1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:29,980 Let's pray. 2 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:59,980 Let's pray. 3 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:29,980 Let's pray. 4 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:52,920 I am glad to be here. I am looking forward to spending some time in worship together this morning. Before we do that, let's go to God in prayer. 5 00:01:52,920 --> 00:02:02,920 Father in heaven, I thank you for your word. I thank you for your church. I thank you that we can gather together and share our lives with one another. 6 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:11,920 Thank you that we can gather to sing and to pray and to come around your table and to open your word. Help us to encourage each other. 7 00:02:11,920 --> 00:02:21,920 And this morning, most of all, turn our eyes towards you. Help us to see your goodness, to see your grace, to see how you have been at work, 8 00:02:21,920 --> 00:02:29,920 and that you would help us to be assured of how you will be at work in the future. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 9 00:02:29,920 --> 00:02:35,920 One of the things that we are, I think, pretty good at, and it comes pretty natural to most of us, 10 00:02:35,920 --> 00:02:44,920 is that we tend to be pretty good at comparing things. You can compare how good something is to how bad something is. 11 00:02:44,920 --> 00:02:57,920 And when it comes to our lives, oftentimes we're really easy, and it's really easy for us to look and to see all of our problems and all of our struggles 12 00:02:57,920 --> 00:03:08,920 and to begin to compare our struggles and our difficulties to the strength that we have, and we begin to see that maybe we are not strong enough. 13 00:03:08,920 --> 00:03:20,920 And so this morning as we gather to worship, rather than comparing the difficulties and struggles that we face to our own strength, I want us to look to the greatness and the strength of God. 14 00:03:20,920 --> 00:03:30,920 And we're going to do that in just a moment by going to the 84th Psalm, which is a remarkable Psalm, a Psalm that reminds us that God is our strength. 15 00:03:30,920 --> 00:03:46,920 God is the one who refreshes us in the dry valleys, that God is our shield and that we trust in Him. And so if you would stand, we're going to read through the first four verses of the 84th Psalm together. 16 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:50,920 So let's go ahead and read together. 17 00:03:50,920 --> 00:04:06,920 How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yet faints for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. 18 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:16,920 Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young at your altars. 19 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:26,920 O Lord of hosts, my King and my God, blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise. 20 00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:34,920 And I like this picture of God's people called to God's house to praise and to worship, but there's also a picture of comfort in there. 21 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:44,920 If you've ever been in like a big warehouse store and you see a bird fluttering through the rafters, the picture here in the psalm is of the bird fluttering in the house of God, 22 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:50,920 but as a place of peace, a place for her to raise her young. So as we come to worship this morning, 23 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:58,920 we're reminded in the midst of all of the difficulties and busyness of life, that God is our peace. God is our refreshment. 24 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:02,920 He is our joy and our strength. And we're going to start by singing "Hosanna." 25 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:42,920 Jesus is rising, eyes all turning to you. We turn to you. Hope is stirring, hearts all yearning for you. 26 00:05:42,920 --> 00:06:10,920 We long for you. 'Cause when we see you, we find strength to face the death. And in your presence, all our fears are washed away, washed away. 27 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:38,920 Hosanna, Hosanna. You are the God who saves us, worthy of all our praises. Hear the sound of hearts returning to you. 28 00:06:38,920 --> 00:07:06,920 We turn to you. In your kingdom, broken lives are made new. You make all things new. 'Cause when we see you, we find strength to face the dead. 29 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:34,920 And in your presence, all our fears are washed away. Washed away. Hosanna, Hosanna. You are the God who saves us. We're the evil. 30 00:07:34,920 --> 00:07:57,920 We give all our praises. Hosanna, Hosanna. Come every way among us. We welcome you here, Lord Jesus. 31 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:06,920 Amen. 32 00:08:34,920 --> 00:08:59,520 Jesus said, "Follow me," Jesus said, "Follow me." Be washed away in the waves of His mercy, as deep cries out too deep. Come, Lord Jesus, come. 33 00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:28,120 Come, Lord Jesus, come. All who are thirsty, all who are weak, come to the fountain. Dip your heart in the stream of life. Let the pain and the suffering of His mercy be. 34 00:09:28,120 --> 00:09:56,720 Let the pain and the sorrow be washed away in the waves of His mercy as deep cries out too deep. Come, Lord Jesus, come. 35 00:09:56,720 --> 00:10:04,220 Come, Lord Jesus, come. 36 00:10:04,220 --> 00:10:24,120 Deep cries out too deep. Deep cries out too deep. Deep cries out too deep. 37 00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:53,920 Holy Spirit, come. Holy Spirit, come. 38 00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:55,520 Holy Spirit, come. 39 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:25,920 Amen. 40 00:11:53,920 --> 00:11:55,920 Amen. 41 00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:25,920 Amen. 42 00:20:53,920 --> 00:21:07,920 We're going to sing as we prepare for communion, "Man of Sorrows." 43 00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:35,920 Man of Sorrows, Lamb of God, by His own betrayed. The sin of man and brother of God, has been on Jesus. 44 00:21:35,920 --> 00:22:03,920 The sin on Jesus lay. Silent as He stood accused, beaten mocked and scorned. Bowing to the Father's will, He took a kiss. 45 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:31,920 He took a crown of thorns. Oh, that rugged cross, my salvation, where Your love poured out over me. Now my soul cries out, "Hallelujah!" 46 00:22:31,920 --> 00:22:59,920 Praise and honor unto Thee. Send of heaven, God's own Son, to purchase and redeem. And reconcile the very ones, 47 00:22:59,920 --> 00:23:27,920 who nailed him to that tree. Oh, that rugged cross, my salvation, where your love poured out over me. Now my soul cries out, "Hallelujah, praise and honor." 48 00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:55,920 run to Thee. Now my debt is paid. It is paid in full by the precious blood that my Jesus spilled. Now the curse of sin has no hold on me. 49 00:23:55,920 --> 00:24:23,920 The sun sets free, O is free indeed. Now my debt is paid. It is paid in full by the precious blood that my Jesus spilled. Now the curse of sin has no hold on me. The sun sets free, O is free indeed. 50 00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:51,920 Oh, that rugged cross, my salvation, where your love poured out over me. Now my soul cries out, Hallelujah, praise and honor unto thee. 51 00:24:51,920 --> 00:25:19,920 See the stone is rolled away. Behold the empty tomb. Hallelujah, God be praised. He's risen from the grave. 52 00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:47,920 Oh, that rugged cross, my salvation, where your love poured out over me. Now my soul cries out, Hallelujah, praise and honor unto thee. 53 00:25:47,920 --> 00:26:15,920 In the 84th Psalm, it says, "Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. As they go through the valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs. The early rain also covers it 54 00:26:15,920 --> 00:26:43,920 with pools." And there is this picture in the 84th Psalm that we began with this morning. And this picture of going through the valley of Baca means the valley of weeping, or this picture of suffering. But it's a valley that is transformed for those whose hope is in God. And this valley of Baca is identified with another valley in the Bible, 55 00:26:43,920 --> 00:27:11,920 in the book of Joshua, there is a valley where after his sin, Achan and his family are taken, the valley of suffering, and they are stoned to death. And in the book of Hosea, there is a promise about this valley of suffering or this valley of weeping. And it says this, "God speaking to Israel and to his people, 56 00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:39,920 I will bring her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. And there I will give her vineyards and make the valley of Achor." That's the same valley where Achan was killed, the valley of Baca in Psalm 84, a door of hope. And from Joshua, you have a picture of suffering and punishment and paying for your sins. 57 00:27:39,920 --> 00:28:00,920 And in Psalms, you have a promise of a place of weeping being turned into a place of peace, realized in Hosea by saying, "There is one coming who will take the valley of suffering and the valley of weeping and turn it into a door of hope." 58 00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:21,920 That is the one Isaiah refers to as the man of sorrows, the one who stepped into the valley where we should have been punished, and who was punished in our place for our sins, who dies on the cross, who is buried, and who rises again on the third day. 59 00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:42,920 And as a result, that man of sorrows takes our suffering and our sin and our weeping and our hurts, and he turns the valley of suffering into a door of hope, the place of tears, to a place where we can come and be refreshed. 60 00:28:42,920 --> 00:29:00,920 And so this morning, as we partake of the bread and the cup, we're reminded that what was once suffering for us is now, through Jesus' hope, what once would have brought us to tears, brings us to peace. Let's pray. 61 00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:17,920 Father in heaven, we thank you for Jesus, and we thank you for grace. And we thank you that you transform our valleys of suffering into doors of hope, and that you take our weeping and bring us to a place of calm, quiet water where you restore our soul. 62 00:29:17,920 --> 00:29:25,920 We thank you for Jesus. Help us as we remember him through this bread and cup. It's in his name we pray. Amen. 63 00:29:25,920 --> 00:29:37,920 Let's partake of the bread together, remembering the sacrifice of Jesus' body. 64 00:29:37,920 --> 00:29:46,920 And let's partake of the cup together, remembering the giving of his blood. 65 00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:55,920 And we're reminded, as often as we eat this bread and we drink this cup, we proclaim Jesus until he comes again. 66 00:29:55,920 --> 00:30:07,920 In just a minute, we're going to be in Luke 5, but we are trying to add some moments into our service for everybody of all ages. 67 00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:14,920 So we're going to go ahead and show a video that kind of leads us into our text this morning. 68 00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:20,920 So we're going to go ahead and start with that. 69 00:30:20,920 --> 00:30:25,400 Stories of the Bible: Jesus Calls Peter. 70 00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:32,920 It is Jesus, who is the Son of God and the Savior of the world. 71 00:30:32,920 --> 00:30:39,920 Jesus grew up in Nazareth and was baptized by John in the Jordan River. 72 00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:46,920 Jesus began teaching about God's love and healing people of their sickness. 73 00:30:46,920 --> 00:30:54,920 One day, John saw Jesus walking by and told the people around him that Jesus was the Lamb of God, 74 00:30:54,920 --> 00:31:02,920 one of the people standing with him was Andrew, whose brother was Simon, who would later be known as Peter. 75 00:31:02,920 --> 00:31:07,920 Andrew went to find his brother and said, "We have found the Christ." 76 00:31:07,920 --> 00:31:10,920 Whoa! Ready? Come on! 77 00:31:10,920 --> 00:31:15,920 Simon went with Andrew and met Jesus. 78 00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:17,920 Uh-huh. I'm Simon. 79 00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:22,920 Jesus looked at Simon and said, "Your name is Simon, son of John." 80 00:31:22,920 --> 00:31:23,920 Yes, it is. 81 00:31:23,920 --> 00:31:26,920 But you will be called Peter. 82 00:31:26,920 --> 00:31:28,920 Uh, okay. 83 00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:37,920 On another day, Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, and lots of people crowded around him to hear what he had to say. 84 00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:40,920 Oh, uh, hello. Oh, okay. 85 00:31:40,920 --> 00:31:46,920 Jesus noticed two empty boats, for Andrew and Peter had left them, and were washing their nets. 86 00:31:46,920 --> 00:31:52,920 Jesus stepped into one of the boats and asked Peter to take him out into the sea. 87 00:31:52,920 --> 00:31:54,920 Hi-ya! 88 00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:58,920 So he sat in the boat, and taught the crowds from there. 89 00:31:58,920 --> 00:32:07,920 When he had finished speaking, he said to Peter, "Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish." 90 00:32:07,920 --> 00:32:09,920 Uh-huh. 91 00:32:09,920 --> 00:32:17,920 But Peter said, "We worked hard all last night, and didn't catch a thing. But if you say so, I'll let the nets down again." 92 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:29,920 And this time, their nets were so filled, they called to some other fishermen for help. 93 00:32:29,920 --> 00:32:30,920 Hey! Help! 94 00:32:30,920 --> 00:32:33,920 And soon, both boats were filled with fish. 95 00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:44,920 When Peter realized what happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, "Oh, Lord, please leave me. I'm such a sinful man." 96 00:32:44,920 --> 00:32:50,920 Jesus replied to Peter, "Don't be afraid. Come, follow me. 97 00:32:50,920 --> 00:32:55,920 And I will show you how to fish for people." 98 00:32:55,920 --> 00:33:00,920 And as soon as they landed, they left their nets and followed Jesus. 99 00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:10,920 So Simon Peter became one of Jesus' twelve disciples and followed his friend Jesus throughout his time on earth. 100 00:33:15,920 --> 00:33:28,920 All right, Luke chapter 5. I'm going to read from Luke's account briefly, and then we will dive right into this. 101 00:33:28,920 --> 00:33:37,920 On one occasion, when the crowd was pressing into him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake. 102 00:33:37,920 --> 00:33:41,920 But the fishermen had gone out of them, and they were washing their nets. 103 00:33:41,920 --> 00:33:51,920 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little bit from the land, and he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 104 00:33:51,920 --> 00:33:58,920 And when he finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." 105 00:33:58,920 --> 00:34:06,920 And Simon answered, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing, but at your word I will let down the nets." 106 00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:14,920 When they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking, and they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. 107 00:34:14,920 --> 00:34:23,920 And they came and filled both boats so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, 108 00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:31,920 "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of the fish that had been taken. 109 00:34:31,920 --> 00:34:36,920 So also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. 110 00:34:36,920 --> 00:34:40,920 And Jesus said, "Simon, do not be afraid. From now on, you will be catching men." 111 00:34:40,920 --> 00:34:45,920 And when they brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. 112 00:34:45,920 --> 00:34:52,920 This is the word of the Lord. Father in heaven, we thank you for this account. 113 00:34:52,920 --> 00:34:58,920 We thank you for your power to work in ways that we do not understand. 114 00:34:58,920 --> 00:35:02,920 And that we don't always imagine. 115 00:35:02,920 --> 00:35:18,920 And so we ask this morning as we consider our church, and our future, and our plans, and our goals, and our dreams, that you would help us to see that you are the one who calls us. 116 00:35:18,920 --> 00:35:26,920 That you are the one who takes broken people, makes them whole, who takes tired people, and brings them to life. 117 00:35:26,920 --> 00:35:32,920 So help us to see the goodness of your Son this morning. It is in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 118 00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:42,920 Probably most of us have had a moment or a time where we were just really, really tired, and maybe at the same time really, really discouraged. 119 00:35:42,920 --> 00:35:52,920 I remember early on in our marriage, we came in one day, we had been out somewhere, and at this time our washer was in a little closet at the top of the stairs right off our kitchen. 120 00:35:52,920 --> 00:35:59,920 And our dryer was in our kitchen where our refrigerator is now, and we came in and there was a whole bunch of water. 121 00:35:59,920 --> 00:36:06,920 And we're looking, trying to figure out where this water had come from and couldn't really figure it out, so we cleaned up all the water and washed some clothes. 122 00:36:06,920 --> 00:36:11,920 And as the clothes were finished washing, I was like, "Man, where did all this water come from?" 123 00:36:11,920 --> 00:36:19,920 And finally after like the third load of clothes, I put like two and two together and realized there was a problem, so I started Googling it. 124 00:36:19,920 --> 00:36:24,920 And it turns out that the fix was actually relatively inexpensive. 125 00:36:24,920 --> 00:36:31,920 It was like this little $7 washer pump that snaps into the bottom. 126 00:36:31,920 --> 00:36:34,920 It's not really hard to install. 127 00:36:34,920 --> 00:36:44,920 However, it was insanely hard to get to because the closet was not even an eighth of an inch of clearance to get the washer out. 128 00:36:44,920 --> 00:36:51,920 I went to disconnect the cables, and the water in Winchester is so hard that they were now permanently attached to the house. 129 00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:55,920 So there's no unhooking it, so I can only pull it out so far. 130 00:36:55,920 --> 00:36:59,920 I get the top off the washer. There's water pouring out everywhere. 131 00:36:59,920 --> 00:37:06,920 I'm laying there on the floor, almost falling down the stairs, trying not to say really unpreacherly things. 132 00:37:06,920 --> 00:37:08,920 It was just a disaster. 133 00:37:08,920 --> 00:37:14,920 And then you try to get in there with your screwdriver and your pliers and your ratchet, and it's just not working. 134 00:37:14,920 --> 00:37:19,920 And everybody in the family is just standing around observing and giving advice. 135 00:37:19,920 --> 00:37:28,920 And it was like I was at the end of my rope. I was tired. I was frustrated. I just wanted it done. 136 00:37:28,920 --> 00:37:32,920 Now, finally got the $7 piece in, put it all back together, everything worked. 137 00:37:32,920 --> 00:37:40,920 But it ranks up there as like one of those moments where I was just frustrated at the job. I was tired. 138 00:37:40,920 --> 00:37:46,920 I just wanted it to be over with. That's the situation in Luke chapter 5. 139 00:37:46,920 --> 00:37:52,920 These fishermen have been working all night. They are tired. They're hungry. They're frustrating. 140 00:37:52,920 --> 00:37:57,920 And this is not fishing as we normally think about it, right? 141 00:37:57,920 --> 00:38:08,920 This is not sitting out in a boat with some friends. You know, you're fishing, and the beautiful water is sparkling around you, and the trees, and the birds, and there's just right in the middle of a breeze, right? 142 00:38:08,920 --> 00:38:16,920 This is not this idyllic kind of picture where everyone is at peace. In fact, what do they say? 143 00:38:16,920 --> 00:38:22,920 "Master, we toiled all night, and we caught nothing." 144 00:38:22,920 --> 00:38:34,920 And so, as they walk through this, right, they're out there with their nets, and so all night, they would have been throwing their nets out, pulling their nets in. Hard labor, but it's not just a physical labor. 145 00:38:34,920 --> 00:38:46,920 It's this picture of trying to think, where are the fish? Maybe if we go here, or if we go there. And so, the picture of tired, when they say, "We've labored all night, and caught nothing." 146 00:38:46,920 --> 00:38:57,920 It's just not we worked really hard, but we are mentally and physically completely empty. These are not guys relaxed and refreshed from fishing with their buddies. 147 00:38:57,920 --> 00:39:13,920 These guys have nothing else left in the tank. And then, get this, to make matters worse, some carpenter shows up and starts giving them advice on how to fish. 148 00:39:13,920 --> 00:39:27,920 And if you've ever been in this situation where you know what you're doing, and somebody who has no idea what you're doing comes along and tries to give you advice, like that generally doesn't feel the best. 149 00:39:27,920 --> 00:39:41,920 And so you have this difficult situation with these fishers, these fishermen, who are extremely tired, and I imagine at this point getting a little bit more irritated. 150 00:39:41,920 --> 00:39:57,920 And the reality of our life is simply this. Life can be tiring. Life can be frustrating. We can work very hard, but not find the results that we want. 151 00:39:57,920 --> 00:40:10,920 And for those of us in that position, Jesus has something to say to us in the text. But it's also true for the church, too. We can feel like we're tired and we're frustrated. 152 00:40:10,920 --> 00:40:23,920 And things may not be going as we planned. And Jesus has something to say for us in this text. And so Jesus, first of all, says this in this text. 153 00:40:23,920 --> 00:40:30,920 To the tired, to the discouraged, and to the frustrating, he says, "Trust me." Look at Luke chapter 5 and verse 4. 154 00:40:30,920 --> 00:40:39,920 Jesus has preached to the crowd, and when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." 155 00:40:39,920 --> 00:40:51,920 If you've been around the church for any period of time, this is a pretty familiar story. And because it's familiar for us, I think the impact may be a little blunted. 156 00:40:51,920 --> 00:41:00,920 I want to try to give you just a little bit of context for what is happening. There's two big problems in regards to Jesus' instruction to Peter. 157 00:41:00,920 --> 00:41:08,920 First of all, the fish aren't there. If the fish were there, the professional fishermen would have caught the fish. 158 00:41:08,920 --> 00:41:17,920 But there are no fish, and so why is Jesus, who does he think that he is, that he can tell them to put down their nets and catch fish? 159 00:41:17,920 --> 00:41:22,920 In fact, that's their response. "Master, we toiled all night and caught nothing." 160 00:41:22,920 --> 00:41:29,920 They're like, "Yeah, we respect you as a teacher, but as a fisherman, not so much. We're the experts." 161 00:41:29,920 --> 00:41:37,920 Their failure is a proof that there is no fish. Jesus isn't a fisherman, he's a carpenter. In fact, it says of this, 162 00:41:37,920 --> 00:41:47,920 in Matthew, "Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? Are not his brothers James and Joseph, Simon, and Judas?" 163 00:41:47,920 --> 00:41:54,920 So the question is, what does Jesus know about fishing? It turns out a surprising amount about fishing. 164 00:41:54,920 --> 00:42:02,920 Look what it says this, "When they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 165 00:42:02,920 --> 00:42:06,920 And they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. 166 00:42:06,920 --> 00:42:11,920 And they came and filled both the boats so that they began to sink." 167 00:42:11,920 --> 00:42:20,920 The message to Peter and to the others is that Jesus knows what he's talking about. 168 00:42:20,920 --> 00:42:28,920 He's in control of the situation. There's something more to Jesus than he's just a great teacher or a great healer 169 00:42:28,920 --> 00:42:35,920 or a guy who is really wise and who knows a lot about the Bible, right? To the tired and the discouraged 170 00:42:35,920 --> 00:42:40,920 and the frustrated and the hungry, Jesus looks at them and says, "Trust me." 171 00:42:40,920 --> 00:42:44,920 And they look at Jesus and say, "Jesus, we've fished all night. How can we trust you? 172 00:42:44,920 --> 00:42:52,920 You're a carpenter from Nazareth." And it turns out Jesus does know what he is talking about. 173 00:42:52,920 --> 00:43:04,920 The second thing you see Jesus saying to both us and to the church is that Jesus says to the sinful, to the fearful, 174 00:43:04,920 --> 00:43:11,920 and to the unworthy, you are forgiven and accepted. 175 00:43:11,920 --> 00:43:16,920 Remember what Peter's response is to this miracle in Luke chapter 5 verse 8. 176 00:43:16,920 --> 00:43:28,920 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus' knees saying, "Depart for me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." 177 00:43:28,920 --> 00:43:33,920 And what we've done with this passage, I think, is we've made it a little bit too shallow 178 00:43:33,920 --> 00:43:43,920 about what Peter is saying. This is not Peter being embarrassed because he said something awkward or sinful in front of Jesus. 179 00:43:43,920 --> 00:43:50,920 This is not Peter ashamed because he used some strong language as his boat was sinking with the amount of fish. 180 00:43:50,920 --> 00:43:56,920 This is not Peter embarrassed about some kind of sin he has just done in front of Jesus. 181 00:43:56,920 --> 00:44:02,920 Let me show you why this is just a little bit too shallow of a view of what Peter is saying. 182 00:44:02,920 --> 00:44:06,920 When he says, "Depart from me. I am a sinful man." 183 00:44:06,920 --> 00:44:09,920 You know, Peter knows Jesus already. 184 00:44:09,920 --> 00:44:16,920 Jesus doesn't just walk up to a strange man and say, "Put me out of your boat. Let me speak. Now put down your hands." 185 00:44:16,920 --> 00:44:26,920 Jesus knows Peter, and in fact, in the verses right before this, in Luke chapter 4, Jesus goes to synagogue, 186 00:44:26,920 --> 00:44:33,920 the equivalent church, goes home for lunch with Peter. Peter's mother-in-law is sick. 187 00:44:33,920 --> 00:44:36,920 He heals her and then has lunch at Peter's house. 188 00:44:36,920 --> 00:44:43,920 So Peter doesn't just know about Jesus, but he's had Jesus at his house, ate lunch with her, healed his mother-in-law. 189 00:44:43,920 --> 00:44:52,920 Peter has seen the power of Jesus up close. And when Peter says, "I am a sinful man." 190 00:44:52,920 --> 00:45:01,920 This is not an "oops, I did something wrong." Biblically, this is what people do when they see the holiness of God. 191 00:45:01,920 --> 00:45:06,920 It's what Isaiah does in Isaiah 6 when he sees the glory of the Lord fill the temple. 192 00:45:06,920 --> 00:45:14,920 And he says, "Woe is me, for I'm a sinful man and I have unclean lips from a people of unclean lips, and my face has seen the Lord." 193 00:45:14,920 --> 00:45:21,920 And he falls to his knees. What Peter is doing here is not saying, "Oops, I did something embarrassing in front of Jesus." 194 00:45:21,920 --> 00:45:35,920 What Peter is doing is seeing the glory or a glimpse of the glory of God falling to his knees, recognizing that he is unworthy to be in the presence of Jesus. 195 00:45:35,920 --> 00:45:41,920 And here, in what is happening, I think is something wonderful and incredibly hopeful. 196 00:45:41,920 --> 00:45:50,920 Peter has heard Jesus preach. Peter has seen Jesus do miracles. However, it's not until this moment, 197 00:45:50,920 --> 00:45:55,920 with a boat full of fish, that his eyes are truly open to who Jesus is. 198 00:45:55,920 --> 00:46:02,920 And think about the hope that that gives us, especially for those in whom we long to come to know Jesus. 199 00:46:02,920 --> 00:46:05,920 And we want to see their lives changed and transformed. 200 00:46:05,920 --> 00:46:11,920 And we say, "Well, they've heard and they know and they've seen. So had Peter." 201 00:46:11,920 --> 00:46:19,920 But it's in this moment that he has transformed. Isn't that so wonderful and so hopeful? 202 00:46:19,920 --> 00:46:27,920 Especially as we pray for salvation and transformation in the lives of people we know and we love and we say, 203 00:46:27,920 --> 00:46:32,920 "They've heard and they've heard and they've heard. So had Peter." 204 00:46:32,920 --> 00:46:37,920 This picture that Jesus changes him in a moment. 205 00:46:37,920 --> 00:46:44,920 And Peter's objection is simply this, "Jesus, you don't really want me. I'm not very good." 206 00:46:44,920 --> 00:46:49,920 Peter is saying to Jesus, like so many of us do, "We're not good enough." 207 00:46:49,920 --> 00:46:53,920 And look what Jesus does. First of all, he comforts Peter. 208 00:46:53,920 --> 00:46:57,920 He starts by saying, "Do not be afraid." 209 00:46:57,920 --> 00:47:04,920 And then he says, "Peter, I have a mission for you. From now on you will be fishing or catching men." 210 00:47:04,920 --> 00:47:13,920 Peter looks at his unworthiness and looks at Jesus, and Jesus looks at Peter in love and says, "Don't be afraid. 211 00:47:13,920 --> 00:47:17,920 I have something better for you." 212 00:47:17,920 --> 00:47:23,920 I want you to think about what Jesus means when he says, "Fishers of men." 213 00:47:23,920 --> 00:47:30,920 He's saying to Peter, "Peter, you used to devote your life to bringing fish out of the water and into your boat. 214 00:47:30,920 --> 00:47:38,920 Now you will devote your life to bringing men out of sin and into the kingdom." 215 00:47:38,920 --> 00:47:42,920 You might say, "How does this impact us?" 216 00:47:42,920 --> 00:47:46,920 Luke's purpose from the very beginning of this gospel is certainty. 217 00:47:46,920 --> 00:47:50,920 He wants us to be certain about some things in relation to Jesus. 218 00:47:50,920 --> 00:47:54,920 And I want to show you three of those from this text this morning. 219 00:47:54,920 --> 00:48:00,920 And the very first is this: is that there is certainty in Jesus. 220 00:48:00,920 --> 00:48:09,920 What happens when God asks you something that doesn't make sense to you, or seems beyond your powers or your skills or your ability? 221 00:48:09,920 --> 00:48:15,920 And we often, I think, respond with maybe, "I have a better plan." 222 00:48:15,920 --> 00:48:22,920 Yeah, that's a good idea, but maybe I have a better way to do it. 223 00:48:22,920 --> 00:48:28,920 That's how Peter initially responds, right? We fish at night, Jesus. We don't fish in the day, right? 224 00:48:28,920 --> 00:48:34,920 The fish aren't active in the middle of the day when it's hot. They've gone down deep. Our nets can't reach that far. 225 00:48:34,920 --> 00:48:42,920 And Jesus says, "Look, trust me, because in me there is certainty." 226 00:48:42,920 --> 00:48:47,920 We often think we know everything. We want all the answers at the beginning. 227 00:48:47,920 --> 00:48:54,920 And what we're so frequently called to do is not have all the answers, but to simply trust Jesus. 228 00:48:54,920 --> 00:49:02,920 Like a parent parenting their child, who may be in that moment of danger or that moment of urgency, 229 00:49:02,920 --> 00:49:09,920 doesn't have time to explain every little detail, and simply says, "Let's do this." 230 00:49:09,920 --> 00:49:14,920 We look to Jesus with certainty. 231 00:49:14,920 --> 00:49:18,920 But I think maybe our greatest excuse is that Jesus doesn't understand. 232 00:49:18,920 --> 00:49:25,920 Jesus, you don't understand my situation. You don't understand my struggle. You don't understand my mission. 233 00:49:25,920 --> 00:49:30,920 Don't you think Peter has that same thought? "Jesus, don't you understand how fishing works?" 234 00:49:30,920 --> 00:49:34,920 I've fished all night. If there were fish to be caught in the lake, I would have got them. 235 00:49:34,920 --> 00:49:39,920 I have experience. I have skills. And what does Peter find out? 236 00:49:39,920 --> 00:49:43,920 Peter finds out that Jesus understands so much more than he does. 237 00:49:43,920 --> 00:49:49,920 And the same is true for us, and the same is true for the church, that when we put our certainty in Jesus, 238 00:49:49,920 --> 00:49:58,920 we will find that he understands so much more than we ever will or be able to. 239 00:49:58,920 --> 00:50:06,920 When we put our trust in Jesus, we find that he understands and he knows and there is certainty. 240 00:50:06,920 --> 00:50:12,920 The second thing we learn is that there is certainty in our acceptance. None of us want to feel unwanted. 241 00:50:12,920 --> 00:50:20,920 We want to be sure that we're wanted. And we know in this moment that there are others there with Peter. 242 00:50:20,920 --> 00:50:26,920 And you have to wonder if Peter looks at them and goes, "What about these guys?" Some of these guys obviously are more qualified 243 00:50:26,920 --> 00:50:35,920 and more righteous and more holy. Are you sure that it's me? Jesus doesn't just accept Peter, but he commissions him to ministry. 244 00:50:35,920 --> 00:50:41,920 Do you know that one of the great ways Satan attacks the people of God is through accusation? 245 00:50:41,920 --> 00:50:47,920 By saying to you that you're not good enough, you're not strong enough, Jesus would never really want you. 246 00:50:47,920 --> 00:50:55,920 The great lie of our adversary is that we are not accepted. We're not good enough, strong enough, skilled enough for kingdom work. 247 00:50:55,920 --> 00:51:04,920 Here's the thing. Our adversary is partly right. We're not strong enough. I'm not strong enough. 248 00:51:04,920 --> 00:51:15,920 You're not strong enough, but Jesus is. And Jesus comes, and he takes all of our brokenness, gives us all that we need. 249 00:51:15,920 --> 00:51:24,920 We are sinners, and it is true, but Christ is stronger. And we rejoice in him who has saved us through his blood. 250 00:51:24,920 --> 00:51:31,920 And who has accepted us, and who has given us a mission. 251 00:51:31,920 --> 00:51:39,920 In 1 Timothy chapter 1, Paul says this: "There's a trustworthy saying deserving of full acceptance. 252 00:51:39,920 --> 00:51:43,920 That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 253 00:51:43,920 --> 00:51:53,920 But I receive mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience. 254 00:51:53,920 --> 00:51:57,920 As an example to those who are to believe in him for eternal life. 255 00:51:57,920 --> 00:52:03,920 What he says is, first of all, Jesus saved me when I was broken and a sinner bigger than anybody else. 256 00:52:03,920 --> 00:52:10,920 And in part, he saves me and he rescues me, but there is another purpose in our salvation. 257 00:52:10,920 --> 00:52:16,920 And that is to display the patience of God to those who are around us. 258 00:52:16,920 --> 00:52:22,920 To be reminded through our transformed life that God accepts us. 259 00:52:22,920 --> 00:52:29,920 That God might display his goodness to others. 260 00:52:29,920 --> 00:52:33,920 Third, there is certainty in our mission. 261 00:52:33,920 --> 00:52:39,920 We often face uncertainty in our mission. I mean uncertainty in this. 262 00:52:39,920 --> 00:52:44,920 Not in what we're supposed to be doing, but how we're supposed to do it. 263 00:52:44,920 --> 00:52:51,920 Scripture makes it clear that God has called his church to reach out and to advance. 264 00:52:51,920 --> 00:52:54,920 The question is, how do we go about doing it? 265 00:52:54,920 --> 00:52:58,920 The church tells of the grace of God as a light in the shining darkness. 266 00:52:58,920 --> 00:53:01,920 It's called to advance against the gates of hell. 267 00:53:01,920 --> 00:53:04,920 Notice this in this account. 268 00:53:04,920 --> 00:53:08,920 Jesus doesn't command Peter to catch fish. 269 00:53:08,920 --> 00:53:11,920 He commands him to go fishing. 270 00:53:11,920 --> 00:53:15,920 Peter learns that it's Jesus who brings in the catch. 271 00:53:15,920 --> 00:53:20,920 Peter is called to let down his nets, and it is Jesus who fills them. 272 00:53:20,920 --> 00:53:24,920 In 1 Corinthians chapter 3, Paul says this. 273 00:53:24,920 --> 00:53:27,920 What is Apollos? What is Paul? 274 00:53:27,920 --> 00:53:30,920 Servants in whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 275 00:53:30,920 --> 00:53:33,920 I planted Apollos water, but God gave the growth. 276 00:53:33,920 --> 00:53:39,920 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 277 00:53:39,920 --> 00:53:46,920 Paul says, "We planted the seeds and watered them, just as Peter let down the nets." 278 00:53:47,920 --> 00:53:51,920 There are these things I think we find when it comes to sharing the gospel. 279 00:53:51,920 --> 00:53:52,920 How do I do it? 280 00:53:52,920 --> 00:53:53,920 What am I supposed to do? 281 00:53:53,920 --> 00:53:54,920 Where am I supposed to do it? 282 00:53:54,920 --> 00:53:55,920 How does it work? 283 00:53:55,920 --> 00:53:56,920 What's the best one? 284 00:53:56,920 --> 00:54:00,920 Jesus simply calls us to let down our nets. 285 00:54:00,920 --> 00:54:11,920 Jesus does not drive us to work with guilt, but rather leads us in what he would have us to do. 286 00:54:11,920 --> 00:54:15,920 That's the call and the invitation of this text. 287 00:54:16,920 --> 00:54:31,920 That as we follow Jesus, we find that he calls to the tired and the broken, that we can trust him to the sinful, that there is acceptance and transformation through his grace. 288 00:54:31,920 --> 00:54:34,920 There is certainty in Christ. 289 00:54:34,920 --> 00:54:36,920 There is certainty in his mission. 290 00:54:36,920 --> 00:54:40,920 There is certainty in the fact that he has transformed us. 291 00:54:40,920 --> 00:54:49,920 And now he calls us, I think, both as individuals and as a church to let down our nets. 292 00:54:49,920 --> 00:54:55,920 So here's the question I want us just to think about in terms of sharing the gospel. 293 00:54:55,920 --> 00:55:00,920 If we think about it in terms of letting down our nets, how can we go about doing that? 294 00:55:00,920 --> 00:55:10,920 Now, tomorrow, the next day, when we see those opportunities, is it through encouraging someone? 295 00:55:10,920 --> 00:55:14,920 Is it through an invitation to participate in something? 296 00:55:14,920 --> 00:55:19,920 Is it through generosity and love or being there in the midst of a difficult situation? 297 00:55:19,920 --> 00:55:26,920 How can you and I let down our net of God's invitation that there is peace for the hurting, 298 00:55:26,920 --> 00:55:33,920 that there is hope for those who are hopeless, that there is light for those who sit in darkness? 299 00:55:33,920 --> 00:55:40,920 How can we let down the net of God's invitation to the world that is around us? 300 00:55:40,920 --> 00:55:50,920 So many times we struggle with how rather than simply letting down our nets and trusting God to fill them. 301 00:55:50,920 --> 00:56:14,920 I don't just want you to see the challenge of this, trusting that as the church opens their arms or lets down their nets, as we open our arms or let down our nets, whether we're inviting, whether we're sharing what God has done in our life, whether we're simply encouraging, being present, being generous, just loving those around us with both our words and our actions, letting down our nets. 302 00:56:14,920 --> 00:56:38,920 I don't just want you to see the challenge. I want you to see the invitation in this text to the tired, to the discouraged, to the frustrated, to the sinful, to the fearful, to the unworthy. Jesus calls you. He calls all of us, reminding us in the church, and if you're not in the church, there's certainty in Jesus. 303 00:56:38,920 --> 00:56:50,920 Whether you're inside or outside, that Jesus can change you, transform you, give you a mission, that there is hope in Jesus. Let's pray. 304 00:56:50,920 --> 00:57:07,920 Father in heaven, I thank you for your goodness. I thank you for your patience with us. Help us, as we as a church, seek to let down our nets in love and invitation, 305 00:57:07,920 --> 00:57:20,920 and proclamation of your righteousness and your goodness, and your son to this world. I pray for two things. One, that you would help us see those opportunities. 306 00:57:20,920 --> 00:57:36,920 And that when we do see those opportunities, you would give us the courage to speak and to act in the way that would glorify and honor you. May we be a people and a church who find our certainty in you and our 307 00:57:36,920 --> 00:57:44,920 mission in you. I thank you for Jesus. I thank you for grace. It's in his name we pray. Amen. 308 00:57:44,920 --> 00:57:57,920 We're going to sing a song that is probably familiar to some of you. I know it's familiar to me from my childhood. A little maybe a little 309 00:57:57,920 --> 00:58:05,920 different, but the same song we sung. So if you would stand, we're going to sing "I Stand Amazed." 310 00:58:05,920 --> 00:58:34,920 I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene. And wonder how he could love me as I am. 311 00:58:34,920 --> 00:59:03,920 A sinner condemned unclean. Singing, "How marvelous, how wonderful, and my song shall never be. How marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me." 312 00:59:03,920 --> 00:59:32,920 He took my sins and my sorrows and made them His very own. He bore the burden to Calvary and suffered and died alone. 313 00:59:32,920 --> 01:00:01,920 Singing how marvelous, how wonderful, and my song shall ever be. How marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me. 314 01:00:01,920 --> 01:00:30,920 And with the ransomed in glory, His face I at last shall see. It will be my joy through the ages, to sing of His love for me. Singing how marvelous, how wonderful, 315 01:00:30,920 --> 01:00:59,920 and my song shall never be. How marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me. How marvelous, how wonderful, and my song shall never be. 316 01:00:59,920 --> 01:01:14,920 How marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me. 317 01:01:14,920 --> 01:01:28,920 Just a few announcements this morning. First of all, Wednesday night Bible study. This evening, 6 p.m., we're starting a study entitled "Body of Proof." 318 01:01:28,920 --> 01:01:38,920 Four weeks leading up to the resurrection of Jesus. Also, we rescheduled our congregational meal to Sunday, March 17th. 319 01:01:38,920 --> 01:01:49,920 That is St. Patrick's Day. So, come Sunday, March 17th, invite a friend. We'll worship together and then spend some time 320 01:01:49,920 --> 01:01:57,920 fellowshipping together around a good meal. So, next men's breakfast is the 23rd, 321 01:01:57,920 --> 01:02:07,920 Saturday, March 23rd. So, also, invite some friends, men, and come and spend some time together with us. 322 01:02:07,920 --> 01:02:13,920 Those are a couple of things that are coming up. Also, next Sunday is our kids' class, children's worship. 323 01:02:13,920 --> 01:02:22,920 And we're excited and thankful for that. So, make sure to be here with kids for that. And that's it for this morning, I think. 324 01:02:22,920 --> 01:02:28,920 I'm going to pray. We'll read a verse of Scripture and sing the theology. 325 01:02:28,920 --> 01:02:34,920 Father in heaven, we thank you for your goodness and your grace. We thank you for how you love us and care for us. 326 01:02:34,920 --> 01:02:41,920 We just ask that you'd be with us as we leave, that we would be a people who seek to put down our nets to share the good news of the gospel. 327 01:02:41,920 --> 01:02:45,920 It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 328 01:02:45,920 --> 01:02:52,920 It says this, we read it a little bit earlier, "Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are as the highway to Zion. 329 01:02:52,920 --> 01:02:59,920 As they go through the valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs from the early rain, and the early rain covers it in pools. 330 01:02:59,920 --> 01:03:05,920 They go from strength to strength. Each one appears before God in Zion." 331 01:03:05,920 --> 01:03:10,920 Maybe. 332 01:03:22,920 --> 01:03:24,920 Amen. 333 01:03:24,920 --> 01:03:25,920 Amen. 334 01:03:52,920 --> 01:03:54,920 Amen. 335 01:13:22,920 --> 01:13:24,920 Let's pray. 336 01:13:52,920 --> 01:13:53,920 Let's pray. 337 01:14:22,920 --> 01:14:23,920 Let's pray. 338 01:14:24,920 --> 01:14:25,920 God bless you. 339 01:14:25,920 --> 01:14:26,920 God bless you. 340 01:14:26,920 --> 01:14:27,920 God bless you. 341 01:15:52,920 --> 01:16:22,900 Thank you.