Ready to Roll?

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.

Review: What qualities or characteristics were exemplified by the disciple in Luke 5:1-9 We considered that a couple of weeks ago?

The characteristics were summarily: Faith-filled obedience and humble admission of guilt. Simon displayed a meek and contrite heart.

What had been Simon’s response to Jesus? There were two statements that Simon made. “Master, we have been fishing all night, but at your word, we will let down our nets.”

Further on, we see Simon’s reaction to the miracle. Which I believe was Peter coming to the realization that Jesus is God, or at least a messenger of God. He says, “Depart from me for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

Jesus replies,

Luke 5:9–10 ESV

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.”

Stop being afraid, From NOW ON- Transition, a new path

Transition to Catching Men

The Greek word here, signifies something different than trapping (the word used of the result of casting their nets earlier in Luke 5. The Greek word here, signifies the idea of capturing or catching alive, brought into control for a particular purpose

It was Christ’s acceptance and love bestowed on Simon, a sinful man by his own confession, that made following Jesus a possibility and it was a desirable possibility as a result of his grace and love.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that when the love and grace of God is revealed to someone, it is irresistible. It is just that good.

It is just that overwhelming of the soul, that when one’s eyes are opened to see the goodness of God who offers His grace, love and forgiveness, despite our sinfulness and depravity, one can not pass up such an offer.

What a blessing and what freedom it is to know that there is nothing that we can do to earn more of God’s love, and there is nothing we have done to cause Him to love us less.

I believe Simon and the Sons of Zebedee, were beginning to see the glory of the Gospel and that is why they respond to Jesus the way that they do. He basically asks them the following question.

Are you ready to roll?

Jesus essentially tells the disciples, let’s go, we’re moving on from what you’ve known to something new. You are no longer fishing for fish, you are now going to be catching people, for the Kingdom of God. Let’s roll.

Here in Luke, we don’t read the words “Follow Me.” as we do in the other Gospel accounts of Jesus’ call to His disciples, but we understand that those words were part of the conversation, yet, Luke chose not to include them in His account.

Jesus says follow me, but He didn’t give them a long list of things to bring.

I wonder exactly how this all played out. The body language, the gestures, the exact movements that took place. Did Jesus hesitate before beginning to walk, after making the statement, “from now on you will be catching men.” Was He taking to them as He began walking. Did they have any time to think about it? This in some way, no matter the specific way that it played out, was a faith-crisis, for these men.

Do you believe that Jesus is Lord? Do you have faith that is exemplified with a willingness to obey?

Certain circumstances cause us to come to a crossroads, when our faith is tested. Some describe these times as a “crisis of faith.”

For me, it was tested a number of ways, and continues to be tested.

It was tested through a call to obey my parents, to love my siblings, to submit to human authority (School teachers, Sunday school teachers, youth group leaders, traffic laws) and God’s authority (admission of my guilt/sin, confession of Jesus as Savior and Lord)

Luke 5:11 ESV

11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

This is a process, a crisis of faith, wherein God calls us, draws us, prepares us, enlightens us, brings us to life. We read all throughout Scripture of men and women who were saved by God’s grace, but rarely, if ever are we given very specific information about exactly when they came to be justified, when they came to saving faith.

Even Paul’s conversion, though dramatic, traumatic and miraculous, we don’t know exactly at what point in time, he came to belief in Christ as His Savior. But we are able to identify certain qualities or characteristics or identifying things in the life of the disciples, who become Apostles (messengers, representatives for Christ).

They acted in faith-filled obedience, they recognized their own depravity and failure in living up to God’s righteous standard, and now in verse 11 we see that they left everything and followed Him.

Left Everything/Forsaking All-

Forsaking all is a crisis of faith. Leaving the known to step into the unknown. Like the Israelites, stepped into the River Jordan, like David, who picked up the stones to defeat Goliath, like Gideon, and Daniel and Simon and Andrew and James and John. They forsook what they had, which was in actuality nothing in comparison to what they would gain by following Him.

It is an incredibly gracious gift, that we are able to hear the call of God and to walk in faith, following after Him, by His grace and His strength.

Luke 5:28 ESV

28 And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.

Not everyone who heard Christ’s teaching were convinced that following Him was worth it. To our human nature, it doesn’t always make sense to leave our things behind, to let go of the things we desire to follow after Him.

Luke 9:57–62 ESV

57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

But that is the cost of being a disciple of Christ.

Luke 14:26 ESV

26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

Luke 14:33 ESV

33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

Luke 18:22 ESV

22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

Luke 18:28 ESV

28 And Peter said, “See, we have left our homes and followed you.”

Luke 21:4 ESV

4 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

Acts 2:45 ESV

45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.

God may or may not ask you to sell all you have and follow him. But don’t assume that me making the proceeding statement, lets you off the hook. God alone knows your heart. If you are a child of God He is the one calling you to obedience in specific ways. I am simply a mouthpiece of His truth, proclaiming His Word. And His Spirit will not allow it to return void. His Spirit may be working in you in ways that I will never know. But our response, no matter what the call is, ought to be that we are willing to do as He asks, even if it means dropping everything and following Him.

Ready to Roll?

What is it that God is asking of you today?

Where is He leading you?

Are you prepared to travel lightly, leaving all behind to follow Him?

Is He calling you to minister to someone in a particular way?

Is He prompting you, by His Spirit, to reach out to encourage someone, or to set aside a hobby, or sell something so that you can be free to give to someone in need?

He is asking you to take inventory of your priorities?

Have you considered the things that may be idols in your life, that are keeping you from walking with Jesus, as He longs for you to be walking with Him?

Are you ready to roll, at a moment’s notice?

Are you traveling light, or are you bogged down with baggage?

They followed Him, will you follow Him too?

Will you respond to His call?

Will you say: I’m setting my things down.

I’m setting my will aside, my wishes from now on will be His wishes.

My belongings are from Him and will be used for Him and that includes my time, my energy, my house, my relationships, my money.

All of those things, are no longer the priority of my life. The priority of my life is to follow Him.

I am going to walk with Jesus, my focus, my desire, my passion will be to do His will, His Way, in His timing.

If you do these things, I promise you, that you will not be disappointed. You will not be left wanting. He offers us an all inclusive package deal, with blessings beyond our wildest dreams, if only we will put nothing before us but Him and follow Him, wherever He leads.

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