Moving Out Into Deeper Waters

"MOVING OUT INTO DEEPER WATERS."

READ TEXT: LUKE 5:1-12

He had known him for about 1 year now. The first time he met Jesus was when his brother Andrew, came running out to where he was in an ecstatic state telling him that he had found the Messiah... Andrew brought Peter to Jesus and from that very moment Peter’s life began to change...

He had been with Jesus now, for about a year, he had heard Jesus’ teachings, he was there on the mountainside when Jesus said, "blessed are the poor in spirit for they will inherit the earth..."

He was at the wedding feast, when Jesus turned water into wine, And he stood almost paralyzed as Jesus with intense force cleared out the temple of all the money changers... Peter was there that night when a pharisee by the name of Nicodemus came to Jesus and was told how to be born again.... And he watched with confusion and amazement as Jesus spoke to the sinful women at the well....telling her of living water and of how God is seeking true worshippers, men nd women who will worship him in spirit and in truth...

And apparently though we don’t why, Peter and the others, after that 1st year, had gone back to their nets.. while Jesus conducted his early galilean ministry.

Our text opens up with Jesus standing on the shores of the sea of Galilee (which was also called lake Gennesaret), It is a fresh water lake resting 680 feet below sea level..

It is surrounded by mountains on all sides -- so it is kind of like a huge bowl... The lake is 13 miles long and 9 mile wide at it’s widest point. In Christ’s day 9 cities of 15,000 or more stood on it’s shores. This lake was the scene of much of Jesus’ Galilean ministry. It was noted for it’s sudden and violent storms which were caused by the cold air sweeping down from the vast northern plateaus and converging on the tropical humidity of the lake below.

On this particular day -- Jesus was teaching the people along the sea shore. And by now His fame and popularity were widespread... So the crowd that day was very large, and they were pushing and shoving each other, jostling for position to see and hear Jesus... And they kept pressing upon Jesus moving Him closer to the water.... And Jesus glanced down the lake and he saw by the waters edge 2 boats, by their fishermen, who were washing their nets ready to call it a day, after a full night of catching nothing...

One of the fisher men was Peter, and Jesus got into his boat and told Peter to put out a little from shore.... And this natural pulpit allowed Jesus to be seen and heard by the multitudes. And as he taught Jesus sat down in the boat, which was the way that Jewish teachers taught.... Jesus’ great sermon on the mount was delivered with Jesus sitting on the mountainside..

And after Jesus had finished teaching he turned to Peter and said, "PUT OUT INTO DEEP WATER, AND LET DOWN YOUR NETS FOR A CATCH..."

And I am sure that in response to that request many thoughts must have raced through the seasoned fisherman mind... He was tired, he was ready to call it quits, he had worked all night long, his back was tired, his hands sore and calloused from hours of casting his nets, and he had caught nothing, not one fish. And to go out in the middle of the day to catch fish in deep waters... Well, every galilean fishermen knew that the way to catch fish was at night and in the shallow waters.... I don’t imagine that Peter was really in the mood for this... but he answered Jesus....

"MASTER, WE’VE WORKED HARD ALL NIGHT AND HAVEN’T CAUGHT ANYTHING. BUT BECAUSE YOU SAY SO, I WILL LET DOWN THE NETS..."

And so Peter rowed out into the deeper waters, probably with a mixture of doubt and expectation pumping through his veins... And he let down his nets and he caught so many fish that his net began to break, So he signaled for his partners (Andrew, John and James) for help and the 4 of them keep pouring in the fish again and again, until there was so many fish that both boats began to sink... (that’s a lot of fish....)

From empty nets being hung to dry, to boats sinking with fish is quit a turn of events.....

Have you ever felt like Peter.... as he was putting his net away.... have you ever felt tired? discouraged? have your efforts ever seemed to go without results? have you ever toiled all night long and then when you looked into your net found that it was still empty? You haven’t caught what you were looking for... Your dreams have gone unanswered... You’ve tried real hard to be the best husband or wife, or parent, or child, or worker, or servant in the church.... But your net is still empty...