<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

Collegedale Korean SDA Church

John Chung

The Broken Net


Good morning everyone. This morning's title is Broken Net. Broken Net. I was, several years ago, I was invited to speak in the Philippines. And my friend said, when you go there, I should really go snorkeling.

You know, it was, he said it was 1 of the most beautiful and clear waters. I hated snorkeling. Why? Because I have a very poor vision. So even with goggles, you know, when I put goggles on, I have to take my take off my glasses.

I can't see a thing, you know, so I really didn't enjoy anything. Only thing I see just is run into things and run into rocks and but he said you know you can't get a prescription goggles. So wore the prescription goggle. And what a difference that made. I went to this place called El Nido, Palawan, Philippines, And I snorkeled.

I'm sure some of you are kind of surprised that I actually snorkeled, right? But with that prescription lens, I realized there really were fish in the sea. Beautiful fish. I had a wonderful, wonderful experience. So what made the difference?

It was the prescription goggles. This morning, Luke 5, 1 to 6, it says, I'm not going to read everything, but it says, when Jesus had stopped speaking, he said to Simon, Peter, Lounge out into the deep and let down your nets for catch But Simon answered and said to him Master we have toiled all night and caught nothing. Nevertheless, at your word, I will let down the net." And When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their net was breaking. Now why was the net breaking? Was it because there were too many fish or was the net not strong enough for the amount of fish?

Well we know at this time there was Luke 5 at that time we know that Peter was not a converted man. We can see in Luke 22, 31 and 32 says, The Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not, and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." But Jesus said, you're not converted yet. But when you're converted, strengthen thy brethren. And what did Jesus also say?

He says, I have prayed for thee. God calls the unconverted and prays for them to be converted so they can minister to others. Without Jesus's prayer, we have absolutely no chance. There's a very, if you look at Revelation 8, 3 and 4, it says this, that another angel, having a golden censer, came and sat at the altar. He was given much, it says much incense, not just a little bit, it was much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar, which was before the throne, and the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints ascended before God from the angels' hands.

Altar of incense. The purpose was our foul smelling prayer is mixed with the sweet smelling incense of Jesus' prayer. Aren't you glad that Jesus prays for and with us? He's praying for you right now. And when we pray, He prays with us.

Because we, our prayers, they, our prayers, they don't really smell that good. It has to be mixed with the incense, with Christ. Christ in the incense. You know, there was a concert. A master pianist was coming to perform.

The entire auditorium was filled. On the front row sat a mother and her five-year-old son. And her five-year-old son. The curtain opened. Piano sat in the middle.

To the mother's horror, her five-year-old son went up the stairs and sat on the piano bench and started to play Twinkle Twinkle little star out of tune. As the embarrassed mother ran up to retrieve her son, the master The master pianist stopped her and said, just stay down. And her son is still playing, trying to play. The master went to the piano. And he said to this child keep playing keep playing and what this master did was as this child was playing this he reached over the child and put his both hands on the keys up and down and he started to harmonize with that child's playing with his great skill.

That Tinkle Tinkle little star became a symphony because the master added his skills. That's what happens when we pray. We have to know that. A lot of times we pray it feels like it doesn't go anywhere you know it just hits the ceiling comes right down right but you have to understand when you when anytime you pray, Jesus prays with you. It becomes something that is beautiful, a concert, a symphony.

Beautiful, a concert, a symphony. Now, Jesus continued to pray for his disciples. You know, even after 3 and a half years with Jesus, Peter was still not converted. But what converted him? And when you look at Peter, we will know what converts us also.

And John chapter 3 gives us the answer. And John chapter 3 is Jesus's experience or his talk with Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews. He came by night. And you know, I know you know this story.

They could be Mr. Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher from God, for no 1 can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him. Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly I say to you, unless 1 is, you guys all know what? Born again. He cannot see the kingdom of God.

So, If you're not converted, this is Jesus talking. You cannot see the kingdom of God. And further down he says, and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. Okay. Do you remember the story about the serpent?

Okay. I'm not going to go to all that. As she's, As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man, that's Jesus, be lifted up, that is Jesus, on the cross. That whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

So He says you have to be born again. How? It's through the Holy Spirit, born of the water and the spirit, right? But what is the tool the Holy Spirit uses to convert us, the cross of Christ. Desire of Ages, it says, Nicodemus was being drawn to Christ.

As the Savior explained to him concerning the new birth, he longed to have this change wrought in himself. But by what means could it be accomplished? Jesus answered the unspoken question. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. So whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

That's the tool. Jesus in Gethsemane. That's all part of the cross experience. It started actually on Thursday night in Gethsemane when he bore the sins of the world. I don't know if I told you this story but maybe I did.

I like to repeat things and I forget that I repeated it so. You know everybody says when the child is born, they are so cute and everything, you know? I actually absolutely disagree. When the child is born, I don't think they're cute at all. In fact, I think they're ugly.

You know, when my daughter was born, I was expecting just the most beautiful child ever born in the history of mankind. When she came out, I was so disappointed. I go, she had this cone head and just, you know, I, now you know what I do is I say, you know, if anybody says a child, a child just born is cute, I know they're a liar. That's for me, you know? You know, I never really got attached to my daughter at the beginning.

And so, not by purpose, because I had to work. I was in residency. And so during that time, my wife took care of my daughter 24-7. All the time. And she was a few months old.

This was Friday. I remember very distinctly. She says to me, my wife says, I need to go to the church and practice for special music. She was playing in a group. She was playing the violin and there were other instruments.

So I have to go and practice with these people. Do you mind watching Shana, our daughter? I said, sure, no problem. Did you know that was the very first time I watched her? First time.

And as soon as my wife left she started crying no not crying wailing so loudly It was she was just crying and crying and I was just getting frustrated. I was trying to feed her and change the diaper. She wouldn't stop. And I put her in the car with the car seat. And I started driving because a lot of times, you know, we had experience before where she stopped crying when she's in the car.

So I put her in the car and I started driving. I was just driving anywhere just to stop her from crying. She wouldn't stop. I drove and drove and drove probably about 8, 000 miles. She wouldn't stop.

I mean, I was so frustrated. I said, I can't take this. I got her, I took her to the church. And she was, my wife was still practicing. I said I can't do this.

Take your daughter. And at that time I realized something. Here there's this little girl was only a few months old. She was separated from her mother for the first time in her life, after a few months. But this cross experience, because sin, because Jesus took upon our sins, right?

Sin separates us from God. Sin separates us from God because Jesus became a sin for us God the Father was being separated from his Son for the first time, not in a few months, but the first time in the history of the universe. First time in the history. And what did Jesus pray? What did he say?

My God, Why have you forsaken me? He said, why have you been separated from me? That was his greatest agony, being separated from his father. They have never, they had never, ever in the history of the universe for eternity past. First time being separated.

You know, here was Christ taking the sins of the world, being separated from his Father In this time of intense agony and unimaginable suffering, Peter denied Christ 3 times, just as Jesus predicted. It says in Deuteronomy 7.12, it says, while the degrading oats were fresh upon Peter's lips, and the shrill crowing of the cock was still ringing in his ears. The Savior turned from the frowning judges and looked full upon his poor disciple. At the same time, Peter's eyes were drawn to his master. In that gentle countenance, he read, deep pity and sorrow.

But there was no anger there. Can you imagine that? To be denied by his beloved disciple. Disciple had absolutely no anger there. It says, in that pale, suffering face, those quivering lips, the look of compassion and forgiveness pierced, pierced Peter's heart like an arrow.

Once more he looked at his master and saw a sacrilegious hand raised to smite him in the face. Unable longer to endure the scene, he rushed heartbroken from the hall. Now here is Peter. He pressed on in solitude and darkness. He knew not and cared not where.

At last he found himself in Gethsemane. The scene of a few hours before came vividly to his mind. The suffering face of his Lord, stained with bloody sweat and convulsed with anguish, rose before him. It was torture to his bleeding heart to know that he had added the heaviest burden to the Savior's humiliation and grief. Now here it is right here.

On the very spot where Jesus had poured out His soul in agony to His Father, Peter fell upon his face and wished, wished that he might die. That is, he wanted that is he wanted to die to self he didn't like his old self when he experienced Christ He wanted to die and become new, be born again. Just as Peter was converted through the grace and love of God, seen on Christ's cross experience. That's the only thing that can really convert us, the Holy Spirit Now I want you all to turn to John 21 verses 10 and 11. This is after Peter was converted.

This is after the cross experience. John 21 10 and 11 says, Jesus said to them, bring some of the fish which you have just caught. Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land full of large fish. 153. Although there were so many.

This time, this time it says the net was not broken. Before his conversion his net broke. After the conversion His net did not break. I believe that the net represents the condition of Peter's and everyone else's here. Christian experience.

Broken net, Christian experience. Broken net, non-converted. Not broken net, be converted 1. Remember the conversion can only be experienced through the Holy Spirit, through the cross of Christ. Do you know how many times we have to be converted?

1 time, 2 times, 18 times, 100 times. Paul says, I die what? I die daily. We have to be converted daily. It's not just 1 time thing.

Oh, I was converted in 1984, July 19th at 947. No, this is a daily experience. You know, Peter went from a fisherman to a truly a fisher of men. You know when we are converted we want to follow the example of Christ is a natural thing it's not something that somebody has to force us to do, conversion to the cross, it's a naturally, it's a natural, we naturally act. We follow the example of Christ.

This story that I'm about to tell you, I don't know if it's true or not, I don't know, but I heard it from somebody. But this is what I heard. They say it was in many years ago in South Korea. There was a missionary couple was driving their car and it was winter time, snowing. They were driving they saw a strange figure on the side of the road.

So they went out and saw it. And this there was a totally frozen dead naked woman. They thought this is strange. It's cold, snowing. Why would this person take off all their clothes?

And then as they were looking at this they heard something. She was holding all of her clothes and the middle of that clothes there was a baby still alive so this couple got the baby and they were so touched they adopted a child And when the child was old enough, they told the child exactly what the mother did. Did you know your mother saved you by covering you up with everything that she had, everything, so you can live. This child was so touched. It was winter time.

It was snowing. He told his adopted he told his adopted parents can you show me can you take me to where my mother is buried. And so they took him there. And it was freezing cold. But the mother was buried, there was a burial site.

The mother gave her life so he can live. What did he do? This boy started taking off all his clothes, 1 by 1. And here he is, shivering because he was totally naked this part I need a tissue you know this child said no tissue? Okay I'm gonna start crying this child said mom mom the child said, mom, mom, because he was feeling that cold he said mom I have to say mom many many times so they can get the thank you Not tissue this somebody's handkerchief It says mom It was cold wasn't it it was cold when you save me just like I'm feeling how I'm feeling it was cold When a person is converted and they see the love, They want to act like they want to experience what the Savior went through.

They Follow the example of the Savior. This child wanted to experience what his mother went through to save him. The true followers of Christ will act like Christ. Christ will act like Christ. They want to experience the things that Christ experienced.

When you see the Christ of Christ, When you see Christ suffering for our sins up on the cross for you, for each 1 of us, how can we not follow him? You know that Cowley Peter before the conversion after the conversion he became a totally different person he was bold He was willing to die for Christ. You know how Peter died, right? He died on the cross upside down. You know, cross upside down.

You know, just as the prescription goggles completely changed my experience with snorkeling. Christ, cross of Christ will change all of us. I like to read this statement this is my favorite all-time favorite statement from spirit prophecy is found in 5 testimonies page 740 it says this It says this, all the, remember this, listen very carefully, All, all that means everything right? All the paternal love which has come down from generation to generation through the channel of human hearts. All the springs of tenderness which have opened in the souls of men.

I mean that is all the love that we have for our children combined. From Adam all the way down to the last person. If you compare that, I have to read it again. All the paternal love which has come down from generation to generation through the channels of human hearts. All the springs of tenderness which have opened in the souls of men are but as a tiny reel, that means a tiny stream, to the boundless ocean when compared with the infinite, exhaustless love of God.

Tongue cannot utter it. Pen cannot portray it. You may meditate upon it every day of your life. You may search the scriptures diligently in order to understand it. You may summon every power and capability that God has given you in the endeavor to comprehend and love and compassion of the Heavenly Father.

And yet there is an infinity beyond. You may study that love for ages, Yet you can never fully comprehend the length and the breadth and the depth and the height of the love of God and giving his son to die for the world. Eternity itself can never fully reveal it. Can you imagine that? We're going to study about God's love for eternity yet as we study the I mean eternity itself it can can never fully reveal it What does it tell you about God's love?

I mean, if you cannot understand God's love even in eternity. Yet as we yet as we study the Bible and meditate upon the life of Christ and the plan of redemption, these great themes will open to our understanding more and more. And much more. If you would like to know more about AudioVerse, or if you

Back to Menu

The Broken Net

Sponsor

Recorded

Sound Doctrine