Summary: We all have the responsibility to live and speak in such a way as to reflect the gospel and sometimes to share it in words.

The calling of the Apostles was a process rather than one decisive event. The event we are looking at today is the third time Jesus has placed a call on their lives. That is not to say that the fishermen ignored the earlier calls. A careful comparison reveals that each call increased in the intensity of the demand placed on their lives.

• The first call was really only an introduction

• The second call was an invitation to belief and service

• This third call is a command of abandonment of an old lifestyle and the adoption of a new one

1One 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.

Luke 5:1-11 (NIV)

Jesus already established a relationship with these men, but now, the third time He calls them, he is demanding a more intense level of service. In the second call Jesus informs them of the difference between their life and the life He offers. In this call He tells them that their old lives are over. Notice the difference in the phrasing:

“Come and see” (John 1.39)

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19)

“Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men” (Luke 5:10)

• In the first phrase Jesus simply invites them to see his lifestyle for themselves. The Bible says they spent the day together.

• The second call is phrased as a comparison and a possibility. An invitation.

• The third call is phrased as a fact. He is now doing what he promised in the second call. They have followed Him and He is making them fishers of men.

I believe that Jesus was waiting for a significant change in attitude and availability before He was willing to lay this command on them. Let’s look at the change that came over them.

Jesus builds up to the moment of truth

Important elements in the fishermen’s transformation that made them available to the command to abandon their old lives are ministries they had seen Jesus engage in up till this time:

• He had been baptized and revealed by the Father

• He had begun revealing Himself to the priests and pharisees

• He had cleansed the Temple for the first time

• He had performed several miracles and healings including that of Peter’s mother-in-law

• He had confronted the Nazarines in the synagogue

All of the essential elements of Jesus ministry had begun. He had shown them the different facets of what they could expect by following Him.

God is always perfectly up front about the consequences of following Him.

He always wants us to be completely aware of what He is calling us to do. This is not a bait and switch.

Some of you know what that is, and some of you don’t. It is an illegal practice that can be prosecuted if it can be proven. This is not easy.

Imagine you get a sales flyer in the mail. It has a Sony stereo for $100. It seems to be a top of the line item. You, after almost 30 seconds of careful thought, decide that this purchase would be a very good idea.

You immediately go to the store and begin looking for the stereo. You can’t find it. It seems like it should be right here on the shelf with other stereos but it isn’t there.

A salesman comes to talk with you. He says, “yes, I know what the flyer said. I can’t figure out why they do that to us. We never got a shipment of that particular stereo. Now we have another Sony Stereo that is better anyway. It is right over here and costs only $300.

That is called a bait and switch. They have lured you in to find one thing and have attempted to substitute that thing with another more expensive item.

God doesn’t do that, although we are guilty of it at times.

We like to appear as if we have no problems. We associate problems with an unspiritual condition.

• Surely if we were right with God things would be going well

• And surely even if things are not going well they are not as bad as they could be and so it would be unspiritual of us to complain

• And surely if they really couldn’t get any worse it would reveal a lack of faith on our part to say so and accept help and encouragement from other people

What a lie!

This really is nothing but a game that Satan plays with you. God never promised that He was calling you to a life with no problems.

• God told you there would be trouble

• He sent the Holy Spirit to be a Comforter, but not an exercise in futility. The Comforter can’t comfort those who have no problems

• God commanded us to bear one another’s burdens. there is no way we can do that unless we have problems and admit it

I am not encouraging belly aching or complaining about ingrown toe nails. I am saying that we should have fellow believers with whom we share our problems for prayer and support. If things aren’t ok, don’t be afraid to say it.

Of course that assumes that every Christian can be trusted not to gossip about everything they know.

All of that to say this.

Jesus called his disciples in the context of the truth. He showed them miracles and wonders. He showed them confrontation and vulnerability. He told them what He was saying – both uplifting and convicting. He called them into a life that was neither candy coated nor unbearably sour.

He called them into a reality that for better or for worse, was rooted in eternity.

And they came.

He called them with a miracle that hit close to home

See what Peter did? He totally submitted his wisdom and his will to Jesus, and saw his livelihood put in perfect perspective.

• Why should he listen to a carpenter about fishing?

• Why should he continue doing what was so clearly not working today?

• Why should he risk looking foolish?

Because, Jesus said so.

And for no other reason than that, he saw a miracle so obvious that it knocked him to his knees.

I find it curious that Jesus chose this kind of miracle as Peter’s turning point instead of the healing of his mother-in-law. Some people might think there is a good reason for that.

I think that Peter was not surprised by Jesus’ healing power. From Peter’s point of view he might have said something like this:

Of course Jesus healed mom. He is a prophet, and prophets have healed before. I am privileged to know him. John said Jesus is a greater prophet than him, and that means a lot.

But Jesus’ miracle of the large catch of fish was something different. It showed that he was more than a prophet with power over people. He was a person with power over all creation.

What Peter didn’t know was that when Jesus told him to let down his net, Jesus was letting down a net too. He had a net Peter knew nothing about.

When Peter caught fish, Jesus caught Peter.

And now, because Jesus said so, Peter has seen something that should not under any circumstances be happening.

I believe this is the moment of Peter’s salvation. It is the moment that he was aware of two things,

• his own sinful unworthiness

• and his desperate desire of Jesus

It went like this:

(Call a man to the front and demonstrate a grasping onto his legs while at the same time telling him to go away).

His actions belied his words. With the power Jesus had exhibited, Peter knew at last that Jesus was more than a prophet. In his heart he knew he had no right to approach Jesus. At the same time, he knew he did not want to be separated from Him.

Have you been to that place?

I remember when I came to that place. I was 7 or 8 years old in a Sunday evening service and I heard the pastor’s invitation to come and be forgiven. I knew I needed to be forgiven.

A very large woman was sitting next to me and I needed to get out. She was all that stood between me and the isle going down to the front. I was overwhelmed with the sinfulness of my heart, but I knew I had to get the forgiveness that Brother Alvarez talked about. The lady persistently ignored me. I asked her to let me out and she did not even look down. I actually pushed at her to get by and she stayed still as stone.

I don’t know who she was, but she kept me from going forward during the invitation and it frustrated me to tears. My dad took me to talk to the pastor after the service and I was saved. In that church, baptism closely following salvation was emphasized and I was baptized with my father the next week.

How about you, do you know that you are a sinner?

You were born in sin and sin comes naturally to you because you have it in your very make up as a human being.

• Until you have come to Jesus for the forgiveness that He freely offers

• Until you have been caught in His net

• You will remain in sin and pay the penalty for it. The Bible repeatedly tells us that the penalty for sin is eternity in Hell

• The only way to heaven is through faith in Jesus Christ and the forgiveness that He offers

Some people think that should not come into the reckoning. I disagree. It does not have to, but there is no reason it should not. The complexities of the need for salvation and the variations of human personality make it necessary for some to be confronted with a frightful eternity. Maybe that, like Peter’s miracle, is what it takes to wake them up and get them into the net.

Perhaps you know that and you have been caught in His net. Perhaps He has done something to get your attention. Jack will tell you that Jesus hit him on the head to get his attention. For some people, like my dad, it is a tragedy in his life that gets his attention. For many people it is much gentler. It may be a quiet persistent conviction that there is something missing in your life and that the sin you live in is destroying you. Peter was notoriously hard headed and Jesus got his attention by doing something to get through his thick skull.

Don’t ignore Him. It is the worse thing you can do in your life, because the consequences of ignoring Jesus carry on into the life to come.

When Peter was captured in the net, he threw himself on his knees at the mercy of his Lord and confessed his sin. That is all it takes. The realization of Jesus’ power and his own sinfulness caused an element of fear in Peter’s conversion.

One thing Jesus calls us to do is repent, like Peter. We are called to give up our sin and choose Him instead. Jesus said (and I think I can almost see Him smiling) “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.”

Jesus changes your life

The way He changes your life is the way He changed Peter’s. He changed Peter’s life by giving it a purpose beyond making a living. He will do the same for you and has already done it for many of you. He has made you fishers of men.

• Maybe you do construction

• Then you are to build up people’s into a living temple for the Holy Spirit

• Maybe you are a good cook

• then you are to feed people the bread of life

• Maybe you are a farmer

• then you are to plant the seeds of the gospel

Everybody does not have the gift of evangelism, that is, not everyone will find it easy to proclaim the gospel and experience great success in leading others to the Lord, but we all have the responsibility to be a witness.

What is the difference? We all have the responsibility to live and speak in such a way as to reflect the gospel and sometimes to share it in words that give us the opportunity to see others come to faith in Christ.

• When you speak to others, do your words give witness to the fact that Jesus has changed you?

• When you work, does your diligence and honesty witness to the character of Jesus?

• When you spend time with people, does your care and friendship reflect the love of Jesus?

• When you are confronted with being a Christian, does your response speak of a dedication to Him that is worthy of His dedication to you?

He does not promise you an easy life

But He does want you to be free from your sin and captured in His net

And He wants you to spread that net further and catch others in it

What is He calling you to do? What does He want to make of your life?

Captured by Christ in spite of the hardship that may come your way is the freest place you can ever be.