No Turning Back: 2016 Gospel of Luke #15
This is an exposition of Luke 5:1-11. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, May 29, 2016.
Intro:
We all have those folks in our lives who have been there challenging us to better ourselves. To do more, to achieve greater success. They say, “Great. Way to go! Now let’s really do it.” Bless their hearts they mean well but they tick me off! Do you remember those “president’s physical fitness test” in school? They said they were intended to promote physical fitness – I know they were intended to humiliate those of us who were “gravitationally challenged.” You were supposed to do so many sit-ups, chin-ups and so forth. I hated those days. Mr. Robinson would say, “Okay Rodney it’s your turn.” “Do I have to?” As if wearing those “husky” jeans were not enough – I was paraded in front of the class to once again fail. After considerable effort to getting me up to the bar – he would step back and say, “go!” I would hang there for a few tenths of a second and then drop to the floor. He would say, “Good effort. I thought you were going to do one. It was better than last time.”
Coaches who would slap you on the back and encourage you then challenge you to reach a little higher, work a little harder. Teachers who saw untapped potential and sought to bring it out. Parents who knew you were capable of more. But the great encourager is the Lord Jesus himself. Who not only challenges to greater heights but enables you to reach them!
As we follow our Lord through the Gospels we find Him lovingly leading the disciples deeper in the walk of faith. As He sets before them the great truths of the kingdom, He calls them to a deeper understanding and a more demanding commitment. That is what I want us to note in our text this morning from Luke Luke 5.
Text: Luke 5:1-11
Doctor Luke is writing an orderly account of the life of Jesus for his friend Theophilus.
Stories had already circulated and Luke wanted his friend to have an accurate account.
So Luke, the historian, carefully researched the facts.
His goal was to demonstrate that Jesus is the Messiah.
That He is the Savior of the world, of both the Jew and the Gentile.
Luke spends the first two chapters giving us the background information.
Information that demonstrates that this Jesus is indeed unique.
Luke 3 tells of His baptism and His genealogy.
Luke 4 recounts the wilderness temptations and His early days in Galilee.
His rejection in His hometown synagogue.
That action-packed Sabbath in Capernaum.
As we approach our text we find a crowd around.
There is nothing unusual about that.
Crowds followed Jesus everywhere in those days.
This crowd was so large and people were elbowing and pushing their way so much so that the people were “pressing” in on Jesus.
The word literally means to “press down.”
They were crowding Him, pushing Him into the water.
He saw a couple of fishing boats got into one and used it for a pulpit.
We already know that He taught like no other man.
People were astonished at His teaching.
They could not believe what they were hearing from Him.
But this text is not about His preaching it is about what happened after the sermon.
Thesis: The Lord Jesus lovingly, graciously calls His followers to greater levels of love and commitment.
The Christian life is about growth.
It is not about maintaining the status quo.
It’s not about keeping what we got it’s about moving on.
It’s about being conformed to the image and likeness of the Lord Jesus.
Now in most text, including the one I’m using this morning, I have in italics the title Jesus calls His first disciples. But I don’t think that is what we have in our text. I don’t believe this is the same event recorded in Mark 1 and Matthew 4.
I believe this happened some time after that experience.
In Matthew 4 and Mark 1 Peter and Andrew are fishing when Jesus called them.
Here they had finished fishing now they were cleaning their nets as Jesus approached and used their boat for a pulpit. And following the “great catch” Jesus restates His earlier call on them and they forsake all to follow Him.
I realize that I could be wrong as unlikely as that may be!
But I think Jesus had already issued a call to them and they went with Him for a while and for a period of time had returned to their business and Jesus reissued His call for a permanent life of discipleship.
At any rate I want you to consider three things in connection with our Lord’s loving and gracious challenge to His followers. Three (3) timeless principles that relate to us today as powerfully as they did to Peter, Andrew, James and John.
- Our Lord lovingly challenges us to believe in spite of our doubt. (5:1-5)
- Our Lord graciously rewards our obedience with remarkable results. (5:6-9)
- Our Lord graciously calls us to a life of total commitment. (5:10-11)
Conclusion:
Obedience in the face of doubt opens the door to a remarkable revelation of who God is and that prepares the way for a total commitment to follow Him.
That is the goal of the Christian life.
It is about surrender.
It is about giving all.
It starts with obedience even when it doesn’t make sense. You’ll experience Him in ways you’ve never dreamed and the result will be a joyful, willful surrender of all you are to Him.