WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:02.279 Today, you and I are going to have another one 00:00:02.279 --> 00:00:07.500 of those heart -to -heart talks. And we're going 00:00:07.500 --> 00:00:10.539 to talk about Peter. And I don't believe that 00:00:10.539 --> 00:00:17.399 Peter will mind one bit. I only wish that he 00:00:17.399 --> 00:00:23.140 were right here sitting by my side and he could 00:00:23.140 --> 00:00:27.760 tell it so much better than I can tell it to 00:00:27.760 --> 00:00:30.980 you. And I believe it's just as real to Peter 00:00:30.980 --> 00:00:34.219 this day as it was when it happened. You know, 00:00:34.280 --> 00:00:39.320 Peter had an awful hard time. He had the hardest 00:00:39.320 --> 00:00:44.420 time surrendering himself to the Lord. Now, if 00:00:44.420 --> 00:00:48.420 you get a little discouraged sometimes in being 00:00:48.420 --> 00:00:52.200 able to get to a place where it's the hardest 00:00:52.200 --> 00:00:54.859 thing in the world for you to cut every shoreline, 00:00:55.000 --> 00:01:00.399 it's the hardest thing in the world. to literally 00:01:00.399 --> 00:01:07.540 let go and give the master everything that you 00:01:07.540 --> 00:01:16.079 have just remember that peter had a hard time 00:01:16.079 --> 00:01:21.200 too and up to a certain time in peter's life 00:01:21.200 --> 00:01:26.879 god could not do much with peter Even though 00:01:26.879 --> 00:01:30.219 Peter had followed Jesus and knew his message 00:01:30.219 --> 00:01:36.280 and was called. But God wanted more than that. 00:01:37.379 --> 00:01:40.159 And God wants something more than that from you. 00:01:41.159 --> 00:01:44.739 He'll not be satisfied with just your second 00:01:44.739 --> 00:01:48.579 best. He'll never be satisfied with my second 00:01:48.579 --> 00:01:58.019 best. He wanted Peter. And he could not get all 00:01:58.019 --> 00:02:04.299 of Peter, only through a trial. And so Jesus 00:02:04.299 --> 00:02:10.020 prays him through, and poor Peter feels so humiliated 00:02:10.020 --> 00:02:17.979 and so ashamed. And so in the permissive will 00:02:17.979 --> 00:02:23.060 of God, Peter was thrown very... close to the 00:02:23.060 --> 00:02:27.460 enemy, so close that the enemy can grab hold 00:02:27.460 --> 00:02:32.740 of him and even shake him real good. He's put 00:02:32.740 --> 00:02:38.900 into a sieve, and Jesus knew all about it. And 00:02:38.900 --> 00:02:41.219 I want you to note the tenderness of Jesus as 00:02:41.219 --> 00:02:45.699 he deals with this known weakness of Peter's. 00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:51.580 He helps him as far as he's able. And then Jesus 00:02:51.580 --> 00:02:58.060 says in substance, as it were, Peter, you're 00:02:58.060 --> 00:03:01.080 about to suffer a terrific humiliation and testing. 00:03:02.620 --> 00:03:08.379 And I cannot pray that you be spared this trial. 00:03:09.139 --> 00:03:16.879 I cannot pray that you be spared the ordeal that 00:03:16.879 --> 00:03:19.580 you're about to go through. The Father does not 00:03:19.580 --> 00:03:23.520 give me the liberty to pray for that. I cannot 00:03:23.520 --> 00:03:27.680 pray that you be spared the agony of it. Your 00:03:27.680 --> 00:03:31.699 very nature and your very disposition demands 00:03:31.699 --> 00:03:37.199 that this very treatment and this experience 00:03:37.199 --> 00:03:45.400 be yours. It's the only way I can get all of 00:03:45.400 --> 00:03:51.539 you. However, Peter, I pray one thing, and I 00:03:51.539 --> 00:03:56.599 will pray that with all my power. And my one 00:03:56.599 --> 00:04:03.400 prayer is, I'll pray that your faith fail not. 00:04:04.460 --> 00:04:10.240 I will pray that it may not snap under the terrific 00:04:10.240 --> 00:04:15.460 fire of testing, but that it may come out strengthened. 00:04:17.480 --> 00:04:23.839 And that you'll come forth a power for God. I 00:04:23.839 --> 00:04:27.879 want all of you, Peter. Not just some of you. 00:04:29.079 --> 00:04:35.699 I want all of you. Now we shall better understand 00:04:35.699 --> 00:04:41.300 Peter's mood when the story takes place. When 00:04:41.300 --> 00:04:43.120 the disappointment of Christ's disappearance 00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:47.420 and the failure to bring in the... kingdom settled 00:04:47.420 --> 00:04:50.800 upon the disciples, what did they do? Remember, 00:04:50.959 --> 00:04:54.379 they were men with weaknesses and like passions, 00:04:54.519 --> 00:05:01.620 even as men today. They were not some great saints 00:05:01.620 --> 00:05:06.480 who knew no weaknesses. They were just ordinary 00:05:06.480 --> 00:05:12.279 men. And they did the thing that was perfectly 00:05:12.279 --> 00:05:18.860 natural. perfectly natural thing to do. For when 00:05:18.860 --> 00:05:22.279 your faith cannot bridge the chasm, when it's 00:05:22.279 --> 00:05:25.740 not strong enough to take the step, you'll always 00:05:25.740 --> 00:05:30.899 resort to some natural means of escape. Always. 00:05:32.279 --> 00:05:36.040 That's the way we're made. When faith fails, 00:05:36.259 --> 00:05:39.819 then we begin struggling and working and leaning 00:05:39.819 --> 00:05:44.110 upon the resources of nature. Some are doing 00:05:44.110 --> 00:05:49.290 it this very hour. There are some who have once 00:05:49.290 --> 00:05:53.230 been used mightily of God in a tremendous way. 00:05:54.810 --> 00:06:01.689 And then when their faith began to fail, what 00:06:01.689 --> 00:06:07.490 did they do? Immediately, they began leaning 00:06:07.490 --> 00:06:11.899 upon the resources of nature. And the disciples 00:06:11.899 --> 00:06:15.360 did the very thing. Peter is a spokesman. He 00:06:15.360 --> 00:06:18.500 always was. I know we sometimes ridicule him 00:06:18.500 --> 00:06:21.180 for talking so much, but I'm sure we're glad 00:06:21.180 --> 00:06:26.360 many times that he said what he did. Many times 00:06:26.360 --> 00:06:29.699 he saves us from the trouble of asking or saying 00:06:29.699 --> 00:06:32.819 the very thing that we're happy that he said 00:06:32.819 --> 00:06:36.860 it first. I can imagine Peter looking at the 00:06:36.860 --> 00:06:40.660 rest and saying, Well... And can't you just hear 00:06:40.660 --> 00:06:44.800 him? This kingdom business has not turned out 00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:48.579 as I had expected. And I had just been thinking, 00:06:48.699 --> 00:06:54.480 fellas, don't you remember the day that the Lord 00:06:54.480 --> 00:06:59.279 said, the kingdom of God cometh not with observation? 00:06:59.560 --> 00:07:02.459 And then remember again, he said something like 00:07:02.459 --> 00:07:09.019 this, the kingdom is within you. Then see now 00:07:09.019 --> 00:07:13.319 how he's died and he's gone and he's left us. 00:07:14.819 --> 00:07:17.839 Now he has shown himself twice, but how do we 00:07:17.839 --> 00:07:21.040 know if he'll ever come back again? We have no 00:07:21.040 --> 00:07:24.860 assurance. We have no security. This kingdom, 00:07:24.860 --> 00:07:29.639 it seems to me, is too mystical. And I never 00:07:29.639 --> 00:07:34.800 was mystically inclined. I guess I don't understand 00:07:34.800 --> 00:07:40.379 it. But I do know something about fishing. So 00:07:40.379 --> 00:07:44.259 as for me, I'm going fishing. Now you fellas 00:07:44.259 --> 00:07:48.560 can do as you like. It's none of my business 00:07:48.560 --> 00:07:50.800 what you do, but I know what I'm going to do. 00:07:52.199 --> 00:07:57.639 I'm going fishing. This whole kingdom idea is 00:07:57.639 --> 00:08:03.160 exploded. It's ended in a crash. I may have gotten 00:08:03.160 --> 00:08:08.560 some kind of emotionalism. I'm going back to 00:08:08.560 --> 00:08:14.939 my nets. Going back fishing. That is exactly 00:08:14.939 --> 00:08:21.480 why Peter went fishing that day. It was not because 00:08:21.480 --> 00:08:26.879 he really wanted to go fishing. Not really. It 00:08:26.879 --> 00:08:29.199 was not because he thought the fish would bite. 00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:34.519 It was something worse than that. I really do 00:08:34.519 --> 00:08:38.120 not think he cared much. Whether there were any 00:08:38.120 --> 00:08:41.639 fish in the sea that day, he just wanted to get 00:08:41.639 --> 00:08:47.220 away. Away. As far away as he could possibly 00:08:47.220 --> 00:08:50.379 get from the whole thought, the whole atmosphere 00:08:50.379 --> 00:08:52.940 of the past years and days. I'm talking to somebody 00:08:52.940 --> 00:08:57.940 right now. Who's run away. Uh -huh. You went 00:08:57.940 --> 00:09:01.559 to Montana. You went to North Dakota. You went 00:09:01.559 --> 00:09:05.019 to Arizona. Oh, you said it was for your health, 00:09:05.059 --> 00:09:11.570 but not really. So Peter went fishing. He didn't 00:09:11.570 --> 00:09:14.850 want to be haunted by too many thoughts and suggestions 00:09:14.850 --> 00:09:18.470 from his friends. He wanted a change of environment. 00:09:19.990 --> 00:09:24.029 Do any of you know what I'm talking about? Sure 00:09:24.029 --> 00:09:29.590 you do. Instantly, the other fellow said, okay, 00:09:29.909 --> 00:09:36.070 we'll go too. That sounds good to us. You've 00:09:36.070 --> 00:09:38.190 always been a leader. There seems to be nothing 00:09:38.190 --> 00:09:42.370 else to do, and so we'll go along. They too probably 00:09:42.370 --> 00:09:48.129 wanted a change, but didn't own up to it. I wonder 00:09:48.129 --> 00:09:52.389 what the precious Lord read in their hearts just 00:09:52.389 --> 00:10:00.669 then. And so there they are, fishing. Fishing. 00:10:02.480 --> 00:10:06.899 The night settled down and they fish on and on. 00:10:07.220 --> 00:10:11.820 And what the angels thought looking down. Seeing 00:10:11.820 --> 00:10:21.440 them out fishing. It comes one o 'clock. No fish. 00:10:22.120 --> 00:10:29.720 Two o 'clock. Still no fish. They try every old 00:10:29.720 --> 00:10:34.220 hunt that they've ever known. This point, that 00:10:34.220 --> 00:10:38.759 bank, this little cove, all the old holes they've 00:10:38.759 --> 00:10:45.799 been in before. It's cold. The nets are heavy, 00:10:45.820 --> 00:10:48.639 and that night me thinks they were a little heavier 00:10:48.639 --> 00:10:51.919 than they've ever been. They were a little harder 00:10:51.919 --> 00:10:59.340 to handle. Those nets you're carrying are getting 00:10:59.340 --> 00:11:02.639 pretty heavy, you know it. they're getting a 00:11:02.639 --> 00:11:08.039 little hard to handle. Oh, the emptiness of it 00:11:08.039 --> 00:11:12.399 all. Did you ever walk over the old pass? Have 00:11:12.399 --> 00:11:14.299 you felt the haunting spirit of such a place? 00:11:16.559 --> 00:11:20.120 We read that they fished all night and caught 00:11:20.120 --> 00:11:25.399 nothing. But listen, the scripture says, but 00:11:25.399 --> 00:11:31.659 when the morning was now come, Jesus... stood 00:11:31.659 --> 00:11:41.320 on the shore. Morning will come. Oh, haven't 00:11:41.320 --> 00:11:44.799 you been through many a dark night without fish 00:11:44.799 --> 00:11:50.320 so by? Oh, and those hours are so long. We feel 00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:53.759 that morning will never come. Have you ever had 00:11:53.759 --> 00:11:56.600 the same feeling that I've had? That morning 00:11:56.600 --> 00:12:03.179 would never, never come? But morning will come. 00:12:03.759 --> 00:12:07.419 And the scripture says, but when the morning 00:12:07.419 --> 00:12:12.399 was now come, Jesus stood on the shore, and he'll 00:12:12.399 --> 00:12:17.740 always be on your shore when morning comes. Thank 00:12:17.740 --> 00:12:24.539 God there's always a morning. There they are, 00:12:24.600 --> 00:12:27.559 wretched, forlorn, unhappy, disheartened little 00:12:27.559 --> 00:12:31.039 group. They had no business in that boat at all, 00:12:31.139 --> 00:12:35.360 for he had called them from their nets to make 00:12:35.360 --> 00:12:38.759 them fishers of men. They were doing the very 00:12:38.759 --> 00:12:45.980 thing that he had called them from, out of. The 00:12:45.980 --> 00:12:48.720 night cannot last too long. Finally, there's 00:12:48.720 --> 00:12:50.500 a faint streak of light over against the hills 00:12:50.500 --> 00:12:53.179 and continues growing. a little lighter and a 00:12:53.179 --> 00:12:55.440 little lighter. The mist and the fog are hanging 00:12:55.440 --> 00:12:58.720 along the shore so that only a dim outline of 00:12:58.720 --> 00:13:01.600 things is visible. But as they look, they can 00:13:01.600 --> 00:13:05.820 see someone moving. And finally, they hear a 00:13:05.820 --> 00:13:16.360 voice calling. Children! Children! Have you any 00:13:16.360 --> 00:13:22.019 meat? In other words, Jesus was saying, Have 00:13:22.019 --> 00:13:26.240 you caught anything, children? He knew good and 00:13:26.240 --> 00:13:30.080 well they hadn't caught even a minnow. He knew 00:13:30.080 --> 00:13:35.539 that. But he took the initiative and asked them 00:13:35.539 --> 00:13:41.779 the question. Why not scold them? Why not rebuke 00:13:41.779 --> 00:13:46.600 them? They'd failed the master. They'd failed 00:13:46.600 --> 00:13:53.039 him. There was cause for rebuke. Do they not 00:13:53.039 --> 00:13:59.919 need to be lined up one at a time, being rebuked 00:13:59.919 --> 00:14:05.600 for having failed? How many of you think that 00:14:05.600 --> 00:14:09.419 Jesus did not know about the boat, or if they 00:14:09.419 --> 00:14:12.460 had any fish or not? If, for a moment, you think 00:14:12.460 --> 00:14:15.779 he just asked merely for information, you're 00:14:15.779 --> 00:14:20.250 mistaken. He had in mind the blessing of a deliverance 00:14:20.250 --> 00:14:24.190 and the reinstating of Peter and his commission. 00:14:25.009 --> 00:14:28.629 But he must first ask them this question. He 00:14:28.629 --> 00:14:31.409 must build the blessing upon a certain foundation, 00:14:31.490 --> 00:14:36.370 and that foundation is a confession. And he's 00:14:36.370 --> 00:14:38.970 working on you this very hour for that confession. 00:14:40.769 --> 00:14:46.750 He's waiting for that confession. That is the 00:14:46.750 --> 00:14:51.649 foundation for all forgiveness. There can be 00:14:51.649 --> 00:14:54.850 no forgiveness until, first of all, there is 00:14:54.850 --> 00:14:58.269 confession. And the hardest thing in the world 00:14:58.269 --> 00:15:02.870 for human nature to do is to say, I'm sorry. 00:15:05.789 --> 00:15:10.490 I've seen little children. You can punish a youngster. 00:15:13.480 --> 00:15:20.899 And a youngster will refuse to say, I'm sorry. 00:15:20.919 --> 00:15:23.240 And there's many a man and many a woman this 00:15:23.240 --> 00:15:30.139 very hour who would rather go to hell than to 00:15:30.139 --> 00:15:34.100 say, I'm sorry. And there's some people to whom 00:15:34.100 --> 00:15:38.059 I'm speaking have never in their lives ever said, 00:15:38.159 --> 00:15:49.639 I'm sorry. Yeah, that's right. There's a certain 00:15:49.639 --> 00:15:56.559 foundation that the master builds upon, and that's 00:15:56.559 --> 00:16:01.539 the foundation of a confession. It's the basis 00:16:01.539 --> 00:16:05.179 for all blessing. If you have learned that wonderful 00:16:05.179 --> 00:16:07.799 secret of coming into his presence and saying, 00:16:07.940 --> 00:16:12.759 I'm sorry, you've learned. One of the greatest 00:16:12.759 --> 00:16:17.940 spiritual lessons there is to learn. And it takes 00:16:17.940 --> 00:16:20.840 a big person to say I'm sorry. You're showing 00:16:20.840 --> 00:16:27.340 no weakness whatsoever in saying I'm sorry. It's 00:16:27.340 --> 00:16:33.320 little people. It's small people who cannot say 00:16:33.320 --> 00:16:38.379 I'm sorry. It's insecure people who cannot say 00:16:38.379 --> 00:16:44.840 I'm sorry. Jesus knew all the circumstances, 00:16:45.039 --> 00:16:48.120 but he wanted this one thing, a confession of 00:16:48.120 --> 00:16:51.259 their defeat, a confession of their failure in 00:16:51.259 --> 00:16:54.220 their own self -will. He wanted them to own up 00:16:54.220 --> 00:16:58.019 to the failure. He wanted them to say just one 00:16:58.019 --> 00:17:08.299 word, nothing. Children, little children, do 00:17:08.299 --> 00:17:13.490 you have meat? He knew they didn't have anything. 00:17:13.849 --> 00:17:19.650 He saw to that. He wanted just one word from 00:17:19.650 --> 00:17:23.630 them, one word of confession, that simple word, 00:17:23.710 --> 00:17:29.450 nothing. Oh, how much better to make a clean 00:17:29.450 --> 00:17:35.009 breast of it than to say, if the wind had not 00:17:35.009 --> 00:17:38.109 flapped the sails, or if so -and -so had not 00:17:38.109 --> 00:17:41.599 rocked the boat. I think we may have caught something. 00:17:42.880 --> 00:17:47.440 Or if they put the blame on somebody else. Thank 00:17:47.440 --> 00:17:52.359 God they said in just one simple word, nothing. 00:17:53.839 --> 00:17:57.140 And as soon as he gets this confession, he builds 00:17:57.140 --> 00:18:01.180 up a blessing and he directs them as to what 00:18:01.180 --> 00:18:04.279 they're to do. And now in obedience, they're 00:18:04.279 --> 00:18:08.349 fishing in the very same boat. They're fishing 00:18:08.349 --> 00:18:11.809 in the very same water, with the very same nets, 00:18:12.029 --> 00:18:17.609 in the very same place, but oh, what a change. 00:18:18.150 --> 00:18:25.049 What a change after their confession. What a 00:18:25.049 --> 00:18:30.369 change a confession will make. What a confession 00:18:30.369 --> 00:18:35.740 will do in that life of yours. You don't have 00:18:35.740 --> 00:18:38.640 to run from circumstances. You don't have to 00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:43.180 run from God. You don't have to run from the 00:18:43.180 --> 00:18:46.759 family. You don't have to run off to Arizona. 00:18:46.960 --> 00:18:49.500 You don't have to run off to Mexico. You don't 00:18:49.500 --> 00:18:51.680 have to run off to the east. You don't have to 00:18:51.680 --> 00:18:56.559 run to the neighbors. Just make that one confession. 00:18:58.140 --> 00:19:08.069 I'm sorry. What do you have? Nothing. Nothing. 00:19:08.069 --> 00:19:10.529 After that concession, do you want to know something? 00:19:10.849 --> 00:19:16.349 The fish just could not get into the nets fast 00:19:16.349 --> 00:19:21.410 enough. Sometimes I think every fish tried to 00:19:21.410 --> 00:19:29.450 get into those nets. Yeah. Oh, how wise, how 00:19:29.450 --> 00:19:35.319 tactful Jesus is. How delicately, how carefully 00:19:35.319 --> 00:19:39.599 he handles Peter. Even though Jesus is tender 00:19:39.599 --> 00:19:42.380 and tactful, he does not intend to let Peter 00:19:42.380 --> 00:19:47.579 get biased, we say. He never does. His very love 00:19:47.579 --> 00:19:51.599 is manifested in correction. He loves Peter dearly. 00:19:51.720 --> 00:19:54.119 He's going to deal with him in a most clever, 00:19:54.299 --> 00:19:58.319 the sweetest way possible without causing him 00:19:58.319 --> 00:20:02.190 embarrassment before his fellow disciples. He'll 00:20:02.190 --> 00:20:05.430 not cause you embarrassment. He'll never cause 00:20:05.430 --> 00:20:08.730 me embarrassment. Never. Jesus doesn't work like 00:20:08.730 --> 00:20:14.930 that. Never. He'll so deal with Peter that he'll 00:20:14.930 --> 00:20:17.730 never forget it. And Peter never did forget it. 00:20:18.390 --> 00:20:20.809 And so the Lord has some coals of fire and fish 00:20:20.809 --> 00:20:23.289 for them. And as the disciples come up, I can 00:20:23.289 --> 00:20:26.349 imagine the Lord say, Peter, won't you just come 00:20:26.349 --> 00:20:31.990 and warm yourself? Here's a very fine fire. You 00:20:31.990 --> 00:20:34.730 must be cold and damp, Peter. Come and sit by 00:20:34.730 --> 00:20:44.190 me. And he came. And he answered for the first 00:20:44.190 --> 00:20:46.470 time with all of his heart when the master asked 00:20:46.470 --> 00:20:51.529 him, Lovest thou me, Peter? For the first time, 00:20:51.529 --> 00:20:57.549 Peter answered it with his whole being, body, 00:20:57.650 --> 00:20:59.710 soul. and spirit.