Luke 5:1-11 The Calling

Transcription

1 Luke 5:1-11 The Calling P a g e 1 It is so wonderful to be here with you all this morning. We are going to continue our study of the Gospel of Luke this morning, we will be in chapter 5. Let us pray Pray for nation, shooting and elections. Now this scripture coupled with others that deal with the Apostle Peter s calling to ministry have challenged me personally more than any other text. It is a convicting scripture, and if our hearts are all open this morning, it will challenge each and every one of our ministries this morning. You see, each of you have a ministry you are called too. So many concepts have been blurred and marred by the post-modern movement in the church. Things have gotten severely off course and unbiblical in the church at large today. You would be hard pressed to prove to anyone through the Bible, that church is supposed to be a place where we gather and sit each week to hear a man behind the box say a few words of commentary on the bible on Sunday. Then after we sit and listen, we leave and live our lives how we please.

2 P a g e 2 The church was given a mission, a purpose by Jesus Himself Matt 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. We are supposed to be a community of people who collectively fulfill this commission. It is not just for pastors or missionaries or evangelists, we all have a place in this work. Now, before we get into this portion of scripture. I want to speak to you seasoned Christians, especially those of you who revel in the glory days, and what you used to do for the Lord. On Wednesday night, we were challenged in our text by Caleb, the 85 year-old man who even well past his retirement days, was pressing into all that God had for him. He never stopped serving the Lord, and never got off track through the uncertainty of the nation s lost years. Caleb remained focused and steadfast. The Wednesday night crowd was challenged to the idea that there is no biblical retirement age, and we are not to be seeking beach houses and places of rest in this life.

3 Our rest comes in glory, and in this life, we battle to the end. Once our eyes are on our own comfort, or own happiness, our own success, we have lost our true mission in this life. P a g e 3 Too many today rely on the good ol days, I have done my time, it s time for others to step up kind of attitude. So I want to speak to you here, or those of you listening online or by recording to those who used to be wholly committed to the cause of Christ, some of you used to be elders, pastors, some of you led bible studies, some of you taught the children selflessly for years, some served in outreaches and in youth ministry, some of you were dynamic evangelists, and some of you used to be mighty prayer warriors for the cause of Christ. But over time something happened, you lost your way, you got caught up in the worries of life, and the demands and pressures of this life quickly began to dictate your direction and decision making. The things of the Lord slowly and then rapidly became a thing of the past, and now, you look back, and it was so long ago before you engaged in any kind of battle for the Lord. It is to you who have left your first love that this next part of Luke s narrative speaks so loudly too.

4 Please open your heart this morning to all that the Spirit is speaking through God s Word. P a g e 4 And know that even though you have lost your way, the path back is not difficult, and please know that your wasted days and years can be can be redeemed, and the next chapter of your life can be the greatest and most fruitful years of your ministry. So I want to build the context before we move on, let s remember Jesus ministry has been in operation for a year or so already. He has already once called some disciples to follow Him in ministry, and Jesus already asked Peter, his brother Andrew, and also John and James as well, to follow Him. We read about this in Matthew and it can also be found in Mark. Some have lumped this record with the Luke 5 account, but it is easy to spot the differences here. So the first calling into ministry went like this Matt 4:18-22 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

5 P a g e 5 21 Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him. Understand, before we get into Luke s account, that these men have already been called once by Jesus, and perhaps they started out enthusiastically, and with great energy. Jesus was doing amazing miracles, and preaching with power and great authority. His popularity was growing, and the synagogues were full to see Him and hear Him. But something happened over time in Peter, it only took him a year or so to realize the boat and fishing nets that they left behind were their source of provision. I mean really, how long could this new life they have chosen, sustain them? How would Peter s wife eat, how would he provide for his family. Maybe after a year, fear and worry about the unknown began to overwhelm his heart. Peter had no idea that Jesus had picked him too one day to be a mighty leader in this new life.

6 All Peter had before him were the facts of life, and following a Man around Galilee, watching Him teach and heal people would not satisfy the bill collectors. P a g e 6 And as we will see in the next scene, Peter is a leader, because those who followed his example to go with Jesus, namely his brother Andrew, John and James will be found back in their fishing gear as well. Peter drifted away in his doubt, and other people s faith will be affected as well. But Jesus is so gracious, and so patient, He will not let Peter the Rock fall away so easily. And you must ask yourself this morning, what has robbed you of your zeal and passion in serving the Lord, and as you assess your walk, you too may be able to conclude that worry and stress from the demands of this life, have caused you to head back to your fishing boats as well. My father sent me this quote a while back THINK OF WORRY AS A NIGHT STALKER He jimmies the latch and prowls into your mind. He s wearing two gloves with which he strangles his victims. On the back of one glove is written the word what. On the back of the other hand appears the word if. What If becomes the criminal s deadly chokehold. "What if we can't make the payment? "What if the traffic is bad?

7 "What if the baby throws up? What if the weather doesn t cooperate? "What if the computer goes down?" P a g e 7 "What if, what if, what if" - our lives become strangled by "what ifs! Have the what ifs of this life taken you captive, have you let them blind you to all that really matters? Well as we will see this morning, Peter did So let us read the first 3 verses of chapter 5 to set the stage here. Four Fishermen Called as Disciples (Matt 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20) 5:1 So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, 2 and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. 3 Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. We see here Jesus ministry is very popular in Galilee. Luke calls the Sea of Galilee the Lake of Gennesaret which would be more familiar with his Gentile audience.

8 The same body of water is also called the Sea of Tiberias by the Apostle John. And there on the shores of Gennesaret Jesus is recorded here as sharing the Word of God. P a g e 8 Luke is equating Jesus teaching ministry as to that of God s direct Word to mankind. The crowds thronged to hear Him teach. Yet we see in the midst of this somewhat chaotic scene, Jesus finds an unorthodox teaching platform. We see there are some fishermen, perhaps bothered by the crowds, they were working, and cleaning their nets after a night of fishing, and as we will see soon, they did not do much catching. These working men, cleaning and maintaining their equipment, finished a long night of work. The Sea of Galilee was about 150 feet deep, and during the day, the fish would escape the sunlight, and head for deeper waters. It was at night the fishing would usually be frugal and worthwhile. The nets were often bell shaped with lead weights on the edges. Life Application They needed to be well maintained to be effective. The boats were only about feet long, and would sustain a crew of four anglers.

9 P a g e 9 Jesus spotted two of these boats, retired for the day, and because the crowds pressed in to hear Jesus, Jesus stepped into Simon Peter s boat. He then asks the weary fisherman to push him out a little from the land. The water behind Jesus would provide for perfect acoustics, and some suggest Jesus would not have to shout, and would not have to talk any louder than normal conversation, and God s Word would naturally and easily be carried to each and every ear there that morning. Jesus takes His normal teaching position seated and from the very unconventional platform, Jesus teaches. Now this account does not focus on Jesus teaching, there is something else happening here that is of more importance. Jesus is working on Peter s distracted heart. You can picture Peter, working here, gladly handing over the boat to Jesus, to get these people away from him, so he can focus on preparing his nets. He is frustrated, and thinking of where he will go the next night, perhaps thinking of other areas to fish that have been prosperous before. He does not have time to be bothered by these crowds, he has his mortgage payment, perhaps his daughter s braces needed some work.

10 P a g e 10 His wife has been bothering him about getting some new clothes, and she was complaining that she needs to go grocery shopping. His mother-in-law just gave him a speech on how he needs to be thinking of sending his boy to the best schools, so he is not stuck fishing this lake like his father. Now, of course, this is not happening, but you can see Peter, like any man, just lost in his work, thinking of the pressures of his day. And maybe kind of bothered, shoves Jesus away in the boat a distance from his nets. And the two separate, Jesus continued teaching, and Peter kept working. We read now 4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." 5 But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net." Jesus finished addressing the crowd, and he sees Peter still burdened down with the cares of this world. You all have been there, sometimes Jess will be trying to talk to me, and I have the thousand mile stare, my

11 P a g e 11 mind is another world, as I just think of the what if s in life. And she will clap her hands, and snap me out of it. I picture Peter here staring off into oblivion, worried about the what if s. What if the fish don t come tomorrow night, how many more nights of no fish can I get by with, what if it is like this all week? What if this Jesus I chose to follow is not all He says He is? What if I follow Him, and my family suffers. What if I cannot provide for them? What if sickness strikes again in my home and I am out traveling with Jesus? And Peter staring off, just worried about his potential failure. He hears his Teacher s voice, Simon, Launch out into the deep and let your nets down for a catch. This is so touching to me personally. I cannot tell you how many times Jesus has found me this way, just sitting there biting my nails, what ifing myself to death. Can ministry really sustain my family, should I get another job, should I start some kind of side business, four kids, how is this possible.

12 3 girls, that s 3 weddings, Oh how am I going to provide for this family? I know you all you can relate. P a g e 12 We all have so many worries and what ifs, sometimes we just worry ourselves into great places of darkness. You young people, maybe get a coldness come over you, as you dare to look into your future, Will I ever find a job that can get me out of my parents house? Will I ever find a man to marry, will I be a good mother, will I graduate with a degree? Maybe you are older, and worried, Did I put enough aside to retire? I should have saved more and spent less. I love the picture of Jesus here in verse 4, Jesus knows Peter s inner turmoil. He sees his chosen leader there paralyzed by the failure and unknown. And He tells Peter, you are worried about to much Peter, let Me show you, you are not the provider of your family, Jesus is going to show Him, that God is Peter s true Provider. But Simon Peter, is so focused on the weight of his circumstances, he protests the Carpenter from Nazareth with a fisherman s protest.

13 P a g e 13 He addresses Jesus as Master, but insists, I am a professional Jesus, I have been raised on this Lake, with these nets, I know when and how the fish can be found. Jesus, I am tired, I have fished all night, I have labored at the time the fish would be caught. But nevertheless Master, the Word here means Commander or Captain. Peter, the usual captain of this boat, appropriates his authority over this vessel to Jesus. And he tells Jesus, At Your Word I will let down the net. Let me ask you something this morning, are you the captain of your own life? Are you still trying to run your boat according to your own knowledge, are you leading your life the way you want to, are you making plans solely on the basis of how they will benefit you. Are you trusting in your own professional knowledge and are you too proud, to simply hand your life over to the Carpenter from Nazareth, to let Him be Captain of your life. Please understand your knowledge is so limited compared to that of the Carpenter s.

14 P a g e 14 I don t even know if we can say Peter was all in here, it seems more like he is just trying to prove a point to Jesus, that he knows the waters better than Jesus. Now what happens next is so touching, because Jesus knows this man, and all his heart s turmoil, He will so lovingly and so graciously show Peter, that when he hands his life over to Christ fully, that Jesus will more than take care of his life. Look what happens when Peter obeys 6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. 7 So 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. Listen, these fishermen went back to the boats and nets they had already committed to leaving. And they found turmoil and empty nets, they took nothing from their efforts, their nets only full of the slimy undergrowth of the Lake, and maybe some floating debris, but no fish. Jesus had already called these men to follow Him, but now it seems they thought they had made that decision hastily. And they forsook the ministry that they were called too.

15 P a g e 15 And now, in their complete and utter failure, Jesus while they are weak and undone, shows them that their first choice, their first love, was not an emotional, irrational response, and Jesus will care for them. Here the net is so full that it was breaking, Peter s Crew had to call over John and James boat to assist. And those foolish fishermen are shown here that Jesus is Lord over all, even what they consider their profession. Understand this, you are not the provider of your home, you may have skills, you may have years of education, you may have much success, but it is Jesus who is Lord over it all. And I have seen too many self-proclaimed Christians try to attribute their achievements to themselves, and I have seen those same people humbled in a moment, to be reminded where all good things flow from. Please, this morning, if you have the mindset that work is your part, you do not mind giving Jesus Sunday morning, but the rest of the week you are performing your duty, please consider this text this morning. Let Jesus commandeer your whole life, and then watch Him bless you abundantly. This picture here is so sweet, it is a picture of our lives when Christ touches us isn t it?

16 P a g e 16 When we can finally in faith hand over our vessels to our Lord Jesus, and give Him control of our lives, the blessings come in so fully and plentifully, that our Christian duty and response is to share and pour out on others the overflow. When you, in faith, come to the place where Jesus is Lord of every aspect of your life, you cannot help but touch others. Your blessings will be poured out into people s lives around you. Of course, when you are in control, you are your main focus, and your own wellbeing is all you consider, and you keep yours, yours, and those around are not touched by any kind overflow. Hand over your boats and your nets to Jesus, and He will make your life and your work so mighty, you cannot help but affect those around. Many of you have forgotten, when you did not think twice about coming to a Midweek to serve Jesus and His church, when your life was consumed with the things of Christ first. Remember when you first forsook your life and followed Jesus, no sacrifice was to great, and the joy in your life was at its peak. Perhaps you did not have the intension to lose this focus, it happed slowly, and at first, your intensions seemed pure.

17 P a g e 17 Understand the way back, the way to be restored, is to come to God honestly about yourself, look at Peter s response here 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" What is going on here, why is Peter not celebrating, why is he not rejoicing in the provision for his family, why is he not hugging Jesus for meeting his needs here? Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord! Understand what is going on inside of this man Peter Jesus you called me some time ago to follow you, and I left those nets already once! And here I am back at my business of fishing, oh just give up on me Jesus! I am not the leader you see in me Lord! I have failed you Jesus! How could You ever trust a person like me Jesus in the ministry?! Jesus you saw over a year ago, and that day You looked me in the eyes and called me from these nets, and as soon as we came near them again, I ran to them. I am a sinful man Jesus, depart from me!

18 I don t know about you, but I have had this same conversation with Jesus time and time and again. It is such an ugly place to look within truthfully, and see yourself for who you really are. P a g e 18 But understand, there will be no lasting fruit in your life, without this posture and understanding that Peter has here. At Jesus feet unworthy, having nothing in ourselves to offer, having all pride crushed, all self-worth dealt with, well that is a heart Jesus can use for His Glory. This is consistent with scripture, and the church has lost this idea today. The church promotes professionalism, and human achievement, and models itself after the corporate world, and looks to the success of man for its hope. Remember the mighty prophet Isaiah when he got a glimpse at who His God is, he said Isa 6:5 "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts." Isaiah seeing only a vision of our God, came to this conclusion, but Peter seeing God in the flesh, he is undone!

19 And this is the correct posture before the Almighty. P a g e 19 We don t come to Jesus with what we can offer Him. What can we possibly offer the Creator of the heavens and the earth? We come to Him empty and let Him fill us with His Spirit, and let Him work through us, to His glory. And Jesus seeing Peter here, the Rock, broken, and now He sees a heart He can use. Look at the gracious words of Jesus, and this morning, hear what the Spirit is saying to us church! 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men." 11 So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him. That little group of fishermen in the little fishing town in Galilee witnessed the Supreme authority Jesus has over every realm. Even in their very familiar jobs and nature itself, Jesus was Lord. And Jesus was in this world to do a work, and these men would be an important part of this work of catching men, literally Jesus says here they will catch men alive.

20 P a g e 20 In their profession, they caught fish, that would die and become food, and Jesus uses what they know, and gives them a huge contrast, the men they catch, it will be unto life. These men here would serve Jesus through the tumultuous and uncertain ups and downs of this world. They will be hated, and they will continuously be opposed, and they will face storms and calamities, and all of it will do nothing to stop the impact of their mission of saving men alive. Even today, we have been impacted by these disciple s ministry, by the lesson they learned that day fishing. They would always be able to look back on this fishing trip, and they would know Jesus was Master of all realms. They could look back at these full nets; this catch would have been an overwhelming provision for their families. And perhaps, it was used to sustain their families for while. But the narrative does not focus on the provision, it was only a by-product of the prime lesson. These men were called into ministry, and if they forsake what they know, they will be used to turn this world upside down.

21 P a g e 21 And this morning, the lesson for us, is this, Christ calls men and women into His service, He desires to set our lives apart for His glory. He has given each of us gifts and abilities to use for His Work of catching men alive. You see, today s environment is conditioning even the church to focus on themselves. This is a tactic of Satan, to get you to look inward, to focus on yourself, to better self. And it is any wonder depression and despair have overcome so many in the church. When we live our lives for self, when we focus on ourselves we get depressed. But it is not too difficult to look around in the church, and the most joyful, the most peace filled, the most content are those who are focused on catching men alive, and are busy in the service of their Commander. When I hear a person say, I just need to step back, I need a moment to focus on myself or my family, I need time to live for me, it is only a matter of time, and they are sucked away into the miseries of this life. We must stay engaged, we must keep fighting, we must never look at those nets, and be drawn to them again. Verse 11 is the key, they forsook all and followed Jesus.

22 P a g e 22 Now maybe you are here this morning, and you look back at your life, and you can see you have learned this lesson that Peter did here time and time and again. And you look back, and you see a life of ups and downs, and halfhearted commitments. Now as touching of a day this is here on the Sea of Galilee for Peter. I want you to understand something, the mighty Peter had to learn this very lesson again. Peter, once again looked back at these nets and went back to the familiar. Before he became the mighty preacher we see in Acts on the day of Pentecost, when he finally began to save men alive. Realize Peter after Jesus death, after Peter failed to stand with Jesus, and denied Jesus 3 times, Peter again went back to fishing, and he once again led a bunch of disciples to go back to their lives. And there on the banks of the same Lake, Jesus one more time reminded Peter of his calling to lead. The account is found in John 21, in fact the very first teaching I ever taught in this church was from that account. But Peter was frustrated and once again consumed with the worries of this life, he goes back to work.

23 P a g e 23 I understand Peter, I am Peter so often, and my wife will attest to this, when life overwhelms me, and things are just happening out of my control, I like to get lost in work, I like to find anything to keep me busy, I like to escape into work, into something I can control. And in John 21 Peter goes back to fishing, and we read John 21:3 and that night they caught nothing. Now I know we call Peter a fisherman, but we never see him being very successful at it. Peter escapes to his work, he runs from his calling, he decides to do his life the way he wants, he perhaps feels 3 years of his life were wasted, and what was the purpose of it all if Jesus was going to leave them. And Jesus once again allows Peter to fail, understand you cannot run from Jesus, when He has put a calling on your life, understand Jesus won t let you be successful in the world. How many of you like me, just never fit in the world, no matter how hard I tried to fit in, no matter how hard I worked to gain in this world, I always came up short, I failed at everything, until the day I surrendered to God s Grace, and when I surrendered to Jesus, only by His power did my life engage. Well there in John 21, Peter gets his last lesson from Jesus. Once again, Peter frustrated at his failure, Jesus shouts a familiar test to Peter John 21:6

24 P a g e 24 "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. And it clicked for Peter, Peter was nothing in himself, that day Peter stopped running from his calling, and it says he jumped into the water, left his comrades in the boat to bring in the huge hall of fish, 153 to be exact. You can tell a fisherman is telling the story in John. And on the banks of the Lake, where Peter has already been called twice before, Jesus restores him once again in a touching dialogue. Jesus gave Peter his ministry back, fully restored, and even told him he would eventually die for Jesus, as he once boasted he would do. Prov. 24:16 For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity. Now, I don t relate to being a fisher of men, that was Peter s calling, I have never been good at fishing. Actually let me say that correctly, I am good at fishing, just not catching, and I really don t find too much excitement or relaxation fishing. But as Jesus called a fishermen, to live out his trade in the ministry. So too, God has been preparing each and every one of you for the ministry He has before you.

25 P a g e 25 I was a carpenter, a framer, a builder, and I never understood why, and after I knew God had called me in the ministry, I wondered often why did He keep me on the jobsite for all those years? Well, I can look back now at a decade of ministry, and see in every station I have been placed, I have been a builder. Jesus even brought me to Victorville, the church here needing some restoration and restructuring both physically and spiritually, and He all those years on the jobsite was instilling in me the things necessary for the ministry He had before me. And many of you, if you honestly look back at your life, and ask our God in heaven to reveal, who you are in Him, and what purpose He has prepared you for, you will see all along the ministry He has for you, you are being prepared for it, through all the trials and circumstances in your life. Maybe you are in the medical field, and you know that medicine is only temporary fix for an even greater problem. And maybe He has called within that calling to be a mender of souls as well, to use your gifts and time with people to share hope when they are at a place where hope is hard to see.

26 P a g e 26 I even look at Pastor Joe, who has been a teacher, a youth worker, a leader for most of his career, and now his calling is to lead and teach the youth for Jesus. He is amazing at using illustrations that really grab the youth s attention, and helps them understand biblical concepts. But he was being prepared for all those years for his ministry. Pastor Josh since he was very young was gifted in music, and he is very modest, but he is very talented, and all along God was raising him up to minister in music. And all of you have a unique calling, and your Christian title is primary title in your life. You see you are not landscaper that is a Christian, but you are a Christian landscaper. You are not an electrician that goes to church on Sunday, first you are Christian first then whatever other title this world puts on you. And church it is time, for the people of God to awake to their first calling, to move beyond the pew sitting, and only listening. We need to be doers of this Word, and maybe this morning, you are challenged to return to your first love.

27 P a g e 27 Maybe like Peter, you have gotten caught up in the familiar, you have gone back to what is safe, what you know, what is comfortable and easy. You have ran from your true destiny and purpose, you have sought to find a retirement and rest in this life. You know, I must admit, I have been Peter all too many times, and I have tried to duck my responsibility, and I have sought to go back to the life I know. And every time, I am humiliated, and I find failure. Jess and I often say after these difficult lessons, Jesus where else are we to go, You alone have the Words to life. He is the only truth, His purpose is all that matters. Some of you have forsaking your calling for the familiar and easy and your life is in disarray because of it. This morning, consider this text, consider your life, and ask God to show you His will for your life. It will entail a cross to bear, and it will require sacrifice, but you know all too well the misery of living this life for your own comfort. This morning, stop trying to come up in this life only to come short, you can began today to set your course and life on the right path, in God s Will. And like Peter, your greatest days of ministry can be before you.

28 P a g e 28 You think in Peter s frustration during his night of fishing and having empty nets, that he even considered Pentecost was just around the corner? Jesus would have Peter preach a message full of the Holy Spirit and 3000 people would come to the Lord. You have no idea what your surrendering your will to Jesus will produce, once you, a wicked sinner, see yourself for what you are, and let Christ lead your life. Your Pentecost, your greatest moments can be right around the corner. This morning, the Elders and Pastors will be up here, and they desire to pray with you, whatever your prayer needs are this morning. But church it is time for us to take our place, all of us collectively, in this work, and may our nets fill to overflowing, may we watch Jesus do the impossible as we all surrender our lives and wills over to Him. Now the what ifs paralyze us usually in this life. But I want to present a what if that will mobilize us, one that would fill our nets to overflowing. What if we all this morning, handed over our boats fully to Jesus, surrendered our wills, our lives, all we had, and we gave the command over to Jesus. What if, this morning, we all within ourselves let Jesus be Lord, for some of us it might be the first time, and some of us, this might be the 3 rd or 4 th or 5 th time you

29 P a g e 29 have set out with a reckless abandonment to serve the Lord with your life. Come to Jesus, broken, knowing we are all sinful men and women, and in humility, allow Jesus to use us to catch men alive. Some of you are missionaries, some of you are pastors, some of you are children s ministry teachers, some of you are Barnabus and supporters of the ministry. Some of you Jesus is asking for better discipleship in your home with your children. Some of you are called to lead outreaches and visit convalescent homes and help the orphans. And you know, some of you here this morning are called to be leaders in the church, you are called to teach a Bible Study, to evangelize, you are called to lead worship, you are called to teach children, you are called to share Jesus with your co-workers, you are called to serve Jesus in some way. Please this morning consider this great what if, what if we all surrendered to Jesus plan and purpose. In our devotion this morning, if you are reading the daily manna, Paul encouraged Titus with some final instructions, that speak to us today Titus 3:8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have

30 believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men. And again in P a g e 30 Titus 3:14 And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful. We must maintain this life of service, please no more relying the good ol days, these days ahead can be your greatest days for ministry! This is our instruction this morning Amen?