Introduction
Ioannis Metaxas was a Greek general and dictator, served as Prime Minster of Greece from 1936 until his death in 1941. He was once invited to try out a new flying-boat. He decided to pilot it himself and did so masterfully until the commander, his host, noticed that they were about to make a landing at an airport.
This man was a pilot as well as being a general in the army. He piloted his own plane.
One day somebody asked him if he would like to go out in one of the latest hydroplanes that had been developed. A hydroplane is a plane that takes off on water and lands on water. He said, “Yes, I would like to do that.” So the fellow took him out to the plane. They went up in the plane, and while they were up in the plane the fellow asked the general if he would like to pilot the plane. “Yes,” said the general. “I would like to do that.” And so they flew around for a little while, and then the fellow said, “Would you like to land the plane?” The general said, “Yes. I would like to do that.”
The first mistake Metaxas made was that he headed for the city airport. Here is this fellow thinking, “How do you say to the dictator, without getting your head shot off, that he was making a mistake here?” But he got his courage together, and he told the man, “I think it would be good if you took the plane over to the bay and land it there because we have to land on water.” “Oh, oh, yeah,” replied the dictator. So he took the plane to the bay and made a beautiful landing. He taxied up to the dock, got out of his seat, and the fellow said, “General, that was really a very good landing that you made.” Metaxas said, “Thank you,” turned around, and stepped out into the bay. That really happened. He forgot where he was.
His host humbly accepted his thanks. But, upon saying which, the General, His Excellency, opened the hydroplane’s door and stepped out – down into the sea.
Many of us, if not all of us, can easily forget things sometimes. We need people like the co-pilot, to refresh our memory and remind us.
Today, we’re kicking off our church Missions Series called “Be Obedient” for our Missions month, something we do every year, to remind us about our mission as a church and our mission as followers of Christ.
Please read with me Luke 5:1-11.
Sermon Text
Luke 5:1-11 “On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on Him to hear the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and He saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, He asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." 5 And Simon answered, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets." 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men." 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.”
Today we want to look at God’s word and let it remind us of 3 things:
1.The commission to make disciples
Two weeks ago, we’re already given a reminder of this when our guest speaker spoke about this and our mission as a body and as followers/disciples of Christ. He made reference to this passage in Matthew 28, the Great Commission. If you missed that message, then let’s take a look at it again.
Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
These were Jesus’ words to His disciples before ascending into heaven after His resurrection. This commission, is His command to all His followers and as Ptr Todd shared, the main verb of this passage in Greek is the command to “make disciples.” Yes we go, baptize, teach people – but as we do all these, the main point is making disciples. As we go on with our lives, as we go about our day-to-day activities we are commissioned to influence other people so they would become followers of Christ.
In Luke 5, we see Jesus reminding Simon Peter, James and John of this. If we looked at the other gospel accounts of the “calling of the disciples” found in Matthew 4:18-22, Mark 1:16-20 and John 1:40-42. When you read the details of each account, at first the chronology can be confusing.
Luke mentions Jesus healing Simon Peter’s mother-in-law in chapter 4 which shows that this encounter in chapter 5 was not the first time that Jesus interacted with Peter, James and John after Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness.
In John 1 we read Andrew, Peter’s brother, telling Peter that he had found the Messiah. So, this account is not in conflict with Luke 5, but instead precedes or comes first before Luke 5.
Mark’s account which is the parallel passage to Matthew 4, records the “conversion call” before Jesus entered the synagogue in Caparnaum and healed a demon-possessed man.
So, the Luke 5 account, the one we’re looking at this morning, is not the first time Jesus had been in contact with Peter, Andrew, James and John. This is the “ministry call” which was some time later, while Peter and the others were still fishermen.
So Jesus, here called them to fully join Him in His earthly ministry.
As Jesus called them, He calls us and reminds us about what our primary mission is – to make disciples or to lead others to Christ.
But many times, we encounter things that hinder or distract us from this mission. So we look at...
2. The cost of discipleship
When we try to follow Christ and the complete the mission He gave to us it’s not easy, is it? Who among you would raise your hand and say, Oh, following Christ is easy and leading others to Christ is effortless. None. Sometimes we encounter persecution. sometimes sin. But this point isn’t about these two things. This point is about good things – those that are not sin but capture our attention and pre-occupy us.
In the case of Peter and the others, it was their means of living which was fishing. And in Lake Genessaret, which is another name for Sea of Galilee, fishing was an important source of jobs and income during the first century. The business of fishing grew in Lake Genessaret because the Jewish people could not use many of the harbours along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea which were controlled by unfriendly neighbours.
Fishing was the pre-occupation of the disciples - so much so that after Jesus’ death on the cross, before His resurrection, we find the disciples going back to this profession.
Now let’s look at Luke 5:2.
v.2 “and He (Jesus) saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.
In this verse, we see the two tools that these fishermen used in their profession. I just want to highlight those two for you to take note of them.
v.3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, He asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the people from the boat.
Did you see that - what Jesus just did? He got into Peter’s boat. That’s the first thing. Next, he asked Peter to move the boat a little away from the land. Why? To use the boat as a platform so He can teach the people. You see that?
Jesus can, and I strongly believe it is His desire to, use your preoccupation as a platform to fulfill His mission – to make disciples. Whether you are an employee, a businessman, a student, a full-time home maker, whatever your profession is, wherever you are – God will use that as a platform to let others hear about Christ.
The question is, will you let Him? Or more seriously, are you letting Him?
v. 4 “And when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."
Do you see what Jesus just did next? Do you see how it progressed? First, He asked Peter to move the boat just a little out from the shore. Next, He asks him to put it out into the deep. And then, it wasn’t just the boat. Jesus now asks for the net to be used as well.
See how boldly Jesus asked? That’s what God asks from us, right? More. Let’s read on.
v.5 And Simon answered, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets."
And how did Peter and the others feel? I believe they were very, very tired from their fishing the night before.
Do you feel that sometimes about your job, your business? You feel like your preoccupation makes you feel very, very tired and then you also feel that God wants more from you? Let’s continue.
vv.6-7 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.
We can see here 4 things:
*Jesus blessing them with a huge catch of fish
*Their nets were breaking
*The help available
*Their boats sinking
As fishermen, Peter and his partners were concerned about the huge catch of fish. Especially because the night before they didn’t catch a thing. They were tired from the hard labor so seeing this huge catch of fish was something they would not want to see wasted. Very much like we are a lot of times, I would say, if were going to be honest to ourselves, and God.
But what did Jesus focus on? It wasn’t the fish. Not that Jesus didn’t want to bless those who follow Him. But what Jesus wanted them to see is this: HE CAN BLESS THEM - and their nets will fail, the help they need will fail, the boats will fail.
God wants our trust and focus to be on Him. He wants us to be preoccupied with Him, not our boats, nets or even the help we can get from others. It is His grace upon us that we are able to enjoy the huge catch of fish, the blessings He bestows upon us. So reflect and ask God – has my heart been drawn to the boat, the net, the help available and subtly away from Him?
What is the cost of discipleship? Everything. God wants our all.
So we go to the 3rd reminder.
3. The continuous call to be disciples
As followers called to be disciple makers, let us not forget that we are disciples ourselves. And we never cease to be disciples of God even as we do our work of fulfilling our mission of disciple making.
This simply means that as disciples, we each have an ongoing need of the grace of God as He transforms us into His likeness. We should not forget that just because we are already involved in disciple making doesn’t mean we have arrived already and no longer in need of the grace of God in Sanctification. God is not finished with each of us yet.
Our primary identity is not being successful, not having achieved many things even in our Christian life, not being a pastor, not being a missionary, a ministry leader, or not even as disciple-makers – that is our mission, but that is not our primary identity. Our primary identity is being disciples of Christ,
v, 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord."
We are sinners, saved by Grace. And sanctification is a life-long process for us disciples of Christ.
We see this in the life of Peter. He followed Christ, was zealous for Him, very bold and committed this...
Matthew 26:35 “Even if I have to die with You, I will never disown You.”
Yet we also see Peter, denying, betraying Jesus when He was about to be crucified.
But Jesus never gave up on Him and in the book of Acts, we see Peter continuing the mission of disciple making. And even then, he had some disagreements with Paul as seen in Paul’s letters.
Just as Peter’s sanctification is a life-long ongoing process, every believer’s life is, too.
“To the degree that you forget you are a sinner, you will underestimate your daily need for Christ and the relationships in His body that are His tools for change.” Paul Tripp
Invitation
So that’s where it all begins. We begin with becoming a disciple, a follower of Christ.
Admit – Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Believe – Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Commit – Romans 10:9-10 “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”
If you are already a disciple, a follower of Christ, a believer.
Will you let God search you heart as you reflect on these? If you will let the Holy Spirit reveal the condition of you heart right now, what is preoccupying your life right now? Is it your job, your studies, your family? These things are good, but are you letting God use these as a platform to fulfill your mission of disciple-making?
How are you doing as a disciple in terms of His sanctifying work in your life? Are there things in your life or in your heart, that need God’s grace and forgiveness?
Through Christ, approach the throne of grace with confidence in Christ and receive mercy and find grace to help in your area of need.
