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- of Luke. First eight verses. And if you can find what he's trying to teach here, we'll go on.
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- And it came to pass. Now whenever you see this statement, what does it mean,
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- Virgil? You'll either see it came to pass or as time passed or something like that.
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- It was going to happen or it's already happening. Well, it indicates that some time went by.
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- That as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret and saw two ships standing by the lake, but the fishermen were gone out of them.
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- They were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was
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- Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people out of the ship.
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- Now, they were pressing so hard upon him that he decided to step into a boat and push out a little bit from the land.
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- This was Simon Peter's boat. Now, Russell, do you think that that was just an accident that it belonged to Simon Peter?
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- You're correct. That's right. Now, the people were eager to hear.
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- And he did this for convenience. You know, having spent a lifetime in sound reinforcement,
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- I always think about how did he talk to them, hundreds of them.
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- Well, if you look at the setting, he was out from ashore a little bit.
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- The prevailing breeze would carry his speech across the water. Water does not absorb sound.
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- And the gentle slope of the sea of the side of the lake would offer a perfect amphitheater.
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- And if he had something behind him, a sail or something, that would project it forward.
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- So he was in an ideal location for this to occur without using any amplified sound.
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- Four. Now, when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep and let down your net for a draught.
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- Now, this is new to Simon. Here's a man. He doesn't really know who he is.
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- He has come along, and he's acting like a fisherman.
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- And he tells Simon to pull out a little waves and let down your net for a draught.
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- What is a draught, Burge? How did they fix a draught?
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- We ship it. Well, it's a large catch.
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- Hey, Burgos, you know, I'll get you thinking on that, too. When he went on the boat,
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- Simon, even though he had said he'd been fishing all night, he trusted, though, what
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- Jesus was telling him to do. He had to be,
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- I guess, in light of who he was on that day. Well, Christ had a very commanding voice.
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- You listened to him when he spoke. Those that are constant followers of Christ shall have him as their constant guide.
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- And that was coming into play here. And Simon answered and said unto him,
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- Master, we have toiled all night and have taken nothing.
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- Nevertheless, at thy word I will let down the net. Well, let me finish reading, and then we'll come back.
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- And when they had done this, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes, and the net broke.
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- And they beckoned unto their partners which were in the other ship that they should come and help them.
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- And they came and filled both boats so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' feet, saying,
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- Depart from me, for I am a sinful man. Now, going back from the time
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- Jesus finished talking, now when he had left off speaking, so he turns his attention to the fisherman men.
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- David, did he know that they'd been out there all night? Why didn't he tell them so?
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- They don't need to know everything. That's right. So, he tells them to push out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.
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- Well, Simon Peter wants to find fault, but he says,
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- Nevertheless, at thy word I will let down the net. Now, there's two things that our
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- Savior aimed at in this miracle. Who can name me one of them?
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- You've read it a dozen times. You've heard me read it. You're looking at it now. What truth do you get from this,
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- Russell? Well, while he's thinking,
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- Verge, what do you get from it? Keep thinking, Russell. Well, there's going to be a miracle, but Jesus aimed at teaching at least two things, and I'm sure there's much more from this incident.
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- David? Well, it seems like one thing, but it doesn't matter how much busy work
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- I do. If it's not in Christ, it won't be fruitful. All right.
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- Did these men know that he was Christ at this time?
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- This is about 30 A .D., the beginning of his ministry. They thought he was a man, a spiritual man.
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- Now, what was it you said, David? That it doesn't matter how hard I work, it's not going to bear fruit.
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- All right, so he's going to prove to these men his Godhead, his presence in God.
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- But he's not going to mention that, but he's going to prove it. Now, something else.
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- For those of you, before he had power over everything, because they had toiled all night and caught nothing, and they went back and he filled their nets, whether it was fish or they'd already been, would that be one of the things that he could be showing?
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- Yes. To assure them of the great success. Now, this is success in fishing, and he's going to apply that to fishing for men.
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- See, Jesus Christ never passed up an opportunity to teach. He's teaching them to listen to him attentively.
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- We owe duty to the sovereign master, and who else? Well, have you told
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- Charlotte that? Or has she told you that?
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- We owe duty, yes, cheerfully.
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- We are here to get along with people. We can obey duty and still not obey the master.
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- But if we obey the master, we will obey cheerfully.
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- And we owe it to ourselves. No man ever took Jesus profitably, or his teacher, who did not at the same time receive him, as if you cannot take
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- Jesus as your teacher, and he'll teach you, unless he's your lord.
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- There's a big difference. We have lots of people that are teachers.
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- All right. When they have done this, they enclosed a great bunch of fishes, so much that his net began to break.
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- And all of this work was done first exactly as they were commanded.
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- Here's practically a stranger that's coming on board. He's taught the word of God.
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- There's no doubt about that. And he commands them to move out into the deep. Well, they were running into trouble, and they beckoned for the men in the other boat to come to their aid, and they did.
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- Charlotte, how many fish did they catch? A great multitude.
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- Now, from this we learn from any employee that has come that it's your responsibility.
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- You can handle it. It may be that you can't do it, but you know somebody that can.
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- But anyhow, you get it done. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' feet, saying,
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- Depart from me, O Lord, for I am a sinner. Now, when
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- Simon Peter saw what? He says he saw it.
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- What is it? Jesus commanded him to do this, and it happened.
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- It is right. David was Peter amazed.
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- He was apprised of it. Boy, I can't imagine a simple thing that he does.
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- He calls you right where you are. Now, he may move you later, but right where you are, you receive the call.
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- I remember several years ago, there was a young woman that had been saved, and she was working in a liquor store.
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- Immediately, she wanted to get out of there and let the
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- Lord move her. He knew where you were when he called you. She did.
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- Well, it says, When Simon Peter saw it, he was utterly amazed.
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- He'd been looking at all of this, but when he saw it, it broke upon him.
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- He knew immediately who Jesus was as much as he could.
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- All had been revealed to him. I said it wasn't going any further, but I'm going one more verse for you.
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- He was astonished at all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken.
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- And so was also James and John, the son of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon.
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- And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men.
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- And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all and followed him.
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- Do you know what is meant by the phrase, leaving your hammer in the middle of the air?
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- When it's quitting time, a carpenter does not leave his hammer hanging in the middle of the air. They brought the ships, they tied up the ships, they did whatever they had to do, then they followed him.
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- When all was done, he does not leave for us to shirk our responsibilities at all.
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- All right. Russell, dismiss us please.
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- So what we thank you for today. You've done some wonderful work. We're going to throw in a follow -up next time.
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- We're going to identify and build up the love of those who have been ruined.
