Four times, Jesus called to Peter. At the lake of Gennesare, Peter said to Jesus, “Go away from me, Lord, I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8) This is the moment when Peter truly knew God. Lord said to him, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” (Luke 5:10) When we see how glory God is and how unworthy we are, God can use us better, and we can be a better fisher of men. By the sea of Tiberias, Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love me?” For the first two times, Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” But for the third time, he answered, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Our God knows all things, and He is almighty. He has the power and sovereignty, yet He never forces us. He gives us total freedom. This is the greatness of our God; He has the might, but never forces upon us. Unlike men, we often forces others although we don’t have the power.
After Jesus was crucified, all the disciples went back to their old lives and business disappointedly. Just when they gained nothing via their effort, Jesus showed Himself to them again. Not only did Jesus gave them nest-full of fishes, He also set a fire and made bread and fish for them on the shore. Often we are like those disciples; we leave God whenever we face difficulties or feel that we are wronged, and we go back onto our old path and leave our old lives. Thank God, for He has never given up on us. He is always searching for us. He leads and provides us with grace so that we can recognize Him and acknowledge, once again, His sovereignty upon our lives.
Oftentimes, Christians are weak because they are blinded by the enemy. Sometimes we may be so proud that we think we can do God’s work on our own. Sometime we may consider ourselves too lowly that we think we are helpless, and we dare not go to church and we are not willing to approach God. These are all lies of Satan. God not only knows our weaknesses, He knows them better than we do. So, let’s not either consider ourselves too highly or lowly; we should see ourselves appropriately in God. No one is strong, we all get our strengths from God. So those truly know God will be able to praise Him whether in favorable or unfavorable circumstances, whether on the mountain or in the valley.
John said, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” (John 21:25) The Creator is far too great to be accommodated in this world. We may put our lives’ effort into it, but we will never be able to recount Him completely. So great a God, surprisingly, are willing to take a human form on this earth in order to save us. Also, He bestows Holy Spirit upon us to open our mind so that we can know and understand Him. How blessed we all are!
Message by Elder Yeh / Summary and response by Jim Lin
