Good morning. I’d like to ask you to turn with me, please, to Matthew 4. We’ll read from a few familiar stories, beginning with Matthew 4:18-22.
And walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers.
And He saith unto them, Come after Me, and I will make you fishers of men.
And they, having left their trawl-nets, immediately followed Him.
And going on thence, He saw other two brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the ship with Zebedee their father, mending their trawl-nets; and He called them.
And they, having left the ship and their father, immediately followed Him.
Turn with me to Matthew 16. I’ll begin in verse 13—a story you all know: the revelation that came to Peter.
But when Jesus was come into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, He demanded of His disciples, saying, Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?
And they said, Some, John the Baptist; and others, Elias; and others again, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.
He saith unto them, But ye, who do ye say that I am?
And Simon Peter answering said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answering said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father Who is in the heavens.
And I also say unto thee, Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens; and whatsoever thou mayest bind upon the earth shall be bound in the heavens, and whatsoever thou mayest loose upon the earth shall be loosed in the heavens.
Then He enjoined on His disciples that they should say to no man that He was the Christ.
From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go away to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised.
And Peter, taking Him to him, began to rebuke Him, saying, God be favorable to Thee, Lord; this shall in no wise be unto Thee.
But He, turning round, said to Peter, Get away behind Me, Satan; thou art an offence to Me, for thy mind is not on the things that are of God, but the things that are of men.
And the final familiar story is in John 21. I think you all know this story. I’ll begin in verse 15.
When therefore they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me more than these?
He saith unto Him, Yea, Lord; Thou knowest that I am attached to Thee.
He saith unto him, Feed My lambs.
He saith to him again a second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me?
He saith unto Him, Yea, Lord; Thou knowest that I am attached to Thee.
He saith unto him, Shepherd My sheep.
He saith to him a third time, Simon, son of Jonas, art thou attached to Me?
Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, Art thou attached to Me? And he said unto Him, Lord, Thou knowest all things; Thou knowest that I am attached to Thee.
Jesus saith unto him, Feed My sheep.
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst where thou desiredst; but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and bring thee where thou dost not desire.
But He said this, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And having said this, He saith unto him, Follow Me.
Now, Lord, we once again bring Your Word to You. Lord, how we desire to hear Your Word. How we desire that our spirits would be open to what the Holy Spirit is saying to the churches.
Lord, You alone have the words of eternal life. We wait upon You, and we call out in the name of Jesus that You would grant us both an anointing to speak and that same anointing to hear what the Spirit is saying. We are utterly dependent on You, and we’re waiting before You that You would open Your Word, and that Your Word would accomplish what You send it forth to do, according to Your promise. For we ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Well, I think it’s obvious that what’s on my heart is Peter. I’ve lately been burdened with the life of Peter. I think there’s one thing that all of us recognize when we read the Gospels in particular, and even when we read the first fifteen chapters of the book of Acts: Peter takes a prominent place in Scripture.
You’d be hard-pressed to read the Word of God and not identify that one singular fact. It seems to me that Peter actually occupies the most prominent place among all of the disciples. Some people say he’s the most outspoken. Some people say he’s the most belligerent. Some people might even say that he was the most difficult for the Lord. Certainly, people say he was presumptuous at times.
But in all of this, we see one singular fact, and that is: Peter is prominent throughout the Gospels. Then, when we come to the early life of the church in Acts, we see the same one, Peter, who is prominent in the life of the church.
I don’t know if you’ve ever thought, why is that? Why does Peter occupy such a prominent place? Why does Peter always seem to be the spokesman? Why is Peter always, it seems, putting his foot in his mouth? What is it about Peter?
I believe that we see Peter as a living illustration of what God wants in every man. If we only see the historical Peter, we miss the point. But if we see in the life of Peter lessons—and that these lessons aren’t just things that Peter himself went through, but are lessons for you and lessons for me—then we see that God’s purpose for you and me is no different than God’s purpose for Peter.
God’s dealings with you and me are no different than how He dealt with Peter. God’s end for you and me is no different than for Peter. I think we need to see something of the lessons of the life of Peter, and then we’ll be helped.
I think these fall into three categories. Now, I know you could put it a different way, and maybe you could put it better, but these are the things that, as I was burdened and waiting before the Lord, came to me.
The first thing we see about Peter is that he is called. That’s the first thing. As a matter of fact, the first time we see Peter is his calling. Peter stands for one who is called.
Now, don’t you think, brothers and sisters, all of us are called? Do you think this story is just because Peter is called? I believe the truth is that we’re all called. He’s a living illustration of what it means to be called.
But not only that, he’s a living illustration of what it means to be conformed. I often wondered, why does Peter go through such extreme highs and extreme lows? You might think, one moment Peter is in the heavens, and the next moment he seems to be in the pit. One moment he’s exalted with his great revelation, and the next moment the Lord says, “Get behind Me, Satan.”
What extremes Peter seems to go through. I believe all these extremes are for a reason: God is dealing with this man. God is conforming this man to the image of the Lord Jesus.
From the beginning of his call, God takes up a work with this man, and He begins to work in him—transforming, conforming, and bringing him into the image of the Lord Jesus. Now, I think that’s a lesson we should learn. That’s what the Christian life is all about: we are to be conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus.
But there’s another lesson I think we should learn from his life. That lesson comes, I think, primarily in the story of John 21. In the end, it seems Peter is a broken man. You can’t read this story without sensing some of what Peter feels when he says, “Lord, Thou knowest all things.” He was grieved in spirit.
You can’t read it without sensing it. And there is a lesson. The lesson is, “Peter, all the calling for, all the conforming, was so that you would be captured—captured.”
You wonder what the catch is in John 21. You remember, all night they fished, and there was no catch. You remember the Lord Jesus appeared out on the shore, and He says, “What have you got out there?” You remember the story.
These great, experienced fishermen, who knew the sea like the back of their hand, said, “Nothing.” I tell you, my dad used to be a fisherman. Once in a while, he dragged me out to fish. I hated it. I used to bake in the sun like a baked potato—me and my fair blonde hair and white, albino German skin. The only consolation was that I had all the Coke I could drink and all I could eat. I hated it.
Don’t miss the lesson. Don’t miss the lesson: Peter, you are the catch. You’re what I want to catch.
This is how you catch: put the net on the right side. And they hauled the haul in. It says some two hundred fishes. They could hardly get it to shore. And then the catch was already prepared.
I hope you get the story. Do you think it was really about fish? I don’t think it was about fish. I think it was about catching Peter.
The end of God is that He would catch every one of us—that you would be so captured, that you would be so caught, that you would be so taken by Him that you could say, “I’m only Yours, Lord.” That’s the end of the work of God.
So, you follow? Everybody got the three Cs? John gave me grief Wednesday night about my alliteration. Does everybody understand, at least, the version? We are called—that’s what Peter stands for. We’re to be conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus. And in the end, the whole point, the whole purpose, is that we would be captured for Christ.
This, to me, seems to be the life lessons.
Paul said, when he describes himself in Romans 1:1, “Paul, a bondman of Jesus Christ.” He was captured. A bondman of Jesus Christ, a called apostle.
He went on to write to those in Rome, in Romans 1:6-7:
Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ: to all that are in Rome, beloved of God, called saints.
It’s not just about Peter. It’s not just about Paul. You are called saints. In fact, forgive me for that little slip—you know what I mean. You are called saints.
You can drive a Catholic priest crazy if you want to. You don’t need two miracles to be assigned to you. You don’t need to go through this long canonization process. You don’t need to be looked at by every high one in the church. You are called a saint from the beginning. Just the next time you see a priest, say, “Hello, I’m Saint Bob.”
Calling is such an important lesson—such a first lesson. But we need to learn this lesson. The second one is: conformed.
You know, I wonder about all the stories about Peter. Think briefly about that one in Matthew 16. Can you think of a greater height of revelation than Peter had? He had the very heart of God revealed to him. Even the Lord Jesus had to say:
Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but My Father Who is in the heavens.
Blessed! Such heights. But you read afterwards that the Lord Jesus began to say He had to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things of the priests, and there He would be killed. What did Peter do?
It says Peter literally took hold of Him. Can you imagine? Peter took hold of Him, pulled Him unto himself. Can you imagine the scene, just for a moment? “Lord,” pulling Him right up, “God be favorable to Thee. This shouldn’t happen to Thee.”
And the Lord Jesus said, “Get thee behind Me, Satan.”
Now, I’ve been called many things—most of them justified—but I’ve never been called Satan, at least unless you’re keeping a secret from me. What heights! What depths! What is the reason? God is dealing with this man.
God is dealing with this man. God is conforming him to His image. He doesn’t know the ways of the Lord. As a matter of fact, he was standing in the way of the Lord. “God be favorable to Thee.”
I think of the story that follows in the next chapter, Matthew 17. You all know it: the Mount of Transfiguration. There is not a more glorious moment for a Jew to experience. I’m telling you, this was it.
There on that mount, the Lord Jesus appeared, talking about His departure, and He was transformed in their very presence. His glory finally broke out of the shell, and there He was seen. The Word says, in some places, as fuller’s soap, with such brightness.
And there Moses and Elias appeared to Him. Peter thought this was the greatest moment of his life. You remember what Peter said. He blurted out, “Lord, it’s good that we should be here. Let us build three tabernacles: one for Moses, one for Elias, and one for You.”
Now, he probably meant the biggest one for the Lord. But God rebuked him. Now, God doesn’t normally do that. I don’t know if you recognize this as an unusual occurrence, but God Himself rent the heavens and spoke out and rebuked the apostle.
A lot of people say, “God spoke to me.” As a matter of fact—can I divert just a moment? One of my little pet peeves: there are a lot of folks who say God has spoken to them with conviction. “He’s told me to do this. He’s told me to do that.”
I always say, “Then you ought to do it.” If God spoke to you, you ought to do it. If He said, “God spoke to me to jump off the Manchester Bridge,” you ought to do it—always with a twinkle in my eye.
Did God speak? That’s the issue. I think we ought to be careful with that word. I think it would be better to say, “It seems to me that I’m sensing something that may be from the Lord. Do you witness to it? Do you bear witness to it?” Lest we be independent and fall in our own wisdom.
Well, that’s the point. But here God did speak. God rent the heavens, and He came down. He even interrupted Peter. It says, “While he was yet speaking,” God said:
This is My beloved Son; hear Him.
Such highs, it seems to me; such lows. I believe the whole point is that he is being conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus.
Well, I could go on, but I hope you’re following. Finally, I’ve already shared with you something about that last story in the Gospels, John 21. I believe the heart of that story, it seems to me, is the simple lesson: Peter is the catch.
Have you ever thought about that? Because He says to Peter—after He grieves him, and Peter is grieved—Peter says, “Lord, Thou knowest all things. Thou knowest I’m attached to Thee.”
He couldn’t say, “I love Thee with God’s love.” The Lord twice said that to him: “Do you love Me with agape love?” Peter could say, “Lord, I’m attached to Thee.” Then finally the Lord says, “Art thou attached to Me?” And Peter was grieved. He says, “Lord, Thou knowest all things. I am attached to Thee.”
Then I think the lesson comes out. If you read John 21, let’s go back. I’ll just read that verse. I hope this means something to you, because I want to set the stage for these three messages that are on my heart.
This is the end of the story in John 21:18:
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst where thou desiredst; but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and bring thee where thou dost not desire.
But He said this, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And having said this, He saith unto him, Follow Me.
I don’t think this is just about Peter’s death. I think this is the lesson: “Peter, all the dealings have been to capture your heart.”
One person put it like this: He wants to possess us, not our possessions. I think that’s wisdom.
Some people are afraid to come to the Lord because they think they have to give up everything. God’s not interested in your possessions. He Who owns the cattle on a thousand hills—what do you have that you can give Him? That’s not the point. You’ve missed the point.
But your heart—He’s after it. To capture, to arrest your being, to take you captive as a prisoner, that you could say, like Paul said in Ephesians, “I, the prisoner of the Lord.” That’s the end of all the work of conforming us to the image of the Lord Jesus.
Peter’s the catch. So, you get it? What are the three Cs? Oh, come on, you could not have forgotten. Okay, you’re going to remember that, right? Little handles help. I hope you remember that.
So let’s begin with the first one. I’ll try to share some—I don’t know how far I’ll get—about calling. Then, some other time, I’ll share on conforming, and maybe again on captured. We’ll look at what the Lord has for us.
Turn back with me to Matthew 4, the beginning of this story, the beginning of this scene, the very first scene of Peter.
You know, Peter is the first of the apostles called. Not only is he the first called, he is first in every list of all the apostles written in the Word of God. He’s always mentioned first: Peter. He represents calling.
Now, let’s go back to Matthew 4:18:
And walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers. And He saith unto them, Come after Me, and I will make you fishers of men.
It says in the latter part of verse 21, after speaking of Peter and Andrew and James and John, “And He called them.” This is the call of Peter. It is the unmistakable first issue, or first lesson, in the life of the apostle Peter: calling.
There’s no other way to look at it. The first issue that God has with Peter is this one of being called. The first issue He has with you and me is our calling.
Now, what is calling? I think this is a big question. I think we have to ask each other what calling is. This is a very big issue. Do we know what calling is?
I believe we might be tempted to think calling is being called unto some special service, special work, special ministry, or special endeavor. I don’t know—bear with me for a moment. Do you ever have that thought?
We often speak of folks who are called, and what are we speaking of? We think of a ministry. “I am called. They may be called.” Don’t take this where I don’t mean it, but calling here is not a call to a ministry.
Listen to this very carefully. As He was walking by the sea, He said, “Come. Follow Me.” You see the difference? We are called to a Person.
People think of Acts 13:2:
Separate unto Me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
I believe in special calling. Don’t go away from me and say Kenny doesn’t believe there’s calling in that way. The Lord may call you that way. But I believe this calling is: “Come. Follow Me.”
This is the essential calling for every believer:
Come. Follow Me.
We’re often work-centered, and I think that’s what’s wrong with much of Christianity. We’re often work-centered, and we’re not person-centered.
In the first place, calling is to be unto a Person. We are called unto the Lord Jesus. It’s not only us that have had this mistaken impression; it’s the world.
I remember, I preached at my father-in-law and mother-in-law’s funerals. My partners were at those funerals, my father-in-law’s in particular, and one of my partners said to me, “You missed your calling.”
So I tease him. I still tease him about that. “So, you either want to get rid of me as a partner, or you’ve got a wrong impression.”
We are called unto the Lord Jesus. Those are two of the most beautiful words in all of Scripture. The way the King James puts it is just simply these two words: “Follow Me.”
That’s the whole of it. There may be work to do. There may be a special ministry. But the bottom line is this: you are called to the Person of the Lord Jesus.
I remember when I was first saved in 1972, everybody who showed promise had a special calling. That was what we did. They wanted to ship us all off to Bible school—every one of us. I think if we showed any life, we had a calling. It’s a wrong understanding of calling in the first place.
I don’t want to make too much of this, but I don’t want to make too little of this, because we’re always called to be person-focused. Out of being person-focused, there may be a special calling. Here we see it in the apostles’ lives: called to be fishers of men. But the first call was, “Come. Follow Me.”
These are basic lessons. This is our first step. This is what God is after.
You read in Matthew 11:28-30 that same thing to all:
Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.
The first call is always unto a Person.
I think our first reaction is to think of work. God’s first reaction is, “Learn of Me.” Isn’t it interesting: “Ye shall find rest unto your souls”? Isn’t it interesting that we are first called to rest, not to work?
Isn’t it interesting, at the creation in Genesis, man was created on the sixth day, and then what happened on the seventh day? There was rest.
We’re not created first for work. We’re created for rest in the Lord Jesus. I hope that’s not too abstract. Oh, we’re getting people to work; we wear them out. “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly, and ye shall find rest unto your soul.”
This is calling.
I think we tend to think calling is a special calling in a special place—as long as it’s not here.
There’s a story of King Henry III of Bavaria. He felt he was tired of being a king. Can you imagine? Oh, you’d love to be a king. He was tired of all the glory of being a monarch, and he went to a monastery.
He said to Prior Richard, “I’m going to give it all up. I’m going to give every bit of it up. I just want to come into this monastery, and I want to live in complete obedience.”
Prior Richard had great wisdom. He said, “You know you’re a king.” Henry III said, “Yeah, I’m a king.” He said, “You know, you can have trouble being obedient.” And he said, “Oh, no, no, no. I’ll be obedient to whatever you say. Don’t worry about that.”
He said, “Okay. Calling is obedience. Do this: go back to your throne. Be the king God has called you to be. You’re called in that place. Stay in that place.”
What is your calling? We often want to escape and go to that special place. Now, I believe God calls people out. Thank God for the millions He has called out to serve. Thank God for their impact on the people of God and the peoples of this world.
But first of all, calling is unto the Person. And if we miss that first point, we miss everything. Go back and learn what calling means where I have called you.
Are you a teacher? Learn what calling means. Are you a housewife? Learn what calling means. Are you a taxi driver? Learn there what it means to be in obedience to the Lord Jesus. Learn where He put you.
We are called unto Him. I think that’s one of the main points—certainly one of the burdens that’s on my heart that I would like to get off. It’s first being called unto a Person.
It’s not about religion. It’s not about doctrine. We believe in doctrine. It’s not about any of these things. It’s about being called unto Jesus.
I have a sign—and I’ve mentioned this before—that I put on our refrigerator, and I have it in my office. It’s the only sign there. It says:
Christianity is not do’s and don’ts. It is not a religion. It is not a denomination. It is not a faith, but it is a living Person: the Lord Jesus Christ.
That’s what calling is all about. May the Lord open our eyes to see what calling is all about.
There’s a beautiful story—I love it—about this dear old lady who herself was a walking Bible. Dr. Gordon tells this story of her. One of her favorite verses—you’ll know this verse—is 2 Timothy 1:12:
I know Whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.
One of her favorite verses. As she aged, and her memory was not so clear—that happens, you know. I’m afraid of what it’s going to be like where I am now. Things begin to fade.
This verse stayed with her: “I know Whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I committed to Him against that day.”
Years went on, and she began to fail. All she said was, “I know Whom I believe.” That’s all she could remember. “I know Whom I believe, and He is able.”
At the end, she got on her deathbed. The family gathered around her, and she started moving her lips. They thought, “Why is she moving her lips? What is she saying?” They knelt down close to her, and she had one word. She just said, “Him. Him.”
We are called unto Him. Do you see that point in this, brothers and sisters? I think that’s the most important point.
Second thing: why are we called? And being called to the Person, why are we called? Look at 1 Corinthians 1:9:
God is faithful, by Whom ye were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Not only have we been called unto Him, but we have been called into the fellowship of His Son, of God’s Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Can you imagine, just for a moment, a more exclusive fellowship than that? Can you imagine?
The reason we’ve been called is that we’ve been called into fellowship with Him.
I’ll never forget, in high school, I don’t know what possessed me to think this with my grades in high school. I’m not sure. But they had the National Honor Society. I think they still do it. All my kids got in. I didn’t, by the way.
Back then, they used to walk around, sneak up on you—the way I like to think of it—and sort of tap you. Now, me, they may have hit me. But I wondered, and I actually sat there and thought, “Look at that. I was waiting for it. I was going to be called into this special society, called into this special fellowship.”
Surely, I said, they passed me by. How foolish, to think I would be called into something so special. Well, I’ve worked on the grade problem.
But this is the point, dear saints: you are called into the fellowship of God’s Son. Who needs a National Honor Society? You have been called into the greatest fellowship there is. You have been called into the most exclusive fellowship there is. You have been called into the fellowship of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
That’s what you’ve been included in. Isn’t that good news? The fellowship of God’s Son—how marvelous that is.
That’s the reason God said in Genesis, “Let Us make man in Our image.” God was after fellowship. Can you believe it? God wanted you to be in fellowship with Him.
That’s what it means in Genesis 3 when it says God was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, saying to man, “Where art thou?” And it says they hid themselves from God. He was looking for fellowship.
You can narrow this down in these basic things: the whole purpose of the Christian life is that God is looking for fellowship.
Those that study human nature—and I might add, think they understand it—say we’re all looking for fellowship. They try to explain why people join these violent gangs. I was reading some of it. Why do people subject themselves to that? I don’t know if you’ve ever seen any of these things where everybody jumps on you and beats you up.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to look for somebody to beat me up. Everybody beats them up, and they’re in. When they talk to them in depth, they realize they belong to a fellowship. They’re part of something.
Every one of us wants fellowship, and we have been called into the fellowship of God’s Son. How wonderful that is.
What sin cost us was that it broke the fellowship. What the Lord Jesus does in His coming is, first of all, restore the fellowship.
That’s what He’s after. It even says, at the Lord’s Table that we just had, “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion?” That word is literally fellowship—“of the blood of the Lord Jesus.” “The bread which we break, is it not the communion,” or fellowship, “of the body?”
For we, being many members, partake of the one loaf. So we are called to fellowship. May the Lord open our eyes to see that. I believe that’s a critical thing: called unto a Person.
You need to shake this idea that our calling is for work. Our calling is to be in fellowship. Think about it: the reason we come together, the reason we exist here, is for no other reason but to have fellowship with the Lord.
And in that fellowship, those of us who come together and those of us who share—fellowship literally means shared partaking—we share the Lord Jesus.
It may be a surprise to you that you don’t like the same things I like, and I don’t like maybe some of the same things you like. But that’s not the point of our gathering.
Some people gather because they like cars. John is a car freak. He likes cars. All right, John, I called you a freak. Every question I have about cars, I know where to go.
I like the Redskins. I’m a miserable soul. I’ll never forget, I was with Fontaine one time. We were at his home for a Friday-night fellowship meeting, and he got me in trouble.
It was a good year for the Redskins. He was talking to me about the Redskins going to the Super Bowl, and he was excited. I joined in. Our brother Stephen looked at me, and he said, “Fellowship is not the Redskins.”
You’re not going to get me again, brother. I won’t make that mistake again. This is the reason—this is our fellowship.
The second main point is not only that we are called into fellowship. Turn back to Matthew 4. We are called with a promise. Oh, this is beautiful to me. Every time I read this, it blesses me.
He said to Peter, “Come after Me.” Think if He had just stopped right there. But He said, “I will make you fishers of men.” Isn’t that beautiful?
Brothers and sisters, think about it. Not only are we called to the Person of the Lord Jesus, but we’re called with a promise. And that promise is, “I will make you.” Isn’t that good news?
Oh, how often I have given up except to know that the Lord’s promise is that He will do the work. It’s not left up to you.
A lot of people have the impression that the Christian life is: you get saved, you get your ticket punched to heaven, and you try your best. That’s the impression. But the impression from the beginning, the basic impression, was this: “Peter, you come to Me. And when you come to Me, there’s a promise I’ll make to you: I will make you fishers.”
As a matter of fact, I think the whole life story of Peter can be summarized by these verses. You know, in Matthew 4, in the initial call, this was the call and this was the promise.
When you turn to John 21, the last story about Peter in the Gospels, there are those same beautiful words. He concludes with those same beautiful words: “Follow Me.”
Now, between those two words, there’s a making process. Oh, that’s the hard part. There’s the conforming process. There’s the transforming process.
Do you wonder why, when you were saved, you were not immediately raptured on high? If God is after fellowship, why didn’t He do that? “God, I have a suggestion for You: save them and take them up.” No.
You’re left here. This one phrase explains it: you’re left here. That’s the making process.
You will either frustrate the grace of God, you’ll either avoid the grace of God, you’ll either turn from the grace of God, or you yield yourself to the grace of God.
And that great Shepherd of the sheep will take you and employ His own words, and begin to fashion you in His image until, in the end, when He catches you up for that eternal fellowship, there’s a resemblance. There’s a family resemblance. You’re conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus.
One of my children—I won’t say her name—had a mole just like mine in the exact same place. She couldn’t wait to get it taken off. It was a family resemblance, not one she liked.
You ever heard the story about marriage? The longer you’re together, the more you look alike. When the fear’s gone, that’s all.
The image of the Lord Jesus—this is what the promise is for: “I will make you fishers of men.”
Oh, how important the promises are. I’ve shared sometimes in the past about the promises. I mean, the problem is not the lack of promises; the problem is that we don’t lay hold of the promises.
In 2 Peter 1:3-4, the same man whom the Lord so graciously dealt with writes this in his epistle. This was the lesson he learned:
Seeing that His divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that called us by His own glory and virtue;
whereby He hath granted unto us His precious and exceeding great promises; that through these ye may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust.
Brothers and sisters, there are great and precious promises. This is how we would enter in. We are to lay hold of the promises of God.
There’s a two-part thing I don’t want us to miss. Some people say, “Oh, it’s His promise to make me. That’s good enough.” That’s not good enough.
In this lifetime, we’re to lay hold of the promises, because it’s by these that we become partakers of the divine nature. Oh, how are we to lay hold of the promises? The best illustration I can think of is from the Word of God.
Turn to Deuteronomy 8, verses 7-10. Listen to these promises. This is about the Promised Land:
For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of water brooks, of springs, and of deep waters that gush forth in valleys and hills;
a land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig trees and pomegranates; a land of olive trees and honey;
a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack anything in it;
a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose mountains thou mayest dig copper.
And thou shalt eat and be full, and thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which He hath given thee.
Number one point: this beautiful Promised Land is the land He gives us. Never forget it. Don’t ever think you are the one who earns it. He gives it. In the end, when we appear before His face, it will be said, “It was all of grace.”
But turn to Deuteronomy 11:24:
Every place whereon the sole of your foot shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the hinder sea, shall your border be.
Every place the sole of your foot steps. This is the illustration. We are called with a promise, but we’re to step into it. If you don’t step into it, if you don’t possess it, you’ve missed the meaning of life.
I believe these are simple words, but I believe they tell us—well, let me close with this last point. Not only are we called to the Person, not only are we called with a promise, but we’re called according to purpose. Don’t ever forget that.
With Peter and with Andrew and with James and with John, they were not just called for the sake of calling. There was an end in view. There was a purpose in view. God was calling these ones for a very special purpose.
Now, we might tend to say, those of us who are more evangelical, we would tend to think the purpose of their calling is evangelism. It’s clear. But brothers and sisters, that only sees a part of it.
Evangelism is for a purpose. It’s to bring in the material into the house of God. The calling of God includes Peter, Andrew, James, and John, and they are called together into God’s purpose.
Part of that great calling is that they will be used to bring men and women into the kingdom of God. Called according to purpose.
I don’t think I need to stay long here, or you’ll run me out. But I believe we need to know the purpose we’re called for.
I do appreciate this new book out. This is news, but I have to make a confession: I haven’t read the book. Maybe I’ll read the book. It’s called The Purpose Driven Life. As a matter of fact, I heard an interview with this fellow, and he quoted the thing that’s in there—one thing that has spoken to me.
People have shared with me that the first thing you discover is: it’s not all about you.
Isn’t it all about my joy, my peace, my sanctification, my glorification? No. It’s all about His purpose.
We are called according to purpose. Let me read you Romans 8:28. I think you all know this verse. Unfortunately, I think we stop at the first part:
And we know that all things work together for good.
How often have you used that verse to comfort somebody who was in trouble? “You do know, don’t you? You should know. I’m telling you, all things work together for good.”
But he goes on to say:
To them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.
If we miss the purpose of God, we will waste a life. I don’t mean you won’t be saved—don’t get me wrong. I think our brother Jerry made that very clear. But you’ll miss reward. You’ll be sorry.
When we stand before the judgment seat of Christ, you’ll suffer loss. All of life is to be called according to purpose.
What more beautiful thing is there to live for than God’s purpose? Let me ask you—I want to be as pointed as I can. Some people might say it’s obnoxious, and that can be. Are we living for the purpose of God? Are we really living for the purpose of God?
This is the reason you are called. This is what God is after.
This is what Paul meant in Philippians 3:14-15, when he says:
I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, be thus minded: and if in anything ye are otherwise minded, even this shall God reveal unto you.
This is the heart of God: that high calling of God in Christ Jesus. That’s the purpose. May the Lord capture us.
Now let me just conclude with this. I heard a prayer recently that touched my heart as we were gathered. One sister prayed this: “Lord, thank You for interrupting my life.”
That touched me deeply. You see, this is what happened to Peter. He was happy to be a fisherman. But God, in His mercy, invaded his life, found him by that sea, and interrupted his life. He was forever changed.
I have made this my prayer: “Lord, interrupt my life, whatever it takes, for You.”
When you think of D. L. Moody, many of you know his story. He was a shoe salesman. I don’t have anything against shoe salesmen. Apparently women love them. He was a shoe salesman.
God invaded and interrupted his life, and that man changed two continents. Even today, his legacy affects the church of the living God.
He knew what it meant to be called unto the Person of the Lord Jesus. He knew the promises of God. He knew what it meant to be called with a promise. And he knew what it meant to be called according to purpose.
That calling carried him from the beginning of his life with the Lord right to the end. It says of D. L. Moody, on his deathbed, that he said, “I see earth receding. I see heaven’s door opening. God is calling me.”
Lord Jesus, we come to You and praise You for Your Word. We ask You that You would make this simple word living and real in our own lives.
That we too would know what it means to be called to the Person of the Lord Jesus; that we would know and stand and enter into the promises of God; that we would be those whose lives are interrupted, who live according to purpose—not my own, Lord, but Your way.
Oh God, this is what I believe the lessons of Peter’s life mean. May You break Your Word and speak to individual hearts. I believe You’re calling people to Yourself in this hour. Speak, Lord; Your servant hears.
Samuel thought he heard the call. He went back and said to the priest, “Are you calling me?” Finally, he said, “No. God is calling.”
Speak, Lord; Your servant hears. Amen.