The Dream Team

In Luke 5, Jesus is standing by the lake of Ganezerath. People were crowding around Him and listening to the Word of God. He saw at the edge two boats, left there by the fisherman who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon Peter and asked him to pull out a little from shore. He sat down and taught the people from the boat.

When Jesus had finished teaching, He said to Peter, “Let's go fishing.”

I think it is pretty cool that Jesus preached and went fishing in the same clothes. Jesus hung out with the ordinary people of life. If Peter had been a truck driver, he would have said let's go for a drive. If he had been a CEO, Jesus would have said let's go grab a cup of coffee. But he was a fisherman and Jesus said, let's go fish.

Peter replied, "You want to do what? Listen. We just got done fishing. We fished all night. We are tired, frustrated, and right now is not a great time to fish. Now you are a carpenter and I respect that. You are a Rabbi and I respect that. But the truth is you know preaching and I know fishing."

Ever felt like Jesus knows all the spiritual stuff, but when it comes to everyday life stuff, we got it covered?

Also Jesus wasn’t talking about a little fishing outing with a cooler of Pepsi and a bobber. These guys were commercial fisherman and they were worn out and frustrated. Their boats were heavy, their nets were heavy, and they had just finished picking out all the weeds and rocks that they had scooped up from the bottom of the lake.

They had just finished cleaning their nets and Jesus said lets go fishing and dirty them up again.

In verse 5, Simon answered. "Master, We have worked hard all night and have not caught anything."

But this is a key phrase here, BUT BECAUSE YOU SAY SO, I will let down the nets. Peter is a pro. He knows the lake. He knows fishing. He knows the odds of catching any fish at this time of day. Never the less, he has seen Jesus in action. He would not do this for anyone else and says, "because it is you we will go."

Have you ever see the movie, Princess Bride? Farm boy, Wesley is deeply in love with Buttercup. However, he never says I love you, he instead he says ‘as you wish’.

Peter would learn that this was the key to life.

Then look what happens next. Peter goes out into the deep waters and drops the net out of courtesy for his new fishing buddy. He starts to pull up the net and all of a sudden his muscles start flexing, his eyes start bulging, and a smile begins to flash across his face. The nets begin to tear as he yells for his partners. They begin to pull up so may fish that they are spilling out of the nets and the boats are starting to sink. It was then that Peter falls on his knees in a pile of slimy fish and cries out, "Just go away from me, I am a sinful man." In that moment, he sees Jesus for who He really His, in His purity, His wholeness, His power, and goodness. Peter says, "I don’t deserve to be in the same boat with you."

Jesus says in verse 11. "Don’t be afraid. From now on you will fish for people." So they, meaning James, John, and Simon pulled their boats on the shore. They left everything and they followed him.

Jesus said, I choose YOU! I want you guys to help me rescue people. They left everything including their record catch and they turned to their dad and said ‘All yours Zebedee, gotta go, can you believe it, Jesus wants US!'

Jesus choses the ordinary guys running the family business with their dad. Can you imagine how it made them feel? Jesus saw potential in people like nobody else and He used them to rock the world.

I want to see people through the eyes of Jesus, don’t you? And I never want to forget the impact of being chosen.

Can you imagine how those guys felt? When Jesus said, I want YOU! There is just this unexplainable feeling that comes over you, when someone wants you. Doesn’t it make you feel awesome? Have you ever been picked last for a team, not chosen at all, or sat by yourself in a large group of people.

It is a great feeling to feel wanted. When someone says, I want You. I love YOU. You may be feeling rejected, unwanted, not worthy, but God wants to pick YOU and use your life. God thinks highly of you.

Eph. 1:4 – 6 "Long before He laid down the earths' foundations. He had US in mind and had settled on US as the focus of His love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt US into his family through Jesus Christ and what a pleasure he took in planning this."

Jesus was a dream releaser. That is why people flocked to hear him. He takes the down and out and makes them into the up and coming. He gave them dreams of a better life, not necessarily an easier one but a better one AND a better place.

Jesus recruited people like Peter, James, and John and on the same team, he put Matthew who was an IRS agent for the Roman government trying to collect taxes on these guys. Guys that nobody else wanted.

I want to be a dream releaser, don’t you? I want to help people see their potential. I want to help people see more accurately who they are in the eyes of God. I want to help them paint a picture of what they actually could be in their life.

There is power in a dream. When someone releases a dream in you, you know that somebody in this world needs your unique contribution, your unique giftedness, your personality, your talents, and your experiences.

Jesus put together this rag tag band of unique people with glaring weaknesses and He simply astonished them with their strengths.

Peter never knew he could preach like that.
John never dreamed he could love like that.
James never knew he could lead like that.

About three years later in the book of Acts, which details the history of the early church, Peter, John, and James are the stars of this book. They were brought before the council for preaching about Jesus.

Acts 13 says, "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men; they were astonished and they just took note that these men had been with Jesus. "

God wants the same thing for YOU

Jesus invested in these guys for three years. He poured His life into them and later He would pour His Holy Spirit into them.

Who has made a big investment in your life? Who can you think of that has just poured their life into you and really made a difference; may be your mom, dad, coach, teacher, friend, brother, or sister?

Who has invested their life in you because they believed in YOU? Who is investing their life into you now and whose life are you investing into now? It is all leaders and followers.

SI Milican tells a story of a young woman who wanted to go to a particular college. Her heart sank when she read the question on the application form that asked ‘Are you a leader?’ She was honest and she wrote, NO, and she returned the application expecting the worse. Much to her surprise, this was the response she got from the college.

Dear Applicant.

A study of the application forms reveals that this year our college will have 1452 new leaders. We are accepting YOU because we feel it is imperative that they have at least one follower.

Great followers make great leaders. And those great leaders invest in great followers, who become great leaders, and on and on and on.

When you dare to invest your life in people, it is a risky business. Remember these guys were not A-team that Jesus chose. These were ruff edge, raw, potential guys that many times frustrated Him. Not because they were so incapable, but because He could see their immense potential. They had a hard time realizing what they were capable of .

I am sure many times Jesus may have thought; if they would just stop arguing about who’s on first and lose their pride and egos. If they would learn to serve each other, they would learn that it is really more fun to give than to receive. If they only stopped worrying about material possession. If they would only walk in faith, totally dependent on God for every single need in their life, they would become amazing people. Yet, He never stopped believing in them.

Was Jesus ever hurt by these guys? Absolutely!

He was seconded guessed, ridiculed, doubted, denied, and betrayed. I am sure there were times he felt disappointed, frustrated, fed up, and under appreciated.

May be you can relate. You spend you whole life investing your time and energy into people, only to get disappointed.

Investing in people is always risky. Peter reached for his potential and found it. Judas reached for a rope and hung himself. Jesus took a risk in choosing falliable people with a free will. Why? Because the risk was worth it.

Who are you raising up today? Who are you sharing your faith story with? Who are you breathing belief and love into today?

You just never know the impact it could have on someone. Never, never stop believing in someone and always allow them enough time to show you their good side.

Blessings.

Jill