Theme: Here am I send me
Text: Is. 6:1-8; 1 Cor. 15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11
Today is Bible Sunday and on this special day each one of us should reflect on the importance of the Bible and on how we could help make it available to the many people who are without one. The Bible is without doubt the greatest book that has ever been written because it is God’s Word. It is the Creator speaking to His creation. Many people, however, do not believe that the Bible is the Word of God because according to them many different men were involved in writing it. Although this is true the writers were only channels used by the Holy Spirit “for all Scripture is given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit”. God controlled, directed and communicated with the spirits and minds of the men who wrote the Bible and every message and revelation in it originates with God Himself. How can we fail to understand this when men are able to send satellites into space millions of miles away and still communicate with them through radio, radar and electronic waves? Scientists working at the space centre NASA are communicating with two rovers or robots, spirit and opportunity, that have landed on different sides of mars and are transmitting clear pictures from the red planet. When the memory of the computers on spirit became overloaded and its transmissions could not be evaluated, the NASA scientists were able to correct the problem from earth. If men can achieve such results how can we deny that God is able to create human beings with mental and spiritual faculties that He can control, direct, and communicate with. God has never stopped communication with men and women and is still looking for those who are prepared to do His will and are ready to say “here I am send me”.
The Word of God reveals the truth about God. It reveals His nature and character, His sovereignty, glory and holiness. We cannot receive a revelation of the glory of God and not fall down in worship as the angels did crying “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts”. The Word of God also reveals the truth that man is a sinner. When Isaiah was confronted with the sovereignty, glory and holiness of God he saw himself as he really was. He saw his need for cleansing and cried out “woe is me for I am undone because I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips”. In a similar manner when Jesus confronted Peter he also immediately saw the truth about his sinful condition and fell at Jesus’ knees saying, “Go away from me Lord; I am a sinful man!”
God has given us a book that reveals the truth and is able to transform lives and make the world a better place to live in. This book needs to be taught and studied. Its teachings need to be applied and everyone should have a copy. This book is able to meet the physical and spiritual needs of all mankind and is vital for the solution of life’s problems. But God needs people and the resources He has given them “to make disciples of all nations”. When Jesus needed a platform from which to preach He got into Peter’s boat and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Peter offered his most valuable possession, his fishing boat, for Christ to use as a platform to preach the good news. From the gospel of Mark we learn that the lesson Jesus taught from the boat was the parable of the Sower. This parable was a lesson in sowing seed and the importance of sowing in good soil. The farmer knew what to expect from the seed that fell on the wayside, from the seed that fell among rocks and from the seed that fell among thorns. He also knew what to expect from the seed that fell on good soil. The four soils could represent four different types of people or they could represent four different ways people respond to God’s message or they could represent how willingly we receive God’s message in some areas of our lives and resist it in others. We may respond like good soil to God’s demand for worship but like rocky soil to His demand to give to people in need. Are we responding like good soil to God’s command to preach the good news to all people? Sowing in good soil will always reap a harvest. Jesus as if to illustrate His point told Peter to fish once more this time in deeper water. Peter had planted in good soil. He had invested into the ministry of Christ and he reaped a harvest that met more than his need. Are you sowing in good soil? Are you scattering your seeds on the wayside, among rocks and among thorns and surprised that you are not reaping a harvest? Sowing to make the Word of God available to all people is investing in the ministry of Christ and obeying His command to us “to make disciples of all nations”.
The Word of God not only reveals the truth about man, it also reveals God’s provision of salvation to all mankind. It reveals that there is forgiveness for sin and that God has entrusted men and women and not sinless angels with the good news of salvation. The Word of God reveals that there is not only forgiveness for sin but also cleansing from sin. As the Word of God reveals the truth about our sinful natures, we like Isaiah and Peter, should confess our sins and experience God’s love, forgiveness and cleansing.
The Word of God confronts us with the truth about God and about ourselves and provides the solution to the problem of sin. Isaiah, confronted with his sin, was led to confess his sin and God was faithful and just to forgive his sin and cleanse him from all unrighteousness. Peter, confronted with his sin, confessed his sin and became a disciple of Christ. It is only the Word of God that can reveal the truth about us and lead us to salvation. It is so valuable and crucial to salvation that it has often been referred to as the greatest evangelist in the world. There is the urgent need for more Bibles in the world today. There are millions of people who have never seen a Bible before and all the problems in the world today have their solution in the Word of God. What better way is there to solve the terrorist attacks that have become a daily occurrence than changing the lives of terrorists with the Word of God. What better way is there to solve the suffering and needless deaths that result from alcoholism and drug abuse than changing the lives of addicts with the Word of God? What better way is there to solve the break-up of marriages that result from sexual immorality and other sins than changing the lives of those involved with the Word of God. What better way is there to solve the problem of hate than showing love as the Word of God declares? There are millions of people suffering needlessly and dying in their sins because they have no access to the Word of God. We may have forgotten people like Howard Hughes but what a difference the Word of God would have made in his life. Although he was one of the richest men in the world he spent the last years of his life a hermit – alone, without friends or relatives and a prisoner in his own home, living on packet soup and watching old movies. What a difference the Word of God could make in the lives of many desperate people today, people who no longer see any reason for living and take their own lives – God’s most precious gift to them. Jesus made a difference in the life of Peter by meeting his physical and spiritual needs. He can make a difference in your life today. The Word of God is the solution to that financial problem, to that health problem, to that marriage problem and to that broken relationship. But above all the Word of God is the solution to the problem of sin by making God’s forgiveness, salvation and eternal life available to all people.
The Word of God always demands a response. We can either reject Christ or accept Him. We can behave like the multitudes that followed Christ who were only interested in being fed and in the signs and wonders that He performed. We reject Christ when we are more interested in the miracles than in the Source of the miracles and more interested in the healing than in the Healer. We accept Christ when we acknowledge our sin, repent and put our trust in the Lord. This was what Isaiah and Peter did. Peter after meeting Christ caught the greatest catch of his life but that was no longer important to him. He left it all to follow Christ. He trusted in the Lord and did not need the fish when he had the One who made the fish.
We can be witnesses of many miracles and yet not trust the Lord of the miracles. This was the case of the Israelites who witnessed many miracles when God delivered them from Egyptian bondage. They witnessed the plagues that came upon the Egyptians that ended with the death of the first born in all the land of Egypt. They witnessed the parting of the red sea and the destruction of Pharaoh’s army. A cloud led them by day and a pillar of fire by night and they were fed with manna from heaven and water from the rock. In spite of all these miracles they could not trust the Lord to take them into the Promised Land. Peter, however, demonstrated his trust in the Lord. Peter as a skilled fisherman knew what a man could learn about fishing. He knew that the right time for fishing was at night because the fish would come to the surface because it was dark. He knew that during the day the light from the sun would make the fish go deeper into the water and make them more difficult to catch because of the method of fishing in those days. Although Jesus was not a fisherman and although Peter had his doubts, he obeyed Christ, launched out into the deep, let down the nets for a catch and caught the catch of his life. So much fish was caught that a second boat was needed to bring the fish ashore. The result was a life-changing experience for Peter. The real miracle of Peter’s encounter with Jesus was the revelation of who Jesus is. This revelation was far more important than the catch of fish so that Peter left everything and followed Jesus. Jesus is inviting us to do the same thing. Jesus is calling us to walk away from our old life, our old ideas and our treasured possessions in exchange for a new and exciting life of following Him.
The Bible is God’s chosen way to accomplish His divine will. Sinners are saved and saints are sanctified through its message. When we look into a mirror we normally do so with the intention of acting on anything that might be revealed to us. When we see that our hair is untidy we brush it and when we see that our face is dirty we wash it. When we see that our clothes are dirty we clean them and when we see the evidence of any infection we consult the doctor for the appropriate treatment. God’s Word is our spiritual mirror and reveals our true nature. It reflects how God sees us and when it reveals a condition of spiritual uncleanness we must immediately seek cleansing. The Word of God does not only serve as a spiritual mirror but also as a spiritual map. God has given us a book with a detailed and very accurate map showing us the way to heaven. God has made sure we do not misread the map and lose our way by giving us the Holy Spirit to teach and guide us. Without the Word of God we would not be able to find the way and we would all perish. Would it not please God if everyone were given this book, the Bible? Should we not use the resources God has given us to make the Word of God available to all people and in all languages? The Word of God declares, “If you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”. If you are still in bondage today your time of deliverance has come. There is forgiveness for sin when you repent and confess Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord. Amen!
