3.21.11 "Fishing with Jesus"

"Fishing with Jesus"

Numbers 32:1-33:39
Luke 4:31-5:11
Psalm 64:1-10
Proverbs 11:22

The Word of God is amazing. You can read and re-read a story, and each time something new will stand out. It's awesome how the Spirit unwraps the layers of truth found in the Bible. Not in anyway to diminish Matthew & Mark, but the book of Luke reveals Jesus to me in a fresh way. I notice the emphasis on his faithfulness to the synagogue. I notice the discipline in his message. It's not that these character traits aren't portrayed in the other gospels, it is just brought to light in Luke as the Spirit is bringing to light.

In Luke 4, the popularity of Jesus is greatly increasing. it says starting in verse 40 "all the villagers who had any sick people in their homes, no matter what their diseases were, brought them to Jesus; and the touch of his hands healed every one!" What a phrase! "... the touch of his hands healed every one!"

In verse 42, Jesus leaves town. "Early the next morning he went out into the desert. The crowds searched everywhere for him and when they finally found him they begged him not to leave them, but to stay at Capernaum. But he replied, 'I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other places too, for that is why I was sent.' So he continued to travel around preaching in synagogues throughout Judea." (4:42-44)

The key phrase in that portion of scripture is, "... for that is why I was sent." Jesus had a mission. He knew what it was. In earlier verses, he was healing people of demon possession, and commanding them not to tell who he was. Why would he do that? It would compromise his mission. He knew the people would try to make him into the Messiah they wanted instead of discovering the Messiah he was.

In chapter 5, Jesus is teaching to such large crowds that he & his disciples get into a couple boats and he teaches from there. Here's where it gets REALLY good!

"When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, 'Now go out where it is deeper and let down your nets and you will catch a lot of fish!' 'Sir,' Simon replied, 'we worked hard all last night and didn't catch a thing. But if you say so, we'll try again.' And this time their nets were so full that they began to tear! A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.

"When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, 'Oh, sir, please leave us - I'm too much of a sinner for you to have around.' For he was awestruck by the size of their catch, as were the others with him, and his partners too - James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Jesus replied, 'Don't be afraid! From now on you'll be fishing for the soul of men!' And as soon as they landed, they left everything and went with him." (Luke 5:4-11)

This is a rich portion of scripture. Here are a few points:

1. Jesus tells them to let down their nets, and Simon says, 'we tried that already'. Sometimes what Jesus is calling us to do doesn't make sense at the surface. He may be telling us to talk to the neighbor again. 'But I've done that.' he may be telling us to reach out to a hard heart that's hurt us. So many times I think we give up on what he's telling us to do because we don't see the results. The key is to obey, no matter what. In this case, the 'harvest' was incredibly abundant.

2. Peter's response to seeing the move of God is incredible. He says, "please leave us - I'm too much of a sinner for you to have around." When we REALLY see God, we understand the full magnitude of his greatness. In seeing that, we realize how unworthy we are. It could be easy to look at the harvest and think that it was some work of our own. We must make sure that we like Peter, "realize what had happened". Knowing God has an incredible impact. Because of this revelation, they left everything and followed him.

3. Jesus states the mission: "From now on you'll be fishing for the souls of men!" That is our mission. We need to be people who understand the magnitude of our God and are compelled by the mission he's laid out for us.

To Live the DREAM, we must live with the "Mission to Reach our World for Christ". To live this Mission effectively, we Must first know him, then walk in total radical obedience.

In Luke 4:32 it says that the people in the synagogues were amazed at the things he said. "For he spoke as one who knew the truth, instead of merely quoting the opinions of others as his authority." When we share Christ with others does it come from a heart that KNOWS the truth, or a heart that is only talking about what it has heard?

Know Christ today! Go fishing with Him!



Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!

P Greg


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Mission to Reach our World for Christ