Introduction:
A. Let’s begin today’s sermon with a story from the Reader’s Digest.
1. As you know, hospital regulations require a wheelchair for patients being discharged.
2. One student nurse tells the story of arriving at a hospital room to transport a discharged patient.
3. When she arrived, she found an elderly gentleman already dressed and sitting on the bed with a suitcase at his feet.
4. The elderly gentleman insisted he didn’t need the nurse’s help to leave the hospital.
5. But after a chat about rules being rules, and how everyone had to obey them, the elderly gentleman reluctantly let the nurse wheel him to the elevator.
6. In the elevator, on the way down, the student nurse asked if his wife was meeting him.
7. The elderly man replied, “I don’t know, she’s still upstairs in the bathroom changing out of her hospital gown.” (Reader’s Digest)
B. Let me ask you: “How willing are you to follow the orders of others?”
1. Obedience is often something that many of us struggle with.
2. But obedience is a key aspect of learning to follow Christ.
C. Last week, we began a new sermon series on the life of the apostle Peter that we are calling “The Touch of the Master’s Hand.”
1. Last week, we learned that just like the old violin, once dusted off and tuned by the master, was able to make beautiful music, and so our lives are able to be useful in the Master’s hand.
2. The man called Peter, was much like that battered old violin, but once he submitted himself into the hands of Jesus, he was transformed by God’s power.
3. Last week, we looked at Peter’s background and then looked at his first encounter with Jesus, and witnessed Jesus giving Peter a new name – his new name was Peter – “The Rock.”
4. We talked about how that God knows each of us and that God knows who we can become once He gives us a new name and we submit ourselves into His hands.
5. Truly, the touch of the Master’s hand brings amazing transformation.
D. In today’s sermon, we want to pick up the story of Peter and look at another personal encounter that Peter had with Jesus.
1. The story we will look at today occurred about 8 months after the first encounter.
2. A lot had transpired in those 8 months: Jesus had cleared the Temple, and He had been rejected at the synagogue of Nazareth, causing Him to move to Capernaum, where Peter now lived.
3. Jesus had preached the Sermon on the Mount on one of the local hillsides and Peter probably was there, or at least heard others talk about it.
4. All of this had caused Jesus’ popularity, or notoriety, to grow and spread so that thousands wanted to hear Him and follow Him, which leads us to today’s story.
I. The Story
A. Let’s turn our attention to Luke chapter 5.
1. The Bible says: 1 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 (Sea of Galilee), 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. (Luke 5:1-3)
2. Fishing is hard work!
a. It’s one thing to fish on the weekends for fun, and it’s something else to fish for a living.
b. Peter, Andrew, James and John had been friends from boyhood and fished together on the Sea of Galilee year round.
3. That morning when Jesus showed up on the seashore with the crowd of followers, Peter and his fishing partners were exhausted and likely in a foul mood.
a. Fisherman like to say: “Your worst day fishing is better than your best day in the office,” but I’m not sure Peter would have agreed at that moment.
b. As we will later learn, they had fished all night with nothing to show for it.
c. Peter and his partners were on the beach washing their nets, when Jesus approached.
4. Jesus moved directly to Peter’s boat, got into it, and asked Peter if he would launch the boat a little ways from the shore.
a. Peter immediately agreed to Jesus’ request – after all, he knew and greatly admired Jesus.
b. And so, Peter’s boat became the perfect platform for Jesus’ teaching.
c. The water along shoreline made a perfect barrier to put some space between Jesus and the audience, so that all could see and hear Him as He taught.
d. How awesome it is that God can take something as ordinary as a boat, and turn it into a sacred tool to benefit the kingdom.
e. God can do the same with our ordinary things like homes and cars, computers and cellphones, if we make them available for God’s use.
B. Once the verbal lesson of the day was concluded, then the experiential lesson commenced.
1. Let’s pick up the story in verse 4, the Bible says: 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.” (Luke 5:4-5)
2. The command that Jesus made to Peter at that moment must have caused Peter to hesitate for a number of reasons.
a. Peter had fished these waters from boyhood and there was nothing about the fishing profession with which he was not familiar.
b. Peter was an expert in the habits of the fish, the hours and spots most suitable for taking them.
c. But at that moment, Peter found himself suddenly confronted with a command that contradicted not only his experience, but universal maxims and the practice of generations of fishermen.
d. Everyone knew that this was the wrong time of the day to fish (fish are most easily caught during the night or early in the morning, not in the middle of the day).
e. And everyone knew that where Jesus wanted him to fish was the wrong place to fish (the fisherman of the Sea of Galilee knew that you fish near shore, not out in the deep.
3. With all those things in mind, Peter’s obedience faltered, and he respectfully expressed his hesitation in the reply: “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing!”
a. All of us, who are followers of Christ, have faced those moments when God’s commands are contrary to what seems best to us, or what is the accepted practice of our culture.
b. In those moments, we might respectfully question the Lord, “Are you sure that’s what you want me to do?”
c. But in the end, happy are those who, after such a moment of hesitation, reply like Peter replied, “But at your word I will let down the nets.”
C. What happened as a result of Peter’s reluctant obedience is miraculous and stupendous.
1. The Bible says: 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. (Luke 5:6-7)
2. Can you imagine the surprise that must have come over Peter, waking him out of his discouragement and exhaustion?!
a. Immediately, he jumped into motion trying to keep his nets from breaking and his boat from sinking.
b. He sent and S.O.S. to his partners and James and John quickly came with their boat.
3. Can you picture the two boats filled to the brim with fish flopping everywhere, slowly coming back to shore with gunwales dangerously level with the water?
a. This is what fisherman dream about.
b. Professional fisherman spend a lifetime fishing in hopes that maybe one day something like this will happen – A huge catch…a bumper crop!
4. How might you think a person would respond to such an experience?
a. We might have expected Peter to rejoice saying, “We’re rich! This is our best day ever!”?
b. Or we might have expected Peter to say, “Jesus, you are my new fishing partner. You are like a human fish-finder. I am never going to fish without you ever again!”
c. I don’t think any of us would have predicted the response of Peter.
D. The Bible says: 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. (Luke 5:8-10a)
1. Peter had been around Jesus and had heard and seen some pretty amazing things, but this miracle took things to a whole new level.
a. Peter realized in that moment that his Teacher and Friend possessed more power than any mortal could wield.
b. Peter realized he was in the presence of God, and he had not realized it until then.
c. Jesus was not just another prophet, Jesus was divine.
2. When Peter realized he was in the presence of God, at once he felt that his own nakedness and sinfulness were laid bare, and he cried out, “I am a sinful man! You don’t want to be near me!”
3. Peter’s response is typical of others who have found themselves in the presence of God.
a. I’m sure you remember Isaiah’s response when he was given a glimpse of glory – Isaiah said: “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty” (Isaiah 6:5)
b. Or do you remember how Job responded when divine glory shone upon his soul? He said, “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:5-6)
4. To see God as He is, is to see ourselves as we really are.
a. In that moment, we realize how far we fall short of the glory of God.
b. In that moment, we realize how sinful we are, and how our righteousness is as filthy rags.
c. In that moment, we might conclude that God should want nothing to do with us, but we couldn’t be any more wrong.
E. Let’s notice how Jesus responded to Peter’s suggestion that Jesus get far away from someone as sinful as he.
1. Jesus could have said, “You know what Peter, you’re right, what am I doing wasting my time on someone like you?” But that’s not how Jesus responded.
2. The Bible says: 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. (Luke 5:10b-11)
3. Jesus had known the truth about Peter’s sinfulness and he had known it for a long time, but what mattered now was that Peter admitted the truth about himself.
a. With Peter’s pride stripped away, and with a heart of contrition, he was truly ready to follow Jesus.
4. When our sin is repented of, and when our sin is abhorred and confessed, it need not prevent anyone from Jesus’ presence or service.
a. All of God’s workers and servants have been and are sinners saved by grace.
b. It is amazing the beautiful music that God can produce from the life of a person who is conscious of their sin and has sought God’s forgiveness.
c. No sin is too deep-seated or too dirty that God cannot cleanse and heal and transform.
d. It is impossible to exaggerate the comfort that those words must have brought to Peter that day, and brings to us in our day when we are conscious of our profound unworthiness and appreciate God’s glorious grace.
5. Not only did Peter respond to God’s mercy that day, but Peter and his business partners received the call to follow Jesus.
a. When they arrived at the shore with those boats laden with fish, the biggest catch of their lives, they left it all there and followed Jesus.
b. In that moment, Peter, Andrew, James and John’s purpose in living went from fishing for fish, to fishing for men.
c. That doesn’t mean they would never fish for fish again, but their primary focus turned to the spiritual over the physical, the heavenly over the earthly.
II. The Application
A. As we bring today’s sermon toward a close, I want us to reflect on three lessons that we can learn from this part of Peter’s story.
B. The first lesson is that the call to follow Jesus begins and continues with acceptance.
1. We could talk about accepting the invitation to follow Christ, but what I want us to focus on is the acceptance that God offers each of us.
2. It is the acceptance of the fact that God loves each one of us and that God wants each one of us to be in His family and to be on His team.
3. And it is the acceptance of the fact that if we are in Christ, and if we are trying to walk in the light and turn away from sin, then our sins are forgiven.
4. Each of these things have to do with the promises of God and they are the truth – God loves you and me, God wants you and me, and God forgives you and me.
5. One of the ongoing schemes of the evil one are his attempts to erode our confidence in these truths and in this reality.
a. The evil one continues to try to convince us that God doesn’t love us, that God doesn’t want us, and that God doesn’t forgive us.
b. But we must understand the evil one is a liar and those things are not true.
6. Peter struggled initially with the acceptance of God’s love, God’s forgiveness, and God’s call, and as we will witness in this series, it was an ongoing struggle for him to accept those things, because he often fell short as we all often do.
7. But if we are going to be faithful followers of Jesus, then it begins and continues with accepting God’s love, God’s forgiveness, and God’s employment in God’s service.
C. A second lesson that we can learn from this part in Peter’s story is that the call to follow Jesus begins and continues with obedience.
1. What would have happened if Peter had not complied with Jesus’ commands? Nothing good would of happened and much good would have been missed.
a. What if Peter had said, “Jesus’ I’m too busy with my nets to let you use my boat as a pulpit?”
b. What if Peter had said, “Jesus, I know better than to try to fish out in the deep, I won’t do it?” or “Because you say so, I will do it.”
2. Thankfully, Peter said, both in word and deed, “Because the command comes from you, I will do it.”
a. Christ must be allowed to be the Master that He is.
b. His will must rule.
c. There cannot be two captains in the boat.
d. We must make Christ the Captain while we take the oars or set the sails in the direction He commands.
3. “Because You say so” has been the watchword of God’s faithful followers throughout time.
a. Think of Abraham who set out from his homeland not knowing where he was going, because God said so.
b. Think of Noah who built an ark in the face of an unbelieving world that had never seen rain nor a flood, because God said so.
c. Think of Moses who stood defiantly before Pharoah demanding he let God’s people go, because God said so.
d. Think of Joshua who marched around Jericho day after day, because God said so.
4. Following Jesus begins and continues with obedience – because God says so.
D. A final lesson we can learn from this part of Peter’s story has to do with partnership – God allows us to be co-workers with Him.
1. Jesus didn’t need Peter’s help to bring in the great catch of fish, and yet Jesus employed Peter in the process.
a. Jesus could have made the fish jump into the boat, and even though there was a miraculous element to the catch, they were caught in Peter’s nets.
2. What was true about that catch of fish is also true when we go fishing for men and women.
a. God could choose to bring people to Christ without our assistance, and yet even though there is a miraculous element to our catching men and women, God chooses to use us in the process.
b. God doesn’t need our witness or our efforts to save anybody – He could save people just like He converted the Apostle Paul on the way to Damascus – with a blinding light and a voice from heaven.
c. God could do it that way, but that is not His will – God’s will is to save people through us.
d. Lloyd Ogilvie says it this way: “Without God we can’t; without us he won’t.”
3. And so, it is not only our privilege to work with God in reaching the lost, it is our responsibility, and if we don’t do it or won’t do it, then it won’t get done.
a. I pray that all of us will be active in sharing our faith, and it can be done in so many ways that I have often covered in lessons on evangelism.
E. Allow me to close with the encouraging and challenging story of John Harper.
1. John Harper was a minister from Scotland who died along with thousands of other people, when the Titanic sunk in 1912.
2. Some people who survived reported that Harper preached the Gospel to the very end.
3. Survivors later reported that as Titanic began to sink, Harper admonished people to be prepared to die.
4. He made sure his sister and daughter were in a lifeboat even as he continued to share the Gospel with whoever would listen.
5. And when he found himself in the icy water with a life jacket, floating near another man, Harper asked, “Are you saved?”
a. “No, I’m not saved!” the desperate man replied.
b. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved!” Harper shouted.
6. One report says Harper, knowing he could not survive long in the icy water, took off his life jacket and threw it to another person with the words, “You need this more than I do!”
a. Moments later, Harper disappeared beneath the water.
7. Four years later, when there was a reunion of the survivors of the Titanic, the man to whom Harper had witnessed told the story of his rescue and gave a testimony of his conversion recorded in a tract, I was John Harper’s Last Convert, his name was Aguilla Webb.
F. The Gospel that John Harper shared that day, and that we continue to share today, does not spare people from drowning in an ocean, but it does spare us from a far worse eternal destruction.
1. I hope and pray that we will be fishers of men and women, just like Peter.
2. And just like John Harper, I want to be faithful in sharing the Gospel and catching men and women until the moment I breath my last breath.
3. Picture yourself on your death bed, maybe in a hospital or maybe at home, and someone comes to see you who doesn’t know the Lord, maybe it is a nurse or caregiver, or maybe it is a family member – wouldn’t you want your last words to be: “Put your faith in Jesus – You will never regret it.”
4. God is counting us to and so are those who need to be saved.
G. The call to follow Jesus begins and continues with acceptance and obedience, and I hope that we will continue to embrace them both.
Resources:
The Life of Peter, F.B. Meyer, Edited by Lance Wubbels, Emerald Books, 1996
The Apostle Peter, James Houck, Xulon Press, 2009
The Apostle Peter, Jerry Haughton
“Following the Right Leader,” Sermon by Erwin Lutzer, www.moodychurch.org
“How God’s Will Can Mess Up Your Life in a Good Way, Sermon by Ray Pritchard.
