Sermon based on Luke 5 vs 1 - 11 I want you to imagine that you are standing by the same lake mentioned in today�s Gospel reading, where there were three fishermen, Simon, James and John, who had been up all night with their nets fishing on the lake. After all their efforts they had nothing whatsoever to show for all their hard work and their nets were empty. By the time Jesus came along on that morning they must have been feeling so tired as well as feeling a complete failure. We�re told that Jesus stepped into Simon�s boat and asked him to put the boat out a little from the shore so that he could teach the crowds that had come specially to hear him. The first thing we notice is that Simon didn�t say �No� to Jesus� request, which tells us that heknew Jesus and had great respect for him as a man and teacher. But this also tells us something else about Simon - it tells us that he listened to Jesus� request and obeyed Him. We�re not told why Simon was prepared to put the nets out again following the previous night�s failure but we do know from a little earlier in Luke�s Gospel that Simon had experienced Jesus� power in the healing of his mother-in-law. This, together with the growing popularity of Jesus as a teacher may have been the main reason that Simon put his complete faith in a man who he knew to be a carpenter as well as a good teacher but who certainly had no experience in fishing. Today�s Gospel shows us something else about Simon.However Peter was certainly not prepared for what happened next. Once Jesus had finished speaking to the crowds He suddenly turned to Simon and instructed him to put out their nets into the deep water. Of course the rest of the story we know from listening to today�s Gospel reading � they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break and they had to get help from their colleagues. that he had complete Trust and faith in Jesus in when he said �but if you say so, I will pay out the nets�. I use the Word for Today Bible Notes for my daily reading and as I read the final paragraph on Wednesday of this week I noticed that part of the devotion referred to today�s Gospel reading. There was one particular paragraph at the end of these notes that I feel sums up the meaning of this miracle and makes it a lot clearer. It read �..�First Simon tried fishing alone and failed�..Next he tried it with Jesus and succeeded�..Same fisherman��Same boat��Same nets. What changed?.......He was willing to do it God�s way! If you want to succeed, talk to God, listen to what He has to say�and do it.� None of us here were around at the time of today�s story but we too can have that same faith through the power of the Holy Spirit and know beyond a doubt that Jesus can make a success out of any situation we are faced providing we will let him come alongside us and allow him to show us the way. So in effect this miracle had another impact on Simon - it opened Simon�s eyes to his own sinfulness and the fact that Jesus was the only person who could save him. Jesus then reassured him and told him not to be afraid and that from then on he would be a fisher of men. It was after this that Simon as well as James and John all �left everything and followed Jesus� When Jesus said to Simon in today�s Gospel �From now on it is men you will catch�, the disciples would have understood this to have meant that they were expected to go out and point people towards the message that salvation can only be through Jesus Christ. So what does this mean for us here today? Today we are all called by God to spread the message of the Gospel ��.are we prepared to leave everything and follow him? Do we have the faith of Simon to say �but if you say so Lord, I will follow you�. Are we prepared to say as Isaiah did, long before Jesus� time �Lord here I am, send me� So when we say �Lord here I am, send me��.like Isaiah and Simon we can, through the help of Jesus, be changed and used by Him and become fishers of men. |
| Leaving Everything and Following Jesus |