Mend the nets of humility

Listen to the sermon here: Mend the nets of humility

Luke 5

Proverbs 11:30 "The godly are like trees that bear life-giving fruit, and those who save lives are wise."

1.      The challenge of staying consistent, and allowing God to do the miraculous.

1.      God can position us to reach our families, our friends, our enemies and even our city as a matter of fact He has!

2.      He deeply desires to use each and every one of us to do so.

1.      At the 2010 census, the population was 16,075.

1.      As a community, Ukiah has roughly twice the number of people (including Redwood Valley, Potter Valley, Calpella, and Talmage) than the census reports.

2.      During the business day, an average of 40,000 people work inside the city limits, or in the business and residential neighborhoods to the north and south.

2.      If we as a church family believe for the salvation of that population, what could God do?

1.      How would His influence over take and empower this city?

1.      God uses people to fulfill His purpose and mission.

2.      God utilizes their hearts, their compassion, their resources, their prayers, their love and their gifting to minister others.

1.      The seeds of good deeds become a tree of life.

3.      Many times our efforts to reach people seem to be in vain—like catching a ball of seaweed, a Mako Shark, or a bait fish.

1.      Have you ever invited your neighbors to church or finally mustered up enough courage to share Christ with a friend only to have them walk away?

1.      How do you respond when you have fished extensively and your net is empty?

1.      What do you do when your ministry, business, school or home life doesn’t seem to be making a difference in anyone’s life?

4.      Keep the line in the water.

1.      Keep fishing, keep ministering.

2.      Great fishermen never allow discouragement to determine their response to Christ.

5.      There are times in life when it seems that everything God has spoken is on hold, no realization of the vision.

1.      Maybe you are a business person with a dream of employing hundreds and sharing Christ with each one.

2.      Maybe your vision is to go to the mission field and build an orphanage to house children and teach them about the love of God.

3.      Maybe you just have a deep desire to reach your family and love those around and about you.

6.      Waiting for the fulfillment of the vision is the time when you must trust God and walk by faith.

1.      It is in these seasons that true fishermen are proven—they are tested by time.

2.      Ask any avid fisherman and he will tell you that one of the key characteristics of a successful fisherman is patience.

1.      Keeping your line in the water means that if your friend doesn’t get saved the first time you witness to them, continue to tell your friend about Jesus.

2.      It means that even if you don’t feel like sharing the gospel, you still do it.

Hebrews 10:36 "Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that He has promised."

3.      Within patience is endurance, within endurance lies patience.

2.      The challenge of declaring Jesus as the Captain of your life.

1.      We often experience empty nets, yet we see that Peter responded to Christ in such a way that a great catch of fish followed.

1.      When Peter called Jesus “Master” Vs 5, he demonstrated who was in charge of his life.

1.      He was not afraid to be honest about the circumstances, no fish and we worked all night.

2.      Unless Jesus is the captain of our life, we can fish all day and night without seeing any results.

1.      Salvation is upon God's terms, is according to His timing, His methods and ultimately His responsibility.

1.      Our job is simply to obey.

1.      In completely turning our lives over to Christ, we will experience the great harvest God has appointed to us.

1.      Make Him Captain, make Him the leader in all things of your life.

1.      Have you listened to Him?

2.      Have you even asked Him?

2.      Don't toil in vain.

1.      Peter used the word “toiled” (Luke 5:5), which represents work that we do by our own efforts, abilities and strategies.

2.      We can toil and work until we are exhausted, but without God and His divine hand in our endeavors, our nets will remain empty.

1.      We must actively guard against trying to save people by our own strength or persuasive words.

1.      This will ultimately leave us exhausted and burned out.

1.      You can throw nets and burn out.

1.      Throwing for the wrong reasons.

2.      Casting for the sake of casting.

3.      Serving to serve, giving to give.

1.      Love for God, then sincere love for others must be our greatest ambition.

Psalm 127:2 "It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to His loved ones."

3.      The disciples had worked all night and caught nothing because they were working in their own strength based on their own understanding.

1.      To truly see our homes, schools, workplaces and cities won for Christ, we cannot lean on our own experiences or abilities.

2.      We must trust God, His word, His will, and His way.

Matthew 6:31 "So don't worry about these things, saying, 'What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?' 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need."

1.      God, I trust Your timing and Your methods.

2.      I will not toil in my own ability; I trust You to take the seeds that I have planted and cause them to grow.

3.      The challenge of contending in uncharted territory.

1.      When Jesus asked the disciples to launch out into the deep, He was asking them to go into uncharted territory.

1.      To experience things you have never experienced you have to do things you have never done.

2.      Because Peter and his crew were professional fishermen, they knew that the best catch was usually found in the shallower part of the lake.

1.      Around twilight the fish would swim closer to the surface of the water to eat; therefore, the fishermen would fish at night.

1.      Jesus was asking Peter to do something new.

2.      He asked Peter to step out in confidence and go fishing where he wasn’t used to fishing.

1.      What has God specifically asked you to do that you have refused?

2.      Once you put your confidence in Christ, you position yourself to go fishing for people in places you have never gone before.

1.      Up to this point, Jesus had taught lessons to the disciples about growing in compassion, making sure they weren’t isolated, caring about the seemingly insignificant, and placing their confidence in Christ.

1.      Christ was now ready to call the disciples to a greater level of sacrifice.

1.      Are you ready for that call?

2.      Are you in position for the purposes of Christ?

3.      Has the Spirit of God qualified you for this influx of influence?

3.      Luke 5:10 the Greek word for fishing(catch) means "to capture alive," and it's tense suggests continuous action.

1.      Christ is saying from now on you are to continuously capture people for the Kingdom of God.

1.      This will now become a part of you.

3.      This requires greater faith, discipline, and dedication.

1.      Fishing in deep water is more demanding than launching out a little. 

1.      It is only in the deep water, trusting completely on God’s Word, that the supernatural takes place.

4.      “Expect great things; attempt great things.” This is a famous quote by William Carey, the father of modern Protestant missions.

1.      At the beginning of Carey’s ministry in the late eighteenth century, he appealed to a board of leaders to place more value on overseas missions. One of the leaders abruptly interrupted him, saying, “Young man, sit down! You are an enthusiast. When God pleases to convert the heathen, He’ll do it without consulting you or me.”

2.      Even though missions and evangelism were not as important to the Church during those days, Carey was determined to live out the Great Commission, insisting that it applied to all Christians of all times.

3.      In 1792, Carey organized a missionary society. By 1793, he had formed a team to evangelize the nation of India. It would be a lie to say that life was easy for Carey after that decision. While in India, team members left him, his five-year-old son died, and his wife’s mental health deteriorated. Finally, after seven years on the mission field, Carey baptized his first convert. Seven years! 

1.      Some of us refuse to last 7 minutes.

4.      Two months after baptizing his first convert, Carey published his first Bengali New Testament. Over the next twenty-eight years, he translated the entire Bible and opened up doors for the Word of God to be published in many other languages and dialects.

1.      By the time William Carey died, he had spent forty-one years in India without ever returning home. His mission work saw seven hundred people saved, and he laid a foundation for many other missionaries to evangelize effectively in that nation.

1.      The greatest legacy William Carey left was the inspiration for the worldwide missions movement. 

1.      Because this man was willing to launch out into the deep, many people followed his example; they "expected great things and attempted great things."

5.      Launching out into the deep doesn’t necessarily imply going to a foreign mission field, it may just mean not neglecting your own mission field.

1.      God has a specific plan and destiny for each individual to launch out into the deep.

1.      This may mean a new way of reaching people on your school campus or workplace.

1.      Fish where you live.

2.      Fish where you work.

3.      Fish where your kids play sports.

4.      Fish where you frequent.

2.      Because, God desires that all people will be saved even more than you do!

1.      Father, show us what to do, what sacrifices to make and how to prepare for things far beyond our own ability.

4.      The challenge of humility.

1.      I have often wondered why some outreaches don’t seem to reach anyone.

2.      I would like to propose to you that often it has to do with the position of our nets.

1.      Unless we lower our nets to the level that people are at, our efforts to reach them will be limited.

1.      I didn't say lower our standards.

3.      Many times during my praying and preaching preparation, the Holy Spirit has stopped me and questioned my motives: Are you preparing to preach for the applause of Christians or for the transformation of human lives?

1.      Are we willing to humble ourselves, let down our nets and do whatever it takes to meet people where they are at?

1.      Humility is about accepting my own defects yet embracing grace, hope and forgiveness in and through Jesus Christ as my ultimate empowering source.

4.      Our willingness to do the simple acts of kindness is a reflection of our humility.

1.      We must possess the willingness to commit ourselves to simple acts of caring for people, even though they may not be historic or noteworthy.

1.      Simple acts of caring, kindness, and sharing of the burdens weight for the real needs of people make up a daily lifestyle of a Christ follower.

5.      Brokenness is beautiful.

Psalm 51:17 "The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God."

1.      This doesn’t mean that God literally wants to crush our heart; it means that God wants to change our attitude and spirit.

2.      Our selfish desires and motives must be crushed so that God may form in us His desires and passions.

1.      Humility is actually the source of healthy, authentic self-confidence because we base our value and identity on Jesus Christ rather than on our own works.

3.      I can’t explain it, but when I pray, “Not my will, but Your will be done, God” a supernatural exchange takes place.

1.      He gives me His strength for my weakness.

2.      He gives me His faith for my doubts.

3.      He gives me His pure desires for my selfish desires.

Acts 28:22-24 22 "But we want to hear what you believe, for the only thing we know about these Christians is that they are denounced everywhere. 23 So a time was set, and on that day a large number of people came to Paul's lodging. He explained and testified about the Kingdom of God and tried to persuade them about Jesus from the Scriptures. Using the law of Moses and the books of the prophets, he spoke to them from morning until evening. 24 Some were persuaded by the things he said, but others did not believe."

6.      Vs. 24 always happens.

1.      Some will choose to believe and some will not.

1.      Minister any way.

2.      Declare our belief in Christ any way.

1.      Use my words, and my life to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

3.      If we never mend the nets and we just allow people to come in and through our lives but never make a concerted effort to minister, rescue, or encourage them, we are leaving them in the state of confusion.

1.      God doesn't want His people confused.

Illustrate here: some type of dolls going through the net and we never care.

2.      Where is the Good News in that?

1.      Where is the hope in that?

2.      Where is the salvation of all people in that?

Where is the rescue in that?