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1. I read a story about a guy who took his wife fishing - great time at least she did - she came home & told her girl friends

2. I did everything wrong - I was too noisy I used the wrong bait - I reeled in too soon - and I caught more fish than he did

3. Well today we are going to look at one of the greatest fishing stories of all time - and it is true ! Found right here in the word of God. read v. 1-11

1. Now one of the things that we need to note right away in looking at this story is this is not the first time our Lord met these guys or called them

B) Their first initial meeting took place at the Baptism of Jesus. John & his bro. James were followers of John the B.- As were - Peter & Andrew -

3. Andrew & John were introduced to Jesus by John the B. in John 1 - they were convinced that - Jesus was the Messiah

1. Told Andrew immediately found his brother Simon -( name means shifting sand . ) But Jesus said - from now on Peter - called ROCK!

4. That meeting was interrupted by - Jesus’ calling into the wilderness - 40 days - Upon returning from the wilderness

1. - Matt. & Marks gospel records that Jesus found these 4 brothers out fishing - Called them to come & follow Him

5. And that He would make them to become fishers of Men.

1. We are told in those gospel accounts that they immediately left their nets & followed Him.

2. It was during that 9 months these Disciples were w/ Jesus off & on during that period of time - listening to teaching - miracles - Passover in Jer.

1. But on this day something new was going to take place/ deeper call - a fuller commitment

3. So We find these guys back out at their boats - back at their craft of fishing - it was what they did to provide for themselves

1. And in Peter’s case for sure - how he provided for his family.

4. As they were washing up from another unsuccessful - fishing excursion - Jesus was holding class down on the beach

1. As usual there was a multitude of people who came to hear Him speak !

5. Now the Crowd was so large they began to press in to the point that He was up against the water - asked Peter for use of His boat.

1. Boat became a pulpit if you would - where He could preach

6. The Lake of Gennesaret, was another name for the Sea of Galilee as was the Sea of Tiberias

1. Gennesaret, & Tiberias were shorelines along the Sea of Galilee - much like we refer to Carlsbad & Cardiff - stretches of Beach

5. So Jesus was in that area of Gennesaret, and all along the Shore line of the Sea of Galilee there was a natural acoustics that made it possible for a large crowd to hear Jesus

1. And He was going to call them to a deeper commitment to follow after Him enter into service w/ him!

2. From this point onward their lives would never be the same - Jesus had promised to make them fishers of men -

1. And now they were going to experience some actual hands on training - they were going to learn to see men in a different way.

3. Lets see how this gets set up !

We read in v. 4 4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."

1. After Jesus was finished speaking Jesus looks at His friends and says lets go fishing !

2. Now this made no sense at all and Peter & the others knew it ! Every fishermen knew that the worst time to fish was in the morning

1. Morning sunlight on the water scared the fish - so they always fished at night or in the early hrs of the morning before sun up.

3. Plus they had already washed their nets / interesting side note for us that- If nets are not washed and stretched out to dry, they rot and break.)

1. Washing speaks of our time in the word / and stretching speaks of stepping out & applying the word we read.

3. if we don’t do those things the same thing happens to us as those nets

begin to rot eventually break

4. So it was the wrong time - to fish/ they were already all cleaned up & it was the wrong place - Jesus said launch out into the deep

1) They fished in more shallow waters w/ their nets

1. He sometimes will disrupt our comfort zones in order for us to be stretched out like those nets -

2. Being open to that is so critical to our being used by Him !

1. Few weeks ago after a Sunday night service - Denise was driving home w/ the kids - noticed a lady from church walking - 9:00pm

3. Commented kind of thinking out loud there is so & so I wonder why she is out here so late at night .

1. Aaron said - Mom we got to go help her .

4. Denise responded - it’s late I need to get you guys in bed there is school tomorrow - I’m sure she is OK

1. Aaron said : Mom what would Jesus do - (

5. Now the H.S. had been speaking to Denise - already that she needed to

stop - Aaron confirmed that - so she did

6. Lady was going through some hard times - she was really down on herself - and Aaron whole time - Jesus loves you / you’re important to Him

1. Long story short - ended up helping her & got her to a safe place -

7. But sometimes Jesus will call us to do that which seems irrational - that which might - get us out of our comfort zone -

1. everything cleaned up - everything is in place- But He says - launch the boats out - & lower the nets -

1. Now it is also interesting that when Jesus wanted to use Peter’s boat as a pulpit he had no problem w/ that - putting it out in the water

2. But when Jesus says lets do some fishing then Peter - says but Lord

1. I’m sure Peter was thinking - I am a fishermen - that is what I do / I’ve spent my whole life - fishing each day - where / when / how

3. You are a carpenter - & a preacher - look I won’t tell you how to preach & how to do carpentry & you don’t tell me how to fish.

1. Ever find yourself thinking that way - Lord I know how to run my business - why do I need to pray about it ? I Know what I’m doing

D) Well that might have been what Peter was thinking when He said-"Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing;

1. but that is not all that he said - nevertheless at Your word I will let

5. This is such a key thing to note - Peter called Jesus Master - and even though this request made no sense to him - he would go along w/ it

1. The Mistake too many Christians make is they don’t go forward like Peter did & as a result they never see the power of God in their lives

6. We have fished all night & haven’t caught anything - Lord we have tried that before & it didn’t work - Lord we have prayed & waited Long enough

1. Now we are giving up - They say all of that & stop right there - never saying - nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net."

7. Never the less Lord I will give it another try - Never the less Lord I will do what your word says -

1. RESULT IS THEY MISS OUT ON EXPERIENCEING THE POWER OF GOD IN THAT SITUATION.

8. What situation are you in right now - and Jesus is even speaking to your heart to Launch out & keep trying - keep trusting

1) Throw the nets out again - go into the deep - take it deeper

2. This reminds me of that story in the life of King Joash found in 2 Kings 13

3. The scene involves an encounter that took place between Elisha the prophet & King Joash - the Syrians were attacking Israel

1. Joash was seeking the Lords direction - what do we do - fight ? attack? What?

4. Elisha said yes the Lord wants you to attack - & gave Joash some arrows said strike these on the ground . so he struck three times, and stopped.

19 And the man of God was angry with him, and said, "You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck Syria till you had destroyed it! But now you will strike Syria only three times."

5. That is like what Peter did here Jesus said let out your NETS & Peter let out a NET and the hall almost capsized his boat !

1. FCA meeting no follow up

6. LESSON DON’T LIMIT GOD - DON’T PUT HIM IN A BOX .

V. 6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.

2. But w/ out Him we can do nothing !

C) It is at THIS point that Peter saw Jesus in a whole new light

1. He had heard Jesus preach/ He had seen Jesus cast the demon out of

4. He had seen Jesus heal his mother-in-law / He had seen Jesus lay hands on ALL of the sick that came to Him and they were ALL healed

1) BUT - Now Jesus had intruded into Peter's territory and showed Peter that He is master of even the fish! Peter blown away

E) Interesting note In seeing the authority of Jesus in a realm they KNEW would give them confidence in Him in the things they knew nothing about

Simon Peter was so stirred by what had taken place that he recognized the fact that no one but the Creator of the fish could ever have commanded the treasures of the deep to come into his net that way.

1. He realized in a moment that he was in the presence, not only of the greatest prophet that had ever risen in Israel;

1. not only of the greatest teacher that had ever come to mankind;

2. not only of the most remarkable miracle-worker that the Jews had ever seen- he was in the presence of God!

b) He fell down at the feet of Jesus, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, 0h Lord."

4. Isaiah - Woe is you - Saw the Lord - Woe is me I am undone - man of unclean lips

E) Daniel had a similar experience Dan. 10 8 Therefore I was left alone when I saw this great vision, and no strength remained in me; for my vigor was turned to frailty in me, and I retained no strength.

A) When you have an encounter with Jesus and find out who He really is

In seeing Jesus you suddenly see yourself as you REALLY are a sinner

2. We deceive ourselves by comparing ourselves to others & it seems that you can always find someone more worse off than yourself

C) I’m not so bad - look at that guy - look at that person !

1) THAT is the WRONG standard

D) The real question is How do I stand up to Jesus? HE is the STANDARD...

He is EXACTLY what God intended man to be

1. He is EXACTLY what God intends YOU to be Rom. 8:29

5. Perhaps you are here today & you have been thinking that you are OK because you are good person - better than the next -

1. How do you measure up to Jesus ? Answer is you don’t - He was perfect - Holy - sinless & you are a sinner. Good test

6. Righteousness is like filthy rags - fall short / man can talk all he wants to about his goodness / his good deeds

1. yet the Bible clearly says that by the deeds of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight !

- Isa. Dan. & Peter realized that They saw God and then they saw themselves

NOTE: THAT is why when you see spiritual pride in a person you can know that person has Not had a VITAL encounter with God

BECAUSE a vital encounter with God is ALWAYS RESULTS IN poverty of spirit It is the OPPOSITE of pride

IT IS AN ATTITUDE THAT SAYS Woe is me..... Depart from me..... because NOW I see the truth of myself in the light of Your holiness

1. Broken & contrite spirit he will not despise

 

2. Isa.57: 15 For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

3. 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins He is faithful & just to forgive us & to cleanse us from all unrighteousness

1. That is all it takes yet - tendency today is to make excuses

Once when Frederick II, an eighteenth-century king of Prussia, went on an inspection tour of a Berlin prison, he was greeted with the cries of prisoners, who fell on their knees and protested their unjust imprisonment. While listening to these pleas of innocence, Frederick's eye was caught by a solitary figure in the corner, a prisoner seemingly unconcerned with all the commotion.

"Why are you here?" Frederick asked him. "Armed robbery, Your Majesty."

"Were you guilty?" the king asked.

At that Frederick summoned the jailer. "Release this guilty man at once," he said. ( Sarcastically ) "I will not have him kept in this prison where he will corrupt all the fine innocent people who occupy it."

1. Jesus never cast off the person who comes in full repentance to Him - He in turn forgives & restores us -

B) Then He allows us to be used by Him ! v.10 And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men."

C) This is a very interesting word Greek: Definition: to take alive

1) From the Greek words we get the idea of to hunt; to entrap

to lead; bring; drive; go; induce

D) Now here is what interesting is It is used only ONE other time in the Bible

You will be surprised to see how it is used

5. The Phrase taken captive is the same word as Catch - which tells us that Satan is out to CATCH MEN ALIVE also

1. We need to realize that Satan is out to CATCH MEN ALIVE / He is out to hunt; to entrap; to lead; bring; drive; induce

F) Purpose is to slowly destroy their lives & the lives of those around them.

He HAS caught many men

A) John 10:10 I have come that you might have life & that more abundantly

2. So Jesus says to Peter: "Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch

1) DON'T be afraid because of past failures.

C) Jesus was saying to these guys that in following Him they would develop a new mindset

3. You see prior to this these guys lived to fish / their whole life was about fishing !

1. Each day brought about a new challenge of where was the best place to fish / how could they catch more fish / what was best way to fish

4. But Jesus was going to show them to see that there was something better than fishing for fish ! It was fishing for men !

1. Because Jesus saw things People differently than we sometimes do

2. Jesus saw man as sheep w/ out a shepherd wandering aimlessly trying to fulfill the void inside his heart . Seeking meaning & happiness

1. Jesus saw the rotting flesh of the Leper & realized that his condition was the result of sin - come into the world . COMPASSION

3. Jesus saw the blind man & realized his condition was picturesque of the spiritual condition of all mankind blinded by sin & Satan.

D) Jesus also saw things differently than we do - / Jesus saw People as

eternal & things as temporal

1. And put little green tags on people that read eternal ! Help us realize that everyone around us is going to spend eternity in Heaven or Hell !

2. So Jesus was calling these men to live w/ a whole new mindset & mission !

1. The 1^st time He called them it says they left their nets to follow Him but this time they forsook all -

1. But He does call all of us to be fully devoted to Him - what ever your

calling in life might be .

1. In fact - that is your mission field now . You can have an incredible impact for the kingdom right where God has you / Job / school Neighborhood -

B) Sometimes we can over glamorize going out on the mission field - or going into full time ministry

1. We need to be faithful to be used by the Lord where we are currently at before we start thinking about going - someplace else

b) I was talking w/ someone who said they wanted to go to a distant land / that they had this great burden to preach the gospel

1. Are you preaching the gospel here ? No !

3. those who like to fish - seem to always have a story about the one that got away . But it interesting that we don’t feel that way about evangelism

1. Problem that many face is we are not fishing / our nets are not in the water .

4. So we may not be called to full time mission field - or called to full time ministry - but we are called to be salt & Light .

1. Our lives when yielded to the Captain of our Boat - can & will be very fruitful -

5. That is where we find true happiness & satisfaction - meaning - being in His perfect will - being fully devoted to Him !

4. I remember when God called me into full time ministry - baseball scholarship - what do?

1. Dad gave me some great advice - Not going to be happy until you are doing what Jesus wants you to be doing. Good Advice

5. Perhaps you are in a situation today where Jesus is saying to You - Launch out into the deep & let down your nets - trust me

1. Maybe it seems irrational - shake up your comfort Zone -

E) Maybe you feel like you have tried enough ! - You have waited long enough -

6. Listen you are not going to be truly happy or see the power of God in your life until you do what God is telling you to do!

2. Jesus has come to set you free - / All you need to do is to admit you are a sinner - need a savior - turn from sin -come brokeness &

C) turn to Him / forgive / cleanse - restore