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Launch Out Into the Deep - Pastor Stiemke |
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THE 4TH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY (1/28/07)
Sir, we would see JESUS!
Emmanuel, Asheville, NC
Luke 5: 1-11
IN THE NAME OF JESUS!
?¨Launch Out into the Deep!?Æ
Dearly
beloved, please pray with me: Lord Jesus Christ, our dear Savior and
Redeemer, nurture us this day by Your holy Word and fill us with Your
Spirit, so that we revel in Your wondrous grace and forgiving love and
gladly share You and Your saving love with those whom our lives touch.
This we ask for Your name??s sake, who lives with the Father and the
Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
In the name of Jesus, precious children of the heavenly Father:
There
are times with our limited vision, knowledge and experience as human
beings that following the commands of our God may seem completely
ridiculous. Yet when a person is empowered by the Holy Spirit in
child-like faith to do just what our Lord tells us in His Word, great
blessings follow. Today??s Gospel reading makes this abundantly clear.
Jesus
had already met with Peter and the other disciples a number of times.
They heard Jesus teaching in the area synagogues. Following one such
service Jesus went home with Peter where they found Peter??s
mother-in-law quite ill with a high fever. At the family??s request,
Christ spoke His powerful Word and Peter??s dear family member was
healed immediately and able to serve her Lord and the group gathered
there. Some days after that healing, Jesus borrowed Peter??s boat so
that he could teach a large crowd of people about their God and His
mercy. On that occasion Peter and his fellow fishermen would learn more
valuable lessons from our Lord God.
When our Jesus finished
teaching the crowd, He told Peter to launch out into the deep water to
let down the nets for a catch of fish. Some commentators who know the
Sea of Galilee and its fish well have written that this was the wrong
time to head to deep water, as normally the fish headed into shore to
feed toward evening. It was then that Peter told our Lord that this had
been a bad day for these veteran fishermen. They had fished all through
the night and caught absolutely nothing. Yet recalling how Jesus had
taught with authority and performed so many miracles, Peter responded
in effect, ?¨Since You say so, I??ll do it.?Æ What blessings followed that
obedience!
They caught so many fish that their nets began to
break. When they called to their partners on the shore to get help
hauling in the catch, the number of fish was so great that their boats
began to get swamped. But that tremendous catch of fish was not the
greatest blessing of the day. What followed were far greater treasures.
First
of all, Peter came to know Jesus for Who He really is. Through this
miracle it suddenly dawned on Peter that this Jesus of Nazareth was not
just a great teacher, but none other than his holy God. So He fell at
Jesus?? feet and cried, ?¨Go away from me, LORD! I am a sinful man.?Æ [5:
8] Peter recognized that he didn??t even deserve to be in the Lord??s
presence because of his sinful ways, just as Isaiah also did in the Old
Testament reading this morning. That??s exactly as it should have been.
In the same way, none of us deserve God??s mercy because we ?¨all have
also sinned and come short of the glory of God.?Æ [Romans 3:23] None of
us can claim that we have always obeyed God??s holy will and
Commandments perfectly. We??ve fallen woefully short and have every
reason to be fearful in the presence of our holy and sinless God.
Yet
note well the Savior??s response to contrite Peter and all who humbly
confess their sin. Jesus didn??t say, ?¨Go away! I want nothing to do
with you.?Æ NO! Our loving Savior responded, ?¨Don??t be afraid; from now
on you will catch men.!?Æ [5: 10b] Jesus not only forgave Peter, but
showed that His forgiveness was so complete that He even had special
work for Peter and His friends to do ?± to bring others to know Jesus as
their Savior and Lord. That was the greatest blessing of almighty God
that day. And how blessed they were as our Redeemer prepared them for
that great mission for the next three years! They continued to hear
Christ preach and teach, as well as seeing Him perform many more mighty
miracles ?± even restoring the dead to life again. They would witness
our Lord??s crucifixion for the sins of all mankind, His victorious
resurrection, and finally His return to glory in heaven. Indeed Jesus
was God, the promised Savior!
The world would say Jesus made a
big mistake, choosing these rough, unschooled fishermen to be His
witnesses. Though they were still extremely rough gems, what jewels
they all ended up being after their schooling with the Savior and
refinement by the Holy Spirit when they were led by our heavenly Father
to obey the Son of God! (Only Judas Iscariot ended up walking away from
Jesus.) What prompted the disciples?? obedience to let down their nets
for a miraculous catch of fish and then later to follow their Lord and
Savior, leaving their valuable nets and boats, their livelihood and
their families behind? It was the clear, strong Word of God and the
authority with which Jesus spoke that Word.
In amazing grace our
Savior still speaks to us today with the same authority. Where? ?± In
His holy Word as we find it in the Bible, as well as His Word linked to
the water in Holy Baptism and to the bread and wine in the Lord??s
Supper. Our Savior also calls as His ambassadors our pastors and
teachers to speak His saving Word to us. Thus it??s wise to heed our
Savior??s directive to His disciples, ?¨He who receives you receives Me,
and who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.?Æ [Matthew 10:40] The One
who sent Him is our heavenly Father. He chose His only Son to save
sinners. Reject God??s called servants and one rejects God Himself.
Thus, the writer to the Hebrew Christians also strongly encourages
God??s people, ?¨Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They
keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that
their work may be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no
advantage to you.?Æ [Hebrews 13:17] True, God instructs all of us to
weigh all that is taught us to see that it agrees 100 % with Scripture,
as did the believers in Berea in Paul??s day. But where the word of our
pastors and teachers agrees with the Bible, we should receive their
message with joy and thanksgiving, putting it into practice. It is
after all God??s Word shared through Christ??s chosen vessels.
As
a called servant of the Word, I come to you today with a challenge for
you parents. A short time ago a group of our children was asked how
many opened their Bibles at home during the week. Only one out of a
large number answered affirmatively. In part that may be because your
children do not see you taking time with God??s Word. Thus I challenge
you to take time one day a week to open your Bible with family and read
God??s precious Word. Every day would be much better, but I am asking
for just one day a week. If you don??t know where to begin, I??d suggest
you start with the Gospel of John or a carefully selected Psalm. The
Bible is God??s treasure chest, and from it you and your loved ones will
gain much. And by the way, to those of you who are not parents, I
challenge you to do the same. You also have much to gain by spending
time every day with the Word of God. There are daily devotion books
behind our new doors in the narthex to use if you do not have other
guides.
Today our precious Savior stands before us saying in
effect, ?¨Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.?Æ
[5: 4] In other words, ?¨Live and act in faith upon My Word and
promises. Walk by faith rather than by sight. Know that I am with you
and that when you do as I say, you will be richly blessed ?± not
necessarily as the world counts blessings, but blessed in ways that
count eternally. Whatever your situation, know that I am with you. And
when you stumble and fall, turn back to Me as did Peter and find in Me
your forgiving Savior who has work for you to do.?Æ
Among the
work our Lord has for us to do is above all pointing one another and
others to the open, waiting arms of our dear Savior that they also may
know how complete the love of God is. Through His Word Jesus says to us
in unfailing love, ?¨Don??t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.?Æ
And what a joy it will be as the Spirit uses us to lead others to those
arms of our dear Savior! You parents and grandparents, treasure the
time you have with your loved ones pointing them to Jesus, the One
thing needful and our only Savior. All of you, as Christ opens doors to
the hearts of others to share His saving love and grace, DON??T BE
AFRAID! Our Savior assures you, ?¨I am with you always, even to end of
the age.?Æ
What an awesome God is ours! He not only forgives us,
but also calls all of us to service in His Kingdom, entrusting the
future witness of His Church into our hands and hearts. God richly
bless you and your service and witness to Him! Amen.
To GOD alone be the glory!
© The Reverend Frederick A. Stiemke, DD
Vacancy Pastor
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