WHAT JESUS WANTS TO DO WITH YOU
INTRODUCTION
I am writing this blog while flying from Bujumbura, Burundi to Johannesburg, South Africa. Sherry and I are attending the One House Conference for all Assembly of God missionaries in the Africa Region. We lived in Johannesburg for 12 years and it feels like we are going home. We’ll see many familiar sites, visit old friends, and remember some exciting days of ministry planting and pastoring churches in the city.
Ministry is what we do! Whether in small church in rural America or a mega-church in a mega-city. Doing what God has called Sherry and I to do is our daily routine. After more than three decades of vocational ministry, we’ve learned the best example of how to do ministry is to look at how Jesus did it.
Last week I looked at one day in the ministry of Jesus. Today we are going to pick up on another day in Jesus’s life found in Luke five.
JESUS TEACHES THE PEOPLE
Look at Luke 5:1-3
One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 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 (Lk 5:1-3)
Let me paint the picture of what is happening – Jesus is standing by the Lake Gennesaret and He was teaching a rather large crowd “the word of God.” The crowd became so large that they could not hear Jesus. This does not go unnoticed by the Lord who gives a solution.
Two empty fishing boats float nearby because the fisherman are busy washing nets. One of those fishermen is Simon (aka Peter). Jesus gets into Simon’s boat and so does Simon. They push out from shore and Jesus continues teaching. Water acts as an amplifier for Jesus’s voice making it possible for people to hear His valuable teaching.
A major mark of Jesus’s ministry is teaching. He is an authoritative teacher and people were drawn to Him. One of the characteristics of His teaching is a call to respond. In Luke four people responded violently wanting to murder Jesus. Satan responded to His teaching by trying to disrupt Him. But Jesus responded to Satan’s attacks by casting out demons and silencing them.
His teaching on this day is no different. He will speak truth and there will be a response to it. But it will not be the response of the crowd. Today, one of His own will hear and react to the Master’s message.
JESUS TEACHES SIMON PETER
When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” 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” (Lk 5:4-5)
As a teenager I loved to fish. Growing up on the banks of the Little Miami River in Ohio made it easy. My friends and I would spend all night fishing for catfish. I am not sure why we did it at night, but we did. Simon Peter had fished all night. Now he’s trying to clean up his nets to prepare for the next day of work.
I can only imagine Peter was wondering, “Hey wait a minute, I thought we were going o help Jesus teach, not go on a fishing trip!” Nevertheless, Simon Peter is obedient to “put out into the deep.” Then Jesus says, “let down the nets for a catch.” Wait, what? The nets are clean. They are stowed away for the next day. All that work cleaning them and now Jesus wants to cause us more work. So, in true Simon Peter fashion, he decides to remind Jesus of two things:
We’ve worked all night
We have not caught anything
I can just hear Peter, “Lord, you don’t know how hard I have worked all day with no result. I do not want to spend the night out here! The fish just aren’t biting. But Peter’s next words show his willingness to obey the Lord, even when it’s inconvenient. He says, “But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
He is not sure it will work but he remembers another day when Jesus healed his mother-in-law of a high fever. Peter remembers seeing crowds gather at his home and Jesus healing them. He remembers the amazing miracles of Jesus. With those supernatural events rolling around in his brain, he casts out the cleaned and stowed nets. He is doing this because he trusts Jesus.
I think Peter is about to learn that Jesus’s ministry is not just about big crowds and massive miracles. He is going to see that Jesus is concerned with the everyday stuff of life. Think about what happens if Peter doesn’t catch any fish.
No fish equals no paycheck! That has a direct effect on the mother-in-law Jesus healed. It impacts Peter’s family. His partners in the fishing business suffer. Jesus understands what is happening and is teaching Peter that He can be trusted to provide for every need.
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 (Lk 5:6-7).
Wow! Two boats filled to overflowing with fish! Two boats filled to overflowing with provision from God! Jesus uses this miracle to teach Simon Peter. Why is He teaching Peter this lesson? After all, isn’t the goal of teaching to transform the life of the learner? Yes, that is the goal of teaching. Luke continues to write, showing us the power of Christ’s teaching to transform.
SIMON PETER’S RESPONSE TO JESUS’S TEACHING
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners (Lk 5:8-10a).
Everything Simon Peter saw Jesus do: the healing – the deliverance – the amazing teaching – and now Jesus took interest in his needs. Not only interest, but action!
Think about something. This is not the first time Simon Peter has met Jesus. They’ve been hanging out. They’ve eaten meals together. Jesus healed Simon Peter’s mother-in-law! It’s not like they are strangers to one another. His response this time is different! He fell at Jesus’s knees. There is no record of him doing this when his mother-in-law is healed. I find no narrative where Peter confesses the brokenness of his own soul: I am a sinful man.
JESUS RESPONDS TO SIMON PETER
Think about what is happening and who is watching. Peter’s partners: James and John, are witnesses to the whole scene. Now, fisherman are not sissies! These are rough and gruff working-class men. None are accustomed to bowing down to anyone. They fished. They worked. They took care of their families. But now James and John are watching the impetuous and mouthy Peter humble himself before Christ over a catch of fish.
I love how Jesus responds to Simon Peter’s act of humility.
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people” (Lk 5:10b).
Don’t be afraid!? He could have said, “Peter, stop being afraid.” Some teach that Peter is confessing his fear of Jesus. If Jesus can command nature to obey, then what could He do to a foul-mouthed fisherman? I don’t think this is the case because of what happens next. In that boat, on that body of water, on the greatest fishing night of his life, and with all his friends looking on Simon Peter finally get’s the revelation that Jesus is God in the flesh! And the King of kings speaks kind words to this man who suddenly realizes he is in the presence of God’s begotten Son.
Jesus’s words are not meant to condemn Simon Peter for his sinfulness. He is saying to Him, “My love for you doesn’t just provide fish. My love for you, Peter, provides forgiveness of sin! Peter’s confession pulls out of Jesus the deepest act of compassion. He forgives Peter by calling Him to become a disciple. He makes him a fisher of men.
SIMON PETER’S RESPONSE EFFECTS HIS PARTNERS
But remember, while Simon and Jesus are having this conversation, his partners are looking on. When they get back to shore and park the boats look what happens:
So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him (Lk 5:11 emphasis mine).
Simon Peter’s response to Jesus makes an impact on John and James. By the time they get back to shore these two men are convinced of Jesus’s messianic claims and decide to follow Him.
WHAT JESUS WANTS TO DO WITH YOU
What can we take from this story to help us this week? I believe there are three key insights from this story to encourage you in your walk
JESUS WANTS TO BE INVOLVED IN OUR EVERYDAY LIFE.
I know this sounds like a cliché. I even thought of not saying it because it seems so mundane, But it’s not mundane, it’s miraculous. The very Son of God wants to be a part of my everyday life. Paul wrote to the church at Rome and said,
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him (Rom 12:1-2 The Message).
God wants us to give our everyday lives to Him. Every need. Every desire. Every problem. Every joy. Every blessing. Everything to Him! That tells me that Jesus wants to walk with us through every aspect of life – when we recognize this, our lives are filled with confidence to act because God is in control.
JESUS WANTS TO WALK WITH YOU BASED ON A FOUNDATION OF LOVE
When Simon Peter confessed his sin to Christ, notice Jesus does not get out of the boat. Jesus stayed in the boat with Simon Peter the sinner. He does not reject Simon or step back declaring, “I am too holy to be around you!”
No way! Jesus stands there and gives Simon Peter the best catch of his life: a tangible expression of the love of God.
When you wake up tomorrow and go about your day, you need to remember that Christ forgives sin. Because of this fact, you can confidently bring you sin and shortcomings to the throne of God. You can trust Him with deepest darkness of your heart. He will not turn you away! He will not reject you! He will walk with you based on love.
If you are believer in Christ than you don’t have to live under condemnation. Sure, you may sin, and you will make mistakes, but that is not the end of your relationship with God. You need to respond just like Simon Peter: confess your sin to Jesus, received His love, then live in the confidence that Christ is with you.
JESUS WANT TO USE YOU TO IMPACT THOSE AROUND YOU.
When you wake up tomorrow, I want you say these words, “Through Christ I can make a difference in someone’s life!”
As believers, we’ve been given everything needed to fulfill the mission of God. Just like John and James were impacted by Peter’s confession and followed Jesus, those around you are impacted by your walk. Don’t let that worry you. Embrace it. Live it out. Let God’s love shine brightly through you every day.
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