In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the love and passion he has for preaching the word of God. He repeats multiple times that he loves it with his whole soul. The sermon then transitions to a story from the Bible about Simon Peter, a fisherman who was called by Jesus to be a disciple. Despite being called to full-time service, Peter still had a love for fishing. After Jesus' resurrection, Peter decides to go back to fishing, but Jesus appears to him and reminds him of his calling. The sermon ends with a prayer for those who may be struggling with fear and disappointment, encouraging them to come to Jesus for comfort and blessings.

From his lighthouse evermore, but to us he gives the keeping of the light along the shore. Eight hundred and five, please. I could be a hundred thirty, from his lighthouse evermore, but to us he gives the keeping of the light along the shore. Eight hundred and five, please. I could be a hundred thirty, from his lighthouse evermore, but to us he gives the keeping of the light along the shore. Eight hundred and five, please. I could be a hundred thirty, from his lighthouse evermore, but to us he gives the keeping of the light along the shore. Eight hundred and five, please. I could be a hundred thirty, from his lighthouse evermore, but to us he gives the keeping of the light along the shore. Eight hundred and five, please. I could be a hundred thirty, from his lighthouse evermore, but to us he gives the keeping of the light along the shore. We're looking after Peter this evening, and it's only a sort of introduction to this character, because it's going to take a bit more time for this, you know. I think it would be right to say this evening that the Holy Ghost has given us more incidental little things about the life and character of Peter than he has given us about anybody else. And yet I don't want to go into those little incidentals tonight, we shall leave them for next week. I want to try to sketch for you from the book this evening a picture of the student that came into God's school called Peter. God brought him into the school. And I'm only sketching for you a rough sketch of the student that came into the school. You'll notice that I begin this evening by saying he was a Jew, and you might wonder why I said that. You know, I was preaching in Whitehall in London, and if you know London, Whitehall is in the centre of London, it's like the White House in America. It's there that the Lord Mayor sits, and the great inner London council. But on this occasion, I was preaching through business titles, maybe all of the millionaires, and I would pick maybe 400 of them. And Sir John Wren was the chairman, and there was a little book written some years ago, and Dr Martin Lloyd-Jones did a bit of it, and Sir John Wren did a bit of it, and I did the other bit. And so we knew each other very well, and they said to me, we were just talking before the meeting began, all these thoughts were gathering. They said to me, I want to ask you a question, was Peter a Jew? I said, of course he was a Jew. He said, are you sure about that now? I said, yes, I think I'm sure about it. I said, he was the son of Jonah, Jonah. Surely Jonah was a Jewish name. Because I can tell you there's a little group of men in the meeting tonight, and they believe he was a Gentile. He said, you know they have some funny saying, come over tonight and introduce you to them. My old man's going, you think he was a Jew. Surely you're not for sure now. So he brings me over into this select group, and he said, I was asking Mr Mullen, was Peter a Jew? And he said, he was. And the leader of the group said, no, he wasn't, you know. He was a Gentile. So I'm thinking hard, you see, I've never done this before, and I'm in a group of smart alecks. I've got to get this computer working. Sometimes it takes a second or two to get it to slide. But I'm thinking now right through, and I said, well, he was the apostle to the Jews, wasn't he? And the leader said, yes, that's quite true. He was the apostle to the Jews, but then we said missionaries to the Jews, and it doesn't mean that they're Jews. And I could see he had done some homework on what he was talking about, because he was really able to say every moment that I would make a stammer. He said, that's what John does. It's an old Greek word, and it could be translated John. He was the son of John. So that wasn't helping affairs at all. And the computer's still rolling. Have to roll it on and wonder where the answer is. And then I said to him, now let's have a look at this. You have a look at it with me, because I'm only doing this for the young people. Somebody might come up and ask you, and you wouldn't know, that's all. And that's my business and life, to help you all that you do know. And I said to him, let's have a look at this wonderful letter to the Galatians, and they're up the second chapter. Galatians chapter two, verse eleven, Paul is writing to this church at Galatia, and this is what he said to them. But when Peter was coming to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. Paul wasn't afraid of Peter's supposed to be ecclesiastical standing, he just withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain claim from James, he did it with the Gentiles. So I stopped at this claim and said, now, why would they make anything out of this he did it with the Gentiles, if he wasn't a Jew? Paul said there were things made out of this, you know, in the old Judaizers, they did make things out of this even for Gentiles, and they weren't having that at all, of course. I could see him being through these arguments before. But I'm afraid he couldn't do so much as well. For before that certain claim from James, he did it with the Gentiles, and when they were coming, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing then which were of the circumcision, and he was afraid of the Jews. Circumcision means the Jews. And the other Jews, that's the word, dissembled likewise with him. So that the rest of the boys that dissembled were Jews anyway. And to this he had to give in. In so much that Barnabas also was carried away with their discrimination. And Paul said, but when I saw that they laughed not outrightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter, before them all, it's thou being a Jew. And your man nearly died. Not sure where he should say amen to a fellow dying or not. But this was the night and the place and the time when this little fact was broken up for good. They had a false teacher in the midst. And he'd taken them all for a ride up an empty lane. There is no question about them being Jews. But it took me for a moment or two to find where this little fact was. I should have known better. I sort of rebuke myself when I don't know it on the spot. But there is no doubt at all about it. The phrase is here. When I saw that they laughed not outrightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter, before them all, it's thou being a Jew. Lizard after the manner of Gentiles and not of dildo Jews. Why compare us to other Gentiles to live as dildo Jews? We also are Jews by nature. And Paul is putting himself in the preacher. We also are Jews. But there is no question that I thought I should start with this because this is the man that brought him to the truth. He was a Jew. No question at all about it and I've done this for the young people's sake. If somebody knows I want to establish he was a fisherman. Let's go to Matthew's gospel and we're at chapter four. Matthew's gospel. Chapter four. Verse eighteen. And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon said, Peter and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea for they were fishers. Or as the translation goes sometimes they were fishermen. And there is no question at all about this. These are very tempted points but this is a very important one because not only did Peter a fisherman but I said to you this evening that he was a very good fisherman. And what is more I should show you that he loved fishing more than anything else on this earth until he met Christ. And he loved it with his whole soul. And it's a great thing when you have a job that you can do well and that you love. I want you to get the moral of that because that's very important. You know, let's go just for a moment to Luke's gospel and where it justifies. Luke's gospel chapter five. Verse one. And it came to pass that as the people pressed upon him that is the people pressed upon our Lord Jesus to hear the word of God. And I always think that's wonderful because he just expounded the word of God and people liked it. He stood by the lake of Geneva that's another name for Germany and saw two ships standing by the lake but the thicker men were gone out of them and were washing their necks and he entered into one of the ships which was Simon's. And it came to him that he was pushed out a little from the land and he sat down and tossed the people out of the ship. He just dropped the ship a little bit out from the shore just to keep the crowd from pushing him about and he tossed them out of the ship. Verse four. Now when he had left speeches he said unto Simon launch out into the deep and let down your necks for a blast. Now Simon looked at him once or twice once to try to paint his picture. He hired him what to do just now I'll read you what he said first. Now stir and he hath told all night and hath taken off. You see he was a great physical man and they had been out all night and that's the time you catch fish you catch them in the night time. And I had the great privilege in life of having a mission for sixteen weeks in Portobogie and I would out with the fishermen almost every night because they had seven devotional days and they would stop at twelve o'clock midnight and I would be allowed to preach over the video to all the fishermen on these boats. I think I can safely say before the Lord that about seventy of them were saved in the sixteen weeks. So I know something about fishermen and their ways and you see you catch fish at night quite easily but you see our Lord is by the sea of Galilee and it is day time and he's preaching to the clouds and then he turns to Peter and he says launch us into the deep and let down your nets for the blast and he's almost bumping into the professionalism of this great fisherman. Now he doesn't want to be too rude to the Lord and he doesn't want to say look you're talking nonsense he's tried all night and he couldn't get fish and fish he can't get them through the boat and he didn't do it like that. But you can see his professionalism coming up just again in the answer because this is what the answer is. The answer is not to have poured oil and lightning and taken nothing. Nevertheless all right as I would I would let down the nets and you're up to think and thousands of common people have taught that he's obeying the law not a bit of it. I just read a commentary today and I think he would pay about twelve pounds for it and he says you know he's submitting to the competency of the Lord even though he's a great fisherman I'm asking the Lord and he's doing nothing of the kind. Now let me read it properly to you. Here's what the Lord said launch out into the deep and let down your nets and there is a net there of these boats carrying three or four nets to a sea in each side and it's not a stump Simon whenever he said that because he's such a good fisherman he doesn't want to just fight with the Lord and he's just got his stomach munched and he would pour down the nets and have taken nothing nevertheless I would I would let down the nets he has no motion of letting down the nets that's disobedience you know. That's what we say at the time we pretend so obey the Lord and they don't even talk a little bit it's just the pleasure of letting down your net and letting down your nets now just watch what happens when they have this done they enclose the great multitude of fishermen on their net, but no wonder have you obeyed the way you should have obeyed and let down the nets there would be no breaking the Lord wouldn't break the net on you it's your own disobedience that's making you a loser they lost don't you because they thought they were clever didn't make a matter of what profession you were in don't you ever think that you know better than the Lord because you'll lose if you do they lost the net he wouldn't do that on you no this was disobedience now watch this they brought along two of their partners which were in the other ship that they should come and help them and they came and turned the ship so that they began to fish all the work left to fish there all the math to look to succeed was on the job of course and though the great fisherman was spotting you in everything you ought to have had more sense now I'll tell you how I know that he was wrong for in Simon he does such it turns out that Jesus needs faith he talks from it for I am a sinful man oh Lord if you never knew about this terrible sinfulness it is you it is you I've blundered I shouldn't have done it Lord I should have obeyed you I'm just trying to show you that he was a fisherman I'm trying to show you he was a great fisherman he knew you know the rules of fishing isn't it a matter of many rules you know don't keep me arguing about a lot of things he knows better than you always remember he knows better now watch this again we are all at John's Gospel and we are at John's Gospel the very last chapter chapter 21 verse 1 just to get the proper connection after these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples after seeing his tribulation and it's another name for Galilee sometimes it's called Genevieve sometimes it's called Epsom sometimes it's called Galilee and sometimes it's called Tiberias the little town that's right beside it is called Tiberias and on this line children and folk they went together Simon Peter and Thomas Carl Zedemus and Nathaniel and Cain and Galilee and the sons of Zebedee two other chief disciples they were all there Simon Peter said unto them I saw a fishing you see what's going on don't you because you know we're going to learn in a moment that he was called away from the fishing three and a half years before this God came along the shore one day and called them into full time service and asked them to leave their nets and call home and Peter said in love with the Lord that day and left all in the sight of Jesus but there was always laying in the back of that big heart there was always a love for the fishing and when he got the stopper got set a little bit he's weeping on the Lord's ears after resurrection day and the Lord had promised to come and feed them up in Galilee and they're walking off and down the shore and they're weeping and he gets frustrated he says it's the lifeguard he just comes along and says I'm going back for a fishing they took their nets and went back with me and I'll tell you this they called all night again and did nothing because you know you're not going to make a success of that if the Lord has called you away from it oh I had the best job in this country working with the best man that ever walked in shoe leather and the day the Lord called me away I cried and he cried I said man you don't think I'm falling out do you I just love the Lord that every year he said you go and try it and if it doesn't succeed the job will be here for you just come in and take the job don't ask me for it it will never be that and he never started another man in my place he's dead and gone there wasn't a chance of me going back never mind about the frustrations and the thorns and everything else oh no let's go on and let's go play but what's this you know they went for fishing here Simon Peter said unto them I go fishing they said unto him we shall go with thee went forth and entered into a ship immediately at night they caught nothing and when the morning was nigh coming Jesus stood on the shore with nothing oh yes here they are coming in I can see them coming in through the fog and they're cold and tired and disappointed undefeated and downcast undetached and the dust of us get like that my dear you're here and you may be depressed at times the Lord will be on the shore open for you on the shore of your depression take your time and look around you and somewhere in the shadows you'll find him he's not like the rest of us you know the rest are your friends if you did this on them they'll run away and leave you he's standing on the shore gift to you these boys you know just love them didn't you so why don't we learn to love one another see these souls sometimes coming in and tears in their eyes and just trembling there's something bothering them they need somebody to love them my God some of the religious rats we have they wouldn't know what might have triggered them dear don't be boring about men Jesus will be on the shore standing on the shore what a wonderful friend he is oh I must go on with this I'm going to lose time but I can't help it before when the morning was now come Jesus stood on the shore but the disciples knew not who didn't Jesus they couldn't see him properly then Jesus said unto them children are you enemies they answered him no he said unto them cast the net get the word now oh no ass I don't know is it oh no he should learn to read you know oh you clever clerks that can read you can read far too well you're just a beast if you were as stupid as me you'd have to take your time with it ass I think that's how you get on you know just because you're dense what a school I went to wasn't it Irish it was great yes he said unto them cast the net on the right side of the ship and ye shall find they cast therefore and now they were not able to draw for the multitude of fishes therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved that was John he said to Peter it's the Lord now he knew that because he was quick you know he said you know just the way the fish went into that net Peter it's the Lord that's the Lord I'm not sure that's the way the Lord does things he was revealing himself to them through the old net but will you see this therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter it was the Lord when Simon heard that it was the Lord he got his fishes caught onto him when he was naked and cast himself into the sea and the other disciples came in the middle ship for they were not far from land but as it were two hundred cubits dragging the net with fishes as soon as they were come to land they saw a fire of coals there the Lord asked me where he got the coals what would I know I just know he made a fire of coals he knows just where the coals are the thing that he knows where the fish are the Lord was talking about you know he knows all about this thing he doesn't worry about what he knows he knows it all so he gathered the coals fancy the Lord lighting the fire in the morning isn't it wonderful shows how wonderful he is as soon as they were come to land they saw a fire of coals there and fish laid there on they couldn't get the fish he had already got the breakfast and bread making the breakfast Jesus said unto them bring up the fish which ye have now caught Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land full of great fishes a hundred and fifty and three in this net a hundred and fifty and three great fishes and for all there were so many yet was not the net broken did he get of it because if you do as you are told in that little bridge if he says net it's ok if he says net and you say net it is not ok why a hundred and fifty and three now you see I was up Tiberius for a day or two one morning I went down the steps stepped into a little fishing boat where there was a great big husky fisherman a Jew and I said hello he said you are Irish I said you are right it's always safe to say you are Irish when you are away from home I said I want to ask you a question about a hundred and fifty and three he said it's my thing you know he said they tell me and I think it has been proved once or twice that in this great sea of Galilee there are one hundred and fifty and three different kinds of fish so if this was a medical it's a sort of super medical because the Lord didn't only fill the net with a hundred and fifty and three but he took one of each kind and put it in there only the Lord can do that that's really wonderful you know you see Peter was a great fisherman loved the fishing now he was called away from it one day they are going slow just now let's go to Luke's gospel chapter 40 gospel by Luke and we are at the fourth chapter the Lord preaching in the synagogue here verse 38 and he arose out of the synagogue and entered into Simon's house now he was a Jew he was a fisherman now he had a house here and Simon's wife's mother was taken with a great fever and they besought him for her and he relieved the fever and it left her and immediately she arose and ministered unto them or to just prove he was married because the scholars believe that at this point of time he was somewhere about forty years of age I'm trying to build the students that came into the school I'm terribly slow at it I think the Lord wanted to say something to some people in the meeting for I've just got to do what the Lord wants me to do I'm not worried about the notes or anything else I want you to see this student that came into the school I want you to see that he was a Jew, no questions I want you to see he was a fisherman who loved the fishing loved it almost as much as he loved the Lord, not just quite we'll prove that before long I want you to take note he was married sometimes when I talk to the Roman Catholic theologians they say Peter was the first Pope and I say well he was married what have you got to say about this and they don't like it because the Popes were not married let's get it quite clear that Peter was married and the Roman Catholic Church can do nothing about it only lick their sores I want you to get the whole of that I want you to notice this a little bit, let's go through the Acts of the Apostles chapter 4 because we must build a bit more of this man just now the Acts of the Apostles and we are at the 4th chapter and this is the place where he had to stand before the Sanhedrin, that's the old Jewish council, he was arrested here brought before the Jewish council this fine faith came to pass on the moral that their rulers and elders and scribes and elders, the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander all these hands are a special figure of speech in the Greek language see we must get them all in says their rulers and elders and scribes and elders the high priest and Caiaphas I can't understand that properly because Caiaphas was the high priest that year if you remember at the trial it was Caiaphas actually there was a row in the Sanhedrin, there were two high priests there were juggling one another up, Eli Calican and Mrs. Thatcher she'll do them in one of these days well there were two high priests here anyway and the Holy Ghost has recorded it for us and I'm pointing it out to you John of the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest were gathered together in Jerusalem when they had set them in the midst they asked by what call or by what name had you done this they're questioning Peter and John about the miracle wonderful miracle of the man who was laid at the beautiful gate of the temple and this is when I love Peter most he stepped forward like this but filled with the Holy Ghost we are up to criticize him at times said unto them ye rulers of the people and elders of Israel if we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man by what means he has made whole be it known unto you all and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom he crucified whom God raised from the dead even by him doth this man stand here before you all this is the stone which was set at knock of you builders which has become the head of the corner neither is there salvation in any other for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived they were on land and ignorant men these fellows in the Sanhedrin in the old Jewish council they were all scholars Hebrew scholars were all men of letters but but these men standing before them on land wanted to see this man that's coming into the school he's a Jew he's a fisherman he must have rough hands there's a book written and it's called the big fisherman and I think that's the proper title because he was big in everything he did when he did a blunder it was a big one we'll come to the blunders too don't make any mistakes I want you to get the whole of this he's a Jew, he's a fisherman he's a married man he's a non-lettered man he was a saint man you wonder why I put that in too because I'll tell you that I was preaching in a certain place and an old doctor of law said to me I don't like this word safe and I wouldn't like to tell you all the things I said back in that second of course these old fellows don't like the word safe he said to me this is a north of Ireland word this is the only part of the word you hear this word saved they're always talking about getting saved in the north of Ireland hallelujah I said this is not the north of Ireland word at all this is a new testament word sir I would like to tell you that Peter used this word more than anybody else he said he never used it once I said you know it's a pity of you you know you have a big head but there must be a big bit of space with nothing in it there's no use of me having a love without having a real love sure you know when Elijah got the boys all before him he really took it out on them I learned from this book you know I don't think I should be soft with an old fellow who's talking nonsense when I know it's nonsense so I said to him let's have a look at this book see chapter 2 of the etch of the apostles well without the the authentic cross Peter got filled with the holy ghost on this day and you know he preaches this mighty sermon and three thousand souls were saved and this is what it says Peter says verse 17 and it shall come to pass in the last days that God I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams and on my presence and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my spirit and they shall prophesy and I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath blood and fire and vapour and smoke the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and notable day of the Lord come and it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved I said did you miss that bit as you went through because that happens to be the heart and core of the Pentecostal sermon, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved of course Peter used this word sure we just read when he stood up before the Sanhedrin that he said neither is there salvation in any other for there is none other name on the heaven given among men whereby we must be saved yes you will find that when he has to answer back to the Judaizers he said the angel came and the vision was given and I was told to go to the house of Canaan and preach words whereby they might be saved oh I can go on with it you know, imagine an old teller standing up and saying it's a north of Ireland word there are some who would swallow that I don't let these fellows off of it this is below me these modernists would need to be dealt with, you are not allowed to say things like these this is a scriptural word I want you to get that now what I think we'll do we'll stop there and then we'll go on you better keep these notes for next week and we'll take the time to do it properly I won't finish all this if I go on like this, but I'm sure God has said what he wants to say just now and we'll see the student in the school and we'll go on with the rest of it it's bowed together before the Lord Lord we bow at thy feet tonight we thank thee that thou art the God of all grace thou art teaching the things which are not and the weak things and the base things and the foolish things to bring to naught the things that are oh God we thank thee for calling Peter into the school this big fisherman this Jew this man who was married this man who was unlearned but this man who was truly saved oh God help us to see the material that you take up and help us to see in the nights to come the mighty things that thou canst do yea Lord just by thine own power and by thine own grace Lord we come to thank thee for thyself tonight thank thee Lord that we believe that thou hast been speaking to someone in this meeting about standing on the shore of their depression and their fear and their disappointment Lord help them to come on into the shore and put their arms around thee and we know that thou wilt bless them oh Lord part us in my fear take us to our homes in faith today and may thy great name be glorified through us for thy name's sake Amen