Christ #7 Fishing too Near the Shore Luke 5:1-11 When Christ started His campaign of world conquest, it was needful for Him to select His staff officers. There were plenty of students with high foreheads, and intellectual faces, and refined tastes, in Rome and Jerusalem. Christ might have called into His places of leadership twelve bookworms, or twelve orators, or twelve artists. Instead, He took a group of twelve ordinary men who had never made a speech, never taken a lesson in dramatics, and had never been sick enough to look delicate. One was a former Zealot a radical, determined to overthrow Roman rule. Another has been a tax collector virtually a traitor to the Jewish nation and in collusion with Rome. At least four, and possibly seven were fishermen and close friends and family from Capernaum. And yet, with all their faults and character flaws, these remarkably ordinary men carried on a ministry after Jesus ascension that has left an indelible impact on the world. Their ministry continues to influence us even today. He chose these particular men, also, because they were used to hard knocks. The man who cannot stand assaults is not fit for the ministry. This truth is seen in Lucille Lavender s book They Cry Too, as she makes this pertinent observation: Ministers have special characteristics that others don t have Their skin is extra thick and tough, so they can be roaster for dinner with a minimum of discomfort. And this helps them withstand possessive, particular, and peeved people. Under this think skin is a special cushion of insulation that keep them immune to feelings other earth people have, like never getting angry, despondent, disgusted, or discouraged. It also insulates them against needing love, acceptance, praise, encouragement, and raises in salary. In other words, the ministry is no place for ecclesiastical doll-babies. In our text, Jesus boards the boat with one of those bronzed fishermen Simon by name. This fisherman has been sweeping his net all night long, and had taken nothing as a result. Push out, says Christ; what is the use of hugging the shore in this boat? The Sea of Galilee was twelve miles long and six miles wide, and therefore, Christ gives the command to Simon Peter, Launch out into the deep. As I stop to look at our present day church activities, I become more and more aware that the advice that our Lord gave to Peter is most appropriate for you and me. We are just paddling along the shore. We are afraid to venture out into the great depths of God and the Christian experiences. We are afraid that the boat will be upset, and our cowardice keeps us ankle-deep in the shallowness of God s grace and wisdom. 1
Yes, I think I hear the voice of God commanding us, as He did Peter on that day when bright Galilee set in among the green hills of Palestine, Launch out into the deep. The voice of God first comes for us to Launch out into the deep of Bible study. There is no book in the world that demands so much of our attention as the Bible. Why? Romans 10:17 says, So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Jesus said this in Luke 11:28, Yea, rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it. Colossians 3:16 says, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another, in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. The Bible is like a great sea of buried treasures, yet nine-tenths of Christians get no more than ankle-deep. They seem to think it is a good sign not to venture too far out. They never ask How? or Why? And if they see some Christian becoming inquisitive about the deep things of God, they often say something like, Be careful, you had better not go out so far from the shore. My answer is: the farther you go from the shore the better, if you have the right kind of ship. If you have mere worldly philosophy for the hull, and pride for a sail, and self-conceit for the helm, the first little storm you encounter will destroy you. But if you take the Bible for your craft, and the Holy Spirit as your Pilot, then, the farther you go the better; and after you have gone ten thousand furlongs, Christ will still command: Launch out into the deep. As you Launch out into the need ask the questions, Who was Jesus Christ? and Is it true that the Old Testament talks about sacrificial death of Christ? and What is the truth concerning the Rapture and the Second Coming of Christ? and What will heaven be like? And go on asking until you see Him face-to-face. Ask every lily, every raven, and every star; ask every crazed brain that has been cured; ask every blind man that now sees the sun-light; ask every fish with a coin in his mouth; ask every one that was on the mountain side that was filled with the fishes and bread; ask the Roman Guard, the Syrophoenician woman; ask the girl that was awaken from the sleep of death; ask Lazarus the bother of Mary and Martha; ask it from Genesis through Revelation. And when you get through the Bible, ask the addict that have been delivered; ask the single mother that is now living in victory; ask the adulterous father who has his life put back on track; ask the religious church member who has been saved; ask the question Who is Jesus Christ? And I promise you, they will agree with the pages and promises found in the Word of God! The sea of God s Word is not like the Sea of Galilee, twelve miles by six, but the Bible is boundless; and in any one direction you can sail on forever, as seen in 2
Psalm 119:89, Forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heave. And then Jesus told us in Matthew 24:35, Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Why, then, would we confine ourselves to a short Psalm, or a few verses of an epistle, why not be obedient to the commandment that has been give us in 2 Timothy 2:15, Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Therefore, if we are going to Launch out into the deep, we must do so in our Bible study. Second, the voice of God calls for us to Launch out into the deep in our experiences with Him. In a group such as we have here today, there are three groups of people: First, there are those that have no life because they do not have Jesus. The Bible says this in John 3:36, He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. And then in Romans 6:23 we are told, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Eternal life resides in Jesus, and to have Jesus is to have life. Now listen very carefully Life is not a commodity that Jesus dispenses apart from Himself. And there might very well be someone in the sound of my voice who does not have life simply because you do not have Jesus. Second, there are those here today that have life because they have Jesus. We have this promise in John 3:16, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. The problem with this group is that they just have the life. There is no real peace, no real victory, and they have no real testimony, for they are just carnal, lukewarm Christians, and they make God sick to His stomach. Third, there are those here today, who not only have life, but have the abundant life. Jesus said this in John 10:10, The thief cometh not but to steal, and to kill, and to destroy; I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. The word here that has been translated abundantly literally means, super abundant, or life running over, or always more than enough. Contrary to popular opinion, this describes the normal Christian life. Each of us here today belong to one of these three groups you are either lost, or you are saved yet carnal, or you are living the abundant life. We are living in a day when we hear people talking about the abundant life, the deeper life, and the Spirit-filled life, and yet we seem to have forgotten that all of these describe the normal Christian life in the first place. 3
Listen to this description of the normal Christian life found in Romans 8:37, Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. Now listen very carefully and get this The normal Christian life is not just barely scratching out a life and somehow winning in the end. Oh no! The normal Christian life is living as more than a conqueror! Listen to this promise given in 1 John 5:4, For whatever is born of God overcometh the world; and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. When I first started preaching, I read that passage of scripture, and I thought, The reason I am not overcoming the world is that I don t have enough faith. I though I needed to be some kind of super-saint. Therefore, I would spend days and weeks praying for more faith. Then I saw the next verse, and had to change my theology, Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? You see, this scripture is not talking about how much faith we have, but the kind of faith we have. The faith that overcomes the world is that simple faith that believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. What then is the problem? The problem is that we are wadding around in the ankle-deep waters of our experiences, instead of launching out into the deep with God. We are trying to pattern our experiences after those of others instead of having our own deep relationship with God. Let me explain what I mean right here: We read a book or hear a sermon that gives us the four steps to the deeper life. We take that person s list of four steps and go over them faithfully in our own life. And do you know what happens? Nothing! Then we read about another person that is living the Spirit-filled life and he gives us seven steps on how to obtain this experience. We then take his lists of seven steps; apply them faithfully to our own life. And do you know what happens? Nothing! What is the problem? We did everything he said to do, and we prayed the prayer he said pray. The answer is simply this they had a divine encounter with God, while all we have is a formula! Let me remind you today that God is always original. And if you hear of two people having the exact same experience one of them is a phony! From Genesis to Revelation, God has dealt with men and women on a one-to-one bases, and Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Last of all, God is calling us to Launch out in a deeper commitment to Christ. Listen to what we have been told in Romans 12:1-2, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living 4
sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you make prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. True Christian service and living must begin with personal dedication to the Lord. The whole future of our church depends on our willingness to make a deeper commitment to Jesus Christ for our lives. The person who fails in his service, does so because he has failed in his commitment. Child of God, we do what we want to for the cause of Christ. The will is the bases of our service, and therefore, the will must be involved in our deeper commitment to Christ. The Apostle Paul loved to use athletic contests as an analogy for living the Christian life. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 reads like this, Don t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. Don t miss Paul s point here: whatever makes a winning athlete will make a winning Christian. The difference between success and failure in the field of athletics is not so much talent as it is commitment! Many talented athletes never make become successful simply because they are not committed to the task. The successful athletes are committed to doing whatever it takes to be successful. It we were as committed in our walk with God as the great athletes are to their training, we would see a measurably difference in effectiveness of this church s ministry. The truth of the matter is that most of us simply do not allow the church to interfere with our social and personal agendas! Today God is calling for each of us, from your pastor, your deacons, your teachers, and your membership to Launch out into the deep with our commitments to Christ! If you have never been saved, why not today? Everyone please stand for prayer. Father, Your Word is true. Give me the courage to take a stand for what I already know is right. Give me the inner courage to make the kind of commitment that will make an impact on my family, my church, and my community. In Jesus name. Amen. 5