Trusting God When It Doesn't Make Sense | Body Builders, Pt. 6
When you trust God with the strange, nonsensical decisions he calls you to make, He will produce—for you—an unusual, extraordinary, boat-sinking, friend-sharing, generous catch that will change your life. - Pastor Charlie Dates
Luke 5:1-11 NASB
1 Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret; 2 and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. 3 And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little distance from the land. And He sat down and continued teaching the crowds from the boat. 4 Now 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 responded and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they caught a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to tear; 7 so they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, to the point that they were sinking. 8 But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 9 For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and likewise also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear; from now on you will be catching people.” 11 When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.
Have you ever been at the wrong place at the wrong time?
Peter fished all night and caught nothing. Jesus shows up and tells Peter to cast his net in the wrong place at the wrong time. But because he followed Jesus’s directions, he ended up with the catch of his life.
Jesus can make the wrong place the right place and the wrong time the right time.
From Shallow Water to Deep Faith
When Jesus steps up to do miracles, He uses his own power to accomplish the task. Peter is aware of this and uses the word “Master,” instead of “Teacher” or “Friend.”
The miracles Jesus does demonstrate the type of power He has. He has power over people, sickness, death, and nature. The miracle in this text shows his power over nature. It’s a supernatural display of His ability to make nature work for Him.
The people cram in on the side of the Lake of Gennesaret, also known as the Sea of Galilee, to hear Jesus preach. The crowd was pressing in on Him to hear a word from God. They could tell by the way Jesus taught that the word wasn’t from a man but from God Himself.
That’s what happens every time you open your Bible... You hear a word from God.
Attending church is bigger than a hug or a song. Someone opens the Bible and proclaims a word from the Lord. The word has power.
When Jesus finishes preaching, He tells Peter to launch out into the deep and let down his nets. Peter is an expert fisherman and Jesus is a carpenter, but Peter does what Jesus says. When they went into the deep, their only safety from shame and failure was the word of God.
Sometimes you have to leave the safe harbor of the shore to experience God’s power. You have to be willing to leave the comfort of your normal experience and go into a place where your only safety is God coming through for you.
Some of us have gotten too comfortable living in shallow water. God is saying that if you want to experience His power, you must leave your comfort zone. That’s where the miracles are.
Will you say yes to God’s call? Will you give to God from the job God gave to you?
A Theology of Work
God takes Peter's profession and uses it as a platform to proclaim the gospel. Jesus starts Peter's journey of discipleship, not by calling him away from his profession, but by challenging Peter to use his profession to proclaim the gospel.
God is calling many of us to surrender the jobs he gave us for the proclamation of His great work.
Oftentimes, people wonder if God is calling them to preach when He starts moving in their hearts. Generally, the answer is no.
Whatever you do, God wants you to do it for Jesus.
We spend a little time at church and a lot of time at work. God intends to use you and your profession as a platform for Him to do His work. You may be the only power of God people will see all week.
God wants to use you where you are and give meaning to what you do.
Our work finds meaning when it becomes a platform for Jesus.
Just Obey God
At the end of every night, the fisherman’s final job was to wash their nets. They’d worked hard all night and failed. They are done.
Then Jesus comes and says it’s time to use the nets again.
Maybe you’re washing your nets. It could be your marriage, your joy, or your hope. You’ve already decided it’s over. You’ve tried before, and it didn’t work, so you’ve decided you’re done trying.
Jesus is knocking on the door of your heart and saying it’s time to use those nets again. It’s time to try again.
Jesus wants you to try again because He looks at your failure and sees success on the other side.
He looked at Peter and did in one moment what Peter couldn’t do all night.
The difference between failure and success is Jesus putting his eyes on you.
As long as you judge the instructions of Jesus by your experience, education, and expertise, you will never benefit from the results of obedience.
The test of obedience is to try something that doesn’t make sense just because Jesus said to try it.
You do not have to understand, agree with, or know the outcome to obey God. When you take God at His word, He will show up and turn failure into
God’s instructions never make sense...
The way to be great is to be humble
The way to be strong is to be weak
The way to get is to give
... but they always work.
This really isn’t about fish. Jesus told Peter that if he thought the fish was impressive, wait until He used him to catch people.
Peter ends up being the first preacher at Pentecost. 3,000 people were saved after Peter's first sermon.
Whatever God gives you is ultimately for his glory. When you try God at His word, you will get a result that you've never gotten. Trust God even when it doesn’t make sense.
Reflection Questions:
What “nets” in your life have you been tempted to wash and put away? Is Jesus calling you to use them again?
Have you ever dismissed God’s instructions because they didn’t make sense?
In what ways can your profession or daily work become a platform for proclaiming the gospel?
How can you trust God to turn your perceived failures into opportunities for His glory?