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[0:00] Welcome to those who are watching on the live stream and those who are listening in on the telephone this morning. It's good for us to be able to continue coming together in this way to to worship God. Intimations not much to say just to remind you that the evening service will be on tonight. It's not going to be a pre-record tonight or going forward. The evening service will be a live stream as this is a live stream so it will come on at six o'clock precisely. And we'll continue with these live streams meantime until there's a relaxation of the restrictions and we're able to meet back in the building again. YF will be online tonight at half past seven as usual for those who are of that age and the prayer meeting will be on Wednesday at half past seven on Zoom as normal.

[0:57] These I think are all the intimations so we'll begin the service and Cammie will sing to God's praise. You'll be able to sing in your homes. We won't be able to sing here in the church but we can in our hearts praise God as we listen to the words of Psalm 100. All people that on earth do dwell, sing to the Lord with cheerful voice, observe with mirth, his praise forth tell, come ye before him and rejoice. And we'll sing the whole of this hymn to God's praise.

[1:30] All people that on earth do dwell, sing to the Lord with cheerful voice, him serve with with mirth, his praise forth tell, come ye before him and rejoice. Know that the Lord is God indeed.

[2:24] with your heart. With your heart. Without our aid he did us make. We are his flock, he does us feed. And for his sheep he does us O enter then his gates with praise, approach with joy his courts unto.

[3:13] Praise Lord and bless his name always, for it is seemly so to do.

[3:33] For why the Lord our God is good, his mercy is forever sure, his truth at all times firmly stood, and shall from age to age endure.

[4:13] Well, let's unite our hearts in prayer.

[4:26] Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for this morning, and we thank you for the psalm that we have been able to sing in your presence.

[4:40] We thank you for these psalms which have been inspired by the Holy Spirit, which have been written down in days gone by, and which we can pick up and sing Adoram into.

[4:56] We thank you that they give expression to what we feel in our hearts, and we thank you, Lord, that they give us that revelation of who you are in order that we would be encouraged to come into your presence.

[5:11] And we thank you, Lord, for the words of that psalm. We thank you for the reminder there that you are the God who is good. And Lord, we know that in our hearts.

[5:23] We see that so clearly as we open Scripture. Everything that you have made was good in the beginning. Amen. We see the reality of sin, though, coming into spoil when Adam fell and all of us fell with him.

[5:39] But we thank you that in your goodness, Lord, and in your mercy you did not leave us in our sin. You did not leave us in that hopeless state. But the God who is good, the God who is love, that the Father sent his Son.

[5:55] And God the Son came into this world. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We thank you for Jesus, and we thank you for all that he did to make it possible for sinners to be saved.

[6:11] We know that this is not something that Jesus was obligated to do. There was no obligation upon God to save those who had rebelled against him.

[6:22] But we thank you that because of your great goodness, because of your great love for us, Christ came into this world to seek and to save sinners.

[6:33] We thank you for the cross that we look to each time that we gather, where we see our sin being taken there in order that we could be saved.

[6:44] We thank you that Jesus died to make it possible for us to be forgiven. As we sing in that hymn, he died to make us good. He died that we may at last go to heaven if we are trusting in his precious blood.

[7:00] So enable us, we pray, those who are listening, those who are watching, as we gather in our homes, as we listen in from different places, we pray that the Holy Spirit may be active, moving in our hearts, moving in our homes, moving in these communities, that we may see Jesus, that we may look to the cross, that we may take hold by faith of the salvation that is so freely offered to us in the gospel.

[7:30] So open our eyes, we pray, that we would see Jesus. Give us faith that we may take hold of Jesus. Enable us, as we look at the passage in Scripture today of Simon Peter, beginning to follow Jesus, enable each of us to be those who are following Jesus.

[7:49] We pray for any who have not yet taken that step, for those who may be resistant in their hearts, we pray that you would break through that, Lord God.

[8:00] For those who may be delaying things, conscious of the cost of following Jesus, as we pray, that in the power of your Spirit, you may be moving, so that we do not neglect such great salvation.

[8:14] We do not hesitate to follow Jesus. And for those who are following, and who may have fallen back, help us, Lord, we pray. We think of the words of another hymn, I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back.

[8:31] And for those who may be some distance back, for those who may be wandering, as we are prone to wander, we ask, Lord, that you would touch each life, each person, that those who are distant would return, that those who are not yet saved would receive that salvation.

[8:53] And for those who are following you, Lord, give us that perseverance that we may continue to follow you, especially in this season when things are difficult, when we're not able to meet with each other in the way that we once were, when we do not have the encouragement of meeting one with each other.

[9:12] We pray that you would give to us particular perseverance that we may continue to walk close with you. We thank you for the freedom that we have to meet in this way.

[9:24] And we think of countries where that opportunity is taken from. We think of places where the airwaves and the internet streams are closed down, that the name of Jesus is not able to be spoken.

[9:40] Thank you, Lord God, that we are able to open your word and we are able to pour over the gospel message. And we pray that we would make the most of that and that you would use this for your glory.

[9:52] We ask, Lord, that you would be with us in our need, that you would help us in our need. We continue to pray for those who are sick and we ask, Lord, that you would meet them, that you would touch them, that they would know your healing touch.

[10:06] I think especially of Elaine at this time. We thank you, Lord, for the treatment that she's had over the past weeks and months. And as she moves to a different stage of that now, we pray that you would be with her in that.

[10:20] And we thank you for the good news that Elaine and the Lalloch have had as a family. We thank you for the safe arrival of baby Rory. And we pray for Andrew and for Peggy and for Lydia.

[10:31] We ask that you would bless them as a family. And we pray that that wee one would grow up to know you and trust you. And we pray that for all the young people of our congregation and of the community, that the children would not be hindered, but that they would be brought to Jesus.

[10:48] We thank you that as we look to Jesus in the Gospels, we see him taking the children in his arms and blessing them. And we pray that the young folks in our community would know the blessing of Christ.

[11:02] We pray for the YF and especially as they meet this evening with other YFs online, as your word is taken to them, as Ewan Murray, the rugby player, speaks, we ask that you would speak through him.

[11:17] We thank you that he's one who has stood firm in the past and sought to honour you by keeping your day. And we pray your continued blessing upon him and we ask that you would use him this evening as he speaks to the young people.

[11:32] Be at work, Lord, we pray. We ask that you would be with those who are grieving. We're still conscious of those whose hearts are sore. I think especially of ENA and Michaela and Miriam and of Dorothy and their family.

[11:48] We know that sometimes it's weeks on that the sense of loss is most acute and we pray for your comfort and your strength to be with them. We pray for the most vulnerable of our communities as well.

[12:02] We think of Harris House, we think of Lee Berbera, the home of rest there. We thank you for your protection over them thus far in this season of COVID and we pray that you would continue to shield them at this time.

[12:15] And as many get vaccinations just now, we thank you for that and we pray that those who are most at risk would receive these vaccinations and they'd be effective at this time.

[12:27] So help us, Lord, we pray. You know our hearts and we ask that you would draw near to us and touch us at our hearts. You know our minds and how cluttered they can be.

[12:37] We pray that you would clear them, that we may be able to think clearly about your word. You know our lives and our needs and we pray that as we open ourselves up to you that you would meet with us, Lord, and that you would help us.

[12:54] So we commit this time to you. We pray that you would cleanse us from the sin that we confess. We confess readily that we are sinners. We pray that you would wash us in the blood of Christ.

[13:06] We pray that you would empty us of all that is of self. We pray that you would fill us with the Holy Spirit and that you would open our eyes again. And we pray that we would see Jesus.

[13:17] For we pray these things in his name and for his sake. Amen. Boys and girls, I hope there's some of you watching in this morning.

[13:30] What do I have to show you today? Well, I have two things to show you today. And you can maybe see them on my wrists. This might encourage the older ones.

[13:41] They'll be thinking, well, if he's wearing two watches, surely he'll manage to be on time today and get finished before 12 o'clock. Well, hopefully. We'll see about that. But, I told you a few weeks ago about this watch that I was given.

[13:56] This Apple watch. And I've been using this watch over the last while and it's been excellent. It tells me different things. It tells me the time. It tells me emails. And we talked about all these things that it does.

[14:09] And it's something that you can use for running. And so I was using it when I was going out running out the road and I would put on this watch and put the setting on it and it tells you how far you've gone and what speed you're doing and all that kind of stuff.

[14:25] But there was one day, maybe a week or so ago, and I went out running and I was wearing this watch. And I did the run, which I had done often before.

[14:37] And I came back and I put the watch off. And later in the day, I was looking at the time that I was given for the run. And it said to me that on this run that I'd gone, I think I'd gone up the hill past Brownies, the devil's elbow, they call it.

[14:52] And I'd run at the pace of, well, I think it was, it was a little bit over eight minutes, eight and a half minutes a mile. And I thought, oh, that's fast.

[15:04] I must be getting good at running. So I was very pleased with myself when I saw the time that I got for that run. But I wasn't 100% sure it was right.

[15:18] So the next day, you know what I did, don't you? Well, I put this watch on one arm and I set it when I was heading off on the run.

[15:28] And I took my old running watch and I put it on my other wrist. And at the time I was setting off, I went click on that watch and then I went click on this watch and I went out for my run.

[15:43] Same route, kind of thing about the same at that time of day. And nothing much was different. And I just went running up the hill and I was running down the hill and I came back home, click, sorted the time on one, sorted the time on the other.

[15:58] And then I had a look. And do you know what? What I found out? The Apple watch told me that I'd run at 8 minutes 59 per mile.

[16:11] And this watch told me that I'd run at 9 minutes and 12 seconds per mile, which is just my usual time. And so, what does that mean?

[16:27] Well, I'll tell you what I was thinking. What I was thinking was, well, if I want to feel good, then this is probably the watch I should wear.

[16:40] Because this tells me good things, nice things that I like to hear. But if I want the truth, I've probably got to stick with this watch.

[16:51] Because this is the watch I think that's actually telling me the truth. It says in 2 Timothy, chapter 4, and verse 3, for the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine.

[17:06] That means true teaching. Instead, says Paul to Timothy when he's writing this letter, instead, to suit their own desires, to suit the things they want, they'll gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

[17:27] Paul was writing to Timothy, young Timothy, and he was saying, watch out, there's going to be a time coming when people don't want to hear the truth, but they'd rather hear just nice things.

[17:45] And you know, that time has come, it's been here for a long time. There's lots of people today, they don't want to hear anything about sin. Don't tell me about sin, they say.

[17:58] They don't want to hear anything about judgment for sin. They don't want to hear anything about hell for people who don't trust in Jesus when they die.

[18:10] They just want to hear nice things. You know, if I carried on wearing this watch and I said, that other watch, I'm not ever wearing that for running ever again because it just makes me sad.

[18:26] If I carried on wearing this watch all the time, then it would probably tell me every time I went on that run that I was faster than I actually was.

[18:37] But on the day of the Harris Half Marathon, if I was wearing this watch, I might get to the finish line and say, look at my time, I ran at eight and a half minutes a mile, that means I've got a very good time for the half marathon and the man at the finish line would say, well, I'm sorry, but my watch, which is the official watch, tells me different.

[19:02] You didn't do as well as you thought and that's the truth. boys and girls, we could go through this world believing what we want to believe, believing what many people might tell us, but when we go from this world, when it comes to the big issues of our hearts and what's true and what's false about God and about us and about heaven and about heaven, when we go from this world, we'll realise that everything that the Bible says is true.

[19:41] We sang in the psalm just a second ago, his truth, God's truth at all times is firmly stood, it stands firm, doesn't move, doesn't change, it can be trusted.

[19:57] So the message today, boys and girls, for you and for me, is that we're not to believe everything we hear in this world because not everything we hear is accurate.

[20:14] But if we want the truth about who God is, about who we are and about how we can be saved, then we need to be in the Bible.

[20:29] We need to be listening to Jesus, we need to be trusting in Jesus. He is the truth and he's promised that he will keep us safe in this world and forever if we trust in him.

[20:44] Now we'll pray. Lord God, we thank you for the truth of your word and we pray that you would help us to listen, help us to believe.

[20:56] We know that in this world there's lots of other people, lots of other places that we can go that will tell us nice things that we might like to hear. But we know that it's only the God who is truly loving that will tell us the whole truth.

[21:14] And we thank you that Jesus is the one who came to tell us the truth and he is the truth. We thank you that if we're trusting in him, we cannot go wrong, we cannot be lost.

[21:29] So help the boys and girls, help all of us as we listen to be trusting in Jesus today. And we pray these things in Jesus' name and for his sake.

[21:40] Amen. Thank you boys and girls for listening. We're going to read God's word now as probably the boys and girls will go and look at the Sunday school lesson that's online.

[21:54] And we're in Luke chapter 5 as we continue in our studies with Luke and we'll read verses 1 to verse 11 of Luke chapter 5.

[22:09] Luke chapter 5 and reading at verse 1. This is God's word. One day as Jesus was standing by the lake of Gennesaret with a people crowding round him and listening to the word of God.

[22:25] 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 by the one beginning to Simon belonging to Simon and he asked him to put out a little from shore.

[22:41] 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.

[22:53] Simon answered Master we'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.

[23:11] So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come up 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.

[23:36] 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 catch men.

[23:48] So they pulled their boats up on shore left everything and followed him. Amen and may God bless that reading of his word to us.

[24:03] Let's pray for a moment again as we come back to this passage. Our Heavenly Father we thank you once more that this is your word help us as we listen help us as we meditate upon this to remember this is not simply a book this is not simply a collection of stories but this is the word of God inspired by the Holy Spirit preserved through the ages and brought to us this morning.

[24:31] And we thank you Lord that when we find ourselves whether we're in your house or whether we're in our own homes in ear shot or in eye shot of the service we know that that's no accident you are the God who works in the details of our lives you're the God who makes appointments for us to hear the gospel message and we pray that this morning you would help us to realize that this is your word help us to hear help us to see and work in our hearts we pray stir our hearts that we may be responsive to the call of Christ as Simon Peter was make us disciples we pray and for those who are disciples make us aware of those who are around us who still have not yet been caught by the gospel help us to see these stark realities of saved and lost heaven and hell and enable us we pray in the opportunities given to us in conversation and in proclamation help us we pray to declare the truth that Jesus is Lord that salvation that grace is available and we are able to take hold of it as we take hold of Jesus so help us we pray and those around us the congregations the different denominations who meet as we do we ask that you would bless them that whatever the gospel is preached that you would add your blessing that you would be building your church and calling many into the kingdom of God here and across the nation and across all nations we think of the words that we sang all people that on earth do dwell sing to the Lord with cheerful voice may there be many across the nations this morning who may sing even for the first time of the greatness of God and we pray these things in

[26:47] Jesus name amen well if you could have your Bibles open Luke chapter 5 the passage that we just read I expect that for most of us it's a fairly familiar passage it's the account of when Simon whom we come to know as Simon Peter he begins following Jesus and thinking about that word following following is a word that it was out of fashion for quite a long time even if I think back to my childhood to my teenage years following was a word that was rarely used and when it was used it was usually used negatively if someone called you a follower rather than a leader then it kind of meant well you know you couldn't think for yourself you're just a follower today the phrase to follow is much more in common parlance and in general use if we hear the word follow

[27:59] I imagine almost all of us our minds will instantly go to twitter and instagram and facebook these platforms for those who are not on them these platforms work in such a way that people follow other people but they follow at a distance to whether it's a sports star or whether it's a pop star or you know whether it's a distant acquaintance you can follow that person and you can see what they post and you can see what it is that they want you to see but there's no relationship there there's no close bond there's nothing personal there's no costly committed following it's just a distant kind of following on your own terms and you could say perhaps that that's the way Simon Peter was following Jesus when we find him at the beginning of Luke chapter 5 certainly at this point it would seem that Simon

[29:05] Peter knew Jesus the likelihood is he may have known him for up to a year the passage in John's gospel the commentators think that that may be the first time that Jesus approached Simon and others and there could have been a reluctance to follow at that point but we're not sure on that but what we can be sure about even as we look back on Luke chapter 4 is that Peter did know Jesus after Jesus taught in the synagogue Luke chapter 4 and cast out the demon in that synagogue he goes immediately to the home of Simon we see that in verse 38 of Luke chapter 4 and when they get to the home of Simon they realise that his mother-in-law is very ill she has a great fever which means that it was the kind of fever that was life threatening and Jesus healed Simon Peter's mother-in-law so Simon he has encountered

[30:09] Jesus this account that we have in Luke 5 isn't the first meeting already there's been some encountering of Jesus but it seems that Simon up until this point he wasn't following closely but all that was about to change Jesus didn't want Simon to be a distant casual follower he wanted Simon Peter to be one of his disciples those whom he called to be to be with him and perhaps there are some watching today who are at this point where Simon was at the beginning of Luke chapter 5 perhaps there are some watching or listening in today who are some distance away from Jesus aware of who he is yes and kind of interested in what he has to say but not following in any kind of meaningful or saving way and my hope and prayer is that that may change even over the course of this message this morning because what

[31:28] I want to look at today is how Simon Peter went from being a distant onlooker to a real disciple of Jesus and the first thing that we can note in relation to this is that Simon Peter didn't set the timetable and the terms of discipleship all this is at Jesus timings and it's at Jesus initiative Jesus is in control of everything in this process where we see Simon coming to Jesus and the first thing that we see first point is that we note that Jesus met him Simon in circumstances Jesus met him in circumstances and we see that in verses 1 to 3 one day Jesus was standing by the lake of Gennesaret with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of

[32:29] 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 them to put out the little from shore then he sat down and taught the people from the boat Jesus meets Simon in circumstances and if we think about things for a moment from Simon's perspective the day began just business as usual didn't it time when Peter he's a fisherman he worked in partnership with James and John in what was thought to be a lucrative fishing business and on this particular day or on this particular night they had been fishing this was now the morning and they'd caught nothing so they were likely back on the shore somewhat dejected tired after a fruitless night's fishing and they're washing their nets because the same is going to have to happen tomorrow and Jesus is preaching as they're washing their nets and the crowds are building up as they did when Jesus preached and the crowds are starting to press in on

[33:56] Jesus making it difficult for him to preach and so Jesus he gets into Simon's boat which just so happened to be in the right place at the right time and Jesus uses Simon's boat as a kind of pulpit Milne the commentator says in all of this we have a remarkable example of the providence of God in bringing Jesus and Peter together in circumstances that would bring glory to Jesus and grace to Peter see that morning likely Simon had no thought of choosing to follow Jesus he's busy he has work to do he's a full schedule to be able to follow Jesus is not in his diary Jesus it is not in his conversation it seems

[34:57] Jesus was probably not in his thoughts when he's focused on fishing but through circumstances Jesus was choosing Simon and I think we have the first evidence even in that of what Jesus said it's an illustration of what Jesus said in John 15 remember when he's speaking to the disciples much further on he says to them you did not choose me but I chose you and you know this is often the way it begins in our lives and in our experiences it's often when our Bibles are closed it's often when we're not actually part of the congregation in any meaningful way just as Simon wasn't on that day he hadn't gathered to listen to what Jesus had to say he's washing his nets he just happens to be in that place at that time it's often when we're in that kind of mode not seeking

[36:07] Jesus that Jesus suddenly meets with us in our circumstances and often it's at the most inconvenient times often it's when we're busy washing our nets you know when we're busy with our work when we're busy with our families when we're busy with our education our homeschooling sometimes it's when we're actually not feeling very much like speaking to anyone as likely Simon wasn't this morning after a fruitless night's fishing his mood may have been low he may just want to put his head down wash the nets go and get some rest and yet Jesus breaks and meets with him and that's often how Jesus meets with us that was the beginning for Simon on that shore as he washes his nets

[37:10] Jesus meets with him in circumstances and maybe this will be the beginning for some even who watch this morning maybe as you reflect on your life at this time you're conscious that through some circumstance Jesus is meeting with you it can be illness sometimes it can be trouble of various kinds sometimes when we're having problems with our work sometimes when there can be relationship breakdowns maybe in this season of pandemic where nothing is normal and where so many people who were once with us are not with us we're suddenly conscious that Jesus is with us he seems to be drawing near he seems to be watching us he seems to be meeting with us as he did with Simon so that's the first thing we see here we see that Jesus met with

[38:16] Simon in circumstances the second thing we see in this process of Simon becoming a disciple is Jesus speaks to him personally Jesus speaks to him personally verses 4 and verse 5 when he had finished speaking that's Jesus he said to Simon put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch Simon answered master we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything but because you say so I will let down the nets now Luke tells us in this account that there were vast crowds present and Jesus he's preaching he's addressing them they're pressing in on him he has no space to preach there's so many in the crowds and Jesus he's addressing them at large but all of a sudden it's as if the camera that Luke is holding it zooms in it focuses on one man

[39:22] Jesus sees one man and he speaks directly and he speaks personally to this one man that being Simon and that again is such a common experience when God begins to work in a life we've heard various testimonies over the last best part of year when we've been in lockdown and so often we hear that somebody can be sitting in a church for many years and nothing much makes an impact and then suddenly the word comes in a very personal way to that individual and they talk about sitting in a church building with 150 people and it's as if they're the only one there and everything that's been said has been pointed directly at them you know we can be in the Bible we can be studying a passage of scripture and reading something that's been read by millions of people over thousands of years and suddenly a verse is jumping off the page and it's as if it was written directly and specifically and exclusively just for us now in these situations what's happening but what's happening is

[40:45] Jesus is speaking to us personally as he did Simon so what is Jesus saying to Simon well he's giving him some fishing advice and Dale Raff Davis the commentator he comments that this was both insensitive and irrational it was insensitive says Dale Raff Davis because Simon is tired after a fruitless night's fishing the last thing he wants to do is go back out and it's irrational because well Jesus is a carpenter turned preacher and Simon is a professional fisherman so what is Jesus doing giving fishing advice to a professional so that was the situation and I can imagine it's just in my mind I can imagine James and John listening into this conversation between

[41:49] Peter and Jesus just waiting for Simon Peter to explode because we know what kind of man he was but there's no explosion Jesus is speaking in this way to Simon Peter but there's no explosion Simon actually listens to what Jesus had to say and there's a very simple but important lesson there if Jesus is speaking to you listen to him I mean Simon could have walked away shaking his head saying what does he know about fishing or Simon could have been indignant and said to Jesus who are you to speak to me like that but he doesn't do any of that Simon doesn't lose the head as he often could do he do get a sense of frustration when he says to

[42:53] Jesus we've worked hard all night and caught nothing but he doesn't dismiss Jesus words he listens and then he does what Jesus says Hendrickson the commentator says when Simon received this order from Jesus faith and doubt trust and misgiving are battling it out we don't get much insight into that but we can imagine that's what's happening faith and doubt trust and misgiving are battling it out as Simon decides how to respond Milne says Peter was sceptical but there was a note of authority in Jesus words that compelled him to obey now you might be watching this morning you might be sceptical you may be listening to what

[43:58] Jesus is saying to you and be as reluctant as Peter was to do what Jesus had to say we may be listening to the words of Jesus coming through this chapter and be very doubtful about what he's saying to us we may not feel very much like listening to and obeying Jesus but what we're taught here by way of application is even when we feel the way that Simon Peter felt even when what Jesus is saying to us is not particularly what we want to hear even when we don't feel like listening and doing what he is saying we should listen anyway and we should do what Jesus says no matter what we feel because when

[44:58] Peter does what Jesus says Jesus reveals his power to Peter and that's the third point Jesus reveals his power he meets him in circumstances at point one he speaks to him personally point two and Jesus reveals his power now to Simon Peter verse six when they had done so that's done what Jesus had asked 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 so what's going on here well in summary what's going on here is a miracle is going on if we glance back a chapter we've seen in Luke chapter four that Jesus is powerful enough to resist the devil's temptations he can do what Adam could not do we see that he's powerful enough to cast out demons the devil's minions who are attacking

[46:10] Jesus Jesus with a word cast them out of those who are possessed we see that he's powerful enough to heal the sick Simon's mother-in-law who's suffering who's in danger of losing her life Jesus is able to heal her without any difficulty whatsoever and here we see another revelation of the power of Jesus as he by his word is able to direct a shoal of fish into Simon's net it's a miracle it's a miracle and it wasn't the right time for fishing it was daylight and the nets that they used back in that day were linen nets that the fish could see in daylight that's why they were fishing at night they didn't fish at night because it was nicer they fished at night because the fish couldn't see the nets and so they could catch things at night that they couldn't catch in the day and the deep water wasn't the right place to fish everybody knew that so nothing about this that Jesus said made fishing sense this advice that Jesus gave to

[47:27] Simon about going out in the day casting their nets into the deep none of it made any fishing sense it was illogical it wasn't good fishing technique and yet Simon discovers that when they do what Jesus says the nets were full it's a miracle some commentators kind of try to play this down a little and they say well Jesus just knew where the fish were but if that's our position then I think we need to concede that that kind of knowledge of where the fish are in this lake that in itself is not natural it's supernatural it's miraculous so however however you look at this whenever you put this in the league table this is a miracle and what does this miracle say well this miracle says that Jesus is not just a man he's the

[48:29] God man we've made a few connections with Genesis as we've launched out into Luke's gospel and I think there's another connection with Genesis here you think about Genesis chapter one when God gives man the first commands really it says in verse 27 of Genesis chapter one so God created mankind in his image in the image of God he created them male and female he created them God blessed them and said to them be fruitful and increase in number fill the earth and subdue it rule over the fish in the sea God says rule over the fish in the sea now with the fall everything when when pear shaped but what we see in this miracle is that

[49:30] Jesus is ruling over the fish in the sea and we ask the question well how can he do that and the answer is because he is their maker he's the God man and that's the purpose of miracles they're signs that point us to Jesus miracles are signs that tell us who Jesus is miracles are not designed to draw attention to the miracle in itself and miracles are not designed to draw attention to the person who has been blessed through the miracle miracles are designed to draw attention to the power and the glory of Jesus I remember speaking to a climber some years ago and he was a very accomplished climber he used to head off to various places abroad and he told me about one climbing expedition that he was on and he'd been out on his own on this particular day the weather had changed the snow had come down in force and he found himself stuck he couldn't go up he couldn't get down he's on a cliff face and he said it was a it was a certain death scenario he then said he prayed he wasn't a believer but he said in that situation he prayed he cried out to

[51:08] God if God was there for help and he says what happened next was that he heard a voice and this voice directed him to look in a certain direction where he could see a certain point where he could take hold of a grip and to cut a longer story short that voice that he heard directed him to safety now there was no one there there was no one for miles and he knew that and so he said he knew beyond any doubt that this God that he cried out to had miraculously and supernaturally saved his life he could give no other explanation and as he told me this I said well that's an amazing story tell me what did you do after that in terms of your relationship with God and he looked at me and he kind of shrugged his shoulders and said well nothing I suppose just got on with life and there's so many stories that could be told like that stories of people who have been saved miraculously in road traffic accidents you see cars that are caved in on every panel except this one little area where there's been protection you know we hear stories about people who've seen amazing supernatural things and heard amazing supernatural voices we know lots of people who have experienced miracles signposts to the glory of

[53:02] God and yet they just carry on with life as if nothing happened and actually that had been true of Simon to some degree his mother-in-law in the previous chapter had been supernaturally healed he had witnessed Jesus supernaturally cast out demons but it didn't seem to touch him all that deeply but for Simon through this miracle in Luke 5 through this meeting with Jesus through this revelation of the power of Jesus his life changed forever so what happened next point four Jesus showed him his sin verse 8 when Simon Peter saw this he fell at Jesus knees and said go away from me

[54:04] Lord I'm 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 see after this miracle of this great catch of fish there was no shrugging of the shoulders with Simon he doesn't just get on with life Simon is filled with awe in the presence of Jesus he sees something of the glory of Christ that prompts him to call Jesus Lord if you know in verse 5 when Simon speaks to Jesus he calls him master but when he speaks to him in verse 8 he addresses him no longer as master but he addresses him as Lord he sees something of the glory of Christ the deity of Christ a flash of it and he sees something of the glory of Christ that causes him to fall at

[55:08] Jesus knees on that boat in the posture of worship and then Simon Peter having seen Jesus he sees himself and he's overwhelmed by a sense of his own sin he's overwhelmed by a sense of his own unworthiness to be in the presence of Jesus and it's actually a very similar response from Simon that we have to the response of Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 6 verses 1 to 7 you can read that in your own time but in that chapter we see that Isaiah he sees the Lord he has this revelation of God and when he sees the glory of God his response in that chapter is to say woe to me I am ruined for I am a man of unclean lips you know there are lots of people who who say that they have had spiritual experiences who would say that they had some kind of encounters with

[56:21] God but when an encounter with God is real and saving when we meet with the Lord Jesus in that saving way these are the evidences of it not that we're overcome with emotion because sometimes we're not not that we have some miracle story to tell that has no lasting effect on our lives that's not the evidence of a saving encounter with Christ now a real encounter with Jesus will leave us with a sense of awe with a deep sense of being overcome by the power and the glory of God and a real encounter with

[57:21] Jesus will leave us with a deep sense of our own sin we are overwhelmed with how unworthy we are Calvin says no one ever attains clear knowledge of self unless he has first gazed upon the face of the Lord and that's what Peter felt he's so overwhelmed by that sense of awe he's so conscious of his sin that he says to Jesus go away from me Lord I'm not worthy to be to be in your presence Hendrickson says when Simon now asks Jesus to depart from him this must not be interpreted too literally as if he were requesting Jesus to walk off the boat and into the lake the words must be viewed as a sincere and humble expression of this disciple's recognition of his own unworthiness as contrasted with

[58:30] Christ's greatness and holiness so Jesus shows Simon Peter his sin and let's just ask the question for a moment why does he do this why does Jesus show Simon his sin and why does the Lord through the word by his spirit show us our sin well the answer is so that we will confess our sin and look to Jesus as saviour that's why a revelation of our sin is always a revelation of love that is designed to cause us to look to Jesus for his grace forgiveness and that's what

[59:35] Simon does before he's back in dry land even he falls to his knees and he professes that Jesus is Lord and he confesses that he is a sinful man and perhaps that's what some of us still need to do this morning perhaps there's some who have been resisting but what we need to do at this juncture is confess the sin that Jesus has shown us and profess that Jesus is Lord and Saviour he is our Lord and our Saviour and when should we do that we should do that immediately don't wait another minute Simon doesn't even wait till he's off the boat think about that there's this boat that is sinking under the weight of this massive catch of fish they're in danger because of the boat going down they're in danger of losing all this money all this fish you think

[60:46] Simon's priority would be to sort out the boat to sort out the fish get back to shore make sure the money is secure and then continue this conversation with Jesus but no Simon's priority is to confess sin and to profess Jesus there's people all around watching Simon and listening to what he's saying and yet none of that causes Simon to stop and delay even though he may look undignified Simon's priority is to trust Christ and that's your priority and it's mine we need to confess our sin we need to put our faith in Jesus don't let circumstances don't let anyone don't let anything stop that happening now that's the lesson

[61:47] I think that we're taught as we see Simon on his knees in this boat the final point is Jesus calls him to leave everything and follow him Jesus said to Simon verse 10 don't be afraid from now on you will catch men so they pulled their boats up on shore left everything and followed him there's a bit of a play in words there isn't there Simon says to Jesus leave me Lord I'm a sinful man and Jesus responds by saying I'm not leaving you but I want you to leave everything else and follow me and we could ask how can Simon do that is it really that easy well it probably wasn't very easy at all Simon he has a mother-in-law which means that he has a wife which means that he likely has a wider family so how would they survive how would they survive when this look to fishing business is put on hold well I think we have the answer even here even as we look at the catcher fish it's as if

[63:02] Jesus is saying to Simon here's something to start you off with here's a catcher fish that's so monumentally huge that it's going to keep your family cared for for a long time as you take off on the road and follow me for a while essentially Jesus is saying to Simon Peter don't worry about the details don't worry about what they will eat and drink and wear you follow me I have that covered you seek my kingdom first you follow me and Simon did as did James and John they pulled up their boats on the shore they left everything and they followed him disciples of Jesus far from the finished article they have a million mistakes still to make they'll sin many times but they're disciples of Jesus they followed him that's what they did and I think the question that hangs with us in application is what will you and I do

[64:19] Jesus is still calling he's still looking for disciples so will we come to him as saviour confessing our sin as Simon did and will we follow him as Lord we'll pray our heavenly father we we do pray that your word would come in the power of your spirit into our lives we pray that you would give us the faith and the courage and the determination of will to follow Christ we pray for any who are wrestling with that as Peter likely did on that shore on that day we pray for any who are wrestling who may have doubts who may be saying in their own minds just now well I don't really feel like it thank you for the example set for us in Peter even though he may not have felt like following even though he may have had doubts and many questions still he followed and as he saw the power of Christ as he saw the need that he had to confess sin and trust

[65:38] Christ as Saviour we thank you that we see him venture out onto that track of discipleship and may we each one of us be found on that narrow track that leads to salvation and we pray these things in Jesus name Amen we're going to sing or Cammy's going to sing and we can follow along for the last hymn really a response to the call of Jesus he calls us to come to him and we have this hymn where we respond just as I am without one plea but that thy blood was shed for me and that thou bidst me come to me I O Lamb of God I come just as I am without one plea but that thy blood was shed for me and that thou bidst me come to thee

[66:49] O Lamb of God I come I come just as I am and waiting not to rid my soul of one dark blood to thee whose blood can cleanse each spot O Lamb of God I come I come just as I am though tossed about with many a conflict many a doubt fightings within and fears without

[67:53] O Lamb of God I come I come just as I am poor wretched blind sight riches healing healing of the mind yea all I need in thee I find O Lamb of God I come I come just as I am thou wilt receive wilt welcome pardon cleanse relieve because thy promise

[68:56] I believe O Lamb of God I come I come just as I am thy love unknown hath broken every barrier down now to be thine yea thine alone O Lamb of God I come I come and now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the fellowship of God the Holy Spirit be with us all both now and forever more

[69:58]  Amen