“I Could Never Do That”

Luke 5:1-11
Delivered August 12, 2012 at Williamsburg Presbyterian Church
Kingstree, SC

AUDIO     |     MANUSCRIPT

Have you ever read the Bible and thought, “Wow!  I could never do that!”  I know that I have.

One story from the Bible has occupied my thoughts for several months now.  It is a story about fishing and calling.  And while I, too was fishing when I received a phone call asking me to move to Zambia[i], I still read the story and think, “I could never ever, ever, ever do that.”

In Luke 5, we read about Jesus walking by the sea, when like usual, thousands of people descend on him in pursuit of wisdom and wholeness.  So the ever resourceful and imaginative Jesus uses a family fishing boat as a floating podium, from which he teaches the crowds.  After teaching for a while, Jesus decides to go fishing, so he turns to the captain of the boat, Simon, who everyone now calls Rock.

Then Jesus says, “Hey Rock, move the boat out into the deep water and cast out the nets.”  Rock tries explaining that he has already fished through the night, hitting every honey hole and employing secret tactic possible, but the fish just aren’t biting.  Still, Rock obeys Jesus’ command.  This is one of the interesting things about Jesus, he almost always meets people with a command, but we must remember that Jesus’ commands are always invitations to participate in what God is already doing.

When it comes to being a disciple, we must remember that when Jesus Calls us, he is simultaneously inviting and commanding us.  In Peter’s case, the first thing, he must lay down is an assumption that he knows best how to run his live and more specifically his profession.  Jesus asks for a directional voice in the day-to-day operation of his disciples’ business.  Here we see the God-man Jesus asking to use a person’s job to demonstrate the character of God and the goodness of the gospel.

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[i] I was asked by Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church of New York, NY to become the Philips Talbot Global Ministry Fellow, a call that would move my wife and I to Zambia in Southern Africa.  To learn more visit http://www.mapc.com/outreach/fellowship/.

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