The Catch of Fish

Chapter 5 we read about Jesus loading the Mets with fish. It was miraculous. No fear of astonishment. Peter asked Jesus to leave the reason he gave Lord depart from me, because I'm a simple manner. In any sense at all that had a single brain and exactly what it said large don't go.

Come here because I'm a sinful man because what Peter needed more than anything in the world's was a Savior in the presence of Peter realized who was standing in the boat with getaway ruler today on Renewing Your Mind. The presence of Christ shouldn't push us away draws and remind us that is our Savior that he offers forgiveness and new life. Dr. RC. Lastly looked at the gospel of Luke. Together we remember that was on that occasion that after Jesus had healed so many people that he withdrew from the multitudes into a remote place but they pursued relentlessly, asking him to stay in their midst that they may continue his healing ministry among them, and he said don't you know that I must be engaged in preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, for it was for this purpose that I have been sent into the world and so now as we come to chapter 5 we see that the people continued to press around him only on this occasion not to insist on healings and miracles, but rather the multitude now is pressing about Jesus that they might hear the word of God. Now that's a good thing that the multitudes now instead of just looking for some personal gain.

They came rushing to Jesus when he explained to them that what his mission was was to proclaim the word of God. The multitude still came and they pressed about him because that's what they wanted to hear.

Just like you can see this morning here in this building standing room only. No empty seats. The people of Samford and of Orlando flocking in here, such as their desire to hear the word of God. Oh how that would be the case, how God would cause a revival in our land that people would press enter the kingdom of God and have a flaming desire in their hearts to hear the word of God and in this day and age. I wonder if they would come even of Jesus were preaching this morning's I hope they would come in greater numbers than they come one on preaching, but in any case, Jesus was standing by the lake when he was beginning to teach and he saw that there were two boats there more by the lake. The fishermen were gone from them because they were mending their nets.

I can see that in my mind's eye. We used to live on the North Shore of Boston and frequently we would drive to Gloucester at noon day to eat at the wharf there and we would watch as the boats. The fishing fleet would come in and we would see the old grizzled ours. The sailors there on the sidewalks with their nets just as they did 2000 years ago, meticulously these men with gnarled fingers would be working on the nets to make sure that any weak portion of the net was strengthened in anything that had ripped would be repaired so that they could continue on their vocation of bringing fish to the way and so here just as there and Gloucester. These fishermen were sitting by the way, washing their nets.

And Jesus got into one of the boats which happen to be Simon Peter's and asked him to put out a little ways from the land so that he could get some space from this multitude that was pressing against them. And when Peter cast off a few feet from the shore out of the reach of the multitudes Jesus sat down and there from the boat. He began to teach the crowds that had gathered and when it stops. Listen to what happened. He said to Simon launch out now into the deep and let down your nets for a catch interesting is that why did Jesus do that well. We we are told, for sure what he did it, but we certainly get a strong hint as to why he did it. Jesus as prophets of the Old Testament were want to do would frequently accept their verbal proclamation was some kind of visible object lesson and after teaching the multitudes with his word. Now he's going to teach Simon Peter something by giving him an object lesson that he will never forget. He says Peter I want you now to launch out into the deep working to go fishing. You can sense the tension in Peter. The frustration Jesus tells him to push out in the deep Eastern out there all night fishing.

Then catch a thing. You know what he's thinking.

This is impetuous Peter is thinking. Jesus you know all about theology. We love to hear you teach about the things of God and the kingdom of God would give us some credit were professional fishermen we know about how to fish and how much the place where the patient were not the fish we were not there all night and are not are empty, but he's relatively polite. He said Master's a good way to start. We toiled all night and caught nothing. Nevertheless, if you say so at your word. I'll let down the net. I don't want to do this, master.

But since you are the master and sense of mastery you give me the command to do it will do it, albeit reluctantly reminds me of an experience I related on another occasion, another context, when I was in seminary.

Dr. Gerstner's class, or about 19 of us and that they are sitting in a semi circle and he said if God is sovereign in the doctrine election is true, why should we be engaged in evangelism and he started asking each student.

One by one and I were sitting on the right end of the semi circle and I'm so grateful to be started on the left then but he went to the first third in the first incident beats me.

I've always wondered that myself.

The second student says well if God is sovereign and election is true.

I really can't see the point of being all that exercise the bottom evangelism third one said I have no earthly idea, and one by 118 Indians fell in sequence until that came to me in the gaze of the professors on Mandy's wellness or sprawl. What you say God is sovereign election is true, why should be engaged in the van will I know this isn't the reason you're looking one small reason that we should still be concerned about evangelism is, after all, Jesus commands us to be and Gerstner start of the last in a mocking type of laugh. Yes Pro and what could possibly be more insignificant than that, that the Lord Jesus Christ, your Savior command you to do something got the message so the next time I was asked that question. I didn't downplayed of the Lord God omnipotent command you to do something you do it and you don't do it reluctantly and you don't do it smugly, as if you're ready to say when you fail.

I told you so but that's Peter's response here just like ours.

Okay Lord you're the master. If you command it and he said of the other guys.

Let's humor them throw down the nets and you know what happened. Every special the sea of Galilee jump in the net. Well first of all, we have to understand how that happened, who made those fish who was the Lord of those fish.

Those were Jesus fish. Jesus made those fish they made the lake and one Jesus tells his men the put the net in the water, the fish come to do the bidding of the master there was hesitancy on the part of Peter, no hesitancy on the part of the fish fish were jumping to their deaths at the bidding of their master. When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish so that their net was breaking, so they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them and they came and now they filled both the boats so that they began to sink.

This is the greatest catch of fish that these fishermen had ever experienced in all of their years of fishing in this way, and when this happened. I want us to note Peter's response mentioned this before, you would think that Peter, who had partners of James and John were told her that they were in business with the sons of Zebedee, that Peter would've been the spokesman for his partners and was said to Jesus what Jesus 50% of the business is yours. You just come down here once a week and do this and not 90% will pay you if you will do this once a week. That's what you would expect. Peter's response to be. That wasn't what it was his response is profound in his response, dear friends, is profoundly important for us to understand when Peter saw this look tells us he fell on his knee's in front of Jesus, begging him not to go in business but begging him on his knee to leave to go away. Lord, he says, depart from me, please go, we don't have to guess why he did that. He states his reason clearly the part for me, for I am a sinful man you want to know why this churches and fill right now because there are thousands, hundreds of thousands of people out there who want to stay as far away from Jesus as they possibly can.

And the reason they want to avoid the worship of Jesus in the presence of Jesus is the same reason Peter gave the Jesus please leave get out of here. The part for me because I am a sinful man and the reason why sinners don't want to come the church is because there sinners and nothing makes a sinner more uncomfortable than the presence of a holy God in my book on the holiness of God. I have a whole chapter on the holiness of Christ. We've already seen the response of the demons to Jesus. Jesus please leave. Why are you tormenting out so you here before the time the demons couldn't stand to be in the presence of the holy and they look at the centers now. I've told the story before about the experience I had about 40 years ago.

So I was speaking at a college Western Pennsylvania in a town that was situated along one of the rivers and the steel Valley and it was a leak day at the end of winter snow and not yet completely been melted from the sidewalks and the snow was not white was black sort than the dirt was a dreary day overcast nose on this Boston I looked at the people who were getting on this Boston. These were people who were depressed were all pressed were just trying to eek out some kind of subsistence of living and you can see them with their stupid shoulders and the lines etched in their face and the looks of the square that they had and I was sitting on the bus.

Looking at these people and I was thinking that these people have any hope whatsoever.

I started look out of the grimy windows on the bus.

The first thing I noticed was we were passing by storefront church and it had rudimentary cross in the front window and suddenly my spirits were bored and I thought there is there's the sign of hope for these people across and we want a little further and I saw another one and I was amazed to realize that I couldn't go a city block in this town without seeing across the universal symbol of the Christian faith, the symbol of humanity's hope and without the cross.

Men and women are without hope in this world, but in other crosses not just the sign of hope. But it's also a sign of guilt because when we see that cross we know what it represents.

It represents a work of somebody who was trying to save people who were in their sin and just as a vampire shrinks in horror from the sign of the cross so fallen human creature shrinks in horror at the side of Christ because Christ is holy and we are not people who are on the holy are always uncomfortable in the presence of the holy. You don't have to say a word. If people know you're Christian you make them feel uncomfortable because your holy because you're associated with one who is and people are not comfortable in the presence of Jesus, unless he's healing them or feeding them and so Peter wants Jesus to leave.

This was not merely a wicked desire on Peter's part to want Jesus to leave. It was stupid it was foolish because the reason he gave Lord depart from me, because I'm a simple manner.

In any sense at all. If you had a single brain and is happy what it said large don't go. Come here because I'm a sinful man because what Peter needed more than anything in the world's was a Savior many times have you heard it. I don't know, I've heard hundreds of times were people said to me that religion may be good for you and going to church and all that's fine if you get something out of it but I don't feel the need for Jesus you don't feel the need for Jesus is your heart that hard. Don't you realize that there's nothing on this earth that you need more desperately than you need Jesus. What else can satisfy your need except Jesus.

I say to people what you do with your sin. What you do with your guilt and I've said that, how many times the people what you do with your guilt. I've yet to have somebody say to me I don't have any guilt.

I don't have anything every impenitent center on this planet. Even sociopaths know that they have guilt and they know that they have sent and if you are human being and you know that you have sin. How can you be so foolish as to think you don't need Jesus because no one else can fix your problem. So again I'm Peter would've had any sense he wouldn't have asked Jesus to leave, he would've begged him to come closer.

Please come here. I'm a sinful man I need to. Jesus said, Simon, don't be afraid. From now on you're going to catch men there to catch people my people, whom the father has given me.

I don't need you to catch them. I can catch them without you. My father can rinse his word up in the clouds of he wants to, but he's chosen the foolishness of preaching is the means to save the world and I'm choosing the foolishness of you disciples to bring my people into the full. So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed fame and glory, riches, power, all these things were forsaken because they realize that nothing could compare with this one could just perform that miracle before their eyes. Nothing could compare with this one. There was the pearl of great price.

They had nothing to trade for the greatness of the benefits from Jesus and so they stop running from him. That's what happens at conversion.

That's what happens when you're life is turned around by God the Holy Spirit you stop being a fugitive. You know, the tragedy for me is that the fugitives are not just outside their people in this room who are still fugitives who were still fleeing from Jesus hiding from Jesus wearing a man for a cloak of respectability by coming to church, and so on.

But in their hearts there still saying the parts for me. I'm not ready to forsake all and to follow you. Once you've heard the holy one say to you, your sins are forgiven, fallen in the spirit of God changes that rock that's in your chest that you call heart and causes it to be a new under the spirits press then all you want to do is get as close as you possibly can. Jesus, in the form of the rest of us what it means that every generation that change from death to life comes as a free gift of God. My prayer is that you have repented and placed your trust completely in the finished work of Christ. I'm glad you joined us today as we continue Dr. RC Sproul sermon series from the gospel of Luke.

Over the past few months we have studied verse by verse through the first five chapters and will continue through the rest of the book is so helpful to study God's word. This way because we get to know the context of the passage we'd like to help you as you continue your own studies. So when you contact us today with a donation of any amount we will be glad to provide you with Dr. Sproles nearly 600 page commentary on Luke's gospel. Our offices are closed on this board stay but you can give your gift and make your request online@renewingyourmind.org as believers we are eager to renew our minds in prayer and Bible study and accurately here. We want to help you as much as we can. That's why we established rest net to be a source of faithful Bible teaching throughout your day. Your teaching and preaching Scripture reading, audiobooks, and more. 24 hours a day. Listen for free at any time when you go to rest net.FM or when you download the free riff net app Jesus went from town to town healing.

Everyone who was sick next Sunday will return to Luke's gospel to learn about one some restoration at the hands of Jesus next week here on Renewing Your Mind