Launch Out Into The Deep
1 Corinthians 1:26-31 26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence. 30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God–and righteousness and sanctification and redemption–
31 that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”
Where is it written? The Apostle Paul was preaching from the book of Jeremiah:
Jeremiah 9:23-24 23 Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; 24 But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, (God, Jesus The LORD) That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the LORD.
One of my favorite pastimes is fishing. I love to fish, and the miracle we’re going to look at this week is Jesus Christ himself going fishing for disciples and turning them into fishers of men.
On this day, Christ was the fisherman, and He caught men to do his eternal work
“The Ministry of Availability”
Petra Lyrics 1987
I Am Available Lyrics
I don’t have much to offer you, I don’t have much to give
There’s so much I may never be as long as I may live
And I may never be all I want to be although I’ll always try
But if you choose me, to use me, there’s just one reason why
I am available, I will go when you say go
I will stop when you say no
My whole life was incomplete, till I laid it at your feet
So, use me as you will, I am available
I’m not the most dependable, sometimes you can’t rely
There’s no excuse, there is no defense, there’s only one reply
I am available, I will go when you say go
I will stop when you say no
My whole life was incomplete till I laid it at your feet
So, use me as you will, I am available
I know that my ability is not your main concern
It’s my availability and willingness to learn
I am available, I will go when you say go
I am available, I will stop when you say no
My whole life was incomplete till I laid it at your feet
So, use me as you will, I am available
INTRODUCTION: God has a ministry for every one of His children … NOT JUST the Pastor. Preacher, or Deacon. EVERY Christian has a ministry, every one of YOU!
Not all will be great soul-winners, BUT we all have a part in leading others to Christ.
We are ALL a link in the chain.
For some, it’s inviting, bringing, personal testimony, teaching, praying, Nursery, Children’s Church, on and on.
Giving of funds so others can go, like Don and Carla, or the Operation Christmas Child.
I’m not physically able to go to the mission field and pass out Bibles, but we can give the money and help Don and Carla do just that.
I can’t go all over the world giving kids little boxes of gifts for Christmas, but Operation Christmas Child can, and you can come out here once a month on a Thursday and help pack boxes and help get stuff arranged to send those gifts out, or we can give money to help do that. That’s as much worship as raising your hand during worship.
If you’ve ever served doing these things, don’t stop. Don’t let people discourage you from doing what God’s called you to do, and you’re available to do it, so do it.
I want to talk to you about the “Ministry of Availability”. Whatever ministry God has given you (and He HAS) … you need to be AVAILABLE to DO it.
Before God will use anybody, they have to be AVAILABLE to be used.
NOBODY was consistently and mightily used of the Lord in the Bible … UNLESS … they were first willing to be made AVAILABLE.
EXAMPLE:
- SAMUEL – 1 Samuel 3:4 – “the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I, send me.” SAMUEL was mightily used of God.
WHY? BECAUSE … he was AVAILABLE.
As I’ve mentioned, Jill Briscoe has a book entitled Here am I, Lord, send somebody else. That’s the attitude of most people, but that’s not what God wants. We also see:
- MARY – She was the mother of Jesus. There were 1000’s of virgins in Galilee … perhaps hundreds in Nazareth. BUT … Mary was the one who went down in history.
WHY? NOTICE what Mary said when the angel told her of her chosen ministry –
Luke 1:38 – “And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” In other words, “I’m available!” Here am I; use me.
- DISCIPLES – They were mightily used BECAUSE they were AVAILABLE.
Matthew 4:22 – “And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.”
- PAUL – When God called him, he was the worst sinner around, killing or putting into prison as many Christians as he could get his hands on, a blasphemer.
How could God use him so mightily?
LISTEN to what he said after his confrontation with Christ –
Acts 9:6 – “And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” He made himself AVAILABLE to Jesus.
- JESUS – He walked perfectly in the will of God.
WHY? Jesus was AVAILABLE.
As the Son of God, He wanted ONLY to do the will of God. His 1st recorded words showed His availability –
Luke 2:49 And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”
In other words, “I’m being available for God to use me as He wills!”
“But,” you may say, “I’m no Samuel, Mary, Disciple, Paul or Jesus. I’m just ME!
That’s exactly right; you’re you, and you are who God wants to use.
You just have to surrender and let Him. You have to be available. Use whatever talent you have.
God can’t use ME like that! I’m a nobody!”
Sure, He can! Just like Jesus used the little boy to feed 5000 people.
What did the boy have?
All he had were 5 biscuits and 2 sardines!
He didn’t have MUCH, BUT all he did was make it AVAILABLE for Jesus to use.
Make yourself available for God; make yourself available for the ministries around; make yourself available for this church. Because I promise you, we need you!
Jesus took what he had, multiplied it, used it AND there were 12 basketfuls left over!
TURN with me to our text – Luke 5:1-11
NOW let’s look at the END RESULT: the salvation of souls. READ 5:10b.
10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.
OUR STORY – Jesus had just healed Peter’s Mother-in-Law.
He had healed the sick & cast out demons.
The next day He went to a deserted place to rest.
The people flocked to hear Him.
Jesus then went to the cities of Galilee to preach.
They flocked to hear Him there.
NOW … He’s at the Sea of Galilee.
A couple of years ago, at Big Canoe, it was really cold. We always go up the 10th week of the year, and Brian and I went down and caught our limit in no time, and we came back, and Mother wanted to go catch hers. If I recall, Brian prayed for us before we left the Villa for her to catch her fish, so we took her to the back dock. Within five casts, she had her four fish because she wasn’t feeling good; it was cold, and we prayed God give her fish, and they were there.
Call it what you want; I call it a miracle
The next day it happened again. I thank the Lord for those days.
“The Ministry of Availability”
Luke 5:1-11 1 So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret,
Gennesaret (Guh-ness-ah-reht) Means garden of the rich or valley of the riches
In the New Testament, it refers to 3 Interconnected geographical locations on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee between Capernaum and Magdala
Ancient historians like Josephus called it the Paradise of Galilee because its rich soil and warm climate allowed many fruits and crops to grow there.
Alternative Biblical Names
- Sea of Chinnereth (or Chinneroth (Ken-a-roth)): Used in the Old Testament (Numbers 34:11; Joshua 12:3), likely named after an ancient town or because the lake has a harp-like shape (from the Hebrew word kinnor) Harp and is derived from the ancient Hebrew name, which relates it to the harp-like shape of the adjacent body of water.
- Lake of Gennesaret (Gennesaret):(Guh-ness-ah-reht)
Used once in the New Testament by Luke (Luke 5:1), named after the flat, fertile plain on the lake’s western shore. - Sea of Tiberias: (Tie-beer-as) Used by the Apostle John in the New Testament (John 6:1; 21:1), named after the Roman city of Tiberias built on its western shore
All these names, but it was still the Sea of Galilee!!!
It’s like when we used to go up to Lake Lanier, we’d fish in an area called Six-Mile Bridge. It’s still like Lanier. So, we’d say, let’s go up a 6-Mile Bridge and fish. We were still fishing on Lake Lanier; it’s just the area where we were fishing was 6 Mile Bridge
5:1 – They were pressed on Him, Jesus. To do what? “To hear the Word of God”.
Is that why you’re here tonight?
That’s my MISSION, that’s the GOAL, that’s the means to SPIRITUAL GROWTH … the means to SALVATION.
Romans 10:17 – “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
That’s why we invite people to church, pass out tracts, witness, teach Sunday School, pass out little Jesus’ or little Wooden Crosses.
Or little bags with a mustard seed in them to be a witness so people can hear the Word of God.
And the Bible says that builds faith, and that’s our job, not just the preachers or the Sunday School teachers or the deacons.
It’s everyone’s, every believer.
How does God get the Word out to a lost & dying world?
ANSWER: He uses whatever source is AVAILABLE.
What did Jesus find here?
2 and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.
5:2 – Jesus was being pushed into the water by the crowd –
5:1. They were thirsty for the Word of God.
To a preacher, that’s like saying “Sick-em!” to a dog!
Everybody wanted a front row seat.
They must not have been Baptists!
Jesus needed a pulpit.
He sees a boat … in the boat He could be both seen and heard.
Water carries sound really well
3 Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.
5:3 – Jesus uses Simon’s boat. WHY? BECAUSE it was there!
He didn’t stop there by accident.
He knew Peter was going to be there.
He knew the boat was going to be there,
and He did what needed to be done.
As I’ve said in the past, has it ever occurred to you that nothing has just ever occurred to God? He already knew
It was ready for the Master’s use.
Simon was willing to give of what he had EVEN IF it was a dirty, smelly, old fishing boat. God will use whatever we make AVAILABLE to Him.
Our beat-up old boat…? We needed a boat one time, and God supplied what we needed, but it took some work
From the book Something to Ponder
The Beat-Up Old Boat
Sometimes in the early 1970s, My Dad, my brother, and I, and an uncle were fishing in a private lake. (We had permission to be fishing there) And the bream were biting pretty good. So good that we had an excellent mess in no time. (Mess: A certain amount of fish is what we always called a mess; got a mess of fish).
My Mother’s favorite fish to eat is bream, shell crackers, bluegill, sunfish, or whatever you want to call them; that was the reason we were there was to catch her some fish. (My Dad really liked them too.)
And so did Ben Turner. That’s how Mother got the job with the children’s home as the cook because Mother used to feed Daddy and Ben every night when we were down here building the church
While we were there, we were all wishing we had a boat, oh with a boat, how much more fun could we have, and how many more fish could we get? But we didn’t have a boat, so we had to fish from the bank.
When my Dad thought we had enough for a couple of meals, he said, “Let’s load up,” which meant it was time to go.
When we were loading up the tackle to leave. The last thing I got was the basket of fish out of the water. A man came pulling up and started up a conversation, and then as I brought the basket of fish up:
He said, “How much do you want for those fish?” My Dads reply was, “They are not for sale.” The man said, “I will give you five dollars for them.” My Dads reply was, “They are not for sale.” Then the man said, “How about ten?” Understand this was in the early 70s. My uncle said, “Take it.” My Dads reply was, “They are not for sale.” The man then said, “Fifteen, and that’s as high as I will go.” Again, my uncle told my Dad “Take it.”
And again, my Dad’s reply was, “They are not for sale.”
The man got in his old, beat-up truck, backed up, and started to pull out ahead of us. Then he hung his head out the window and yelled, “Twenty dollars and that’s as high as I will go”.
My Dad said, “SOLD for twenty dollars.” The man said, “Follow me.” Sound familiar? I live just up the road, and I will get the money, and you give me the fish.” My dad said he wanted to keep a few for him and my mom for dinner tonight, and we did
When we arrived at his home, my Dad saw an old, beat-up boat beside the house; it had fallen out of a truck while going down the road.
My Dad said, “What do you want for that old beat-up boat?”
Listen, I’m that old beat-up boat. You were that obedient boat, but God looked one day, and he saw worth in you. The story goes on
The man said, “Twenty dollars… and another mess of them bream.”
My Dad stood there for a few minutes and pondered for a while. He never made rash, quick decisions; then he said “SOLD” and gave the man his twenty back and said we would have him another mess of fish tomorrow, and we would pick up the boat.
The next day we did just as my Dad said; we caught another good mess of fish and took them to the man and got the boat.
It was a 14-foot-long boat, plenty deep enough to feel safe in most small lakes. 3 bench seats in the boat and 1 on the front end.
Everything we always wanted.
But the front was bent up, the rail around the front was gone, there was a hole in the back corner, and the handles on the back were gone.
What some people would see as useless and not much good for anything, my Dad saw a fishing boat and years of enjoyment. He and my brother Glenn and I worked for days getting the boat sea-worthy (really lake and pond worthy; I really wouldn’t put this boat in the sea).
My Dad carefully straightened the front down where it belonged, took an aluminum door frame and made new rails to replace the missing ones.
Took what He called refrigerator epoxy and patched the hole in the back, then put a few layers of fiberglass over the hole. He made two new handles out of copper pipe and put a new plywood backboard in for his trolling motor.
Then, with an old flat smoothing iron on one side and a body hammer on the other, He and Glenn reset all the rivets.
Painted the outside, and the old beat-up boat was good to go.
That was some 50 years ago. I recently gave the old boat to my nephew, and now and then it still gets put in the water and fished.
I have a picture of it sticking out of the back of my truck. A few years ago I took it over to Pine Valley Lake and fished with the Truth in Nature boys. God was letting us use that old boat
Over the years, we have improved the old boat: I put anchor tie-downs on it, 2 swivels, and raised, padded seats. A new trolling motor and a depth and fish finder.
I have no idea how many hundreds of times I loaded and unloaded that boat and the number of fish that were caught out of that old beat-up boat.
I often think of myself like that old beat-up boat. I felt as if I was beat up by circumstances beyond my control, beat up emotionally and thrown away; I was here but not good for much. I was getting lower and lower, to the point that I didn’t even see why I needed to be alive.
But GOD, don’t you just love that? But God stepped in and saw something of some value, something that He could get some use out of, someone that He could SAVE. And He did just that.
God looked down, and what I thought was someone that was beyond repair, God saw something of value. And as David said in Psalms 139, that I am “wonderfully made” and so are you!
Psalms 139:14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.
But I think our problem today is we live in a disposable world; we have paper plates and cups, so when we are done eating, we just trash them.
We have disposable gloves, disposable cameras, disposable diapers, disposable tissues instead of handkerchiefs (I guess the tissues and diapers are a good thing to trash),
and even now we have disposable people.
I’m afraid we give up too quickly on people, just because they don’t seem to fit into our way of thinking.
NOTICE – Jesus didn’t DEMAND the use of the boat.
He didn’t just TAKE it …
He “prayed,” i.e., he ASKED.
Peter could have refused.
Jesus doesn’t FORCE us to be an instrument in the process of leading others to Christ.
We are supposed to be a link in the chain, NOT the “missing link”.
He may make us wish we HAD yielded to His will, BUT He won’t force us. He uses only what is made AVAILABLE to Him.
4 When He had stopped speaking, now look, He’s done dealing with the multitude. Now He’s dealing with the individual. He always does that. He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
5:4 – NOTICE – 5:3 = “out a little from the land”.
5:4 – “Launch out into the deep.”
LESSON – When we make available what LITTLE we have …
He will lead us into deeper & greater things.
We may be a small crowd right now, but God can increase us and use us if we just make ourselves available and do as He says
Don’t give up if you’re not winning 10 people to the Lord a day or every month or every year.
Don’t give up unless you’re NOT TRYING to win people to the Lord.
Jesus won’t ask you to “Launch out into the deep” UNTIL you first go out “a little from the land”.
Jesus will lead you one step at a time.
James Griffin, pastor of Cross Point City Church in Cartersville, said this recently: Oftentimes this is how faith works: God gives a command and you have to take this step. By taking that step, then this is how God reveals the next step. Psalm 119:105
Psalm 119:105 (NKJV) Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.
If you’ve ever walked in the woods, you know.
I know we have flashlights today, but there was a time it was a lamp, you know, with a lantern. What you know is that you can only see so far in front of you.
So, as I am walking, I can see far enough to take the next step or the next couple of steps. What I can’t see is what’s way out there.
Unless I take steps to go further, I don’t know what’s there.
So, it’s like the more steps I take, the more that light begins to illuminate the path that my feet are on.
This is what the word is talking about in obedience to the word of God and the commandments of God.
He begins to light our paths that become clear, and this is where God’s trying to take me. Well, this is what God wants next from me. So again, I would say you need to take the first step.
You want to serve God; take the first step
You want to see people coming to this church; invite them, take the first step.
You want to see this church grow; bring people. Take the first step
I’m sure you all have somebody that you know that’s not in church.
Ask them to come sit with you. Ask them to be here with you. Take the first step
You want to see the choir get bigger; get in it. Take the first step. Did my heart so good this morning to see Glenda up in that choir; she took her first step back
You want to see souls saved. Take the first step, witness to people. Give them little crosses, give them little Jesuses, give them little bottles with mustard seed in it, and explain to them that you have to have a little faith. Anything for a witness to open the door, do whatever it takes, whatever little bit of light that God gives you in front of you, take that step.
Launch out into the deep
Every Christian here would LIKE to lead 10 people to the Lord every day. BUT, maybe your ministry isn’t to be that link in the chain the REAPING part.
MAYBE the very thought of leading someone to Christ makes you say, “I just can’t do it!” Maybe not, but you can invite them to come here; you can invite them to a meal, make a friend be a friend, bring a friend to Christ.
Then bring them to church, and maybe that’ll get him to Christ.
If you have to poke a hole in the ceiling and drop them down, do what has to be done to get them to Jesus.
WHAT IS THE KEY?
You’ve got to make yourself AVAILABLE first with what you HAVE. THEN … you can go deeper and further with Him.
BUT … what do you have to do FIRST?
FIRST … you have to let Jesus into your boat.
Too many Christians haven’t let Jesus into their boat.
He’s still on shore.
You’re glad to let Jesus save you & take you to Heaven.
BUT … you don’t want Him in the boat with you.
You don’t want Jesus to get too involved in your life.
You don’t really want Jesus as the LORD of your life.
You FIRST have to come to the point where you’re willing to be AVAILABLE to be WILLING for Jesus to use you.
You must be AVAILABLE to be a link in His chain.
NOTICE what Jesus told them to do – 5:4 – “Let down your nets for a catch.”
If you want to catch fish … you have to let down your nets.
Fishing with Deon… You’re not gonna catch anything unless you put your line in the water
Fish don’t usually jump into the boat.
If you ignore the lost condition of those around you, the lost won’t get any closer to Heaven.
Make yourself available. Stop asking what this church can do for you, and as I’ve said in the past, paraphrase what JFK said: and that’s what you can do for this church
It touches my heart to see cars pull up where they’ve gone and picked up the people that aren’t able to get here on their own, and help them get here.
They make themselves available for the needy, and they’re bringing people. They are being inconvenienced, but they’re doing it for the cause of Christ and because they love the people. And I thank you.
That’s all I’m asking. That’s all God is asking of you
What did they have AVAILABLE? NETS!
Jesus didn’t tell them to use what they didn’t have.
So, Jesus tells them, “Put what you have AVAILABLE to use.”
MAYBE you don’t have very much.
“Preacher, now you’re talking to me!”
FINE! BUT put what God HAS GIVEN YOU to use.
Make it available to Him. PRAY! All of us can pray. Do what you can.
Mark tells the story of a woman who took an alabaster box of perfume and poured it on the head of Jesus.
Some of the Disciples rebuked her, saying that she could have sold it and given the money to the poor. LISTEN to what Jesus said – Mark 14:8 – “She hath done what she could.”
She did what she could with what she had. You can do the same. You can help grow this church
If you don’t do what you CAN DO, you’ll never “launch out into the deep” to do MORE.
Don’t cry over what you CAN’T DO; do what you CAN.
So, what is in your alabaster box that you can pour out to and for Jesus?
David Henderson uses his skill as a Craftsman to help people
Randy uses his knowledge of playing the piano and singing and running the sound to help this church
Jeff Hodges, with his musical instruments and his talent with his drawings and paintings, glorifying God and being a witness
Use what you have
The teachers that teach Sunday School use what God’s given them: their talent and their burden to try to teach the Word of God
I watch every month as different people meet here with a gift of help, to try to work on the Operation Christmas Child Shoe boxes.
The ones that are not physically able to come out and do things are seeking God’s face in prayer.
That’s your alabaster box, and everybody needs to be involved in that; everybody needs to be pouring that out, and being available for the cause of Christ, and to help this church body, this ecclesia, this assembly of Believers.
But you may say I can’t. We used to have an old black gentleman that worked for Automatic Curb Company; his name was John Carter, we called him “Pop.” I truly loved Pop Carter. He was a great man.
Pop Carter used to say, “Can’t, can’t do nothing. Try went out and caught a rabbit.”
At least try to do something. You can say I’m not good at doing stuff like that.
Leave the results up to God. Just be available and be there for this church for the cause of Christ for yourselves, and God will use you.
You don’t have to be the best; trust me, you’re looking at someone that’s not the best preacher that’s ever stood in this church, but I promise I do my best; I try.
What if I said that I won’t preach at all, because I can’t preach like Billy Graham?
What if a High School quarterback said that he wouldn’t play football, because he can’t play like Tom Brady?
Well, we can’t!
BUT instead of doing NOTHING, do what you CAN AND do it the very best you can!
The Fish v.5
- The Lord is waiting to bless us the moment if we are willing to obey
Here are the excuses, and then we see nevertheless
5 But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.”
5:5a – This is a verse where DOUBT tries to sneak in. Up to this time, there has been GROWTH.
They got into the boat …
they went out a little way …
they launched out into the deep.
As we grow in the Lord, we become better & more useful witnesses.
The Disciple mentioned a previous experience: “worked all night and caught nothing.”
At NIGHT, the fish were closer to the surface.
LESSON – Perhaps you have failed Christ in the past.
Don’t let that keep you from a ministry NOW.
This is a new day.
What is the saying? This is the first day of the rest of your life.
This is the first day of the rest of your Christian ministry.
This is new for this church; we’re in a new season. Let’s do it the way God wants it done and see what He can do
Don’t let past failures keep you from going on.
5 But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.”
NOTE: “nevertheless”. Here is where VICTORY comes.
“Even though I can’t see what good it will do …
I can’t see how it will work …
I can’t see how God can use me …
I’ll do it!” WHY?
Because Jesus says so!
Look what obedience gets them!
6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.
If you’re obedient to what God says to do, He can bless you more than you can imagine. So much so that the Nets will break.
The Operation Christmas Child thing has so much stuff coming in they don’t have room for it all; their nets are breaking.
- The Fish v.5
2. The Fear v. 7- 9
God uses a miracle not to catch fish but to catch these Men
7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.
5:6-7 – BECAUSE he gave to Jesus WHAT HE HAD, BECAUSE he made himself and what he had AVAILABLE to Jesus.
SEE THE RESULTS!
Why do we sometimes feel like we have a HOLE in our nets?
We try to WITNESS … hole in our net.
We try to TEACH … hole in our net.
We try to LIVE the Christian life … hole in our net.
We see our inadequacies … our shortcomings… our inabilities … our weaknesses. BUT … NOTICE that … with all Peter’s faults, failures and even his disobedience … EVEN with a broken net
HE STILL CAUGHT FISH! 5:7.
7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.
As I’ve said, with your obedience, God will give you far more than you could ever imagine
WHY? 5:5 – “Nevertheless, at thy word, I will let down the net.” He made himself available to Christ … with what he had … to do what he could. Let’s see what happened next.
8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart
from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”
When you see God and Christ as who He is, you will see yourself for what you are, and we are just sinful people saved by the grace of God
9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken;
5:8-9 – “he was astonished”. You will be AMAZED at what God can do with your broken net …
with your inadequacies …
with your weaknesses.
You just need to make them AVAILABLE to Him to use.
This experience HUMBLED Peter – 5:8. Peter realized he was NOTHING; Christ was EVERYTHING.
He knew he couldn’t have done it; he tried and failed.
He found out that if you give to God the NOTHING that you have, the NOTHING that you are.
THEN: Jesus can make you into SOMETHING for Him!
Out of the something that you are!
Peter knew that he wasn’t fit to be in the same boat with Jesus.
Neither are we. BUT …
Peter WAS in the boat. Peter knew the boat wasn’t a worthy pulpit for Jesus, BUT it WAS a pulpit.
You & I are unworthy to be a PULPIT for Christ, BUT that’s what Jesus wants from us.
I’m not worthy to be sitting here preaching and trying to do what I’m doing, but God can even use someone like me, and I pray that I’m helping y’all.
And He’ll use us IF we make ourselves AVAILABLE to Him.
THEN: He will give us the OPPORTUNITY to be used of Him.
10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.”
Jesus told him he had a better job for them. Not just catching fish but catching men, and we’re all commissioned to do that
CONCLUSION: 5:10-11 – Jesus had better things in store for them.
Jesus wanted them to launch out into the deep and to trust Him.
Jesus wanted them to go from LITTLE things to BIGGER things.
He wanted them to go from fishers of FISH to fishers of MEN.
- The Fish v.5
II. The Fear v7-9
III. The Forsaking v11a
No one deserves to be blessed and used of God, but God is looking for vessels He can bless and use
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The Fish v.5
II. The Fear v7-9
III. The Forsaking v11a
IV. The Following v11b
The Lord is calling; will you follow him?
11 So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him
You do what God’s called you to do and commissioned you to do, even if people are not liking it.
You stay faithful to the call. You keep coming, you keep doing, and I promise you God will bless your efforts
Look at what they did: What they accomplished
- PETER – On the Day of Pentecost, 3000 souls were saved.
- ANDREW – Went to Asia with the Gospel.
- BARTHOLOMEW– Went to India with the Gospel.
- SIMON ZELOTES – Went to Africa with the Gospel.
John wrote five books in the New Testament, was boiled in oil and exiled on the Isle of Patmos, and that’s where he got the vision, and we see the book of the Revelation of John
Is it always going to be easy? No, it’s not.
You have James the Great, the son of Zebedee, John’s brother. He was the first apostle martyred, so no, it’s not always going to be easy, but I promise you it’s always going to be worth it.
In the movie Men in Black, Will Smith asked Tommy Lee Jones about working with Men in Black, and the question was:
“Is it worth it?” Tommy Lee Jones’ answer was: “Yeah, it’s worth it, if you’re strong enough.”
I believe if you could ask the disciples Was it worth it?
Every one of them was martyred except for John, and as I said, he was boiled in oil. And if you ask them, was it worth it? I promise you they’d say, ” Yeah, it was truly worth it!”
They became fishers of MEN!
They learned some valuable LESSONS in the boat that day:
- When Jesus speaks … you listen.
- Where the Lord leads you … you go.
- What the Lord gives you … you make yourself and what you have available to Him.
Is Jesus in your boat? OR are you sailing through life alone?
CHRISTIAN: you’ll never be blessed unless Jesus is the Lord of your life and you’re in the boat with Jesus.
You need to give your TIME, your TALENTS, and your DEVOTION.
And if you don’t use what God’s given you, then you’re stealing from God
LOST: Don’t leave Jesus on shore. If you do, you’ll be sailing alone, and you’ll end up shipwrecked on the shores of eternal Hell. Invite Jesus into your life today.
Back to Petra Lyrics I Am Available Lyrics
I don’t have much to offer you, I don’t have much to give
There’s so much I may never be as long as I may live
And I may never be all I want to be although I’ll always try
But if you choose me, to use me, there’s just one reason why
I am available, I will go when you say go
I will stop when you say no
My whole life was incomplete, till I laid it at your feet
So, use me as you will, I am available
CONCLUSION: 5:10-11 – Jesus brought them from doing little things, to doing great things.
- When Jesus speaks … you listen.
- Where the Lord leads you … you go.
- What the Lord gives you … you make AVAILABLE to Him.
Make sure you let Jesus be in your boat!
And after you’ve gone a little way and you’ve learned to trust Him.
He’ll ask you to launch out into the deep, and when He does, be obedient and watch what God will do for you. He will give you so much your nets will break
Pray
Calvary Baptist Church Sunday night September 27th 2026
