Sermon Title: Trust and Obey
Sermon Text: Luke 5:1-11
Sunday Evening, August 6, 2000
Scripture Introduction:
In this particular section of Scripture, we read about a particularly important aspect of Jesus’ journey to the cross. In this section of Scripture we read about the selection of some of those that would carry on His teachings after His death upon the cross. Jesus is choosing His successors. We all have different milestones in our walk toward Jesus ourselves. During that time we were almost assured of having equally if not more hard times as well as the good.
Now what kind of things have occurred just prior to this time? He is baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River, He is led into the wilderness and He resists the temptation’s of Satan and He begins His Ministry teaching and healing many in the area around the Sea of Galilee.
Scripture Reading: Luke 5:1-11
1 Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret; 2 and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. 3 And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the people from the boat. 4 When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." 5 Simon answered and said, "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets. 6 When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break; 7 so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, "Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" 9 For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men." 11 When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.
Introduction:
As this section of Scripture begins, the people are following and coming closer to Jesus. They want to be within range so they could fully hear what this Teacher was proclaiming. The people just couldn’t wait to hear what Jesus had to say. I think there are many times in our lives that we wait with great anticipation for our Lord’s direction. Let’s think of a time that was perhaps in the not too distant past and perhaps we can feel the excitement return as if it was just happened yesterday. But just as there are times when we feel good about the things that the Holy Spirit impresses upon us there are equally times when we throw our hands up in dismay and say WHY ME!
There are times in our lives when Jesus speaks however there is some reservation on our part. Why do I have to do this and why do I have to give this up. If this is a struggle that you are experiencing, then don’t feel like you are the only one. This is a common affliction that has been around since man was created. We need to realize that it is the things that we hold dearest that come into conflict with our relationship with our Lord and Savior.
Sometimes it is our ego that drives a wedge in our relationship with God. Do we take offense when it is laid upon our hearts that monetary gain need not be the impetus for all that we do? Do we feel put upon when we are made to feel guilty when we have most of our needs met and we cross the paths of some that are left wanting? This is a natural part of our drawing closer with the Lord. Without these experiences we can not be molded to become more like Him. Just as an X-ray probes deep into our bodies, exposing the defects and disease, the Holy Spirit delves deep into our being exposing every nick, crevasse, and junk closet that we are either intentionally or unintentionally concealing. Without the diagnostics there can be no progression to treatment or cure.
So how should we react when we feel the influence of our Lord’s will? There is only one word that should describe the way we react to Jesus’ will for our lives and that is immediately. There is no time to waste only action on our part. There need not be discussion, disagreement or compromise, there needs to be quick, total and complete surrender to His will for our lives.
Let’s go to the Lord in prayer
POINT 1: We read in the second and third verse, “He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. 3 And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the people from the boat.
The people just couldn’t wait to hear what Jesus had to say. In fact they were perhaps so interested in what He had to teach that they were cutting down on His space. Jesus felt the crowd closing in on Him and in order that He could gain some space of His own and at the same time maneuver to a position that all could hear what He had to say and teach, He sought out and acquired the service of the boat of some fishermen who would become His disciples. Where did all these people come from? Jesus had been traveling the area and performing all sorts of miracles. He was developing a following. Too often, we see people who assume leadership positions as a result of a very persuasive style or personality and they take advantage of those that naturally gravitate toward them. Too many times people in their frenzy for something new and fresh, crowd and follow to the point of almost stalking and that kind of desire is still with us today. Then there are those that have a message to relay and there are people who desire to learn. When the opportunity to relay God’s message is given, we at times find the going tough and when we are in the group that receives the teaching, we at times find ourselves face to face with the knowledge that we aren’t where we ought.
[We hear something nowadays, and if it lines up with our opinions we tend to embrace it immediately, totally and unfortunately many times without close examination and inspection. This isn’t always bad. The problem arises when we find something that takes us closer to where God wants us to be and we discover that we must make changes in the way we live because we have found out that we are either wrong or heading in a direction that will lead us further from our Lord Jesus Christ.]
POINT 2: We read In the fourth and fifth verse Matthew recounts, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." 5 Simon answered and said, "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing. We know a little more of the story then poor Simon was aware of at the time. Here is a man whose life is the sea, and out of nowhere comes a carpenter turned preacher and He is telling them to try what years of experience is telling them is hopeless and fruitless. What Jesus is asking them to do goes against what they would normally do. They had given up for the day and were already in the process of cleaning and repairing their nets. To listen would undo all the preparation that was made for next days attempt to catch fish.
As Jesus speaks however, there is some reservation on the part of the listener. Now how would we react if we were on a job that we had been experienced in for many years and had some stranger were to come and tell us what and how to do our job. For many of us this could have been a scary thought before we got to know our Lord and Savior. I would probably have been tempted to put the person offering the suggestion in their place. Jesus’ influence on our lives is quite evident.
This is an example where we have limited the possibilities because of our capabilities. This is an example of trust and faith taking over when logic and our earthly experience leaves off. We are pushed beyond the temporal and into the spiritual.
Now there may be those that say, “Hey – this is different – in this case we are talking about Jesus and His disciples” We all receive direction from the Holy Spirit and there probably aren’t to many people that can honestly say that they didn’t at least think disobedience at one time or another. What are we going to do when we are tired and weary, starving and just wanting to get home after work and the Holy Spirit lays it upon our hearts to help someone who should happen to find themselves in need of our assistance? Just what would you do?
[These fishermen have probably followed the same routine all their lives. They learned their routine from their parents and probably had all intentions of passing this trade on to their children. As a whole we resist change which is good when it avoids a negative result, however we are equally guilty of avoiding change for the better as well. What made the difference in this situation was the fact that there was faith in following Jesus’ command to go out and try again. This account goes on to tell of the surprising results. The catch was so great that it required another boat to bring in the fish and even with that other vessel they began to sink due to the magnitude of the abundance of fish. They listened to the command of Jesus and they were blessed beyond the capabilities of their mortal imagination.
What was the end result of this unexpected blessing? Are we to view this as the expected end result of our obedience? I’m afraid there are many who have equated serving and listening to our Lord to earthly gratification and rewards. What happened instead? We read in verse 8, But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, "Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" The result of witnessing this phenomenon, beyond human expectation showed Simon Peter the futility of dependence upon self. Here was Jesus, who was clearly beyond humanity and here is Simon Peter surveying the gulf that separates man from God. He realizes who is to be followed.]
POINT 3: We read in the eleventh verse the action of those weary but blessed fishermen, When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him. How do we react when we find out the cost of an item? If you went to a car dealership and were in the market to buy a car and the dealer told you it was on sale today for 13.7 million dollars, what would your reaction be? How many would whip out their check-book and write out a check on the spot? I think this situation would cause us to consider for a moment if this was going to fit into our budget. Let us look back at many of our very important decisions, how often to we leap before we look? I think most people pride themselves in their ability to control themselves when it comes to purchases and decisions whose effects are far and long reaching. What are the requirements that we use as guidelines to take us from a state of indecisiveness to the point of deciding? How important will the results of this decision be in our lives. Jesus gives an instruction and the disciples follow. What has Jesus asked us to do? What are the requirements that we set before we follow Him?
There is only one word that should describe the way we react to Jesus’ will for our lives and that is immediately.
Conclusion:
What is the driving force behind the things that we do? Isn’t there a need to feel some form of fulfillment or satisfaction in the different things that we pursue? How do we react when we see something that we want and we believe that their will be some form of fulfillment as a result? I have seen so many things that have become an absolute obsession. TV, video games, and the computer. Is there anything wrong with them? There is nothing wrong with them as long as the content is within biblical bounds and their priority is behind our devotion to God. We seek that satisfaction, we seek that fulfillment. The source of what we seek can only be found in the loving arms of our Lord Jesus. May we be seeking Him now.
Earlier we covered the process that we go through when we make decisions. We all have some reservations that are based on the experiences that we have had in the past. Bad experiences, for the most part cause us to steer clear or similar situations. While good experiences more often than not tend to make us seek a repeat of the experience. What happens when we are confronted with a situation that we have nothing even remotely similar to compare it to? In this Scripture, Jesus speaks however there is some reservation on the part of the listener. What do we do when we feel the Holy Spirit’s influence steering us toward uncharted territory in our spiritual lives? It is common for us to hesitate. The disciples hesitated as they weighed what Jesus was asking them to do against their past experience. Has the Holy Spirit been nudging you? Do you feel directed toward uncharted territory? What do you do?
I’m going to give an example from my past experience where I followed God’s will. As a student of the school of hard knocks, most of the time my stubbornness taught me the hard way. At 41 years old I felt the Lord call me to school and the ministry. I had several obstacles, in order to follow His will I would have to give up a job that I had held for almost 20 years. All of the family’s insurance was based on my employment and common sense forbid doing without that. I had no money to pay for tuition. I’m not going to go through all of the details but the money was there to attend, the insurance was taken over by my wife who a year later was called to school herself, and the insurance was still provided.
How did the disciples react? In the end they left everything and followed the will of the Lord for their lives. Let’s take another look at the Scripture. When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him. They didn’t sell the boats or sell their business. They didn’t gather their belongings and ensure that things were all going to pan out first. They left everything and followed Jesus. Is that what we are willing to do? Are we ready to leave what we have behind and start anew with Him?
There is only one word that should describe the way we react to Jesus’ will for our lives and that is immediately. The changes that He asks us to make are for our betterment not only while we are on this earth but it will be storing up our treasures in heaven. Remember, we can’t follow Jesus expecting to be rewarded like the fishermen and the fish but it isn’t our of the question either.
