How Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Peter Obeyed the Gospel of the Kingdom (Part 1)

That’s in the Bible, so that’s no big deal. Anything in the Bible, anybody can do. Well, I’m not kidding, you know, as long as it’s in the Bible, you know, anybody can do it. Well, let’s take it out of the Bible. Just how much audacity does it take for a man to stand up in front of 3,000 rich Jews and tell them to give up everything they’ve got? Try that on for size someday. I believe you’ll get further that way than you ever will any other way with a bunch of Jews, because you’ll hit them at their weakest spot…or Gentiles.

I mean, He told them to abandon everything and stay in Jerusalem. I want you to know that, in the next few days, an incredible amount of money was laid at Simon Peter’s feet. Can you believe that? Thousands and hundreds of thousands of dollars were laid at his feet. Is that true or not? Maybe millions; I don’t know, but at least money. How much of it belonged to Simon Peter? How much of it belonged to the people who gave it? Who owned that money? I have no idea; all I know is… nobody claimed it.

Simon Peter said a short time later, “Silver and gold have I none.” He was a flat-broke apostle. You know something else? All apostles ought to be flat broke. We’ll put that down in our book as a law. All apostles ought to be now and forever flat-busted. We’ll make that a rule, brothers. Apostles got no business having anything. Now, it’s all right if everybody else does as long as the apostles don’t, but if an apostle will give up everything to follow the Lord, then he can demand what he’s experienced.

I haven’t even gotten close to my point. I haven’t even gotten remotely close to my point. You’ll be amazed at my point.

Who gave up everything? The Lord Jesus. Then He turned around to a man, and what did He demand of Him? Everything. Did the man respond? Then what did he do? He gave up everything. Is that the gospel of the kingdom? Praise God. That’s part of it.

Okay, please look at Simon Peter. Here he is. Here’s his net. There’s the Lord. He’s here. His net is on his… may I call that my left? On his left, and the Lord is over here on his right. Simon Peter picks up his net, casts it into the sea, and pulls in some fish. It’s a good day’s haul. If I keep this up for 20 or 30 or 40 or 50 years, I’ll be a lower-middle-class fisherman; get out of this upper-lower-class fisherman business.

He’s heard John the Baptist, and He went along with John the Baptist. John the Baptist was canned the religious system…and he’s still out there pulling fish. He becomes conscious someone’s over there, and he sees the Lord Jesus. Wow. Gee, I want to hear him again sometime. Now, there is quite a guy. I didn’t know he was around here. Boy, wow, what a privilege. That was just so wonderful. Man, I wonder if someday I might even get close enough to talk to Him. Boy, wow. What’s he doing coming over this way? Gee, goodness, I believe he’s coming this way. Andrew? Andrew?

The Lord starts by coming near, but He doesn’t just come real near. He keeps going, then stops and says, “Simon Peter, follow me.”

“You mean…follow you?”

“Follow me. I’ll make you fishers of men.” The Lord on his right, commercial business on his left; the Lord, or smelly old fish.  Okay, brothers, that’s the gospel of the kingdom. Here’s the first half of it. He threw his net to the fish. That’s the first half. He left everything, and then he turned around, and having lost everything, what did he gain?

Listen very carefully: he gained the greatest honor ever gained by man. He gained the privilege of living with Jesus Christ for three years. He didn’t get to shake His hand or to hear Him speak; he got to know Him as only twelve men in history have ever known Him.

That’s the gospel of the kingdom.