John 21:9-13 “As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise.”
As I read in my Bible this morning I came to the place where Jesus gave the tired worn fisherman a miraculous catch of fish. As I read I have several commentaries available to allow me different perspectives on the Scripture I read. J. Vernon McGee is a favorite for he brings the comments down to what a normal man can understand. His thoughts about verse 11 is as follows: “There are several things I would like to call to your attention here. Have you noticed that the Lord uses what people have as the basis for His miracles? The disciples are fishing and catch nothing. The Lord Jesus gives them a harvest of fish. At Cana the water pots were empty. The Lord has the pots filled with water and then changes the water to wine. He asks Moses what he has in his hand. Moses says it is a rod, and with that rod, God performs His miracles for Israel. David is faithful as a shepherd with his shepherd’s crook, and God gives him a scepter to hold in his hand. It is interesting that whatever is in your hand, God can use. So many people wish they were somewhere else or in some other circumstances. My friend, if God can’t use you right where you are, I don’t think He can use you somewhere else.” (J. Vernon McGee) That last statement is the one that caught my attention. “If God can’t use you where you are, I don’t think He can use you somewhere else.” Wow! I began to think about what J. Vernon McGee said. God does want to use us. Let me tell you a story about a preacher I know.
This young man lived like a hellion for years, then something happened in his life to call him to repentance. He began to attend the church his wife had chosen to attend. After a year, he asked to be baptized. Things changed again. As he came to church he saw things that others did not see or care about. He began to fix things that were broken. He would come to church early to make sure the floor was vacuumed. He would pick up crumbs of paper and remove last week’s bulletins from the hymnals. He was being used and evidentially God was pleased.
God had the pastor of that church asked him to take on more responsibility in the church. He did it without hesitation. After another year, he became a deacon for the church and added more responsibility to his already full schedule, yet God blessed and this young man was able to balance his job, his family and his church work so that things got done. As much as the young man worked, he never caught up with the work for as soon as he completed one task, another would show up to tackle. God continued to advance this willing servant. He moved him to different positions within the church until the young man knew God was calling him to be a pastor and serve in a full time capacity. He still serves today.
I said all that to say this, to be used of God, we must first be willing. Exodus_35:29 “The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the LORD, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses.”
2Corinthians 9:7 “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”
2Corinthians 8:12 “For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.”
Do you have a place that could use your talents? Do you see things that need done, yet are never accomplished? That might be God nudging you toward serving in the church. I see if you are a willing person, think about when the Pastor asks for volunteers. Do you shrink in your pew hoping to go unnoticed? I am chuckling for it reminds me of a joke I once heard.
This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have.
A play on words for sure, but it seems to be true, nonetheless. I always laugh when someone comes to the Pastor and whispers, “Preacher, the toilet is clogged!” like it was his responsibility to do the dirty work. I am smiling again for during my 44 years of ministry this has happened several times. And they will tell you about the clog while the plunger is right beside the stool!
A servant willing to be used of God will simply take care of the problem and never mention it to others. They do not need to be recognized. They do not need praise of man. They simply serve to please God.
