Luke The Orderly Account of Truth - Fish On - Luke 5:1-11

For those of you who I haven't met yet. My name is Jordan.

I'm one of the elders here at the Roots Community Church, where it's all

about Jesus, and I'm super excited to be up here continuing to teach through

the Gospel of Luke, which we have been in for several months now.

I don't even remember. None of you do either, Okay, it's been

that long. No, it's good. Hey. Before I get into today's

sermon, I wanted to reiterate an announcement that Pastor Greg spoke about coming up

this coming Sunday for our members. Our annual annual Quarterly thank You our Quarterly

Members meeting is happening this coming Sunday at six o'clock. We'll be here in

this room, so maybe like a half an hour after service wraps up,

so members of the Roots don't leave, don't run away. We want to

hang out. It's an important time for us to directly communicate all the goings

on here at the Roots, important announcements, information that we share. And

also we spent some time to pray over one another and to give praise reports

and all that. So it's a really good time to connect. But also

to fellowship, So make that a point to be here at six o'clock next

week. All right, As I mentioned, we're continuing in our series called

Luke the Orderly Account of Truth, where we're going through the entire Gospel of

Luke, where he did a careful examination an investigation into the gospel of our

Lord Jesus. For the last few weeks, we've looked at the start of

Jesus' ministry, where Jesus was rejected by the people in his hometown of Nazareth,

to the point of almost being thrown off a cliff they were so upset

at him, to his journey to Capernaum, where people were amazed by the

authority of his teachings. And while in Capernaum, we also saw his authority

over dems that were tormenting people in the area, and his authority and power

over sickness, including Simon Peter's mother in law, whom Jesus commanded and immediately

caused her fever to leave. At the end of chapter four of Luke,

Jesus heals many others and the people there try to get him to stay,

obviously, why would you want him to go? But he tells them I

must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God to other towns. Also

because this is why I was sent. And so today we're going to continue

looking at the authority of Jesus and the calling of his first disciples. We're

going to be reading through chapter five of Luke, verses one through eleven.

So if you have your bibles, turn there with me, or if you

forgot yours or don't have one, we have some bibles in the back.

The orange bound Bible's there by the door. If you need it, take

it, keep it. It's yours. So let's first read through today's text,

and then we're going to and break it down. It was a verse

one of chapter five. One day, as Jesus was standing by the lake

of Gennis Sarah. The people were crowding around him and listening to the word

of God. He saw at the water's edge two boats left there by the

Sorry, I just realized, I feel like I'm really close to this TV,

but I'm not. And he got in my head all right. 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 hard all night

and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down

the nets. When they had done so, so they caught such a large

number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners

and 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' feet. Jesus needs excuse me, 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, do not be afraid. From now on you

will fish for people. So they pulled their boats up on shore, left

everything, and followed him. Let's pray, or God, as we read

through the gospel account of your servant, Luke, I pray that you would

help us to be humble servants to your word, Lord, softened our calloused

hearts. Help us to be faithful in trusting and hoping in your true and

complete word. Lord, we love you. Amen. My sermon to that,

My sermon title is fish On any Primus fans in the house, I

oh, Wendy, all right. I thought it was just gonna be me

and Duncan, but he is your child, so good on you. It's

a Primus song. Anyway. It was mostly an east egg for me and

Duncan, but I'm glad you got it, Wendy. All right. Let's

start with verses one through three and see what's happening here. One day,

as Jesus was standing by the lake of Genness Sarah, the people were crowding

around 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, and

he 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. So at this point word had quickly spread

and is spreading about Jesus and his teachings, and the crowds that gathered were

getting big, and so big that he had to get into a boat and

shove off from shore just to be able to teach them, just to make

room for everyone who had come to listen to the word of God. And

that's what's interesting to me immediately about this text is that previously you had seen

people gathering in masses to come be healed by Jesus or to have demons driven

out. But these people coming here were coming to hear the word of God

preach to them by this man, Jesus. They had a desire to hear

and to know the word of God, which immediately reminds me of a crucial

Christian imperative, which is this, we live by every word that comes from

the mouth of the Lord. We live by every word that comes from the

mouth of the Lord. On Christmas Eve, Pastor greg was teaching about the

temptation of Jesus. The devil came to tempt Jesus in the desert and told

him to turn the stones into bread. This was Jesus's response, man shall

not live on bread alone. He's quoting Deuteronomy eight three, which reads he

humbled you, causing you to hunger, and then feeding you with manna.

This is speaking about the Israelites when they were lost in the desert, which

neither you nor your ancestors had known to teach you that man does not live

on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the

Lord. Now this verse isn't teaching that food is not required for a physical

survival survival. It's not teaching that food is necessary and it's also delicious if

you couldn't tell, okay, this verse teaches us that we don't live on

food alone. It's the word of God that fully and completely sustains us,

gives us hope, gives us truth, shows us how we are to live,

and who we are in Christ, that is beloved, adopted, righteous

children of God. Continuing verse four of Luke, 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 already worked hard all

night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let

down the nets. This is Simon, Peter and the boys James and John,

were experienced fishermen. It was their job, it was their livelihood.

It's likely what they grew up doing in that area. They know full well

how where and when to fish. And as he points out, they had

already fished all night without catching a thing. They were coming up empty.

So Peter is weary. He's hesitating at first, which made me wonder,

like Peter, how many of us have ever read a teaching or a promise

in the Bible and we've been reluctant to trust in it, perhaps hesitant to

trust in it all of us. Right, you don't have to raise your

hands, but i'd imagine in your heads, Yeah it's me. I know

I'm not alone here. And how many of those times that we do not

hesitate that we put our trust in God? How many of those times did

we see him come through every time? Which leads me to my next point,

Trusting God's word because it never fails. Trusting God's word because it never

fails. Don't believe me. You can say, yeah, that's fine,

I'm going to use the Bible to back me up. So because the Bible

says so. Consider when we read about God's message delivered to Mary the Virgin

Mary by the angel Gabriel, the angel told her that the seemingly impossible would

happen, that she would conceive and give birth to the Messiah. What did

he tell her? For no word from God will ever fail, not ever,

hallelujah. God's word has never failed, and it never will. So

going back to Simon Peter, he was reluctant at first, perhaps even tried

to excuse the thought or the desire command from Jesus to let out their nets

again. But he obeyed, and watch what happens verse six when they had

done so. When they had let out their nets, they caught such a

large number of fish that their nets began to break. So 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. Their nets began to

break, and both boats began to sink. This was the largest catch of

fish they have ever experienced. Now, to be clear, this is not

teaching us that when we trust in God's commands that He is going to bless

us immensely. This is not a prosperity gospel message. And this is not

a prosperity gospel church because it's not biblical God will and does certainly provide for

his children. But it's not always going to be in this volume or in

this manner. Can you imagine if every time we obey God's command we just

got two bolts full of fish. You fish everywhere. But God does certainly

provide for his children. What Luke is showing us here, what we are

being taught, and what Luke has shown us thus far, is Jesus not

only has authority over sickness, over demons and humankind, but over nature itself.

He didn't just make a lucky guess that the entire fish population of Genisera

would happen to swim into these nets they put down. He made it happen.

Nature itself bent to his will and swam into the nets. Jesus is

the maker, the lord of those fish. He made the lake. When

Jesus told his men to put the net in the water, the fish came

to do the bidding of the master. There was there was hesitancy on the

part of Peter, but there was no hesitancy on the part of the fish.

Isn't that odd? We're both created, both his creation. I find

it odd, just for me personally, as a child of God. Made

in His image, and I'm not as obedient as a fish, which is

my next point. Be a fish. It sounds silly, but imagine the

past struggles we could have avoided had we not hesitated in trusting God's word,

in obeying his commands. Imagine the hurt we could have avoided being cast on

others, or the grudges that we hold had we obeyed his command to forgive

others as He forgives us. Imagine the struggles and pain we could help each

other bear if we gave more of ourselves and of our resources as He gave

everything for us. And look at Peter's response after this catch. When Simon

Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus's 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. Peter just witnessed

the power of Jesus, the power of God in flesh, the power to

command and bend nature itself to his will, and Peter is confronted by his

own sinfulness compared to a sinless, holy and powerful God. In his commentary

on the Gospel of Luke Arci Sproll poses a question of why churches aren't filled

right now that this isn't going to be on the screen. There are hundreds

of thousands of people who want to stay as far away from Jesus as they

possibly can. The reason they want to avoid the worship of Jesus in his

presence is the same reason Peter gave to Jesus. Sinners don't want to come

to church because they're sinners, and nothing makes a sinner more uncomfortable than to

be in the presence of a holy God. We've already seen the response of

the demons to Jesus a few weeks ago. They said, Jesus, please

leave, probably in a much scarier voice than that, but I guess that

might just be Hollywood in my ear, Jesus, please leave. Why are

you tormenting us here? Before the time, before the time of their destruction,

the demons couldn't stand to be in the presence of the Holy and neither

consinners. And that's one of the things that the cross represents our guilt.

When Jesus was nailed to the cross, he bore our shame, our guilt,

our sin. But that cross also represents hope because on the cross,

Jesus's work of salvation was finished, our shame, our sin, our guilt

was paid for and wiped away, and his righteousness is now extended to us.

Hallelujah. So Peter's response is completely natural and right. But what he

should have said was, Lord, don't leave. I'm a sinner. I

need you. And that's how we should respond to Jesus's call on us with

fear and trembling. He's God after all, but also with humility and thankfulness

in his saving grace towards us, forever clinging to it. Thank you Lord.

Let's continue in verse ten. Look at jesus response to Peter. Then

Jesus said to Simon, don't be afraid. From now on you will fish

for people. So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and

followed him. Wow, in that moment, in the presence of the Master,

the Maker, with Jesus right in front of him, Peter had never

felt more undeserving. But jesus response wasn't be gone from me, you wicked,

wicked, sinful man. I want nothing to do with you. You

can't stand in my presence. His response was, don't be afraid. Don't

be afraid. How often do we feel like Peter, afraid, undeserving,

wicked and dirty because of our sin. We must remember that the same God

that Peter spoke to that day, Jesus, is the same that day as

he is this day, yesterday, today, and forever his grace, his

forgiveness. His words don't be afraid, are still true, and they still

apply, and they were written down for us to know and trust in this

very day. Hallelujah. Don't let the fear of your past, the fear

of your mistakes or choices, the guilt your sin keep you from going back

to the hope of the Cross and the work that Jesus finished on it.

Don't be afraid. From now on you will fish for people. So they

pulled their boats up on shore, left everything, and followed him. Despite

the sinful state of Peter, John and James, Jesus promotes them to a

new job. They're true calling to fish for people, to be as disciples

and share His gospel to other sinners like them. We share the same calling.

Our calling is to be disciples of Christ and his gospel. So fish

on fish on our calling. If you spend any amount of time in a

church or around Christians, you've no doubt heard this word a lot calling.

I feel called to do this, like God's calling me to do this,

this thing. I'm not outright dismissing it, but I think this word can

bring up a lot of emotions with us, a lot of confusion and perhaps

frustration, especially when we're in our teenage years and throughout our twenties. And

that's really unfortunate, especially as a young person who's also trying to figure out

what they want to do for a career. They're getting it from all sides.

Growing up in church, this word calling its meaning was never clearly explained

to me. I always felt that if I wasn't working in a church,

like actually on staff at a church, and I'm not on staff here,

I volunteer. But if I wasn't on staff at a church, then I

wasn't within my calling. I remember always feeling confused and frustrated when a door

to that desire was closed or I was re routed. I remember one instance

specifically, I was at a conference and just walking down the hallway to the

bathroom, and this gentleman I've never seen before in my life said whoa,

you gotta light around you. You got a big calling on you. And

I was probably early twenties at that point. I remember thinking, like,

I know that's what everyone's saying, but where is it? What is it?

I'm still not working at a church, so what is it? And

it was so frustrating because what I wanted wasn't my calling. It was a

desire, which a desire in and of its is not a bad thing to

pursue unless it's sinful or causes someone else to sin. So the question we

should ask ourselves is is not what is my calling? Because our calling is

oh can you go back on? Sorry? Three off? Our calling is

this. This is our calling to be disciples of Christ in his gospel.

You can ignore the fish on fire, but to be disciples of Christ and

his gospel to baptize others in the name of the Father's Son and the Holy

Spirit. That's the directive that Jesus gave his followers. That's our calling.

So what we should ask ourselves is is what I want or what I want

to pursue, whether it be a job, recreational activity, a relationship,

a career. Move Whatever it is is that thing? Is it wise?

Is it honoring to God? Is it in line with His scripture? We

should weigh listen. Our hearts are deceitful. What we want is often the

opposite of what God wants. Without the Holy Spirit in you, everything you

want is the opposite of what God wants. All right, let's just make

that clear. So we must ask ourselves, is this desire wise? Is

it God honoring? Take it to God in prayer. I can't say that

without thinking of the song. But take it to prayer, take it to

scripture, take it to wise and godly counsel to avoid sin? Can I

get the band to come up? I think Paul's Letter to the Church and

Colossie summarizes as perfectly. This won't be on the screen, but it's in

three verse twenty three. He wrote, whatever you do, work at it

with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for human masters.

Since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.

It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Anyone who does wrong will

be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism. Like I said,

our desires aren't necessarily bad. If you want to pursue something, you've

covered your bases, you prayed about it, you challenge it against scripture,

you brought it to wise counsel. It's not sinful, it's not causing another

to sin, and do it. Do it. God will change the path

you're on. If you want a different path, you could trust them for

that, but also know He's got your back. But our calling is to

be disciples of Christ and his gospel. That calling sometimes requires a lot,

and it may one day require everything we have Peter James, John They dropped

everything immediately and followed Jesus their very livelihood. So my question for us today

is this, What in our lives are we holding on to too tightly?

What in our lives? Read this in the first person, if you like,

what in my life am I hanging on to too tightly? What nets

are we still holding on to that we're not casting now? Perhaps it's your

job, perhaps it's your time, perhaps it's your money. I use air

quotes purposely because none of it is actually ours. It's all his. So

why hold on so tightly to what's already his? I'd like for each of

you an answer, right now whatever it is, repent and trust in the

Lord's forgiveness and ask for his strength. As we put down those nets,

be fishers of people, share His gospel and follow him are true and only

calling. So fish on. All right, We're going to move into a

time of response, time of worship. Some of the ways we worship as

instructed by God's word. The first is is giving. I'm just going down

the list here. If you came prepared to give, because you should give

cheerfully and not out of compulsion. If you came prepared to give, you

can fill out this envelope. Put it in the white box beyond those two

doors there. If you need prayer, we'll have Uh, Paul and Kathy

pastor Paul and Kathy. We'll have Dina and Julian I'm sorry, UH,

and Kelly and Kirk on the sides of the room here to pray with you.

Because we pray to we pray to the Master, We pray to the

Maker, the Lord of all. He hears those prayers. If you don't

want prayer one on one like that, I encourage you to fill it on.

Fill it out on the back of the connect card. We have the

elders and community groups and multiple multiple people praying over these. If you want

it to be private, just write private or for elders only, and then

it only goes to the elders. And lastly, we're going to sing another

song of praise to our God, the only one who deserves it. So

I'm gonna pray and then we'll do that. Or Jesus, as we consider

this week the nets that we are holding on to too tightly, Lord,

soften our hearts and loosen our grips. Help us to trust in you completely.

Lord, we believe. Help us in our unbelief. You are more

powerful, You are stronger. Help us to lean on your strength as we

fish for people as you commanded. Help us to be faithful servants, humble

servants, and zealous servants of your gospel. Thank you for your word in

Jesus name. Amen,