Calvin Synod Herald, 1997 (97. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)

1997-01-01 / 1. szám

CALVIN SYNOD HERALD- 6 -Relief from Skepticism

Youth Sunday Sermonette

delivered by Jason Strobel at our Fairport Harbor Church. Text from John 21:1-14

While we have already heard the word of God, I feel that before we can truly understand what it is that God had in mind for us to gain from this verse, we must first see what is going on in the situation. Everyone experiences times of doubt and for the disciples, this was one such time. They were frustrated because the resurrected Christ had appeared to each disciple individually, he had not yet done anything miraculous to show himself to them. Peter had become especially anxious and decided to go fishing. Being a solid unit, the other disciples decided to follow. The solidarity of the disciples is something we should strive for today. God wants us to stay together not just as Christians in church, but as friends outside of the church as well. Strength in the church is something we must accomplish to be successful. The disciples who were once fishers of men had reverted to being fishers of fish. As they pulled in their nets after a day of fishing, they had caught nothing. This is important because it shows what the disciples could accomplish without Christ. Nothing. This is the case today. Anyone, even a Christian, without Christ is able to accomplish nothing. The next day, a man came to the shore of the sea and told them to cast their nets to the other side of the boat. This man, of course, was Jesus, but the disciples were not yet aware of his identity. As they tried to haul in their net, it was so loaded with fish that bringing it into the boat was impossible. Immediately, they recognized that it was Jesus who had helped them with their fish. In this illustration, the net of the fishermen is the church as a whole. Without Christ, the net is nearly falling apart. The men were questioning where Jesus had gone and if he was real or just a fleeting religious man with some good ideas. After Christ appeared to the men, they cast their nets into the water and were rewarded with a bounty of fish. The net, or church, had been strengthened by Christ’s presence. This principle still applies today. If a church wants to attract believers, or fish into its nets, it must have Christ as its center. A church without Jesus is like a plant without water. The plant will begin to grow, but eventually its growth stops as it becomes withered. Inevitably, the plant dies. Without Christ, a

church will die.

This passage also illustrates a common flaw that many people have today. They are skeptical about the greatness of Christ because he has never appeared to them or produced anything for them. Most skeptics are materialistic and cannot simply accept the works of Christ without physically seeing what he has done. They are the people who truly suffer from disbelief. The disciples were skeptical, but Jesus appeared to them. After times of doubt, they again were believers. Often times, God provides relief from skepticism. In this case, God sends Jesus to the disciples in his humanly form. The disciples need to see Jesus again to understand that he is in fact alive, not merely an apparition, a fleeing thought. It is important to be able to believe in Christ without always seeing him. Being able to believe without directly seeing is something we all need to work on to increase our faith in Christ.

I remember a time in my life when I was skeptical about what Church did for me. I was about eight or nine years old, and my parents took me to Sunday School. I often told them that I didn’t want to go to church because it didn’t do anything for me. I asked what’s in it for me? The truth was that I needed something to show me how going to church benefited me. No one could ever show me a material product of going to church, but that was the only way they could convince me of a church’s help to me. Eventually, I outgrew this doubt. I realized that there was no material benefit for me, but I did feel a spiritual growth as I continued to attend Sunday School, Confirmation Class and now the Church itself. It is this kind of feeling that we all need to feel in order to reap the real benefits of Church and the love of Christ. While we may not directly see what Christ’s love is doing for us, we all can feel that love. I now suggest that if you haven't yet gotten this feeling, you go home tonight and look deep into yourself for it. Once you get this feeling, you will know. If your children or yourself are skeptical, realize that we cannot always see what we want to. The true believer can surmount this obstacle and believe in Christ. We all need to climb over this barrier and believe in Christ. Even if we can't see him. Hebrews 11:1-3. His love is tangible. We can feel it.

This passage also confronts us with a very real possibility. Jesus appears to the

AMERIKAI MAGYAR REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA

disciples and they are able, once they recognize him, to follow him. But could you follow him if he were to appear to you today? John realized that Christ had come to them. In a similar incident, when Christ was first gathering the disciples, he appeared to them as they returned from a night of fishing. He asked them what they had caught and they had nothing. The next day, he told them to cast their nets to the other side of the boat where they reaped a bountiful harvest. Based on the similarity of this incident, John instantly realized that it was Jesus again. He shouted, “It is the Lord.” Today, it is still important for us to remember past occurrences in order to see the continuing work of God in our lives. Immediately Peter dove into the water and swam as quickly as he could to the shore where Jesus stood. Now close your eyes and picture the joy that Peter must have felt. His master had come back to him. He dressed as fast as possible and swam to the man he loved. Keeping your eyes closed, imagine that you are doing your favorite activity, whatever it may be. For me, it is golf. Pretend that you have been trying all day to do whatever you do just right, without success. A man appears to you from nowhere and tells you to do it a completely different way. For years, these fishermen had been tossing their nets to the left side of the boat, but Jesus told them to cast their nets to the other side. Could you suddenly make that change? Now you can succeed at your activity, with the help of Christ. Do you now believe that it is Christ who has helped. The disciples did. Are you prepared to do whatever else this man tells you? The disciples were. If Jesus were to appear to you today, could you follow him? Atme disciple could. I realize that our world is filled with atheists and agnostics trying to denounce the God in which we believe. If Jesus were to appear to us, many people would laugh at you for following Him. People would ridicule you for your beliefs. Could you stand up for what you believe in? A real disciple could. If Jesus were to come into this church, could you follow him out these doors and proclaim that he is back? A true Christian could. I know I could follow Christ if he were back. I hope you could, too.

In conclusion, I offer this Bible passage as something that we all must consider. We live in a time filled with adversity for the true Christian. Without Christ, we would be unsuccessful in our faith, like the disciple's fishing net. We as a church must come together in Christ and work from there, for he is the core of our beliefs, beliefs that must exist without our always seeing him. We need to be ready to accept Christ as our master and be ready to follow Him if He were to return to us today.