Good morning.
My name is Jeff Kreisel.
For those who haven't met me before, I'm the RUF campus minister at the Air Force Academy.
I'm also an Army Reserve chaplain out here at Fort Carson.
It's my joy to be here this morning to bring God's word to God's people here at Cheyenne
Mountain Presbyterian Church and on the first Sunday of 2019.
So happy new year.
You know, everyone approaches the new year very differently.
Some people throw parties.
They pop champagne.
They put on those cheesy New Year's glasses, you know, like the ones that are made with
the numbers.
They're so cheesy.
Don't wear those.
Other people, they're indifferent.
They head to bed at 9 p.m.
They open a book.
They put on their reading glasses.
They don't really care so much for the party.
Some people are really optimistic.
Some people are really pessimistic.
Some people go into the new year knowing pretty much exactly what to expect.
Other people, they have no idea what the next year will hold.
I think of the soldiers here at Fort Carson that are deploying this next month.
Some for the first time.
They have no idea what this next year will hold.
Some people love to make idealistic New Year's resolutions.
Like, this year I'm going to lose 100 pounds.
I'm going to swim with dolphins.
I'm going to climb Mount Everest or maybe Pikes Peak or something.
I'm like, all right, buddy.
We'll see.
Other people don't make resolutions.
They are completely content with their familiar routines.
They are thinking, if it ain't broke, why fix it?
And finally, there are some people who treat the New Year as like their year of atonement.
They treat it as like their fresh start.
As if like the mere shift from one year to the next has the power to cover your sins and cover all of your burdens.
They think to themselves, I really made a mess out of my life in 2018.
But now I have a blank slate.
I have a fresh start.
2019.
Yes.
In 2019, all of my 2018 mistakes are behind me.
They're gone.
Others, on the other hand, they view the New Year as their year of judgment.
They think to themselves, my good luck is going to run out in 2019.
They think to themselves, this is the year that I'm exposed.
This is the year that people find out who I really am.
This is the year that I'm exposed as a poor spouse or a bad parent or a dishonest employee or a hypocritical Christian.
This is the year.
In 2019, all of my 28 mistakes are going to be revealed.
And far too often, we view these two approaches as our only options as we head into the New Year.
We either treat the New Year as our savior.
And so we try to put all of our mistakes and our burdens on its back.
Burdens that a year can't handle, that a year can't carry.
Or we treat the New Year as a judge.
So we try to hide our sins from the bench of the New Year.
But once again, these are sins that a year cannot judge.
Our passage this morning gives us a third option.
A better option.
An option that invites us to follow the savior and the judge of every year.
The one who sees our sins from the bench, yet bore our burdens on the cross.
The one who changes our New Year's resolutions.
And the one who changes our daily Christian rhythm.
Okay.
So we'll be looking at Luke 5, verses 1-11.
And if you are willing and able, I invite you to stand for the reading of God's holy, inspired, and sufficient word for us this morning.
Luke 5, verses 1-11.
And let's read about this rhythm.
And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon,
Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.
And Simon answered,
Master, we toiled all night and took nothing.
But at your word, I will let down the nets.
And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish.
And their nets were breaking.
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.
But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying,
Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken.
And so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.
And Jesus said to Simon,
Do not be afraid.
From now on you will be catching men.
And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.
Let me pray.
Gracious and good Heavenly Father,
we pray that your Holy Spirit will move in our midst this morning,
that you will convict us where we need to be convicted.
Teach us what we don't know.
Encourage us where we need to be encouraged.
We pray, Lord, that you will evangelize the deepest parts of our hearts
that need to be reached with the gospel.
Thank you for Jesus, for his work on the cross.
And it's through his name we pray. Amen.
You may be seated.
In our family, there is no clear line between religion and fishing.
This is the first sentence in one of my favorite books of all time,
A River Runs Through It.
Or if you're a movie fan, in 1992, Brad Pitt.
It's an awesome movie.
If you haven't seen it, go see it.
A River Runs Through It.
It's by a guy named Norman Maclean.
It's a semi-autobiographical book.
The book is about two rebellious brothers named Norman and Paul.
And these two boys, they just happen to be the sons of the town's Presbyterian minister.
And so, like every good Presbyterian child here this morning,
these boys spent a great deal of their time memorizing and reciting the Westminster Shorter Catechism.
So much fun, right?
But between their study sessions, their father would give them a different sort of instruction.
He would take them to the nearest river, and he would fly fish with his boys.
On the banks of the big Blackfoot River in western Montana, these wild boys,
they learned their father's four-count fly fishing rhythm as he clapped his hands behind their head
like a dance choreographer.
One, two, three, four, while they fish.
You see, their father was a master fisherman.
And he was teaching his sons his master fishing rhythm.
But their dad wasn't only a master fisherman.
He was also a master Presbyterian.
So he knew that his boys were by nature a complete mess.
Their hearts were corrupt.
They were stubborn.
They were full of pride.
They thought they knew what was best.
And so their father knew that his sons would try to create their own rhythm.
And that's exactly what they did.
The boys thought they could fish however they wanted to fish.
They could create their own rhythm.
However, they soon found out that their rhythm didn't result in many fish.
And so day after day, Norman and Paul, they would fail to catch any fish.
And they would get frustrated.
They would get irritated with both their father and the fish.
You see, without their father's four-count fishing rhythm, fishing wasn't fun.
It wasn't fun.
It brought them no joy.
In fact, fishing became a burden to the boys.
But over time, they began to follow their father's instruction.
And soon enough, his four-count rhythm became their four-count rhythm.
And they, too, became master fishermen, just like their dad.
In our passage this morning, Luke takes us to the banks of the Sea of Galilee.
And he teaches us the four-count fishing rhythm of our Heavenly Father for the Christian life.
But like Norman and Paul, we think we know best.
We're stubborn.
We're full of pride.
We think that we can create our own rhythm instead.
And as a result, we begin to grow impatient.
We begin to grow impatient with our Heavenly Father.
And we become increasingly irritated with all the fish.
We think to ourselves,
I'm trying.
I really want to be a witness to others.
I want to make disciples of all nations.
I want to be a fisher of men.
I want to see the gospel go out.
But it's not working.
Why would God providentially place all of these people in my life,
whether at home, at work, where I play,
why would he place these people in my life if they don't care about the gospel?
They don't even want to listen.
They don't seem to care.
They don't want to be caught by God's grace.
When a Christian starts to feel like evangelism,
like the Christian life as a whole is more of a burden than a life-giving privilege,
they will try to make their own rhythm instead.
They'll try to come up with their own strategies.
They'll try to come up with their own plans.
And my friends,
in our family,
the church,
the Christian family,
there is no clear line between religion and fishing.
In fact,
I would argue that there is no line at all
between religion and fishing.
To follow means to fish,
and to fish means to follow.
You can't follow Jesus and refuse to fish.
Here's the thing.
You can't fish however you want.
The Christian life has a foundational,
God-given rhythm.
Okay?
And this rhythm must become our rhythm in 2019
if we are to become master fishermen like Jesus in the new year.
All right,
so the one count of this fishing rhythm is to hear God's word.
This is the one count of the Christian rhythm.
We are to be a people who take the same posture as these people,
these Israelites in Luke 5,
people who are pressing into Jesus.
They're pressing into him to hear Jesus speak.
These are people who are hungry for God's word.
They craved it.
They were desperate to be close to Jesus.
So much,
in fact,
that they push Jesus onto a boat.
Jesus has to get on a boat
in order to create some distance,
some separation,
so he can teach them effectively.
These folks were desperate for God's word.
Is this your posture as you head into 2019?
Are you pressing into Jesus?
Is this a part of your daily rhythm?
Do you hunger for God's word?
Are you desperate to be near him?
Do you think that's a part of your life?
The Christian rhythm always starts with hearing God's word.
Just think back on your conversion, okay?
We live in Colorado Springs.
There's beautiful mountains right behind us.
You didn't come to faith
by simply looking at these beautiful mountains,
and then all of a sudden,
you just came to your senses
and put your faith in a Savior
you had never heard about.
The heavens declare the glory of God.
Those mountains declare the glory of God.
But they are not sufficient to save.
You had to hear God's word first.
You also didn't come to faith
by simply watching another Christian,
be it a parent or a friend,
a sibling, a neighbor,
live this beautiful Christian life.
And it caught your attention.
It caught your attention.
You noticed something about them.
They were living differently.
Maybe you noticed their hospitality
or their generosity
or their purity.
Or maybe you noticed their joy
or their hope.
You noticed something about them,
and it was attractive to you.
And so you came,
and you wanted to start a conversation.
You see, all of those great attributes,
I call it the beautiful life.
The Christian life and the beautiful life
are synonymous terms, by the way.
The Christian life is the beautiful life.
But those attributes that make it beautiful,
they aren't sufficient to save, either,
for brothers just to see it.
They are good conversation starters,
but the conversation still has to happen.
You have to hear God's word.
As Paul writes in Romans 10,
he says,
How are they to believe in him
whom they have never heard,
and how are they to hear
without someone preaching?
Faith comes from hearing,
and hearing through the word of God.
The Christian rhythm always starts
with hearing God's word.
And my friends,
this rhythm is certainly a weekly rhythm.
It is a Sunday rhythm.
We begin our week with God's word,
but it is also a daily rhythm.
And Sunday worship is vitally important.
But what about Monday through Saturday?
You see, in Luke 5,
it was business as usual.
The Sea of Galilee is booming.
There's commerce going on.
In other words,
it most likely was not the Sabbath.
It was an ordinary day.
So here's Jesus,
and he met these folks
where they were,
at their places of work.
He came to them,
and he preached God's word.
So what does that mean for you and me?
It means that we are to be a people
who press into Jesus on a Monday.
When we have a week full of responsibilities
hanging over our head,
we feel like we're drowning.
We are to press into Jesus on a Wednesday
when we feel beat down.
We're to press into Jesus on a Friday
instead of going home
and kicking our shoes off,
sitting on the couch
and vegging out until Sunday morning.
We're to be a people
who press into Jesus Sunday through Saturday
because this one count
is our Christian rhythm.
We are to hear God's word.
Now I want you to imagine for a second
being a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee.
This was the center of the economy,
this sea.
And so the sea was always packed
with fishermen, rain or shine.
Archaeologists have discovered
that there were about 16 ports
on the Sea of Galilee.
And they estimate that there was
anywhere from 150 to 200 fishing boats
on the sea every evening.
In other words, in Luke 5,
Peter wasn't fishing by himself
and he wasn't fishing to have some fun.
This was his livelihood.
He had a family to feed.
He had employees to pay.
This was a big deal.
He didn't catch any fish the night before.
And so you can hear Peter's frustration
when Jesus, this guy that he doesn't really even know,
comes up to him and says,
hey, go fishing again.
But go fish at the worst time of day.
He says, master, but we toiled all night
and we caught nothing.
In other words, he's saying, come on, Jesus.
We're tired.
We're exhausted.
We've been going at this all night
and we haven't caught anything.
And we're experienced fishermen.
And you're a carpenter.
What do you know about fishing?
Have you ever realized or noticed
how strange this little exchange is?
It's really bizarre.
Jesus is a carpenter
and he's from landlocked Nazareth.
Okay?
No seas in sight.
Fishing is not a part of that economy.
And he is now here at the Sea of Galilee
and he's telling these seasoned,
experienced fishermen how to do their jobs.
And it's not like Peter knew Jesus up to this point.
Like up to Luke 5,
Peter and Jesus have had very,
very little interaction with one another.
So just imagine for a second
if someone came into your work,
came into your office,
someone you don't even really know,
and they told you how to do your job.
When I was in the Air Force,
I was an air traffic controller
and I would often give tours
of my air traffic control tower
to various groups
to like build community relations.
Usually it was like Boy Scouts.
Now if I were giving a plane
a control instruction
and one of these visitors
were to say,
you know what?
I really think you should turn that plane
left instead of right.
I probably would have laughed
and then told that visitor
to sit down and keep quiet.
But that's not how Peter responds.
Clearly Peter already knows
that Jesus is different,
that he's more than a carpenter.
And there are many reasons for this,
but perhaps it's because
Peter's current teacher,
John the Baptist,
has told him that he said,
behold the Lamb of God
who takes away the sins of the world.
Or maybe it was because
his brother Andrew
was already convinced
that Jesus was the Messiah.
Or perhaps it was because
he saw Jesus miraculously
heal his mother-in-law.
I'm sure all of these factors
played a part,
but ultimately it came down
to one thing.
Peter heard Jesus' voice.
The incarnate word of God spoke.
And Peter listened and obeyed.
And he says,
at your word,
I will let down the nets.
You see,
it is one thing
to hear
and obey God's word
when it addresses
the areas of your life
that you're not very good at,
that you know you need to improve.
But it is quite another
thing to hear
and obey God's word
in the areas
that you think you know best.
the areas that you excel.
Like how you do your job,
how you treat your employees,
how you raise your kids,
how you have fun.
When Jesus speaks
into these areas of our life,
we are prone to tell him
to sit down and keep quiet.
But my friends,
Jesus is the creator
of all things.
And so he speaks
authoritatively
into every single area
of our life
without exception.
So I urge you
this new year
to press into Jesus
in 2019
like these Israelites
in Luke 5.
Press into his word
every day
and let this become
your one count
of your Christian rhythm
in 2019.
The two count,
repent and believe.
After hearing
the voice of Jesus,
Peter and Andrew,
they let down their nets.
And what happens?
They catch
a miraculous number
of fish,
a crazy number of fish.
So many fish
that their boats
are full.
So they call,
the boat fills,
so they call their buddies
John and James over.
And John and James
start filling up their boat.
And the next thing you know,
their boats are so full
that they're beginning
to sink.
That's a lot of fish.
If this were me,
I think I'd be celebrating
after a night
of catching nothing.
I'd be hooting
and hollering.
I'd be giving high fives.
I'd be doing
that floss thing
that those kids
are doing nowadays.
I'd be like
making plans
to go buy
that new boat
I've been eyeballing.
I'd probably even
offer Jesus a job.
But that's not
how Peter responds.
Peter's mind
wasn't on the fish
or the new boat.
Peter doesn't give
Jesus high fives.
He doesn't offer
Jesus a job.
Instead,
Peter falls
on his face
at the feet
of Jesus
and he cries out,
depart from me
for I am
a sinful man,
O Lord.
That's a shocking
response
to something
so great
as catching
all of these fish.
Is this how
you would respond?
You see,
Peter realized
that the infinitely
powerful
and holy
Son of God
was standing
in his boat.
He was standing
in his boat.
And he realized
that Jesus
was responsible
for catching
every single
one of those fish.
and he also
realized
that he deserved
to be punished.
That he deserved
to die
for his sins
and this makes sense
in the Old Testament
they were expecting
a military Messiah
who was going
to come
and judge.
But on this day
Peter doesn't
find judgment.
He finds
the friend
of sinners.
He finds
the man
who dines
with tax collectors.
He finds
the man
who touches
unclean leopards.
Who hugs
the hopeless.
Who communes
with cripples.
Who heals
the deaf
and the blind.
Who pursues
the outcasts.
And who even
loves
ordinary
middle class
fishermen
like Peter.
As Peter
discovered
on that boat
Jesus
is the friend
of sinners.
But as he
would find out
over the course
of his time
with Jesus
he also
found that
Jesus
does not
absolve
our need
for repentance.
Remember
Jesus is the man
who began
his public
ministry
with the words
repent
for the kingdom
of heaven
is at hand.
The friend
of sinners
does not
absolve
our need
for repentance.
In fact
increased faith
actually produces
increased repentance.
Your repentance
is a reflection
of your faith
and vice versa.
The two
go hand in
hand.
Faith and
repentance
they cannot
be separated.
Faith produces
genuine repentance
and repentance
produces
deeper faith.
So this semester
I'll be preaching
through the book
of John
the gospel
of John
with my students.
So excited.
I love
the book
of John.
It's one
of my favorites
and one
of the reasons
why I love
this gospel
is that
the theme
verb
is this word
believe.
It's John's
favorite verb
in the entire
gospel.
He uses
this verb
98 times.
It's the third
most used
word in the
gospel behind
Jesus and God.
If you compare
this to the
other gospels
Matthew uses
the word
14 times
Mark uses
it 11 times
and Luke
uses the word
believe
9 times.
John uses
this word
four times
as much
as the other
three gospels
combined.
Why does he
focus so much
on this word?
According to
John
believing
in Jesus
is the most
important thing
a person
can do.
It is the
height of
humanity
is belief
in Christ.
Just look
at John's
purpose statement
in John
chapter 20.
John
wrote that
if you
were to
take all
the
libraries
in the
entire
world
and put
them
together
they
couldn't
contain
all of
the
signs
and
miracles
that
Jesus
performed
on
earth.
There
aren't
enough
books.
After he
says this
he says
he writes
but these
things are
written
so that
you may
believe
that
Jesus
is the
Christ
the
son
of
God
and
that
by
believing
you
may
have
life
in
his
name.
Belief
in
Jesus
changes
everything.
It changes
everything
as we head
into the
new year.
It changes
our
resolutions.
It changes
our
rhythm.
It is my
prayer that the
Holy Spirit
will press
this truth
into us
this year.
Because here's
the thing.
I know
that 2019
there will
be days
when believing
is hard.
There will
be days
when we
are ridiculed
for our
faith.
There will
be days
when it
would be
easier to
stay silent.
There will
be days
when the
valley seems
so deep
and the
mountain
seems
unreachable.
There will
be days
when your
only prayer
is I
believe
help my
unbelief.
There will
be days
in 2019
where we
struggle
to believe
and this
is why
the two
count
of the
Christian
rhythm
is so
important.
Repent
and believe.
This is
our rhythm.
It's not
a one and
done thing.
You see
if repentance
and belief
are not
your two
count,
if they're
not a
part of
your
rhythm,
you'll
start to
fish like
Norman and
Paul.
Norman and
Paul thought
they were
really great
fishermen,
all the while
failing to
catch any
fish.
Even when
things were
great,
even when
his boat
was sinking
with fish,
Peter repented
and he turned
to Jesus
in faith.
This is our
rhythm in
2019.
The three
count,
embrace
your
commission.
So here
is Peter,
his face
is on
the floor
at the
feet of
Jesus
and Peter
is given
a new
mission.
He's given
a new
purpose in
life.
Jesus
says to
Peter,
he says,
from now
on you
will be
catching
men.
You see,
Peter was
commissioned
by Jesus
to go
fishing.
So one
of the
unique
aspects of
working at
the Air
Force Academy
is that
when my
students
graduate,
they all
receive a
presidential
commission.
They become
commissioned
officers.
They become
second
lieutenants.
Now this
word,
commission,
it comes
from two
Latin words
and it
literally
means to
send
with.
To send
with.
So when
my cadets
graduate,
they are
literally
being sent
with the
authority of
another.
They are
being sent
with another's
authority.
They are
being entrusted
with another's
authority.
You see,
in and of
themselves,
there isn't a
single officer
in the United
States military
that has any
power in and
of themselves.
It is a
derived
authority.
Due to
their commission,
they are able
to command
others.
because of
the president's
authority
entrusted
to them.
And the
same is
true for
you and
I as
Christians,
but at
an infinitely
higher scale.
We're not
talking about
a presidential
commission.
We're talking
about a
commission
from the
God of
the universe.
That is a
humbling
reality.
That's a
humbling
commission
to receive.
Just like
Peter,
every Christian
throughout human
history has
been commissioned
by Christ
to go
fishing.
Jesus says,
from now
on you,
all of you,
from now
on you,
we'll be
catching men.
my friends,
you have been
commissioned by
Christ to
go fishing.
And as a
result, you
are sent with
his authority.
You're entrusted
with his
authority to
make disciples
of all nations,
to go fishing
for men.
Practically
speaking, what does
this mean?
What does this look
like as we head
into the new
year?
Well, in my
humble opinion,
far too many
Christians
overcomplicate
evangelism.
We make it
way harder
than it actually
is.
Many think
that they have
to take an
apologetics
course,
or they have
to have a
seminary degree,
or they have
to be a
Christian for
a certain
period of
time,
blah,
blah.
All those
things are
important,
don't get
me wrong.
But what I've
found is that
many Christians
use these
things and
other things
as like a
wall to
hide behind.
We'll find
any excuse
not to pursue
evangelism.
And I get it.
I have fallen
into that
snare a lot.
Evangelism
really isn't
that complicated.
You can read
all the evangelism
books in the
world.
But it really
is not that
complicated.
Here's the
thing,
when you
love something,
when you
really love
something,
evangelism is
just the
natural overflow.
It just
pours out.
And this
goes for more
than just the
Christian faith,
for Christian
evangelism,
this goes for
everything.
Everyone is an
evangelist for
something.
Everyone,
with no
exceptions.
Be it their
favorite sports
team,
be it their
political party,
be it their
essential oils,
they're like,
goodness.
Oh,
CrossFit,
holy smokes,
you want to see
some good
evangelism?
Meet a
CrossFitter.
Those guys
know evangelism
because they
love it.
Evangelism
comes really
easy.
When the
message you
love,
you want
others to
have an
experience as
well.
Last year,
the movie
Black Panther,
it became
the second
highest grossing
four-day
opening in
movie history.
It racked in
$242 million
in only four
days.
And I did
some research,
I was just
wondering,
why did this
movie,
I mean,
it was great,
I loved it,
but why did
this movie do
so well?
And in a
word,
evangelism.
people in
droves were
coming out of
the movie
theater and
they couldn't
help but tell
their friends
and family
about how
great this
movie was and
that they had
to go see
it.
They felt
compelled to
proclaim the
good news of
this movie,
Black Panther,
with the hope
that others
would go see
it and
experience the
same joy.
As Christians,
we have the
greatest news
to share with
the world.
It doesn't get
any better than
the gospel.
This news is so
much better than
any movie,
than any
essential oil or
CrossFit gym or
political party or
sports team,
all the things
that we are
naturally evangelists
for.
The gospel is so
much better
here.
Jesus defeated
sin, death, and
the devil for
you.
Because of
Jesus, God has
adopted you into
his family and
he calls you his
child.
Through faith in
Christ, God
loves you and
he's for you.
And nothing can
separate you from
the love of God
in Christ Jesus.
Nothing.
My friends,
there is nothing
that will give
your friends and
family more joy
than the gospel.
So don't
overcomplicate it.
Just give him
Jesus.
You'll fail.
Let the Holy
Spirit do his
thing.
Listen,
Christians who
wait for the
perfect moment
to evangelize,
to share their
faith, they will
likely never share
their faith.
There's no perfect
moments.
Christians who
wait for the
most effective
strategy to
share their
faith, they'll
likely never
share their
faith.
There's no
perfect strategy.
And Christians
who are waiting
to reach some
elusive degree
of sanctification,
like they have
to hit some
holiness mark,
they'll likely
never share their
faith because
you'll never be
fully sanctified in
this life.
My friends, the
best evangelists
are those who
love the gospel.
people.
In 2019, don't
overcomplicate
evangelism.
Through faith in
Christ, you have
already been
commissioned by
God to go
fishing.
You've already
been entrusted
with his
authority.
We are to
joyfully and
eagerly embrace
this commission
in 2019 because
this is our
three count.
This is our
rhythm.
All right, our
four count,
leave everything
and follow Jesus.
In the book,
a river runs
through it.
The four count
is described as
the hardest
count in the
entire rhythm.
And it's the
rhythm that, it's
the count that
throws off the
entire rhythm, if
you don't do it
correctly.
In the book, to
perform the four
count, you had to
muster like all of
your strength and
you had to propel
your rod forward
with everything you
got.
You had to give
it your all.
And I think the
four count of the
Christian rhythm is
also the hardest
count.
It's the count that
throws us off.
It throws off the
entire rhythm.
You see, we may
have heard God's
word, we repent
and believe, we
embrace our
commission, but when
it comes time to go
fishing, we just
give it a little
wrist flick.
We don't put our
all into it.
Our passage this
morning, this last
sentence, it ends in
such a radical way.
Such a radical way,
it should shock us
out of complacency,
out of the
temptation to be
complacent.
It should shock us.
It says, and when
they had brought
their boats to land,
they left everything
and followed Jesus.
You see, the four
count, it demands
your all.
It doesn't just
demand some of
your all.
The text doesn't
say, and they
left almost
everything and
followed Jesus.
And that's why this
is such a difficult
count.
Paul writes in
Philippians 3,
verse 8, he says,
I count everything
as loss because of
the surpassing
worth of knowing
Jesus Christ my
Lord.
For his sake I have
suffered the loss
of all things and
count them as
rubbish in order
that I may gain
Christ and be found
in him.
Brothers and
sisters, the
Christian life is
not easy.
Leaving everything
and following Jesus
is not easy.
And here's why.
Christianity is
unlike any other
religion.
Every other
religion says
give some or
give much.
Maybe even
they'll go as
far as saying
give most.
Christianity
says give all.
Give all.
Christianity
says leave
everything and
follow Jesus.
And I know
this is a
daunting reality.
This is an
intimidating
charge to leave
everything to
follow Jesus.
To leave, for me
in particular, to
leave all of the
counterfeit gods that
I think love me.
To leave all of the
idols of my heart
that I think I love.
To leave my
self-centric pursuit
of comfort and
security,
which I often use
at the expense of
others.
to leave my
pursuit of glory to
proclaim God's
glory.
There's nothing
easy about this.
Yet there's nothing
more life-giving.
For in the midst of
our doubt and our
fear,
Jesus gives us the
same comforting words
that he gave to
Peter in Luke 5.
He says to each
one of us,
he says,
don't be afraid.
He says,
don't be afraid.
I'm with you
and I'm for you
in 2019.
Don't be afraid.
I will never leave
you or forsake you.
Don't be afraid.
I know you'll fail.
I know you won't
leave everything.
And that's why I
left everything for you.
I gave all to
redeem you from
the power of sin
and death.
I gave all to
free you from the
bondage of sin.
I gave all to
free you from your
guilt and shame.
I gave all to
reconcile you to
your heavenly
father.
I did it.
I gave everything.
I gave all so
that you could go
fishing.
I gave all to
you.
He said,
don't be afraid.
To follow Jesus
means to fish for
Jesus.
And therefore,
God's rhythm
must become our
rhythm in 2019.
This is a rhythm
of hearing God's
word,
repenting and
believing the
gospel,
embracing our
commission to fish
for souls,
and a rhythm of
leaving everything
to follow Jesus.
This is our
rhythm.
So welcome to
2019.
Let's make it a
year that we
fish.
Amen.
Heavenly Father,
thank you for your
word this morning.
Thank you for Luke
5.
Thank you for our
commission.
We don't take it
lightly.
We know that you
have entrusted to
us a great deal,
and we pray,
Lord, that we
will boldly tell
others of our
faith, of the
good news of
Jesus Christ,
that the joy of
the gospel will
overflow, that we
will be unable to
contain our joy for
the gospel.
We pray, Lord,
that you will use
these words for your
infinite purposes.
Thank you.
Amen.