“THE WONDER OF HIS SERVICE”
LUKE 5:1-11
INTRODUCTION:
This summer our youth are going on a mission trip to Mexico. Our youth minister, Doug and his “right hand lady” in this endeavor, Diane Sutton, wondered if they would get enough sponsors to go on a hot, dirty and hard trip like this. When I asked Doug a couple of weeks ago how he was doing for sponsors he said, “It’s great! I’ve got more than enough. We’re going to have more sponsors then kids if we’re not careful.” Now, why would anyone want to do that? Why would you take a week off work to go to Mexico in July, spend time living in rather Spartan conditions just to minister to under-privileged people? Isn’t that a little fanatical? A little extreme? But you know what? When a person is committed to Jesus Christ, they sometimes do things that don’t make sense to everyone else. The use of time, the choice of entertainment, the giving of money, the topic of conversation, the involvement in church, the adherence to certain moral values - seem odd to those who don’t know the Lord. And it’s not uncommon for genuine Christians to appear completely out of step with the world.
And that kind of commitment is not uncommon in this church. From the families that stay behind to lock up; to instrumentalists, choir & praise team members who practice during the week and arrive here at 7:45 to go over it again, to a group of ladies who week in and week out offer their time to fold the Care-A-Gram, to the Elder’s who meet every Saturday morning at 7am for prayer; there are many who give of their time, money and energy to serve Jesus Christ and grow in Him.. Who as Paul says in 2 Cor.- “Give themselves first to the Lord..” When a person genuinely surrenders to Jesus Christ as Lord there comes a whole new way of thinking, feeling, behaving that makes the nominal Christian and the non-Christian wonder just a little bit about why they would do what they do.
I want to be right up front with you. The purpose of this sermon two-fold: (1) For those of you who have not accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; I want you to see Jesus in such a way that you will be motivated to come to Him today, or at least make a commitment to seek out the answers to your questions so you will be ready to make that decision. (2) For those of you who have already made the decision to accept Christ into your life, that you will see your way to completely commit and involve yourself in service to Him. So, as we continue in the incidents of Christ, seeing the Wonder of it all, we come to the calling of His disciples. They are going to serve as an example to us. Vs:11 says “they left everything and followed Him.” Why did they do that? Why would these fishermen leave their occupations to follow an itinerant preacher? Well, as we seek to understand what motivated these men to give their whole selves in service to the Lord, let’s look at the appeal of Jesus, the decision of the disciples and then the application to us.
I. THE APPEAL OF JESUS: Vss: 1-4
I want you first to see the appeal of Jesus. Vs:1- “One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret (Galilee) with the people crowding around Him and listening to the Word of God..” What was there about Jesus that made these crowds surround Him? This is important because I believe that the same things that appealed to the crowds and to these first disciples will still appeal to us today. If you have a Bible I want us to look back in chapter 4, because within that chapter are examples of several of the reasons that Jesus had and has such an incredible appeal.
(1) Jesus was a man of complete integrity. Immediately following His baptism Lk 4 tells us, that Jesus went into the wilderness, where He fasted for 40 days, and then was severely tested by Satan. When Jesus was hungry Lk. 4:3 tells us that Satan said, “Why don’t you turn these stones into bread?” Satan was suggesting that Jesus fulfill His physical desires, His instinct for pleasure over His spiritual needs. But Jesus said, “No.. It is written man does not live by bread alone.” Jesus was never gluttonous; Jesus was never drunk; Jesus was never sexually promiscuous. You have to admire a man who was that pure. Satan then took Jesus to a “a high place and showed Him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.” And Satan told the Lord that all of it could be His if He would just worship the devil. But Jesus said, “No.. It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.” Jesus was never greedy, He never gave in to the desire for an abundance of things. And you have to respect a man who is that unselfish. Then Satan led Jesus to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the highest part of the temple and he told Him if He would throw himself down that angels would catch Him and Satan even quoted Psa. 91, basically using it to say, “Jesus, if you’ll just take a short-cut to popularity, this stunt will really attract a crowd and then you can have them in the palm of your hands.” But Jesus said, “No.. It is written: Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” Jesus was not a crowd pleaser, He never took an ego trip, He never went along with peer pressure even if it meant rejection. And you have to admire a man with that kind of courage. Teg Engstrom in his book on integrity says, “Integrity is doing what you say you’re going to do.” And Jesus walked His talk.
(2) Another reason Jesus was so appealing was because He was a man who overcame adversity. In Lk. 4:28-30 we see that Jesus told the truth in a sermon in Nazareth and the people were furious when they heard Him claim to be the Messiah and say that they were not honoring God as they should. They were so angry they tried to kill Him. And He often was rejected and ridiculed. But, time and time again Jesus withstood adversity. But He never allowed difficult circumstances to ruin His relationship with God. When a man overcomes adversity he gains respect.
(3) He also was appealing because Jesus was a man of impressive accomplishments. Starting in Lk. 4:33 we see that He had power over demons, then in vs:38 we see the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law and in vs:40 it says that “.. The people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying His hands on each one, He healed them.” No wonder the people in Galilee were crowding around Him, listening to the Word of God. Jesus ministered to people sacrificially and so had earned the right to be heard. His accomplishments made Him appealing.
(4) He was a man of excellent communication. Lk.4:31-32- “Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath began to teach the people. They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority.”Jesus must have been an electrifying speaker. He held people’s attention like no other teacher. I played golf a lot when I was in college and after thousands of holes and just about that much money, I learned that there were only two problems with my golf game or I could be a pro. The problems? distance and direction. Now, you know that in golf there’s only two things you need.. Hit it long and hit it straight or at least toward the green! In fact, if you play golf you know that hitting it long is great but you learn with experience that hitting it accurately is better. Now, if a person wants to be a credible communicator there are only 2 things they need.. Content & delivery. At first you think delivery is the most important.. If it’s appealing and dynamic that’s really easy to listen to. But then as you mature you learn that it is the content that is the most important. I’d rather hear a teacher who has meaningful content then a speaker who just gives shallow cliches delivered with great oratory. The great thing about Jesus was that He has both! The Bible says that both the teachers and the common people heard Him gladly. Mk. 12:37- “The large crowd listened to Him with delight.” Jesus used humor and illustrations that made Him exciting to listen to but He was profound. Even His enemies said, “Never before have we heard a man speak like this.”
(5) Jesus was appealing because He was a man who cared about people. Here in Lk. 5 we see that Jesus showed these men He was interested in them and their vocations. But maybe there is no other day then the one in Mk. 6 that demonstrates Jesus’ care for people. Here we have one of Jesus’ most difficult days. He is busy.. He instructs and sends His 12 disciples out on their first mission trip. He is deeply hurt.. While they are gone He learns that his cousin, John the Baptist has been murdered. And yet, no sooner does He learn that, then the disciples come back from their trip all excited about their missionary efforts, and Jesus has to encourage them in the midst of His pain. Understandably Jesus tries to get away for some quiet time. But some people see which way He is headed and by the time Jesus lands on the other side of the lake there is a huge crowd waiting for Him. Now, I don’t know about you, but after an incredibly tiring and emotional day like that I would of been tempted to say, “I can’t deal with this crowd right now.. I’ve got to have some time alone.” Not Jesus. Mk. 6:34- “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So He began teaching them.” Jesus appealed to people because they could see His genuine care for them.
A lot of things & people have appeal in this world but no one has more integrity, no one overcame more adversity, no one has more impressive accomplishments, no one else has the words of life, and no one else cares more about you than Jesus Christ. And that appeal should make Him worthy of our complete praise and service. We should be like Peter who answered the Lord, during a period of rejection, when Jesus asked if they too would leave.. said, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.” So let’s look at our text and see the disciples answer when Jesus tells them- vs:4- “Put out into the deep water, and let down your nets for a catch.”
II. THE ANSWER OF THE DISCIPLES: Vs:5
Put the text in front of you and let’s just begin reading and see how they responded. First, notice in vs:5 that they were reluctant to obey. “Simon answered, ‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because You say so, I’ll let down the nets.’” There was already a deep respect for Jesus, but let’s face it, in their minds He didn’t know much about fishing. They were the professionals, Jesus might be okay in the wood shop, but He was an amateur when it came to fishing. They knew that fish were caught best in the cool of the evening or night, not in the heat of the day, and after all they had vacuumed this particular section of the lake.. There weren’t any fish here.
But.. out of respect for Jesus they complied and were willing to go through the motions again. By the way.. It is a good sign of maturity in your Christian walk when you can say.. “Lord, I don’t understand why you’re asking me to do this but nevertheless, since it is You that is asking, I’ll do it.” “Lord, what You say in Your Word about staying pure before marriage is sure hard.. I don’t understand - Everyone else is doing it and I’m in love.. But.. Nevertheless because You say it..”-OR- “Lord, what You say here in Your Word about treating people kindly when they’ve been so nasty to me - that doesn’t make much sense - that’s not the way I feel. But since You say it..” -OR- “Lord, what You say in Romans 13 about paying your taxes - I could easily not report the cash - no one will know.. And you know the govt. hasn’t done me any favors.. But since You say it..” The disciples reluctantly obeyed and in vss:6-7 we see they are immediately rewarded.
“When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.” The disciples were no where close to being prepared for the outpouring of God’s blessing. I don’t know but can’t you just imagine Jesus’ smiling, maybe even laughing while these guys, who had been so sure there was nothing left out there, were now scurrying around to take in all the fish! Their nets weren’t strong enough, their boats weren’t big enough and the fleet wasn’t numerous enough to hold all this amateur fisherman had supplied. After all, they had loaned Him their boat for a couple of hours, but certainly they didn’t expect this kind of return on that small investment! You know, whatever you sacrifice for Him, He’ll return it 100 fold in ways you might never expect!
And now the disciples reacted with humility in vss:8-10. Suddenly Simon Peter discovered what a disparity there was between who Jesus was and who he was and he fell at His feet. There brought to my mind a question. Let’s say at the end of church today you go out the door and there is Jesus walking toward you.. In the flesh, what do you think your first reaction would be? Some would say, “Oh, I’d embrace Him, tell Him thank-you for all He’s done.” Some would say, “Oh, I’d ask Him to come talk to me because there’s a few answers I could use.” -OR- “I’d want to introduce Him to someone who I know needs Him.” But, if you actually came face to face with Jesus Christ, knowing it was Him, I don’t think any of those would be your first reaction. I think when we really see Jesus for who He is, our first reaction is going to be the sudden realization of how sinful we really are. There is an old Chinese proverb that says, “Bright lights cause dark shadows.” And when the light of Jesus’ purity shines on our lives it will reveal the dark shadows of sin. And we’ll fall at His feet and we cry, “Holy.”You know, every time a human being had a close encounter with God, if they were open, they had this same reaction as Peter. Isaiah, a good, faithful prophet, when He saw the Lord high and lifted up in Isa. 6, didn’t say.. “Hey, good buddy, it is great to see You.” He didn’t say, “Hey, God, I’m so glad You are here, I’ve got a few questions.” No, he said, “Woe is me, I’m a man of unclean lips, dwelling amongst a people of unclean lips.” The apostle John in Rev. 1 when he sees the Lord, just flat out faints. There is a sense, the closer we get to Jesus Christ, the more unspiritual we feel. The more we know Him, the more aware of ourselves, especially the areas we need to improve.
Some time ago on one of these TV “talk” shows there was as a guest, the announced Queen of X-rated movies. And the question was asked, “How do you live with yourself when you actually have sex for others to see.” She said, “It is just my job. Listen, I’m a good person.. I’m not ax murderer.. I resent people suggesting there is something bad about what I do. I’m just doing my job.. And I am good at it.” When we are not very close to the Lord, when we’re not in His Word, when we don’t have anyone else to hold us spiritually accountable, then it’s easy not to feel sinful. But when we allow His light to shine on us- He exposes our darkness. And the closer I get to the Lord the more appreciative I am that my salvation doesn’t depend on me, but on Him.
And then in vs:11 these disciples responded with complete commitment. “Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men. So they pulled up their boats up on shore, left everything and followed Him.”Did you get that? They left everything! Their occupations, their families, their livelihood .. Peter was married.. What could his wife think about him quitting his job and roaming around the countryside with this poor, idealistic preacher? This was risky! You know that some of their friends and family thought these four were crazy! But they believed in Jesus so strongly that they were willing to be called fanatics. And today the names of Peter, Andrew, James and John are considered hero’s of the faith. And if they had never left their boats they would of missed out on the greatest adventure of their life.
III. THE APPLICATION FOR US:
Now, before we go home I want us to make two applications from this incident. They are very simple but essential so I hope you will etch them on your mind.
(1) For those who either have not received Jesus as Savior and Lord or have done so but are still only treading water spiritually please understand... Only Jesus Christ is worthy of our primary priority. There are so many things in this life that beg for our attention. There are so many things attempting to be put first... possessions, people, pleasure, popularity. There are people who are tying to get you to follow them, calling for your time, money and energy. But no pursuit, no person in this world merits your primary priority and allegiance like Jesus Christ.
Have you heard of the man who claims and boasts of being the #1 NBA fan, and makes pro basketball his top priority? Listen to what he wrote in a national sports magazine recently. “April & May are not only my favorite months because of the NBA play-offs but they are my credit card company’s favorite months too. I’ll bet the credit card people think we celebrate Christmas in May instead of December at our house. Airline tickets, motel rooms, play-off tickets, meals.. All of it adds up in a hurry. But quite frankly Christmas for me can’t hold a candle to the NBA play-offs.” Now, there is certainly nothing wrong with loving sports and using them as a diversion. (I hope.) But.. if the NBA play-offs or anything else provides us more excitement than the fact God’s Son came to earth to save us.. Then something is way out of whack with our priorities. Only Jesus Christ is worthy of our primary priority. I’ve asked this before and I will continue to ask it.. What will really matter100 years from now? Not who won the NBA championship. In fact, 100 years from now to us in this room, it’s not going to matter about sports, or money or titles.. All that is going to matter then is: “Do you know the Lord? Were you covered by His blood? Was Jesus Christ the Lord of your life?” Please understand: One day you will stand before God and the Bible says at that time you will confess Jesus as Lord. In fact, will you read the Scripture with me that we have printed for you mid-way down that center panel. This passage says that because Jesus put God first and went to the cross that... read it together... “..God raised Jesus to the highest place. God made His name greater than any other name so that every knee will bow at the name of Jesus - everyone in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. And every one will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” (Phil. 2:9-11) If I could brand one thing on your minds this morning it would be this... Jesus Christ is the only One worthy of your complete allegiance. He is the only One who can say as He did in John 11:25- “I am the Resurrection and the Life, whoever believes in me shall not die but have everlasting life.” And when we completely understand that, we know that life is too temporary to make anything or anyone but Jesus Christ our primary passion & priority. Because of my love for you, I fear for some of you... Some of you are so caught up in the things of this world, and yet, one day this world won’t even be here. It’s an old saying but it’s truth is eternal: “Only one life, ‘twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.”
(2) For those of us who claim Christ as Lord, our allegiance to Jesus is expressed in that we are to be spiritual fisherman. In vs:10 Jesus didn’t say He was going to make the disciples rich or famous. He said, “You follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.” Now, we need to minister to the poor, naked, hungry and hurting. But our primary purpose as a church and as a Christians is to bring others to salvation in Jesus Christ. The Scriptural priority of Jesus was to seek & save the lost and He passed on that priority to us.. to go and make followers and then help them mature in Christ.
If we really believe that Jesus has the answer for life here and forever, and if we really care about people then we are compelled to bring them to Christ. And that’s where the conflict with the world really heats up. People say, “Look, what you choose to believe is fine, but don’t try to impose those standards on me. Don’t try and convert me.” But listen.. If you found a cure for A.I.D.S. today and you didn’t share it tomorrow, that would be criminal. We hold the cure for sin, death and hell.. And if we never share that with anyone then I think we can be questioned as to whether we really believe it or if we truly care about others. Now, we need to be tactful. We shouldn’t brow beat anyone, turning them off. But we need to understand that as a followers of Christ our primary purpose is to be fisher’s of men. 2 Cor. 5:11- “It’s no light thing to know that we’ll all one day stand in the place of judgement. That’s why we work urgently with everyone we meet, to get them ready to face God.” Ask yourself. Am I fishing for the Lord? Or am I just in the boat paddling around taking care of myself?
“Only one life, will soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.” Isn’t it time you made Him your first priority? Isn’t it time you served Him with all of your heart? In His church, in your daily walk and in your heart... If you do, you will be honoring the only One worthy of your complete allegiance and you can “let down your nets for a great catch.” PRAY
