By Pastor Greg
A preacher is driving
down the road. He notices that he's low
on gas so he stops at the gas station.
While he's pumping his gas, he notices that he has locked his keys in
the car. When he goes inside to pay, he
asks the attendant for a coat hanger so he can attempt to open the door
himself. He goes outside and begins to
jimmy the lock. Ten minutes later, the
attendant goes outside to see how the preacher is faring. He notices the preacher outside the car
moving the hanger around and around, while inside the car another preacher is
saying, "A little more to the left... a little more to the left!!"
Preachers are not the
“best of the best”. Consider the fact
that in my wallet there is a key that will unlock the doors to my truck (That’s
all I’m going to say about that). I hang
around with a lot of preachers and sometimes we just don’t act too bright. And yet God still called these men and women
to stand before a congregation and lead.
I think one of the
more unfortunate attitudes that has found its way into the church is intolerance. And what I mean is an intolerance for mistakes. We see this in the world around us. One little slipup and a coach can find
himself fired. A CEO can be terminated
for not turning a sizable profit for the company. Public officials are held to an impossible
standard of excellence. The word expects
nothing less than perfection from everyone, and those who don’t measure up are
considered second-class citizens.
Sadly, this attitude infects us as individuals and, as I said, it has
found its way into the Church. Even in
the life of a local congregation, people feel they must perform
flawlessly. And if they cannot, they
conclude they are not fit for leadership and view themselves as unfit to serve. That is, of course, a blatant lie the Devil
wants us to believe.
In his letter to the Corinthian
Church, Paul writes, “Think about the circumstances of your call, brothers and
sisters. Not many were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not
many were born to a privileged position.
But God chose what the world thinks foolish to shame the wise, and God
chose what the world thinks weak to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despised in the
world, what is regarded as nothing, to set aside what is regarded as something,
so that no one can boast in his presence” [1] (1
Corinthians 1:26-29). Yes, some people
are more qualified than others. But God
does not always call the qualified.
However, He does qualify the called.
This truth can be seen in the life of Peter, especially in the events
shortly after the resurrection of Christ.
After Jesus appeared to the
Apostles in Jerusalem, the group eventually returns to Galilee. When they arrive, Peter makes a stunning
announcement. He says “I’m going
fishing”. So six of them head out to sea,
not catch anything at all.
“4 At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples
couldn’t see who he was. 5 He called out, “Fellows, have you
caught any fish?” “No,” they replied. 6 Then he said, “Throw
out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they
did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it. 7 Then
the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard
that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work),
jumped into the water, and headed to shore. 8 The others stayed
with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about
a hundred yards from shore. 9 When they got there, they found
breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread. 10 “Bring
some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said. 11 So Simon
Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish,
and yet the net hadn’t torn. 12 “Now come and have some
breakfast!” Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?”
They knew it was the Lord. 13 Then Jesus served them the bread
and the fish” [2]
(John 21:4-13).
Peter didn’t suggest they get
their rods and reels and head out for a relaxing evening on the shore. He got out the big boat, drug out the good
nets, and headed out to fish all night – something a professional fisherman
would do. It seems that Peter decided to
go back to his former life and end this whole “Fishers of Men” nonsense. I suspect Peter wanted to return to his
fishing career because he was ashamed of himself and he worried what people
might say. He had denied Jesus three times. The whole group knew this. Yet Jesus teaches him a valuable lesson during
the “Last Breakfast”. You see, even as a
fisherman, Peter still needed the Lord’s direction and guidance. Based upon what we read in scripture, Peter’s
greatest successes in his personal life came when Jesus was involved. It would be the same throughout his ministry.
What Peter needed to learn was that a
servant of the Lord is not perfect. They
simply depend on the Lord, not on themselves.
Not everyone is an apostle. Not everyone is a teacher or a prophet. Yet everyone has been gifted in some way that
benefits the church and strengthens other believers. However, I am aware that many Christians
never utilize these gifts within the life of a church. I suspect it’s because we are afraid of
embarrassing ourselves. We are convinced
our brothers and sisters will not tolerate a mistake. Like Peter, we are convinced that our past
disqualifies us to serve. Like Peter, we
need to learn that this concept is a lie.
If the Lord was willing to reach into Peter’s personal life and make
such a huge difference (they probably sold the 153 fish at the market), think
about how much more willing He was to make a difference in Peter’s ministry.
Things are no different today. Jesus continues to call those who are less
than perfect. He calls them to lead, to
serve, and to be His hands and feet. He
still reaches into a person’s life so that in whatever way they serve, their
toil for the Lord will not be in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).
Each one of us is a sinner serving
a Holy God. Each one of us needs His
direction and guidance. A real servant
of the Lord understands they are not perfect, and allows Jesus to direct their
work and their labors. A real servant
doesn’t have all the answers, and they know this. That’s why they have learned to let the Lord
show them where to cast their nets.
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