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- Welcome back to Coffee with a Calvinist.
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- My name is Keith Foskey, and I am a Calvinist.
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- Today we are going to be in Luke chapter 5.
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- Now in Luke chapter 5, we see Jesus interacting with two of his disciples, and we see essentially the calling of one of them, that is Matthew, and we see a very personal interaction, an important interaction between Peter.
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- And that's the two things I want to focus on.
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- Of course, these chapters are very long, and because of the timetable I've set for Coffee with a Calvinist, I can't go through everything in the chapter, but the two things that I want to focus on are two specific interactions that we're going to look at in the text.
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- The first one is with Peter.
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- It says, on one occasion, this is beginning in verse 1, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.
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- Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, that's Peter, he asked him to put out a little from the land, and he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
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- When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, Put out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch.
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- And Simon answered, Master, we toiled all night and took nothing, but at your word I will let down the nets.
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- When they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking.
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- 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.
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- Now, before we read verse 8, I want to just mention, it seems like at this moment that especially fishermen would be super excited that they've met a person who is able to control the elements and give them a windfall of fish like they had never seen to the point that they had to have another boat come, and they were able to fill up both boats, and they were almost going to sink.
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- You'd think they'd be excited, but that's not the response we get from Simon Peter.
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- Verse 8 cuts me to the heart every time I read it, because I think, in a way, I think I understand why Peter says what he says.
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- It says, But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
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- I've heard a lot of people who claim to have seen Jesus, and a lot of them, they explain their meeting Jesus as if it was like meeting Santa Claus.
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- But when Peter met Jesus, and when Peter got a glimpse of who Jesus was, he said, Depart from me, I'm a sinful man.
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- That strikes my heart, because that is understanding holiness.
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- And when we come face to face with the holiness of God, we don't come boasting about our goodness, but we recognize our sin.
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- And Peter recognized who Jesus was, and the vast difference between Jesus and all the other teachers, the vast difference between Jesus and the Pharisees, and the vast difference between Jesus and Peter.
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- And he said, Lord, depart from me, I'm a sinner.
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- I think about Isaiah chapter 6, when Isaiah saw the Lord seated on his throne, and he was high and lifted up.
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- The train of his robe filled the temple, and around him were the creatures, the seraphim, crying, Holy, Holy, Holy.
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- Isaiah didn't proclaim his own righteousness.
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- Isaiah covered his mouth, and he said, Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips.
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- I dwell among a people of unclean lips, and I have seen the Lord.
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- This, to me, is just a reminder of our sinfulness, and God's holiness, and the holiness that is exuded in the person of Jesus Christ, the God-man.
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- Now, with that in mind, I want to look at the next passage that I want to point out, and this goes towards the end of the chapter, when Jesus is meeting and calling Levi, this is Matthew, and it says in verse 27, After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, Follow me.
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- And leaving everything, he rose and followed him, and Levi made him a great feast in his house.
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- And there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with him.
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- And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? And Jesus answered them, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.
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- Let me tell you, this verse has to be understood within its context, because I think upon reading that, some people might assume that what Jesus is saying is that the Pharisees were righteous, and that the religious people were righteous.
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- But that's not the point.
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- The point is Jesus came to sinners, and ultimately in that, we all fit into that category.
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- But for those who do not see themselves as sinners, those who see themselves as righteous will never call out for a Savior, because they're satisfied with their own self-righteousness.
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- They're satisfied with their own false righteousness.
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- And Jesus did not come to call the self-righteous.
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- He came to call sinners.
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- Peter, by his own admission, was a sinful man.
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- Jesus saved him.
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- He made him a leader among the apostles.
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- Levi, Matthew, he was sinful by trade.
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- Jesus made him a gospel writer.
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- What can Jesus do with me? What can Jesus do with you? Jesus can take a sinner and turn him into a saint.
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- Not a saint by what we do, but one who has been declared righteous in Him.
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- If you're a sinner today, and you realize you are a sinner, and you've never turned to Christ, turn to Him.
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- He came to save sinners.
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- He came to call sinners to repentance.
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- But even more so, if you're a person who would see yourself as righteous, recognize that the most righteous man in all of Israel was Isaiah.
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- But when he came face to face with the Lord, he put his hand over his mouth, and he declared judgment upon himself when he said, Woe is me.
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- Whether you see yourself as a sinner or not, the Bible declares there is none righteous in and of himself, no, not one.
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- The only way any of us are righteous is that we be declared righteous through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
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- If you are outside of Christ, no matter how righteous you may feel, you are a sinner in desperate need of salvation.
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- But remember this, Jesus is a better Savior than you are, a sinner.
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- And He can save to the uttermost anyone who draws nigh to God through Him.
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- Turn to Christ.
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- O ye sinner, turn to Christ and be saved.
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- This has been Coffee with a Calvinist.
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- I hope today's word has been an encouragement to you.
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- I would ask that if you are enjoying these videos, please take the time to like, comment, subscribe, and share this with others that the message may go to as wide an audience as possible.
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- Thank you for watching Coffee with a Calvinist.
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- My name is Keith Foskey, and I've been your Calvinist.
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- May God bless you.
