Perhaps right now you are facing a time where
whatever you're doing is not working anymore.
In your work life or in your profession,
or wherever you are! In your studies.
It's like, you know, it's like you're not productive
it always comes up empty.
If you're in that place,
like the disciples toiling all night catching nothing.
Experienced. They know where to be at.
They know the seasons of that year. Alright?
And they know where the best fishes are.
I mean, it's not a big lake,
actually, if you think about it, compared to Lake Geneva and all that.
And yet, all night, they caught nothing.
And Jesus came on the scene.
Jesus said: "Cast your net on the right side."
Does it matter if all night they catch nothing, whether
you cast on the right side, or the left side.
But because Jesus said it, they did it.
"Whatever He says to you, do it."
And in the wedding, the water turned into wine.
And over here, they caught so much fish that—
John was the first one. The disciple whom Jesus loved.
He practiced Jesus' love for him always.
And he says.
So when you practice Jesus' love for you,
you are the one with quick discernment.
And he says: "It is the Lord!"
Then Peter jumped into the water to go to Jesus. Amen.
You see? You see the priority?
Jesus first, not the fishes.
Not the profitability in your company. Amen.
But was there profitability? Was there success?
Earthly success? There was!
Jesus didn't come by and say: "Guys, you all didn't catch anything?"
"No? Good. Now you all learn the lesson, right?"
"Sometimes, you know, you go through emptiness."
No! They all knew, you know the Jewish people back then,
the Bible is very clear. They know what is a blessing.
They know what is not a blessing.
When God says: "I will bless your grain, wine, and oil."
They knew that is blessing.
Today, if we preach that, they will say: "prosperity gospel."
When God blesses your grain, wine, and oil.
Now I'm against, like I said, materialism and loving money.
But I think the truth is somewhere in between where people
need to know that God wants to supply them. Amen.
And supply them with more than enough
so that they can be a blessing. Amen.
I don't believe in people that talk about giving to them.
And then "give to me and then God will multiply things to you."
I mean, that's a bit uh. These are things that turn people off.
But don't throw away the baby with the dirty bathwater!
Discern that there's a truth. Amen.
If you don't believe in prosperity, that God prospers His people...
It's not a priority.
But even in blessing this, Jesus gave them a net.
And this time round, it didn't break, but a net full of fishes!
The Bible says large fishes.
And this time, the net didn't break.
The first instance, Jesus introduced Himself right to the fisherman,
the net broke because He says: "Drop down your NETS."
He wanted them to believe big, expect more!
He says, Jesus said: "Let down your NETS."
NETS is plural!
Peter says: "I'll let down the net." No wonder it broke.
There's more supply than your need!
There is more health and healing than there is sickness!
There is more forgiveness of sins and grace than there is sin in your life.
Now preaching like that, where you put your faith in God
and you boast about God, and who He is, brings accusation.
This is the gospel of grace, where you have more faith
in the grace of God than in sin.
I'm not saying it doesn't exist.
I'm not saying needs don't exist. I'm not saying poverty doesn't exist.
I'm saying we look at God and we look at His supply and His fullness.
The land you come from, the resources that you have,
is the means by which you can bless the country that you're in.
If you are sent as an ambassador to a country, you don't
live off the riches of that country.
You don't live off the resources of that country.
The country can be poor, but you can be well supplied,
because you are not sponsored by that country.
You are sponsored by the country that sends you. Amen.
And you are there to do good. Amen.
Supposed to. Amen.
But the doing good is authorised, not by the country that you're in,
but by the country that authorised you, that sent you.
Can I have a good amen?
So knowing that, we go into a world that is crying, sighing,
dying, you know, sick, lonely, and we bring the supply of heaven. Amen.
And that's why Jesus says things like,
when He appears on the scene, He says: "The kingdom of God is here."
"And the sick are healed, the blind see, the dumb speak,"
"and those who are lame jump up for joy, leaping and praising God." Amen.
The kingdom of God is here.
So Jesus, His feet was planted in Galilee, or in Jerusalem
at that time when He said that.
But He's in heaven.
Wherever he is, heaven is there.
And if you have Christ, heaven is all around you. Amen.
Let me show you this verse.
It says, In John Chapter one, "and of His fullness"
"we've all received, and grace for grace."
Just to let you know that His here is our Lord Jesus.
"Of His fullness."
"Out of his fullness."
"In His fullness, we have received, and grace for grace."
And the word "for" is "anti." Alright?
"grace for grace, grace upon grace"
"upon grace upon grace."
Because "anti" can also be "in place of."
In place of grace that has been used,
another grace comes.
When the grace has been used, another grace comes.
I was meditating on this many years ago,
and God gave me this illustration of this wave. Amen.
Grace.
Once that grace is used, another grace comes.
Grace upon grace, upon grace.
And you know where you are?
You are where Pastor Matthews is.
By the way, do you see Pastor Matthews down there.
He looks like Elijah the prophet. Amen.
He is contemplating whether to open up the sea or not.
Amen, he's contemplating really hard.
And I missed the illustration I was gonna tell you.
Anyway, what, where you are when the wave was coming in,
do you know where you are?
You are there, right under it.
So one grace is used, comes on you, God doesn't run short. Amen.
He is not impoverished, another grace comes.
That's what it means:
"Of His fullness have we all received and grace for grace."
There's a grace for everything.
Maybe you don't feel it now.
You say: "I don't think I want to have kids and all that."
"My friends and all that, they cannot go on holidays"
"as freely as they want to. I don't want to have kids."
Listen. God will give you the grace.
What you don't have right now, God will give you the grace. Amen.
"I don't feel like getting married."
God will give you the grace in every stage of your life.
Grace will come.
Now all of a sudden, after you enjoyed that grace:
"I wish I had kids earlier. I wish I had married earlier." Amen.
"I wish I had learned about grace earlier."
You look back, there will be grace for every level of your life,
every stage of your life. Are you with me so far?
Now watch this. The next verse says:
"For the law was given through Moses but"
"grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."
Now I always say that
this one of my favorite verses in the Bible.
"The law was given."
And you can give from a? (Distance)
You all know me, y'all must preach after me already.
The law was given. And given can be what?
"I give you a message."
You will receive it!
I can give you, but it can be from a distance.
But grace and truth came.
At this point, I must step down. One step.
Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
Grace and truth came.
"Came" means what? It's personal, amen.
What is interesting is that ever since I started preaching this,
there are people who will try to dispute this.
And instead of one side the law was given by Moses,
the other side is grace and truth by Jesus Christ.
They say that: "Oh, you see grace and truth is not just grace."
"It is truth." They divide grace and truth.
My friend what God has joined together,
let no man put asunder. Amen.
Grace and Truth is on one side, it came through Jesus Christ.
Alright, the law was given by Moses.
The division is not between grace and truth.
It is between the law on one side, and grace and truth.
The law says: "Do do do."
Grace says: "Done, accomplished."
Find out about it, walk in it, flow in it.
Even salvation is done. Amen.
Learn about it. Receive it. Amen.
And that goes for many other blessings.
In fact, people who receive and receive are the ones
who do so much!
Like "such as I have I give you."
"In the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk."
Unless you have received, you got nothing to give.
This is what abiding means.
Except you are abiding in the vine, right,
you can do nothing.
The branch cannot produce.
Worst, if the branch struggles and struggles and struggles?
A little grape comes out. I don't even think so.
The more you struggle, the sap is squeezed.
You relax. You're not the supplier.
You're not the source. Jesus is.
The more you rest, the more He flows.
The supply flows.