the humblest of his saints, those that denied him and once had been made the fishers of men. Should you ask the Lord where he stayed, he would tell ought of his dreams save only to come and see. Notice now there’s the shift. The Lord in his mercy it seems just won’t leave his children alone and thank God for that. Here the Lord tells the disciples for once to do as he bids. Maybe just maybe in their deepest, darkest hearts his sheep really do know his voice, hear him, and so do follow him. Then again, notice the result. There was more fish than could ever be caught alone under anyone's power save that they had followed the Lord. How good God is who restores our dreams and mends all things broken over again.