Waynesboro Church Of Christ
Welcomes You!
A pasted message from Matthew!
Past Message From Matthew
Posted Date: November 22, 2006
Luke tells the account of the demanding call of Christ. “And when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch. And Simon answered and said, "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but at Your bidding I will let down the nets. And when they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish; and their nets began to break; and they signaled to their partners in the other boat, for them to come and help them. And they came, and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus' feet, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!’” (Luke 5:4-8).
So how does Jesus hook a fisherman? How does the Lord get Peter to come to be one of His disciples? Jesus uses a threefold method.
Give the Command. When Jesus approaches us to be his disciples, he first comes with a command. Jesus does not plead; He comes with authority. His says “you are to take orders from me now.” Though people might have objections like: “I do not have enough time,” “I do not have the right clothes” or “I am too busy,” Jesus still demands submission.
Bless them Richly. Notice that Christ through His advice provides a huge load of fish. The boat cannot even maintain the load. When people listen to Jesus they will be blessed beyond the imagination. God always provides more than we can expect.
Make them realize their Condition. After Jesus blesses Peter, Peter falls to his knees and confesses that he is not worthy to even be in Christ’s sight. When Jesus comes calling, we understand the state that we are in. All of us have sinned. When we approach God, the holiness of God is overwhelming.
On this day Jesus hooked a fisherman. We can hook others today by sharing the commands of Christ, teaching them about the blessings of the Lord, and then hopefully the people will fall to their knees confessing sin to the Lord.