Put out into the Deep....

Luke 5:1-11

1One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,[a]with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, 2he saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down[b] the nets for a catch."

5Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."

6When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" 9For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." 11So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed hi

Just read this again for the umpteenth time... What strikes me this time, is a couple of things.

1. Jesus says in v. 4 "put out into the deep water, and let down the nets for a catch." Simon, note it says SIMON not PETER, says "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets." (Luke 5.5)

So the first thing to understand is that Peter, James, and John (Zebedee's sons) were working hard all night. Jesus comes on the scene and says put down the nets. Something they had done before. Indeed they had done that MANY times. They were well practiced at it. They had just been putting the nets down before this. Why would Jesus tell them to do it again? Isn't it amazing how often God calls us back to basic truths? How many times have you been frustrated, angry, hurt, tired, needing a revelation? We all labor, and many times, we are well familiar with what God asks us to do, but Peter's response was that of how we all need to react. "God I already read my bible, I already prayed, I already worshipped today; but because YOU say so, I will do it again."
Ever notice how sometimes God will ask us to go out into the deep? how often do we go out into the deep and never let the nets down? How often do we spend time with God kind of tentatively not really wanting God to speak because we are afraid of what he might say?

I think the church in America is in love with the idea of God, but not God Himself. I think the church in America is too busy seeking the HAND of God when we should be seeking His FACE! If we really stop to think about it, we are all guilty of that. We want so desperately for a break through in our lives that we just keep on laboring for God and eventually forget to labor WITH God. Jesus was the biggest difference in this equation...

2. The other thing that is interesting is the difference between how the bible names Simon Peter. They start at the beginning of this chapter calling him Simon. Then, after his decision to say, "Because you say so," they call him Simon Peter. He was weeping at the feet of Jesus, and he was called Simon Peter. Simon means "he who hears" and Peter means "rock." If you put the two together, you will see this interesting transition in Peter's life.

Read it again, you see Peter went through this process after laboring, Hear, and then respond. But the way he responded was so simple, like a rock. There was not a fancy ritual he practiced, he didn't have some ornate sculpture that he presented to Jesus, he just responded. In fact, his response indicates the response we should have. 1. Because you say so, and 2. DIVE IN! They just did it, they went after it.

When God speaks go after it.

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