True Disciple Luke 5:1-11

True Disciples Are Not Marked by Mere Curiosity

Well, good morning everyone and welcome to Faith Bible Church. See some new faces, some faces have been at this church for many a decade and we're thankful that you're here this morning and hope you feel welcome.

And it's good to see Kim and Kevin back again. You know, you've gone for a few weeks and it's like, hey, who are you? Welcome back. You know, it's like a church is like that. It's just a, you know, you're just a reunion every time you get together, you know, and that's that's pretty cool.

Yeah, so that for announcements this week, we've got a church leadership board meeting on Wednesday. So men take note of that. Biblical counseling is coming up March 11, 11 o 'clock Saturday, March 11, if you can make that and tell other others about that as well, that would be wonderful.

And we have a new voice magazine. It's back there. It's free. Pick it up. Take one home and some really good articles. It's put out by the IFCA, which is who we align with. IFCA International and so these are always really worthwhile.

So please pick one up. We always have leftovers out there. Okay? And I think I think that's it for announcements. Let's go before the Lord in prayer. Lord God, we thank you that you have gathered us together this morning.

We thank you for the sound of Micah, Lord, for the precious life that you have given the chose and we rejoice in that, Father. God, we ask that you would bless us this morning as we worship you, as we open your word, Father, as we lift our voices, as we meditate and contemplate your greatness and your goodness and your mercy, Father.

You are so worthy of our praise, Lord. And we thank you that you have given us the truth, the absolute truth, in your word, in your Son, Jesus Christ. God, we pray this morning that each one as we contemplate and consider communion service as well afterwards, Lord, that you would help us to prepare our hearts, that we would put every, confess every sin before you, Father, so that we may be right and and ready, Father, for that communion.

So God, bless our time this morning. May we please you, may we honor you in everything that we do, Father. So go before us and we thank you. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

And Jesus Christ is God and it's to him that we get to. Now sing to and let's sing together. Please stand.

Today's scripture reading is going to be on Matthew chapter 28 verses 16 through 20. Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them and when they saw him they worshipped him, but some doubted.

And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you and behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.

This is the word of the Lord.

Truly, Calvary covers it all what Jesus Christ did on the cross for us and let's stand and sing.

The Call to Launch Out in Faith

Please turn with me to Luke chapter 5 verses 1 through 11. So it was as the multitude pressed about him to hear the word of God that he stood by the lake of Genesaret 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 have toiled all night and caught nothing. Nevertheless, at your word, I will 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 of 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, do not be afraid. From now on, you will catch men. So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed him.

This is the word of the Lord. Let us pray. Father, we pray that you would help us to understand your word in order that we may see a clearer picture of what true disciple looks like. Father, we confess that there are many times we forget what discipleship is and confess that sometimes we settle for much less than what Scripture gives us.

Father, we pray that you would work in all of our hearts to desire to become true disciples of Christ, that we would live according to your word and that we would willingly forego everything to follow you in Jesus' name.

Amen. Today's text zooms in from the crowd's interaction with Jesus to one person and then to a couple of people. So a crowd to Peter and then to Peter and his partners, James and John, Zebedee. Now, this is really important because oftentimes when we consider Christian discipleship, we think of a program, we think of a 12 week program, a year long program, a book to read and maybe a summer camp.

And we think of discipleship as something that has a beginning and an end. And we say that after this, you're set, you're prepared, you're equipped. However, we see here what true discipleship looks like in Peter's response to Jesus' word.

And note that in the two parts of this text from 1 through 4, I mean 1 through 3 rather, and then 4 through 11, Jesus is speaking. But depending on who the audience is, the response is different. While the first portion, 1 through 3, Jesus is still teaching and it is the word of God, yet the response from the crowd is absent.

While from 4 through 11, Jesus is speaking and it is a word from God and there is a palpable response from Peter and the other two. And today we seek to find out what true discipleship truly looks like.

And what we don't find is a program, what we don't find is a conference, and what we don't find are books. Now I'm not saying those are all wrong, they can be helpful, but they cannot be the end all of discipleship.

Just because you went through a book doesn't make you a true disciple. Just because you went through a conference with marvelous professors and speakers and pastors and theologians about discipleship doesn't make you a disciple.

And the question that this text asks us this morning is, who is a true disciple of Christ? Who is a true disciple of Christ? First, we go over who is not a true disciple of Christ. True disciples are not marked by mere curiosity.

True disciples are not marked by mere curiosity. After the miracles on the Sabbath, a giant crowd surrounds Jesus to hear him teach. So it was, as the multitude pressed about him to hear the word of God, that he stood by the lake of Gennesaret.

And the lake of Gennesaret is another word for the Sea of Galilee. The lake is about 13 miles long and 8 miles wide. And it was a popular location for fishery. And as you know, around a large body of water, many people do gather around and they live there.

So here, Jesus was teaching the crowd the word of God. The word of God signifies the source of Jesus' teaching. It's divine. Jesus is not just sharing opinions of man. What he taught came straight from God.

We live in a culture where opinions of man are multi-billion dollar enterprises. We want to know what this person has to say about that at the most immediate time possible. We pay for subscriptions. We buy their books when they come out.

We listen to their podcasts. But what the crowd was hearing was of something completely different. It was of another nature. It was of a divine source. It was the word from God. And this theme of the word from God will continue on to the book of Acts.

And it will be, after Jesus has ascended, it will be the apostles teaching the word from God. There's a continuation of the teaching in the church. Now, recognizing this, that Jesus' teaching is something of a different quality.

The crowd surrounds him and pushes against each other. And verses two to three show us what Jesus had to do because of his increased popularity. After seeing two boats near the shore, he chooses one boat to embark to distance himself from the crowd because there was no more space.

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. Remember, in the synagogue teaching, teachers actually sat down to teach.

It was a very communally oriented teaching. Different from what we might expect from the current academia, where a professor stands up to teach while everyone's sitting down. And now that Jesus is separated from the crowd, in order to do that, he enters Simon's boat.

And this is Simon Peter, whom we heard about even the chapter before this, where his mother-in-law is healed. And the rest of the section will actually zoom in on Simon's response to Jesus. Now, what's important about this setting is that although that many heard Jesus teach God's word, only a few followed afterward.

Some may have come for the miracles, right? Like we saw that last chapter. But this text actually mentions that the purpose of the gathering around Jesus where they're pushing each other is that it was to hear the word of God.

They really wanted to hear what Jesus had to say. It was a different quality of teaching. Unfortunately, out of the crowd who are curious about Jesus, at the end of this section, only a few respond appropriately.

All of these people hear the word of God. All of these people marvel at God's word through Jesus Christ. But only a few respond in faith. Now, this is important to note this morning because curiosity cannot be the end goal in our relationship with Christ.

Now, curiosity about Jesus and Christianity, they're not inherently sinful. And they're not inherently useless. And for some of you, how you have come to the saving knowledge of Jesus, that he died for your sin and he rose from the dead, you might have come to Christ because you were curious about Christianity.

You were curious about Jesus. Maybe you opened the Bible on your own for the first time, read about Jesus, and you just couldn't help but give your life to him. If what this book says about Jesus is true, I want all my life to be surrendered to him.

And in that regard, curiosity was very beneficial. It was very godly. But the mere curiosity is not sufficient. You cannot have a redemptive relationship with Christ if you only approach him out of curiosity and remain on the fringe like the crowd.

At some point after finding out who Christ is and what he has done, the only appropriate response is that of trust. After knowing what Jesus had done for you, that he took on your sin, he bore it on the cross, he faced the wrath of God that you deserved so that you may be forgiven only through him, and that he rose from the dead on the third day.

After knowing that, and he's just still someone you want to look through under the microscope, and you don't want to commit to him, that's not true discipleship. People who just want a distance from Christ because they don't want to fully trust him are not true disciples of Christ.

For example, if Jesus is just another religious teacher, a 30-day trial, and going back to your former life makes sense. If that's Jesus, he's just another religious teacher, sure, try him out. If you don't like him, return him.

The teaching does not fit your life, go find another teaching. Come curious, leave lacking. Doesn't matter if Jesus is just another human teacher. However, we see that here that Jesus is not just another ordinary human teacher because he speaks the word of God.

He reveals God's message to the world. He is God's only representative and revelation to the world that he came to save. He is the final authority on God's revelation. At former times, God spoke through prophets and dreams.

During this time, God spoke through his son, Jesus Christ. Because of that, he is the only way out of your life of sin. He is the only guarantee that you have complete pardon of all your rebellion against the holy God.

Now, in this case, you may approach him out of curiosity. But the only way forward in discipleship is that of complete trust. You believe that Jesus dying on the cross because of your sin, him bearing your sin, and rising on the third day is the only way forward in your life.

If he is not the one, there is no other way. You trust that living for Christ is the best way to live. That's the mark of true discipleship. Which was unfortunately absent among the crowd that day. Second, true disciples are those who humbly trust Jesus and follow his redemptive mission wholeheartedly.

True disciples are those who humbly trust Jesus and follow his redemptive mission wholeheartedly. From the multitudes, Jesus focuses on one person. The moment he stops speaking, he talks to one person, Simon Peter.

Jesus commands Simon how he could catch more fish. Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. Now remember, Jesus, his background is not fishery, but carpentry. Here, Jesus tells a fisherman how he ought to fish.

Go deeper and let your net go down. Set it down. Remember, this is not a suggestion. Jesus didn't say, try this. Jesus didn't say, you could get more fish this way. No, these are commands. They're authoritative words.

And Peter politely responds, Master, Sir, we have toiled all night and caught nothing. Peter's answer shows that what Jesus is asking him to do is counterintuitive. It just does not make sense. We have been trying, Jesus.

We tried at night. That's the best time when the fish come out, when the water is calm, no one's been splashing. But we've caught nothing. While many would continue to further follow their own path, this fisherman, Peter, decides to trust the carpenter.

Nevertheless, at your word, I will let down the net. Peter's response is that of a pure act of faith. Peter knows what Jesus is asking him to do goes against what he has been taught of fisheries since he was a little boy.

That was his expertise. Peter's response wasn't, stay in your own lane, Jesus. This is my zone. He admits that this sounds counterintuitive. We have been doing that. Yet. The act of faith comes when he actually does it.

When he actually obeys what Jesus has to say. There is a different response to Jesus' words that was absent from the crowd. Yet against all judgment, Peter trusts Jesus' words over his own experience.

That's faith. And verses 6 through 10 show the immediate responses to obeying Jesus' words. First, verses 6 to 7 show the miraculous response. And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their net was breaking.

The catch was so immediate and so immense that the net they were just previously washing was breaking. They could see the strands of the net separating. In fact, they needed extra help from another boat.

So they signaled 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. It's not only that the first boat was filled, it was that both boats are filled.

And not only that, both boats cannot even sustain themselves. They're sinking. The focus here is on the magnificence of this miracle. The catch is so successful that it is uncontrollable even for the seasoned fishermen.

This was not a normal occurrence but a miracle. This showed, at the very least, God was working through this mysterious man whom they just figured was a carpenter teacher who just joined them on their boat to teach.

Hence, in verse 8, Peter responds to Jesus. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees saying, "'Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.'". Physically, Peter bows down. He acknowledges, both bodily and verbally, that Jesus is superior.

Now, Peter's emphasis is not on the miracle. Although the miracle is magnificent, it's supernatural, but on the person of Christ. He rightly regards the miracle worker higher than the miracle itself. He is not by the shore counting the catch and daydreaming about how much profit he's made.

No, he immediately falls down before Jesus in utter amazement. Now, at this point, it is unlikely that Peter truly knows who Jesus is. Because we will see later on the 12 disciples discussing who could Jesus possibly be in Luke 8 when they have witnessed Jesus calm the storm.

Who can this be? Now, if Peter really thought Jesus was divine at that very moment in Luke 5, he would have said it. Oh yeah, Jesus is God. That's why he can calm the storm. No. What Peter, at this point, knows is that Jesus is someone whom God is working through and Jesus is superior than him.

And before this superior person, according to verse 9, Peter is amazed by the magnitude of the miracle. And thus, overwhelmed by his own inadequacy, he tells Jesus, Jesus, depart from me for I am a sinful man.

From the miracle, Peter knows that there is a chasm between Jesus and himself even though Peter may not know, at this point, who Jesus truly is. Peter knows, at this point, he does not deserve to stand before a man like him, a man like Jesus.

In fact, such an awe is found in Peter's partners as well. John and James Zebedee, his business partners. Although Peter will not find out who Jesus truly is until later in the gospel, Luke introduces the tension here.

Who is this Jesus? And this tension will develop and develop more and more, miracles after miracles, teaching after teaching. Who is this Jesus who can do blank? Who could he possibly be? And the further we go on through the gospel of Luke, he cannot just be another human teacher.

And this tension will not be resolved until the end of the gospel account. Now, the latter part of verse 10 shows Jesus' response. Do not be afraid, from now on you will catch men. This is striking. When we think of someone who is much greater than us in status, we expect to be naturally separated from them.

For example, you and I do not get to barge into the governor's office whenever we have a problem with this state. You have to go through people. There's a natural separation. And even then, you probably will not be granted an audience with the governor.

There's a reason why politicians have their own security service. There are people surrounding them. And the greater you are, there's more separation. In one sense, as Peter expected, we would be forcibly distanced from a higher figure.

That's what Peter's thinking. Depart from me. I'm not nobody. You're someone much higher than I. I don't deserve your audience. I don't deserve to stand next to you. Please leave. However, in this great reversal, Jesus' words are not, depart from me, Peter.

No, you go. Rather, it's, do not fear. Rather than banishing Peter from his very presence, which he could have, Jesus tells him to stay. Jesus banishes Peter's fear. Rather than bashing Peter for his inadequacy and sinfulness, which he could have, Jesus invites the humble fisherman to his presence.

Jesus invites a sinner to his holy presence by the phrase, do not be afraid. And that really shows what kind of person Jesus is. Jesus is the holy God who has every right and authority to distance himself and be disgusted with us.

Yet, enters into their lives and tells them, do not be afraid. We have every reason to fear Jesus. Yet, he is welcoming and inviting. He is warm and compassionate. He enters into our lives despite our inadequacies and sins.

Not only that, Jesus gives Peter a new commission. From now on, you will catch men. The pun here is obvious that many translators and hymns use the term fisher of men. However, there is a difference in the purpose of catching.

The word here to catch signifies catch to keep alive. In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the word here shows that it's to capture someone alive and to rescue. There is a sense of rescue here.

When it's used, a famous place it's used in Joshua 2 .13, when the faithful Gentile prostitute Rahab hides the Israelite spies. After that, Rahab says, when you come to a divinely judged Jericho, please remember us.

Please keep us alive. Keep my family alive. So, in a translation like NASB, there's a footnote for this. It says, and spare my father and my mother. But on the footnote, it might say, let live. That's that direct wooden translation.

And let live my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters and all who belong to them and save our lives from death. It's the same verb. This reveals that more, this phrase, to catch man, reveals more of Christ's business and it's not carpentry.

Jesus' business is that he's on a rescue mission to save lives. While professional fishermen catch fish to kill, Jesus' disciples are commissioned to catch to rescue. Capture to let live. Not only that, Jesus recruits his disciples to participate on his rescue mission.

And now we finally get to see the proper response of a true disciple. So, when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed him. They just watched, witnessed, possibly the greatest catch of their lives.

For a group of fishermen, that's something to tell the next generation, your grandkids. Well, there was a teacher, he just decided to come onto my boat and told me, drop down the net and we could not get it in just with one boat.

We were sinking with two boats. Yet, upon Jesus' invitation to join his mission to deliver the world, they abandoned everything to follow him. Upon the invitation, the focus is no longer on the miracle, but the miracle worker himself.

Upon the invitation, the focus is no longer on the fish. But their new identity as fishers of men. And the burning question is how? How are they going to join this new business of rescuing lives? And that is precisely teaching and preaching and proclaiming what Jesus has come to do and has done already on the cross.

The mark of a true disciple is someone who encounters Jesus, learns about his salvific mission, and drops everything to follow him. A true disciple's life is completely transformed by the person and the work of Jesus Christ.

His saving act on dying on the cross, burying all of our sin, and rising from the dead. That news is the main method in which anyone who is invited by Jesus to be his disciple, that news is the goal and purpose of any ministry, the gospel.

Now, this does not mean you have to give up your current occupation, whatever it is, and enter into vocational ministry. It means your primary identity, your primary goal in life, your primary mission, have completely been transformed by the reality of Christ.

If you work for the government, I know some of you do, living in the capital here, your highest allegiance is no longer Uncle Sam or the governor of California. It's Christ. You pray for the lost souls in the government, your co-workers.

And when God opens the door to share the gospel, and that's a hard door, but God can open it, you enter through that door willingly in faith. You'd be surprised different ways in which Dave back there doing the PowerPoint, how God has opened the door to share the gospel with his co-workers despite the difficulty of bringing Jesus up or religion up at work.

God opens doors, and Dave faithfully jumped in because he's a disciple of Christ. That's his primary allegiance. That's where his loyalty lies. If you work in the financial or business, you represent Christ before your business.

This means more than just avoiding fraud, but seeing your clients as people who need to be rescued, more than just the people who need to be served. These people are lost souls who are going to face destruction.

Their need is more than what your products provide. Their needs are more than what you're selling. Their needs, their deepest need is Jesus Christ. My neighbor from the seminary, his dad ran a carpet cleaning business.

It's a small business. He himself would clean the carpets. He would do his best to clean the carpet, no doubt about it. He wouldn't bring up Jesus while he's cleaning the carpet. However, after all the work he would take out a gospel tract and give it to his clients and then sit down next to them to explain to them, this is something I want you to know before I leave.

He did that for all of his clients. His work ethic was not compromised. He was still doing his work very well, but his priority was to see the lost souls saved through encountering the risen Christ. That's the mark of true discipleship.

One's identity and priority align with Christ and his mission. And the list doesn't end with just business owners and business workers who work for specific businesses or government workers. The list goes on.

Parents' primary goals are not to raise kids who go to great colleges, that's a plus, but to raise up the next generations of disciples of Christ. Parents' primary role is to raise up the younger brothers and sisters in Christ.

The kids that God has stewarded you with are actually your brothers and sisters in Christ. That's their primary identity or soon to be, hopefully. Same with teachers. Teachers do not patronate their kids, their students, with their opinions, their policies, but hopefully to see their students saved.

And of course it is harder in the public school setting. It has become harder in the public school setting, but if your prayer life is filled with tears and requests for your students who are totally lost, not because they're uneducated, because they're unredeemed, God will open doors.

You'd be surprised how many students would love to hear what's truly important in their teacher's life. And if Jesus is truly important in your life, that will come through, that will flow out. And this works with retail workers.

The primary goal is not the best service, although that includes that. The primary goal is that God may open doors to share the gospel with my clients. That's the best service one can provide. Someone who was dead can now be alive.

That's the best product one can sell. And for any true disciple of Christ, that is the highest calling anyone can receive. In our culture, in five years, what do you want to become in 10 years? What position do you seek?

But if you're a Christian, you have been called to the highest calling. And that's the disciple of Christ. You've encountered the risen Lord. You know what he has done for you. And he wants to partner up with you in his saving mission of the world.

There's no calling higher than that. Let us pray. Father, we are thankful that you call us to be part of this mission, your son's mission, to redeem the world by sharing the salvific message of the gospel.

Father, we pray that you would drive away any fear of negative opinions of men. You would drive away any fear of potential consequences. And you would help us to boldly speak the words to say, to clearly speak the gospel to whomever and whatever setting you send us out to.

Father, we pray that you would help us to be faithful in the daily grind, even though it's hard, even though we don't see miracles every day. But Father, help us to be prepared to be your disciples. In Jesus' name, amen.

Marriage as Two Uniting to Serve God

Maya and Modestus,.

You are a special part of our church family. You're new to our family, but you've been around in prayer and spirit long before you arrived here. And we're blessed to have you here to be a married couple now.

We weren't able to be there at your ceremony. Everybody here would have loved to have been there. But I think you know that. To this church family, the covenant that you made before God to commit your lives as one flesh before the Lord is very significant, especially as believers.

We've given you a plaque here and the flowers, but I'd like to read it briefly if I could. This is a prayer written by a man early last century. Oh God of love, thou hast established marriage in my mind.

Thine was the plan and only with thee can we work it out with joy. Thou hast said it is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helpmate for him. Now our joys are doubled since the happiness of one is the happiness of the other.

Our burdens are now halved since we share them, we divide the load. Bless this husband. Bless him as provider of his wife. May his strength be her protection, his character be her boast and her pride, and may he so live that she will find in him the haven for which the heart of a woman truly longs.

Bless this loving wife. Give her a tenderness that will make her great, a deep sense of understanding and great faith in thee. Give her that inner beauty of soul that never fades, and may he so live that he may be pleased to reverence at the shrine of her heart.

May they never make the mistake of merely living for each other. Teach them that marriage is not living for each other. It is two uniting and joining hands to serve thee. Give them a great spiritual purpose in life.

May they seek first the kingdom of God and of his righteousness and the other things shall be added unto them. May they love one another more and faithful unto thee, faithful to each other, they will be.

May they not expect that perfection of each other that belongs alone to thee. May they minimize each other's weaknesses, be swift to praise and magnify each other's points of comeliness and strength and see each other through a lover's kind and patient eyes.

Give them a little something to see as forbearing with each other's omissions and commissions as thou art with theirs. Now make such assignments to them on the scroll of thy will as will bless them and develop their characters as they walk together.

Give them enough tears to keep them tender, enough hurts to keep them humane, enough failure to keep their hands clenched tightly in thine and enough of success but always experience that breathless wonder that exclaims out of this world you have chosen me.

Then when life is done and the sun is setting, may they be found then as now still in hand, still thanking God for each other. May they serve thee happily, faithfully together until at last one shall lay the other in God's arms.

This we ask through Jesus Christ,.

In the name of the Father, the Son, Amen. And it would be daily lived and we pray that Ramiah's love for her husband would reflect the love of the church for Jesus. And Father, we pray that you would protect this new family and you would use this local body faith Bible church to surround them, to love them, care for them and to support them in any way to protect and nurture this new covenant relationship.

Father, we pray that you would always work through them so that they may grow in Christ, mature in Christ so that at the end of the day when they see you that they may hear the phrase well done good and faithful servant regarding how they have cared for each other in the marriage.

In Jesus name, Amen.