<TITLE>17. Par 169-179</TITLE>L-169   He said, "But I want you to remember that, this Messiah, He'll have an identification tag on Him, and He will be a Prophet. Now, we are Hebrews, and the Lord God has told us that we... He sent us the prophets because the Word of the Lord comes only to the prophet. That's right. And He said, 'If there be one among you, is spiritual or a prophet, I the Lord will speak to him. And what he says, if it comes to pass, then hear him. But, if it doesn't come to pass, don't hear him, don't fear that man. But fear him if you... if it comes to pass, what he says.' And Moses said, 'The Lord your God shall raise up a Prophet like me, and Him shall you hear.' Now, this Messiah will be a Prophet. Remember, not an educator, not a priest, not a clergyman, but He will be a Prophet."

L-170   And when Simon set on that chunk of wood, perhaps that day when Andrew taken him down to the seashore. Where Jesus... After they toiled all night and seen nothing in their nets, set down there. And He borrowed the boat from this Peter. And--and then He said, after He got through using the boat... Peter might had listened to His talk, and maybe halfway put his fingers in his ears, setting on this chunk out there, when Jesus floating around, out in his boat, on account of the press.

L-171 Then we find out, that, out there in the boat, Jesus must have beckoned to--to Simon, to--to--to bring the boat in. And when He went out there and said, "Now, I know you've toiled all night, and taken nothing, but there is fish on this side now. Cast your net in, and there is a draught of fish waiting."

L-172 Well, it's still just a word. But when he throwed the net in and he begin to pull, and there was the fish, that also meant there was the Messiah that his father had told him about, a Prophet. And he said, "Depart from me, Lord, I'm a sinful man."

L-173 He said, "Fear not, Simon, now you've seen the Truth. From henceforth you will be a fisher of men."

L-174 Peter was ready to leave his fish nets, his business. He made a complete investment in Jesus Christ, because he saw that that was the promised Messiah, for there was the Word that He spoke made manifest, and that was the Messiah. He knowed that's what that the Word said, that his old Pharisee father had told him, that, "The Messiah will be the incarnate Word, and He will be a Prophet making this promise of the Messiah to come to pass," and there it was. So, Peter made his investment after he had seen the identification, the vindication of the Word.

L-175   Nathanael made an investment, as I spoke of last night. And so did the woman at the well.

L-176 Nicodemus, a great theologian, let's say, something like someone that spoke this morning, a great scholar. And they--they came, he came to make an investment. And I want you to notice the expression of this great man, Nicodemus, found in Saint John the 3rd chapter. He was just not an overnight man. He was a theologian. Watch what he said.

L-177 No doubt, the Sanhedrin Council, the institution, they had discussed this Man's ministry. Though he was called a Prophet of Galilee, yet there had been a thorough investigation made of His ministry.

L-178 Now notice the confession, if it don't go over top of your head. Watch what Nicodemus said to Jesus. "Rabbi! We, the Pharisees, we know. We can't confess it. We can't make it known, 'cause we'll lose our position. We, we'll lose our investment in our--our--our bread and our butter. We'll--we'll lose our position amongst the people. We will be an outcast, like the Galileans or the fishermen. We'll be considered a--a--a very bad intellectual person, maybe a nervous, upset, hysterical, not a subject to make a good decision, therefore the church can use us no more if we make this decision. But, but we know that You're a teacher comes from God, for no man can do those things that You do except God be with him."

L-179   You see, Nicodemus, a lot of us go on about Nicodemus. They say, "He come by night."


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