1997-04

SERMON NOTES

TITLE: PUT OUT INTO THE DEEP

TEXT: Luke 5:1-7

1 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God,

2 he saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets.

3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch."

5 Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."

6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.

7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. (NIV)

INTRODUCTION: Here in this passage, we have a word picture; a story so graphic that we can see it in our mind's eye. There is the Sea of Galilee, dark blue water surrounded by mountains, topped by a lighter blue sky in which the sun is shining. On this day, there is also a disturbance into this scene. On the shore, there is a large crowd pressing about the Teacher, the One sent from God. The crowd is so large, and so pressing the Master that He stands at the water's edge, looking for a place to teach them.

Then He sees the two boats drawn up to the shore, and the men with them. The sails on the boats are down; the men are washing and repairing their nets; they look weary.

Jesus sees the solution to His problem. He uses Peter's boat for His pulpit on that day, and from it, He teaches the crowd. The boat, let a little way out from the shore, gives Him the separation from the crowd that He needed to be able to teach them; it raised Him up a little above them, and also made a good backdrop for His teaching, with the natural picture of the lake and mountains behind Him.

It is likely that the fishermen stopped to hear the sermon also. How could they work with this crowd about? What was this Teacher saying that would attract such a crowd? I am sure that they listened to Jesus' teaching that day, though we do not know the subject.

Suddenly, the Master is finished with the lesson for the day. He turns to Peter and the other fishermen, and says these words to them: "PUT OUT INTO THE DEEP." He was telling them to leave the shore, where all the crowd was (and where the fish likely were not); go out away from the crowd, to the place where the water was deep. Let us now note some things we can learn from this simple command.

1. Jesus not only tells Peter to put out into the deep water, but He tells him that they are going to catch fish there.

2. Jesus' command likely seemed foolish to Peter. Remember that Peter was a fisherman by trade; he had been a life-long resident of the town by this lake. He knew how to fish; he knew the lake; he knew where the fish usually were, where they spawned. Peter knew all about fishing, for he was a successful fisherman. He also knew that on some days, even the best of fishermen could catch nothing. And now here comes this man, not a fisherman, but a carpenter, who is going to tell him how to fish. And yes, Peter had just come back from fishing all night with nothing. Surely this was a most foolish command; to obey it would be even more foolish.

3. Peter, being human as he was, and always having something to say, told Jesus the truth. They had been able to take nothing, though they had worked hard all night. However, also note that Peter also exhibited his faith when he said, "But because You say so, I will put down the nets." Though the command seemed foolish, though he had already tried, had already given it his best and failed, Peter found the faith to obey.

4. Now we are often like Peter. We may look at the circumstances, and determine for ourselves that God's command we have just heard is foolish; it is irrational, without meaning. Now we may not even have as much nerve as Peter, who told the Master that he didn't think this was going to work, but deep down, many times we certainly doubt. We think that possibly God just does not understand all the circumstances.

1. We, being human, have natures which are prone to make excuses. This is because we see from the human perspective; we see only a limited picture from the natural point of view. Because of this, we presume to tell the Lord just how things are.

2. We make our excuse just as Peter did. Peter said, "We have been out here all night. No fish here; we already tried; we are tired. The sun is now well up in the sky, and you know you can't catch many fish under these circumstances. Why Lord, You know it's impossible to catch fish at this time of day."

What do we say? We say, "Lord, I already tried." "It's impossible to get people to come to our church in this area.. They're all Catholic (or some other denomination)." "He was once a Christian and a member of our church, but he won't come now." "Lord, you see how much money and how many workers it will take and You know we don't have them." Our lists can go on and on. We give human reactions, faithless answers, make comments and have attitudes which fail to take into consideration the person of Jesus Christ, and the power of God.

3. We must still obey as Peter did. "But because You say so, I will." That must be our response when the Lord tries to tell us what to do. Peter's faith, shown by obedience, follows hot on the heels of his doubt. His faith may have been small, but it was enough for him to obey.

Today, we must obey. Do you have a vision for this church given by the Lord? Has He given you directions or instructions, to which you are still making excuses. We must get past our doubt, we must show faith, and we must obey.

III. Faith is still a possibility; it must become a reality.

1. It is difficult to determine where faith, the ability to believe God despite the circumstances, comes from; it is hard to tell how it comes, or just exactly when it arrives. Paul said faith is a mysterious mixture of that which is human and that which is divine when, speaking of saving faith, he said, in Ephesians 2:8-9, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast." (NIV) Based on this verse, we can make a couple of observations.

(1). God is the primary mover, the operator, in the matter of faith. His grace is ever-present to help us, to assist us and to strengthen us.

(2). We as men must still do our part. Faith is not without human element, nor is it without human response. We must fulfill our roles as well.

2. We are aware that Jesus' presence on the boat may have helped Peter to exhibit faith to obey. Simon was able to look into the face of God, and was able to know there was something different about this man that raised him to the place he was able to do the foolish, to do something that Peter felt would not work.

We must remember that the Lord is also with us. He has left the Holy Spirit to be our helper and our guide. He himself has promised that where two or three gather in His name He will be present. So, just as Peter had the Lord to help his faith, so do we.

Peter's faith came fast on the heels of his doubt; it came in spite of his doubt. Probably his faith, his ability to obey surprised even Peter. So he said, "Because You command, I will obey."

For us, as for Simon Peter, faith remains a possibility, which must become a reality. To forget that faith makes all things possible leads to despair. Our hope may be dim, the possibilities may seem utterly remote and impossible, beyond all expectations, but we will not give us. We will look into the Master's face and say, "I will obey; I will look beyond human limits to You."

IV. Faith, acted upon, will bring the unexpected miracle. Simon Peter and the others put the boats out, though they were not likely greatly excited about the prospects. He moved out into deep water, which was not far away, as you can see from the center of the Sea of Galilee to the banks on a clear day. When he got there, Peter let down his nets.

"What? Was that a fish I felt?" Can't you see the question in Peter's eyes as he looks up from the nets. He and his helpers, moved by a little more faith than they had previously had, take hold of the nets and pull together. More fish, and more fish. So many fish that they must call for help from the other boat. Too many fish to handle. What a miracle.

Today, we can receive many miracles if we will only have enough faith to believe a little, and to act, even a little. Today, we need to put out from the shore of complacency and ease, into the deep waters of faith and obedience. We need to obey the Master, and quit making excuses. There are at least three things which we can do today that enables God to give us a miracle.

1. We can give ourselves to fervent prayer. This is a mighty weapon, but too often we forget the power it has, or we grow discouraged and give up just before the miracle happens. This we should not do.

One pastor tells of a saint in the church he pastored. She was not flashy, or talented in any special way, but she burned with a passion for souls, and prayed often, occasionally throughout the entire night for the church and salvation of souls. That church was strong and flourishing because of her prayers.

From the past, we have the example of Adoniram Judson, who prayed so much that he was discovered to have great calluses on his knees when he died. David Wilkerson started with prayer, and Teen Challenge, which ministers to thousands of drug addicts and troubled youth resulted. John Wesley traveled thousands on miles on horseback, preaching and literally changing the world in terms of religious impact. But back home, his mother Suzanna Wesley was on her knees praying for her son and the lost. We can and should give ourselves to prayer.

2. We can make ourselves, and all our resources, available for God's service. God expects a willingness to serve from all of us, and it is on this battlefield of the human will and submission that the victory will often be won, or the battle lost. Remember the rich young ruler, who sadly turned away rather than give his all. We must not. We must rather submit to the Master; we must say "Yes, Lord, we will ride with you." We must give to the Lord all we have or will have; all we are, or can become. We must give our all.

Jesus takes such gifts, and turns them into miracles. When we drop a net in a new place, or give a few pieces of bread and fish, or bring a friend to hear His word, such a simple act is one of faith and submission, which is often the basis for our miracle.

So often, when we least expect it, God does the seemingly impossible; no, rather He does the impossible, which He alone can do. We may pray and work for years for the salvation of a soul, and then, suddenly it seems, God performs the miracle of new birth. God's grace is marvelous, and we must make our all available to Him to use.

3. We can and must live our faith. We are called to be fishers of men. It's not enough to say "Yes, Lord, I am sure there are lost souls somewhere out in this world." No fisherman ever caught a fish sitting at home (in the church building), looking at his rod and reel, admiring his bait, or practicing his casting in the front yard. We must put out into the deep (go out from the church) if we want to catch anything. God wants us to put our faith into action.

The story is told of a new convert who decided to see if prayer worked. Kneeling at the altar, he prayed for God to give a new pair of shoes to a little girl he had seen nearly barefoot that morning. Later, he drove by her house to see if she had received them. This went on for a period of many days, and there were no shoes. Finally, again at the altar, the man prayed, "God, I'm going to give you one more day. Then, if You do not give that little girl some new shoes, I'm going down to Wal-mart and buy her a pair myself." Faith must be put into action.

Ira Stanphill told of a young preacher he knew, who had a small congregation. Visiting him, Ira noticed the man's prayer life, and persistent work. In a few years, the church had grown to over one thousand members. Faith must be put to work.

God has something for each of us. If we cannot pilot the ship, then maybe we can prepare meals for those who can. If we can't swim, or fish, perhaps we can be net-menders. We each have a task to perform in God's kingdom.

CONCLUSION: God never makes foolish commands, though we may think so. As human beings, we tend to make excuses. However, faith is possible, and must be used if we expect a miracle. We must make ourselves, and all our resources available to the Master, and then put our faith to work doing what He has called each of us to do.

Pal Yonggi Cho has learned, and put this into practice in Seoul, Korea, and now his church is approaching a million members. John Kilpatrick and Steve Hill, along with their team of co-workers, have learned this, and the Pensacola Revival is sweeping this nation. The most important thing to remember is that God is working in all our communities, giving us opportunities to win souls such as we have never known before.

Are you willing to step out into the deep? Are you willing to get out into the river of God, and be carried by it to whatever place of service the Lord has for you? Are you willing to give Him your all?

This is the day, this is the hour, this is the moment, for all of us to put out into the deep, and trust the Lord for a miracle, even here.

Let's begin to do our part, and then trust the Lord to do His part. Then the miracles will start to happen.

Osage Gospel Lighthouse, Linn, MO 1-19-97 pm