Luke 5:1-11
This
morning, I want to talk about the subject of biblical authority, or God's Word
being the authority and direction for our life. The final authority. The
infallible Word of God. I'd like for us to share five things from this story:
1. Jesus wants to see how we will respond.
Jesus comes into our lives and asks certain things of us…and he's very interested in our response. In the story, Jesus gradually asked for the disciples' obedience, which in my opinion is usually the way God's Word speaks to our heart. First of all, he asked them to let him get into their boat. Then he asked them to take the boat out into the middle of the sea. Finally, he asked them to cast their nets down. He gradually unfolded his will to them. As with the disciples, he makes gentle requests of us; and he is vitally interested in how we respond.
2. Jesus challenges us to trust and obey.
Jesus challenges us to obey him in the most important areas of our lives. Interestingly enough, when he came into the disciples' lives, he talked to them about something they understood -- fishing. Then he began to make requests of them, requests that were very important to their lives, things that they knew about. The question was, could they trust him? Could they obey him in areas which they already knew something about themselves? We never wonder if we can trust God in areas that we are uncertain about. If we can trust God to give us direction when we are kind of stumbling along and searching for answers. The question is always about whether we can trust God in areas that we are pretty sure about. Here in this story, Jesus walks into their life and talks to them about something that they have done all of their lives. They grew up on the water; they understand fishing. And he challenges them to obey in an area where they feel very certain and secure…which leads to;
3. We struggle in the areas where we have control and experience.
The moment when Jesus walks into our life, and through his Word or the voice of the Holy Spirit, begins to challenge us in the areas where we are secure, where we think we have control, there's a tendency for us to struggle. When the Master walked into Peter's life, and said, "I want you to cast your nets into the water," the first thing that Peter said was, "We've already done that. We've been fishing all night and we've caught absolutely nothing." I would have looked at the Lord and said, "Been there. Done that." Everyone knows what it's like for God to walk into our life and tell us to do something that we thought we were already doing. We kind of say, "But, Lord, I don't think I really need a lesson in this area; I already know what I’m doing." (Oh really? – That’s a four-eyed reply.)
4. We are called to give God's Word final authority in every area of our life.
Even if it doesn't make much sense. In fact, in verse 5, after Peter said, "I want you to know, Lord, we've been doing this all night, and we've already tried there, tried this, been there, done that," he said, "But if you tell me to, I will let the nets down." In other words, he said, "It doesn't make much sense. I don't want to agree with it; I don't think it will work, but God, I will let you be the final authority in my life. And that brings up a very simple question. When we hold God's Word in our arms, and we begin to read it, and look at it, and meditate on it, does it change us? Do we obey it? Is it really the final authority within our life?
Chuck Colson, in one of his books, was talking about the fact that so many of us have Bibles, and yet the Bible doesn't change us. 81% of the people surveyed in a recent poll said that they were evangelical; and yet only 48% of them could name the first four books of the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Out of the 1382 people that were surveyed, less than 1% of them said that their lives were directed and truly changed by what the Word of God said. In other words, many of us read it; but it doesn't always change us.
5. Consistent obedience produces consistent results.
The disciples discovered this that day, when they brought up their nets so full that they began to break. They had to call their partners over alongside to share the load, and both boats still almost sank. The results they received that day were based upon their obedience to Jesus' Word.
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