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Today's scripture reading is from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 4, verse 43 through chapter 5, verse 13,
chapter 5, verses 18 through 20, and verses 27 through 32 as printed in your liturgy.
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke.
But he said,
I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God in other towns also, because that is why I was sent.
And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
One day, as Jesus was standing by the lake of Gennesaret,
the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God.
He saw at the water's edge two boats left there by the fishermen who were washing their nets.
He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon,
and asked him to put out a little from shore.
Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon,
put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch.
Simon answered,
Master, I've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything,
but because you say so, I will let down the nets.
When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.
So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them,
and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
When Simon Peter saw this, 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,
and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon,
Don't be afraid.
From now on, you will fish for people.
So they pulled their boats up on shore,
left everything, and followed him.
While Jesus was in one of the towns,
a man came along who was covered with leprosy.
When he saw Jesus,
he fell with his face to the ground
and begged him,
Lord, if you are willing,
you can make me clean.
Jesus reached out his hand
and touched the man.
I am willing, he said.
Be clean.
And immediately the leprosy left him.
Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat
and tried to take him into the house
to lay him before Jesus.
When they could not find a way to do this
because of the crowd,
they went up on the roof
and lowered him on his mat
through the tiles into the middle of the crowd
right in front of Jesus.
So when Jesus saw their faith,
he said,
Friend, your sins are forgiven.
After this,
Jesus went out
and saw a tax collector
by the name of Levi
sitting at his tax booth.
Follow me, Jesus said to him.
And Levi got up,
left everything,
and followed him.
Then Levi held a great banquet
for Jesus at his house,
and a large crowd of tax collectors
and others were eating with them.
But the Pharisees
and the teachers of the law
who belonged to their sect
complained to his disciples,
Why do you eat and drink
with tax collectors and sinners?
Jesus answered them,
It is not the healthy
who need a doctor,
but the sick.
I have not come to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance.
This is the gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
Good morning, Christ Church.
Is it warm enough in here?
We turn the heat up a little bit.
You good?
All right.
We are,
we've been looking at the gospel of Luke,
and we're here in the early days
of the ministry of Jesus,
and we're looking at
some of the ways that Jesus calls
his first disciples to come
and follow him
and to begin to participate
in his mission.
And Peter is,
you know,
the main person
we're going to be talking about
this morning.
And Peter is a guy who,
he met Jesus the way
that most people do,
which is that
someone invited him.
You know,
someone brought him to Jesus.
Peter would have never
encountered Jesus
had he not been brought
by another person.
We would have never
heard of Peter
unless his brother Andrew
had met Jesus
and begun to follow Jesus.
And the very first thing
that his brother Andrew does
is he says,
I'm going to go get Peter.
And he gets Peter
and he says,
hey,
we found,
we found the Messiah.
We found the Christ.
You've got to come
meet Jesus.
And so that's kind of
where our story
picks up.
Peter has,
he's a guy who's,
he's met
Jesus,
but he's never
really experienced
the power of Jesus.
Peter,
he's met Jesus,
but he's not yet
a follower
who surrendered himself
to Jesus.
He's not yet a disciple
or an apprentice
who submitted himself
to Jesus.
And so we notice
in the story
that Jesus intentionally
seeks Peter out.
He deliberately steps
into not just
any old boat,
but into Peter's boat.
And why did he get
into Peter's boat?
Well,
on one level,
you know,
the crowds are pressing in
and Jesus figures
he can more effectively
preach the word of God
and about the kingdom of God
to all these people
better from the boat.
But on another level,
why does he choose
to get into Peter's boat?
And I believe
that this moment,
like pretty much
every moment
in the ministry
and the life of Jesus,
it's not random.
Right?
It happens carefully
and prayerfully
because it's something
Jesus planned to do.
And the reason
Jesus steps
into Peter's boat
is that
Jesus is fishing
for people.
Right?
Jesus wants to catch
people
and he's fishing
for this particular
fisherman
named Peter.
He sees this man
who's not yet
a disciple
and he wants
to catch him.
He wants to gather him
into his net.
And how does Jesus
do that?
Well,
it says in verse 2
that he saw
the water's edge
two boats
left there by the fishermen
who were washing their nets
and he got into
one of the boats
the one belonging
to Simon Peter
and he asked him
to put out
a little bit
from shore.
So Jesus just
initiates
this simple
relationship,
this simple
conversation.
Much like he did
with that woman
at the well
in Samaria.
He just said,
hey, I'm thirsty.
Can you give me
a drink?
You can imagine
this conversation
where Jesus
has asked
Peter for help
and says,
hey, Peter,
I know you're
doing your job.
I know you're
washing your nets.
I know that we barely
even know each other
but would you mind
helping me out?
Would it be okay
if I use your stuff?
Would you mind
if I borrow your boat?
You mind pushing out
a little bit
from shore?
And Jesus
just simply begins
to share his life
with Peter
and asks Peter
to share his life
with him.
And Jesus
puts himself
interestingly
in this non-religious
space
with this not-yet-disciple
Peter
and he steps
into Peter's world
and he gets on
Peter's calendar
and he gets involved
in Peter's life
and he asks Peter
for help
and he shares
Peter's stuff
and what happens
as a result
when Jesus
just shares his life
is amazing.
And that's
what we're going
to look at
in the next few minutes
this incredible
scene
of Jesus
and Peter's boat.
And I want to look
at it together
under three headings.
I want to think
together about
the challenge
of Jesus
and the transforming
grace of Jesus
and then the mission
of Jesus.
Okay?
So the challenge
of Jesus
the transforming
grace of Jesus
and the mission
of Jesus.
So first of all
let's think together
about the challenge
of Jesus
that Peter gets.
Peter
finds himself
involved
in Jesus' work
by letting him
use his boat
and now Jesus
begins to involve
himself in Peter's work
by showing Peter
how to fish.
And it says
in verse 4
when Jesus
had finished speaking
he said to Simon
Peter
put out into deep water
and let down the nets
for a catch.
Now you need to know
that that is
terrible fishing advice.
Peter is tired.
He's frustrated.
He's been fishing
all night long.
He's caught
nothing
and he must
have had
some sort
of visceral
reaction
to Jesus'
words
but you can
kind of tell
he's trying
to hold it
together
and be
respectful
and diplomatic
so Peter
says to Jesus
in verse 5
Master
we've worked
hard all night
and haven't
caught
anything.
You see
Jesus
is not a fisherman.
Jesus
is a
tectone.
He's a builder.
He's a stonemason
and he's
just a preacher.
What does he know?
But Peter
spent his whole life
fishing these waters.
Peter
like his father
before him
and his grandfather
before him
he knows
how to fish
and he's made
a really good
living
at fishing
and Peter
knows
that Jesus
is giving him
bad advice.
Jesus
is asking him
to do something
that's against
his own instincts
and his own
experience
and Jesus
knows this too.
Jesus
knows
what a high
challenge
this is going
to be
for Peter.
Jesus
actually knows
right?
He knows
that the
optimal time
to go fishing
is at night
when the waters
have cooled down
and the fish
have come up
to the surface
in the shallows
and they can't
see in the dark
and you trap
them in your nets
that's how
you're supposed
to fish.
And Jesus
also knows
that the most
absurd time
to go
would be right
now
when the sun
has come up
and the waters
heated up
and the fish
have gone
deeper
Jesus knows
that this seems
like terrible
advice
and that
in the eyes
of others
Peter is going
to look
absolutely
ridiculous
and absurd.
And by the way
this is how
pretty much
most of the
Christian life
works.
Jesus
says hey
I want you
to trust me
to go against
conventional wisdom.
Jesus says
hey I want you
to do things
that viewed
from the
outside
are going
to look
stupid.
Stuff like
being sacrificial
with your power.
Being self-giving
with your time.
Things like
being generous
with your money
and disciplined
with your sexuality.
Things like
having integrity
at work
and being faithful
even when it
hurts.
Jesus tells us
try it my way.
Try it my way.
And that's
exactly what he's
saying to Peter.
Try it my way.
Now how does
Peter respond
to Jesus
challenge to
trust him?
Well it's
incredible.
He says in
verse 5
Master we
worked hard
all night
we haven't
caught anything
but because
you say so
I will let
down the
nets.
Other
translations say
but at
your word.
And Peter
he's not
thinking hey
this is going
to work out
for me.
He's not
thinking you
know this
yeah this
seems like a
really good
use of my
time.
He's not
thinking you
know what
I'm going
to get out
of this
is a really
good story
and it's
really going
to help
my reputation.
No he
just says
because you
say so.
Because you
are trustworthy
I'm going
to trust you.
the first
step of
following Jesus
as a
disciple
begins for
Peter by
just hearing
the word
of God
and then
stepping out
in faith
on that
word as
if it's
wiser
than
Peter's
wisdom.
And it's
a critical
moment for
Peter right?
It's a
fateful
decision.
The reason
we know
Peter at
all is
because he
responds
because you
say so
at your
word
and he
just acts
on the
word that
he gets
from the
Lord.
And it
says in
verse 6
when they
had done
so they
caught such
a large
number of
fish that
their nets
began to
break.
So they
signaled
their partners
in the
other boat
to come
and help
them and
they came
and filled
both boats
so full
that they
began to
sink.
And what
that tells
us is that
it's good
to trust
Jesus.
It's good
to obey
Jesus.
This is
the biggest
catch of
their lives.
It's a
massive
haul of
fish.
It's the
most success
they've ever
had in
their careers.
Their nets
are breaking.
Their boats
are sinking.
And they're
thinking to
themselves,
they must be
thinking to
themselves,
where did
Jesus get
this power
and this
authority?
How does
Jesus know
better than
Peter how
Peter's life
is supposed
to go?
And how
is Jesus
able to
give us a
more abundant
and more
fruitful life
if we would
just trust
him and
surrender to
him and
submit to
him?
And look
at how
Peter responds
in verse
eight.
When Simon
Peter saw
this, he
fell at
Jesus'
knees and
said,
go away
from me
Lord,
I am a
sinful man.
this moment
that we
see, you
know,
throughout the
scriptures,
the prophet
Isaiah,
when he
encounters the
presence and
the power of
God, when he
comes and he
sees the glory
of God, that
God is holy,
holy, holy as
the Lord God
Almighty who
was, who is,
and who is to
come.
What does the
prophet Isaiah
say?
He says,
woe to me,
I am ruined,
for I am a
man of unclean
lips and I live
among a people
of unclean
lips.
He says,
go away from
me Lord,
I am a
sinful man.
When the
Lord speaks
to Job
out of the
storm,
what does
Job say?
How does
Job respond?
He says,
I despise
myself and
I repent
in dust and
ashes.
Peter has
just experienced
the wisdom
and the power
and the
authority of
the eternal
son of God
and he says,
go away from
me Lord.
I'm not
worthy to be
near you.
I'm not
worthy to
even be
anywhere close
to the
vicinity of
your holiness
because I
am sinful.
I'm a
sinner full
of sin.
And this
is how you
know that
you've begun
a real
relationship
with the
real Jesus.
It's that
you see
power and
holiness in
him and
therefore you
see weakness
and sinfulness
in yourself.
You realize
when you get
into the
presence of
Jesus'
beauty how
spiritually and
morally ugly
you are and
how curved in
on yourself
you've actually
become.
You realize in
the presence of
Jesus'
truth how
fraudulent and
false and
phony and
self-centered and
self-serving you
actually are.
You realize in
the presence of
Jesus'
goodness how
even your
best attempts
to love are
just deeply
flawed and
compromised
with self-interest.
You realize in
the presence of
Jesus'
sovereignty and
his supremacy
how small and
how puny you
are.
And you realize
in the presence
of his holiness
and his
righteousness just
how full of
sin you really
are.
That there's
this vast
difference between
you and
Jesus.
And that
radically begins
to deconstruct
yourself.
It begins to
deconstruct your
identity, your
foundation, your
core of who
you thought you
were.
Seeing Jesus for
who he really
is causes you to
see yourself for
who you really
are and it fills
you with this
sense that I'm
more flawed, I
am more sinful
than I ever
dared to believe.
And you have
this fresh
awareness of
your own poverty,
your own
unworthiness, your
own humility
before the Lord.
And you say,
you know what,
I have, actually,
I have nothing to
offer God.
I am poor in
spirit, I am
utterly bankrupt
before God.
You see, many
people are like
Peter, they have
some familiarity
with Jesus, they've
come into contact
with Jesus, maybe
they've even listened
a little bit to
Jesus, and perhaps
even they've let
Jesus use their
stuff, but they're
not yet a humbled
and surrendered
follower.
Many people, they've
only experienced
the invitation of
Jesus, but they've
not yet stepped
into this challenge
of Jesus, they've
not yet taken a
step to trust in
Jesus, they've not
yet taken that
risk of looking
foolish and
ridiculous and
absurd in response
to Jesus.
They've not yet
surrendered and
submitted themselves
to Jesus and
therefore have not
really experienced
the wisdom and
the power and
the authority of
Jesus or the
sinfulness and
self-centeredness of
their own hearts.
And maybe that's
you today.
Maybe you're at
that critical moment,
maybe you're at
that fateful decision
where Peter was,
where Jesus is just
waiting for you to
say to him,
because you say
so, at your word.
And I wonder what
might be keeping
you from just
quietly, even just
silently in your
heart today, just
saying to Jesus,
you know, because
you say so, I'm
going to try to
trust in you.
That's the
challenge of
Jesus.
But I also want to
think together about
the transforming
grace of Jesus.
Let's talk about the
transforming grace of
Jesus.
Look at verse
10.
It says,
then Jesus said to
Simon,
don't be afraid,
from now on you
will fish for
people.
So they pulled
their boats up on
shore, left
everything, and
followed him.
And what I want to
do for a moment is
just I want to
explore those five
words, from now on
you will.
Okay?
Five words, from
now on you will.
If you want to
underline those, you
can.
And you've got to
pay close attention
and just follow me
because it's going to
take me a minute to
unpack these five
words.
But God's grace in
Jesus Christ is this
unconditioned and
incongruous gift.
We talked about this
last week.
It does not match the
worth of its
recipients and it's
unlimited by our
sinfulness, right?
Peter confesses, I
am sinful.
I am full of sin.
He acknowledges, I
have no claim to
status or favor with
God.
He recognizes the
incongruity, right,
between how
poor and how
unworthy he is and
how good and
gracious and how
powerful and holy
the Lord is.
And
nevertheless, God's
grace is given
freely to Peter.
It's given without
prior conditions to
Peter.
It's given without
regard to Peter's
worth or his
capacity.
And this is
incredibly good news
if you're a sinful
person like Peter or
like me.
It's just really good
news that God and
his grace works like
this.
But it's so very easy
to misunderstand the
grace of God because
many people will say,
ah, because the grace
of God is free, it must
be cheap.
Right?
Because the grace of
God is free, it must be
cheap.
And it must not cost God
very much to offer it if
it's free and it must not
cost me very much to
receive it if it's free.
And because this is such
a widely held
misunderstanding and
creating so much
dysfunction in the
lives of individual
Christians and in
collective Christian
communities, I just want
to go a little deeper
here.
Because the grace of God
is free, it must be
cheap.
But you know, when we
look at God's side,
when we look at the
incarnation and the
crucifixion, when we look
at God's side, God's
grace is anything but
cheap.
Right?
It costs God very much
to give His grace to
Peter and to us.
Right?
God the Father gave His
only and beloved Son.
Jesus had to empty
Himself of all of His
heavenly glory and
riches to come to
earth.
He had to empty
Himself of all of His
status and His
privileges of eternity
to step into time and
take on human flesh.
But we really see the
cost of God's grace
most clearly in the
crucifixion where Christ
crucified is at the
center of this gospel of
grace because it shows
us how much it costs
God to deal with our
sin.
The Apostle Paul summarizes
it this way in one of
the greatest verses of
the Bible.
He says in 2 Corinthians
5.21, God made Him who
knew no sin or had no
sin to be sin for us so
that in Him we might
become the righteousness
of God.
That's the cost of grace
is that the one who had
no sin had to become sin
for us.
The crucifixion is the
price tag for how much
it costs, how much free
grace actually costs God.
But what about on our
side?
Does grace cost us
anything?
Does it cost us anything
to receive God's free
grace?
And I want to show that
Peter demonstrates to us
that yes, God's grace
coming into our lives
costs us actually
everything.
If you look at verse 10
again it says, Jesus
says to Peter, don't be
afraid, from now on you
will fish for people.
So they pulled their
boats on shore, left
everything, and followed
Him.
You guys still with me a
little bit?
Am I?
Okay.
I know I'm going up a
little bit.
But what happens when
sinful Peter experiences
the grace of God in
Jesus Christ?
Jesus says to him,
Peter, from now on you
will.
The grace of God is a
watershed before and
after event in our lives
where we hear these
words, from now on you
will.
Right?
From now on you, Peter,
are no longer your own.
From now on you no longer
belong to yourself anymore.
anymore.
From now on you are not
your own master, you have
a new master.
From now on you're no
longer in control of your
life.
From now on you do not get
to decide what doctrines are
true and what you're going
to believe.
From now on you don't get
to pick and choose what
ethics are right and how
you're going to live.
From now on you're no
longer the Lord of your
life because why?
Jesus is Lord.
That's the message of the
whole New Testament is
that Jesus is the Lord
and we're not.
Yes, God freely welcomes
us and he includes us as
we are but his free grace
does not allow us to
remain as we are.
And if Peter were here
today he would tell you
Jesus did not allow me to
stay as I was.
That would be cheap grace
and that you receive
God's grace and after
that anything goes and
you can just live as you
please.
But the grace of God,
what I'm trying to say is
that the grace of God is
free but it's not cheap.
The grace of God is both
free and as we can see
with Peter it's demanding.
The grace of God is both
liberating and as we can
see with Peter it's
transforming.
Cheap grace is grace
without expectations.
Cheap grace is grace
without obligations of
response.
But how does Peter respond?
He pulled his boat up on
shore, left everything and
followed him.
God's grace in Jesus Christ
is so transforming that
Peter leaves his old life
behind to begin a new life
as a surrendered apprentice,
a submitted disciple of
Jesus.
God's grace in Jesus Christ
is so transforming that
Peter leaves behind the
biggest catch of his life,
all the enormous profits
that would accrue to him
as a result of taking it
to market.
He leaves behind piles of
cash, all the wealth that
would have given him to
feed his family for an
entire year.
God's grace in Jesus Christ
is so transforming that
Peter leaves all of that
behind to go and follow
Jesus in this new identity
in this new mission that
Jesus has for him.
It's not cheap grace.
It's costly grace.
It literally costs Peter a
lot of money.
The grace of God is given
freely in that it's given
without prior conditions.
It's given without regard to
worth, the capacity.
It's given to people who say,
I am a sinful man.
But that does not mean that
God's grace comes without
expectations of return, with
no hope for a response, with
no strings attached.
God's grace carries strong
expectations because it's a
costly grace.
It's a transforming grace.
When the Apostle Paul writes
his greatest letter, the
letter to the Romans, he
spends 11 chapters unpacking
what grace means.
And then when you get to
chapter 12, he says,
therefore, I urge you,
brothers and sisters, in
view of God's mercy, in view
of his grace, to offer your
bodies as living sacrifices,
holy and pleasing to God, just
as Peter's doing here.
This is your true and proper
worship.
He says, do not conform to the
pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of
your mind.
Jesus says, from now on, you
will.
And it's a word of costly
grace.
God's grace in Jesus Christ
causes such a fundamental
reconfiguration and remolding of
the self that it recreates in us
a whole new set of values, new
dispositions, new habits, new
practices, new purposes, as the
inevitable and the necessary
expression of God's grace in our
lives.
Does any of that make sense?
So, if you're going to become a
disciple of Jesus, you've got to
not only respond to the invitation
of Jesus, but also there's the
challenge of Jesus.
And then if you respond to the
challenge of Jesus, there's this
transforming grace of Jesus, right?
You can't stay as you were.
But then finally, I want you to just
see for a minute the mission of
Jesus.
The mission of Jesus.
Here is Peter and he's eyeball to
eyeball with this person who he now
realizes is a person of incredible
wisdom and power and authority.
That Jesus has absolute control over
nature.
That he's sovereign over every square
inch of space, every molecule of
matter, every nanosecond of time.
And what does the sovereign Lord say
to sinful Peter?
He says in verse 10, from now on you
will what?
Fish for people.
From now on you're going to fish for
people.
Peter, I have a future for you.
I want you to be my partner.
I want you to join in what I'm doing.
I want you to participate in my
mission.
Peter, just as you've been fishing for
fish, and just as I've been fishing
for you, Peter, from now on you're going
to join me in fishing for people and
catching people.
And that's what God's free but costly
grace does to us.
It sends us out into the world to serve
others.
It sends us to no longer live for
ourselves but to live for a greater
and bigger cause, the greatest mission
that's ever been conceived in this
world, the mission of Jesus.
And Luke chapter 5 gives us these four
amazing examples of Jesus catching
people.
First of all, he catches Peter.
And then he goes and catches a leper and
a paralytic and a tax collector.
Each of these deserves a sermon.
I'm going to give them each about a minute.
You ready?
First of all, the leper.
This man has debilitating skin disease.
He's a social outcast.
He's not allowed to live in town.
He's not allowed to have a job.
He's not allowed to go to worship.
And because of these things, this man is
economically poor.
He's relationally and emotionally isolated.
He's spiritually cursed.
And Jesus is bringing Peter along and he's
showing Peter, okay, let me show you how to
catch people like this.
This is how you fish for a man like this.
And it says that Jesus reaches out his
hand and he touches the leper.
Like, when's the last time this guy's been
touched?
You don't touch lepers.
And Jesus could have easily healed this man
without touching him at all.
But Jesus knows that he needs to be brought back
into community.
He needs to be shown a compassion that nobody's
ever shown him.
He needs not just to be cleansed.
He needs to be loved and accepted in the way that his
heart is longing for.
And he shows Peter, if you want to reach people,
you've got to reach out and touch them.
And then secondly, we get not only this leper, but we
get this paralytic who has these amazing friends and
they go to great lengths.
They go way out of their way to just get people to
Jesus.
And we know in the other Gospels that the house that
they bring this man to and they tear the roof off of,
it's actually Peter's house.
And I'm sure Peter's, like, not super jazzed about his
roof.
I mean, I just, that's a total bummer.
And he gets, they get the man down to Jesus.
And what does Jesus say to this paralyzed man?
He says, friend, your sins are forgiven.
And everybody's looking around at Jesus going like, hey,
that's not what they came for.
He's paralyzed.
And Jesus says, friends, your sins are forgiven.
He's saying, look, you've come to me with a certain problem
that you think needs to be solved.
But what I want to tell you is that you have a much deeper
problem.
You've got two paralyzing diseases, not just one.
And Jesus is showing Peter that when you go fish for people,
when you go to catch people, don't just look for the
paralysis of their body or their life.
Look for the paralysis of their soul.
Jesus says to this man, there are sins between you and God.
You're not right with God.
And what you most need, your fundamental problem,
the disease that's most destroying you is that you need
your sins to be forgiven.
And Peter, when you go fish for people, when you go catch for
people, that is people's most fundamental need.
They need to experience the forgiveness of God.
And Jesus takes Peter fishing not only for this leper and for
this paralytic to put that man back in a right relationship with
God, but he also goes fishing for this tax collector, this guy
who's the worst.
Levi, he's been collaborating with the Roman occupying power.
He's been oppressing and extorting his fellow Jews.
He's been making egregious spiritual, moral, and relational
compromises.
Tax collectors were just the most deeply resented and wildly
unpopular people.
They were traitors.
They were thieves.
They were the most hated group of social outcasts.
And Jesus says to Peter, let's go fishing.
Let's go catch.
Let's go catch somebody else.
Jesus is showing Peter that fishing for people and catching
people means deliberately going after those people who are out on the
margins, intentionally pursuing people who've been written off as too far
from God, going after people that have been dismissed as they're never
going to become part of the family of God or the kingdom of God.
And Jesus says, Peter, it's all about touching people that you're not
supposed to touch.
It's all about helping people experience forgiveness who have deep spiritual
problems.
It's all about eating and drinking like your family with people that don't
belong at a table.
That's what fishing for people is all about.
That's what it means to be part of my mission.
He says, I have not come to call people who think that they are healthy and who
think that they are righteous and who think that they do not need a doctor and
they do not need a healer.
He says, no, I've come to call people who know themselves to be sick sinners in need
of repentance.
And friends, if the free but costly grace of God has come into your life, I think the
question for us today is, are we willing to just begin to follow Jesus and join Him in
His fishing ministry as He wants to fish for people?
Just as Peter caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break and their
boats began to sink.
Over these past 2,000 years, Jesus has caught so many people in His nets and so many people
in His boat.
And I believe He doesn't just want to do that like back then, a long time ago, but He
wants to do it now.
He doesn't want to do it in other parts of the world.
He wants to do it here.
And I think that Jesus is saying to us in 2025, hey, Christ Church, let me show you how to
fish for people.
If you'll just put out in some deep water and let down your nets for a catch and do something
that maybe is uncomfortable for you, I can do it.
And so the question is whether or not we're going to trust Jesus.
The question is whether or not we're going to respond like Peter and just say, you know
what, Jesus?
That sounds good.
Because you say so.
I'm going to try it your way.
May God give us that amazing faith that Peter had that changed his life forever, changed the
world forever.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, amen.
Amen.