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when Jesus gets involved a miracle happens
because Peter and his partner are willing to hear
and heed Jesus directions they catch so many fish it almost sinks both of
their boats
Jesus shows not only his miraculous abilities in this account
but he also reveals his care for people
and his desire to meet our everyday needs
let's begin by opening our Bibles or following along in our bulletins as I
read Luke five versus 1 to 11
one day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of Galilee
great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God
he noticed two empty boats at the water's edge
for the fishermen had left them and they were washing their nets
stepping into one of the boats Jesus asks Simon, its owner, to push it out
into the water so he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there
when he had finished speaking he said to Simon
now go out where it is deeper and let down your nets to catch some fish
Master, Simon replied we worked hard
all last night and didn't catch a thing but if you say so
I’ll let the nets down again and this time their nets were so full of fish
they began to tear
a shout for help brought their partners in another boat
and soon both boats were filled with fish in on the verge is sinking
when Simon Peter realized what had happened
he fell to his knees before Jesus and said
Oh Lord please leave me I’m too much of a sinner to be around you
for he was awe-struck by the number of fish they had caught
as were the others with him his partners James and John the sons of Zebedee were
also amazed
Jesus replied to Simon don't be afraid
from now on you'll be fishing for people and as soon as they landed
they left everything and followed Jesus
you may
know who Arthur Frye is but
he was
in a choir at his church and every Sunday morning
so he could remember which hymn they were doing
he would tear up a piece a paper and he would
place it between the pages he realized
that this didn’t work all that well
week in and week out so
one day when he was at work he ran into well let's just say a mistake
that one of his coworkers had made his name is
Spencer Silver
this mistake well, it was a glue
And it was a glue that well it didn't glue very well
it only kind of glued
and he got an idea he said
maybe I could take
that glue and I could attach it to a piece a paper and
I could put those pieces a paper
in my hymnal and when I open it the paper won't fly
all over the place
and then when I'm done I can just peel that off
well both these men worked for 3M
Arthur he had the idea and Spencer was the one that well
made the failure that made this success possible
what's interesting is Arthur took his idea to research and development and
they said no way this is 3M we make
glue it glues permanently
but undaunted by his failure with research and development
he decided he would mock up
a dozen or so these little post it notes
tablets and he decided that he would send
those to the administrative assistants have all the heads of all the
departments in 3M
it pretty quickly they wanted to know where they could get some more of these
finally Arthur convinced 3M to put out the post it note and interestingly
enough
what was their marketing strategy
that they learn from a chemical engineer they made up
Some of the original post it notes and they sent them out to all the
administrative assistants
Of the Fortune 500 companies
and the rest is a multi-million dollar
result sometimes
failure is a stepping stone
to success in life
and failure it is a part of life and faith isn’t it
one of the things I like about what God says to us is
He says you're going to have failures in life
but that failure is not the end
we don't put a period at the end of our failures we just put a comma
because we know that God can use
failed efforts
failed relationships, failed investments
even failed health
to do something well
something miraculous let's look at the end result of the
scripture passage that was read this morning
and this time their nets were full of fish they began
to tear a shout for help brought their partners in the other boat
and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge
Of sinking
as you come this morning do you have an area in your life where you're on the
verge of sinking
maybe the waters just rising
maybe you've been going about life and you haven't been catching what you're
really after in life
how
do we get from where we are
to the other side of the failure that we're experiencing in life
we learn three important things in our scripture passage this morning
the first thing we learn is that we've got to get Jesus into our boat
That gets us thinking who do we have in our boat
and
verse three stepping into one of the boats Jesus asked Simon
its owner, to push it out into the water
and
we've got asked the question is Jesus in our boat
having Jesus in the boat of our life it makes all the difference
because God's presence in our life that's a game changer for us
God always makes a big difference
in he makes a big difference in our lives he makes
a big difference in the circumstances and relationships of our life
listen to what David says you God will show me the way of life
granting me the joy have your presence
and the pleasures of living with you forever
David gets it that Jesus being in our boat is not only about eternity but it's
about enjoying
and overcoming failure in this life
and
who's in your boat maybe we need to change out who's in our boat now so that
we can
invite Jesus to be in our boat
because once Jesus is in our life he makes a big difference
and may I ask you this morning isn't there an area in your life where you'd
really love to have Jesus make
a big positive different
he's a God that loves us he's a God that can and will
but we have to be available to him
and it is about availability that's why Jesus got into
Simon’s boat isn’t it availability is about asking Jesus to be the leader of
your life
but to all who believe in him and accept him he gave the right to become
children of God
there is a in a time in history where we have to ask Jesus to enter the boat of
our life
and yes that may mean that you've got a jettison some things that you've had in
your life
first but it is about
deciding at some point to ask Jesus to be the leader of your life
and its not as
as though it's all up to us
I know that people have this experience they say that I discovered
God's love for me and yes you do discover it
we can only discover it because God has been loving us for a long time
It’s revelation 3:20
God has been standing at the door of our life and he's been knocking and calling
our name and its interesting
we didn't hear that
we didn't know that reality but it at some point
in history our history
we hear the knocking we hear Jesus calling our voice
and we discover
that God has been looking for us for a long time
and we thought He was
too far away we thought he didn't care
we thought he came to make us pay
Instead of paying for us
availability is about asking but it's also about
filling
God wants to fill up the boat of our life he wants to
be the leader of every element and every aspect of our life
We’re here today we want God to be either
the leader of our spiritual lives in our Sunday mornings and my encouragement
To you
is to take that to every day of the week
to every aspect of your life because God does want to be the leader of your
business life
your recreational life
your marriage the raising of your children yes even
what goes on in the bedroom
because God wants us to
enjoy a fullness of life he wants us to spend eternity with Him
and when we fail that's when we need to be reminded
when bad news comes our way
when the hard-hits of life live knock us down
that's what we need to be reminded that
God is there for us
that God wants to fill our lives with good things
Jesus said the way to do this is you need to
seek first my kingdom and my righteousness
and then all these things that we need will be added on to us
and we think in the midst of failure and difficulty
somehow nothing good is going to be added any longer
and Jesus wants to push that
thought back in our lives
and he said no you focus on seeking me first
each and every day and each and every element and aspect of your life and just
see if I don't add on to you all the things that you need
That seem to be now
out if your grasp because a the failure that’s entered your life
first and foremost we have to get
Jesus in our boat
and once we get Jesus into our boat then we need to listen to him
we need to listen to his guidance
I don't know about you but if I was Peter I'd be a little put off by this
next verse
Jesus said not go out where
it is deeper and let down your nets to catch some fish
who is this guy
I’m Peter the great fisherman we've been out here all night
we know how to fish that's what we do for a living
and now Jesus is going to come out and tell us I don’t
think he's ever fished in his life I don’t think he even owns a net
go over there put down your net
and just see and that's the way
Jesus is in our own life
he gives us directions and as we put those directions into play in our life
we
we see
now it does raise the question what do you fishing for in life
you may be catching exactly
what it is that you're fishing for in life
and it's falling short
not adding up it's not bring
the meaning and the purpose that we’re searching for in life into our lives
the reason for that I think is may be that we don't
we don't hear God's voice but it also might be that we’re not
heeding God's voice listen to what
Paul says to Timothy about the Bible
he says all Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching us what is
true
we all want that part don't we, we all want to know what's true
the challenge is this next part
and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives we've been
going down this path in life
and it isn't as though we willfully fully
sent our way off the wrong track but we've
we drifted off the very best path in life
and now we have to decide whether we're going to admit that we weren’t smart
enough
or capable enough to stay on the right path now we realize
that we’re wrong oh that feels like another failure
but we can't get ourselves back to the right path
if we won't admit
that the path that we're on is the wrong path or at least
the last been best path in life
see the Bible tells us what's true and it helps us to realize what's wrong
in our lives
it corrects us when we're going the wrong way and
that makes Christianity unique by the way
a lot of the other world religions they tell you that you're away from God
but they don't really have a way of getting you
back onto the right path
it corrects us and when things go all wrong aren’t we looking for a little at
least
mid-course correction in life
God uses it the Bible to prepare and equip his people to do
every good work who wants to miss out on anything good
not me if I had it my way
my life would go from one good thing to another good thing
to another good thing and another good thing
and there are good things up ahead but
well failure happens in life
I make mistakes I make bad choices
I have faulty thinking some days I wake up with a bad attitude
every once in a while I even have bad behavior
and that doesn't nullify what God wants to do
my life but if I won't recognize
that those things are wrong or at least less than best
I think that's the rub
see the rub in our life isn't that we don't think the Bible is true we think
the Bible is true
but we don't want to listen to it
because God often says hey you could do better
No, you should know that that's the wrong path
if you listen to me I can get you from where you are to where you want to be
and we could be like Peter hey who are you
I don't know about you but
when I need help I want an expert
Right? I don't want somebody that just knows a little bit about it
I want to get an expert
and in that moment Peter had to decide
Am I the expert at fishing or is Jesus the expert fishing
am I going to listen to what I think is right
or am I going to listen to what Jesus says is right
and I can tell you if he hadn't fished all night
and caught nothing I don't think he would have listened to Jesus
he wouldn't be a been in a position to listen to Jesus
and I think listening to Jesus is a daily thing I think it gets down to
daily
Obedience, I could have no greater joy
John says then to hear that my children are following the truth
I've got kids that makes me happy when they're doing the right things when
they're going down a productive path in life
and when things are going all that well for them
I get worried and I get stressed then I get concerned
what's great about God is that when we're making our way through life
And we
find ourselves on the wrong path
God isn't punishing us
just the opposite God is
compassionate for us
just like I am with my own children
I have compassion for them when things don't go right
and I pray for them like you do that every day they would enjoy
the life around them
that God would bless them, God would protect them
that they would be successful in
all aspects and facets of life
it is about daily obedience to God
we want must daily seek Him
we must not only know the truth of God but we must
follow it every day
and is it that we don't know the Bible or is it that we won't follow what we
know about the Bible
and isn't an interesting how in our failures in life we
we look at doing things differently
okay I've tried it my way now I guess I'm ready to try it God's Way
and when we pray that prayer God is not stingy
see we’re saved by grace not by works
and really what God wants for us is to know that truth
and to put it in the play in our life each and every day
a third thing that the Bible shares with us
and that we see in our scripture passage this morning is it
well God is a promise maker
and a promise keeper
Peter says but if you say so I will let The nets down again
see Jesus promises something to Peter
if you just go to the deeper water and you put your nets down
that's where you will catch fish
and God makes over 7,000 promises to us
in the Bible
and God is ready willing and able to make each of those promises
come to fruition in our lives
Why? because God has a great plan for you
listen to Jeremiah 29:11 I know the plans I have for you
Jeremiah speaking for God I have good plans for you
I will give you a hope and a good future
now I don't know about you but when I am experiencing a failure or breakdown
or a difficulty in my life
the thing I loses is hope
I lose hope that there's
a better thing up ahead
like you what gets me up every day and what gets me moving forward is
well the hope that I’m going to get beyond this failure
to know the failure I'm experiencing life is not
permanent
it is only temporary
and as somebody who is asked Jesus to lead their life
I realize that God is doing something even in the difficulty of my life
and out of that difficulty in life there're is
something good up ahead
you see in our defeat
God doesn't leave us God I think becomes more
well a profound presence and power in our life
David put it this way even when I walk through the darkest Valley I will not be
afraid
for you are close beside me, how many of us
in our failure
in the difficulties of life
in the pain and the challenges of life
almost to a person we would say that we discover something about
the presence and the power of God that we
could not learn
if life were just an uninterrupted string of victory
because when we're down
we need that encouragement and that support
we need to know that God is for us and not
against us that God came to this planet
save us and not condemn us
great promise that God wants to make to us
the word we need to hear from God in the midst of our failures is no
I will bless you and I will make you a blessing to others
See, Peter is
there early in the morning he's been fishing all night
he not only knows he's a failure but his nets and his boat are
empty
and God says no, if you do what I direct you to do if you will listen to
my guidance
I will fill up your boat to full in fact I’ll even
surprise you
And He surprises them doesn’t He?
and this time their nets were full a shout for help brought their partners
boat
in soon both boats were what? filled
to overflowing
see the last thing we think is our failures going to be a blessing
A stray thought would be the idea that somehow my failure would be a blessing
to somebody else
yet who we are in this moment
what really defines us in life many times
is how we have overcome failure in our life
and we all have
our failure becomes a blessing to us and a blessing
to someone else and that happens because God has a plan for you and it's a good
plan
he does want you to be successful and prosper
And He has given us eternity as a promise
A seal
that death is not a failure or defeat there's
always resurrection
there's always hope
so may I ask you this morning who's in your boat
who do you want to have in your boat
Jesus is there to be in your boat if you make it available to him in your
you're willing to ask
and then when Jesus is in our boats
yeah I get to thinking about what were fishing for
who are we listening to
who do we really believe the expert about living a life of faith this is
Jesus
and realize that God does make promises to you as His children
and instead of living below our privilege as God's children I'd encourage
you to
step up to your privilege as men and women
created in the image of God and realize that God has a plan that is much bigger
than any failure you might experience
because God does love us
he wants to give us a hope
and a future let us pray
Lord we come today each of us have our own
challenges and failures and difficulties
for some it’s a circumstance in life for others it's a relationship
still others have received
at least not a hopeful report from our doctors
and Lord the truth is in that area of our life we feel a little bit like a
failure
and when we feel like a failure we feel alone
we get fearful we get worried and stressed out and Lord what we need
we need to grab a hold of today is the fact that you love us
we've asked you to be in the boat of our life
and that is you captain the ship you're not leading us
in a bad direction
in fact just the opposite in spite of the the storms
that we face at the follow the bow of our life
you will lead us once again to the
still refreshing waters
Lord help us to know your word know your promises
because Lord that paint such a a hopeful picture for us
Lord we're thankful for all the blessings that you brought our way
Lord we're thankful for the privilege to take the blessing that you've given us
and use that to be a blessing in the lives of others that Lord
you do not waste anything in our life
not even our failures
Lord thank you for that reality thank you for being
a personal reality in our life
and we pray these things Lord in your name Amen
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