Spoken Word; Peter
There I sat fishing at the edge of the sea.
The waves were calm and I found myself thinking, wondering, on a sense of absence
Surely there is more than working to live and living to work.
A part of me says there is more truth, more meaning to our existence.
Day in and day out, casting my net, with flickers of doubt.
There’s something within me that yearns, cries out for more than I can see.
No more than a grain of sand am I, compared to the colossal sea
It was there, empty, unfulfilled I was found.
Unsatisfied, a dreamer waiting for a dream.
As I cast my net
At the sea of Galilee
A mere fisherman
You spoke, come and follow me
And you will be a fisher of men.
With no hesitation, no question
I left my net with
Only a confession that I had the impression
This is the true son of God.
Truth.
If you’re seeking the truth and the truth is in front of you, then you’ll see it.
If you think you know the truth, but the truth is right in front of your eyes, you may not know it exists.
There’s this sense, this sense that there’s more that what I’m seeing.
There’s this sense that there’s more to our existence.
If you’ve ever felt a sense of absence, you know truth when you find truth.
And the truth shall set you free.
Be careful, you can miss it.
Truth may not look the way you expect it to appear.
These are times when the truth may not be clear
Or even if the truth isn’t what you want to hear
If you’re seeking truth other than for what it is, you won’t find it.
No one anticipated that the Son of God would appear as a carpenter, a common man
Many waited, anticipated, stated that he would come a great warrior, conqueror, or leader
Mighty in physical strength with an entourage and air of domination
Instead Jesus, the awaited messiah was found at the table with the wounded and the poor
Forgiving and accepting the thief and the whore.
Only God could send a Savior in the form of a people loving, carpenter to save the world.
For He did not come into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through Him.
Many could not see it, could not comprehend it, refused to believe it,
Among us, loving us, healing us, Emanuel, God with us.
When He looked into your eyes, He saw all of you.
Every time you’re full of pride, ever lied, sinned, tried to hide away from the past,
He sees the good and the bad and yet He still looks upon you with love.
He knows every tear that falls from your eyes and onto your face, in fact He knows them all by name.
He knows ever fear that entangles you laying claim, to your destiny.
When he arrived, the hearts of men began to change, endlessly.
It was those moments, those lies, our pride, all that we tried to hide from, that pierced Him and nailed Him to the cross.
Our mistakes, our fears, our sin, He took upon our shame only to clear our name so we could see Him face to face.
A relationship, flowing with mercy and grace, His love covers us, making all things new for the old man has passed away.
I, Peter cannot fathom such a love. A love that gave everything for me. An undeserving, fisherman from the sea.
I walked with Him, experienced firsthand the glory of God and yet in the face of persecution I denied Him.
3 times did I deny.
No I do not know this man, did I lie.
Not once, not twice,
No I do not know this man, did I lie.
One more time
No I do not know this man, did I lie.
It was in those moments, I understood why Jesus had come. In that moment I understood the need inside of me for a Savior.
When the man accused.” You are one of them! He was with Jesus!”
Fear gripped my heart. My heart began to race and beat wildly.
I’d given up everything to follow after Jesus of Nazareth. My net, my boats, all that I knew, working to live and living to work.
I was a seeker of truth, but truth came in the form of a man, laying down his life for my sins.
I longed to be a part of something bigger than myself, was this it?
What if I was wrong? What if He wasn’t really the true son of God?
I could be murdered! I just…I needed a moment. I was overcome with doubt. But time, time was running out.
No more boats, no more nets, no more talks of being fishers of men. I could die for this. This man, Jesus.
As I spoke the words,”No I do not know this man,”
I remembered proclaiming before Jesus, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.” Shame overcame me as truth pierced my confused thoughts.
God, forgive me, I am merely dust. So weak am I.
For I am too human, a slave to sin.
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do. But what I hate I do.
For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do, this I keep on doing.
What a wretched man I am! Who will save me from this subjection to death?
Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Christ Jesus!
Only He is Savior, healer, redeemer, mighty deliverer
Through me a broken son, God chose to build the Church.
She will be the expression, the explanation of who God is.
Through His people will He be known.
Not because of what we’ve done, but because of who He is
Not because of who we are, but because of what He’s done.
With this message, God came as a Man, to make the ultimate sacrifice although
Many would not recognize him, reject him, deny him, crucify him.
But our good God longs for his people to know Him.
Longs so passionately that He sent his son to die for our sins.
It is by his mercy, grace and love that we are saved.
No longer am I merely following Jesus,
No I am redeemed, devoted, marked, changed
To deliver the gospel of the saving mercy of Jesus Christ for sinners like me
I will live and die for the cause of Christ.
That every ear should hear
Every heart believe
Every tongue confess
That Jesus Christ is Lord.
We are the redeemed, a beacon of light unto a fallen nation.
Only through Him is there eternal life and salvation.
Some would say this is the story of a fisherman
Some would say this is the story of an abolished law
It was never about overthrowing the Romans,
This is the story of a redeeming love, a merciful savior, an awaited hope
This is the story of Jesus the Christ, the greatest story ever told.
