Jesus Calls Believers Into Service

JESUS CALLS BELIEVERS INTO SERVICE

LUKE 5:1-11 FEBRUARY 9, 2003

LUKE 5:1-11

51One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, 2he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch."

5Simon answered, "Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."

6When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" 9For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men." 11So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

+ + + + + + +

Dearest Fellow-Redeemed and Saints in the Lord:

When did the church begin? If we think of the church of today, we might think back to Reformation times when it began anew, with the change from the one Catholic Church to the many denominations that we have today. Or, we may think back farther to the day of Pentecost, or we may think back even farther yet to Abraham as he followed God by faith. The New Testament Church began when Jesus began His ministry. When Jesus began His ministry, He realized He was not going to do this work by Himself; instead, He called His disciples to service. The church began to start then, at least the New Testament Church where they looked to the promise of God instead of the law of God. We find there part of God’s glory in His Son, Jesus. We find part of God’s glory because Jesus, by the power of His word, changed men’s hearts.

Today we will look at the disciples that He called who were fishers of fish to become fishers of men. You may remember also that He called people from all walks of life (Matthew, the tax collector), simply by His word. We read in MATTHEW 9:9: "As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. ’Follow me,’ he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him." In this way, Jesus called Matthew to service. In this way, the Lord has called you and I as believers to service. We want to see how Jesus calling His first disciples is also a calling for you and I as His modern day disciples. As we look at our text, we think of that theme:

JESUS CALLS BELIEVERS INTO SERVICE

I. Hear this call of Jesus

II. Obey this call of Jesus

I. Hear this call of Jesus

Our text began by telling us that Jesus’ ministry was beginning to attract people. He wasn’t like John the Baptist who stayed out in the wilderness and the people came out to him. Jesus, in His ministry, preached in the cities, the towns. The people came to Him in those populated areas. 1One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, (the Sea of Galilee) with the people crowding around him. For a time the people didn’t want anything to do with Jesus but now, they were crowding around Him. We are told why they were crowding around Him. They were listening to the word of God. We know there were different times during the ministry of Jesus when the people came only to see His miracles. There were times when they came to see who this Jesus really was. Today, in this setting, we’re told they came to listen to the word of God. What a joy that was in the life of Jesus. He realized the reason they were there. He makes the most of this opportunity.

2he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. He realized that the crowd was getting bigger, He was almost getting pushed into the sea, so He takes Peter’s boat and they go out a short distance from the shore. You can understand why. Picture the boat on the lake, see the people standing on the shore—it makes a natural amphitheater, a natural place for people to hear God’s message. You know how well sound travels across water. That is exactly what Jesus did. Then Jesus sat down and taught the people from the boat. More of them could hear Him more clearly. Those that were anxious to hear the word of God were able to hear it from God’s Son, Himself.