Luke 5:1-11

The First Disciples

1  Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret;

2  and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets.

3  And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the people from the boat.

4  When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”

5  Simon answered and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.”

6  When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break;

7  so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink.

8  But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!”

9  For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which 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 fear, from now on you will be catching men.”

11  When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.

Introduction:

Do you ever get frustrated? You do something that seems to have no results whatever. You begin to wonder, “Why bother?”

PRAY

I.       The Problems That Plague Us

A.   You take a stand in your world, and it has no effect

B.   You seek to win others to Christ and have no success

C.   You pray for an unsaved or wayward loved one, but there is no change

D.   You spend a lot of time and effort seeking to help someone who peters out or turns against you

E.   You do good to someone, and there is no return

F.    You minister faithfully, but it appears there are no results

G.  You strive to keep a testimony before an unsaved mate who only grows more difficult as time goes by

1.     You begin to wonder—Why bother?

2.     The disciples

a)    This is not the first time Jesus had met the disciples. John 1:35–2:11 tells us that several first met Jesus when John the Baptist was preaching

b)    They went with Him to a wedding in Cana

c)     He spent time in their homes in Capernaum

d)    They also watched the first time Jesus drove money changers from the temple

3.     What a model for evangelism

a)    It’s not necessary or always appropriate to press for a decision on a first meeting

b)    It takes most of us time to get to know Christ

c)     But there always is and must be a moment of decision, when Christ calls, and we make an informed decision to follow Him 

II.    The Example That Enlightens Us 

A.   Gennesaret fewer than 15,000 people.

B.   Peter (and others) were doing what they knew to do

1.     They had fished all night without results

a)    “Worked hard all night” (5:5).

b)    Fishing was a demanding trade. The men fished at night and sold or salted their catch and dried or mended nets during the day

c)     Service carried on by our own wisdom and strength is futile

d)    Christ now tells them to fish where they know there are no fish

e)     It was the wrong time of day, the wrong place, and the wrong depth to catch fish, yet Peter obeyed

f)      Peter’s reaction when Jesus wanted to use his boat for a pulpit, that was no problem

(1)  He was glad to shove off

(2)  When Jesus wants to use Peter’s boat for fishing, Peter protests

(3)  We can hear him saying, “Wait a minute, now. We’ve been fishing all night. We caught nothing. In the morning, the sun’s slanting rays hit the water and scare the fish. It’s foolish to go out now.”

(4)  He is implying that while Jesus knows about preaching, he—Peter—knows about fishing!  

2.     Peter expresses it: Why bother?

C.   Peter’s next words explain it all—

“Nevertheless at thy word” (v. 5 kjv)

1.     Peter does the pointless thing because Christ told him to do it

2.     This shows the value of humility, of teachability, and of implicit obedience

a)    A skilled fisherman taking orders about fishing from a carpenter…

b)    It was a well-known fact that, in the Sea of Galilee, you caught fish at night in the shallow water, not in the daytime in the deep water.

c)     What Jesus asked Peter to do was contrary to all of his training and experience, but Peter obeyed

D.   A miraculous catch occurs

1.     When we follow the direction of Jesus our labor is easy our catch is great

2.     “Go away” is Peters response (5:8).

a)    Peter’s reaction is not at all surprising

(1)  He had just seen Jesus more clearly, as seen in the shift of address from Master, a term that acknowledges superiority, to Lord

(2)  Peter is having the 1st  recognition of who Jesus really is

Isaiah 6:5

5  Then I said,

“Woe is me, for I am ruined!

Because I am a man of unclean lips,

And I live among a people of unclean lips;

For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”

(a)    The trouble is, when we see Jesus more clearly we also see ourselves more clearly

(b)   His beauty exposes our flaws;

(c)    His perfection reveals our sinfulness.

(d)   Man’s first reaction to such a revelation is often, “go away.”

(e)   But only by following Jesus can we find forgiveness for our sins and begin to walk a new way

(3)  “Don’t be afraid” (5:10).

(a)    “ ‘Do not fear’ ” This is a PRESENT MIDDLE  IMPERATIVE with the NEGATIVE PARTICLE,

(i)       Which usually means stop an act already in process

(b)   Some are afraid to trust Jesus because they’re afraid He will change their lifestyles.

(i)       He will. But for the better.

(4)   It was in deep waters that the nets were filled to the breaking point and the ships began to sink (vv. 6, 7).

(5)  It takes Faith to go into the deep waters,

(6)  Christ-directed service produces problems

(a)    Problems that require super natural intervention along with more labor

(i)       Christ told them fear not, (I got you in it not to kill you but to show you I am God ) 

(ii)     Called for the other boat and workers

(b)   How people respond to success is one indication of their true character

(i)       Instead of claiming the valuable catch for themselves, Peter and Andrew called their partners to share it

(ii)     We are not reservoirs, but channels of blessing, to share with others what God has graciously given to us.  

III.  The Consequences That Challenge Us

A.   The disciples received a supernatural return

1.     It came after a long time of action

2.     It goes along with

Galatians 6:9

9  Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.

B.   Sometimes the repayment is postponed

C.   God want to bring us from failure to success

1.     They had fished all night and caught nothing

2.     Jesus has a big draught of fish for us wanting for our obedience, and faith

3.     Fishermen generally have the qualities that make for success in serving the Lord.

a)    It takes courage and daring, patience and determination to work on the seas; and it also takes a great deal of faith.

b)    Fishermen must be willing to work together (they used nets, not hooks) and help one another.

c)     They must develop the skills necessary to get the job done quickly and efficiently  

d)    If success humbles you, then failure will build you up

e)     If success puffs you up, then failure will destroy you 

1 Corinthians 4:5

5  Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.

4.     When the motivations of hearts are revealed, each will receive praise from God

D.   Even if there is never a reward, there will be praise from Him because we have done what was right because it was right

These men had been catching living fish and, when they caught them, the fish died.

Now these men would catch dead fish—sinners—and the fish would live!

Conclusion:

Why bother?

Because He said so!

There will either be a harvest—possibly after a long time—or there will be praise in eternity.