February 11, 2007 Luke 5:1-11

¹ One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, ² he saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 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. ⁴ When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch." ⁵ Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."

⁶ When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. ⁷ So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. ⁸ When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" ⁹ For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, ¹⁰ and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." ¹¹ So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. (NIV)

I remember when I was in high school, and I was contemplating going into the ministry. They had what you call a AFocus on the Ministry@ program at Northwestern College, where prospective students would spend a few days on the school campus to see what it is like. This would have been fine, but I Agot stuck@ with a real Adoozie@ for a roommate. At first, this guy looked normal. But then he started talking. The first thing he started telling me about was the drug trips he had been on. Then he continued by telling me about how he talked to God on these drug trips, which was one of the reasons that he was looking in the ministry. So I=m thinking to myself, Aok, what=s next?@ The final straw was broken when he pulled out a curling iron and started curling his hair, telling me how the girls like his curls. I didn=t get a lot of sleep that night.

Don=t all of us approach people in the same way? We first of all consider their physical appearance, and make our initial judgments from that. If that meets our approval, we then start talking with that person. And then, after a conversation or two, our doubts about that person are either reinforced or wiped away.

It appears that the disciples approached Jesus in the same way. They didn=t just leave their jobs and jump into being his disciples head first. They had already met Jesus, and listened to him - yet they weren=t full fledged disciples yet. First, Jesus stuck their little toes in the water, and slowly inched their way in. Jesus had to overcome the doubts that they may have had. Today we want to see how Jesus earned their confidence and erased the doubts in their mind that He was the Christ. When we do that, we=ll see how Jesus uses the same approach with us.

Jesus Overcomes the Deepest Doubts in Our Minds

I. When we listen to Him

Peter, James, and John were fishermen. They weren=t kings. They weren=t sports heros. They were just your run of the mill hard working men. When Jesus approached them in today=s Gospel, they had just gotten done with another hard day at work. This day was rather depressing, because they hadn=t caught a thing. Just imagine sitting out in a boat for about 12 hours - throwing your net here, throwing it there, and ending up with absolutely nothing - not a thing! Occasionally all of us have those kinds of days, where nothing seems to get done. You wanted to get the bathroom cleaned, but your child was sick. You were going to organize your closets, but your brother called and you ended up talking on the phone instead. Those are the kind of days that can be frustrating in some ways. That was the kind of day the disciples were having.

After a long day of catching nothing, the disciples were probably happy to be wrapping things up. But then what happened? Before they could finish cleaning up, Jesus came along. Some of us may have said, AJesus, could you come back a little later. I=d like to finish this up first.@ But the disciples didn=t. They wanted to listen to Him more, so that He could either erase or substantiate their doubts as to whether Jesus was the Messiah. So they put aside their nets and sat and listened to Jesus teach the people.

Without knowing it, the disciples were giving us a good example. Every day we can be so wrapped up with our day=s work. I=ve got to get the house cleaned. I=ve got to get my homework done. More often than not, something happens that make us fall behind. So we feel that we have to do MORE work. Pretty soon, you=re in the trap. God=s Word falls in the background, and we try to solve all of our problems on our own and work out of the hole we have gotten ourselves into. When you consume yourself with your work or your bills or your responsibilities, you will find yourself not even thinking about God=s Word - but only about what you have to do next. Chances are - you will also start to doubt whether things will ever get better or change.

Work can always wait. Instead of heading right out to work, take time out to read a chapter of the Bible in the morning. Perhaps at least you could pop the Bible in the cassette player of your car. Before you get into cleaning up the dishes after supper, take time out to have a devotion with your family at night. Listen to the Word. The only way the Holy Spirit can erase your doubts is if you listen to the Word. We all know God=s promise in Romans 10:17, that Afaith comes from hearing the message.@ But why is it that we don=t live it? Is it that we don=t trust what it really says. God promises that the Word will give you new hope and faith in God=s promises. Just listen to it.

II. When we obey Him

I once knew a member who was an avid fisherman. He knew where to go fishing. He knew what kind of bait to use. He knew when the best time is to go fishing. Every week he told me about his fishing. I, on the other hand, am not a fisherman. Every year some pastors get together to go fishing up on the northern border of Nebraska, but I don=t go. My excuse not to go is, AI=m afraid of fish.@ The last thing I could do would be to give someone advice in how to fish. I could only imagine the reaction of this member if I had gone out to his fishing hole one day, and began telling him how to fish. I would be out of place in doing so.

This is what Peter may have been thinking, when Jesus told him where to go. Peter was an accomplished fisherman. He knew the ins and outs of fishing. Any experienced fisherman knew that the best fishing was in shallow water, during dusk or night time. It wasn=t in the middle of the day and in the deep part of the lake. Peter was probably thinking to himself, AJesus, you don=t know much about fishing. Granted, you are an excellent preacher. But you don=t understand the concepts of fishing. Nonetheless, if you want me to go out in the middle of the lake and drop these nets, I=ll do it.@ In a sense, it would appear that Peter was humoring Jesus. Even though this didn=t make sense, he would do so anyway, out of respect to his master.

And what happened? When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. ⁷ So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. Even James and John were amazed at the amount of fish that were in the nets. Never before in all of their fishing years had they ever seen anything like this happen. If there was any doubt as to whether Jesus was the Messiah - they were completely wiped out at this point. Jesus not only knew where the fish were - but he even seemed to direct them to go into the net. No longer did Peter refer to Jesus as Amaster.@ Now he called Jesus ALord.@ Jesus overcame His doubts not only through the Word, but also with a miraculous catch of fish.

It is unfortunate that so many people are not taking that Aleap of faith@ that Peter took, so God can build their faith also. For instance, when a marriage isn=t working out, married couples will reason to themselves, Ait=s never going to work or get better,@ so they leave. It doesn=t make sense to them that God wants them to stick it out, even though they are miserable. When the worker begins falling behind in his work, he reasons to himself, Aif I went to church, I wouldn=t have time to get my books done. I wouldn=t have time to clean my house. I wouldn=t have time to feed the cows. So I won=t go to church.@ It doesn=t make sense to take time out of their schedule to worship the Lord. When a Christian runs into trouble he reasons to himself, Awhy should I pray? God knows what I need. What good will it do for me to pray for it?@ They don=t understand how God works. And if they don=t understand it, they won=t do it.

If Peter had not thrown down those nets, what would have happened? He never would have had his faith strengthened. He never would have caught those fish. And worst of all, He would have been disobeying His God. A part of faith is doing the inconceivable. When you refuse to do what He asks you to do, you are robbing yourself of the blessings that God wants to give you. That untrusting attitude irritates the Lord. It=s kind of like when you tell your child to wash his hands before supper, and he immediately asks, Awhy?@ It=s irritating when you are questioned for every decision you make. But we do that with God every day. He tells us to take time out to listen to him. But we don=t. He tells us to give our firstfruits to Him. But we wonder if we will have enough for ourselves. He tells us to pray. But we doubt whether it will do any good. What is left for God to do, but to punish us for our doubts?

But look at what Jesus did with Peter! Instead of punishing his doubt and yelling at him for questioning His judgment, as you would expect, Jesus blessed him. In spite of his doubt, as Peter cast the nets He gave Him a miracle catch of fish anyway. Why did Jesus do this? Why didn=t Jesus punish Peter? Isaiah said that the Messiah would be different from that. Isaiah 42:3 says, A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. Jesus knew that Peter=s faith need to be fanned into flame. In grace and mercy and forgiveness Jesus recognized that at this point it needed fed - not snuffed out.

So He tells us to do things that don=t make sense. It may not make sense to stay in a marriage that you are miserable in. But God knows what good can come from it. Instead of running away from your problems, He can teach you the true meaning of patience and love. Instead of getting caught up in the rat race of life, taking time out from God=s Word can show you that there=s more to life that making money and gaining possessions. Do those things He tells you to do, even if it doesn=t make sense and even if you don=t want to. It=s at that point - when you are ready to give up and you have been completely resigned to defeat - that God will sometimes provide a miraculous of His own for you. An unexpected raise, a healthy year, or a raise in the stock market suddenly provide you with what you were lacking and feared would never come in - without any effort of your own. The child that you were sure would never Aget it,@ suddenly gives you a hug of appreciation out of the blue. These little and great successes out of nowhere help us to remember who is really in charge. But they often come after many failures and much hard work. God will build your faith more and more as you trust in His promises through these trials - after you have all but given up.

III. When we remember who we are

Look at the result this miracle had on Peter. He said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" ⁹ For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, ¹⁰ and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners. Jesus made Peter realize that he was standing in the presence of the Lord God Almighty, and it filled him with a sense of humility. He didn=t even feel worthy to stand in the Lord=s presence. So he said, Aaway from me.@ This is exactly what Jesus wants to do with all of us. He wants us to realize who we are - sick and sinful human beings - to put us on our knees in front of His majesty.

When God gives us His Word, and we see the power and might of Jesus in our own lives, doesn=t it fill us with a similar sense of humility that Peter had? After all of our worries and doubts and temptations to give up - year after year, God provides us with enough to get by. Year after year, God provides us with healthy minds and bodies. Do you ever just look at your family, house, and possessions, and think to yourself, AI don=t deserve this@? It brings us to our knees, when we see God fulfill his promises to us. It makes us how merciful and powerful He really is - to still provide for us who are so doubtful - and it fills us with a heavenly awe at the work of the Lord.

But that isn=t where God wants it to end - He wants His glory to shine on with witnesses. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." After Jesus emptied Peter=s heart of any pride, he then filled it with a new and fresh confidence. He said, Adon=t be afraid.@ Don=t be afraid of God=s wrath. Don=t be afraid of My holiness. Why? Because Jesus had come in the flesh to die for Him. In spite of his sinfulness, Jesus still had plans for him - plans for him to leave the shores of Gennesaret and go fishing for bigger and better things on the borders of Jerusalem, Rome, and beyond. They may not have had much talent, but they had Jesus= commission, and that=s all they needed. So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

It was about ten years ago that the Green Bay Packers traded a 1st round draft choice for a guy named Brett Favre. I didn=t even know how to pronounce his name. I thought, Awhat on earth are they doing?@ Now that he almost holds all of the quarterback records in the NFL, I know. All of the doubters were sent packing after he won the Super Bowl and a third MVP. He had the talent to do what he was hired to do.

There may be times in your life that you run into doubts. AWhy am I sticking with this marriage? Why did we ever have kids? I don=t think we ever should have moved! How are we ever going to pay this house off if we keep giving our first ten percent to church! I don=t think my kids are ever going to get anything out of going to church. Why do we even bother?@

Jesus comes to us in our time of doubt - and tells us to do things that seem would do no good. APray for me to help you - even though you=ve never seen me. Keep reading the Word and coming to church and taking the Lord=s Supper. Trust that I am in charge of all things. Believe that I work all things out for good. Keep doing what I tell you - be faithful in your calling - even if it isn=t fun or seems like a dead end road.@ Somehow, in some way - Jesus will work a miracle out of it. He may provide you with a miraculous catch that you needed to survive. Maybe He=ll give you a heart attack and force you to slow down. Or maybe He=ll just give you some patience you never thought you had. Somehow, in some way - Jesus will work a miracle out of it all. That end result will make you embarrassed you ever doubted - and make you want to witness to other people about what a glorious and patient God He really is. The Holy Spirit will give you the confidence and overcome your doubts - as He shows you what a patient, merciful, and almighty Savior Jesus really is. Amen.