Fishing and Following

Good morning.

My name is Jeff Kreisel.

For those who haven't met me before, I'm the RUF campus minister at the Air Force Academy.

I'm also an Army Reserve chaplain out here at Fort Carson.

It's my joy to be here this morning to bring God's word to God's people here at Cheyenne

Mountain Presbyterian Church and on the first Sunday of 2019.

So happy new year.

You know, everyone approaches the new year very differently.

Some people throw parties.

They pop champagne.

They put on those cheesy New Year's glasses, you know, like the ones that are made with

the numbers.

They're so cheesy.

Don't wear those.

Other people, they're indifferent.

They head to bed at 9 p.m.

They open a book.

They put on their reading glasses.

They don't really care so much for the party.

Some people are really optimistic.

Some people are really pessimistic.

Some people go into the new year knowing pretty much exactly what to expect.

Other people, they have no idea what the next year will hold.

I think of the soldiers here at Fort Carson that are deploying this next month.

Some for the first time.

They have no idea what this next year will hold.

Some people love to make idealistic New Year's resolutions.

Like, this year I'm going to lose 100 pounds.

I'm going to swim with dolphins.

I'm going to climb Mount Everest or maybe Pikes Peak or something.

I'm like, all right, buddy.

We'll see.

Other people don't make resolutions.

They are completely content with their familiar routines.

They are thinking, if it ain't broke, why fix it?

And finally, there are some people who treat the New Year as like their year of atonement.

They treat it as like their fresh start.

As if like the mere shift from one year to the next has the power to cover your sins and cover all of your burdens.

They think to themselves, I really made a mess out of my life in 2018.

But now I have a blank slate.

I have a fresh start.

2019.

Yes.

In 2019, all of my 2018 mistakes are behind me.

They're gone.

Others, on the other hand, they view the New Year as their year of judgment.

They think to themselves, my good luck is going to run out in 2019.

They think to themselves, this is the year that I'm exposed.

This is the year that people find out who I really am.

This is the year that I'm exposed as a poor spouse or a bad parent or a dishonest employee or a hypocritical Christian.

This is the year.

In 2019, all of my 28 mistakes are going to be revealed.

And far too often, we view these two approaches as our only options as we head into the New Year.

We either treat the New Year as our savior.

And so we try to put all of our mistakes and our burdens on its back.

Burdens that a year can't handle, that a year can't carry.

Or we treat the New Year as a judge.

So we try to hide our sins from the bench of the New Year.

But once again, these are sins that a year cannot judge.

Our passage this morning gives us a third option.

A better option.

An option that invites us to follow the savior and the judge of every year.

The one who sees our sins from the bench, yet bore our burdens on the cross.

The one who changes our New Year's resolutions.

And the one who changes our daily Christian rhythm.

Okay.

So we'll be looking at Luke 5, verses 1-11.

Luke 5:1–11

And if you are willing and able, I invite you to stand for the reading of God's holy, inspired, and sufficient word for us this morning.

Luke 5, verses 1-11.

Luke 5:1–11

And let's read about this rhythm.

And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon,

Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.

And Simon answered,

Master, we toiled all night and took nothing.

But at your word, I will let down the nets.

And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish.

And their nets were breaking.

They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them.

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

But 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 and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken.

And so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.

And Jesus said to Simon,

Do not be afraid.

From now on you will be catching men.

And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

Let me pray.

Gracious and good Heavenly Father,

we pray that your Holy Spirit will move in our midst this morning,

that you will convict us where we need to be convicted.

Teach us what we don't know.

Encourage us where we need to be encouraged.

We pray, Lord, that you will evangelize the deepest parts of our hearts

that need to be reached with the gospel.

Thank you for Jesus, for his work on the cross.

And it's through his name we pray. Amen.

You may be seated.

In our family, there is no clear line between religion and fishing.

This is the first sentence in one of my favorite books of all time,

A River Runs Through It.

Or if you're a movie fan, in 1992, Brad Pitt.

It's an awesome movie.

If you haven't seen it, go see it.

A River Runs Through It.

It's by a guy named Norman Maclean.

It's a semi-autobiographical book.

The book is about two rebellious brothers named Norman and Paul.

And these two boys, they just happen to be the sons of the town's Presbyterian minister.

And so, like every good Presbyterian child here this morning,

these boys spent a great deal of their time memorizing and reciting the Westminster Shorter Catechism.

So much fun, right?

But between their study sessions, their father would give them a different sort of instruction.

He would take them to the nearest river, and he would fly fish with his boys.

On the banks of the big Blackfoot River in western Montana, these wild boys,

they learned their father's four-count fly fishing rhythm as he clapped his hands behind their head

like a dance choreographer.

One, two, three, four, while they fish.

You see, their father was a master fisherman.

And he was teaching his sons his master fishing rhythm.

But their dad wasn't only a master fisherman.

He was also a master Presbyterian.

So he knew that his boys were by nature a complete mess.

Their hearts were corrupt.

They were stubborn.

They were full of pride.

They thought they knew what was best.

And so their father knew that his sons would try to create their own rhythm.

And that's exactly what they did.

The boys thought they could fish however they wanted to fish.

They could create their own rhythm.

However, they soon found out that their rhythm didn't result in many fish.

And so day after day, Norman and Paul, they would fail to catch any fish.

And they would get frustrated.

They would get irritated with both their father and the fish.

You see, without their father's four-count fishing rhythm, fishing wasn't fun.

It wasn't fun.

It brought them no joy.

In fact, fishing became a burden to the boys.

But over time, they began to follow their father's instruction.

And soon enough, his four-count rhythm became their four-count rhythm.

And they, too, became master fishermen, just like their dad.

In our passage this morning, Luke takes us to the banks of the Sea of Galilee.

And he teaches us the four-count fishing rhythm of our Heavenly Father for the Christian life.

But like Norman and Paul, we think we know best.

We're stubborn.

We're full of pride.

We think that we can create our own rhythm instead.

And as a result, we begin to grow impatient.

We begin to grow impatient with our Heavenly Father.

And we become increasingly irritated with all the fish.

We think to ourselves,

I'm trying.

I really want to be a witness to others.

I want to make disciples of all nations.

I want to be a fisher of men.

I want to see the gospel go out.

But it's not working.

Why would God providentially place all of these people in my life,

whether at home, at work, where I play,

why would he place these people in my life if they don't care about the gospel?

They don't even want to listen.

They don't seem to care.

They don't want to be caught by God's grace.

When a Christian starts to feel like evangelism,

like the Christian life as a whole is more of a burden than a life-giving privilege,

they will try to make their own rhythm instead.

They'll try to come up with their own strategies.

They'll try to come up with their own plans.

And my friends,

in our family,

the church,

the Christian family,

there is no clear line between religion and fishing.

In fact,

I would argue that there is no line at all

between religion and fishing.

To follow means to fish,

and to fish means to follow.

You can't follow Jesus and refuse to fish.

Here's the thing.

You can't fish however you want.

The Christian life has a foundational,

God-given rhythm.

Okay?

And this rhythm must become our rhythm in 2019

if we are to become master fishermen like Jesus in the new year.

All right,

so the one count of this fishing rhythm is to hear God's word.

This is the one count of the Christian rhythm.

We are to be a people who take the same posture as these people,

these Israelites in Luke 5,

people who are pressing into Jesus.

They're pressing into him to hear Jesus speak.

These are people who are hungry for God's word.

They craved it.

They were desperate to be close to Jesus.

So much,

in fact,

that they push Jesus onto a boat.

Jesus has to get on a boat

in order to create some distance,

some separation,

so he can teach them effectively.

These folks were desperate for God's word.

Is this your posture as you head into 2019?

Are you pressing into Jesus?

Is this a part of your daily rhythm?

Do you hunger for God's word?

Are you desperate to be near him?

Do you think that's a part of your life?

Do you think that's a part of your life?

The Christian rhythm always starts with hearing God's word.

Just think back on your conversion, okay?

We live in Colorado Springs.

There's beautiful mountains right behind us.

You didn't come to faith

by simply looking at these beautiful mountains,

and then all of a sudden,

you just came to your senses

and put your faith in a Savior

you had never heard about.

The heavens declare the glory of God.

Those mountains declare the glory of God.

But they are not sufficient to save.

You had to hear God's word first.

You also didn't come to faith

by simply watching another Christian,

be it a parent or a friend,

a sibling, a neighbor,

live this beautiful Christian life.

And it caught your attention.

It caught your attention.

You noticed something about them.

They were living differently.

Maybe you noticed their hospitality

or their generosity

or their purity.

Or maybe you noticed their joy

or their hope.

You noticed something about them,

and it was attractive to you.

And so you came,

and you wanted to start a conversation.

You see, all of those great attributes,

I call it the beautiful life.

The Christian life and the beautiful life

are synonymous terms, by the way.

The Christian life is the beautiful life.

But those attributes that make it beautiful,

they aren't sufficient to save, either,

for brothers just to see it.

They are good conversation starters,

but the conversation still has to happen.

You have to hear God's word.

As Paul writes in Romans 10,

he says,

How are they to believe in him

whom they have never heard,

and how are they to hear

without someone preaching?

Faith comes from hearing,

and hearing through the word of God.

The Christian rhythm always starts

with hearing God's word.

And my friends,

this rhythm is certainly a weekly rhythm.

It is a Sunday rhythm.

We begin our week with God's word,

but it is also a daily rhythm.

And Sunday worship is vitally important.

But what about Monday through Saturday?

You see, in Luke 5,

it was business as usual.

The Sea of Galilee is booming.

There's commerce going on.

In other words,

it most likely was not the Sabbath.

It was an ordinary day.

So here's Jesus,

and he met these folks

where they were,

at their places of work.

He came to them,

and he preached God's word.

So what does that mean for you and me?

It means that we are to be a people

who press into Jesus on a Monday.

When we have a week full of responsibilities

hanging over our head,

we feel like we're drowning.

We are to press into Jesus on a Wednesday

when we feel beat down.

We're to press into Jesus on a Friday

instead of going home

and kicking our shoes off,

sitting on the couch

and vegging out until Sunday morning.

We're to be a people

who press into Jesus Sunday through Saturday

because this one count

is our Christian rhythm.

We are to hear God's word.

Now I want you to imagine for a second

being a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee.

This was the center of the economy,

this sea.

And so the sea was always packed

with fishermen, rain or shine.

Archaeologists have discovered

that there were about 16 ports

on the Sea of Galilee.

And they estimate that there was

anywhere from 150 to 200 fishing boats

on the sea every evening.

In other words, in Luke 5,

Peter wasn't fishing by himself

and he wasn't fishing to have some fun.

This was his livelihood.

He had a family to feed.

He had employees to pay.

This was a big deal.

He didn't catch any fish the night before.

And so you can hear Peter's frustration

when Jesus, this guy that he doesn't really even know,

comes up to him and says,

hey, go fishing again.

But go fish at the worst time of day.

He says, master, but we toiled all night

and we caught nothing.

In other words, he's saying, come on, Jesus.

We're tired.

We're exhausted.

We've been going at this all night

and we haven't caught anything.

And we're experienced fishermen.

And you're a carpenter.

What do you know about fishing?

Have you ever realized or noticed

how strange this little exchange is?

It's really bizarre.

Jesus is a carpenter

and he's from landlocked Nazareth.

Okay?

No seas in sight.

Fishing is not a part of that economy.

And he is now here at the Sea of Galilee

and he's telling these seasoned,

experienced fishermen how to do their jobs.

And it's not like Peter knew Jesus up to this point.

Like up to Luke 5,

Peter and Jesus have had very,

very little interaction with one another.

So just imagine for a second

if someone came into your work,

came into your office,

someone you don't even really know,

and they told you how to do your job.

When I was in the Air Force,

I was an air traffic controller

and I would often give tours

of my air traffic control tower

to various groups

to like build community relations.

Usually it was like Boy Scouts.

Now if I were giving a plane

a control instruction

and one of these visitors

were to say,

you know what?

I really think you should turn that plane

left instead of right.

I probably would have laughed

and then told that visitor

to sit down and keep quiet.

But that's not how Peter responds.

Clearly Peter already knows

that Jesus is different,

that he's more than a carpenter.

And there are many reasons for this,

but perhaps it's because

Peter's current teacher,

John the Baptist,

has told him that he said,

behold the Lamb of God

who takes away the sins of the world.

Or maybe it was because

his brother Andrew

was already convinced

that Jesus was the Messiah.

Or perhaps it was because

he saw Jesus miraculously

heal his mother-in-law.

I'm sure all of these factors

played a part,

but ultimately it came down

to one thing.

Peter heard Jesus' voice.

The incarnate word of God spoke.

And Peter listened and obeyed.

And he says,

at your word,

I will let down the nets.

You see,

it is one thing

to hear

and obey God's word

when it addresses

the areas of your life

that you're not very good at,

that you know you need to improve.

But it is quite another

thing to hear

and obey God's word

in the areas

that you think you know best.

the areas that you excel.

Like how you do your job,

how you treat your employees,

how you raise your kids,

how you have fun.

When Jesus speaks

into these areas of our life,

we are prone to tell him

to sit down and keep quiet.

But my friends,

Jesus is the creator

of all things.

And so he speaks

authoritatively

into every single area

of our life

without exception.

So I urge you

this new year

to press into Jesus

in 2019

like these Israelites

in Luke 5.

Press into his word

every day

and let this become

your one count

of your Christian rhythm

in 2019.

The two count,

repent and believe.

After hearing

the voice of Jesus,

Peter and Andrew,

they let down their nets.

And what happens?

They catch

a miraculous number

of fish,

a crazy number of fish.

So many fish

that their boats

are full.

So they call,

the boat fills,

so they call their buddies

John and James over.

And John and James

start filling up their boat.

And the next thing you know,

their boats are so full

that they're beginning

to sink.

That's a lot of fish.

If this were me,

I think I'd be celebrating

after a night

of catching nothing.

I'd be hooting

and hollering.

I'd be giving high fives.

I'd be doing

that floss thing

that those kids

are doing nowadays.

I'd be like

making plans

to go buy

that new boat

I've been eyeballing.

I'd probably even

offer Jesus a job.

But that's not

how Peter responds.

Peter's mind

wasn't on the fish

or the new boat.

Peter doesn't give

Jesus high fives.

He doesn't offer

Jesus a job.

Instead,

Peter falls

on his face

at the feet

of Jesus

and he cries out,

depart from me

for I am

a sinful man,

O Lord.

That's a shocking

response

to something

so great

as catching

all of these fish.

Is this how

you would respond?

You see,

Peter realized

that the infinitely

powerful

and holy

Son of God

was standing

in his boat.

He was standing

in his boat.

And he realized

that Jesus

was responsible

for catching

every single

one of those fish.

and he also

realized

that he deserved

to be punished.

That he deserved

to die

for his sins

and this makes sense

in the Old Testament

they were expecting

a military Messiah

who was going

to come

and judge.

But on this day

Peter doesn't

find judgment.

He finds

the friend

of sinners.

He finds

the man

who dines

with tax collectors.

He finds

the man

who touches

unclean leopards.

Who hugs

the hopeless.

Who communes

with cripples.

Who heals

the deaf

and the blind.

Who pursues

the outcasts.

And who even

loves

ordinary

middle class

fishermen

like Peter.

As Peter

discovered

on that boat

Jesus

is the friend

of sinners.

But as he

would find out

over the course

of his time

with Jesus

he also

found that

Jesus

does not

absolve

our need

for repentance.

Remember

Jesus is the man

who began

his public

ministry

with the words

repent

for the kingdom

of heaven

is at hand.

The friend

of sinners

does not

absolve

our need

for repentance.

In fact

increased faith

actually produces

increased repentance.

Your repentance

is a reflection

of your faith

and vice versa.

The two

go hand in

hand.

Faith and

repentance

they cannot

be separated.

Faith produces

genuine repentance

and repentance

produces

deeper faith.

So this semester

I'll be preaching

through the book

of John

the gospel

of John

with my students.

So excited.

I love

the book

of John.

It's one

of my favorites

and one

of the reasons

why I love

this gospel

is that

the theme

verb

is this word

believe.

It's John's

favorite verb

in the entire

gospel.

He uses

this verb

98 times.

It's the third

most used

word in the

gospel behind

Jesus and God.

If you compare

this to the

other gospels

Matthew uses

the word

14 times

Mark uses

it 11 times

and Luke

uses the word

believe

9 times.

John uses

this word

four times

as much

as the other

three gospels

combined.

Why does he

focus so much

on this word?

According to

John

believing

in Jesus

is the most

important thing

a person

can do.

It is the

height of

humanity

is belief

in Christ.

Just look

at John's

purpose statement

in John

John 20 · chapter mention

chapter 20.

John

wrote that

if you

were to

take all

the

libraries

in the

entire

world

and put

them

together

they

couldn't

contain

all of

the

signs

and

miracles

that

Jesus

performed

on

earth.

There

aren't

enough

books.

After he

says this

he says

he writes

but these

things are

written

so that

you may

believe

that

Jesus

is the

Christ

the

son

of

God

and

that

by

believing

you

may

have

life

in

his

name.

Belief

in

Jesus

changes

everything.

It changes

everything

as we head

into the

new year.

It changes

our

resolutions.

It changes

our

rhythm.

It is my

prayer that the

Holy Spirit

will press

this truth

into us

this year.

Because here's

the thing.

I know

that 2019

there will

be days

when believing

is hard.

There will

be days

when we

are ridiculed

for our

faith.

There will

be days

when it

would be

easier to

stay silent.

There will

be days

when the

valley seems

so deep

and the

mountain

seems

unreachable.

There will

be days

when your

only prayer

is I

believe

help my

unbelief.

There will

be days

in 2019

where we

struggle

to believe

and this

is why

the two

count

of the

Christian

rhythm

is so

important.

Repent

and believe.

This is

our rhythm.

It's not

a one and

done thing.

You see

if repentance

and belief

are not

your two

count,

if they're

not a

part of

your

rhythm,

you'll

start to

fish like

Norman and

Paul.

Norman and

Paul thought

they were

really great

fishermen,

all the while

failing to

catch any

fish.

Even when

things were

great,

even when

his boat

was sinking

with fish,

Peter repented

and he turned

to Jesus

in faith.

This is our

rhythm in

2019.

The three

count,

embrace

your

commission.

So here

is Peter,

his face

is on

the floor

at the

feet of

Jesus

and Peter

is given

a new

mission.

He's given

a new

purpose in

life.

Jesus

says to

Peter,

he says,

from now

on you

will be

catching

men.

You see,

Peter was

commissioned

by Jesus

to go

fishing.

So one

of the

unique

aspects of

working at

the Air

Force Academy

is that

when my

students

graduate,

they all

receive a

presidential

commission.

They become

commissioned

officers.

They become

second

lieutenants.

Now this

word,

commission,

it comes

from two

Latin words

and it

literally

means to

send

with.

To send

with.

So when

my cadets

graduate,

they are

literally

being sent

with the

authority of

another.

They are

being sent

with another's

authority.

They are

being entrusted

with another's

authority.

You see,

in and of

themselves,

there isn't a

single officer

in the United

States military

that has any

power in and

of themselves.

It is a

derived

authority.

Due to

their commission,

they are able

to command

others.

because of

the president's

authority

entrusted

to them.

And the

same is

true for

you and

I as

Christians,

but at

an infinitely

higher scale.

We're not

talking about

a presidential

commission.

We're talking

about a

commission

from the

God of

the universe.

That is a

humbling

reality.

That's a

humbling

commission

to receive.

Just like

Peter,

every Christian

throughout human

history has

been commissioned

by Christ

to go

fishing.

Jesus says,

from now

on you,

all of you,

from now

on you,

we'll be

catching men.

my friends,

you have been

commissioned by

Christ to

go fishing.

And as a

result, you

are sent with

his authority.

You're entrusted

with his

authority to

make disciples

of all nations,

to go fishing

for men.

Practically

speaking, what does

this mean?

What does this look

like as we head

into the new

year?

Well, in my

humble opinion,

far too many

Christians

overcomplicate

evangelism.

We make it

way harder

than it actually

is.

Many think

that they have

to take an

apologetics

course,

or they have

to have a

seminary degree,

or they have

to be a

Christian for

a certain

period of

time,

blah,

blah,

blah,

blah,

blah.

All those

things are

important,

don't get

me wrong.

But what I've

found is that

many Christians

use these

things and

other things

as like a

wall to

hide behind.

We'll find

any excuse

not to pursue

evangelism.

And I get it.

I have fallen

into that

snare a lot.

Evangelism

really isn't

that complicated.

You can read

all the evangelism

books in the

world.

But it really

is not that

complicated.

Here's the

thing,

when you

love something,

when you

really love

something,

evangelism is

just the

natural overflow.

It just

pours out.

And this

goes for more

than just the

Christian faith,

for Christian

evangelism,

this goes for

everything.

Everyone is an

evangelist for

something.

Everyone,

with no

exceptions.

Be it their

favorite sports

team,

be it their

political party,

be it their

essential oils,

they're like,

goodness.

Oh,

CrossFit,

holy smokes,

you want to see

some good

evangelism?

Meet a

CrossFitter.

Those guys

know evangelism

because they

love it.

Evangelism

comes really

easy.

When the

message you

love,

you want

others to

have an

experience as

well.

Last year,

the movie

Black Panther,

it became

the second

highest grossing

four-day

opening in

movie history.

It racked in

$242 million

in only four

days.

And I did

some research,

I was just

wondering,

why did this

movie,

I mean,

it was great,

I loved it,

but why did

this movie do

so well?

And in a

word,

evangelism.

people in

droves were

coming out of

the movie

theater and

they couldn't

help but tell

their friends

and family

about how

great this

movie was and

that they had

to go see

it.

They felt

compelled to

proclaim the

good news of

this movie,

Black Panther,

with the hope

that others

would go see

it and

experience the

same joy.

As Christians,

we have the

greatest news

to share with

the world.

It doesn't get

any better than

the gospel.

This news is so

much better than

any movie,

than any

essential oil or

CrossFit gym or

political party or

sports team,

all the things

that we are

naturally evangelists

for.

The gospel is so

much better

here.

Jesus defeated

sin, death, and

the devil for

you.

Because of

Jesus, God has

adopted you into

his family and

he calls you his

child.

Through faith in

Christ, God

loves you and

he's for you.

And nothing can

separate you from

the love of God

in Christ Jesus.

Nothing.

My friends,

there is nothing

that will give

your friends and

family more joy

than the gospel.

So don't

overcomplicate it.

Just give him

Jesus.

You'll fail.

Let the Holy

Spirit do his

thing.

Listen,

Christians who

wait for the

perfect moment

to evangelize,

to share their

faith, they will

likely never share

their faith.

There's no perfect

moments.

Christians who

wait for the

most effective

strategy to

share their

faith, they'll

likely never

share their

faith.

There's no

perfect strategy.

And Christians

who are waiting

to reach some

elusive degree

of sanctification,

like they have

to hit some

holiness mark,

they'll likely

never share their

faith because

you'll never be

fully sanctified in

this life.

My friends, the

best evangelists

are those who

love the gospel.

people.

In 2019, don't

overcomplicate

evangelism.

Through faith in

Christ, you have

already been

commissioned by

God to go

fishing.

You've already

been entrusted

with his

authority.

We are to

joyfully and

eagerly embrace

this commission

in 2019 because

this is our

three count.

This is our

rhythm.

All right, our

four count,

leave everything

and follow Jesus.

In the book,

a river runs

through it.

The four count

is described as

the hardest

count in the

entire rhythm.

And it's the

rhythm that, it's

the count that

throws off the

entire rhythm, if

you don't do it

correctly.

In the book, to

perform the four

count, you had to

muster like all of

your strength and

you had to propel

your rod forward

with everything you

got.

You had to give

it your all.

And I think the

four count of the

Christian rhythm is

also the hardest

count.

It's the count that

throws us off.

It throws off the

entire rhythm.

You see, we may

have heard God's

word, we repent

and believe, we

embrace our

commission, but when

it comes time to go

fishing, we just

give it a little

wrist flick.

We don't put our

all into it.

Our passage this

morning, this last

sentence, it ends in

such a radical way.

Such a radical way,

it should shock us

out of complacency,

out of the

temptation to be

complacent.

It should shock us.

It says, and when

they had brought

their boats to land,

they left everything

and followed Jesus.

You see, the four

count, it demands

your all.

It doesn't just

demand some of

your all.

The text doesn't

say, and they

left almost

everything and

followed Jesus.

And that's why this

is such a difficult

count.

Paul writes in

Philippians 3,

Philippians 3:8

verse 8, he says,

I count everything

as loss because of

the surpassing

worth of knowing

Jesus Christ my

Lord.

For his sake I have

suffered the loss

of all things and

count them as

rubbish in order

that I may gain

Christ and be found

in him.

Brothers and

sisters, the

Christian life is

not easy.

Leaving everything

and following Jesus

is not easy.

And here's why.

Christianity is

unlike any other

religion.

religion.

Every other

religion says

give some or

give much.

Maybe even

they'll go as

far as saying

give most.

Christianity

says give all.

Give all.

Christianity

says leave

everything and

follow Jesus.

And I know

this is a

daunting reality.

This is an

intimidating

charge to leave

everything to

follow Jesus.

To leave, for me

in particular, to

leave all of the

counterfeit gods that

I think love me.

To leave all of the

idols of my heart

that I think I love.

To leave my

self-centric pursuit

of comfort and

security,

which I often use

at the expense of

others.

to leave my

pursuit of glory to

proclaim God's

glory.

There's nothing

easy about this.

Yet there's nothing

more life-giving.

For in the midst of

our doubt and our

fear,

Jesus gives us the

same comforting words

that he gave to

Peter in Luke 5.

He says to each

one of us,

he says,

don't be afraid.

He says,

don't be afraid.

I'm with you

and I'm for you

in 2019.

Don't be afraid.

I will never leave

you or forsake you.

Don't be afraid.

I know you'll fail.

I know you won't

leave everything.

And that's why I

left everything for you.

I gave all to

redeem you from

the power of sin

and death.

I gave all to

free you from the

bondage of sin.

I gave all to

free you from your

guilt and shame.

I gave all to

reconcile you to

your heavenly

father.

I did it.

I gave everything.

I gave all so

that you could go

fishing.

I gave all to

you.

He said,

don't be afraid.

To follow Jesus

means to fish for

Jesus.

And therefore,

God's rhythm

must become our

rhythm in 2019.

This is a rhythm

of hearing God's

word,

repenting and

believing the

gospel,

embracing our

commission to fish

for souls,

and a rhythm of

leaving everything

to follow Jesus.

This is our

rhythm.

So welcome to

2019.

Let's make it a

year that we

fish.

Amen.

Heavenly Father,

thank you for your

word this morning.

Thank you for Luke

5.

Thank you for our

commission.

We don't take it

lightly.

We know that you

have entrusted to

us a great deal,

and we pray,

Lord, that we

will boldly tell

others of our

faith, of the

good news of

Jesus Christ,

that the joy of

the gospel will

overflow, that we

will be unable to

contain our joy for

the gospel.

We pray, Lord,

that you will use

these words for your

infinite purposes.

Thank you.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.