"Risking the Catch of a Lifetime"
Jan.25/04 Luke 5:1-11
It's been observed that the only people who've never failed are those who likely never tried anything. We may experience many failures in life; from small ones all the way up to life-threatening ones. Failure, or dashed expectations, tempt us to become angry and bitter. Today's scripture though shows us that Jesus can turn apparent failures around. There's something about faith that involves taking risks for Jesus. When we face Him and yield control of our lives to Him, He brings fulfillment and leads us into true success - success in God's eyes, carrying out the unique calling He has for us.
Peculiar Pulpits under Pressure
Luke 5 begins with a description of Jesus hemmed in around the Sea of Galilee; He's trying to teach God's word, but people are crowding around Him, pressing in upon Him. But the Lord doesn't start despairing, He doesn't blame the Father for not providing a Copps Coliseum right where He needs it. Instead He's looking around, searching for the Father's solution to the problem. All that's there is a pair of boats. Aha! Jesus got into one of the boats and used it as a floating pulpit, perhaps with the curve of the shoreline making a natural amphitheatre. God provided a solution when His Son was under pressure. As one commentator puts it, "Christ uses Peter's boat as a pulpit whence to throw the net of the gospel over His hearers."
What happens when we come under pressure, whether through opposition or temptation? Do we give in and give up, or start looking for God's "way out"? 1Cor.10(13) tells us, "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." Look around in the Spirit, ask God to show you the "boat" that will help you cope.
The Old Testament prophet Jonah thought he knew better than God. The Lord had told Jonah to preach repentance to Israel's enemy Nineveh, but Jonah instead high-tailed it for the opposite side of the Mediterranean, supposing he could run away from God. The Lord creates such a severe storm that the sailors end up throwing Jonah overboard because he admits it's his fault. It looks like the end for Jonah. But God appoints a great fish to swallow Jonah and bring him to safety. Rescued from a watery grave, inside the fish Jonah prays with repentance, acknowledging the Lord's sovereignty and mercy (Jonah 2:2,6): "In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me.From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry...To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever.But you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God." The Resurrected One can turn things around and bring opportunity where it seemed there was only adversity.
William Otterbein was founder of one of the parent churches of the EMCC, the United Brethren in Christ. Of Reformed Church background in Germany, Otterbein sailed to America and served among immigrants to Pennsylvania. Historian Eileen Lageer tells us in 1758 he was invited to pastor a fairly large church in Maryland. His earnest preaching there about conversion and godly living annoyed the church's influential members. They resolved, "We'll lock the church doors so he can't get in." When William's friends arrived the next Sunday, they were outraged and demanded, "Let's force open the doors." Otterbein replied, "No, I'll preach out here in the graveyard!" So standing on a tombstone, he preached the message he had planned to use in his pulpit. As he dismissed the people he announced, "Next Lord's Day we'll meet out here again." What a crowd gathered the following Sunday -- and what a commotion it caused in the town! His opponents decided it was better to unlock the doors and let him preach in his pulpit than to have the whole countryside witness their chagrin.
Pressed upon by the people, Jesus used a boat to preach. William Otterbein responded to pressure of another kind by using a tombstone. What pulpit is God giving you from which to preach? When you encounter opposition, ask the Holy Spirit to show you how to turn the situation around so God's goodness may be broadcast.
Beyond Bitterness
When Jesus had finished speaking, Luke tells us in v4 that He said to Peter, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch." Now Jesus was not ignorant of the working patterns of Galileans - He grew up there. He would have known the fishermen fished at night time; he'd have seen them washing their nets at the end of their "day". So why does He tell Peter to go back on the job again? To test him. Was Peter ready for the next level of commitment in discipleship?
Consider carefully how Peter replies in v5. "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything." What's that feeling? Frustration; fatigue; failure? The nets were likely bell-shaped with weights all around the circular opening. As they sank to the bottom, the fisherman pulled a cord which drew the net shut. Then he pulled it back up to the surface. Imagine doing that, all night long, hour after hour. That took strength. It was tiresome work. Their total reward for the shift was a big zero. It's safe to say Peter was likely somewhat bitter about their business' futile efforts. It didn't seem fair that they'd worked hard all night and yet caught nothing. Bitterness means you have a grudge of complaint against someone, you feel you have a right to be angry with someone who's taken advantage of you. And if there's no handy human agency to direct the frustration towards, sometimes we become bitter against God, even unconsciously. We blame Him for stuff we can't blame others for.
God's Word warns us to eliminate bitterness lest it give the Destroyer a foothold to attack our lives. Eph.4(31) says, "Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice." Get rid of bitterness, cut it out like a spiritual cancer, lest it eat you alive - and spread. Heb.12(15) says, "See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many." Be angry appropriately but don't let it linger, don't let the sun go down on your anger. Giving up bitterness means I give up my "right" to be angry about something.
Christianity is primarily about grace: because Christ paid the price for us, absorbing the pain and cost of punishment that we deserved for our sin, His Spirit in us by faith helps us show grace to those who've hurt us. Jesus was possibly seeing if Peter was going to let bitterness block him.
You may recall Isaac had two sons, Esau and Jacob. Esau, the firstborn, despised his birthright and sold it to his younger brother for some tasty stew once when he was extremely hungry. But on another occasion, Jacob outright cheated Esau out of the blessing, dressing up in a disguise to trick his aged father, who was practically blind. When Esau found out, he was furious, he "trembled violently" and "burst out with a loud and bitter cry" (Gen.27:33f). He held a grudge against Jacob and planned to kill him as soon as Isaac was out of the picture. Jacob managed to get away to a distant land.
Years passed. Jacob was ready to return to his homeland, having prospered with wives and children and flocks and herds. There was just one problem: would Esau still be out to get him? Genesis 33 tells of the brothers' reunion. Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him. With great relief, Jacob said, "To see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favourably." (Gen.33:10) Esau had been able to let the bitterness go and extended grace to Jacob - absorbing the cost, making allowance for his brother's dirty cheating. That's grace, replacing bitterness.
Pride and defiance could also have been coursing through Peter's heart. Who was the professional fisherman here, anyway? Wasn't it Peter that was the head of the 2-boat business partnership? Who did this carpenter's son think He was to tell a fisherman how to fish? Robinson notes, "Fishing in this lake was Peter's business and he really claimed superior knowledge on this occasion to that of Jesus." Combine this with the fact that he's worn out after fishing all night then washing and mending the nets, and you can understand it'd be easy for Peter to protest.
But something within him overcame all his objections. What was it Peter saw in the Master's eye that silenced his gripes and rationalizations? He answered, "But because you say so - at Your word - I will let down the nets." Obedience overcame his resistance. he would take the risk and make the effort of putting out into deep water again. Though with each stroke of the oars he must have whispered under his breath, "I can't believe I'm doing this!"
Former NHL hockey player Mark Osborne had a reason to be bitter. The Toronto native had received Christ as Saviour at age 14 and graduated from the Niagara Falls Flyers into the NHL. Then came the test. For 4 months he was off the ice with a pulled hip flexor. Sigmund Brouwer writes in his book The Edge, "Tested, Mark calmly accepted his situation. It was part of God's plan whatever the outcome. If he might never play another game of NHL hockey, there was a reason for the injury. If he made it back into the game, there was a reason for the injury." Mark had an opportunity to talk about his faith which he wouldn't have had if he weren't injured. He recalls talking to a free-lance writer for the New York Rangers' magazine. "She wanted to know how I dealt with a 4-month injury - wanted to know how I felt not knowing if I would play again. I told her I was down and discouraged, yet I had a faith and a relationship with Jesus to help me through it. I told her I didn't know why things happened the way they did, but I trusted that God was in control."
Mark's faith was rewarded. He did return to playing in the NHL, from 1981-95. And that conversation with the free-lance writer led to her introducing him to the woman who would one day become his wife! He didn't become bitter because of what happened, but better.
The Magnitude of God's Mercy
When Peter let down the nets, what happened next was history. They enclosed such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. One historian reported seeing shoals of fish on the Sea of Galilee "many hundred yards long", swimming with black fins packed thickly together. Peter may have fished the lake all his life, but Jesus created the lake - and fishy ways - from the beginning of time! V7 says when the other partners came to help, they "filled both boats so full that they began to sink". Breaking nets. Sinking boats. God's blessing exceeded Peter's capacity to contain it.
When the Lord's reward comes, it is enough to compensate for all the pain and stress and trials - and more than enough. God's not stingy with His blessing. In chapter 4 of his first letter, Peter encourages the early church to be patient through suffering. Then in chapter 5 (7,10) he promises God's strengthening after the suffering: "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you...And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast."
God loves His children on earth and will put all the resources of heaven at the disposal of those who do His will. Paul wrote in Romans 8, "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all— how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" Jesus promised that for those who give, "it will be given to you.A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap." (Luke 6:38)
This week it was announced on the news that the Salvation Army in the United States is about to receive its largest charitable donation ever. When the estate of Joan Crock (widow of the founder of McDonalds) has been processed, a chunk of the $1.5 billion (that's $1500 million) will be received by the Salvation Army for development of community centres. I wonder if they feel their nets are breaking. God's grace is being poured out through one family's stewardship of accumulated possessions.
Paul Henderson is another hockey player, whom most Canadians remember for scoring the winning goal in the 1972 Russia-Canada hockey series. But despite all the fame, after 1972 the Kincardine native found he was plagued by an internal emptiness, and by anger and frustration at life in general. He was encouraged by a friend to consider the claims of Jesus; he started reading the Bible. He recalls, "Over the next 2 years, my friend helped me see and understand that Jesus Christ was the answer, and that He could handle my angers and fears and stresses in life. Once I accepted that, a quietness and contentment became a reality in my life...I became a far better husband, a far better friend, and a far better and more dedicated hockey player." God's mercy made a big difference.
Fear and Fresh Focus
The big fisherman who normally balked at nothing was bowled over by the miracle of two sinking boatloads of fish. VV8-9 record that "he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken..." It was too much. Peter was caught off guard, he didn't wake up that morning (night?) expecting an encounter with the living Lord of the Universe. Suddenly he was seized by a sense of inadequacy, smallness, and sin-infectedness when face to face with the Holy One. Seeing the Lord in His majesty brought a sense of being undone, all Peter's defences were stripped away, all his rationalizations and secret habits were exposed and empty. In that moment, when our heart is struck by that revelation, that epiphany, there is nothing left but to acknowledge our helplessness and shame. "I'm a sinner!" Moses knew it - happening upon the burning bush, he "hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God." (Ex.3:6) When Isaiah had a vision of the Lord with his apparel filling the temple, the prophet's response was, "Woe to me!...I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." (Is.6:5) Stark fear gripped Peter and he collapsed at Christ's knees.
That's the point when God can start to work with us. In place of fear, He offers fresh focus. His Holy Spirit creates new possibilities in us we didn't have before without Him. V10, Jesus said to him, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." In other words, "Don't worry, Peter; I've come to save, not condemn. I'm making you a new creation. Don't settle for just temporal 'stuff' when you can rescue people from hell for eternity." So on the Day of Pentecost Peter would open his mouth to preach and 3000 people were saved. Soon after, he spoke again and another 2000 believed. God was conferring on Peter Kingdom duties and responsibilities for establishing a church that would last down the centuries; responsibilities far greater than just making one living in little Capernaum. His focus was changing - no longer to catch them "dead and for death", but "alive and for life".
John Maxwell is a pastor, but teaches leadership as a sideline. He finds it gives him a chance to make an eternal difference in the lives of people the church doesn't normally affect. In this month's New Man magazine, he writes: "Because I speak to so many business-people, I'm getting more opportunities now to share the gospel than I have in a decade. I'm talking to people for whom church isn't even on the radar. A few weeks ago, after teaching leadership all day, I did a 15-minute talk on my faith and more than 100 people came to Christ." What a response! And it wasn't even an evangelistic framework. Maxwell adds, "God has a vision for your life and a mission for you to complete. You were created to fulfill it, and it will unfold if you take the steps of obedience God calls you to in the moment. Don't worry about where it leads. Get on the journey. God will take care of the rest." Luke closes this passage in v11 by recalling that Peter and the others "left everything and followed Him." God's blessing awaits our complete obedience.
The Final Score: People, not Goals
Mike Gartner is another pro hockey player from Ottawa. He scored a total of 708 goals over 19 seasons in the NHL. That ranks him fifth in the list of all-time goal scorers, after Gretzky, Howe, Esposito, and Dionne. But he stopped when only one more season likely would have taken him to third place, saying, "I put it in perspective and realized it wasn't going to matter all that much. It was time to be with my family." Christ's claim on him helped him keep his priorities in check.
Like Peter, Gartner did have some fears when He first met the Saviour. He writes, "I'll admit I did worry that following Jesus might take away the competitive edge I had honed as a professional hockey player. I discovered, however, the opposite result. I found peace in the framework of faith, and this faith and peace exerted a very positive impact on my career.
"In professional hockey, we are measured by goals and assists - by wins and losses. Through the Gospels, we know how much God loves us and we know that to Him it doesn't matter how we are measured by other people. My faith in God through Christ has certainly helped me understand that. Faith reassured me throughout my career because I came to believe that God is not necessarily interested in the outcome of sports - He is interested in people who play sports. In life, as in sports, faith in God through Jesus, His Son, is the best edge you can have." Let's pray.