Men Jesus Called: Simon Peter

Simon Peter (Men Jesus Called – Part 2) by Mike Campagna on Vimeo.

This is supplement #2 to the Bible study: “Men Jesus Called.”

We’ve all experienced significant moments in our lives. Can you think of any?

The day we were born is a significant moment.

The day we said our first word is especially significant for parents. The day we took our first step.

Our first day at school.

The first time we drove Mom or Dad’s car. (I wrecked my Dad’s! It was a good thing he was on the East coast at the time, he would tell me later, or he would have killed me!)

Our first date is another significant moment.

Our first kiss.

The day we graduate from high school or college. (Nowadays, when you graduate from kindergarten it’s a significant moment with all the pomp and circumstance, it seems. And the grandparents are invited and drive a hundred miles to be there!)

And then there’s the day we say, “I do.” (And then there’s the saying: “Love is blind and marriage is the eye-opener.” Has it been true for you?)

And so on and so forth. Each of us can enjoy many significant moments in our lives.

And then there’s the significant moment which I happen to think makes all other significant moments pale in comparison. Do you know which significant moment I’m talking about?

It’s the day where we meet Jesus Christ and He becomes real in our lives. Has it happened to you?

It happens to Simon Peter long ago by the Lake of Gennesaret in Luke 5:1.

Which, by the way, the Lake of Gennesaret is equal to the Sea of Galilee. It’s just another name for it (like we call the Sierra foothills area and especially ours: the Mother Lode – two different names for the same place. My wife used to think “Mother Lode” was actually a mother! “Boy, I’d like to meet her. Who does she think she is, any way!”).

But here Simon Peter is, by the Lake of Gennesaret. And because that’s where he worked. And he’s going about his business – Simon Peter is. Which happens to not be a very good business – at least that particular previous evening it hadn’t been: “[W]e worked hard all night and caught nothing,” he says to the Lord in Luke 5:5.

But Simon Peter’s going about his business on the lake because that’s where Simon Peter worked.

And what I want you to hear now is that Simon Peter has no idea the change of course that his life is about to take. He has no idea. Jesus will literally commandeer his boat, ask him to “put out a little way from the land” so He can preach (Luke 5:3) and the rest is history.

And none of us knows what tomorrow holds.

And today – listen – it could be the worse possible scenario (“[W]e worked hard all night and caught nothing”) while tomorrow – could it be that God has planned to give you such a haul that your net will begin to break and your boat will begin to sink?

You just never know. With Christ anything can happen!