FREELY YOU HAVE RECEIVED, FREELY GIVE - GOIN' FISHIN

FREELY YOU HAVE RECEIVED, FREELY GIVE - GOIN' FISHIN Luke 5:1-11 With grateful acknowledgement of these sources of direction and inspiration: the Holy Spirit; the Word of God; Robert Coleman, The Spark That Ignites and The Master's Plan for Making Disciples; Michael Green. Evangelism Then and Now; Os Guinness, "Answering the Call" Oct 20, 2002 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Ruminations on the Narrative Teaching the crowd At the beginning of chapter five Jesus is teaching the Word of God at the lakeside. Dr. Luke identifies the location as the Lake of Gennesaret, otherwise known as the Sea of Galilee. The teaching of Jesus always drew crowds. It wasn't just His miracles the people clamored for. In the previous chapter Luke records that "They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority" (4:32). It was morning. The air was crisp, the waves were lapping at the wooden boats docked after a long night of unproductive fishing, and everyone's attention was focused on the Rabbi with his traveling classroom. Up to this point Jesus had taught indoors in keeping with traditional Jewish custom (Luke 4:16, 33, 44), but the crowds were too large for the Judean synagogues, so He moved church outdoors. And the crowds continued to grow. Everywhere He went it was standing room only. This morning was no different. Luke says they were intently listening to the word as He taught in His unique and authoritative way. Anxious to be near the teacher, the crowd pressed Him all the way to the water's edge. Luke 5:1-2 - "One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people 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." Imposing on the fishermen Luke 5:3 - "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." Suddenly, the Lord of the universe turned and waded out to the side of one of the fishing trawlers and hoisted himself in. This would be the ideal way to get the aesthetic distance from the pressing crowd, and to be better heard. Jesus, of course, had created water, and He had built into it a remarkable acoustical quality for sound bouncing off its surface. Last weekend we visited with our niece's family south of Indianapolis. They had just bought a house on a small lake and she led us down to the dock. Along with us came their black Labrador dog. Something must have looked or smelled funny to her because she started barking. The sound of her bark was like thunder as it resonated off the water. I'm sure she was heard for miles. A few feet of lake water between Him and the crowd would be as good as a microphone, amplifier and a couple of Bose speakers. Whether he was worried about his property or concerned about Jesus' safety, Simon sloshed out to the boat, too. I can see him, standing waist deep in the water, holding on the ropes of the boat, listening to the master teacher, captivated the words He spoke. Simon had already met Jesus. It was in Judea when his brother Andrew came to tell him they had found the Messiah. That was the day Simon would never forget. As soon as he met Him, Jesus looked Him straight in the eyes and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas (which, when translated, is Peter)." (John 1:42) Now here He was delivering this authoritative teaching from the deck of his fishing boat! Before he knew it the teaching was finished and Jesus looked at him-like He had looked at him in Judea weeks earlier, almost like He had been waiting for this moment and everything that had taken place between the two meetings was just a parenthesis. Working the miracle Luke 5:4 - "When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, 'Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.'" He was still staring at the teacher, lost in the words He had spoken. He had to shake his head to clear it. "What did He say? Did the greatest teacher who ever lived just ask me to take Him fishing?" Luke 5:5 - "Simon answered, 'Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything." Jesus waited patiently, looking at him. "But because you say so, I will let down the nets.'" Simon went over to the crew to tell them they were putting out again. You can just hear them, can't you? "What?! They're just not biting, Simon! You know that! We just finished a 6-hour shift and we caught nothing! Besides we finally got the nets cleaned and mended. Now you want us to waste our time out on the water again? We're tired, our families are waiting for us." Simon prevails and as they load up the gear they're all mumbling under their breath, including Simon, about how ridiculous this whole thing is. Out to the most promising spot they row. They half-heartedly throw out the nets. Then suddenly there is a roaring, splashing sound as thousands of fish swarm to the bait and fill the nets. Simon and Company look at each other in shock. "What in the…" "Wait a minute," Simon says out loud to himself, "This is a miracle! Sure! Jesus! He changed the water into wine; He cast out the demon at the synagogue in town. Yes! He's worked a miracle!" Simon releases the net and turns to Jesus. He's looking at him again! That same look. By now the other boat and crew have been called out and the men are trying to salvage the tearing nets and the large catch of fish, so many the boats are taking on water. Wow, last night not one fish, and now we have to throw hundreds overboard just so the boat won't sink! What could he do? Simon Peter "…fell at Jesus' knees and said, 'Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!'" (5:8) Jesus' gaze has never left Simon. He is looking at him as if to say, "You think that earlier teaching was powerful? Get ready, Simon Peter, because I am about to blow you away!" Verse 10 records it--"Then Jesus said to Simon, 'Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men.'" Something deep inside Simon changed in that moment. A sense of destiny, hidden for a quarter century in this fisherman's soul, was awakened as Jesus spoke those words. And more certainly than the fish that were being harvested behind him, Simon was hooked. Don't leave this passage until you notice the names. In verse 5, before the miracle that revealed for Simon the true and full identity of Jesus, he called Him "Master" (EPISTATA). But as he falls convicted before the Master in verse 8, he changes his address and calls Him "Lord" (KURIE). And as he prostrates himself before the Lord of lords, he confesses his own sinfulness. A Chinese proverb says, "Bright lights cast dark shadows". When we come to understand the glory of the Lord we arrive at a more honest opinion of ourselves. We are sinners-and any invitation to come into the presence of the Lord of holiness has not come by way of our worthiness, but purely by His grace. Notice what Luke does in our narrative with Simon's name. In verse 4, Jesus speaks to "Simon", using the name. Again, following the revelation of Jesus as Lord, verse 8 says it was "Simon Peter" (SIMON CEPHAS) who falls at Jesus' feet. This man was changed so powerfully in this encounter that Dr. Luke dramatizes it by recalling the name change Jesus had promised Simon. You will no longer be "Simple Simon", but Cephas (Aramaic), Peter (Greek) the "rock". It is as if Simon had never yet come to understand his full identity until he met the Lord in truth. The same is true for each of us. God's intention for each of us-our full identity and purpose-are realized only as we come to faith in Jesus Christ, our creator and redeemer. There, in that encounter, when we understand His Person, we come to a rightful understanding of our personhood. And then we are given our new name: Christian, Christ-follower, and our new purpose: witnesses. Making His point Look at what happens to not only Simon Peter, but each of the fishermen who come to faith in Christ that morning. Verse 11 - "So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him." That is astonishing. They left everything. Their boats, their business, their livelihood, their futures! In an instant they walked away from it all! Why? Did they think He would lead them to eternally good fishing? No, these men didn't care about fish anymore-if they had they wouldn't have left their catch behind. That boatload of fish was worth thousands of dollars! Jesus had touched something deep in them. They were new men with a new mission. They could not be tied to fishnets any longer. They had caught the vision-God's vision of a world full of people who needed a Savior. They wanted to be first in line to be sent. That's the same kind of calling He puts into the heart of every one of His followers. Paul said in 2 Corinthains 5 that we have been reconciled to the Father by the death of His Son Jesus.; and when that happens to human beings they become NEW-"…the old has gone, the new has come." (2 Corinthains 5:17) Not only do we then become reconciled to God, but He also gives "…to us the ministry of reconciliation." [webmasters note: 2 Corinthains 5:18] 2 Corinthains 5:18-20 - "All this is from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, no counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are, therefore, Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us…" At the Praise Gathering for Believers last week I had the distinct privilege of hearing Os Guinness teach. One of my personal faith heroes, Dr. Guinness said of our calling as believers: "In Jesus Christ, God calls us to decisively that everything we are and everything we have and everything we do become a part of our response to His summons." This is what was happening to Simon Peter and his comrades. Jesus was changing them; and he always changes from the inside out. He begins in the soul, with conviction, with vision and dreams, with calling. Exhortations for Fishers of Men 1. Keep on Fishing God never called us to convert people. It is God's Spirit who converts people. He insists on using us-our faithfulness, our voices, our lives and our witness, but we are not responsible to change anyone. Once we let go of that proud ownership of evangelism, we will be free to stop trying to convince people and make converts. We are called to "disciple" people--that is, our sole mission is to tell them of God's loving reconciliation through Christ, and to teach them how to respond to His gracious offer. Their decision to accept or reject the message we bring is a matter between them and God. That's why the analogy of fishing is so helpful. I'm no fisherman-I just don't like to fish. But I do understand the joy and agony of fishing enough to know that sometimes they "bite". . .and most of the time they don't. For some reason the fish in a given lake or stream either all seem to be hungry, or they all seem to NOT be hungry. I believe the funniest thing about the narrative in Luke 5 is how the fish must have felt as the Lord prepared them for this miracle. By an act of his will, these multiple thousands of fish were all in this area of the lake at the same time and not one of them was hungry. And not one of them got snagged in the nets of the experienced fishermen above them. This went on for hours and hours. Then, all of a sudden, at a certain moment the next morning, when the fishermen show up again, they're all hungry for the bait and they're all netted! I think America is one of the toughest mission fields in the world today. No one is hungry! We think we have everything we need-we think we don't need God. The most tragic thing is that when calamity strikes, like 9/11, people get shook up, but they are so anesthetized by spiritual indifference that even when they feel they should turn to God, they don't. When the church goes fishing, we don't know who's hungry and who's not hungry. We just put out the bait and trust God to net them. Every person is in an ongoing struggle with God at the level of their personal will. Their decision is between them and their Creator. But God calls us to be part of the process of evangelizing them. Lloyd Ogilvie puts it this way: "Without God we can't; without us He won't" Our job is to preach the message of reconciliation through Christ as faithfully and compellingly as we can, and leave the "convincing" to God. Church, keep on faithfully fishing until God fills our nets or calls us home. There are many who are hungry. Author Steve Beard wrote: "Our culture is searching and probing and praying under its breath." Because many are hungry, as I've said before, we should be as generous with the gospel as McDonald's is with their catsup and napkins. In one of their commercials, the president of the Mercedes Corporation tells how they did not patent the crash protector in the Mercedes frame because it's a very crash resistant frame. He says, "Some things are too important not to share." [Keep on fishing…] 2. Keep on Obeying Debra Johnson wrote in to the Christian Reader: "My seven-year-old daughter wanted to take violin lessons, so I took her to a music store to rent an instrument. Hoping she would understand the importance of practicing, I explained that violin lessons were expensive so she would have to work hard. "There may be times when you feel like giving up," I said, "but I want you to hang in there and keep on trying." She nodded and then in her most serious voice said, "It will be just like marriage, right Mommy?" We have a clear commission as Christians - to consistently demonstrate the gospel with our lives and lips, what we do and what we say. And it is the constancy and day-in, day-out obedience that gets it done best. We think our best service to the Lord is like taking a $1,000 bill and laying it on the altar and saying, "Here it is, Lord-I'm giving it all." But the reality for most of us is that he sends us to the bank and has us cash in the $1,000 for quarters. We go through life putting out 25 cents here and 25 cents there. It isn't usually a blaze of glory. It's all those little acts of love when we've got other important things to do, opportunistic words of witness when we'd rather not look ridiculously religious, taking time for the hurting people instead of the entertainment that beckons us. Former Soviet criminal, Kozlov, now a church leader, wrote of life in a Soviet prison many years ago: "Among the general despair, while prisoners like myself were cursing ourselves, the camp, the authorities; while we opened up our veins or our stomachs, or hanged ourselves; the Christians (often with sentences of 20 to 25 years) did not despair. One could see Christ reflected in their faces. Their pure, upright life, deep faith and devotion to God, their gentleness and their wonderful manliness became a shining example of real life for thousands." The Communist government of China wants to wipe out all religion and forbids evangelism. But the loving witness of ordinary Christians ministering in the power of God is resulting in an estimated of 20,000 new believers a day. Many of the evangelists and church planters are women; many are still in their teens. From Beijing to Jericho, God is working miracles behind the scenes-dreams, visions, healings and other supernatural phenomena to establish His reality and prove His love to those who are hungry for Him. Terry McIntosh whose ministry in Jericho we support tells on several occasions how someone has seen a vision of the Lord and they come to the "Jesus House of Prayer" to learn more about Him. We don't have to worry about the power of God being there for people if we just keep on obeying the calling we have. It will not always be easy-this obedience to our calling. But we are not servants of Jesus Christ because it is easy-We are servants of His because it is right and holy. Author Greg Laboy says that Jesus promised those who followed him only three things-that they would be absurdly happy, entirely fearless and always in trouble. [Keep on fishing, Keep on obeying…] 3. Keep on Praying Andrew Murray used to always say that God does nothing in this world except in answer to the prayers of his people. James 4:2 says: "…You do not have because you do not ask God." We need to become bolder in our prayers for people. And I don't mean demanding that God answer-I mean in terms of our really, truly desiring to see people come to know the Lord in personal faith. The names on our Andrew lists in cell groups, the cards in our Harvest Prayer Basket with the names of unsaved, unchurched people we are praying for, and the burdens in our hearts for individuals for whom God has called us to pray. Can you guess who might be the author of this quote? "Our lives are so busy that we never get any time to be, first reflective, and then afterward, to let some sort of spiritual light into your life. [This song of mine] - It is about the joy of creation, inspiring you to a love of God." Mick Jagger, famous and infamous lead singer of the Rolling Stones. He recently wrote a new song entitled "God Gave Me Everything I Want." Lyric sample in another song: "And I drove across the desert/I was in my four-wheel drive/I was looking for the Buddha/And I saw Jesus Christ" "My soul is like a ruby/and I threw I in the earth/But now my hands are bleeding/from scrabbling in the dirt/and I look up to the heavens/and a light is on my face/I never never never/thought I'd find a state of grace." I am praying for Mick Jagger. I am also praying for Billy Joel. They would not be the first rock songwriters whose lyrics started indicating a spiritual search who eventually found faith in Jesus Christ. Keep on praying. It is reasonable to expect that when we pray for the gospel to reach people, God will respond by working miracles in their lives to draw them to Him. But, when we pray, we also develop a better ability to hear the voice of God. He who knows when each fish is hungry is able then to lead us to those who are ready to hear the gospel and respond to His grace. He knows what words and actions would be helpful in leading a seeker to a knowledge of Him. If we cultivate our ability to hear Him, we may expect to work more effectively in our calling of discipling others. RWA PRAYER: (Ready, Willing and Available) Lord, I want to be ready today for whatever ministry opportunity You want to send my way. Help me by Your Spirit to be alert, to hear and respond. I am willing to be used by You to influence other persons to come to faith in Christ. So I am asking You to sovereignly lead me to at least one person today who needs to hear the good news. Make it clear to me when they arrive in my life, so I won't have to question whether or not it is Your leading. And finally, I need to admit to You that I do not feel confident to be Your witness to this person, so I ask for the power and wisdom of Your Holy Spirit to give me what to say. Amen.     [Back to Top]