Full Sermon Why Bother? based on Luke 5:1-11

Let us pray: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I. Why bother? Do you ever get frustrated in life? Do you ever wonder if what you do make a difference? Do you ever feel like throwing your hands in the air and saying, “Why bother?”

II. We all have problems that plague us. You try your best to do things just right in the work you do and no one seems to notice. You work at trying to get someone to think about Jesus and what He means for them, but you do not get any positive results. You pray hard and often for someone you care about who seems to be struggling with Christian faith, but that person does not change for the better. You go out of your way to help someone and build that person up, but that person is not thankful and might even turn against you. You begin to think, “Why bother?”

III. God’s Word in Luke 5 gives us an example that enlightens us. Jesus was teaching people on the shore of the lake of Gennesaret, also known as, the Sea of Galilee. The people were getting too close to Him. He saw two boats. He climbed into Simon Peter’s boat and asked him to push out from the shore a little. Jesus sat down and taught the people about the word of God.

IV. That word of God had a good effect on Simon Peter. When Jesus told him to go to deeper water and catch fish, Simon Peter was tempted to say, “Why bother?” After all, Simon Peter and his fellow fishermen had been out all night trying to catch fish and they had come up empty. In Luke 5:3 we hear his interesting response to Jesus, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” Simon Peter believed the word of Jesus was worth paying attention to and acting on.

V. Would you have the same kind of respect and faith in Jesus that Simon Peter had? If you had been fishing all night long and had caught nothing, would you have gone fishing again just because Jesus said so? Would you have said to Jesus, “Because you say so, I will let down the nets”? Many of us, if we were standing in Peter’s shoes, would have been tempted to say to Jesus that we knew how to fish better than He did and that He should leave the fishing to us. Simon Peter obeyed the voice of the Lord Jesus and his fishing trip was blessed in an amazing way.

VI. Sometimes we have consequences that challenge us in life. The fishermen caught such a large number of fish that the nets were breaking. They called their partners in the other boat to help them. Then both boats began to sink from the weight. They had spent the night without catching a single fish. Now they caught so many fish that their boats were filling up with water. As we follow Jesus in life we might end up in places that we never dreamed. We can face what might look like overwhelming challenges. What do we do then?

VII. Simon Peter talked to the one who had told him to go fishing again in the deep water in the first place, Jesus. He fell down at the knees of Jesus and told Jesus to depart from him, since he was a sinful man. Simon Peter was so amazed by the large number of fish in the boats that he and his partners were in awe of Jesus.

VIII. Jesus called Simon Peter, James and John to a brand new adventure. Jesus told Simon Peter not to be afraid. Jesus also told Simon Peter that he would begin catching men. James and John, his fishing partners, left everything and followed Jesus, as did Simon Peter. James, John, and Simon Peter were willing to trust Jesus and begin learning how to catch people instead of fish. They were willing to leave their fishing business behind and start out on a brand new adventure with Jesus as their teacher and guide.

IX. Jesus also challenges us to trust in Him and share the caring Christ without fear. We, like Simon Peter, have to admit that we are sinful people and we do not deserve to have Jesus as our teacher and Savior. Like Simon Peter, James, and John, we can learn to trust in Jesus to help us and guide us in life. We can learn to trust in Jesus to forgive us and renew us each day we follow Him. We can learn to trust in Jesus no matter what the unbelieving people of the world might do to us or say about us. We are challenged to share the caring Christ with the people around us whose lives do not seem to have much meaning to them. We are challenged to share the caring Christ with people discouraged by the sins that seem to have control over their lives and give them trouble in their marriages, family lives, and personal lives. We are challenged to share the caring Christ with depressed people who have lost their job and are without hope. We are challenged by the same Jesus who told Simon Peter, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will catch men.”

X. The words of Galatians 6:9 are good words for us, too, “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Simon Peter and his fishing partners kept on doing what they knew how to do. They put the nets down in the water and they caught a lot of fish. At the command of Jesus, they did not give up. Even though they had fished the previous night and caught nothing, they kept on fishing and caught a large number of fish.

XI. We, like the first followers of Jesus, are on a lifelong journey of fishing with Jesus. We have a great message to share with others who are not currently followers of Jesus. Our message is a message of sin and grace. We are sinners, but we are sinners who are also saints by the grace of God through faith in Jesus. When we catch others with the message of sin and grace, we encourage them to follow Jesus in their everyday living. We can reassure ourselves and others with more New Testament verses about who we are now in Jesus Christ: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17) and “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Once you begin fishing with Jesus your life is changed for the better. As Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will catch men” (Luke 5:10). Those same words of Jesus are for each one of us here this morning. We do not need to live lives of fear and dread, but we can live lives of forgiveness and hope with Jesus as our only Savior and Lord.

XII. Conclusion. Why bother to tell others the good news about Jesus, who died and arose to save us? Sometimes the repayment for doing good is postponed. Maybe we will not see the good results we were hoping for in this life. But the time will come when the blessings will come. One day God will show us what impact we had on others when we see them in heaven in the everlasting life to come. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.