Praise the Lord for this new day. Today is Friday the 13. It is going to be one of the glorious days. The Lord has made this day as a gift to us. It is full of His promises and marvelous grace. May we all live to to the fullest under His care and authority.
We read about an amazing catch of fish in Luke 5. Jesus is preaching from a boat on the Sea if Galilee, using the shoreline as a natural amphitheater. “When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, 'Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.'” Simon had been washing and mending his nets, while keeping one ear listening to what Jesus was teaching. Jesus’ call for Simon to launch out into deeper water is an analogy of what He wanted to do in Simon’s life. Jesus would take Simon Peter to a deeper, more personal commitment to Himself.
Verse five reveals that Simon’s answer, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” By his reply he communicated that he and his partners were exhausted. The word translated “toiled” indicates very hard work, they had not slept all night and they had worked hard all night. The circumstances of the past evening have indicated that further fishing will be fruitless. Despite these circumstances, Jesus was asking them to take the freshly cleaned nets, row out to the deep water, and go through the strenuous process of letting out and taking in the nets all over again. They needed to learn that obedience to Jesus should not hinge upon favorable circumstances. We are tempted to be guided by our fears instead of following what God says. The greatest obstacle that we face in life is our own fear, the fear of being inadequate or the fear of failure. In Peter’s reply he revealed his respect when he calls Jesus, “Master” . This word means master or teacher and is the Greek equivalent of “rabbi.” Peter showed his love and respect for Christ by not letting his better judgment hinder his obedience.
How does Jesus take us from where we are to where he wants us to be? He pushes us or propels us. Perhaps doing thing our own way has left us empty, and it’s time to give God’s way a try. Maybe our own knowledge and skills have failed us and we need God’s power, God’s knowledge, and God’s skill. We need to do things God’s way. It is time for us today to obey God and try things His way, whether or not we understand where, why, or how it’s all going to work out. Launching out into the deeper water may be scary, and it is certainly less familiar, but it is where God’s blessings are to be found.
The results of the disciples' obedience are recorded in verses six and seven, “And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink."
As they harvested their catch, the two boats, each seven and half feet wide and over twenty-seven feet long, were filled to overflowing and began sinking. Several tons of fish were hauled ashore that day in the midst of roar of a delighted crowd.
The "New Call" would not only demand a greater commitment but it was also an invitation to greater intimacy. (verse 8) “When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”
At first this seems a strange reaction for, if we take it at face value, that he would ask Jesus to leave. We must, however, understand the scene in the light of what happened there. This new revelation of the power and glory of Jesus gave Peter an acute sense of his own sinfulness. Peter was not really trying to get rid of Jesus; he was simply overwhelmed by a sense of his own unworthiness. When he called Jesus, “Lord” it is an entirely different word than used previously in verse five. This word (kurios) is reserved by the Jews as a description of GOD. Peter’s reaction is what we often see in the Bible as man’s reaction to face-to-face confrontation with God.
When the prophet Isaiah “… saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up” he declared, “Woe is me, for I am undone!” (Isaiah 6:1, 5). Job had much the same experience; “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. (6) Therefore I abhor ( despise) myself, And repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:5-6). John would write of his experience in Revelation 1: 17, “And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead….”
When we are first introduced to the power and majesty of the Lord we are immensely aware of our own sin, and do not know what to do but try to escape from his presence. Simon asked Jesus to leave him, not because he does not want to be in his presence but because he feels unworthy of being there. As our experience deepens, and we gain the knowledge that only in Him can we experience the forgiveness of our sins, then a consciousness of our sin drives us to Him. Every miracle had its purpose, without exception. Peter came to see Jesus in an entirely new light. He suddenly realized that Jesus is Lord and he was himself a sinful man. Peter realized his own reluctance to obey the Lord’s command to let down the nets as sin.
Peter confessed to being a sinner and testified to the greatness of His Lord. Jesus responded in the second half of verse ten by a command not to fear and promise that he is to be a fisher of men; “….And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.”
In Christ,
Brown
http://youtu.be/xGPS8sa-bRQ
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Praise and Worship Service
First United Methodist Church, Endicott .
Sponsored by Union Center UMC
6 PM Gathering - Coffee - Fellowship
6:30 PM Worship
Music: Jane Hettinger,
Speaker: Dave Hettinger
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment