[0:00] Yes, Children's Church, you're dismissed. I want to thank Randy for filling in for me last week.
[0:15] I have been coughing, and so has Bonnie, for a week and a half now. And I probably coughed some during the service this morning. But I thank Randy for filling in and taking my place last week.
[0:32] Luke chapter 5. We've been looking at different people, and we've been looking at characteristics about them. Today, we're going to look at Peter and Jesus.
[0:44] They have a conversation. Hang on just a second. And we're going to look at, you can see the title behind me, I Surrender All.
[0:59] To get to that point where I surrender all is like five stages that someone will go through. And we're going to see those in the life of Peter today. We're going to see what he did when he was confronted with Jesus, and how he handled his encounter with Jesus.
[1:16] So look with me at Luke chapter 5, beginning at verse 1. And it came to pass that as the people were pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by Lake Gennesaret, and saw two ships standing by the lake.
[1:33] Yeah, standing by the lake. But the fishermen were gone out from them, and were washing their nets. And they entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land.
[1:47] And he sat down and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draft.
[1:58] Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing. Nevertheless, at thy word, I will let down the net.
[2:10] And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes, and their net break. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them.
[2:26] And they came and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' feet, saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
[2:38] For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draft of fishes which they had taken. So was also James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.
[2:51] And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not. From henceforth thou shalt catch men. And they brought their ships to land. They forsook all, and followed him.
[3:04] Let's have a word prayer. Father, I pray that you would help me today, Lord. Help my mouth to do and say the things that it's supposed to.
[3:15] The things that you have for me to say, Lord. That you would speak through me. Lord, I pray that you would take this word, and Lord, use it to impact our lives.
[3:27] Change our lives. Help us, Lord, to be humble before you. Lord, we would kneel down before you as Peter did. We would understand that we are sinful people.
[3:40] But you can bring great changes to our life. Lord, help people here today who never have asked Jesus Christ into their life to understand the importance of that.
[3:51] And help people here today who have asked Jesus into their life the importance of surrendering everything they have to him. Lord, I pray that you would help us today to be uplifted, encouraged.
[4:04] Lord, you'd help us to be moved by your word. Lord, we would surrender ourselves to following you in whatever you ask us to do. We pray this in Jesus' name.
[4:15] Amen. First stage people go through is disinterest. Disinterest. Disinterest. You think about this. According to John's gospel, Peter met with Jesus the first day after Jesus' baptism.
[4:30] They had a short meeting together, and they talked a little bit. But I believe Peter left that meeting, went back to his home, back to his job, back to doing the fishing, and it really didn't make that much of an impact on him.
[4:47] But now, Jesus has come back into Peter's life. Jesus is there, and he's preaching to people, and the people are gathering around.
[4:58] He's got these large crowds that keep coming around him, and they're kind of pressing against him. So he has to keep backing up. He's backed up to the shore of the Lake of Gennesaret, Sea of Galilee. And finally, he has to kind of work his way along the edge of the shore and run to the boats and ask Peter if he can get in his boat and go out a little bit so he can preach to the people that are pressing against the shore.
[5:21] Peter says, okay, he'll do that. But I want you to see what they were doing. Jesus is preaching to a large crowd of people.
[5:33] And what were these fishermen doing? Cleaning their nets. They weren't really interested all that much in what was going on. They really didn't care.
[5:44] They still had more important things to do. They had to clean their nets and get that taken care of so they could go out the next night and do their fishing. So Peter and John and James and Andrew and others, they're all there, but they're really not paying that much attention until Jesus comes over and asks if he can use their boat.
[6:04] You know, they're not all that different than most people we run into. Most people aren't necessarily antagonistic to the gospel. They're just not interested. They've got better things to do.
[6:17] I've got a job. I've got a family. I've got things I need to do. I need to make money. I don't have time for this. I don't have time for church. I don't have time for following Jesus.
[6:28] I've just got too many things to do in my life. You know, the crowd was pressing.
[6:41] But they really, some of them didn't seem all that interested. You know, Jesus knows the hearts of people, doesn't he? And as he's talking to these people and he's giving them the gospel and he's preaching to them, but did you notice he didn't choose any of them?
[7:01] He's about to choose Peter, James, and John, Andrew, and all them, but he didn't choose any of the people who were there in the crowd. Why is that? Well, maybe because most of them were there looking for the free lunch.
[7:16] Remember, Jesus fed the 5,000 and he gave them food and everything. They've maybe heard about all the things that Jesus has done and the healings and stuff, and they're there for that. They're not necessarily there for Jesus.
[7:31] You know, there may be people here today that are just not that interested. They're here, they're in church, but are they interested in what Jesus is doing and what he has to do?
[7:46] Second stage is doubt. They have doubt. Jesus is looking for a better vantage point in order to preach. He's looking for a place where he can get away from the crowd a little bit and preach out to them without having to constantly be on the move watching for somebody running into him.
[8:04] So he goes to Peter, asks for that spot on his boat. You know, it's no accident that Jesus asked Peter to use his boat.
[8:15] He had plans for Peter. He's got things he wants Peter to do. He has a plan that Peter is going to be a vital part of. Look at verse 4, where he says, He said he had left speaking, and he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a draft.
[8:37] Let down your nets for a draft. Peter's a fisherman. James and John are fishermen. And they're thinking, really?
[8:50] When Jesus says, let down your nets for a draft, he's not talking about getting a mess of fish. He's talking about getting a whole big mess of fish. You'll find out here that he's about to break his nets and almost sink two boats with the amount of fish that they got.
[9:06] But what was Peter's response when Jesus said, Launch out and put down your nets for a draft? Okay, if you say so.
[9:18] We've been out all night. We've been fishing. We're the fishermen. We're the, as Randy was talking this morning, we're the professionals. You're a carpenter.
[9:28] What do you know about fishing? Make it even worse. You're out here preaching to these people. What do you know? I get a lot of that. You're a preacher.
[9:39] What do you know? And that's what Peter's doing to him right now. He's like, okay, whatever you say, we'll do it.
[9:51] We've been working on light, but if you say so, okay, we'll try. His heart's really not in it. He'd rather be going off to go to sleep, get some rest before the next night's fishing trip and stuff.
[10:04] But listen, this isn't just about fish. How many times have we thought that we know better than God? How many times have we thought, you know, I know God's leading me to go this way and do this thing and stuff, but, you know, I just don't know.
[10:23] I don't think so. How many times have we thought, God's leading me to do this, but I've tried that before. I've done that before and it didn't work.
[10:35] You know, been there, bought the t-shirt, the whole thing, you know, stuff. It could be our marriage. It could be raising kids.
[10:46] It could be finance. It could be work. It could be integrity and honesty and a whole multitude of things. And we just don't listen to the Holy Spirit when He's trying to lead us and guide us and help us to know where to go.
[11:00] You know, that whole love your enemy thing? I tried that. It only got worse. You know, forgive people that hurt you?
[11:11] Eh, they take advantage of you if you do that. I'm going to claim, I'm not going to claim this on my income tax. They get enough of my money already.
[11:24] How many of us have thought that at one time or another? Hopefully you didn't follow through with it, but we thought it. I could be honest and do the right thing, but I'm in business and that's a good way to starve if you're always doing the right thing.
[11:48] Oh, I could give my tithe, but, you know, last time I gave my tithe, I wound up short on my bills. We find a lot of justification for things, don't we? God says you need to do this and this and this.
[11:59] His word says don't follow through with this. He asks us to surrender and say, I just don't think that will work. I'm not sure about that. You know, there's a thousand different things we can come up with for excuses.
[12:14] But the Lord engaged Peter that day. He got into his boat. He got him to stretch himself. He got him to do something that was out of his comfort zone.
[12:26] And he said, launch out in the deep and let down your nets for a draft. And Peter's attitude is, okay. Stage three.
[12:40] Belief. Verse six. Look what he says in verse six. And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes and their net break.
[12:52] They put down the nets. They went to draw them up. They were so full that the nets began to break. They had to call over the other boat. James and John, bring your boat over here.
[13:04] We need help. When he put down that net, he thought he was wasting his time. God proved him wrong. God said, you follow me.
[13:15] You do what I ask. Things are going to be different. You know, it's a dangerous and amazing thing when we start thinking to ourselves about what the Lord can and cannot do.
[13:36] Because a lot of times we get caught on the cannot. God can do anything. Tia's favorite song, Nothing is Impossible. God can do anything.
[13:47] John chapter six, verse 29 and 30. Look at what it says. Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on me whom he has sent.
[14:00] And they said therefore unto him, What sign showest thou then, that we may see and believe thee? What dost thou work?
[14:13] Jesus says, Here am I. Here am I. I am God in the flesh. I am the Messiah that God promised you. I am he.
[14:24] Give us a sign to show us that you really are him. Do something. Jesus has been doing something all along. He's been doing miracle after miracle after miracle after miracle.
[14:37] And they're like, Do something that's going to impress us. Do something that's going to show us. You know, Jesus basically told him, I am the work. You'll see soon.
[14:49] When the resurrection takes place. And there's like, Show us more. John chapter 12, beginning of verse 35, says, Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you.
[15:06] Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you. For he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whether he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be children of light.
[15:21] These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them. For though he had done many, so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him.
[15:34] He had done miracle after miracle after miracle after miracle, and he said, They wouldn't believe. Don't just wait around for Jesus to do some great miracle in your life.
[15:48] Follow him. He's doing a miracle for you every day. Every moment of every day. Every day your heart keeps beating. Every time you take a breath, a miracle is being performed in your life.
[16:06] The question is, whether you're going to trust Jesus for what he has done in your life, because he has performed miracle after miracle after miracle.
[16:18] There are some of you who would not be here today if Jesus had not performed miracles, if Jesus had not taken care of you, if Jesus had not intervened. See, we know Jesus up here.
[16:30] We know him down here. We know what he can do. We know who he is in a textbook style of way, but do we know him as a friend that sticketh closer than a brother?
[16:45] Do we know him as the Son of God? Do we know him as God? Do we know Jesus? He died on the cross for you.
[16:57] He rose again for you. He's done miraculous things already for you. Do you believe him? Do we trust him?
[17:12] He may be calling you to a place of service. He may be calling you to do something that seems way out of the way, but just follow him and what he's asked you to do.
[17:26] Is he trustworthy enough to do that? To just trust him. Peter now thinks that he is.
[17:37] Peter goes to stage four. Repentance. Repentance. Look at verse eight. Verse eight says, When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man.
[17:55] Peter embraced him. He fell on his knees and threw his arms around his legs. It's interesting. He threw his arms around his legs to hold him and says, Depart from me.
[18:07] He really didn't want him to depart. He really wanted him to stay. Depart from me because I am a sinful man, but please stay here and help me. You know, that's the way we should be.
[18:21] Lord, I'm sinful. How can you be near me? But please don't go. Please don't go. You know, he's repenting of the sin that's in his life.
[18:32] He saw Jesus not as a carpenter anymore, not as a teacher, not as a preacher, not as some smart rabbi.
[18:46] He didn't even see him as a wannabe fisherman. He saw him as Lord of all. Do we see him that way? As Lord of all?
[18:58] See, a lot of Christians, they come up to this point. They will repent of their sin. They come up to a point where they understand, I'm a sinner. I'm in need of a Savior.
[19:09] And they will give their life to Jesus as far as saving them and having a place in heaven. I want to go to heaven. I want to be with Jesus.
[19:21] We come to Sunday school. We come to church services. We come and we learn things from God's word. And we grow in God's word. And we learn things about it.
[19:34] But do we go past that? I repent. I want salvation. I want to go to heaven someday. You know, there are people I meet that know more about the Bible than I do.
[19:46] And I just be quiet and I listen. I've told you before many times, my favorite preacher is Adrian Rogers. I will listen to him anytime I can.
[19:58] he is so good at what he does. Was so good at what he does. I just love to listen to the man speak and to what he has to say.
[20:12] There are others. If I've got car trouble, I'm not talking to me. I'm talking to Dana. Dana, what do I got to do about this? I got issues at the house.
[20:24] I'm talking to Matt or Ricky. I got things that, you know, they can help me with. I don't know about those things. I don't claim to know everything.
[20:36] But I know that Jesus loves me. For the Bible tells me so. We talked about that last week. You know, we may not know a lot of things about a lot of different things.
[20:51] But do you know enough to come into the presence of God Almighty and realize that I'm a sinner in need of a Savior?
[21:05] And even as a Christian, I'm a sinner who has a Savior. But, am I willing to go past that?
[21:16] Am I willing to go further than that? Because step five is the one that we tend to forget. Step five is surrender. When the Lord finally had Peter where Peter needed to be, he extended an invitation to him.
[21:36] Look at verse nine. For he was astonished and all that were with him at the draft of fishes which they had taken. And so was also James and John the sons of Zebedee which were partners with Simon.
[21:52] And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all and followed him.
[22:07] I don't care how many stages you go through. You may not go through stages one and two, but when it comes to belief and repentance, the natural follow-up is step five.
[22:21] To surrender to Jesus Christ. Surrender is the only proper response to the call of Jesus on your life. I'm going to give my life to him.
[22:33] He gave his life for me. I'm going to give my life for him. preacher, you know, I don't know what God's call in my life is.
[22:45] Well, let me give you some practical general things. You've been called to live for his honor and for his glory. You've been called to make sure that everything in your life points to him.
[23:01] Are we doing that? Are we pointing people to Jesus Christ? By the way we talk, by the way we live, by the things we do? Are we pointing people to Jesus Christ?
[23:13] I can tell you you've been called to have a personal relationship with him. It's one thing to be saved, to know Jesus as Savior and asking him to come into your life to be your Savior.
[23:24] It's another thing to walk with him day by day by day. That's a call that you have on your life. You've been called to be a witness for him. Great commission.
[23:36] We've been called to be a testimony for him everywhere we go. You know, you've been called to be godly husbands, godly wives, godly parents, godly children, godly employees, employers, just godly people in general.
[23:54] Are we living that way so that people see Christ in us in everything we do? You know, preacher, I know all that, but I want to know God's will more specifically.
[24:09] When I know that, I'll surrender. When I know God's will, what he really wants me to do, then I'll surrender to him. You've got it backwards. God is not calling you to a place.
[24:21] He's not calling you to a thing. He's not calling you to an occupation. He's calling you to himself. Are we willing to go to him and say, I will do whatever you want me to do because I trust you?
[24:45] That takes on a whole different meaning, doesn't it? Because we always think of God's will as, God wants me to go be missionary. God wants me to go be this. God wants me to go be that. No.
[24:57] God wants you to follow him. Jesus says, follow me. A few weeks ago, I talked about that. That was his greatest commandment.
[25:08] Follow me. Follow me. God is ready to assume full responsibility for a life that's fully yielded to him.
[25:21] Let me say that again. God is ready to assume full responsibility for a life wholly yielded to him. You know, are you ready to yield to God like that?
[25:37] Are you ready to give everything over to God? Here's what we do normally. There was a man who used to talk to people about this.
[25:49] He had an office in New York City. And he would take people as he's talking to them about being fully yielded to God, allowing God to have everything in their life.
[26:01] He would talk to them and he said, let's go for a walk. And he would take them out of his office, take them down on the Fifth Avenue, and they'd walk down from his office to the RCA building on Fifth Avenue.
[26:13] He says, at the entrance of the building, there was a gigantic statue of Atlas. said the figure, the statue, was done perfectly. He said the proportions of that man were just, you know he's the most powerful man in the world.
[26:30] And he's there and he's struggling with the world on his shoulders and he's just doing everything he can to keep the world up. And he said, we'd look at that for a while and talk about the fact that he's trying to carry the whole world on his shoulders.
[26:49] He said, then I would walk them across the street. He said, across the street was St. Patrick's Cathedral. He said, there they had a statue of Jesus, eight, nine, ten years old.
[27:06] He said, and that statue had Jesus holding the entire world in his hand. He said, we would talk about, do you want to keep carrying the world on your shoulders or would you rather let him carry it for you?
[27:26] See, we try to carry the whole world on our shoulders. We try to do everything. God says, surrender to me. Give it to me. Give your life into my hands and watch what I can do with it.
[27:41] Watch what I can accomplish if you will just yield to me. Are you ready to give it up today? I'm talking to Christians today.
[27:53] I'm talking to people who, yes, I'm saved. Yes, I've done the first four steps. Yes, I've repented of my sin. Are you willing to surrender to him today?
[28:05] He wants you 100%. And can I tell you, he does not want 110%. He wants 100% because that's all there is.
[28:18] You give him all that. He doesn't want 70 or 80%. Well, yeah, I've given everything to God except I hold on to this or I hold on to that. No, he says 100%.
[28:31] You say, I would give him 100%, but I'm tired. I'm burned out. I'm a pastor.
[28:41] I understand that. Surrender anyway. Give it all to him. Well, you know, I have plans and it's kind of inconvenient for me.
[28:54] Surrender anyway. well, it really doesn't make all that much sense to me to just give everything over to him. You know, I could have been in control of some things.
[29:08] Surrender to him. Well, I think God's calling me to do this or that or the other thing, but he's got the wrong man, he's got the wrong woman.
[29:21] Surrender anyway. Give it all to him. Let him have it. From this moment on, after Jesus goes in the boat, preaches, then talks with Peter, Peter latches on to him, Jesus says, look, follow me.
[29:44] And he says, they gave up right then and they followed him. They forsook all and followed him. From that moment on, keep reading the Gospels, keep reading the Book of Acts, what did God do through Peter?
[30:05] How much was accomplished? Do you think Peter would have ever accomplished all those different things without Jesus Christ, without being fully surrendered to him? Peter would have stayed a fisherman, catching fish, eating fish, selling fish, sounds like a fishy story to me.
[30:25] I hate fish, but look at what Peter accomplished when he yielded his life to God. You have the same opportunity.
[30:40] He was found holding nets and washing them. What are you holding on to today? nets? What nets do you have in your hands today?
[30:53] Give them over to Jesus and follow him. Let's pray. Do you have any, Father?