What’s Your Net --- Worth?
These are sermon notes, not written in a
polished or finished manuscript form. For this and other sermon videos:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu4zUK_ahzdiU15PL6dcAXA/videos
Reading – Luke
5:1-11
(Crisis in Hawaii
1/13/18). Imagine that you are in Hawaii. That’s nice. It’s a beautiful day as
always. You’re relaxed, calm, enjoying the water and the sun. Just another day
in paradise. Then suddenly you hear a warning that there is a missile heading
toward you. That’s not nice! Then what happens next? You remember a sermon you
heard recently about procrastination, and, well … you panic! You’re not
prepared! You rush to put things in order and do what you can. Then you learn
it was a false alarm all along. A man accidentally pushed the wrong button.
Relaxed again, you probably go back to what you were doing – or not doing –
before it all started.
Have you ever felt
alarmed about the urgency of serving Jesus Christ? Has your heart ever been
stirred – your spirit moved – to the point that you were ready to make a
drastic change, a complete surrender to Jesus Christ as Lord?
Something just like
that happened just off the shore of Capernaum, on the Sea of Galilee …
It was all so
ordinary – the fishermen, the boats, and the nets – until Jesus came on the
scene. He challenged Simon Peter to move farther out in the Sea of Galilee and
drop the nets just once more. Peter caught the fish, and Jesus caught Peter!
Then He sent him to catch others! Say, what could He do with our boats
and nets? What’s your net worth?
Fishing
on the Sea of Galilee – Nelson's New Illustrated
Bible Manners & Customs, p. 457
Fishing in the Gospels – Justin Rogers – GA Nov 2017, p.
13
Fish and Faith
Fishing villages:
Bethsaida, Capernaum, etc.
Fishermen: Peter,
Andrew, James, and John.
Fish stories: the
dragnet (Matt 13:47-50).
Fish: Grk. ἰχθύς
(ichthys) – ichthyology
ἰ
– First letter in Ἰησοῦς JESUS
χ
– First letter in Χριστός CHRIST
θ
– First letter in θεός GOD
ύ
– First letter in υἱός SON
ς
– First letter in σωτήρ SAVIOR
“Saint Peter's fish”
– Tilapia galilaea
Matt 17:24-27
“The Jesus Boat” – photos and history
An ancient boat built with wooden joints was discovered
during the drought in 1986. It is believed to be a fisherman’s boat dating from
the later part of the first century B.C. to 70 A.D. Dated by the coins and
pieces of pottery that were found in it.
It is located in the Yigal Allon Museum, next to Kibbutz Ginosar, only a
few minutes drive north of Tiberias. The boat is preserved to a length of 26
1/2 feet, a width of 7 1/2 feet, and a height of 4 1/2 feet. Seven different
types of wood were used in the hull’s construction, which was built in the
contemporaneous Mediterranean “shell-based” method, in which the frames were
attached, with edge-fastened mortise-and-tenon joinery, only after much of the
hull’s shell had been constructed. Could hold about fifteen adults. For the full story with photos, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_of_Galilee_Boat.
Leading up to Luke 5
Luke 4:14-15 Power of Spirit, Widespread Report,
Teaching, Being Praised
Luke 4:16-30 Powerful, Gracious Preaching: Offering
Grace, Rebuking Unbelief
Luke 4:31-37 Casting out the Unclean Spirit in
Capernaum Synagogue
Result: Amazement
Luke 4:37 Report About Him into Every Locality in Surrounding
District
Luke 4:38-41 Rebuking Fever, Laying Hands, Healing All
Types of Diseases, Exorcisms
(Note this earlier, first mention of Simon, before Luke
5.)
Luke 4:42-44 Heralding Good News of Kingdom, Sought by
the Crowd (Unable to Escape!)
Luke 5:1-3 Multitude Pressing and Hearing, Forcing Him to
Teach from a Boat!
To improve your net
worth,
Get as close to
Jesus as you can.
Luke 5:1
When we share their desperate
passion to be near Him, all the externals (attendance in the assembly, Bible
study, prayer, etc.) will follow. Those elements are symptoms, the fruit of our
faith.
To improve your net
worth,
Give Him control of
your boat.
Luke 5:2-3
Your boat is not
yours but His, if you are His.
Jesus is never a
mere passenger. He is the pilot, the captain of every vessel He enters.
To improve your net
worth,
Listen to His every
word.
Luke 5:3
We can only imagine
the content of His message, since it is not recorded here.
To improve your net
worth,
Hear His personal
challenge.
Luke 5:4
He calls you to do
something different, something difficult, something even radical because of
your allegiance to Him.
To improve your net
worth,
Admit you cannot
succeed alone.
Luke 5:5
Admitting your
weakness is the first step to accessing His strength.
“Toil” renders the
Gk. kopiao, “to labor to the point of
exhaustion.” Peter had spent all he had, so he was spent.
You know that same
frustration. Doing the same old, same old over and over, but not accomplishing
what really matters.
To improve your net
worth,
Say, “Master, at
Your word I will.”
Luke 5:5
Note the term “Master.”
Once you acknowledge Jesus in that way, you become His servant, ready to obey.
Notice Simon’s
influence over others in that boat. He said, “I will,” but then we read, “They
did.” You have that same kind of influence over others in your life.
To improve your net
worth,
Launch out deeper
and drop it.
Luke 5:6
How deep is “deep?”
It’s deeper than where you are right now!
It’s a risk. It
takes faith, the conviction that Jesus knows where the fish are, and we do not.
You’ll never know
what He can do in your life until you drop that net where you have not dropped
it before.
To improve your net
worth,
Get partners to
help.
Luke 5:6
Did you notice in
Luke 5:1-2 that there were two boats?
There was no
competition or rivalry among these seasoned fishermen. Nor is there among
seasoned Christians. When God brings the catch, it’s “all hands on deck.”
To improve your net
worth,
Fall before Him;
confess your sin.
Luke 5:8-10
Some may think, “What
business does Jesus have entering my boat and taking control of it?” Simon’s
thought was just the opposite. “What business do I have being in the same boat
with the Master? I am not worthy!”
It is that admission
of failure that is the key to success.
It is when you
confess your sin and fear – and only then – that Jesus will say, “Do not fear!”
It is pride that
keeps some from that admission.
To improve your net
worth,
Forsake, follow, and
… FISH!
Luke 5:10-11
How could they leave
their business, which was so vital to their lives and to the economy? As important
as their work was, they were so captivated by Jesus’ call that they went after
Him!
We may define conversion
as a change in what one fishes for.
“From now on, you’ll
be catching men!”
Measuring Your “Net
Worth”
It’s not the size of
your net …
Not the weight of
the fish in your net …
Not the composition
of your net …
Not the color of
your net …
Not the history of your
net …
But who controls
your net and what you do with it as a result.
Nothing else
matters. Nothing.
No comments:
Post a Comment