I believe that in “Johns” life their came a time that he realized that their was more to life then the life he was living with his father, he realized that something was holding him back from reaching his full potential ,

and that their was something constantly nagging at his conscience, something that he was never made aware of ,and something that he needed to be free from.

And  even in his life with his dad ,he could never come to grips with what it was.

Just like you and me before Christ came into our life, we were the same way!

We could never come to grips with what was nagging at us , and we long to have peace , we were longing for something or someone to bring us to and understanding of that irritating itch,

Until one day the "master police" came and let us know that it was “guilt” the guilt of sin that we were born with and the nagging thing that hindered us was none other than that of sin!

After all this time , up comes Jesus ! “ And he says come” and John realized that the gig was up! And

that in order for his life to be free, he had to drop his net and all that he had, and go freely into the hands of the captain of our souls !

He had to be willing to be incarcerated , in order to become free. { in other words he had to serve his time!} Are you willing to drop your net and serve your time to be from guilt and sin?

2.We must conform to the one who gives the sentence!

{conform to his life style}

In the days that “John” was coming up, it was a custom for the young men to inherit the trade of their fathers, and in Johns case he was going to inherit the trade of a fisher men, and that’s why when we pick him up in the scripture , he and his brother are found mending their nets with their father and his hired servants ,

And it seems to me that weather they wanted to become fishers men or not ,that they had no choice in the matter! If you think about it its almost like a mobster that we see on t.v or hear about in real life .

The man “the father” normally wants his first child to be a boy so that they can pass the family business down to them , and they can teach them the life of crime so that their names can live on.

This seems to have been the case of John

And much like the case of our state in which we were born into “the ca se of a sinful nature”

This my brothers and sisters is the nature that we have inherited from  Adam!

This is the nature that causes us to be mending our nets of hate, murder, lying, cheating, stealing,

And on, and on

This is the very thing that john was dealing with in his life as a fishermen, and this is the very thing that caused “John” and should cause us to want to be conformed and imprisoned by the, captain of our souls!

You and I were all born sinners, we didn’t ask to be born that way and as a matter of fact we didn’t even ask to be born.

Yet we were by are fathers and mothers , and as a result of that birth, we have inherited that old sinful nature.

People are sometimes locked up and imprisoned to be protected from their selves ,

They are willing to surrender their life over so that they can get rid of all the guilt and all the sham that they have caused ,so they go and do something wrong and when the police arrive on the seen they give up freely and they drop their nets and go on to the captain.

I am wondering today how many of us are willing to go to prison so that we can conform to something better!

Jesus has been waiting for some of us for so long, and he is offering a light sentence but the sad part about it is many of us rather have a heavy burden.

3.We must be willing to go the distance of our arrest.

“john” was willing to go the distance of his sentence no matter what the coast!

He droped his net!

Then he was willing to be conformed!

And now he,s going the distance!

The life of John was not an easy life for him or anyone else

John had seen so many thing in his life of incarceration

And he quickly learned that he had to stay away from certain people, places, and things

And surround himself with people of his kind.

And you and I both know that causes people to change toward us !,and we know that if we stay around those people ,places, and things , that those things can easily cause us to go back into that old way of thinking , being and doing .

As a matter of fact those people will began to hate us ,and despise us and will say all manner of things towards us!

Thease are some of the things that John had to face

Thease are some of the things that you and I will face if we are to go the distance

People will even try to kill you. “yet john was going the distance”

I realy don’t know how many people reading this has ever been incarcerated and I,m not trying to drum up old wounds or to make people fill bad

But I can speak for myself !

I was incarcerated at some point in my life and I can tell you that some of the people in their will not like you they will try to harm you and they will try to get you to stay in the life of crime while your their for your reabilatation and incarceration.

And inorder for you to be left alone to do your time you are going to have to fight

And you are going to have to be determend that you wont let nothing or nobody stop you from reaching your goal of getting out and becoming the person that you are supposed to be in the community.

John went thru this prison that led him to be in the place were we find him in the book of Revelations

John did his time

John went the distance and was able to hear the voice of the Captan of our souls

He herd the voice witch said “I am alpha and omega the first and the last”

John was commissioned and given the task to take the great messege of our Lord and Savior to the seven churches ,

All because of his one simple act of faith.

He dropped his net of sin!

He was willing to be conformed and imprisoned!

And he went the distance and was given one of the greatest task in the world all because he fought and allowed the Lord to over come him with his Spirit!

This my friends we can have!
 

We can be over come with the Spirit of the Lord

And be arrested by Jesus Christ if we would just take of that old nature and give it to God!

The Church would not be concerned with so many petty things becuase we would be overcome by the captain of our souls voice!

It wouldn’t take us so long to get excited in church ,and we wont be ashamed outside the church.

Are you willing to be Arrested?
Than head the voice of the Captian of your Soul!