When the Word Gets Through

Oh, good morning.

It's getting slightly better, that response.

There was a businessman, and this businessman was from Newcastle,

and he found himself down in London on business.

After rising up early in the morning in his hotel room,

he phoned home before commencing what was going to be a very busy day's work.

Having wished his girls a really good day at school,

and assuring his wife that he would be home to help look after them the day after tomorrow,

he was suddenly struck, having put the phone down,

just how thankful he was to God for just how good and how blessed his life was.

While he was contemplating this, his eyes turned to a man outside who was begging.

And his heart went out to him because he thought,

God has been outrageously kind to me.

Can I help this man?

And so he decided to try and help.

And the way he tried to help is he went in the desk drawer of the hotel,

got out some of the complimentary stationery,

slipped a £10 note into the envelope,

wrote on the front with the biro that just about worked,

don't despair,

and slipped it out the window to the man.

He then went off to a day's work,

kept taking his umbrella and his coat.

He had a busy day in the office and thought absolutely nothing about it.

Just after he got home, later than he wanted,

he found himself relaxing on his bed.

And all of a sudden, there was a knock at the door.

He reticently opened it and found the man he had given the £10 to in the morning,

holding out a bundle of money.

The man said to him,

Sir, thank you so much.

Don't despair when the 305 at Chepstow at 60 to 1,

here's your cut of £300.

The man went back to his room and thought,

what an unexpected multiplication.

The next episode, as we journey with Jesus around Galilee,

involves an unexpected multiplication,

even more than the businessman in London.

So could I invite you to take your Bible,

turn to Luke chapter 5,

Luke 5 · chapter mention

and we'll read the first 11 verses.

One day, as Jesus was standing by the lake of Gennesaret,

the people were crowding round him and listening to the word of God.

He saw at the water's edge two boats,

left there by the fishermen,

who were washing their nets.

He got into one of the boats,

the one belonging to Simon,

and asked him to put out a little from the shore.

Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

When he had finished speaking,

he said to Simon,

put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch.

Simon answered,

Master, we've worked all night and haven't caught anything.

But because you say so,

I will let down the nets.

When they had done so,

they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.

So they signaled to their partners in the other boats to come and help them.

And they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

When Simon Peter saw this,

he fell at Jesus' knees and said,

Go away from me, Lord,

I am a sinful man.

For he and all his companions were astonished

at the catch of fish they had taken.

And 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 fish for people.

So they pulled their boats up on the shore,

left everything,

and followed him.

Quick word of prayer,

and then we'll get into this.

Father God,

bless us in this time.

Speak to us clearly from your word.

Open our hearts to receive it.

Father,

bend our wills to obey it.

And in this time,

glorify your son,

we pray.

Amen.

This story takes place at the Lake of Gennesaret,

which is a small part of the larger Sea of Galilee.

It takes place maybe days,

possibly weeks,

even perhaps months,

since the end of chapter four.

At the end of chapter four,

Jesus says to Simon,

who comes looking for him,

I need to go to other villages

to preach the good news there also,

for that is why I've come.

Jesus says,

my mission statement

is to get the word out.

It's not so much miracles.

It's not so much healing those

that are demon-possessed.

The primary reason that I'm here

is to preach the good news

of the kingdom of God.

And it seems that

at the end of chapter four,

he goes all around Galilee

and all around Judea,

preaching in synagogues

as an itinerant preacher.

And during this time,

his reputation really grows.

His stock rises.

Who is this young,

uneducated carpenter from Nazareth

who preaches with such authority,

who tells us things

that we've never seen before,

who helps us understand

what God is saying to each of us?

And so now in Capernaum,

just on the edge

of the Sea of Gennesaret,

we see that now Jesus

is back in Capernaum.

There is a massive crowd.

He is preaching outside.

Everyone is pressing in.

They don't want to miss

a single word spoken

by this dynamic young teacher,

the likes of which

they've never heard before.

And so as Jesus preaches

the word of God,

I want us to see

that the big thing of the day

is what happens

when the word gets through.

What happens

when the word gets through?

And we'll see

some astonishing things happen.

First one I want us to see

is this.

When the word of God

invades your space,

there is a real crowd problem

on the Sea of Capernaum.

People are everywhere.

Just as Jesus was attempted

to be thrown off a cliff

in Nazareth,

he might just get drowned

if things go the way

they're going in Capernaum.

And see what he's doing

at the end of verse one.

He is speaking the word of God

and everyone is pressing in.

Everyone it seems

except this band of fishermen.

They're kind of off to the side.

They've been working all night.

They're really tired.

It's not only been

a long night's fishing,

it has been

a fruitless night's fishing.

Not a single poisson

has found its way

into their nets.

And so they're sitting there

despondent.

They think,

if we can just get

these nets repaired,

the boat's washed,

we can just go home

for a sleep,

ready to do it all

again tomorrow.

What is this crowd?

We don't care.

Let's get this done.

Then we can go home.

But Jesus hijacks

one of their boats.

Verse two.

Now if you're a fisherman,

your boat is your

primary means of income.

So when somebody jumps

in your boat

and threatens to take it,

Simon leaves his nets

and goes to get in

his boat as well.

He doesn't want

Jesus joyriding

around the lake

of Gennesaret

in his fishing boats.

And so he jumps in

and Jesus,

as calm as you like,

says to Simon,

who's a little bit afraid,

please could you

put out a little bit

because I'd like to

use your boat

as a pulpit.

And Simon obeys.

He thinks it's

the quickest way

that he can get back

to bed

before another night's

fishing.

And it seems like

a really arbitrary point,

but I think it's

very worth making

because up until

this point,

God's word has gone

out to groups

of people.

It has gone out

to groups of people

in a synagogue,

large crowds

in Nazareth.

It has gone out

to large groups

of people outside

Simon's house

when he heals

his mother-in-law.

And this is the thing

about God's word

is it's for everyone

but it's two individuals.

And so one of the things

that Luke is using

this story for

is to change

the camera angle.

This isn't just

a universal word

to an anonymous

faceless crowd.

This is a dynamic word

that impinges

and invades

the lives of individuals.

God's word

is for me

and it's for you

as well as being

for us.

That we firmly

believe here

that when God's word

is taught

he speaks to us.

This book is not

like any other book.

This is not like

Chaucer's

Canterbury Tales.

This is not

Macbeth.

This book is God

personally

addressing us.

It is God's word,

God's self-revelation

of himself

to us.

And here we see

Simon.

He's not really

bothered about Jesus

but Jesus is really

bothered about him.

That he will

hijack his boat

in order that

Jesus might invade

his space

and that God's word

might invade his life.

And so we all

sit here today

and I dare say

even now

just four minutes

into my talk

our mind has

started drifting.

What's for lunch?

How will Southampton

get on this afternoon?

And if we do that

we're going to miss

what God has to say

to each one of us.

That God has you

here this morning

to invade your space

with his word.

He's come because

he wants to speak

to you

through this word.

And this word

does God's work

in our lives.

And therefore

I'd encourage you

to keep on listening

and just trust

that what you

set the oven at

will be what

the oven gets at

and that it'll take

half an hour longer

to cook than you

expect that it will.

Simon's life

is about to

fundamentally change

because the word

of God

will invade his life.

And though he

wasn't that bothered

about Jesus

Jesus is really

bothered about him.

So let's make sure

in the short time

I'll speak

we don't miss

anything that God

might say to us.

But just think

what happens

if Jesus

doesn't invade

Simon's life.

This is a pretty

boring story.

Fruitless fisherman

comes after a day's

hard toil

with nothing

mends his nets

washes his boat

goes to bed

sleeps

get ups

does it all again.

Probably wouldn't

make it into

Luke's gospel.

The story is

much of our life

is like that.

Eat

sleep

work

repeat.

It's just very

mundane.

mundane.

And yet God's

word will change

everything about us.

It will give us

hope and purpose.

It will give us

life.

It will bring us

into a relationship

with God for all

eternity.

Simon's life

would have been

completely boring

and mundane.

Just a fisherman

by the shore

for his three score

years and ten

until he started

looking at the ground

from the brown side.

And yet Jesus'

word

invading his

life

utterly transforms

who he is.

Secondly,

see this,

what happens

when the word

insults your

wisdom?

What happens

when the word

insults your

wisdom?

Jesus finishes

his sermon.

Everyone

starts to

dissipate.

And he says

to Simon,

Simon,

I think we

should go

fishing.

Simon has

had enough

of fishing.

Simon has

actually just

been fishing

all night

and caught

nothing.

And the night

is the best

time to catch

the fish.

And now

here is

Jesus,

this

previously

retired carpenter

turned itinerant

preacher,

starting to give

Simon a lesson

on fishing.

That's pretty

insulting.

Simon's been

a fisherman

all his life.

His father

was probably

a fisherman.

His grandfather

was probably

a fisherman.

He's quite a

successful fisherman

as we'll see

later.

He's in

some kind

of fishing

cooperative.

And here

is a guy

who not

only had

the audacity

to hijack

his boat,

he now

has the

audacity

to say,

Simon,

I think

they're

biting.

I think

the fish

are right.

How

insulting

is that?

Put

out

into deep

water

and let

down the

nets for

a catch.

Simon,

whose

muscles

still

hurt

from

toiling

all

night

in

vain,

is

loath

to go

on a

spontaneous

fishing

trip

in the

middle

of

the

day.

However,

he's

so

exhausted

he

doesn't

argue

and he

says,

Master,

we've

worked

all night,

we haven't

caught

anything,

but because

you say

so,

because

of your

words,

we'll

obey.

And you

can just

imagine it

as he

rose out

just tired.

Ah!

And then he

gets the

net out,

which he's

just cleaned,

which he's

going to

have to

clean again

after this

fishing trip,

and he

starts to

unfurl it

into the

water.

He's like,

this is

pointless.

And then

verse 6,

he starts

to look

bewildered.

Oh!

There's

something pulling

the boat.

Oh,

what are

those shimmers

of silver?

Why is

that thing

jumping out

of the

water?

Why is

this water

now so

alive with

movement and

flashes of

brilliance?

Oh,

no,

this net

now is so

full,

we're

starting to

sink.

Quickly,

let's get

their attention

over there,

because we

need their

help,

or else

we're all

going under.

The God

who spoke

on the

fifth day

of creation,

let the

waters

teem

with

living

creatures,

is more

than able

to get

the

living

creatures

that are

teeming

in the

lake

to find

their way

into

Simon's

net.

And so

we see

that Jesus

did actually

know more

about

fishing

than

Simon

did.

And I

think this

is a

wonderful

truth for

us today,

that Jesus

actually knows

more about

absolutely

everything

than any

of us

do about

anything.

Jesus is

the source

of all

wisdom.

He is

the wise

one.

He knows

more about

work than

we do.

He knows

more about

preaching than

I do.

You won't

find that

hard to

believe.

Jesus

knows more

about being

a mum

than you

do.

He knows

more about

running a

team or

leading a

corporation.

He knows

more about

being a

civil servant.

He knows

more about

studying and

building and

medicine and

engineering than

you do.

And here's

the really

beautiful thing.

That because

he knows

absolutely

everything about

absolutely

everything,

and that he's

willing and

able to give

us his wisdom

when we've

run out,

it means that

we can invite

him into our

university

classroom.

We can invite

him into our

work on Monday

morning and

say,

Jesus,

this is tough

today.

Would you

give me some

wisdom?

Would you

help me?

Will we

humble ourselves

before God

and say,

I'm kind of

just a dusty

human and

you created

absolutely

everything.

Will you

help me?

And the

wonderful thing

we learn from

Simon is that

when we

obey,

when we

invite Jesus

into our

situation and

pay attention

to him in

our situation,

there's great

blessing,

when his

wisdom becomes

our wisdom

and we do

the things that

he's given us

to do in the

way that he

wants,

with his

help and

his wisdom.

Point three,

we're over

halfway through

so just keep

listening.

When the word

incites your

response,

Peter kind of

joins the

dots of what's

happened.

This is not

normal.

And he

sees more

than just

Jesus as

some first

century sonar

fish finder.

This is more

than Rex Hunt's

fishing adventures

going on on

Gennesaret on

this day.

He realizes

that Jesus is

not a normal

person.

He kind of

sees that he's

in the presence

of God.

Now this is

only the first

foray into this,

it won't be

until chapter

nine that he

really gets who

Jesus is when

he says you are

the Messiah,

the son of

the living

God.

But here he

is conscious

of Jesus'

greatness.

And that he

is in the

presence of

God.

Verse eight,

when Simon

Peter saw

this, he

fell at

Jesus'

knees and

said,

go away

from me,

master,

Lord,

I am a

sinful man.

Now what

Jesus does

in this book

reveals something

of who God

is to

Simon.

And as

Simon starts

to see who

God is,

he starts to

see who he

is.

He starts to

see that there

is a massive

gulf between

the God of

the universe

who is

absolutely

perfect and

holy and

who he is,

a mere mortal

who has made

a lot of

mistakes.

And so

what's his

response?

Well, he

does what

people throughout

the whole

Old Testament

do when

they realise

that they're

in God's

presence.

He throws

himself face

down on

the floor.

He says,

go away

from me.

You're too

perfect,

you're too

holy,

you're too

good.

I am a

sinful man.

Peter is

undone by

God's

greatness.

greatness.

He doesn't

quite understand

who Jesus

is, but he

knows that he

works with the

power of God,

that just as he

had authority

to teach, he

now has

authority over

the fish in

Gennesaret.

This is God

who has

authority over

all of nature.

And so as a

response to

Jesus' word, he

says, go away

from me.

I am a

sinful man.

But the

beautiful thing

about the story

is that Jesus

just doesn't

leave Simon

face down in

a load of

fish.

Because Jesus'

words to

Peter are,

don't be

afraid.

And this is

the thing that

Jesus hasn't

come to

emphasize the

gap between a

holy God and

sinful man.

Jesus has

come to bridge

that gap.

He's come to

do away with

the chasm, the

chasm caused

by our

sinfulness.

He's come to

bring reconciliation.

He's come to

bring a holy

God and sinful

people back

together.

And so

though Peter

says, go away,

Jesus says, don't

be afraid.

Don't be afraid

because I'm

here.

I'm here to

reveal God's

word to you,

but I'm here to

do away with

your sin that

brings about that

separation in the

first place.

Jesus comes to

deal with our

sin.

There's this

wonderful story

about a guy

called Dr.

Emil Victor

Ryu.

and Dr.

Ryu was a

classicist and

he worked a

lot translating

poetry.

And in the

late 19th

century when he

was working for

Penguin Books,

Penguin said to

him, would you do

a fresh modern

translation of the

gospel?

And Dr.

Ryu, being an

ardent agnostic,

thought about it

for a while and

said, oh I

will.

This is an

interesting

proposition.

And so he

sat down with

his Greek New

Testament and

he started

studying and

thinking and

translating and

organizing and

his son was a

lay reader in the

Anglican church.

And this is what

he said about his

father's project.

It will be very

interesting to see

what father makes

of the gospels.

It will be still

more interesting to

see what the

gospels make of

father.

And as he

translates the New

Testament, just

like Peter, he

gets a vision of

who God is and

he understands who

he is and he's

miraculously converted

and he turns to

Jesus as the one who

can bridge that gap.

But God's word

incited his

response.

See who you are

God, you are holy

and perfect and I'm

not.

And yet I learn

about this Jesus

that I don't need to

be pushed away.

I can see Jesus who

says don't be afraid.

I've come to make a

real difference.

Finally, and then

we're done, when the

word infects your

purpose.

The most miraculous

event in this story,

I think, is not what

is caught in the nets,

but what is left on

the beach.

Don't be afraid, says

Jesus, from now on

you will fish for

people.

So they pulled their

boats up on the

shore, left everything

and followed him.

This is the windfall

bumper day of all

bumper days.

This is the day where

they get enough cash

injection to buy more

boats, maybe franchise

out of fish and chips,

have a storage facility,

an international export

industry.

This is an amazing

windfall day.

They've never dreamed

of having this many

fish in their vessels.

And yet they leave it

all, flapping about in

the bottom of the boat

because they have found

something infinitely more

compelling than fish,

than money, than

reputation, than wealth,

than comfort and ease,

than bigger houses and

faster horses.

Don't be afraid, from now

on you will fish for

people.

This word that invaded

their lives, they're now

invited to help proclaim

to the world, which is

much more compelling than

catching fish.

They were going to change

from being killers of

fish to people who

would proclaim life to

men.

This little word for

partners is the word

for fellowship.

And so it's changed from

being a fishing

cooperative to being a

fellowship founded on the

Lord Jesus to make much

of him and to proclaim his

greatness to the world.

And that's the great

thing about our church,

that it's not a hobby,

it's not like the bowling

club.

This is a fellowship.

People that are brought

together, founded on the

Lord Jesus to make much of

him and to proclaim his

glory to the world.

That God's word utterly

infected Simon's purpose,

James and John's purpose,

that they left the fish and

they said, we want to do

this.

We want to do this.

Instead, we want to fish

for people.

And so they spend probably

two years from this point

learning how to fish for

people.

Learning from Jesus what it

means to proclaim the good

news and the content of the

good news, which is Jesus.

And then Jesus dies on the

cross, is raised to life,

reveals himself to them,

teaches them for 40 days and

then returns back to heaven.

And he says, now it's over

to you.

You're now doing the fishing.

You're now doing the fishing

for people.

And so in Acts 2, Jesus goes

out on his first solo fishing

adventure.

Empowered by the Holy Spirit.

And what happens?

Well, there's a horde of

unsuspecting Jews who hear the

message and the word invades

their space.

And then this same word

insults their wisdom and they

say, well, these are all

drunken people.

And Simon says, no, they're

preaching the oracles of God.

And then the word incites their

response because 3,000 at the

end, having been convicted of

who God is and who they are and

their need of Jesus to bridge the

gap, 3,000 of them are added to

the church as they say, how should

we respond?

And Peter says, repent and be

baptized, every one of you for

the forgiveness of sins.

And then the word infects their

purpose because the very next

thing we read is that all those

new people are utterly transformed

and they devoted themselves to

God's word and to fellowship and

to partnership.

This same Jesus is still recruiting

people for man fishing.

That's why we're here to make

much of him and to proclaim his

greatness to the world.

He's still calling people to see

who God is, to see who they are

and see their absolute need of

Jesus to bring reconciliation and

bridge the gap.

That is why Jesus is good news.

That we don't need to be undone by

our sin, but we can cling to Jesus

for our hope.

So I wonder, having heard God's word

this morning, has it got through?

Maybe you came and you didn't care.

You didn't care what this guy was

going to talk about and maybe God's

word has invaded your space and your

interest and we'll find out more.

Have a chat with me at the end and

we'd love to find a way to help you

explore God's word more than it might

more and more invade your life.

Perhaps you came here and you were

worried about loads of stuff going

on at work or at home or in life.

Well let me tell you that Jesus is

wise in your situation and he's ready

and willing to help.

We'd love to pray with you and to

pray for you and ask that Jesus'

wisdom would be your wisdom in that

situation that you're worried about.

Perhaps you're conscious as God

speaks through his word that you need

to respond.

Perhaps it's time to leave everything

else and to follow Jesus and to

spend your life fishing for men.

Or to leave all the things that

you're finding comfort in and to

trust Jesus with all of your life.

Perhaps however you're convicted at

the end of today that you need to

fish for people.

That that's kind of got lost as you

pursued other things.

That you're conscious there's people

in your life who need to know about

the greatness of God's, their

position before him and their

absolute need of Jesus for hope and

help and life forever.

So I wonder how we'll respond if God's

word has gotten through this morning.

So I'll leave maybe a minute of quiet

and then I'll pray and then I'll hand

back to Paul.

Father God we thank you for the power of

your word.

Father thank you that it is through your

word that you do your work.

That it tells us who you are.

It tells us who we are.

And it shows us our need and the glory of

your son Jesus.

So Lord I pray we will be clinging to him.

That we will be trusting him.

That we would see that he is so much more

compelling and beautiful than anything else

we've got in all of our lives.

That he is worth telling people about.

And so Lord I pray that your word would

have done your work this morning in our

lives.

That it would have invaded our space.

That it would have insulted our wisdom and

let it be replaced by the wisdom of Jesus.

Father I pray that it would have incited a

response.

And I pray that it would have infected our

purpose and utterly transformed the people

we are and the reason we live.

We ask this in Jesus name.

Amen.

Amen.