JWAR – THE FINEST STEPS - #4
Luke 5:1-11
(for powerpoint, check www.hueytownbaptist.com)
(THE DASH – 1996 Linda Ellis)
> It was In 1996 while on a lunch break that a lady name Linda Ellis penned these now immortal words. Working with a very large and successful corporation she has been witness to countless lives worrying far too much about things that were inconsequential and missing the important things. When you read her inspiration for this poem (which I have only shared in part), you see a person who wants to be the best person, live the finest life, and do the best job she could possibly do so, when death calls, she can answer with a clear conscience. She was inspired by many things, the rat race, Columbine, Her Father’s death, and a letter from a dying friend.
> I ask this question; what are you doing with your life? How are you spending your dash? Will you be proud of the things “others” say about how you spend your dash?
> Whose standards are you living by? In this room many will say, “I’m living by God’s standards.” Yet, last Monday night, Bro. Kevin Hamm was clear to us about what being alive in the Lord means & thus, living by His standards.
> The Word of God calls us to do certain thing. First, received Jesus by faith. Then, Walk in the Spirit. Then, be ready to share our joy, our faith. We have now spent four weeks being encouraged to simply “Walk Across the Room” to meet someone new and invite them to Christ.
> For several, this has been a life-changing month, a time of renewal. Sadly for others, we’ve allowed the truths of God’s word shed off of us like water off a duck’s back because we have left or lost our first love. And in doing so, we feel nothing on the inside & show nothing outside.
> (If I have just described you, may I offer 1 of 2 possible reasons and the help? First- maybe it because you need to begin a personal relationship with Christ. Or, it may be that you need to re-establish your relationship to Christ. To begin a relationship is to realize you need forgiveness and ask Jesus to forgive you. To reconnect is to repent.)
> The call for the believer is to be in the game of making a difference, to be a part of the process.
> You see, if we are going make a difference—we are not going to be satisfied with taking only the “First Steps”, or the “Faithful Steps”, or even the “Fruitful Steps” which we are called to take. Our call is to take the Finest Steps.
> Turn with me to Luke 5 if you will. We read a familiar story that is admittedly a little strange. Jesus does an unusual miracle. Let’s read this together. (READ & PRAY)
> Get the picture in your mind. Rough and tough Simon Peter and his Brother Andrew along James and John were professional fisherman. They KNEW how to fish. Their lives depended on their knowledge and ability to ‘bring home the…okay not bacon, but fish”.
> Enter Jesus teaching the crowd and the crowd was growing. The four fishermen were cleaning their nets (which was a huge task) and about to head home for some shut eye when, the crowd became so large that Jesus said, “let me teach from your boat”. Putting the nets in place, they moved out just a little from the shore, probably set out their anchor, and possibly laid down on deck to listen to Jesus teach the crowds.
> Jesus turned to Peter and said, “While I’m on your boat, let’s go fishing.” Now we get to, what I believe, is a defining moment in Peter’s life. Jesus is calling and what will Peter do? What are his options?
> I’ll submit to you the same call will go out this morning—and just as sure as Peter faced a defining moment—so do we! If we are to be “Walk Across the Room” people, I’ll argue that from our text we discover 3 requirements which are literally 3 words or concepts.
1) FORGET – (some personal things) Even Paul wrote, “Forgetting the things which are behind and reaching forward, I press on….” From this story, we learn that the initially, some of the finest steps we can take begins here. Let’s not ‘over think’ this story. Get the picture. Peter, Andrew, James and John were professional fishermen. To them this was NOT a sport, this was their livelihood and they were good at it. Coming in from a night of fishing meant there was much work to be done before they went home to get rest. On this particular day, these four fishermen had come into port after a fruitless night of fishing. Whether they caught anything or not, the nets had to be cleaned to prevent dry rot. As they were doing this difficult, tedious work, they were listening to this man of Galilee who was supposedly a great teacher from God. The probably casually listening as they went about their work. About the time the nets were clean and they were ready to head home, Jesus turns to Peter and says, “let me preach from you boat.” After the appropriate moaning and groaning (was probably a Baptist), Peter agreed. Jesus began to teach the multitudes from the boat. When He was through teaching, Jesus probably turned to Peter and said, “Pete, since I’m on your boat, take me fishing.” Now things get really interesting and the lessons begin to become apparent. Peter is being ask by Jesus to do what He normally does, except Jesus is asking Peter to do it when Peter thinks it POINTLESS and Jesus wants to “go along” for the ride. As I read this story, it is my belief that this request was a test for Peter as it is a test for us. Peter (& us) have to forget:
a) Previous Adversity – Peter and the rest had been out all night doing what they do best and was probably completely miserable about the whole thing. Fisher-man, when you fail to catch fish, do you desire to come home, clean your gear and go back to the same place you’ve fished and not caught anything? You might say “yes” to be “funny” but the truth is, “IF” you went back that quickly, you would head to a different fishing hole. Jesus said, “Let’s go where back.”
b) Prevailing Attitude – “Lord, we’ve fished all night and caught nothing”. We don’t need the “Greek” word to explain what “nothing” means. Here was His attitude; Lord, there weren’t there when we went, not going to be there now. Admittedly, Peter didn’t let this attitude win the day; I simply wished we could say the same.
c) Personal Agenda – I’ll admit to you that I have to place myself “in” this story to suggest what Peter was feeling, but I believe, there was some “pride” related to His attitude. He has gone out and NOT caught anything and He did not want to be embarrassed again. “Sound familiar?” I believe that is the reason that when the catch came, He fell at the feet of Jesus and proclaimed himself to be a sinful man.
d) Consider this – How does this story apply to me and ME taking the Finest Steps of “walking across the room”. Some of us are locked up and refuse to even think about “Walking Across the Room” because there was a time when we did and it didn’t turn out so well. And our attitude is that this part of God’s command has to only be for the Pastor, Staff, Deacons, Evangelism leaders, etc and what’s more, I’m cannot and will not put myself in the position to be a failure. The Lord has not really given us a choice, He calls us to this service, & it requires us to forget some things.
2) FAITH – Because our faith is what draws us into this gathering every week, let me just highlight this concept;
a) Willingness – Peter express his faith when he said, “at your word I will.” Don’t miss this; even though Peter thought he knew better than Jesus, He responded.
i) The Bible says, we express our faith and our love by our obedience. This is NOT a popular concept but it is true. Here it is; we must be willing to do what we don’t care to do at a time we don’t care to do it. This is what Peter did and I believe, This is faith in action.
b) Work – Make no mistake, when Christ calls it takes an effort, it is work. Had Peter been a first century Southern Baptist, he would have said, “We’ve already tried that.” Honestly, I think Jesus would have responded, “So?” Here’s why; Jesus never tells us to fish in fishless water or harvest in fruitless fields. He is the Lord of the Harvest and the Master of the Seas. By the way, don’t miss the results of their obedience. A catch beyond their wildest dreams.
c) Worship – I am struck by the heart of Peter out on the boat. When the overwhelming catch came, he truly began to “Understand who Jesus really was” and this tough as nails fisherman fell down before Him in humility, submission, and recognition.
TRANS: Right now, you are saying this is good but how does it play into “walking across the room?” I thought you’d never ask. Like Peter, most of us have spent our lives fishing for the little stuff, the things which money can buy. Honestly, we have never given our life to something larger than the day to day things. Perhaps we consider ourselves people of faith, but we have not given our Lord our all.
3) FOCUS – I began this message with the question “what are you doing with your life?” This is a personal and also a required question. It speaks to the essence of your existence. What are you giving your life to? Peter has been fishing for fish. Jesus called & calls for a change.
a) A Different Mindset - Jesus said, “Follow me.” Now, before you dismiss this as something you have done, consider this, to follow someone means that you keep them in sight at all times. Were I following someone to a place that I did not know, I would be forced to keep my eye on them at all times. Jesus said, “Follow Me, go where I go and do what I do.” I’ll ask it, “is this truly your mindset?” to go and do what Jesus did? Jesus spent His life “for others.” You? Are they your focus?
b) A Daring Mission – Men, please listen; Jesus raises the bar right here. He says, ‘all your life you have been fishing for perch, the little ones, I want you to fish for the lunkers, the big ones, I want you to fish for men” Without the master fisherman on your side, it would be “Mission Impossible.” The finest step you can take is to step on to the boat with Jesus, with the “bait” of the good news of Jesus, develop relationships, discover the stories, and dare to put your life on the line for the sake of that person who is far from God.
c) A Defining Moment – Now, return with me to the deck of that commercial fishing boat owned by Peter. Because that is symbolically where we are this morning. Jesus is in the boat. Just like those four fishermen, He has plans for us to haul in a catch that is beyond our imagination, but – the decision is ours. Peter could have said, “Lord, we’ve already tried that and it didn’t work”, “Lord, do you know how much it costs and how much time it takes to let down our nets?” “Lord, do you know how tired we are?”
i) Look at Peter- They brought their boat to land, “left everything”, and followed Him. As an epilog, the closer they got to Jesus, the more they fished for the souls of men. What will you do?
