Elevation with Steven Furtick - Found Fishing

Episode Date: April 9, 2023

Are you ready for a deep encounter with the risen Savior? In “Found Fishing,” we’re reminded that Jesus is waiting to meet us right where we’re at — all we have to do is come to Him. If you’ve just made a decision for Christ, please respond HERE: http://ele.vc/tIepfr To support this ministry and help us continue to reach people all around the world click here: http://www.elevationchurch.org/giving/ Scripture References: John 21, verses 1-7 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, and this is our podcast. Be sure to subscribe so we can get you these new sermons every week. I hope you're blessed today. Might want to open your Bible to John Chapter 21. If you didn't bring a Bible, that's okay.

I brought the biggest Bible that I have ever owned. I found this at a flea market the other day. It said large print Bible, and I did just turn 43. Look how cool that is. Isn't that cool? I like it. The words just feel more powerful that big. It's like, this is the Word of God.

We need a 37 font on the Word of God. I like to joke. I preach from a big Bible because you're fighting a big battle. And I want to encourage and equip you today to the best of my ability and beyond my ability. through the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. John chapter 21, the Lord says this. Okay. John chapter 21, let me give you verse 1 and 2.

Verse 3 is where my message really starts, but it says afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples by the Sea of Galilee. A lot of good things happened in that location over the last three years. It happened this way. Simon Peter, Thomas, also known as, Didymus, Nathaniel from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. I'm going out to fish, Simon Peter told them, and they said, we'll go with you. So they went out, got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, friends, haven't you any fish? No, they answered. And he said, throw your net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some. That's good news when you out there hungry. So let's try it. The Bible says when they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. And then verse 7 says, Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, it is the Lord.

As soon as Simon Peter heard him say it is the Lord, he wrapped his outer garment around him, for he had taken it off and jumped into the water. He'd not thinking straight, putting on clothes to jump in the water, but that's Peter. I want to go back to verse 6 for a moment and share with you resurrection reflection

from John chapter 21, verse 6, where he said, throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some. And when they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. I want to preach to you today about found fishing. Found fishing. Father, I thank you that you always find what you're looking for. May you find faith in our hearts today. May your word meet our faith and miracles be the result.

and the fruit of it will be great. And I declare it, and I believe it, and I thank you for it. In Jesus' name, amen. On your way to your seat, touch your neighbor, say be found fishing. It's a strange time for the boys in the boat. On one hand, they're happy because he got up. On the other hand, they are a little bit confused about what to do next. Let me get my notes because I wrote something down last minute.

I want to make sure I say it right because it was really good how God said it. And I want to get it just like he said it. Yeah. He said that the disciples are here in between what God did and what they are going to do next. And that is a strange place to be. It's a strange place to be when you realize what he did, but you're left with the question, what do I do? I want to be honest with you.

These in-between places are the places where Jesus reveals sometimes to us the greatest things about himself and really about ourselves in the in-between places. I've heard preachers use this passage to pick on Peter so many times. I think that's why I like to preach it almost every Easter. Because part of me wants to defend the disciple named Peter. Why, I've even heard preachers say here that Peter went back to the boat because he still didn't have faith that Jesus was risen from the dead. Well, that's kind of dumb because he already saw him twice. I think he was pretty sure that Jesus had risen from the dead.

He went and saw the tomb himself. He was a high eyewitness. But that doesn't stop preachers from taking Peter. I've heard preachers say everything about Peter, you know, because when he said in verse three, put that back up there one more time, when he said, I'm going out to fish, and they said, we'll go with you. It almost sounds like he's going back to his old life, what he did before he met Jesus. So I hear a lot of preachers when they preach on this passage, take it there, where Peter is basically going back to the boat like he's going back to the bottle or something,

like there's something wrong with fishing, like the 11th commandment is thou shalt not fish. And I'm sure he had a license, so I'm sure it was completely legal, and Peter wasn't doing anything wrong, fishing that I can tell. But we like to make it sound like he was going back to some horrible life. I even heard one preacher, this takes the cake. He said, when Peter said, I'm going to do it in the country preacher accent, because those y'all that go to church or you know I love country preacher because I have a country preacher in my heart. But he said, I'm going out to fish, and they said, we'll go with you.

And they said, when you go back, you always drag other people back with you. And made it like a bad thing. Y'all, I saw a skit one time that a youth group did where in the skit, this girl died in a car wreck. And then she was in hell. And she was screaming from hell at her friends who were. in heaven. Why didn't you tell me about Jesus? I heard a preacher one time after that skit, talk about Peter going fishing, that he was such a bad example that he led all these other fellows to hell with him. He didn't lead him to hell. He was trying to feed him something to eat.

They had to eat. Why do people get so stupid when it comes to the scripture that they forget that we have practical matters that we have to attend to? No, I just need the word of God. And you need indoor plumbing, and you need transportation to work, and you need good medicine when you get sick, and you need a good job so one day you can move out of mom's house and get married and provide for somebody, and you don't have to go live in her dad's basement after three years. You need a lot of things. Touch somebody say, you need a lot of things.

You need a lot of things. You need a lot of things. Some of y'all said that with too much emphasis. I think you offended your neighbor. Here's the tension in the text that I see. It's not that Peter is going back fishing because he wants to go back to a life of sin. It's just that he's going back fishing because he doesn't know what God has next for him. It's not like he's going back to the meth lab.

It's not like he's going back to gang activity. It's not like he's going to a life of crime. He's going fishing. Why? Because we have to eat. tonight and there's no manna falling from heaven that I'm aware of. What else is he going to do? But fish. What else is he going to do? Wait around for Jesus to walk through locked doors again? I mean, that doesn't happen every day. In fact, I think it's kind of cool that he went fishing.

Because I think maybe there's something deeper happening here than Peter just keeping himself busy while he waits for what next, I think there's something that he's trying to remember and recall that will help him as he waits for his next season to be revealed. God sent me to speak to somebody this Easter that you're waiting for God to reveal to you what he has next for you. You don't really know what that is and you know that he's risen and you know that he's real and you believe in God and you trust in God, and you have a relationship with God, and you believe that he's capable, and you believe that he's great, and the stone is rolled away, and that's fine, but the stone can be rolled away, and you still be stuck. Why do y'all do this to me every Easter?

Y'all are Pentecostal, every other 51 Sundays out of the year, and then you turn Baptistopalia Catholic on me on Easter. Now, listen to me. This word is not for, for the people who know exactly what God has planned for you to do. You're like, right, because then I'd be dead. I'd be in heaven. Exactly. This is an in-between Bible story where Jesus is risen, but what he has for me has not yet been revealed. This is such an amazing story for us to think about, because in the light of the empty tomb, Peter still hasn't personally been restored yet to the Savior that he denied just a few nights ago. It's only been a few nights, remember, since Peter warmed himself by the fire

and said, I don't even know Jesus. It's only been a few nights since he cursed and said, I don't know what you're talking about, Jesus who. It's only been a short time since he denied the very one that he pledged his allegiance to, his undying discipleship to. It hasn't been that long, so not only is he uncertain about the future, but he's still dealing with that thing within himself that kind of feels like I let him down. And even though Peter has seen Jesus risen, he hasn't yet received personal restoration for it yet. He knows what Jesus did. He died for my sins. He knows what Jesus did. He rose from the grave.

But the question isn't what he did. It's, what do I do? And I believe God sent me for a message for a person who's saying, I know what he did. And I believe in what he did. But I came this Sunday morning wanting to know, what do I do? As a matter of fact, it's more specific than that. It's a message for somebody who's wondering, Can he still use me?

Does he still want me? Is there still time left for this to be turned around? Or have I wasted my chance? Did I miss my opportunity? Did I blow it so bad that I can't recover? Is the addiction too strong now? Is the hurt too deep now? Did I watch it walk away and I should have stopped it but I couldn't?

Did I miss it? Is it over for me? I know he got up and the grave is imprompt. but I kind of feel empty too because I'm not sure what's next. For me, it's an in-between message for in-between people. Raise your hand if you're in-between right now. Everybody not raising their hand needs a class on self-awareness, honesty. You know what they need?

They need a good flat tire after church. I pray a nail under your front-right tire on the way home from church. lying to the Lord like that on his holy resurrection birthday Sunday. I want to take up for Peter for a moment, just for a moment, and take up for every person under the sound of my voice that believes that what he did is awesome. But there are some things that you've done that make you wonder. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I'm not talking about just big things.

I never killed nobody, neither to Peter. And I think the challenge of getting through to you with a message like this, we kind of want an abstract message about resurrection without having to do the real deep work of saying, okay, how do I make this idea that Jesus got up from the dead more than just a special occasion? where I take mom to church once a year, and then I've got to come back on Mother's Day too. Sheesh, this is all kind of stacking up. Those are kind of close together. How do I take this thing of a relationship with God and a resurrected Savior and get it beyond the point of being a special occasion and make it the operating system of my life?

How do I get it down deep in me? That's what Peter needs in this moment. He needs a deep encounter with a risen Savior and he's about to have one and so are you The Lord spoke to me he's going to do for somebody today what he did for Peter back then He's going to restore you He is going to today he gave me a very specific word He said for some of you this is going to be a reset Sunday Y'all never played the original Nintendo Entertainment System But if you're playing punch out and you're getting beat bad enough, the only thing left to do is hit that button that says reset.

And I brought my Bible today so maybe we could find a reset button in the Word of God and find a reset button in your situation and find a reset button on this Easter Sunday. Somebody shout, I'm ready. Say I'm ready for a reset. I don't want to stay just where I was. I don't want to stay just in what I did. I don't want to just carry shame. If he's not in the grave, why is this shame on me? If he's not in the grave, why won't this depression let me go?

If he's not in the grave, why am I looking for the living among the dead? I'm ready. Oh, y'all don't want this. Because when the reset comes, it means there's going to be a brand new you for you to look at in the mirror on Monday morning. I want a Sunday resurrection to give you. in a Monday morning mirror so that when you look in the mirror tomorrow morning, you say, hello, let's go. God has something in store for me. This is reset Sunday. Reset Sunday. And so Peter said, I'm going fishing. Somebody shout that out loud. Say, I'm going fishing.

They said Peter shouldn't even have still had his boat. Why did he keep his boat? See, Peter didn't have real faith. That's why he kept this boat. He followed Jesus and he left his nets, but he kept his boat because he wanted a backup plan in case it didn't work out. And then when it didn't work out and Jesus went to the cross, he went back to his boat. And if you really want to follow God, you've got to get rid of your boat and burn your bridges and go forward and don't let anything stop you. He kept this boat so he could drive Jesus around so he could preach from it. I don't think he was running from Jesus. I think he was looking. I think he was looking for him in the last place he felt confident in his calling. I think Peter was tired of

sitting around wishing that he didn't do what he did. You know, you spend the rest of your life wishing and call it repentance. Wishing you didn't do it isn't repenting. And feeling guilty about it doesn't make God feel better about it. He died for all that stuff. So when Peter said, I'm going fishing. I don't hear it like he's. He's saying, I quit. This is stupid. He didn't even tell us what to do next. He dies on us and rises from the dead and makes us look bad because we all ran.

Except you, John, the one he loves. I love how John gets that in there. He said, the one he loved turned to Peter and said, talking about himself. I love it. Now watch this, watch this. In your mind, you've got to smell the fish. You've got to smell the fish that Jesus is already cooking on the shore. That's verse 9.

I didn't read that to you because I'm on a clock today and I can't get to verse 9 today. But maybe I will put it on my YouTube channel. Y'all, I've been putting these extra sermons on my YouTube channel. You've got to go subscribe. It's these little teachings. I'm going to put more of them out just to help you really get the word of God to break it down. It's called the basin.

You've got to look for it soon. I might put a part two on the basin. But for today, I just want to talk about what was people. Peter looking for when he went fishing. He said, I'm going fishing. And they said, all right, got nothing better to do. The Spirit hasn't come yet. Jesus hasn't ascended yet.

It's that in-between period. We don't know the next thing. He hasn't told us our next assignment. So what do you do when you know what he did? But you can't get over what you did? and you don't know what he's calling you to do, go fishing. I know it's a controversial Easter message. Used to hear everybody preach about Peter going fishing like he made the wrong move.

I think that's the exact right thing to do. Because, see, three years earlier, Peter went fishing. Three years earlier, he cast his nets all night long and caught nothing. Three years earlier, he pulled his boat on the shore, and he was cleaning his nets. And this wonder-working rebel priest named Jesus Christ of Nazareth pulled up on him and said, can I use your boat to fish? But I'm not fishing for what you're fishing for. I need to catch some people.

Peter's like, is that legal? You got a license for that? He's like, yeah, I got the license. I'm the Lord of Heaven and Earth. I am the word that existed before time began. I am the word made flesh dwelling among. I got a license to fish. Push out a little.

And they pushed out a little. And Jesus preached a little. And then he said, now push out a little more. And they pushed out. And Jesus said, now that I've got what I'm looking for, I'm going to show you what you're looking for. Throw down your nets. And when they dragged them up, Peter wasn't happy. He was scared.

He said, oh, no, this is bad. If you knew those fish were in that water, you know the sin that's in me. And he fell down at Jesus' feet. And he said, go away from me, Lord. I'm a sinful man. And Jesus said, I'm not going anywhere but inside of you to show you what I put in you. I'm going to make you a fisher of men. He knows what's in you.

The good and the bad. He knows what's in you. The gifts and the weaknesses. He knows what's in you, the trauma, and the testimony. He knows what's in you and chooses you and calls you. That was three years ago, three years before that moment that Peter would deny him, Three years before that point that Peter would disappoint him. Three years before he would let him down.

Three years have gone by, and Jesus has done amazing things. Included but not limited to the healing and opening of blinded eyes. Including but not limited to the loosing of tongues. Including but not limited to the raising of dead people after their body was already stinking and covered in maggots and wrapped in grave clothes and everybody else gave up, started crying, went home to comfort the sisters. He did all of that. And Peter denied him.

And Peter said, I'm going fishing. And it makes you wonder, was he fishing? Because he lost his faith? Or was he fishing so he could find it again? Because I remembered three years ago when I let him use my boat. I remember three years ago when I put out a little and he started teaching and I never heard anybody teach like he taught. He taught with authority. But he was gentle, but he was commanding.

Maybe Peter wasn't saying I'm giving up. Maybe he was saying I'm going back. Before we judge him, before we penalize him, before we tell him how he should have sold his boat, and we don't even come to church when it's rainy outside. Straight ahead, they won't know I'm talking about you. Watch the screen. Peter said, I'm going fishing because I was fishing when he called me. If you don't know what to do, do what you know to do.

But don't run from what God has put right in front of you. There is some stuff you can't run from forever. So go fishing. Go fishing. I know you thought you came to church today, but you really came fishing. All right? And those of y'all that sat in the front row, if you get splashed, it's not my fault. This is the splash zone. I might spit on you if I get fired up, but it's holy spit because I'm fishing. I'm fishing for somebody today that God wants to reach and teach and preach through. Who are you? God has had you in a season where you haven't known what's next. God has had you in a season where perhaps you even thought it was over. Maybe even other people said it was over. Maybe you think there's no way forward after what you did.

And here comes Peter to tell you, no, no, if you will go back to the place where you saw him do a miracle, if you will go back to a place of childlike faith, give me that camera, if you will go back to the word that you know to do, you know enough, you just got to get back to Galilee and go fishing. You've just got to praise him. You've just got to rejoice in him. You've just got to thank him. You've just got to wait for him. He's looking for you.

Waiting for Christ to come find him on the couch. He said, I'm going fishing. I'm going to do some stuff. You know, you can psych yourself out sometime. I don't know what to do. You do. If you don't know what to do about that, you know what to do. That'll help you know what to do about that.

Give you an example. A great example. example, if I say so myself. I think that getting in a place of gratitude is one of the most important skills you develop as a grown-up person in life or as a growing Christian. Now, how many of you know I'm right about that? Don't make me work too hard. You might not even believe in the crucifixion and the resurrection, but just speaking from a human practical wisdom standpoint, the best way for me to make a decision about what I don't have or what I don't know is to be thankful for what I do have and what I do know. So how come we know that, but we don't do that?

Why do we get up in the morning sometimes? I'm just asking the question, because it is Easter Sunday morning, and Jesus did appear in the morning. And so why is my morning routine sometimes looking at stuff that's going to stress me out? I'm going to come to this side and see if there are anybody, like one person in this church. Why do you get on Facebook? book First Thing in the Morning and fish for something to be offended about. We only got one side of the room left. This is the process of elimination. Because I'm telling you, yeah, I'm fishing a little bit now. I'm fishing a little bit. If you know that going on your phone first thing in the morning scrolling past the app that says

Holy Bible and scrolling to that hellhole called Facebook, or Twitter or I can't even say Instagram. The spirit of Saul comes on me. I feel spears flying at my head. You will find what you fish for in this life. Saying if you're looking for a reason to be down today, you can find sticks and the devil will line them up and put them on a buffet. But if you're looking for a reason to praise him,

if you're looking for a reason to give him glory, Do this. And let everything that has breath Hawk feel the Holy Ghost. And let every still stand in. Everything that's been forgiven. And let everything. Come on, we're fishing.

Let's pull out of praise another day. Looking for a praiser. God is looking for a worshiper. God is looking for a grateful daughter, a grateful son, a grateful fisherman. I can do it anytime I want. I learned the secret of being content. If I'll go down inside of me where God is, you say no, God's up there.

You missed the whole point of Easter. He got up so he could send the spirit back down. And greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world. So all I got to do is this for it. I'm Bart following you next to you and say we're going fishing. Come on, you're going with me You're not staying down in that pit I see you crying

But you're not alone This is church This is the body of Christ God sent a word in his house To raise you up Come on you be Paul I'll be Cyrus And let's give him a praise

Refuse the enemy The fuse the enemy Give him a praise But fishing. So, so, so, so, so, this is great. Because when you talk to your friends that don't like church or they think elevation's a weird cult church, whatever like that, you don't have to tell me coming elevation today for Easter.

Just say, I went fishing on Easter. What'd you do Easter Sunday? You didn't even have to brag to them and say, I heard a hermeneutical masterpiece of a sermon out of John 21, which transposed the resurrection of Jesus Christ over the restoration of Simon Peter, his beloved disciple. Just tell him, I went fishing. And when they say, what did you? Get anything? Ask them. How long do you have? Because what I got, I can't contain in a cute

little two-minute list. I got goodness. I got mercy. I feel oil of gladness. I feel like fishing now. I feel like fishing now. God, thank you for waking me up this morning. God, thank you for giving me another chance. Thank you that everybody doesn't know all the dirt they could know me. Thank you, Lord. Thank you for clothes on my body. Thank you for food on my table. Thank you for those snacks in my pantry. Thank you for it, Lord. Somebody say, thank you, Lord. Thank you for songs to sing. Thank you for a melody at midnight. Thank you for my wife in her hot pink Easter suit. Looking good, giving the word of the Lord. She's holy and hot. She's burning up hot. I'll fetch you like a fire. Oh! I've got something like a little.

the line, y'all. Help me pull it in. Thank you for my big print Bible. Thank you for a size fifty-four word from all. That's why he went fishing. That's why he showed up. Jesus had an appointment with Peter. Peter wasn't the only one fishing that Sunday. You know how I know? Because what Peter did when he realized it was Jesus. Nobody does this stuff if they're in their right mind. Nobody does this stuff if they're in control of themselves. That's why some of y'all, you're like, I didn't plan on standing up during church today. This is not normally how I worship God. When that Holy Ghost gets a hook in you, you can try to look mad, but I see joy coming

up. You can try to look hateful, but I see hope coming up. You can't fight it. Can I show you verse 7? Watch what Peter did. Now Peter went fishing, we know that. But watch what else happened, verse 7. The Bible says, the disciple whom Jesus loved, humble brag, said to Peter, it's the Lord.

And as soon as Simon Peter heard him say, it's the Lord, he wrapped his outer Carmen around him and jumped in the water. Question. Easter Sunday Church Elevation 2023. Question. EFAM around the world. Question. Did Peter really jump in or did something pull him?

Question. Was Peter the only one fishing? So who else was fishing? And when he looked on the shore, he saw somebody. He had known who it was the moment he heard his voice. He knew that voice. That's the voice that said, Lazarus! And a dead man got off.

So he should have known that when this voice speaks, you can't stay where you are. And all of a sudden something happened to Simon. And he no longer was fishing for what he did wrong. And he no longer was fishing for what might go wrong next. And he no longer was fishing in the sea of forgetfulness where God had cast all of his sins. All of a sudden, when he heard his Jesus, something started pulling on him. I think Jesus is the real fisherman in John chapter 21. I think while Simon was doing this with his nets, Jesus was doing this because he knows how to reel me in.

He knows how to reel me in. Oh, pastor, there's no real in the passage. You're wrong. You're spelling it wrong. You're spelling it with two E's. I'm saying, R, E, A, L, God is bringing the real me in. The new me. The one that not only knows that he got up,

but I feel the spirit of God pulling on someone right now, saying that you thought you were going to church, but you're really not even the one fishing. It's God who drew you here. It's God who wants to give you a reset. Not just so you fish on the right side of the boat, but so that you live on the right side of the empty tomb. So that you live forgiven, so that you live free, so that you live knowing there's a God

who knows all that is in you, and he's greater than all of it. I see Jesus still on the shore today. It's been 2,000 years since he pulled Peter in. But maybe today is the day that he's pulling you in to his kingdom too, because he's got an assignment for you. He wants to change you and remake you. And this is your moment. This is your moment.

He's reeling you in. He's reeling you in. Right now, stand to your feet. Everyone's standing. The Spirit of the Lord. is drawing you. That's why you're still breathing. That's why your heart is still beating. That's why although you denied him, he cannot deny himself. He is faithful. And you thought you were coming to the lake looking for fish. He came to the lake and caught fish before you got here.

Breakfast is already cooked. You don't have to pay for anything. It's all you can eat buffet of his mercy, but you've got to come. You've got to come. How much more will he have to do? He died for you. Don't you remember what he did on Calvary when he stretched his arms? When he took every sin you would ever commit all of that stuff and cast it to the bottom of the sea where he posted a no fishing sign saying there's sins and lawlessness, I will

remember no more. But this moment is not about him fishing. This is a moment about you coming. He's been looking for you. He's been calling for you. Your grandmother has been praying for you. God brought you here today. I didn't.

God had you log on to this message. I didn't. He's fishing for you. And he will leave the 99 to find the one. Are you the one? Are you the one? Bow your head and close your eyes. I'm going to pray a prayer right now for those who are at that moment of decision.

You want to give your life to God today and receive His life in you, to be forgiven of your sin and have a brand new life to commit your life to Him. Right now I'm going to pray and I want you to repeat this prayer out loud after me. If you're ready to come to God or come back to God, I want you to pray this prayer out loud after me. Church family praying for the benefit of those who are coming to God in this moment. Repeat after me. Heavenly Father, today is my day of salvation.

I'm a sinner in need of a Savior, and I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And today I make Jesus the Lord of my life. I believe he died, that I would be forgiven and rose again to give me life. I receive this new beginning. I am a child of God. On the count of three, if you prayed that, shoot your hand in the air. One, two, three. Jump in the water right now, right now, right now, right now, right now, right now, right now, right now.

Shoot it hot, shoot it hot. Let's celebrate, let's celebrate, let's celebrate, let's celebrate. Let's celebrate the lost is foul. The dead are coming alive. chains of sin are broken. Prepare something and sing at worship team. The chains are broken. The grave is empty.

The blood was enough. Let's take about 23 seconds and celebrate. The greatest Easter day. The greatest decision ever made that God became sin. I hope you enjoyed the podcast. And if you did, make sure to share it and subscribe so we can get you all of these new messages as soon as they're available. I also want to take a moment and thank all of you who are a part of elevation.

Whether you support us financially or serve with us or just share these messages, it's because of you that we're able to reach people all around the world. And if you want more information on how to be a part of elevation, click the link in the description. Thanks again for listening. Make sure to leave a review, share the message, and subscribe. God bless you. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.

You know,