Mission Impossible II

Good morning & Welcome to New Hope

Last week we started a new series about some of the miracles in the New Testament. Specifically, we talked about an event with Paul & Silas when they wrongly accused; wrongly convicted; wrongly treated; wrongly beaten; & wrongly imprisoned. But instead of handling themselves the way may of us would by crying, complaining, & whining. But instead we find them praying & praising, and coincidentally there’s an earthquake that shook the foundation of the prison, threw open its doors, rattled the chains off them, and opened the locks from their feet.

God has a way of showing up when his people praise

God made the impossible, possible

Isaiah 54:10 NLT

For the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain. My covenant of blessing will never be broken,” says the Lord, who has mercy on you.

‘I love a [comfortable] room,’ said John Wesley, ‘a soft cushion and a handsome pulpit, but field preaching saves souls.’ ~ Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of Luke (p. 68). Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press.

He wants to do the miraculous in your life

Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of Luke (p. 68). Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press.

This morning we look at another impossibility in the scriptures...

(NLT)

1One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God.

‘I love a [comfortable] room,’ said John Wesley, ‘a soft cushion and a handsome pulpit, but field preaching saves souls.’

Was Jesus’ message attractional - Yes. Were people drawn to him - Yes. Did he preach with power & authority - Yes. But even with all these things working in his favor, Jesus still went to the people. We find Jesus on mission spreading and sharing the good news about God’s love - taking it to the people.

The best preaching isn’t confined to these four walls. The word of God always attracks a crowd.

2He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets.

2He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets.

Jesus noticed. Isn’t it interesting the things that Jesus noticed. He never misses a detail. He never misses an opportunity for a teaching moment. He’s the chief disciple-maker.

He sees two empty boats and knows the owners of those boats aren’t too far away. The fisherman must have fished through the night and were tending to their equipment by keeping it clean and in good condition - freeing it from all kinds of debris that they would have caught while fishing.

3Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.

Simon seemed to be willing to do what Jesus asked him to do. Not sure if it was because of Jesus’ reputation; if it was to accommodate him since so many people had gathered around to listen to his teaching, or if there was just something about Jesus that encouraged people to want to help him.

4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”

Jesus isn’t ignorant of the fishing trade. He knows that the best fishing would have already happened in the evening instead of in the heat of the day. He knows that Simon was a fisherman by trade and that he knew what he was doing. He knew that Simon would question any normal person that would ask him to do something such as this. But even as crazy of a request as it is, Jesus asks him anyway. It’s almost as if Jesus is testing his obedience.

5“Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.”

5“Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.”

But if you say so… Let me ask you a question - If something doesn’t make sense, or you don’t agree with something in God’s word, or some scriptural truth would cause you to have to give something up that you don’t want to give up, or you think life may not be as enjoyable as you’d like, or you think God’s word is asking more of you than you think you can offer… Do you do it anyway? Do you respond like Simon responded and say, man, I really don’t understand all this, Jesus, but if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.

Jesus, if you say so, I’ll share my faith with that neighbor or co-worker

Jesus, if you say so, I’m willing to give up some of my time, resources, pleasures to reach more people

Jesus, if you say so, I’m willing to obey even when I don’t understand

If you say so...

6And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear!

6And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear!

Now I’ve heard fish stories, and have probably told a few myself, but this seems to be a fishing miracle. They had just fished that evening and caught nothing, and the fish don’t normally bite in the heat of day. But this time there were so many fish that the nets couldn’t contain all of them.

7A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.

What do you think? If there was a third boat, what are the chances that boat would have been filled with fish?

8When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.”

Now it seems a little strange that Simon would have fallen to his knees in the sinking boat filled with fish. Chances are that this happened when they reached shore, but the text isn’t conclusive.

But what is conclusive is the fact that Simon realize that he’s in the presence of the Divine. He’s been found with such favor that he’s amongst royalty. And he realizes that he doesn’t deserve it. In fact, he becomes prostrate before Jesus understanding that someone with his sinful nature and unpolished tendencies (he’s a fisherman) should not be in the presence of Jesus.

And so here we find the miracle within the miracle - The very fact that Jesus chooses to live with sinful humanity. The very fact that Jesus, who is God and is without sin, and cannot sin, and is repulsed by sin, chooses to draw near to sin to save us from our sin!

And you just thought, “Who wouldn’t want to be around me?” Man, I’m the greatest thing since sliced bread. Why wouldn’t people want to be around me?

Have you ever thought about how repulsed Jesus is by the sin in your life? Oh, Jesus loves you, that’s for sure. That’s why he gave his life for you, but he’s not happy about our sin.

Let me ask you a question, when is the last time you’ve chosen to be repulsed for the sake of someone else’s benefit? I picked this word for a reason. It means to make someone feel sick, to turn your stomach, to sicken or nauseate.

I remember a few years back going on a mission trip to Haiti. We were on a smaller island off the coast, called La Gonave. The people who lived on this island are the poorest people in the western hemisphere. On one particular day we went to a dump - yeah a garbage dump. If you think about the poorest people in the western hemisphere, and then you imagine the poorest of those people, that’s who we went to see… On the bus ride back to our compound we were asked not to speak with one another. I remember cry uncontrollably and hearing God ask me the question, Are you willing to take their place? Because that’s what I did for you!

What are you willing to do for others?

9For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him.

Awestruck(Greek) - to be seized by the suddenness and unusualness of a phenomenon.

When is the last time you’ve been awestruck over something Jesus did?

10His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed. Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!”

Seems like the standard response to the way Jesus works is fear. How many times do we read where Jesus says, “Fear not!”?

The safest and most secure place anywhere in the world is right where Jesus - either has you, or wants you. But yet we seem to respond in fear...

I’m not smart enough; I don’t know enough; I’m not good enough; I’m not equipped enough; I’m not prepared enough; I’m

We sure are focused on ourselves a lot

Jesus says, “From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” Can you hear Simon say, “Say what?” And now you know why he said, “Don’t be afraid!” We all get bent out of shape when it comes to fishing for people.

When you go fishing, can you make the fish bite?

When you go fishing, do you always catch fish?

The only way to be sure not to ever catch any fish is to not fish.

11And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.

Possibly miracle #3

What are you willing to do to follow Jesus?

Unordinary obedience brings miraculous results

Unordinary obedience brings miraculous results

Communion

(NLT)

26As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.”

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27And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it,

28for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many.

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