The Gospel According To Luke - Week 3

Today is the third installment of our sermon series, "The Gospel According to Luke."

It’s also the Fifth Sunday of Epiphany 

Epiphany - a realization, a sudden revelation that changes everything.  

Today, we will hear the story of Jesus’ calling his disciples… 

He chose the most unlikely people to lead the movement he started.  

Before we dig into the Scripture, let me ask you a question. 

Where have all the good leaders gone?

Things have changed for sure…

There was a time in our recent history when some of our leaders were friends with people they disagreed with.  

Reagan and O'Neil 

Clinton and the Bush's 

Obama and Boehner 

Hatch and Kennedy 

Ginsberg and Scalia 

McCain and Kennedy 

He-Man and Skeletor 

I honestly can't back up that last one.  But the point is, there was a time when you didn't have to actively hate, vilify, and dehumanize the people on the other side of the aisle from you.  

Now, if you don't, you're considered disloyal.  

The same goes for church institutions.  If you don't adhere to a certain set of ideas, doctrines, dogmas, etc., you're labeled an apostate, a false prophet, a heretic, or not a "convicted Christian."  

W.B. Yeats called it…  

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere   
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst   
Are full of passionate intensity.

So, it's no wonder we don't want to lead, commit, or put ourselves out there to serve our communities, church, and one another.  

We fear what will happen if we step up.  We are afraid that we're disqualified before we even start.  We think we have to pledge loyalty to something we might not be sure of. 

There are so many of us who think that we aren't good enough, smart enough, know enough about the Bible, or worse we think that we have made too many mistakes, and we'll be found out as frauds.  

It's a good thing that God doesn't think like us.  

What if I told you that even your mistakes have prepared you to serve God and God’s purposes?  

GOD DOESN’T WASTE ANY PART OF OUR LIVES 

Luke 5:1-11

1 Once while Jesus[a] was standing beside the Lake of Gennesaret and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2 he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 

Jesus is teaching on the Sea of Galilee - he ran out of real estate

Photo of a Galilean fishing boat. 

Photo of Jesus teaching from the boat

Simon (Peter), James, and John are all cleaning their nets. 

4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” 

Jesus (a contractor) advises the fishermen on how to fish better. 

6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to burst. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’s knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all who were with him were astounded at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. 

The “great catch” was not about the fish, but about the people.  

Peter got that—“go away for I am sinful.” (Unqualified)

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” 11 When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

We often disqualify ourselves from leading and serving because we feel unworthy.  Jesus doesn’t call the qualified.  He qualifies the called.  

What keeps you from stepping away from your self-proclaimed disqualification and finding your purpose in God’s kingdom? 

Past failures - (shift your sight)

Present foibles - (not perfect, just committed)

Future fears - (find a better vision)

GOD DOESN’T WASTE ANY PART OF OUR LIVES