If you'd like to find your place in Luke chapter five. Luke chapter five, we'll start reading in verse four. The title of the message is, Who are you following? Who are you following? In Luke chapter five in verse four, it says, Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a drought. And Simon answering, said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night and have taken nothing. Nevertheless, at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes, and their net break. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, and saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the drought of the fishes which they had taken. And so was also James and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not, for henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all and followed him. I'd like to ask you that question another time. Who are you following? Here in our story, there are many truths that need to be pointed out. Prior to this encounter with Jesus, Peter, James, and John had been following their own career. They were fishermen. And there's nothing wrong with being a professional fisherman. And this was apparently a trade that had been handed down to them and passed down from their dads. But when Jesus had entered into their life, Now at this time they had a choice to make. They could either follow their own way or they could follow Jesus. And in verse 11 it tells us that they forsook all and followed Jesus. So what did they forsake? They forsook the ships, they forsook the career, they forsook not necessarily forsaken their parents in a bad way, but they forsook their heritage, if you would, and what had been handed down to them. Why? Because God had a better plan for their life. How many people are going to miss the will of God? They're going to miss the plan of God because they just won't cut some things loose in their life. Many Christians, I believe, sincerely want to follow Jesus, but they're not willing to forsake all. They're holding on to their old life, and they're not willing to just let go and give it to God. Oh, I wonder what boat is God going to have to sink in our life to get us to forsake all and follow Him. And if we're going to forsake all and follow Jesus, then the first boat that we're going to have to cut loose is the boat of human reasoning. The boat of human reasoning. And Luke chapter 5 and verse 4 says, now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, launch out into the deep and let down your nets. That's with a plural right there for a drought. We'll get to that in just a few minutes. And Simon answering said unto him, here's the human reasoning coming in. Master, we have told all the night and have taken nothing. Nevertheless, at thy word, I will let down the net. Again, we'll get back into that. I don't believe there's no mistakes made here. And it says, let down your nets with an S. And then Simon only let down the net. We'll get back to that in just a minute. But here we see what human reasoning had to say. It said, we've already done that. Matter of fact, we've been doing it all night, and we ain't caught nothing. See, they were professional fishermen, and this was not their first night out on the water. They had spent many nights before, just like this one, where the fish were not biting, and the fish was just nowhere to be found. Human reasoning said we have taken nothing. We have nothing to show for a night's work. We've told. We're tired. We're tired. We're wore out. And matter of fact, all that our bodies want to do right now is to get off this boat and go to bed. Oh, you see how human reasoning can hinder us from obeying God's word. I don't see how I can overcome this in my life. I just can't see how I can overcome this situation. I've tried to do better. I've prayed. I've waited for God to just answer my prayer, but it just seems that the more I try, the worst things get. I tried, preacher, to live a good life. I tried to be faithful. I tried to not lie and steal and cheat and sin. But it just seems like I just can't get over these things. You understand all that is human reasoning. Peter had to cut the boat of human reasoning loose so that he could see what only Jesus could do. Peter was relying on previous experiences when he said, we've told all the night. You know, he said, hey, what's the use? We've been there, done that. Oh, he was relying on previous experience. He was relying on previous results of a night without catching a fish. Oh, preacher, I prayed for my child. Preacher, I prayed for a family member. And it doesn't seem like nothing is happening. You see, human reasoning will keep us from trusting Jesus. Human reasoning will keep us from forsaking all. Human reasoning will keep us from following him. Oh, I've heard people say I'm too old, I'm too weak, I'm too sick, I'm too busy, I'm too young, I'm too poor, I'm not knowledgeable enough, I haven't been saved that long. You understand, oh, that's the boat of human reasoning and it's going to have to be cut loose or it's going to have to sink if we want to see God do a great work in our life. Oh, can I ask you what's holding you back from trusting Jesus and following him? Oh, the first boat that needs to be cut loose is that boat. of human reasoning. I wonder what kind of excuses have you offered God to not be more involved in the work of God. You understand that's nothing but human reasoning. That's nothing until you get on board and you get on board with God's plan, God's will for your life. Then all you're doing is holding back God from doing great things and mighty things in your life and showing himself strong on your behalf. Oh, the first boat that needs to be cut loose. is that boat of human reasoning. Oh, how about that boat of half-heartedness? Going in half-hearted, not trusting Jesus fully. Oh, Peter's going to obey Jesus, but not fully. Look at verse 4 with me. Now, when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, launch out into the deep and let down your nets, your nets. Not just his net, your nets, all the nets. He said, you put all the nets out for a drought. Jesus had already promised, you're gonna fill every one of them up, man, if you'll just put them out there. And Simon answered and said to him, master, we've toiled all the night, we've taken nothing, nevertheless at thy word, I will let down the net. Limiting God. limiting God by only going in half-hearted. And when they had, verse 6, and when they had done this, and when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes and their net break. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came and filled both the ships so that they began to sink. Did Jesus tell Peter to cast a net? Or did he tell Peter to cast their nets? Well, what happens when you only give Jesus a half-hearted effort? You know, many Christians will only come to church one time a week when God has provided three times for them to come. Three times a week to get closer to him. but they only want to give a half-hearted effort, and they wonder why they get so overwhelmed with the things of life. That's what Peter did. He got overwhelmed when he didn't fully obey, when he didn't fully take advantage of what God had said for his life, and he only gave it a half-hearted effort. Now all of a sudden he finds himself in a bind. Oh, when it could have been so easy to start with. We've got people who come through these doors and they've contented themselves to only giving God a half-hearted effort to obey Him, and I can tell it. Almost every Sunday morning, here comes the drama. Everything overwhelms thee. Peter had to call other ships to help. Had they just simply did what Jesus said in the first place, they wouldn't have all this drama episodes to go through. Jesus told them to take their nets, not their net. You see, Peter's lack of trust and obedience almost cost everyone their ships. Others were now having to scramble to carry the load that was meant for everyone to start with. They were having to make up for one person's lack of obedience. Boy, when we lay out of church and we don't come when we should be there. You know what happens if we throw more weight on others? Others have to do more in order to get the job done. There are certain circumstances, of course, that's going to hinder a person from being available. But what I'm talking about is people are just not all in. They're only giving Jesus a half-hearted go at it. They've convinced themselves that their excuses are acceptable to God. That's the difference between an excuse and a reason. A reason is justified, a reason is truth, while an excuse is just a lie. But how many Christians have lied to themselves thinking that, you know, they've convinced themselves that their half-hearted efforts are justified? Jesus promised that he'd never put more on us than we could bear. But sometimes we take more on us because we only go at it half-hearted. Had Peter just obeyed the Lord, there would have been less of a drama scene. If we're gonna trust Jesus, forsake all and follow him, then we're gonna have to cut some boats loose in our life before they sink us and others. We've mentioned the boat of human reasoning. What we got to get beyond that? We've mentioned the boat of just being half-hearted. Number three, the boat of holding back. Look in verse eight with me. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knee saying, depart from me for I'm a sinful man, oh Lord. For he was astonished and all that were with him at the drought of the fishes which they had taken. And so was also James and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all and followed him. Peter immediately fell down at Jesus' feet. Peter got right with God. He didn't wait on the crowd. He didn't call for the crowd to come with him. He didn't wait on someone else to come forward first. He didn't wait on a family member to get right. He didn't wait for someone else to answer the call. He immediately fell at the feet of Jesus and fell at his knees, the Bible tells us, and made himself available to God. You know what happened at that moment? He realized that Jesus had more in store for him than anything that his family that his career, that his heritage had to offer, and anything this old world could do for him. I tell you, he realized that, boy, it was worth serving the Lord. Hey, can I ask you today who or what's holding you back? What's holding you back from being all in? What's holding you back from following Jesus fully? Forsaken all, what's holding you back? Maybe it's some sin in your life, something you're just not willing to confess and give to God and repent of. Maybe it's just you've been going at it half-heartedly. There's a lack of full commitment to the Lord, a lack of surrender to Him. Maybe you've just been coming to church because it's the right thing to do, and I'm glad. But your heart ain't in it. You're here, but your heart's not in it. I wonder what ships need to be cut loose in our life. You better cut it off before it sinks you and all those around you. If you're going at something half-hearted, no wonder children, grandchildren, and others are struggling. Young people, what's holding you back from forsaken all? What's holding you back from following Jesus at your house, at your school, For those of us that work at work, what's holding you back? What is it? Is it some music that you're into that doesn't honor God and you just don't want to give it up? Is it some type of worldly pleasure? Is it maybe the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, or the pride of life? Maybe it's a friend. Maybe it's some kind of relation that you have. So maybe it's a family member that you just will not turn it over to the Lord, and it's keeping you from forsaking all and following Jesus. You understand Jesus wants all of us every day of the week, not just on Sunday. Every day of the week. There's some of you underneath the sound of my voice today that are not saved. You've never believed that Jesus died on the cross for your sin. You've never put your faith in Jesus as your Savior to take you to heaven. Some of you here today are saved, but you're struggling to forsake all for Jesus. You're struggling with this boat of human reasoning. You're struggling with that boat of half-hardness. You're struggling with that boat of just holding back. Some of you are struggling. Can I just say, you better get it right before God has to sink your ship with you on it. You know what's gonna happen? You'll lose it all when you coulda had it all.