I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Luke 5:1-11
Luke 5:1 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake
of Gennesaret, the people were 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 fish for people.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left
everything and followed him.
-- when I was little, I loved to fish -- I lived to fish -- there was
nothing that I enjoyed more than sitting on the bank of a pond fishing -- while
everybody else was out playing baseball or riding bikes or swimming in the city
pool, I spent all my time with a fishing pole in my hand
-- I used to love summertime -- because the days were long --
and I used to sit at home and wait for Daddy to get home -- because I knew that
he would be done well before dark during the summer -- and I’d beg and plead
and ask him to take me fishing
-- most of the time, we’d go to a pond on the farm and sit on
the bank with a cane pole and worms -- but I remember one time when I was really
little -- I couldn’t have been more than 5 or 6 years old -- Daddy took me down
to the Little River just south of Reed Bingham State Park
-- we parked on a sand bar on the edge of the river and grabbed
our poles and our bait and walked down to the edge -- I sat down on the edge of
the bank and began baiting my pole, but when I looked up, Daddy had walked
right into the river -- I’m sitting there dumbfounded -- why did he walk into
the river? -- why wasn’t he standing on the bank with me?
-- he raised his hand and motioned for me -- he said, “Follow
me” -- and he didn’t wait -- he just turned around and took a couple more steps
in and then started to wade upstream -- flicking his line up ahead of him and
letting it drift down the river
-- I remember stepping off that bank and into the black rushing
water -- I stood there -- the water barely covering my tennis shoes -- and
Daddy said, “Come on -- a little bit deeper” -- and he motioned for me to come
-- I took a couple more steps -- “Keep coming -- it’s okay” -- and
I kept walking -- deeper and deeper until I was about waist deep -- standing in
that rushing water -- feeling the current push against my body -- feeling the
exhilaration of standing there with the water rushing around me -- pushing me a
little
-- it was a strange feeling -- it almost felt like I was out of
control and about to be swept away -- but at the same time, I felt safe -- because
I trusted Daddy and knew he would protect me from the river’s power
II. Scripture Lesson (Luke 5:1-11)
-- this morning, we’re going to talk about
going deep -- about getting out past the banks of our spiritual rivers of life
and into the deep with Jesus -- about going deeper with Him so that we can
experience life as never before
-- we see a very good example of someone literally doing that
in this story about Jesus and Peter from Luke Chapter 5
-- if you would, turn with me again to verse 1 and let’s look
at this passage together and see what we can learn about going deep with Jesus
Luke 5:1 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake
of Gennesaret, the people were 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.
-- Luke
begins this story with the words, “one day” -- “one day” -- one ordinary day --
one day just like all the others -- the people are going about their business
as usual -- the fishermen have pulled up their boats on the shore and are
cleaning their nets after a long night of fishing -- it was just a normal day
-- just like today -- but something extraordinary happened -- something
extraordinary can happen here today, too, if we are ready for it
-- Luke
tells us that Jesus was there on the shore of the Lake of Gennesaret -- another
name for the sea of Galilee -- the people have crowded around Him -- wanting to
hear Him preach and teach from the word of God -- and that’s no small wonder --
Jesus had been living there in Capernaum since His baptism and trial in the
wilderness -- and He had been doing miracles in their midst -- casting out
demons and healing the sick -- and preaching in the synagogues on the Sabbath
-- but not just preaching as the elders did -- but preaching and teaching with
authority and with power
-- so,
the people have gathered to hear Him, but they apparently can’t hear Him well --
it may have been the acoustics of standing on the shore -- it might have been
that the crowd was pressing on Him so that the ones in the back couldn’t see or
hear -- but Jesus knows the people are having a hard time hearing His word that
morning
-- He looks
over and he sees Simon Peter is there at the shore washing his nets after a
hard night of fishing -- without asking, Jesus got in his boat and asks him to
row out just a little way so He can address the people from the boat -- Peter
did as Jesus asked and rowed Him out just a little way offshore, so that when
Jesus spoke, everyone could see Him and everyone could hear Him
-- there’s
something there I don’t want you to miss -- God’s message is for all of us and
He will do whatever it takes to make sure we hear it
-- think
about what was going on with Peter and why he was sitting there on the shore of
Galilee that morning when Jesus began to teach -- he really shouldn’t have been
there
-- Peter
and his companions were professional fishermen -- it’s how they made their
living -- they would go out at night when the fish rose to the surface and they
would cast their nets and catch them -- and then, in the morning, they would
take their catch to market
-- if
everything had gone according to plan, Peter and the others wouldn’t have been
there that morning -- they would have been selling their fish -- but things
didn’t work out -- as we’ll see over in verse 5, they had been out there all
night on the lake but hadn’t caught anything -- and, so, instead of carrying
their catch to market, they’re just sitting by their boats, cleaning their nets
and bemoaning their bad luck
-- now, why
do you think they didn’t catch any fish that night? -- do you think it was just
bad luck? -- do you think the fish just weren’t there? -- I don’t think so -- I
think God intended for Peter and the others to be in that spot at that moment
in order to hear Jesus -- and He does the same for you and me and everyone
else, too -- He puts us in the place where we can hear Him when He speaks
-- God’s
message is for everybody and He’s going to do what it takes to make sure we
hear it -- He will sometimes even bring what seems like bad luck into our lives
-- trials and temptations -- whatever it takes to bring us to the point where
we are better able to hear Him and where we are more willing to act on what we
hear
-- I know
pastors here in south Georgia who have told me they knew they were being called
into the ministry all their life, but they wouldn't hear God's voice or they
wouldn't respond to God's call until something happened in their life to make
them hear His voice -- for some of them it took an almost life-threatening car
wreck -- for others it was sickness and death in their family
-- just
like He did with Peter and the others, God is going to make sure we are able to
hear His voice
-- verse
4
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.”
-- when
Jesus finished speaking, He turned to Peter and said, “Put out into deep water”
-- in other words, Jesus was telling Peter to go a little deeper
-- Peter
would have heard those words like the fisherman he was -- he would have
realized that this is just not the way things are done -- this is not how you
catch fish
--
fishermen at that time on the Sea of Galilee fished in the shallows, not in the
deep -- they would attach their net to the shore, and then they'd go out just a
little ways into the shallow water where the fish congregated, letting the net
out as they went -- then, they'd make a wide semi-circle and head back to
shore, trapping fish in the net
-- this
was the way it was done -- that was how you fished -- and so now, you’ve got
Jesus -- this carpenter and preacher and teacher telling Peter -- an
experienced fisherman -- what to do -- telling him how to fish -- and Jesus
says, “Go a little deeper -- put out into the deep waters and let down your
nets for a catch”
-- when
God speaks to us, He’s going to ask us to do the same thing -- to go a little
deeper -- to do things we don't normally do -- to break from tradition and do
things in a completely new way -- ways the world may think are wrong -- but we
have to remember, God isn't looking for success as the world defines it -- He's
looking for spiritual success
-- God
doesn’t want us to just stand on the banks of the river and fish from there --
He calls us to go deeper -- He wants us to plunge in -- to follow Him into the
depths -- to move past our sitting on the pews on Sundays -- to move past our
occasional reading of the Bible -- to move past our superficial knowledge and
experience with Him -- and to go deeper -- to go past the point where we have
been hanging out -- to go past the point where everyone else is -- even if it
seems crazy
-- that’s
what Jesus is asking Peter to do when He tells him to go a little deeper --
it’s a pretty good bet that Peter was aware of Jesus before this morning -- I’m
sure that he had heard of the miracles -- and he had just heard Jesus proclaim
God’s word to the crowd on the seashore -- Peter has a superficial relationship
with Jesus at this point -- but he respects Him as a teacher and a preacher
-- and
even though Peter knows that Jesus is not a fisherman and doesn’t know the
first thing about fishing -- when Jesus says, “put out a little deeper,” Peter
does just that -- even though Peter thought Jesus was wrong -- even though they
had fished all night and caught nothing, He agreed to take the boat out and put
the nets out in the deep -- out of respect, if nothing else -- sometimes, just
knowing who God is and respecting Him is enough to get us started
-- look
down at verse 6 and let's see what happened
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.
-- Peter
did just what Jesus said -- he went a little deeper -- out past the point where
fishermen usually fished -- out past the point where people usually put out
their nets -- and when he got there, he did what Jesus said and lowered his
nets -- and when they started to bring them in again, they had caught such a
large number of fish that the nets began to break -- he had to call James and
John to come help him
-- there
are some lessons there for us:
-- first,
if we try to do things on our own -- in the same way we’ve always done them --
we’re not going to succeed -- we might catch a few fish here and there -- we
might do just as well as the others -- but more often than not, we’re going to
be just like Peter and his companions -- we’ll fish all night -- we’ll work
hard in our own strength -- and catch nothing
--
second, sometimes God will bless us in our secular lives in a miraculous way so
we will sense His call to spiritual work -- Jesus worked a miracle and Peter
reaped a harvest of fish greater than any he had ever known -- we see this
principle played out all around us today -- all we have to do is look
-- I have
talked with businessmen who said that after they heard Jesus call them to go a
little deeper, they obeyed -- and the blessings started to overflow in their
lives -- both physical and spiritual blessings -- which led them to go deeper
still with Jesus -- to taking greater and greater steps of faith -- with some
of them becoming involved in missions or prison ministry or lay-speaking --
some even into full-time Christian service
--
finally, sometimes you can’t really see God or know God until you take that
step of faith and follow Jesus a little deeper -- Peter had God in his boat all
morning, but he didn't see Him until he went a little deeper and a miracle
happened -- Peter had listened to God all morning, but he never really heard
Him until he went a little deeper and the nets almost broke with the weight of
the fish -- going deeper with Jesus opens your eyes and it opens your ears and
it leads you into a deeper experience with Him
-- when
you read the biographies of the heroes of the faith, you’ll see a point in each
of their lives where they got up from the normal Christian life and went a
little deeper -- when they quit being satisfied with just sitting on a pew on
Sunday or throwing a handful of dollars in the offering plate and took a step
of faith and went deeper -- and everything changed -- their relationship with
God changed -- and that made all the difference
-- that’s
what happened to Peter when he went out just a little bit deeper -- and that’s
what will happen to us, too, if we just get up and go a little deeper with
Jesus
-- verse
8
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 fish for people.”
-- in
verse 8, Peter is like one of those cartoon characters where the light bulb
lights up over their head when they get a good idea -- you can see the light
come on -- Because of the miracle, Peter now realizes that this Jesus standing
in his boat is not just a gifted teacher and preacher -- He is not just a rabbi
to follow -- He’s God in the flesh
-- when
we go a little deeper -- when we come into the presence of God -- when we hear
His voice and respond to His call -- we are made aware of just how great that
chasm is between us and Him -- of how sinful we are -- we are reminded that we
are nothing but dust and that He is the living God of all Creation
-- as
Isaiah said in Isaiah 6:5 when he saw God on His throne, "Woe to me -- I
am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean
lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."
-- being
in the presence of God is a humbling event -- hearing the voice of God is a
humbling event -- and responding to His word is a humbling event
--
Peter's not trying to get rid of Jesus in verse 8 -- what he's trying to say
is, "I am too sinful for you to look at -- I am too sinful for you to be
with -- you are too holy and I am afraid"
-- but
look at how Jesus responds, "Don't be afraid -- you just went a little
deeper -- but now that you know who I am -- now that you have heard my call --
I want you to go deeper still -- follow Me, you will catch men just like you
caught these fish -- follow Me into the deep, and you will catch souls for the
kingdom"
-- and
see how it ended
11 So they pulled their
boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
-- they left everything and followed Him -- to put it another
way, they left everything and went deeper with Jesus
III. Closing
-- in closing, let me ask you this
-- “are you satisfied with dipping your toe into the river of God’s glory and
pretending that you’ve sold out to Jesus? -- Is knee-deep water enough for you
to play in and call yourself committed to the gospel? -- Do you believe you’re
righteous because the water laps around your waist?” [Robert Whitlow, Deeper
Water, pg. 51]
-- God’s call for us is to go deeper
-- to plunge ourselves over the ledge and into the deep water where we can’t
touch -- where we aren’t in control and where we have to totally and completely
rely on Him to keep us safe -- the place where His will leads and His presence
surrounds
-- what would this look like in your
life? -- what would it look like to “push a little deeper” with Jesus? -- where
is He calling you to go? -- what is keeping you from going deeper with Him?
-- there’s a song by Steven Curtis
Chapman called “Dive” -- it’s about going deeper with Jesus -- not just a
little deeper -- but plunging completely into the presence of God
-- let me close by sharing with you
a part of this song:
-- “The long-awaited rains have
fallen hard upon the thirsty ground -- and carved their way to where the wild
and rushing river can be found -- and like the rains, I have been carried here
to where the river flows
-- My heart is racing and my knees
are weak as I walk to the edge -- I know there is no turning back once my feet
have left the ledge -- and in the rush I hear a voice that's telling me it's
time to take the leap of faith -- so here I go
-- I'm diving in -- I'm going deep
-- In over my head -- I want to be caught in the rush, lost in the flow -- in
over my head, I want to go -- the river's deep -- the river's wide -- the
river's water is alive --so sink or swim, I'm diving in”
-- God is calling us today to go
deeper -- to do more than just stick a toe in the water -- to do more than just
wade in to our knees or our waist -- He’s calling us deeper still -- He’s
calling us to plunge into His presence -- to dive in over our heads and trust
Him with our lives and to watch the miracles unfold around us
-- are you willing to go deeper with
God today?
-- if so, then I invite you to
respond to God’s word as you feel led -- as always, the altar is open for any
who wish to come and make a commitment to God today
-- let us pray
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