God is Wonder-FULL!

SCRIPTURE

Fifth Sunday After Epiphany

Luke 5:1-11 (NRSV)
Jesus calls the disciples to fish for people

Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." Simon answered, "Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets." When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people." When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.


SERMON

Today’s story reinforces for me something that I think all of us must realize by now--Jesus was quite a charismatic fellow. Charisma is defined in the dictionary as, “a divinely conferred gift or power, or a spiritual power of personal quality that gives an individual influence or authority over large numbers of people. Does that describe Jesus perfectly or what?

In today’s story, Jesus is doing what grown up Jesus does—he’s preaching and teaching to the people around him about being in relationship with God and with each other. We can assume that whatever Jesus is saying is not just, “business as usual” because wherever he goes, people literally throng around him to listen to his words and to learn from his teachings. There’s just something about Jesus---it’s charisma! It’s energy! It’s that Spirit---that makes people want to get into his presence, and then get into his presence again, and then bring all their friends and family into his presence as well.

On this particular day, Jesus is standing on the side of the lake and the people, with all their friends and family become such a large crowd that the multitude seems to almost press Jesus into the water. Now, Jesus, never at a loss for a very creative solution to life’s problems looks around for an alternate pulpit, as his sandy beach thing is about to become obsolete. As he looks, he notices that the town’s fishermen are up on the beach washing their nets and that their boats are—at least for the moment—quite empty.

Jesus, realizing that he has found his pulpit, says to one of the fisherman something I imagine goes something like this, “Hey man, can I borrow your boat?” Now remember, Jesus has got charisma…And he must have had it in abundance, because Simon Peter, otherwise known as plain old Peter, who has already been on the water all night with nothing to show for it and who must have been tired, discouraged, disappointed and ready for a hot meal and his bed, says to Jesus, “Sure!”

Now, Peter was no punk, so he didn’t send a carpenter’s boy out in a fisherman’s craft and go home. Oh no! The Bible says, Peter and Jesus got into the boat, pushed out a bit, and then Jesus continued to teach the throngs of people. Now, this was no small favor that Jesus asked of Peter, because we all know that Jesus loved to talk. We don’t know how long he talked on this occasion, but we do know that on other occasions people missed lunch and dinner to hear just one of his sermons—so let’s assume they were a great deal longer than my 15-20 minutes!

After Jesus finished talking—and God only knows how long that was—it seems he wanted to thank Peter for his radical hospitality. So he says to Peter, “Let’s you and I go fishing!” Peter, being an obviously amiable sort, says, “Look, Master, I’ve been fishing all night! Remember, you found me cleaning my nets…I didn’t catch a thing. But, if you want me to fish, I’ll do it.”

Well you know the story! Peter put down his nets in deep water and the fish all jumped in. In fact, so many fish jumped in that the nets began to break. So, Peter calls to his friends on shore who are also fishermen. They jump into their boats and put down their nets. Their nets also become full to the brim. They pull in so many fish, that the boats actually begin to sink. And good ole Peter, seeing this as a certifiable miracle, fell down on his face before Jesus and shouted, “Get away from me! I am a sinner…” Jesus, rather than getting away as he is in a boat and on the water, does the truly wise thing and speaks to Peter’s heart issue. He invites Peter, James, and John not to be afraid, but rather, to become fishers of human beings. Well, all four men get up on the shore and begin that wonderful work together.

Isn’t this a wonderful story! And I mean full of wonder! Wonder means, “to be filled with admiration, amazement, awe or marvel. I think it is wonder-full that Jesus’ message of love and peace and joy caused so many people to want to come and listen to his sermons. I think it is wonder-full that Jesus was so generous toward Peter, James and John providing all the fish they ever wanted or needed. I think it is wonder-full that after meeting their physical need for fish, Jesus also met their spiritual need of him by inviting them to walk with him and to share his message of love with others. And do you know what else I think is wonder-full? All of this same “wonder” is still available to us almost 2000 years later! So let’s talk about how we can access it.

Well first of all, we must be willing to use anything and everything that we have to advance Jesus’ message of love. Let’s face it…Nothing has changed in 2,000 years. People are hungry to hear a loving, peaceful, joyful, hopeful message. In the midst of a world so torn with grief and strife, violence and poverty, hunger and disease, the Good News is that God loves us, hasn’t given up on us, has already made provision for our salvation, and stands ready aid us—if we will but accept God’s help…

Peter showed his willingness to use what he had to hear the words of Jesus and to allow others to hear them as well. After all, he loaned his most prized possession—his means of bread and butter—to this man Jesus, whom he hardly knew. What is it that we are willing to “loan” back to Jesus so that Jesus’ words can be proclaimed to others? Are we willing to share our prized possessions for Jesus’ glory? Are we willing to use our cars for his glory? Are we willing to open our homes for his glory? Are we willing to offer our money for his glory? See, ultimately we must remember that all that we have has been given to us by God—in trust—to be used for God’s glory. If we are willing to “loan” it back to the God who gifted it to us in the first place, we will experience the wonder of seeing the Good News proclaimed to others.

Second of all if we want to experience the wonder of God, we must be willing to share the overflow of what we experience while in the presence of Jesus, with others. I have heard God called El Shaddai, or the God of more than enough. And Look! Didn’t Peter experience that truth in his own life? Jesus asked him to put down his net. Out of radical obedience, rather than common sense, Peter did as he was instructed…And as a result, Peter caught more fish than he could haul or sell by himself. So, rather than being stingy, or seeking to keep his blessing to himself, Peter invited his friends to enjoy the overflow of Jesus’ bounty. Peter invited his friends to get in on his good thing. Peter invited his friends to share his good news, rather than keeping it to himself.

Now, I want to suggest to us today that this is good advice for all of us. Just the fact that we are here “clothed in our right minds” means that God has been good to us. Just the fact that we chose to worship here this morning, means that we feel there is a good thing going on in here. God has been so good to us! Let us call all our friends to enjoy what we are enjoying…In the presence of God there is liberty! In the presence of God there is freedom! In the presence of God there is joy! Don’t we want all of our friends to have the same?

Listen, if Peter had sought to keep his blessing to himself, he could not have. He could not have contained it. His selfishness would have literally sunk him. So, our lesson today is that the response to God’s generosity is always generosity toward others! I truly believe that God blesses us to be a blessing to others. When we experience the overflow of God’s love, everyone around us should as well.

Finally, if we want to experience the “wonder” of God we must be willing to always follow only Jesus! After Simon experienced his miracle, it caused him to become aware of his sinfulness. I believe that this is a natural human reaction. When we stand in the holy presence of God, we recognize our need of God’s holiness!

But, I love Jesus’ response to Peter’s fear at being found sinful. Jesus, says, “Do not be afraid.” Isn’t God’s Grace Wonder-full! Jesus understood, what we often neglect to understand. Most of our sin is related to feelings of fear, worry, or anxiety. It is these feelings that lead to selfishness, greed, pride, envy, lust or even worse. When Jesus said do not be afraid, he was saying, “Step boldly into a life lived in the light of my Amazing Grace. Step courageously into the light of my love, joy, and peace.” Let us remember, “Perfect love casts out all fear! (1 John 4:18)

Jesus knew what Peter could not. Jesus knew that God so loved the world, that God was willing to give God’s only begotton Son so that all people who believe in Jesus will not perish, but have eternal life…Jesus knew that when we come to Jesus with hearts full of wonder and awe, we don’t have to be fearful in His presence. Jesus knew that our God loves us unconditionally. There is nothing that we can do to earn God’s love. There is nothing that we must do to retain it. Jesus knew that God makes it God’s business to bless the sinner and the saint. And ultimately Jesus knew that he had come to the earth to die on an old rugged cross to ransom our souls from sinsickness, death, and the grave and to reconcile us to God and make provision for our eternal life in Heaven.

Oh! The WONDER OF GOD’S AMAZING GRACE! Let me close with this…Do you remember when you first met Jesus? Do you remember when you first felt invited to walk with him and to share the Good News that Jesus loves us? Do you remember the fire in your belly, the joy in your heart, your excitement every time you read scripture or came to church? Do you remember how all you could talk about was Jesus, and all your friends, family, and co-workers knew you were in love with him? I remember it…

And today I want us to return to our first love. I want us to return to that period in our lives where every day was Sunday and we were so filled with the wonder of knowing and loving Christ that we were always willing to use all we had for God. We were always willing to share the overflow of God’s blessing with the people around us, and we were always ready to follow only Christ! Because we know in our heart of hearts that God’s Amazing Grace is wonderful! Because we knew in our heart of hearts that God is truly wonder-full!

In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.


Won't you pray with me?

Holy One, I pray that I might know the wonder-full joy of knowing Jesus and of walking with him as his disciple as I share the Good News about your Love. I am so glad that Love gave Jesus to die on the cross to forgive me sin and make provision for my eternal life. I know--and believe--that Jesus did not stay dead, but was resurrected on the third day just like he promised. Please let your love overflow in me today such that everyone I meet will never be the same. I pray that I will never count the cost of leaving everything to follow Jesus, but that I will only remember the eternal rewards. Please take my ordinary life and make it extraordinary! I pray this in Jesus' Name, Amen.


SPECIAL NOTE

If you just prayed that prayer for the first time, today, you are saved! Let me encourage you to tell a Christian friend that you just put all of your hope in Jesus. Ask him or her to help you find a Bible that is easy for you to understand and to find a good Bible believing church where you can be baptized and make new friends who will walk with you on your Christian journey!

I would be honored if you would let me know about your decision today by clicking "YES" in the poll located in the upper-right hand corner of the good news blog in answer to the question, "Did God save you today?"

Congratulations and Happy Re-birthday! Your salvation is our GOOD NEWS, please go and share the GOOD NEWS with others!