Luke 5:1-11
I Surrender All
Woodlawn Missionary Baptist Church
April 30, 2006
Introduction
Steve Lyons will be remembered as the player who dropped his pants. He could be remembered as an outstanding infielder ... as the player who played every position for the Chicago White Sox ... as the guy who always dove into first base ... as a favorite of the fans who high fived the guy who caught the foul ball in the bleachers. He could be remembered as an above-average player who made it with an average ability. But he won’t. He’ll be remembered as the player who dropped his pants on July 16, 1990.
The White Sox were playing the Tigers in Detroit. Lyons bunted and raced down the first-base line. He knew it was going to be tight, so he dove at the bag. Safe! The Tiger’s pitcher disagreed. He and the umpire got into a shouting match, and Lyons stepped in to voice his opinion.
Absorbed in the game and the debate, Lyons felt dirt trickling down the inside of his pants. Without missing a beat he dropped his britches, wiped away the dirt, and ... uh oh ...twenty thousand jaws hit the bleachers’ floor.
And, as you can imagine, the jokes began. Women behind the White Sox dugout waved dollar bills when he came onto the field. "No one," wrote one columnist "had ever dropped his drawers on the field. Not Wally Moon. Not Blue Moon Odom. Not even Heinie Manush." Within twenty-four hours of the "exposure," he received more exposure than he’d gotten his entire career; seven live television and approximately twenty radio interviews.
"We’ve got this pitcher, Melido Perex, who earlier this month pitched a no-hitter," Lyons stated, "and I’ll guarantee you he didn’t do two live television shots afterwards. I pull my pants down, and I do seven. Something’s pretty skewed toward the zany in this game."
Now, I don’t know Steve Lyons. I’m not a White Sox fan. Nor am I normally appreciative of men who drop their pants in public. But I think Steve Lyons deserves a salute.
I think anybody who dives into first base deserves a salute. How many guys do you see roaring down the baseline of life more concerned about getting a job done than they are about saving their necks? How often do you see people diving headfirst into anything?
Too seldom, right? But when we do ... when we see a gutsy human throwing caution to the wind and taking a few risks ... that’s a person worthy of a pat on the back. (Max Lucado, In the Eye of the Storm, Word Publishing, 1991 pp. 247-248)
During our time together today I want us to examine Christ’s invitation to Peter to follow Him, and the five stages he went through to accept that invitation. Not everyone goes through all five of these stages, but many do, and today, like Peter, you may find yourself at the end of one of those invitations to follow the Lord Jesus Christ into some deeper place of service, only to be teetering on the edge of what to do. As I share them, imagine yourself running down the baseline of life. Will you too be one of the gutsy who throws caution to the wind and abandons all? Think about it as we read Luke 5:1-11 and then work through these five stages.
“And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, and saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: and so was also James, and John the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.”
Stage 1: Disinterest
According to the gospel of John, Peter met Jesus the day after Jesus was baptized, but there little indication that he stayed with Him for any length of time. I am of the opinion that after Peter met Jesus and spent some time with Him, he went back home and went back to work.
Now however, Jesus has come back into Peter’s life. Luke wrote that as Jesus taught the people, they crowded Him to the point where He was teaching from the banks of the Sea of Galilee. The Bible doesn’t say how large this crowd was, but it was large enough to press upon Jesus.
As He is teaching though, what are the fishermen doing? They’re out in the water by the boats washing their nets. They didn’t drop them and come listen to the teaching. They didn’t put them up and do them later. They kept on working.
I don’t think Peter and the others were any different from many people today who aren’t necessarily hostile to Christ or church, but they’re disinterested. They’ve got work to do; bills to pay; food to buy and money to make: more important things to do in other words.
Disinterest has many faces, but it always reveals itself in the same way. There’s always something more important to do: always something better to do. I’m not talking about coming to church necessarily, but about following Christ; doing what He says; accepting the invitation to follow Him – to live for the glory of God!
Though the crowd pressed upon Jesus, were they really interested? Jesus knows the hearts of all men. Why didn’t He call any of them? Perhaps because though they crowed Him, they really weren’t interested in signing up for anything more than a free lunch. Jesus is looking for people who will abandon all for the sake of following Him, and evidently He didn’t find any in that crowd. Would you say that the multitudes filling churches today are really that interested in following Christ? We may press into our buildings and enjoy the teaching and preaching and singing, but are we really ready to abandon all to follow Him?
The answer is no: most are not – they: perhaps even you are just not that interested.
Stage 2: Doubt
Looking around for a better vantage point, He decided to teach from the bow of Peter’s boat. Of course it was no accident that the Lord chose this boat. If Peter wasn’t that interested in Him then He would come to Peter, seeing in Him something that Peter didn’t even see. Putting up his clean nets, he thrusts out so the Lord might continue His teaching.
Verse 4 then says that Jesus told Peter to launch out into the deep water for a draught. The word draught literally means a haul of fish. That’s not just a mess of fish, but a big mess of fish!
I like Peter’s response: “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything…” Can you imagine what must have been going through his head? “What do you know about fishing? You’re a carpenter!”
If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s to go fishing with somebody who wants to tell me how to fish. I grew up in a boat! Dad told me the other day I caught my first fish when I was younger than Kristian back there, and since he’s the one who taught me to fish, he’s about the only one I don’t mind telling me how to fish.
Do you honestly think Peter felt any differently? They’d been working at it all night. They knew that lake better than anyone and here’s a preacher telling them how to fish, so you can hear the doubt in Peter’s voice when he said, “nevertheless at your word I will let down the net.” “We’ve been working at this all night, but if you say so.”
Listen, this isn’t just about fish. How many times have we thought we knew better than God? We’ve been there, done that and have the t-shirt. I know it won’t work! Whether it’s marriage, raising kids, finance, work relationships, issues of integrity and honesty or a multitude of other things, we doubt what God says.
· “You can’t love your enemies! I tried that one time and I just got hurt worse.”
· “You can’t just forgive people that hurt you. They’ll take advantage of you.”
· “You can’t lay down your life for a woman. She’ll run right over you.”
· “I’m not going to claim that income on my tax return. They get enough of my money.”
· “You can’t be honest and make it in business. That’s a good way to starve.”
· “I can’t tithe off of what I make. Last time I tried that I came up short on my bills.”
· “I can’t surrender to God’s call on my life. I just don’t think it would work.”
I know. There’re a thousand ways we express our doubt, but just as the Lord engaged Peter that day by entering his boat and stretching him He is here today trying to engage you as well. Today He says to you, “Launch out into the deep!” And while everything in you wants to say that you’ve toiled all night and haven’t been successful yet, why not just say, “nevertheless, at your word I will let down the net?”
Stage 3: Belief
Verse 6 is amazing! “When they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.” They caught so many fish that they got the other boat to come help them, and then the catch nearly sank both boats!
There’s nothing like a great catch of fish. Just a few weeks ago when my uncle was down we went over to Ray Roberts. We were catching fish on nearly every cast for a couple of hours. The ice chest filled up so when we’d throw one in two would fall out! We laughed and fished and were amazed at the number and size of all the fish we were throwing back. A few years ago Bruce and I took a preacher fishing out on Texoma, and when he started catching fish he started hollering and laughing so hard that Bruce and I had to tell him to quiet down!
When Peter put that net down, he was thinking to himself that he was wasting his time and would rather have been getting rested for the next night, but it wasn’t long before he changed his mind! Whatever he thought about Jesus when they cast off was completely changed now.
Now here is a dangerous and amazing thing. Some of you today may be thinking to yourselves that if the Lord would do some great thing like He did then in your life then you would believe. In John 6:29, Jesus was speaking to the crowd when He implored them to put their faith in Him. In verse 30, the people said,
“What sign will you show us then, that we may see, and believe you? What will you work?”
Jesus basically told them that He was that work. He had come from heaven, was the bread of life and the living water. He told them about the sign of His coming resurrection, but they still wouldn’t believe. The words of John 12:35-37 are telling.
“Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have the light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them. But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him.”
Listen to me: don’t wait around for Jesus to perform some great miracle in your life so you might believe. He’s already done all the miracles necessary for you to believe. The question is whether you can place your faith in what He’s done. Some of you are on the edge. You know intellectually who Jesus is. You know He’s the Son of God, that He came to earth, that He died on the cross for you, that He rose from the dead for you, but you’ve never placed your faith in Him.
He may be calling you to some place of service; to simply abandon all and follow Him, but you have your doubts about what will happen next. When will you see that He is trustworthy? When will you take an honest look at Him in the Scriptures and see Him for who and what He really is? When Peter saw Him, he moved right into the fourth stage, the stage of…
Stage 4: Repentance
Verse 8 says that Peter fell to his knees and what appears to have been an embracing of the legs of Jesus. “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” He repented! He saw Jesus Christ not as a carpenter, not as a teacher, not as an itinerant preacher, not as a smart rabbi, not as a wanna-be fisherman, but as the Lord that He is!
I want to tell you that when you see Jesus Christ for who He really is you’re going to see yourselves for who you really are, and what you’re going to see is not going to be something to be proud of. When you see Jesus Christ as Lord you’re going to be humbled in His presence.
Sometimes I get to thinking I know something about the Bible, but when I get in the presence of someone who has been at it for years I can get awfully quiet. I think I do pretty good remodeling work, but to be in the room with a pro is an humbling experience. I like to work on cars and try to talk the lingo, but when I get around a real mechanic I realize I don’t know anything, but these are weak comparisons to the feeling of deep humility and abasement that ought to overwhelm us when we come into the presence of Almighty God! “Depart from me…whoa is me, for I am a sinful man!”
Can you recognize that today? I know you’re pretty good people, and we all like to think that we’ve really surrendered our lives, but have you? When was the last time you were at the feet of Jesus in shame and humility repenting of your sin? Repenting out of a deep sense of the holiness of a perfect God?
Stage 5: Surrender
When the Lord finally had Peter where Peter needed to be, He extended the invitation, “Fear not; from now on you’re going to catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.”
I don’t care how many of the stages you have to go through, whether all of them or only the last three, surrender is the only proper response to the call of God on your life. You say today, “Preacher, I don’t know what God’s call on my life is.” Well I can tell you some very general things. You’ve been called to live for His honor and glory. You’ve been called into a personal relationship with Him. You’ve been called to witness to His work in your life. You’ve been called to be a godly husband or wife. You’ve been called to be godly parents, godly children, godly employees, godly employers and godly people in general. That’s God’s call to live for His glory!
“I know all of that preacher, but I want to know God’s will more specifically. If I knew it I might surrender.” But I want to tell you that you’ve got it all backwards. Just surrender. Jesus wants to be the Master and Commander of your life, of your heart, soul and might. Don’t give any thought to what He might ask you to do. I’m not asking you whether you’ll surrender to a thing or place of service, but will you surrender to Him?
One writer rightly said that God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to Him. You surrender to God and He’ll take care of the details. Does that mean you have to quit your jobs and go into full time ministry? No! It means you keep your jobs and live in full time ministry!
Bruce Larson tells how he helped people struggling to surrender their lives to Christ. He said,
“For many years I worked in New York City and counseled at my office any number of people who were wrestling with this yes-or-no decision. Often I would suggest they walk with me from my office down to the RCA Building on Fifth Avenue. In the entrance of that building is a gigantic statue of Atlas, a beautifully proportioned man who, with all his muscles straining, is holding the world upon his shoulders. There he is, the most powerfully built man in the world, and he can barely stand up under this burden. ’Now that’s one way to live,’ I would point out to my companion, ’trying to carry the world on your shoulders. But now come across the street with me.’
“On the other side of Fifth Avenue is Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, and there behind the high altar is a little shrine of the boy Jesus, perhaps eight or nine years old, and with no effort he is holding the world in one hand. My point was illustrated graphically.
“We have a choice. We can carry the world on our shoulders, or we can say, ’I give up, Lord; here’s my life. I give you my world, the whole world.’” (Bruce Larson, Believe and Belong)
Are you ready to give up today? Are you ready to throw caution to the wind and dive headfirst into a life of surrender to Jesus Christ before you know what He wants from you? He’s not looking for partial surrender, but 100% commitment. You can’t serve Him with 110%, only 100. But He’s not satisfied with 70% or 80% either. He is looking for complete abandonment.
You may be tired and burnt out. Surrender anyway. You may find it inconvenient. Surrender anyway. It may not make sense to you. Surrender anyway. Got the wrong man or woman? Surrender anyway. What nets are you holding in your hands today that are keeping you from following? It’s time to drop them and follow Christ.
