upon him for he careth for you. He didn't say, well, if it's just something big or if it's whatever, and I said, cast it all on me. So I'm thankful that if we care about it, I believe God cares about it. And so thank you ladies for singing that song tonight. A good gentle reminder of the God that we serve that loves and cares about us. Amen. All right. Well, let's turn in our Bibles here tonight, uh, real quickly to the book of Matthew and we'll begin there in chapter 17. And we'll begin there in verse 24. And we'll run down to about verse 27 here tonight. I'm sure it's a familiar portion of Scripture. And when you find any place, you can stand with me and we'll read this portion of the Word of God together. Matthew chapter 17. And we'll begin there in verse 24. And we'll read down to about verse 27. Another fishing story I want to give to you today. You know, it's amazing. There's a good number of fishing stories. Well, a few fishing stories anyways. I think one of the greatest ones we know of is Jonah. We called it Jonah and the whale, but you know, really the Bible says God prepared a great fish. We don't know what that fish was. It could have been maybe something already there, but then God could have just made it there. I mean, who knows? God could have just prepared it. The book of Jonah, God prepared a lot of things. Uh so who knows but what a tremendous fishing story. Uh we see Jonah got swallowed up. Anybody ever been swallowed up by a fish? No. No. But Jonah he had the story. I tell you what. Swallowed up by a fish and then this morning we see we see that Simon Peter great fishing story had there in Luke five and then also when John he had a tremendous fishing story but then also there's something that was just between him and the Lord that God wanted him to see. You know, some stories, everybody's around us and a lot of people take part and hear of it. And there's some things God just does for us individually. And so there's another fishing story tucked away in the scripture. I'm sure you've read it many times, but let's take a look at it here tonight. Matthew chapter 17, we'll begin there in verse 24. The Bible says, and when they were come to Capernaum, they They that received tribute money came to Peter and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? And he saith, Yes. And when he was coming to the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? Of whom do kings of the earth take custom or tribute? Of their own children or of strangers? And Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. And Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. notwithstanding, least we should offend them. Go down to the sea and cast a hook and take up the fish that first cometh up. And when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shall find a piece of money that take and given to them for me and for thee. Let's pray. Father, we come to you tonight. We thank you, Lord, once again, for your goodness. Lord, we are We never cease to be amazed by all the things that you can do. Lord, help us, God, to never lose that awe and that wonder of who you are and the things that you can do. Lord, I pray tonight you'd help us to rejoice along with Brother Peter. Lord, I'm sure he did. this moment. Lord I pray God that you bless our time together and just help us as we read your word give us something from it we can use and apply it to our life. God you said it would not return void and so Lord whatever it is that your word needs to do tonight in our lives with God that's what we pray that it'll do and this we ask in Jesus name amen amen you may be seated. Here in our text here this evening we see that As we begin with another good fishing story, we begin there, verse 24, and the Bible is talking about that they are in Capernaum. And as they are there, there is a man that's coming around who is receiving tribute money from folks. And of course, he asked Peter, does does your master, speaking of the Lord, does he pay tribute? There was money that they took up to just take care of the house of the Lord. And so he says yes, Peter says yes there in verse 25. When he was coming to the house, of course, Jesus already knowing what was going on, already knowing what happened and already knowing the question that he was asked and already knew what he wanted Simon to start thinking of was, he says, the Bible says Jesus prevented him and says, well, thinkest thou, Simon, of whom do the kings of the earth take customer or tribute, of their own children or of strangers? And what he wanted him to do is he wanted him to get to thinking Let me think about this temple tax here. Not that the Lord was against it by no means, but what he wanted them to understand, what he wanted Peter to understand is he says, listen, think about this. The kings of the earth, whenever they make people pay taxes, he says, does he make in essence his own family pay taxes? Or is it the strangers, the people of the land, do they pay the taxes? And he says, Well, of course, the strangers do. It doesn't make any sense for the king to tax his own family. And so what the Lord Jesus was trying to get them to see was that he wasn't a subject. He was a son. And so he was a part of the family. He was the family. This is the father's house and this is the father's house that you are that you are worshiping in. But I'm the son. And so the son doesn't pay tribute because he's in the family. So we can see his authority that he was wanting to share there. He didn't want Peter to miss out on the fact, of course, that he was the Son of God. I mean, Peter made this known over in the book of Matthew in chapter 16. When the Lord Jesus asked him in chapter 16, verse 15, he says, Whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered, Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. Because there were some people there, verse 14, that said that the Lord was Elias, Elijah, or John the Baptist, one of the other prophets. And so Jesus says, well, who do you think I am? And he says, well, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And so whenever he is now faced with the authority of his Savior, he's asked, does your master, does the Lord pay tribute? And of course, he says yes, but the Lord wants to remind him that, listen, I don't have any problem paying this, but just understand, in my authority, I'm not a subject, I'm a son. And so I am a part of the family. And so as being a part of the family, he wasn't subject to pay the temple tax. However, notice what he said there in In verse 26, the Bible says, Peter saith unto him of strangers, and Jesus said to him, Then are the children free. In other words, those that are of the family are free. They don't have to pay the tax. And so Christ was referring to himself, and he wanted him to understand this. But notice what he says in verse 27. He says, Notwithstanding, at least we should offend them. So he wanted his authority to be made known. He wanted Simon Peter to understand that his authority, that he was the son of God and that he was the son of the father and that because he was of the family, the son of God doesn't pay the temple tax. But he also wanted him to understand that, listen, what is his ultimate aim in the midst of it all? He says, so I don't offend other people. So what he was willing to do was what he was willing to do is what we often even see taught in the book of Romans is even though he had certain rights, he was willing to even surrender them so he just wouldn't be a stumbling block to other people. I know there's nothing wrong with me not doing this, but because I don't want to be a stumbling block to you, I'll just do it anyway. And that's part of the scripture. He just didn't want to be a stumbling block, and so we understand that part of his aim was there in verse 27, notwithstanding, least we should offend them. His goal was not to be offensive to the people that were there, because listen, by not being offensive, he could help them to continue to see who he really is. that He is the Son of God. Because if He became offensive, then what would happen is that perhaps these folks wouldn't want to hear His voice. They wouldn't want to hear the Word. They wouldn't want to understand that Jesus is the Son of God. But the Lord, like He does, He was thinking about everybody else and really kind of putting on the back burner His own rights. What He knew that He could do, or what He didn't have to do, but just because He didn't want to be an offense to anybody else, He just says, well, let's just pay the temple tax. But the amazing thing is this is how the temple tax got paid. And I just think it's absolutely amazing. Take a look at it there in verse 27. So not only do we see the authority of Christ, not only do we see the aim of Christ, the authority was for Peter to know that he is the son of God. The aim is not to be offensive, not to be a someone block to others. But number three, we see the allurement. Notice there in verse 27 in the arrangement, if you want to call it that, he says, notwithstanding this, we should offend them. Go thou to the sea and cast a hook and take up the fish that first cometh up. When thou has opened his mouth, thou shall find a piece of money that taken given to them for me and for thee. Well, I tell you what we see there in verse 27 is it shows us that God definitely has a plan. God definitely has a plan. God knows what he needs to do in our life. God knows exactly what needs to take place. Listen, this wasn't something that took the Lord Jesus by surprise, by no means. And so we see that as they were confronted with this simple text, the Lord Jesus just says, well, listen, I can take care of this thing. He says, I tell you what, Peter, you like fishing so much. Just go down there and go fishing. He says, you take your pole down there and you cast in a hook. And when you throw that hook in, he says, what I want you to do is take the first fish that comes up. Now, he didn't say how long it would take for the first fish to come up. You ever went down there and sat by the lake or the pond or went out there on the fishing pier or something like that and you wanted to go fishing and sat there and you waited? How many of you ever went and never caught nothing? A lot of you did. You went and you never caught nothing. And you know why? Because if you're like me, this is what you do. Man, I'm getting about tired of sitting here. And I know as soon as I leave, the biggest bass or the biggest fish in this whole pond is probably just sitting there looking at it, thinking, I'm going to go get it. And as soon as I pull this out of the water, Then I'm not going to catch that fish. So we talk ourselves into staying. And we sit here for another 30 minutes while we think the fish is still contemplating eating the worm that's on him that day. And then we try to encourage ourselves once again. Well, you know, you sit here and you sit there and the fish never comes and the fish never comes. But how many have ever caught a fish and got something in his mouth already? You ever caught something that was in his mouth already? I've seen most. So what was in the fish's mouth when you caught two? It was another fish? Anybody ever caught anything else? A fish that had something? I caught one with a lure in it. You caught one with a lure in its mouth? Anybody? Yes ma'am? I caught a catfish with a watermark in its mouth. You caught a catfish with a watermark in its mouth? I don't know what that is. That's a quick throwback. I'll tell you what. Yes, sir. Well, I've never done that. Anybody else? You caught a fish, right? You caught what? Snakes, bass, frogs? I've never caught a fish that had anything else in it. But it's interesting to hear. I would love to catch one that had some money in it. Now, if you know what that shows us, that God knows. God knows exactly what we need. And He, listen, whether He, whether He just created it and put it in the fish's mouth, or whether the coin was already laying on the bottom. And He said, hey you, go pick that up. And the fish went down there and picked up the coin. However it is that it happened, it's still America. However it is that it happened. And the amazing thing about this is that we see that in this fishing story, we see Peter, he goes down, he throws the hook in, and he's just sitting there. And as he's sitting there, I imagine he's probably thinking, hey, the Lord said, I'm going to catch a fish that's got money in his mouth. Take the first one. How many of you caught a fish that had money in his mouth? He just said, well, forgive me, but I'm going to throw it out one more time. Maybe so. So he reels, he's sitting there, and he throws in the hook, and he's waiting on this fish to come up. And this fish comes up, and the Bible says he grabbed ahold of the very first fish. The very first. You see, that was pretty specific. So we see that God had a plan to pay for this temple tax. What I'm trying to get at is, real quickly tonight, because I know we've got other stuff to tend to, is God knows how to take care of our business. Amen? God knows what He's doing. God knows how to take care of us. He knows how to take care of our business. And I tell you what, and it can come from... God can take care of us in many different ways. I mean, did He not... He took care of the people throughout the Bible in all different kinds of ways. I mean, He used ravens to drop food off for Elijah there by the brook. Right? He used birds to come by and drop his food off. I mean, that's amazing. Listen, God's done tremendous things throughout the scripture to take care of his people. We think about the bread and the fish that God blessed and break apart for the thousands of people how God took care of his own. God knows what to do. Here we see that this personal story for Peter is that he was able to go down there and go fishing and take part in that which he really enjoys. The Bible says he went down there and he cast in his hook. And the Bible says that the Lord told him, take up the fish that first cometh up. There was a plan. There was a plan that God had set in place, even though it seemed to defy all odds, even though it seemed to defy logic. I mean, if you had, I mean, let's just say, let's just understand, if the Lord Jesus told you to do this and you're, and he was talking to somebody and he said, wait on, I'm going fishing today, today's gonna be a good day. You already know God, you're gonna be planning on catching a lot of fish. No, you're planning on catching one. Planning on catching one that's got money in his mouth. How many people would look at you and think, man, you are crazy. That's insane. But the Lord was trying to, I think, also show here that sometimes, thinking outside the box and sometimes understanding that we have to put our faith ahead of us and gather the things that seem logical. You know, the faith kind of, we see that when we put our faith and trust in God, that amazing things happen. That faith, the grain of a mustard seed, we can say to the mountain, be plucked up from his and cast into the depths of the sea, and then it will obey your voice. And so God says, listen, with a little amount of faith, you can do some tremendous things. And so the apostle, and so Peter, he goes down there and he goes fishing. And I can just envision him and just see him sitting by the lake. sitting down there by the sea, thinking about how God's plan was when he's going to throw in this hook, he's going to wait on the very first fish that comes up and it's going to have money in it to pay the temple tribute. Nothing like this has ever happened before. I mean, nobody has ever seen anything like this take place. This is the only time that this ever happened. But just because Nobody else has ever seen it. And just because it's the only time that it ever happened doesn't mean that God can't do it. Because we serve a God that can do all things. Just because it only happened the one time. Just because it was just Peter doesn't mean that God couldn't do this as many times as he wanted. But the objective was for Peter to understand That God's in control, that God is sovereign, that he has a plan, that he knows our needs, that he can take care of us. And he can take care of us in the ways that are totally different than any way that we can possibly imagine. Because none of us here today would say, well, I got bills I got to pay next week, so I'm going to go down to the lake and go fishing. And I'm praying that I just can't bring up a fish with some money in his mouth. Now, I'm not saying you can't do that. I mean, if you want to pray, go fishing and catch a fish with money in his mouth. And by means, go ahead. Maybe you will. I don't know. But I think this with all my heart, what God wants us to see is I know what your needs are. I know how to take care of things. I'm sovereign in all things. Not only am I the son of God, but I'm also sovereign over all creation, which means not just the sun and the stars and the moon and the winds and the sea, but I'm also sovereign and I'm also controlled over everything that's in the ocean, over everything that's in the air, over everything that's on the land. I'm in control of it all. And so what great comfort that should give us tonight. But it says there in verse 27, take up the fish that first cometh up. And when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shall find a piece of money. So we can see God's plan, of course, that he had. We can see the authority that he wanted Peter to see. We can see that priority that he placed on the very first fish. Notice he didn't say the second or the third or anything like that. He said, you take up the very first fish that comes up. He didn't say sit around and wait on another. He didn't say throw in the second time. He says you throw in, you take up the very first fish that comes up. So there was a plan and there was a priority. And then there was also the provision that, listen, that you will find a piece of money in the fish's mouth. How the money got in the fish's mouth, as I said, I don't know. That's part of the amazing things about the Bible, is that the Bible shows us that God can do things that our minds can even begin to comprehend. The Bible shows us here, I think also in the latter part of this verse, in verse 27, notice he says, Thou shalt find a piece of money and take and give unto them for me and thee. So he says, you're going to find enough, not just pay for me and not just to pay for you, but enough to pay for you and for me. Now, interesting now is the Lord just doing that to say, heck, and I can take care of both of us. Or was there also another part of this where he's saying, you know what? I'm the son, but you're a son and I may pay it, but I'm also going to pay it for you too, because you're part of the family too. Take that money. The Bible says he took the money, said, give them unto and give them for me and the God knew how to take care of his people. We look back on our lives today and we can see how God's taking care of every single one of us. And we'd be here all night talking about how good God's been to all of us. But I'm so thankful this evening that we may not have went down to the lake and We may not have a fishing story where we caught a fish that had money in his mouth, but every one of us do have a fishing story where God did something tremendous, did something amazing that we can't even explain. Because that's the God that we serve. Sometimes there's just things that God does that we just can't even explain it. All you can do is just say, Sometimes that's just all you can do. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we come to you tonight. Thank you, Lord, for your goodness. Lord, we pray here this evening that you would just continue