"Fishers of Men"

I also like you to our program, you know on earth. God is to be on stations all around the nation bringing the truths of God's word as it is uncompromising and straightforward and I'm so glad you tuned in to listen and be part of that ranks again for your support and your generosity that keeps us on the radio and now let's get to the word of God when I thought about fishing were going to talk about fishing is because fishing was a major industry in Israel during the time of Jesus the whole sea of Galilee, where he spent much of his ministry was ringed with little fishing villages this morning were going to see Jesus Christ interact with three professional fishermen and change their lives forever. Their names were Peter, James and John, and if the name sounds vaguely familiar, it's because the same three-man became the leading three disciples of Jesus, the leading three apostles who established the early church, but they all began as fishermen in the little town of Capernaum, where Jesus meets them here in Luke chapter 5 and hopefully not only will we see him touch their lives. This morning, but hopefully he'll touch our lives as well. Let's look Luke five verse one. One day Jesus was standing by the lake of good Nasser is a where what is that what just another name for the sea of Galilee and the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. Jesus had gone down to the edge of the water early in the morning as the boat to come in from fishing all night and people were gathered down by the sea buying fish for their daily food and his Jesus went down there he began to teach the word of God and people began to listen in a crowd began to swarm around him. So much so that it really became not a very good teaching situation. So verse two he saw that the water's edge to boats left there by the fishermen who were washing their nets.

And he got into one of the boats. The one belonging to Simon Peter, and he asked Peter to put out a little bit from the shore and then he sat down and he taught the people from the boat to create a little better teaching situation.

Jesus gets in Peter's boat since Peter, why don't we move out, six, eight, 10 feet in the water here that'll put a little bit of room between me and the crowd and I'll stand up in the boat and I'll teach from the water, which is what he did that when he was finished teaching. He says to Peter, verse four Peter, I want us to go out into deeper water. And I want us to let down our nets for a catch the sea of Galilee is 13 miles long 8 miles wide. It's very deep once you get past the shallows and so he said Peter let's move out from the shallows here and were a letdown you nets and where to catch some fish. Everybody who fish the sea of Galilee would've known that this is not how you catch fish there. The way Jesus was suggesting. Peter knew this in the sea of Galilee, you catch fish at night.

Not during the day if you go to Israel today and get up around 6 o'clock in the morning you'll see little fishing boats on the sea of Galilee, coming in after being out all night fishing. But during the day, you will see anybody fishing middle initiative day they fishing nine. Moreover, the way you catch fish in the sea of Galilee as you don't go out in the deep water and try to catch them. You stay in the shallows and weights of the schools coming to the shallows and then the nets were designed with little weights on the way you throw the net out, it would quickly sink to the shallow bottom and catch the fish under it and then you would pull within so you didn't fish during the day and you didn't fishing the deep water every fishermen knew that Peter knew that if I Peter's nets weren't even designed to be used in deep water point is what Jesus asked Peter to do when against all of Peter's training and experience as a fisherman. Look at verse five, Peter protested. He said Master. We worked hard all night and we haven't caught anything.

He said Jesus Lord women out there all night working the stupid Lake and we worked it at the right time during the night and we worked in the right way in the shallow water and weeding diddly squat. And now you're telling me to go out and fish it the wrong way at the wrong time anomaly catch something. Nevertheless, look what he says.

Nevertheless, because you say so will go out here letdown minutes.

I might stop here and say to you for a minute many times in our lives. Jesus Christ asks us to do things that look humanly illogical and the reason for that is in the Bible in the book of Isaiah, God said my ways are not your ways and my thoughts are not your thoughts, as high as the heavens are above the earth so much higher on my ways than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

God often has a plan in our human logic, simply cannot figure out, and many times he will ask us to do things that seem humanly illogical. That's what he was asking Peter to do if we're smart we will do exactly what Peter did.

We will say Lord this look humanly illogical and preposterous bots because you said to do it, I'll do it. I watch verse six when they had done so they caught such a large number of fish that the nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat, which was still in the shorter come on out and help them and they came and they feel boats so – but they began to sink, fish was is that they caught what I caught a fish called St. Peter's fish real you Israel day and after St. Peter's fish Ramsey of Galilee, and they will serve you the very fish that Peter got to.

That's not a very precise name your right. If you really want to know the technical name is Jill appeal Galilee that's true.

We called St. Peter's fish and you can still get him if you go there so people seem all around the Sea of Galilee to catch them and serve them.

They fly him home. They struggle with the hands on in the eyeball looking at you but you don't look into the eye of the fish. It's really very good. It's hard to eat something when you staring in his but if you don't look in the eye. He's very good and this is what Peter caught any caught so many of them that he was about to have a boat sink is it will how large was visible to me how many fish do they catch you know well we dug up a boat in 1986 in the mud flats around the Sea of Galilee. There was a horrible drought that year and the sea receded back farther than it has in recent memory, and they unearthed a boat that was stuck in the mud both been dated to the time of Jesus is on display near the city of Tiberias. If you ever go there and that gives us a good idea. Would Peter's boat would've looked at this moment was 26 1/2 feet long. It was 7 1/2 feet wide and it was 4 1/2 feet deep. Now I know what some of you number countries are doing you're already multiplying us out to find QB feed and I'll save you the trouble with 895 ft.³ so they thought up this boat was roughly 895 ft.³ – not just one vote, but they fill out another boat with 895 ft.³ of fish that is a lot fish 895 ft.³ is a lot fish more fish than Peter had ever caught in his own life and certainly more fish than he ever caught in the daytime in the deep wood nets that weren't even designed for it. It didn't take Peter very long to figure out catching them in a time when they should've caught no fish at a location when they should've caught no fish with equipment with a sugar caught no fish but they, fishermen ever caught in their life that something was up. Peter was pretty smart was a rocket scientist. He was smart enough to figure this out when he figured out is that the person who said to them letdown you nets was not an ordinary human being. This doesn't happen. Ordinarily so look verse eight and when Peter saw this, he fell in Jesus's knees and he said get away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man get away from the Lord, you have any business been around a guy like me get away from me, Lord. I'm not the kind of guy you want to be hang around. Peter was scared he was embarrassed he was uncomfortable being around Jesus Christ because he knew his wife, his lifestyle was out of step with God. I mean his personal habits were profane. He had a bad temper. His language was as salty as the sea. He was materialistic.

He had his women friends in town.

He told jokes that were off-color while they sat around cleaning their nets.

He was stubborn he was proud he was a racist's motives were all self-centered and he had a place for God in his life and yet here he is in the same boat with the son of God, and he recognizes world you don't want to be doing a guy like me, Lord, not me, you need to be hang around with those temple types you hang around with the Pharisees and scribes to sit down there in the temple and talk about the Bible all day long. That's where you need to be Jesus but out here with a fisherman like me. I don't think so. Get away from you on the sinful. The Bible says and he said this verse nine because he and all of his friends were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken and they were there, James and John, the sons of Zebedee.

But look what Jesus said. He said to Peter. Peter don't be afraid.

From now on you can catch people do things the Lord said in response to Peter saying away from you, Lord, sinful man is it two things. Number one. He said Peter will be free. He said Peter you're not too sinful for me. Love you got it all wrong.

Peter Otto calcium for your I still love and Peter, I know more about you than you know about yourself and yet I do want you Peter and I love you just the way you are Peter, don't be afraid not to be afraid.

Second thing he said to them is Peter, you're not too sinful for me to use you not too sinful to serve God. If you turn your life over to me Peter I'll make your life count regardless of your weaknesses. Regardless of your shortcoming on that to make you a fissure of people all have you catching people for me Peter if you just turn your life over to you, not too sinful for me to you.

Some people have objected to the terminology here Jesus uses when he talks about catching people they said well you know that's really not very good on me. When you catch fish that's harmful to the fish when they die, you that's harmful to people fish and so to talk about catching people just doesn't seem to be very nice but I hope you'll understand Jesus never met the analogy to go that far. Not all. I mean when I let Jesus Christ catch me. It was the best thing ever happened in my life. And if you let Jesus Christ catch you, I promise you he will kill you and got your NEH or no no no, it will be the very best day in your life if you let him catch you because you see Jesus Christ when he catches you he never hurt anybody catches his fish of the safest fish in the universe. You put them in the oven. He put them in the aquarium receives and cares for the treasures. So when Jesus Christ talks about catching people, please don't think the wrong thing.

He's not talking about doing harm to people. He's talking about giving them the greatest blessing of the law. So here's what he says to Peter. Peter, you're not too sinful for me. Love you and Peter, you're not too sinful for me to use you and if you give me your life.

Not only will I love you but all you to catch people the balls in your court. Peter, what you going to do verse 11 and then it says they pulled up there both on the shore.

They left everything Peter James and John and they followed him, and I'm sure they look back on this day is the greatest day in their lives when they made the decision to give up fishing for fish and go out with Jesus and start fishing dear folks, may I say to you that if you're here and you've never trusted Jesus Christ in a real and personal way.

If you never let him become the doorway as Peter, James and John did to a whole new way of living in a whole new existence then you're missing what God has in this world for you. God want you to do exactly what Peter, James and John did God want you to turn your life on the way you been living because chances are it hasn't been that satisfactory and satisfying. Anyway, and he wants to give you a whole new way of living, based upon his love for you. In his service for Almighty God and he will change your life forever like he did Peter James and John. If you just letting you sick away a living, and it does make a lot of sense. Jesus makes you the same offer. He may Peter James and John, follow me and I'll love you and I'll let you serve God and give your purpose for living. Change your life. I hope you'll do that.

If you're here this morning and you've never done well at the end of our passage, yet it brings us to the question so what. Well I will talk to those of us here were Christian who already made the decision to give our life to Christ because I believe the day you gave your life to Jesus Christ.

The day I gave my life to Jesus Christ. God gave us the very same appointment to being fisherman that he gave Peter God called us to the very same vocation. He called Peter the day we gave our life to Christ. You see, the reason God left us here was not to enjoy driving our cars and going to work in buying new clothes and enjoying our new furniture and going on vacation is anything wrong with any of those thing. But you know when you compare those to heaven. What were enjoying down here is so piddly it's not even funny.

If God really wanted to take us to the place where we would enjoy life. The most he would've taken a stab right away when the left ear the reason he left us here is one simple reason to be fishers of people and I maintain dear friends that when Jesus Christ said go out in all the world and preach the good news to every person that wasn't limited to just the apostles it's for all of us. And when the apostle Paul said, I become all things to all people that, by all means I might win some that that was the same passion that everyone of us as Christians ought to have less to do it again. I have become all things to all people that, by all means I might win some people to Jesus Christ. That's why God left us here not to enjoy the things of this world. Although it's fine if we do, but so that by all means we might be all things to all people, so we might win some people to Jesus Christ before it's too late, and I maintain. You cannot love Jesus Christ and not care about fishing for people because if you love Jesus Christ you'll love what he loves and Jesus loves Waspy.

The Bible says that Jesus Christ came in the world to seek and to save that which was lost at this omission, and if we know and love Jesus Christ, we will love what you love and he love fishing philosophy.

You can't walk with Christ. I say and not have a passion for lost people and if you don't have a Kaiser boss people and forgive me for being so generalized in my application, I maintain, something's wrong with you walk Christ. If you no love lost people you don't care about fishing for his Avalon. I do care. I'm just not that good.

I mean, you know I'm not a good physical fisherman. To be honest with you, and I'm not real good fishing people and you know it's not that I don't care I do care. I just don't really know exactly how to do it so good. Well, I want to give a couple suggestions this morning.

I have three suggestions about how to be a good spiritual fisherman enter, three suggestions of come out to be a good physical fisherman, not your fisherman, you're going to say long after not all there is to it that simplistic. There's about 10 or 15 principles okay well I'll only chosen three so be nice to okay I'm not a fisherman but I've chosen. Here they are number one.

Number wanted you to catch fish.

You gotta go over the fish are sense. Gotta go with the fish are gone. I give you surprise. There are very few fishing church on Sunday morning is everywhere here yeah but you already caught right many real fission we see on an average Sunday morning and I'm glad for people who come the don't know Christ. I think it's exciting, but in an audience such as far as I guarantee you there very small percentage and you look across every church in America there very small percentage, almost minuscule, and we plan ourselves in the church and we say were here we've got the message that Jacob when I can get a lot of fish and second thing I like to share with you is if you go to catch fish. You gotta use good bait got use good bait there fisherman spend their whole lifetime learning how to make bait attractive to fish and as Christians. I maintain we have to be using the most attractive bait that we got available to us to for to catch people say what is it, let me tell you what it isn't the most attractive bait we have is not our church. The most attractive bait we have is not our youth program. The most attractive bait we got is not our morning services.

The most attractive bait, we, God is not long messages. The most attractive bait when God is not the music. The most attractive bait we got is not any program we have the most attractive bait we have is Jesus Christ himself. Jesus Christ himself for two reasons.

Number one. People can always find some or all all those other banks they can find things wrong with our church. I can find things wrong with our youth program.

They can find things wrong with our music and wrong with our services and I guarantee you they can buy things wrong with me but you can't find anything wrong with Jesus Christ. Second reason why he needs to be our bait is because only Jesus Christ himself can meet the needs of the human heart church programs can't do that. Programs are nice but they can give peace and joy when you're in the middle part of. Only Jesus Christ can forgive sin church programs can't do that.

Only Jesus Christ can take a wife and renew it and make a person a new creature programs can't do that. Only Jesus Christ can give peace in the middle of the storm. Church programs can third and finally, not only do we have to go with the fish aren't offering the best bait third and finally, there has to be a perceived need on the part of the fish you can have the best bait in the whole world to me right where the fish are but they're not hungry you catch any fish that has to be a perceived need on the part of the fish.

In this case the fish gotta be hungry that the same is true with human beings we can go where the fish are the best bait in the world of Lord Jesus himself, but it people are perceiving a need and on interested in buying and I've learned that human pride in human self-sufficiency is the strongest force in the world and you learn that that human stubbornness is the strongest force in the world and that people will only be interested in Jesus Christ when they feel a need for help will only be interested in Jesus Christ when they feel like they're in over their heads only be interested in Jesus Christ when they feel like they got problems.

They cannot figure out and solve in their own self-sufficiency and human wisdom. And when that stubbornness has been broken down to a humility where they're willing to accept the folks