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.
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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.
When Jesus is done, there is more to His request. 4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch." He knew Simon was a fisherman. He also probably knew that he hadn’t caught anything all night. Simon probably wondered to himself why Jesus would make such a request. In fact he says: "Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything.” Here it was the middle of the day, one of the worst times to go fishing. Jesus says ‘Let’s go to the deep part and catch fish.’ The best fishing was in the shallow parts, yet what do we see? We see Simon’s reaction and we hear his words. We also see Simon’s reaction and hear his answer to the call, Jesus’ call. He hears Jesus calling and speaking to him. Simon says: “But because you say so, I will let down the nets." Simon had been in the boat listening to the words of Jesus. The crowd had heard the words of Jesus. Simon now realized that as Jesus said, so it would be. He heard this call of Jesus and went and let down the nets. (We’ll look at that obedience in just a bit.)
The Lord has called each one of us. He probably called us at a time when we weren’t listening that closely. The Lord called us in our first calling when we were baptized. He first called us a child of God. Then throughout our lifetime, the Lord calls us again and again—really, day after day. The next big answer to His call was when we were confirmed. There we renewed our baptismal vows as we stood before the Lord’s altar and said we would be faithful even to the point of death. From that time on until now, the Lord calls us and we listen. We listen because we know the voice of the Lord is the only voice we ought to listen to. There are all kinds of voices in this world that try to distract us or attract us away from God’s voice, but the Lord still reminds us that we follow Him. In the 10th Chapter of John we’re told how Jesus is the shepherd, we are the sheep. "The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out"(JOHN 10:3). What a joy that is for each one of us! To know that the Lord knows His church as a great big congregation of believers throughout the world, but more importantly, He knows each one of us as individual sheep. He knows us by name. If He knows us by name, He knows more than that about each one of us. He leads us and directs us.
In this life when there are all kinds of directions given and advice that is received, we have to ask ourselves if we truly listen to God’s voice leading and directing us. We might want to ask ourselves when was the last time we sat in the quiet of the day or in the evening and talked with the Lord through prayer and asked Him what His will really was. When was the last time we tried to listen to the voice of God? We have an example here in Simon who listened. It didn’t make any sense at all that he should go out in the middle of the day to the worst part of the lake and fish. Yet, he listened. At times the Lord speaks to us in that same way, doesn’t He? It doesn’t seem to make any sense at all but we just listen. We know better.
The Lord gives us many examples in the Old Testament when people had to be called time and again before they would listen. We think of Moses when he was called to lead the people out of the land of Egypt. He didn’t want to do it. The Lord almost had to force him to do it and finally he listened. We think of Samuel who lived in the Lord’s house. The Lord called him three times. Even the priest, Eli, who should have known better, did not listen until that third time. We’re told his advice to Samuel and Samuel’s reaction. "The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, ’Samuel! Samuel!’ Then Samuel said, ’Speak, for your servant is listening’"(1 SAMUEL 13:10). Sometimes the Lord tries to get our attention. We need to be like Samuel and say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’
We have talked many times about the importance of hearing. It is by hearing that you and I have come to faith. It is by listening that the Lord intends to bless each and every one of us. By listening and hearing, you and I grow in our Christian faith. As we grow in our Christian faith, we’re strengthened to face all of the trials and temptations that we face in this world. As we grow in our Christian faith, we can be comforted by the gospel of Jesus Christ, our Savior. As we grow in our Christian faith, we’re able to comfort others—all from listening. "’If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. Consider carefully what you hear,’ he continued. ’With the measure you use, it will be measured to you--and even more’"(MATTHEW 4:23,24). He says with careful listening, comes even more blessings of God.
Jesus calls believers into His service and you and I, as believers ought to be anxious to hear this call of Jesus. Even more than that, as our text points out, we want to be willing to
II. Obey this call of Jesus
As we hear these words of our text, we ask ourselves, when did Simon first listen and obey? We ended up where he listened to Jesus telling him to go out into the deep and catch the fish. But it was before that, wasn’t it? Remember Jesus was standing on the shore with people crowding around Him, almost pushing Him into the Sea of Galilee. He sees the boats there and gets into the one belonging to Simon. He says, ‘Let’s go out onto the lake.’ There already is the first time that Simon listens and obeys. Simon could have easily stayed on the shore and washed the nets, getting ready for the next day. Simon could have easily said, ‘I’m going to go home to go to sleep. I’ve been fishing all night.’ But he heard the call of Jesus and he obeyed.
When it seemed so unreasonable to fish in the deep, he said to the Lord, ‘But because you say so, I will let down the nets.’ He listened and obeyed. We are told the result of this listening and obedience in the miracle that Jesus performed. 6When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. It was a great number of fish—enough to break the nets! (These were nets in good repair we assume.) 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. We picture two boats, both full of fish, unheard of in the middle of the day and in the deep of the lake. Simon realized they stood in the midst of Christ the Lord. We see his reaction. 8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" He realized that God’s word was here in the flesh. He realized that as he stood, listened and obeyed, he was just a sinner in front of sinlessness. He realized that this was God’s miracle.
And not only Simon, but also his companions were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken. We are given the names of some of them: 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. We’re given a little bit more of those first disciples who were called. They listened and obeyed. There were more of them weren’t there? Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men." How strange that must have sounded to Simon and his partners—James and John. They were going to catch men. He uses the same term almost as fishing. It means ‘catch and keep alive.’ They heard these words and they obeyed. 11So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. They heard and obeyed.
You and I share the blessed privilege of being able to hear God’s word Sunday after Sunday. You and I have the privilege of studying God’s word together on Sundays and Wednesdays. You and I have the privilege of reading God’s word for us day after day. As we look into God’s law, we agree with Peter—‘Lord, we are only sinners.’ As we look into God’s word we realize we are sinners who are called into service. From James we read: "But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in what he does"(JAMES 1:25). It’s important for us to remember we are blessed in what we do when we keep God’s commandments (it says his perfect law here). The world around us thinks the law is too oppressive. The law tells us what to do and what not to do. What good can it be? The Lord says it is a blessing because it gives us direction in our life—to know the difference between what is right and wrong. Rather than walk down the path of destruction, you and I are able to travel along a path of what is right and good.
You and I are blessed because God’s word is alive in each one of us. What does that mean? “But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did"(1 JOHN 2:5,6). Not only is God’s word alive in us, but Jesus is alive in us as well, by faith, by grace. Since Jesus is alive and well in each one of us so is the love of God Himself!
He calls us into service. We hear and we obey. The Lord says we are to walk as Jesus did and He gives us that example. When the disciples’ feet were washed, they didn’t want that to take place. The Lord reminded them, as He reminds us, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many"(MARK 10:45). You and I walk as Jesus did when we live a life of service. As we’ve heard the last few weeks, there are all kinds of service, all kinds of gifts that each one of us is given. We have to look at our lives and ask, ‘How has the Lord called us to serve Him?’ Is it by serving in the church, by using talents to add to God’s service by singing or playing organ or ushering? Has the Lord called us to help in other ways such as serving on the council as leaders or teaching Sunday school? Has the Lord called us to service as one who holds up the hands of the prophet by prayer, by showing mercy and kindness? Has the Lord called us into service with our gifts by being able to give generously to the work in God’s kingdom? All of these are different gifts of service and all of these gifts of service are given to one or another of us in different kinds of ways.
Yes, as believers, you and I are called into Jesus service. As believers, you and I are blessed to have God’s word alive in our lives and then because of that, in the lives of others. Because of God’s grace, you and I hear God’s word and we obey it…sometimes not so willingly, sometimes our sinful nature holds us back. We need to overcome that. We need to be like Isaiah. Again, he was not so willing to be a prophet of God, but the Lord reminded him, ‘Yes, but I will give you the ability—I have given you the talent.’ Finally, we’re told in Isaiah 6:8: "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ’Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ (Isaiah was convinced) And I said, ’Here am I. Send me!’ The Lord calls each one of us in His service. May we hear with willing ears and obey with willing hearts. Amen.
Pastor Timm O. Meyer
