Based on John 21:1-14 (New King James Version)
1 “After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going fishing.’ They said to him, ‘We are going with you also.’ They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. 4 But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Then Jesus said to them, ‘Children, have you any food?’ They answered Him, ‘No.’ 6 And He said to them, ‘Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.’ So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. 7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’ Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea. 8 But the other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits), dragging the net with fish. 9 Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, ‘Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.’ 11 Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken. 12 Jesus said to them, ‘Come and eat breakfast.’ Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, ‘Who are You?’—knowing that it was the Lord. 13 Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish. 14 This is now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead.
In today’s world, there is an incredible amount of voices and distractions. Thanks to technology, there is an overabundance of things that can captivate our attention. Today, not only are there people around us, but also, we have the radio, television, the newspapers, and even more absorbing if we dedicate ourselves to navigate it, we have the famous world of the internet with its websites, social media, etc. It’s truly incredible everything that exists that tries to attract and speak to us, at every moment, every instant, even in the early morning hours when we should be sleeping. But, is it good to pay attention to all of that? It depends.
For example, relating to the tragedy that happened in El Paso, Texas recently, it was found that the suspect responsible for the massacre put his manifesto in a website that is said to be in the dark web, the same place that the other shooting suspect involved with the New Zealand incident use to visit (I will not name the website because I don’t want to help its proliferation, and don’t be curious). It is reported that it’s a forum where many unleash their hate and discontent with many things, in such a way that they feed each other with their feelings, without any restraint. And I hope you understand that such a thing is not good to search for. This is an example of something that is bad, something we should not pay attention to.
Let’s see another example that may surprise you. Let’s see Peter’s example. At a given moment, the Lord rebukes Peter when Peter tries to convince Him of not allowing Himself to undergo the pain that’s about to happen to Him. This is what we read: 21 “From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. 22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!’ 23 But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.’ 24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.’” Matthew 16:21-24. Now then, Peter did not turn into Satan at that moment, but rather, what happened was that Peter allowed himself to be influenced by Satan, and through that influence, he tried to convince the Lord about something he thought was right, because he thought he was taking care of his Master.
So, what do we understand here? That we need to be careful with who we listen to. But, how do we do this? It is understandable that going to an evil website is a bad idea, but Peter was one of the most important disciples of the Lord; he was like the leader of the group. And we can take this forward to today, that if we need to be careful with the world, this also teaches us that we need to be careful even with other believers, and even with supposed leaders and teachers of the Word. Not everything that shines is gold. And maybe even a person that is very faithful to the Lord can have a bad moment, just like Peter. So then, how do we do things? We need to discern the source from where the information comes from, what’s feeding the message. If it is hatred and rage what is feeding the source (like the website where the El Paso manifesto was placed), we shouldn’t pay attention to it. If it is something human (like what happened with Peter), even though it seems good or harmless, we shouldn’t listen to that either. We need to know when it is truly God the one that is feeding the source, or when it is God Himself that is speaking. Just as the Word tells us many times: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” Matthew 11:15.
But, to be able to know when it’s the Lord, whether it be through a person, or through a television or radio program, or something in the internet (like this very thing you are reading from this ministry, because not everything in the internet is evil), you need to learn how to filter what is of the Lord and what is not. And the only way that a person can be able to do such a thing is by having a very close relationship with the Lord, through an intimate relationship, by spending time with Him, praying and studying His Word (because the Bible is the Word of God). Because there are many things that seem good, and there are many that utilize God’s Word to substantiate their teachings and preaching, things that really do not concur with everything that is written. That’s why we need to get deep into God’s Word, and of course, we need to be guided by the Holy Spirit. This is the only way that we will be able to discern if something is really from God or not.
Now then, why is it necessary to know how to listen to the Lord? Because if we see what is obvious in today’s passage, we see that His disciples found great blessing by obeying the Lord, and quite unexpectedly, when they were tired. And it can be said that it was out of luck (per se) because they didn’t know that it was the Lord that spoke to them. Obeying the Lord (even by accident) always brings about great blessing, in one way or another, but especially, for what really matters; for our soul. The soul is what matters most. And of course, God can also give other things that are necessary in the present. Obedience is what the Lord desires from all of us, for our own good and for the good of others. So then, are you listening to and obeying the Lord? Lord bless! John