Voice of the Nazarene 2-18-24

I'm coming to you from North Central Ohio, we share with you the voice of the Nazarene, a week by week venture into the Word of God sponsored by the Bucyrus, Ohio, Church of the Nazarene. We join our pastor River, right Lasalle and the voice of the Nazarene.

I'm reading from Luke chapter five, verse one, it came to pass, and aren't you glad things don't come to stay, but they come to pass no matter whether they're good or bad, things have a way of working themselves out.

And it came to pass as the people pressed upon Jesus, they hear the word of God, he stood by the lake Gennesaret. And I just want to make mention to you for your sake. The Sea of Galilee is the very same body of water. Sometimes it's called we'll see. And sometimes it's called a lake. The Jordan river flowed through it. It's about seven miles wide, 13 miles long.

It covers about 64 square miles of, of water, and footage. And it's about 200 feet deep. And it's out of this leg that Jesus was standing near. And the crowd had literally gathered until he's pushed back against the water. And it reads that he saw two ships standing by the lake, but the fishermen were going out of them and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. Now, why did he do that? It was getting too crowded to stand there on the shore. And he needed some way to amplify his voice. He did have a cordless mic. He didn't have a handheld mic. And the acoustics are better on water than about any place else. If you're out on the boat, the waters are calm, you can talk and be heard at a great, great distance. And so he sat down and talked the people out of the ship. Now, what he had left speaking, he said an assignment, Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a drought. Now I want to talk to you today about the men that turned the world upside down.

Now there's a series out right now called the chosen I don't know if you've seen it, I'm supposing some of you have. My daughter calls me about two or three times a day he asked me if I've seen it yet. If I haven't seen it that morning. Why would I have seen it yet that evening, but she calls and she's really thrilled about it. And season one has been out and I don't know what seasons in now. I've just missed it. But it's about Jesus calling 12 men and making disciples out of them and beginning in ministry and build a great kingdom and to build a church. The chosen was not made by by Hollywood, it wasn't funded by Hollywood, it was funded by people just like you and I $10.2 million came out of the pockets of people like you that believe in the wild was called the chosen. young chap by the name of Dallas Jenkins was the producer. If you remember the Left Behind series, it was written by Jerry Jenkins, and Tim law. Hey, and Jerry was the father of Dallas, who has now produced what's called the chosen. It's already been seen it season one and 180 different countries. More than 50 million people have watched this particular viewing. And it's about Jesus choosing 12 disciples, those 12 disciples would literally change and transform the world. And I began to think about these 12 men, no one was any closer to Christ during His three years of ministry than these 12. They went with him where no one else had gone. They knew his heart.

They listened to his sayings.

They saw the miracles, they saw lives transformed. They took notes, they ate together, they ministered together. And I thought wouldn't it be something to get into the mind and the thinking of this 12 and see what it was about them that turned the world upside down in their time. Jesus chose 12 Being they weren't religious man. I would have thought that he would have chosen rabbis. I'm supposing he would have chosen scribes or some Pharisees but instead just common ordinary. A man from from Galilee. And you need to understand something from Galilee. They were uneducated, they were thought to be ignorant man, they were of a lower class.

And they were rule they were backroads people who lived away from the little towns and cities. And Jesus chose these men. I think that he knew that Simon Peter would deny him, I think he knew that Judas would betray him. And nevertheless, he chose these 12 Now not only chose these 12 men, but he gave them the power to heal the sick, and the cast out devils. And think about it just 12 men today, there are at least 2.3 million people who say they're Christians, and say they are followers of Jesus Christ. But it all started back younger with these 12 men. And ladies and gentlemen, one day when we get the hell out, according to Revelation 21, verse 14, these 12 Men, 11 of them will have their names etched on the walls of the city of heaven. These wild men according to act 17, verse six, literally, it says, turned the world upside down.

Revelation 21:14

And when I thought of all of that, I thought we need to study their lives again. I think we can learn something from them. I want to be a part of that, that challenges the world and begins to turn things around. I don't know about you. But I'd like to have it happen in this ministry, and with my life. And here in Luke chapter six, verse 12. And verse 13, Jesus had prayed all night, all night, more than 10 hours had gone by, the scribes say, and the historian say that he had prayed all night long, 10 hours, and then he chose these 12 men. Now, I want to stop and say, before you make big, big decisions arbitrarily, you want to pray first. God include God.

If Jesus prayed before making decisions don't, don't you suppose it'd be wise for us to pray about who we're going to hire, whether or not we started a new business, who we're going to date, who we marry, where we work, what house that we buy, whether or not we buy a boat, don't you think we ought to pray about these things. And I noticed something. In Luke chapter five, these guys go through a series of tests.

They're tested, and Jesus is looking on. And he sees their response as they face these five tests. And when I was in school, our teacher would give us lessons and then we would take the test. But In life, you go through the test, and that's where you learn your lessons.

tests, we go through tests, I was telling the early service about an employer that had an employee. And he became suspicious that the guy was using drugs by some of his reactions, and so he did a surprise drug test and sent him off. And, of course, you can kind of fake your way through some of that. And he did. And when the results came back, the employer called him into the office and he said, Well, we've got your tests back. And I've got good news, and I've got bad news. And the guy said, Well, what what's the news? He said, The good news is you pass the test. The bad news, sir, he said, You're pregnant.

So some tests. I believe that God wants to use our life, but it will not happen without us being tested as well. And before he chose these 12 men, he put him through five test. And he chose him in Luke chapter six, but in chapter five before he watched him, face these tech tests, the first was the action test. Notice what he said here at Verse four, Launch out into the deep. Do you know what I believe? You know what I've learned about the Christian life. God is going to challenge you somewhere along the way to Launch out into the deep, a deeper experience in God. bigger dreams, more useful lives. I don't know about you, but I want to be used. i My prayer is Jesus use me Please, Lord. Word, don't refuse me surely there's work that I can do it even though it's humble helped my wounded crumble. And that's my prayer. I want to be used. I hope you do.

And so God allows us to go through tests and we do bigger things. Now, you say, Well, I can't do anything like that you can through him, you may not own your own, but through his wisdom, and yours and his strength, He enables us to meet the challenge of our times launch out he said, into the deep will Roger said, even if you're on the right track, if you're not moving, you'll get run over. And you can be on the right track. And God is still saying I want to expand your ministry and your life and, and your future. I worked at camp meeting with Henry Schilling out in Atlantic City, New Jersey a number of years ago. I didn't know him very well, but I'd been reading his publication called the fountain for a number of years. I really liked his writings. And he had started a Christian bible school. And it was located at Freeport, Pennsylvania, it was called Transylvania Bible school. He bought it roll campgrounds and begin to convert it and built dormitories. And they put in a printing press and printed their own publications and books. And they had a cafeteria and they had dormitories and staffing, housing and all of that, but the expenses got so great. And the electric bill was way up into the hundreds upon hundreds of dollars. And finally you said, God, I can't continue, we don't have that kind of support. God, speak to my heart. And God said, I don't want the school to close, I want you to keep it open. He said, God, if I do, you're gonna have to direct me.

And he felt the God in pressed him to try to find gas under the property. He said, God, I don't know anything about drilling for gas. I'm a preacher. And he felt impressed drill for gas. Well, he didn't know any better than just bottled water. Truck the time that you can drill for water. It was used, nearly worn out. They got in on the property and, and he was praying. And he said, God, I have not even a clue where to drill. And he felt impressed right outside the main campus there to drill a hole in the ground, got some man and they begin to use that old hammer type of a drill and began to drill down to the soil. And he was praying the whole time.

And they drill on and on and on and added extensions and drill.

And suddenly they hit a gas.

Well, I came along a little later, he had two big turbines.

And he would run one and it produced all the electricity for the printing presses, for the dormitories for all the staff housing, for the cafeteria, for all who campus. A man that said, God, if you want me to have their school, you're going to have to show me and God said, If you launch out a little bit of faith, I'll show you how you get hit a gas. Well, that's what I'm talking about. You say, Well, preacher, I'm waiting on God, well, maybe maybe you're just sitting with your arms crossed.

If you get it on the action, the action test, God get hit a moving target. And if you begin to say, God, I'm gonna move if you have direct my path, and he'll take his places we've never been launched out into the deep. And then there was another test. It's called the authority test. It's found here in verse four and verse five, Jesus said to Peter, Launch out into the deep and Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night and have taken nothing nevertheless, at thy word, I will let down the net now I'll be real honest with you I'd have probably said Jesus being you need to have a conversation. I I've been in fishing business a long time I'm professional fisherman you've never fished you you grew up as a carpenter and and as a carpenter sign and you know how to do finish work with cabinets.

If you work with that, I'll do the fishing. But Simon Peter is one of these kinds of guys is always telling the Lord what to do and telling everybody else what to do. And let me tell you something you don't tell God wants to do. He tells you what to do. The authority test is when we realize that we're the servants. And he's in charge.

Aristotle said who cannot be a good follower cannot be a good leader. And if serving is beneath you than leading is certainly beneath you. It's The Authority test. And I found out a long time ago, if you want the blessings of God on your life, you need to get under authority.

Everybody needs to find somebody that you're under their authority. All of us need somebody that we're responsible to, that can call our hand and ask us how we're doing spiritually. You say, Well, I'm a part of the universal church.

Yeah, I met your uncles, and granddaddies, and all the rest of them. They're the kind, they're over here, and they're over there. And they really don't belong to anything, and they're not accountable to anything, and whether they give any money to support the kingdom, who knows and where, wherever they're at, who knows where they're at. What the Bible is teaching that we need to be in a local Bible believing church, in our area, and have ministry, we need to get our shoulder against the wheel, we need to finance it, we need to support it. And we need to get together and work like a mighty machine for the kingdom of God.

I believe in a local Bible believing church. The Bible said that Timothy pastored, the church at Ephesus, and we know there was a church at Corinth and Philippi and, and all the other little areas, we need to be in a church, you say, well, I send my resources off to Joel Olsteen. ministry. And understand right now I'm not against Joel Osteen or anybody else, okay. Don't get that in your mind. What I'm saying, here's the thought, the next time your marriage is falling apart, and the next time you're sick, and the next time you have a death in the family, you just need to call Joel. Zoom there when what I'm saying we need to get in a local church where there's pastors and staffs, and they can be involved in our life, and we can be involved with theirs. And together we try to build the kingdom, we launch out of the deep in a local area under authority. And so here's what the Bible says, in Hebrews 1317, Obey them that rule over you, and submit yourselves for thy watch for your soul. Can I ask you a question? Who's watching for your soul? Who's watching out for you? Whose authority or yonder? It's the authority test. And Judas had a problem with it later on. He didn't want to be under the authority of Christ. And you know the rest of the story.

These disciples also in chapter five Wisner, the acknowledgement test, look at verse six. And when they had this done, they enclose a great multitude of fishes, they're fishing, and suddenly fish begin to come from every quarter. I mean, they're coming from this way, or they're coming from that way. There's the they're coming, the tilapia from the turnpike and the flounders from the freeway and, and the bass, you know, from the bull, and they're coming from all directions, you know, just amazing thing, when we're in the will of God, and we're working for the Kingdom of God, and we're doing what we ought to be doing. You're listening. I think it's a wonderful thing if you're a hunter, but I think we ought to hunt from Monday through Saturday. And on the Lord's day, I think, well to be in God's house. Well, I'm glad there's not another service, I'd make a note not tell that again.

The Bible said the John was in the spirit on the Lord's Day. He wasn't on the golf course he wasn't in a tree stand. He was not in the bass boat. The Bible said he was in the spirit on the Lord's Day. And I'm simply saying that if we want to see great things happen, we need to be in God's house. And now here's what's interesting, he catches this great catch. And I suppose Peter could have said, Wow, I guess I'll start a seminar on giving fishing spiritual fishing lessons, but he didn't look at what he did.

Verse eight, Simon Peter saw it.

And he fell down at Jesus knees, saying, Depart from me, Lord, for he, he was astonished at all that were with him at the drop of a fishes which they'd taken.

I mean, they really took a slew of fish. Bill Gothard said, we haven't serve God until someone else gets the credit. And God gets the glory. You get that?

And what you don't turn into praise will turn into pride. And the next time somebody breaks on you or brags about the business you've built, and said, how smart you are just to hold everything. God was good to me.

God gets the glory. God impressed me to do this. And I prayed about that and I want God to get the glory. But here's the next test. It was the all in Test. What do you mean by that pastor, we'll look at verse 11.

And when they had brought their ships to land, they first took all and followed him. What they were saying was, we're all in.

And I'd rather attempt something for God and fail, then the tip, nothing is succeed. I'd rather fall on my face than just a set on my backside. Okay? Now you know why a lot of folk are miserable, is because they're not all in. And if you're not all in the Christian life becomes really boring. And here's what I've learned, when you're all in God will do amazing things in your life. And here's what I can promise you, if you're not all in the Christian life will be very boring. But if you're all in this exciting, I'm simply saying this to the young people. Start while you're young. Start while you're young, I was nine years of age, when I gave my heart to Christ, I had my life ahead of me. I'm glad for anybody to get in at any age. But if you're past 80, your chances of getting saved drops down to about one in 500,000. Your chances of being converted after 80 years of age is about a half a million to one. And 85% of those that come to Christ, come before the age of 14. And that's why I say around the church, some of us need to flex a little bit of the music changes so we can reach the young people, we want to get to them as quickly as we can, because the chances are reaching them is a lot higher. And if we have to do some things, or you don't feel comfortable with or I don't feel good, that's still okay. We're doing it to build God's kingdom. Is there Well, I'm not coming back anymore.

Well, I guess I load your wagon down while you're here, then okay. My, my life is not boring.

I've been in ministry. Now these years, I get to stand by the side of people that are leaving this world, and about to go into the world beyond and I get to hold their hand and pray with them. I get to stand beside the sick, and pray for them and watch God and the doctors working together, spare their life. I have the opportunity of meeting people who are even in the business world and inviting them to church. What a what a non boring life. But what an exciting time. But there's one more that I want to mention.

It's the astonishment test. And I believe sometimes God wants to astonishes. God is able to exceed our wildest dreams in Ephesians 320. Now and to him, that's able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we get asked to think according to the power that worketh in us. I believe God will help us to do things that we never dreamed of.

You know what I know. I believe God astonished these old boys room out of the water. How do you know that? Look at verse four. He said, Launch out into the deep and let down your nets.

While they do. They said we've toiled all night haven't caught anything. But as I worked will let down the net. They said net, Jesus said nets. And the only thing is going to determine the size of your catch in life is the size of your nets. Dream big, believe God for big things.

I was reading recently the story of a young guy that was a genius with computers. He believed that you could build a computer that could not be hacked. I don't have any Have you ever been hacked on your computer? I know you've been hacked on Facebook.

I get all kinds of Facebook friendships offered to me and you're trying to scroll and it just built stops. So by got hacked again, this guy believe you could build one that couldn't be hacked and, and he was a genius at it. But he knew that not everybody believed in him. He didn't have all the financing that he needed. He needed somebody to come with a bill this corporation that had leadership and he knew he didn't have that. So he went to a guy that he believed in by the name of John Sculley. He happened to be the president right then of Pepsi Cola. And he said, John, I want you to come with me and worked with me. And Scalia said to me, he said, Steve, are you crazy? Are you asking me to leave my job with Pepsi Cola, and come with us to start a company that's not even started yet? They said yes. They talked to the remember times the last time Steve Jobs went to see him.

He said to him, he said, Sir, do you want to spend the rest of your life making sugar water Are you like to have a chance of changing the world, Scalia left his job. And together, they built what's called Apple, if anything has changed the world, the Apple Computer and iPad, and the iWatch, and cetera, has done that. And so if you want to change the world, if you want a chance to change your world, if you'd like to have a chance to change the world of others, even those down there on the job, or in the classroom, or people that you're connected with in the DOD, all you got to do is pass the test. It's the action test, start acting. It's what I call the authority test. It's the acknowledgement test Lord, your Lord. And it's that all in task God, amen on the program, just astonish me. And it all begins when Jesus said to Andrew, follow me. And Andrew left everything to follow Christ. And the next day, he went out, and he invited his brother, who was Simon Peter, and he brought him to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, Follow me. And I thought of the 7 billion people in the world right now. All they're needing to hear is those words follow me. Someone like Andrew to bring Simon Peter to Christ, somebody to invite somebody, to church, somebody to be there to make a difference in somebody's life, who their marriage is falling apart, or they got bad news about their health, or they've had a financial setback, and they're discouraged. I got a call yesterday, and it was a call or someone so broker, they said, all I'm thinking about is suicide. I can't take life anymore, I'm hurt. I'm disappointed. And we're dealing today with people who are hurting in all quarters. And you and I have the chance to change their world because we have the hope of heaven. We know the Lord. And I'm asking you to join with me and my wife, and let's together, let's allow God to throw the cash our way and pass the test. Let's become fishers of men. And as Jesus says, Follow me do like Paul, he said, Follow me as I follow Christ.

Let's be great followers. And I believe it will lodge out in the deep God's got something bigger and better than we've ever dreamed for this ministry and for its outreach and for your ministry and, and what God wants you to do in your life. Father, thanks for being a part of the voice of the Nazarene. Visit us every Sunday at 9am with B and C's pastor Ray LaSalle. For more information regarding B and C, visit Bucyrus nazarene.org.