Living Miracles: When Jesus Makes Things Happen

Today we are on Miracle 6 and we are going to find that Jesus knows more about things that he has never done that we will ever know about the things we do. Jesus meets us in our lives in the areas where we are the most in tune and most skilled, He calls us to listen to His voice and provides a blessing in the way that only He is able to do. Today we will be challenged to understand the greatness of Jesus in our lives and how He carries us in the areas of life when we have been less than successful. Listening to the voice of Jesus will always result in positive results.

Here is one thing I know about myself. When I try to make things happen, they fall apart. You have all heard the story of the brakes I tried to do a few weeks ago. That though is not the only time I have had this struggle. I had an S10 Blazer that was my mothers, she sold it to my grandmother, and when I got in a car accident my grandmother gave it to me. This S10 blazer was a great little car, it had radio that worked AC that worked, and it was good on gas too. I ended up having an issue with it when the fuel pump seemed to start going out. I replaced the fuel pump which if you know meant taking the fuel tank down, putting the new fuel pump in and putting the tank back. Note to anyone trying this, drain the tank. I did all this work and put the thing back together and it worked for all of 3 hours, it stranded Aubrey and Rhaynee on the toll road in Oakleaf. We got it back home and I thought well maybe this one is bad, so I had them get me another fuel pump. Did all the work again, and guess what. Same result. I changed the fuel pump so many times in that thing that I cut a hole in the back so I did not have to drop the tank. After the 4th time replacing it I started asking around. A guy from work who definatley was not a mechanic told me that he remembered that his dad had a car that had a bad ground that caused this same issue. I went home and started looking and found that there was a bad ground wire, I replaced the ground and never had another problem.

I had tried so many times on my own to fix this problem and it was not until a third party stepped in to help that I was able to resolve the problem. Church, Jesus is that party in our lives. Jesus steps in but he steps in when we believe that we know what we are doing. Jesus steps in the areas where we feel like we have it together. Jesus wants you to know that He can handle any and all aspects of your life, even the areas you feel the most confident about. Turn with me in your Bible to Luke chapter five verses 1-11. In these scriptures this morning we will see three things. The profound proof that Jesus meets us where we are. We will see the Cultivated Conviction that He is committed to us. Lastly we will see the Declared Destiny that Obeying the voice of Jesus leads to overwhelming blessings.

Luke 5:1–11 ESV

1 On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 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. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 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.” 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

1. Profound Proof: Jesus meets us where we are

Luke 5:1–4 ESV

1 On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

There are so many wonderful and powerful messages that can be taught from this scripture and I will not minimize any of them today. I will tell you that today I want us to understand that the purpose of Jesus miracle was to secure 3 disciples in Simon, James, and John. The purpose of Jesus going where He did was so that He could display the Glory of God again in front of Simon, James, and John and tell them to trust Him. At this point Jesus had already called Simon and Andrew to follow Him and they left their nets and did so.

Matthew 4:18–22 ESV

18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

There are some who will say that this is the same event, however I want to point now to something that happens with Peter that did not happen in Matthew. Look here at what happens after the Miracle.

Luke 5:8 ESV

8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

I do not want to get stuck here this morning but based on the interpretation of Scripture with the additional facts and timelines we can assume that this instance is after Jesus had first called Simon and Andrew to follow Him. With that we can see that the level of committment from Simon had not yet reached the level in which Jesus wanted for Simon to engage with Him. This is the second time that Jesus is meeting with Simon and where is it that Jesus meets with Simon? It is at his place of professional engagement. There are theories as to why Simon had originally dropped his nets and followed Jesus and why he was back here again. The overwhelming concensus is that Simon understood the need to provide for his family. Jesus had called Simon to follow Him, Jesus went to his house and healed his mother in law. Yet Jesus did not see in Simon at that time the heart of committment that He was looking for. So Jesus again meets Simon where he is. Can I tell you that we do not serve a God that you have to go and seek out? Jesus comes to you in the place where you are.

It is no secret around here that I love college football. It is one of my favorite times of year. When college football stopps it feels like things are out of order. The thing with college football though, is that even after the football games end, college football is still going on. Recruiting is just as important as playing the games and so I watch the recruiting and I keep up with who the ream I follow gets. Here is the thing about recruiting. If you are a decent player that might make an impact but the team is stacked at your position, you will recieve an invite to go and visit the college. If you are what the team considers a top rectuit though, the coach comes to you. If you notice the higher the importance for the team to get you, the higher the level of coach that comes to visit you. When you are a 2-3 star recruit you will get a visit from a coordinator, when you are a 4-5 star recruit the coach comes and sees you personally and makes the case for you to join the team. Jesus though sees all of us as 5 star recruits. Jesus is coming to where we are He seeks us out, He desires a committment from us and He is willing to go where we are to get that committment.

We are being provided a profound proof this morning that we are so important to God and to Jesus that they are coming to meet us where we are at.

Philippians 2:6–8 ESV

6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Jesus was not satisfied sitting in Heaven and telling us to come to Him. He came down and met us here.

Revelation 3:20 ESV

20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Jesus is seeking you out and He is calling for you to simply open the door and let Him in.

Ezekiel 34:11 ESV

11 “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out.

Luke 19:10 ESV

10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Matthew 18:12 ESV

12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?

We are being called by a Jesus who was not content to sit on a throne or elevate himself to a position of power and call us to seek Him out. Jesus came to us. This morning I pray if you are hearing this and you have not opened the door of your heart that you will do so today. Open your heart to Him, you know He has been seeking you becuase you cannot stop hearing His voice at the door wiaintg for an answer. If you are here this morming and you like Simon had committed but you have not fully committed, I want you to see what Jesus does next. Jesus Cultivates a conviction

2.Cultivated Conviction: He is committed to us

Luke 5:5–7 ESV

5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 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.

If you are like me, when somone who has never done your job steps in and starts to tell you how to do it, you quickly become defensive and even beligerant to some extent. How can someone who has never done this job step in and tell me what to do. Can you imagine how Simon a fisherman must have felt for Jesus a carpenter to be telling him how to fish?

Mark 6:3 ESV

3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

Simon must have been thinking to himself, you have got to be kidding me. Not only does this guy not know about fishing but we have been out all night fishing, we were cleaning our nets and he gets in the boat and asks us to go out from shore so he can teach then he has the audacity to tell us to go fishing again. This is where we see Simon say to Jesus, yeah man you know we did that already, in fact we did that all night. As a fisherman I depend on this for my living and I know when to bring it in. We reached the 7 cast rule about 6 hours before we called it a night Jesus. They must have felt like me fishing. I do so much fishing but I do so little catching. Simon though did not respond this way like many of us would. What did Simon say?

OK Jesus at your word we will do what you say. You see Simon was not committed in the way Jesus wanted him to be but Simon also was not uncommitted. Simon belived in Jesus, afterall why would he doubt? He saw Jesus heal many including his mother in law. Simon saw enough about Jesus to want to follow Him but just not quite to the leve Jesus was expecting or desiring of Him. Many of us fall into this same boat. See what I did there? We are committed to Jesus and we believe in Jesus and we follow His words. We just are not committed enough to actually leave the nets and boats behind to follow Him. The fact that Simon was at His boat indidcates that Simon had not followed through with the level of committment Jesus was looking for. He left initially and followed Jesus but he went back to the boats and nets. Is this were you are in your life? You heard the voice of Jesus, you folowed the voice of Jesus, you saw Jesus perform miracles and wonders, and yet you have gone back to being content simply believing in Jesus and not living in your belief? I am not in your heart or soul today but I believe that Jesus is calling someone in here today to recommit to truly following Him. To stop with the simply being content believing in Him and see what He can do when we truly follow Him. Jesus taught Simon in this moment that he might be a good fisherman but Jesus was a better fisherman. Simon was fishing to support his life and Jesus said look if you really commit to follow me, well I will take care of your life. Not only will you catch fish, you will catch more than you can hold in your boat. I am going to sink your boat with blessings. When Jesus calls us to commit to Him it is less that He is calling us to committ to Him but He us calling us to have faith in His committment to us.

Whe I asked my wife to marry me, I was not asking my wife to be my maid, to clean my clothes, to cook my dinner. I was not asking her to take care of me. When I asked my wife to marry me, I was asking her to be committed to me even when things were tought and even when things did not look like we would be ok. I wanted her to trust in my ability to grow our family and to supply for the needs in our family. Could you imagine a proposal going that way? Will you clean my clothes and pick up my dirty laundry, cook my dinner and take care of me the rest of our lives together? How many women in here is presented with that from a man would jump on that and say, heck yeah that is what I’ve been looking for? Now I know some of you are saying that is not what was asked but that is what I got! We can talk after service about marriage counseling. If that were the proposal though you would walk away.

Jesus is calling is to committ to Him to handle all that life throws at us and all that comes our way. Jesus has not called us to commit to Him so we can do all the work. He is willing to do all the work, He is just waiting for us to finally truly commit. The first time. Jesus is ready to do all the work in your life? Are you ready to committ to Him? Jesus is calling us to a conviction this morning not of feeling like we are not doing enough. He is calling us to a place of conviction for not believing that He can handle anything that comes our way. Convicting us of not truly understanding His committment to us.

Jeremiah 29:11 ESV

11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Deuteronomy 31:6 ESV

6 Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

Matthew 28:20 ESV

20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

For some in here you need to understand the profound proof that Jesus comes to you and is seeking you. All you have to do is open the door and answer. For others of us in here you have accepted Jesus, you have “commited to Jesus” You just have not truly committed to trusting Him. You believe in Him but you depend on yourself. Jesus is calling you to understand that whatever you can do He can do better. Believers who learn to trust in Jesus at this level will experience the blessings that only Jesus can pour out.

3. Declared Destiny: An effective Life

Luke 5:8–11 ESV

8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 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.” 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

Simon repented because he had not committed to the level in which Jesus was calling for. Simon was content with being a fisherman and trusting in Jesus. Simon had not committed to fishing for men because of his trust in Jesus. There is a difference there. Many of us find ourselves in that place. We want to be good employees and do good things at work because of Jesus, we are not willing though to make fishing for men the primary objective of our life.Can I tell you what Jesus proved in the scripture is if you will make the first things first, He will bless in a way that only He can do and He will give you an effective life.

It is said that on a tombstone the most important thing is your name. The second most important thing is not the date at the beginnning or the date at the end. It is not the scripture that loved ones believed represented you. It is the dash between those 2 dates. That dash represents your life, what happened from the start to the end. The question all of us must ask ourselves is what will our dash represent? What do we want to be remembered for? Do we want to be great employees? Can I say something without being anti-capitalist becuase I believe in the right to make something of ourselves with good work ethic and committment? That compay who loves you will hire someone to replace you shortly after you die. So is a good employee the goal? Can I say that maybe the goal should be to be used by Jesus in that work place? Can I submit to you this morning that the place Jesus put you is not for you to build a good name for yourself but to glorify His name in every aspect?

Jesus followed up the miracle with Simon wiht the understanding that Simon was no longer going to be just a fisherman. While this would be a job for him and we will find Simon at different parts in the scripture performing his work, he after this understood that the declared destiny was that Jesus would make him more than a fisherman, He would make him a fisher of men. Are you being effective for the Kingdom of God? Jesus declares a destiny for an effective life for those who commit to Him. Not a rich life, a lavish life, or a life with no stuggles. Jesus committs to make our lives effective.

Psalm 1:1–3 ESV

1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

Matthew 16:26–27 ESV

26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.

Jesus is not equipping us to be the best employee, father, husband, pastor, deacon, church member. Jesus is equipping us to be effective for the Kingdom. Are you in here this morning and you have not opened the door to Jesus? Do it, time is running out for the world but for each of us as well. Are you in a place of conviction as Simon was where you beleive in Jesus but you are not really committed to Jesus? You like Simon can fix that? Do you beleive in the declared destiny of a life that is effective for the kingdom? If not seek that this morning. The altar is not just a place for those who seek to give their hearts to God. It is also a place to lay down sins in our lives and recommit our hearts to Jesus. Maybe like Simon you do not need to repent of a sin but repent from a lack of faith in the ability of Jesus to make your life effective and to handle the need in our lives. Whatever it is invite you to join me here at the Altar this morning so we can be a church on fire for the word, filled with the spirit, and making a lasing impact on the kingdom of God.

Habakkuk 2:3 ESV

3 For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.