Waiting on God

2010
Friday, 12 February
05:00:34

Me: Good Morning Father. Good Morning Jesus. Good Morning Holy Spirit. Thank you for inviting me to join you this morning and for waking me. I do love you, help me to love your more.

Trinity: Good morning Martin, thank you for responding to the invitation and for your praise and worship. We love you.

Lord: I want to speak to my people this morning about commitment and obedience to me. This is a sensitive subject for many of my own people still value, and think they own, the right to 'do their own thing". In the 21st chapter of the Gospel of John, we have an example of men doing their own thing, and it coming to nothing. Then, when they obey a simple command from Jesus, they succeed.

John 21.1-6

Jesus and the Miraculous Catch of Fish

Afterwards Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael 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 and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realise that it was Jesus.

He called out to them, Friends, haven't you any fish?

No, they answered.

He said, Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some. When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

Jesus: These were men who had spent three years very close to Me They knew My ways and had already begun to learn that they needed Me. They had just begun to grasp the truth that, they could do nothing in their own strength. But they had taken a real bashing over the previous week. Watching Me die on the Cross, had nearly blown their minds. Dear Peter, especially, had felt the loss, and was feeling very bruised. There was a lot of self recrimination in his heart. He blamed himself and he hated himself for appearing, in his own eyes, to be a coward. He was not a coward at all; he was a man trying to live in his own strength. However he learned this basic lesson 'Apart from me, you can do nothing' (John 15.5).

Lord: Yes, If you want to be doing My will, you have to rely on Me, for the wherewithal to do it. First of all you need the command from Me to go! Peter always found waiting hard. Waiting on Me is a vital part of doing My will. Like so many, who are men of action, Peter felt he needed some occupation to satisfy his restlessness. When he decided to go fishing, all the other disciples with him, who all felt the same frustration, followed his lead. I laugh, when I think how easy it was for me to cause the fish to avoid his net! This of course added to Peter's frustration, and his zeal to beat the sea increased! Being a very experienced fisherman, he knew it was the perfect night for fishing. Yet, the more he tried the more frustrated he got. The conditions were perfect. The season was right. He did have all the right gear, and the expertise. The only thing he lacked was success!

Jesus: Then I chose to appear to them. I was actually there all the time, even before they launched, but their restlessness hid me from their eyes. One thing their hard labour had done for them, was to exhaust the restlessness from them. They were all ready for their beds as they neared the shore. I was actually laughing when I called out to them, "Have you caught anything". Peter was cross, until I gave him a command. Self had been reduced to nothing, and he was more open at that moment, than he had been an hour previously. He couldn't see what I saw. As he cast the net for the last time, I could see Spirit doing, what looked like a dance, as he herded the fish into the net. He was obviously enjoying the task!

Lord: It was John who first recognised what was happening, and that it was Jesus on the shore. But it was Peter who had to run to Jesus, for it was Peter who had found it so hard to wait, and needed so much to hold on to Jesus.

Jesus: So many of you, my dear children, are struggling in your own strength to do what you think is my will, and it often is my will. But you are trying to do it on your own, without allowing me to show you how.

Peter, Andrew, James and John, all knew about fishing, and didn't need me to show them their job. What they didn't know, was what I had in mind for their skills. The Holy Spirit has distributed many amazing gifts among my people. Gifts which, in the right hands and in the right circumstances, are powerful tools for the kingdom. The Father has the overall plan in his mind. He knows where his people are, and the gifts they have. He knows where the need is, and how best to deal with it. What we want, is for all those, graced with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, to wait on us, for guidance and instruction in how to use the gifts, and when to use them. When Peter acted on my command, the net caught the maximum number of fishes, and it did not break!

Lord: In the coming times of revival, I want my church to be watching and waiting in my presence. I have Angels constantly waiting around my throne, ready to respond immediately to my command. I want my Church to be thus ready. By waiting and watching in my presence, you will find fulfilment and satisfaction. That fulfilment will be complete, as you respond to my command, and feel the real power of the Holy Spirit flowing through you, to accomplish My will.

Jesus: Waiting on the Father is one of the hardest lessons for man to learn, but once learnt, is the key to being where God wants you to be. Wait, watch and pray.