Forsaking All to Follow Christ Luke 5;1-11 052707
Forsaking All to Follow Christ (Luke 5:1-11)
Intro: Forsaking All; Memorial Day; Crosses w/ names at Park; National monuments-esp. Vietnam.
Give Background. Central role of Peter. Read Luke 5:1-11
Three Steps to Forsaking All to Follow Christ
1. Obey the Master (vv. 4-7)
a. He knew how to fish better than the fishermen.
b. He knows how to direct your life better than you do. Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves.
c. Peter Obeyed Jesus – Peter is in charge of the boat. He is the captain/ pilot/ master and commander, but Peter called Jesus, Master (epistate). Not rabbi/teacher, but the title of authority.
d. We must Obey Jesus = Yes, Lord, Yes
i. This obedience begins with coming to Jesus by faith.
John 3:7; Romans 10:9-17; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; 1 Peter 4:17
The Gospel is about obedience. But it is not about obeying a set of rules or trying to get yourself cleaned up. It is coming to God on His terms. His terms include turning from your sin. Trusting in the completed work of Christ on the cross. Trusting Jesus to be Lord of your life and following Him. Share the gospel. You must and can come to Him as you are, but understand that you cannot stay as you are now and follow Christ. When you come to Christ on His terms, this means you must live His way.
ii. True believers continue to obey the master.
e. The disciples experienced the power of God. The catch was great.
f. We can experience God’s power, if we obey.
ILL: Children and Obedience – They often do not understand why, but we as parents know more about the situation than they do.
APP: Trust God. Obey God.
2. Worship the Lord (vv. 8-10a)
a. When Peter faced the Holy One of God, he became poignantly aware of his sinful condition and unworthiness. Peter responded to Jesus with an attitude of humility and worship. Note the four parts of Peter’s response
i. Peter falls to the knees of Jesus/ bows in reverence.
ii. Peter says, “Depart from Me.”
iii. Peter acknowledges his condition, “I am a sinful man.”
iv. Peter calls Jesus, “Lord.”
“Simon Peter expresses the humble attitude of a man who, having received of Christ’s abundant grace, recognizes both his sinful and lost condition and the wholly unmerited nature of the gift.”
b. When we encounter the power and presence of Jesus, we should respond with an attitude of humility and worship. Unfortunately, we do not always respond this way.
ILL: A family that traveling a large camper pulled up in front of a church just as the pastor started toward home. Desiring to be friendly, the pastor introduced himself and expressed his admiration for the camper. The man of the family told him rather proudly: "This camper sleeps eight people." Then he asked: "What is the capacity of your church, Pastor?" The beleaguered pastor replied rather glumly, "Oh, it sleeps about eighty."
In READER'S DIGEST, a mother wrote that she once asked her young son what was the highest number he had ever counted to. He replied, "537." She asked, "Why did you stop there?" He replied, "Church was over."
c. Worship is experiencing the presence of Jesus and acknowledging our sinfulness and unworthiness before Him (cf. Isaiah 6:5; also Abraham, Moses, Joshua)
d. We have truly worshipped Jesus when we have a clear picture of who God is and when we have a clear picture of who we are. There is a joy we ought to have in worship, yet the path to joy in worship is grasping God’s greatness and our own unworthiness.
APP: Recognize true worship. Be a worshipper of the Lord.
“Worship does not satisfy our hunger for God — it whets our appetite. Our need for God is not taken care of by engaging in worship — it deepens. It overflows the hour and permeates the week.” Eugene Peterson, SermonCentral.com newsletter, 2/27/06
Therefore, if we want more of God after we leave church, we have worshipped. If we desire less of God, then we have not worshipped Him.
3. Follow Jesus (vv. 10b-11)
a. Jesus called Peter to follow. The call was extended to John, James, and others.
b. Jesus still calls people today. He calls people to follow Him.
“Jesus gathers disciples not because He needs them, but because they need Him.” Darrell Bock BECNT
c. The call includes a certain task or mission.
i. From Fishermen to Fishers of Men
ii. The most amazing thing about all of this is that Jesus calls sinners and transforms them into servants. The one key qualification Peter had to have was to have been a fish who was caught.
d. The call is not just a call to do something, but it is a call to follow a Person.
It’s all about who you follow. “Stuart Briscoe tells a true story of a young preacher was officiating at the funeral of WWII veteran. The dead man’s military friends wanted to have a part in the service at the funeral home, so they requested the pastor to lead them down to the casket, stand with them for a solemn moment of remembrance, and then lead them out through the side door. This he proceeded to do, but unfortunately the effect was somewhat marred when he picked wrong door. The result was they marched with military precision into a broom closet, in full view of the rest of the mourners, and had to make a hasty retreat covered with confusion.” It is all about who you follow.
e. The call includes leaving all. “They forsook all” to follow Jesus. They left their profession. They left their boats. They left a whole lot of fish.
“akoloutheo is always the call to decisive and intimate discipleship…”
i. Jesus forsook all to die so we could be forgiven.
ii. We are called to Leave everything behind that would keep us from following Jesus.
iii. To follow this person, Jesus – means that Christ is the center of our lives. He is the first priority.
APP: What is hindering your following Christ today? You cannot hang on to the world and to Jesus at the same time. There are some things you need to leave behind today to really follow Jesus.
Conclusion: Obey the Master; Worship the Lord; Follow Jesus.
Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go; Anywhere He leads me in this world below; Anywhere without Him dearest joys would fade;
Anywhere with Jesus I am not afraid. Anywhere, anywhere! Fear I cannot know;
Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go. Jessie Brown Pounds
Invitation: Obey the gospel. Worship the Lord. Leave Behind.
A young man, who had formerly attended revival meetings of a certain revival preacher. After a few years, the young man found that the same preacher was preaching in the same area. He went to see the evangelist and said, “Preacher, I have recently become a Christian since I saw you, and have joined the Army of the lord."
"I am very glad to hear it," said the preacher, and added," With what denomination have you become connected?"
The young man replied, "The Baptists."
"Oh, the Baptists," said the preacher. "Why, they are not the army, but the navy of the lord."