Please take your Bibles once again and turn to Luke chapter 5. Luke chapter 5 and this is found on page 1184 to 1185 of the Bibles in your rows. Our text this morning will be the first 11 verses of Luke chapter 5. Let's give our attention once again to the reading of God's word. Luke writes, so it was, as the multitude pressed about him to hear the word of God, that he stood by the lake of Gennesaret and saw two boats standing by the lake, but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then he got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. When he had stopped speaking, he said to Simon, launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. But Simon answered and said to him, Master, we've toiled all night and caught nothing. Nevertheless, at your word, I'll let down the net. And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their net was breaking. So 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. 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. which they had taken. And so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, don't be afraid. From now on, you will catch men. So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed him. Remember the grass withers and the flower falls, but God's word abides forever. can't help but ponder fishing stories as you hear an account of a fisherman who is experienced and yet has an astonishing number of fish that he has caught. And Peter would know, like any good fisherman, that there are a few principles or rules that you must follow. Firstly, you have to fish where the fish are. It doesn't do you any good if you want to catch something to simply cast your line into the water, but there are no fish there. Secondly, you have to fish where the fish are biting. How often have you gone out and you've seen someone get a bite and so you move to that area only to find out that it doesn't work for you. You also have to fish with the right bait. Serve them what they like to eat. Although there may be certain foods that you enjoy, you throw it in the water and it doesn't really seem to have much of an impact. You also have to use the right equipment. It doesn't do any good if you're going for a certain type of fish and yet your line isn't long enough or isn't strong enough or isn't able to handle what you're trying to get. Well, I share all this because in our text this morning, we hear about the idea of fishing. And yet I think as opposed to fishing, what we really see is catching. We all know the saying that even a bad day at fishing is better than a good day at the office. But this wasn't just simply Jesus fishing. This was him catching. And we see that Jesus catches by means of his calling. And the extension of his catch, as it were, isn't just simply to the disciples that he acquires, but even to the people. And so as Jesus then goes about this mechanism of connecting, we see that he does so by means of making an appealing call. Secondly, we see that he does so by means of a miraculous call. And then lastly, we see that it's an impactful call. Those are the three things that we want to cover. And as we would cover the appealing call, the miraculous call, and the impactful call, what we'll see from this is that our eyes will be directed to the Lord Jesus Christ and cause us then to be filled with wonder and amazement at who He is and also at the word that He brings. Notice how this is brought for us, firstly, by means of an appealing call. Why would we note that? Well, look with me at verses one through three of our chapter. So it was as the multitude pressed about him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake and saw two boats standing by the lake, but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then he got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to go from the land. He sat down and taught the multitudes from that. There's something about Jesus' interaction with the multitudes here. Part of this is alluded to in the previous chapter. If you recall, as he had done his wondrous work in Capernaum, The people had come to him, the end of chapter four, they brought their sick, they brought those who were full of demons, and Jesus healed each one personally. He cast out the demons, and the individuals responded by saying, just stay with us, remain with us, we want you to be here, be our personal Jesus. Do the things that we want and what we need. But Jesus said, I have to preach the kingdom to other cities also because this is the reason that I've been sent. And so Luke begins to pick up on that. To see that as Jesus goes about preaching, the crowds begin to respond. In fact, he builds on this from chapter to chapter, so much so that by chapter 12 or 13, I believe it is, the crowds are getting so large that they're stepping on one another. There's an appealing call that Jesus is making. But notice what it was. The multitudes pressed about him to hear the word of God. It wasn't just simply about his miraculous works. Yes, those testified of his greatness and spoke to how awesome he truly was. But it came down to the message that he communicated. In fact, although it says they came to hear the word of God, a better translation of this is they came to hear the word from God. What's the difference between of and from? A couple letters. But more significantly, it's not simply that Jesus was expounding on God's word, but rather he was communicating to them the very word from God. That's the impact. That's the appeal. That's the significance here. Because the people were recognizing just how different it was from the messages that they heard from others. But in that difference, they saw the power. They saw the effectiveness. They heard the glory. And they recognized that they were hearing from the mouth of God. Jesus highlights this elsewhere. For example, in the book of John, we hear three different things. For example, in John chapter five, Jesus notes, he who hears my words and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life. He has passed from death to life. He has been begotten to life and transformed and given life. How? By hearing his word. Who can do that? We've seen persuasive individuals make persuasive speeches that have caused individuals to do some amazing things, but never did it cause them to move from death to life the way in which Jesus' word did and does. Jesus in John 7 says, my doctrine is not mine, but his who sent me. And in that lengthy discourse in John chapter 8, between he and the Pharisees, where Jesus calls them out and says, you're of your father, the devil. He says this, I came from God. I did not come of my own self, but of him who sent me. You don't understand me, he tells them, because you can't listen to my word. You can't listen to my word because you don't believe me. He who believes me hears God's word. You don't hear me because you're not of God. In other words, Jesus is highlighting for us that by giving the words from God, it produces eternal life. And hence the appeal, hence the interest, hence the desire of the crowd to then gather besides Jesus and to see the multitudes thronging around, their interest was such that they're pressing in. This isn't as it were sitting over by the door on the far side of the building and just saying, well, we made it, we're in. This is individuals coming to the front. This is individuals coming closer to the stage. This is front row wanting to be right there to hear every word because of its impact. What's the appeal of this calling to us today? It's twofold. When God's word is read and when God's word is preached, we're not listening to the words of men. We're listening to the word from God. When you have occasion to read your Bible, remember, holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. All scripture is given, it is breathed out from the mouth of God and set forth before us. Jesus noted, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. God's word has been given to us and it appeals to us the call, beautiful, wondrous words of life. Preaching sets forth before us the Word of God. Through it, we hear the voice of our Savior through His messenger. And so two challenges then. First, as it relates to any ministers who are here or individuals who are preparing for the ministry. or anyone who would consider entering into the ministry, when you take up the call and the mantle and you continue in that, you remember that you are preaching God's word. And therefore you rightly divide it, you accurately present it, you truthfully speak it, and you unashamedly set Christ before the congregation. but congregation. The multitude pressed to hear God's word. This wasn't ho-hum. This wasn't insignificant. They weren't belittling this opportunity. They hung there to make sure they could hear Christ. If the Savior is coming to speak to us, What an appealing call that truly is. But from this appealing call, we then see a miraculous call. Here's the interesting piece. The multitude comes to press on Jesus in order to hear his every word, and they get closer and closer so that they could rightly hear him. But where's Peter? Where's James? Where's John? Well, remember they had been out fishing. They were on their boats and they had come in for the day and they were mending their nets and washing them to make sure they were in good repair. Here is the word of life speaking the word of life and they're simply busy with their own things. Jesus is saying to it that a miraculous call comes before them so that he then would awaken their attention to him. This tells us something about the relationship between Jesus and the disciples. I think sometimes what ends up happening is that we hear that Jesus goes forth, he calls them, and they follow him. But I think a better understanding is that it was progressive. Remember a few weeks back that the period of time between Jesus's temptation and then his entering into the synagogue was over a year. And we then uncovered that that year's period of time was brought forth to us from John chapter one to John chapter four. And in John chapter one, we read that John the Baptist directs the attention of Peter and James and John to Jesus and say, follow him. He's the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. And they began to follow him. After all, they were with him at the wedding in Cana. They saw the miracle regarding the water into wine. They saw the temple being cleansed. Peter had occasion to hear Jesus in Capernaum as he taught in the synagogue and even healed his own mother-in-law. And yet he wasn't a dedicated follower yet. He wasn't a full-time disciple. He had Jesus, but he also had fishing. And Jesus uses this occasion through a miraculous call to finally bring Peter and James and John to wholehearted, full, and complete devotion to him. So what does he do? Verse four and following, he stops speaking, he calls out to Simon and he says, launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. Do you remember what Jesus' occupation was? A carpenter. Do you remember what Peter's occupation was? A fisherman. Imagine if someone came to you in your office. They don't know what they're necessarily talking about. You're a doctor, a nurse, a dentist. Well, I know you're doing this particular procedure, but I read that you should do this instead. What do you think of that? How about the amateur farmer coming to direct you how to run your multi-acre operation? The engineer who hears from someone regarding buildings and codes and ground designs. The carpenter who's skilled at building who hears the novice come to speak to him about erecting structures. Do you see the frustration of Simon here? Yes, he knows who Jesus is. He's seen the various things that have happened. He does respond, but I believe that his response has a little more to it. Because after all, Jesus, we've been out all night. We're pretty tired here. We've cleaned up our nets. We've put stuff away. The fish aren't biting. We know We were out all night. Furthermore, this ain't the time to fish. You don't fish when it's high noon and the sun is up in the air. You wait until it's dark and the fish then have risen up to the surface and come closer to the shore. But if you tell me to, okay, but I'm gonna show you otherwise, Jesus. Do you sense that? There are times in which we hear things by the Lord as well. And we raise these types of questions. And yet look at the miracle. Jesus had noted that he called him to go, he called him to drop the nets, and he promised him that he would catch something. And look what happens. So when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish. Their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help. And they came, filled both the boats so that they began to sink. This wasn't a lucky cast. This wasn't the story of, oh guys, you're not gonna believe this. It was the one, but it got away. It wasn't the story of the guy, I caught a fish this big. It was an abundance in the middle of the day by seasoned fishermen who knew that it wasn't the time or the place, and yet it happened. Well, the miraculous call leads to an impactful call. Look at what happens to Peter. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus's knees saying, depart from me for I am a sinful man, oh Lord. For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken. Think about this. If you could put this in the level of the three items of shock, the first would be just simply what exactly happened. The number of fish and the time of day demonstrating the power of Jesus. Some have argued this shows his omniscience because he knew where the fish were. Others have argued it shows his omnipotence because he directed the fish to go there. Ultimately what we see is that something miraculous happened and it was Jesus who directed Peter in order to do this. This is a miracle performed by Jesus. But what's the greater shock? the glory of Christ and His holiness. Peter has now come face to face with this one who is identified as the Lamb of God, who had done all sorts of things in the area, who is now in his boat directing him regarding his occupation, whom he doubted, who he didn't trust, And in the end, he realizes this one is set apart and lofty. But the most shocking of all is then his realization of his own sin. Who is he before this one? We read from Judges chapter 13, because others have had this sort of experience in their lives. We heard of Manoah, who the angel of the Lord had been before him. And as then the sacrifice was consumed and the angel then went up with the smoke of the sacrifice, he realized that he had seen God himself and said, we will die. Abraham, speaking to the Lord in the book of Genesis, says, who am I to speak to the Lord? I am only dust and ashes. Job, after God had made the case of his greatness, of his knowledge, of his superiority and his wonder, Job could only cover his mouth and bow his eyes and face to the ground and say, I have heard you, I have seen with my eyes, I can only abhor myself and repent. Because I am of dust and ashes. And the same John, in this text, who saw the glory of Christ in Revelation 1, could only fall at his feet, paralyzed, because of how great God truly is. The power The glory, the transcendence, and the holiness of God was set before Peter in this moment through Jesus Christ. And consequently, all he could say is, I'm ruined. I'm unclean. I'm undone. Woe is me. Anytime we engage with the glory of God in His holiness, it leads us to have to recognize our own sin. Note the trauma here. The trauma of guilt. The feeling of shame. The sense of unworthiness. The fright and the terror. simply becoming self-conscious, not only of his creatureliness, but also of his sinfulness before this great and glorious individual. He had resisted Christ's command. He saw himself as the expert. He doubted the results, and yet sees Christ's provision. What's the response? Look at what Jesus says. Some of the most underrated and yet beautiful words in all of Scripture. Don't be afraid. Why would Jesus say that? because Peter sees his own sin. He sees that he's not worthy to be before this one. And yet Jesus is extending the grace and amazing love that he has to Peter. It's the extension that's made to us in the gospel also. We know our own sin, we know our misery, we know the struggles that are present within. We see just how much of a stench it is in the nostrils of the living God. And yet God says, don't be afraid. I have provided you the way of fellowship, the way of restoration, because through my son Jesus Christ, the one who performed the miracle is also the one who lived, who died, who suffered my wrath, who paid the debt and sets you free. When we look to ourselves, we see fear. When we look to ourselves, we see smallness. When we look to ourselves, we see insignificance. When we look to ourselves, we see all the reasons that by nature and by action, we are not worthy to stand before the presence of such a holy, amazing God. And yet this God looks out and he says, don't fear. I love you. Isn't this the beauty of the words of the song, His Mercy is More? It highlights the love of God and it says this, His mercy is more. And then the third verse, what riches of kindness he lavished on us. His blood was the payment. His life was the cost. We stood neath a debt we could never afford. Our sins, they are many. His mercy is more. Dear listener, Jesus through his word is before you today. And as you see what He has done, He is demonstrating to you just how great and wondrous He is, how powerful and awesome He is, how mighty and set apart He is. And if you are having that sense of conviction of being apart from Him and apart from God so that you see your creatureliness and you see your sinfulness, don't fear. Run to the Savior. who calls you to himself. He assures you of favor, of love, of forgiveness, of reception. And yet, dear Christian, we need to hear this word as well because we still sin. We still do those things on a daily basis in our thoughts and our words and our deeds that offend God. And the answer and the solution is not that we somehow clean ourselves up, that we make sure that after we've done this wrong thing, that we will now do a few good things to try to outweigh that one thing that we did. You'll never catch up. You'll simply always be chasing your tail, and as you chase your tail, you'll just go further and further and further into the abyss of inability, and you'll look up and just see how overwhelmed you really are. Some of you think, well, if I just punish myself, if I just inflict things on myself, that will somehow cause me to feel more and more guilt, and then I'll somehow be received by God. That's not the answer. Jesus says, don't fear, come to me. Again, in his mercy is more what patience would wait as we constantly roam, what father so tender is calling us home. He welcomes the weakest, the vilest, the poor. Our sins are many. His mercy is more. The impact of his call upon us is the beauty of the gospel set forth in the word from God. Which is although we are separated because of our sinfulness, he accepts us and receives us. And he still does. Not because of us, but because of Christ. The one who lived, the one who loved, the one who died, the one who rose again. Jesus is calling. He's calling to you through his word. Embrace him. Believe on him. Trust him. Receive him. And with this, live for him. Notice the disciples. So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed him. The call before us is to do the same. Do you love Christ who's calling you? Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, work in our hearts the recognition of our sin that we might humble ourselves before you. And yet as we see it, cause us to not trust in ourselves, but to hear from your word and see that Christ is the answer. He is the mighty one. He is able and He receives us if we just simply come to Him. For those of us who are with Him, help us to continue to walk in that grace that you provided, basking in the love that you extend unto us, knowing that even as we wrestle with the world and the flesh and the devil, you're still there, loving and forgiving. Help us to fight against our sin Help us to resist temptation. Help us to yield our members in obedience unto your word. And yet help us to trust the promise of the gospel that you forgive and you cleanse forevermore. We pray also that you would encourage us in this even as we pray saying, our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts. debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever amen