Luke 5:1-11
NEVERTHELESS AT THY WORD I WILL
Intro: Have you ever had to do something that you just
did not want to do? Maybe it was something at home,
like a chore (Ill. When I was a child mine was clipping
the grass around the house with hand trimmers!) or
some other unpleasant duty. Maybe it was something
at work. Maybe it was some dirty little job that nobody
wanted, but which was placed in your lap. Even though
you may not have wanted to do the job, you did it
anyway. Why? Why did you do a job that you did not
want to do? Perhaps it was out of a sense of obligation
or of duty. Maybe you did the job out of respect for the
person who asked you. Whatever the reason or the
job, we have all had to do things that we thought were
unpleasant. Jesus even spoke about this Matt. 21:28-30.
This is just the scene that presents itself in these
verses. Simon Peter is called upon to do something
that he just doesn't want to do. However, because it
was Jesus Who asked this thing of Him, Peter
complied. This morning, I want to look into this
passage for a while. While we are here, I want us to
look at the way we are living our lives today. I would
like for us to learn to develop the same mind set that
Peter displayed. It is a mind set that does what the
Lord asks, regardless of how we feel about it on a
personal level.
I am asking the Lord to work in the hearts of every
person present this morning to bring us all to the place
where we are able to echo the words of Peter in verse
5 of our text. Please do not close your heart and mind
against the word of God this morning, but allow Him to
have His way in your life today. Let's look into this
passage as we think about this thought: Nevertheless,
At Thy Word I Will. There are a few elements of this
story that I would like to point out today.
I. V. 5
A NIGHT OF STRUGGLE
A. These verses tell us that Jesus was by the sea
shore and was going to speak to the people who
were gathering there to hear Him. As they
pressed in upon the Lord, He got into Simon
Peter's boat and asked him to move away from
the shore just a little. When Peter had done this,
Jesus sat down and spoke to the crowds.
After He had finished His preaching, Jesus
then commanded Peter to go out deeper so that
he could let down his nets and catch a great load
of fish. Peter immediately objected that he and
his partners had labored all night and has taken
nothing! In short, they had failed!
B. Why did they fail? Surely it wasn't that they did
not know how or where to fish. These men were
experts. They were professional fishermen and
knew how to fish and where to find the fish, and
yet they fished all night long and caught nothing.
(Ill. The word "nothing" means "not even one")
Their failure had nothing to do with how they
were fishing or where they were fishing. Their
failure came about because the Lord wanted to
teach them a much needed lesson. That lesson
is that without Him, we can accomplish nothing!
C. Friends, this lesson is still needed by the Lord's
people this morning! Many times, our struggles
and failures in the church are the result of our
failure to do God's business God's way! He is
the One Who should direct us in the steps we
take.
The modern church has all the machinery in
place to do church, and yet we are still losing
ground to the devil and the world. We are guilty
of trying to duplicates the activities of others
instead of relying on the Lord for ourselves.
(Ill. Instead of merely implementing what has
worked for others, we need to allow the Lord to
chart a course for us that is as individual as our
church!)
D. Here is what we need to remember when we
face opportunities to serve the Lord: Our
success or our failure rests entirely on where
Jesus stands in the picture! Here is what we are
told by the Lord: "I am the vine, ye are the
branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him,
the same bringeth forth much fruit: for
without me ye can do nothing.", John 15:5.
We often fail because we do not trust Him!
However, there is another promise in the Word
of God that needs to be inserted right here.
When we leave Jesus out of the picture, we will
fail, but when He is followed, there will always be
success, "I can do all things through Christ
which strengtheneth me", Phil. 4:13.
I. A Night Of Struggle
II. V. 4-5 A MORNING OF SURRENDER
A. I can imagine Simon Peter and his partners were
ready to call it a day. They had fished all night
long and had caught not so much as a single
little fish. They are tired, frustrated, discouraged,
and defeated. The last thing any of them wants
to do is go back out and fish some more. Yet,
when Jesus tells Peter to do just that, he
surrenders to the will of the Lord and goes out to
fish.
When they let down their nets this time, they
caught so many fish that their net broke and they
had to call their partners to help them get the
catch loaded into the boats.
What made the difference? Obedience to
Jesus, even when Peter did not want to do what
the Lord asked him to do!
B. Friends, there are times when the Lord asks us
to do certain things that we may not want to do,
however, we must come to the same place Peter
came. We need to decide that regardless fo
how we feel about a certain matter, if the Lord
has commanded it, then we will do it!
(Ill. Some people say, "If your heart isn't in it,
then you might as well not do it!" That is
wrong thinking! You cannot trust your heart, Jer.
17:9! God will reward our obedience if we will go
ahead and do what He has told us to do. When
we obey in spite of our own objections, the heart
will eventually follow our lead.
Ideally, we should serve the Lord from the
heart, Eph. 6:6. However, when the heart will
not cooperate, we should mind God anyway!
Imagine what would have happened had Saul
simply minded the Lord instead of listening to his
heart, 1 Sam. 15; 2 Sam. 1! Imagine what
would have happened had David minded God
instead of listening to his heart, 2 Sam. 11.)
C. There are many areas of our lives where the Lord
requires obedience from His children. Often, we
do not want to surrender in these areas, but if we
are going to be right with the Lord, then we have
to do what Peter did and let down our nets. If we
want the blessing of God, then we must do the
will of God! Allow me to share some areas
where this is attitude of surrender can and
should be seen by every person in this room.
1. Toward God - James 4:7, (Submit - To
yield to one of a higher rank); Eph. 6:6.
2. Toward Jesus - Acts 16:31; Acts 4:12.
3. Toward The Church - Heb. 10:25; 1 Cor.
6:2.
4. Toward The Bible - James 1:22
5. Toward One Another - Gal. 6:2; Matt.
22:37-39; Phil. 2:3.
6. Toward One's Wife - Eph. 5:24-33
7. Toward One's Husband - Eph. 5:22-23, 33.
(Reverence - To be in awe, to venerate, to
treat with deference.) You may not be able
to reverence the man, but you had better
reverence the position the man had been
given!
8. Toward One's Children - Eph. 6:4
9. Toward One's Parents - Eph. 6:1-3
10. Toward Leadership - Heb. 13:7; 17
11. Toward Satan - Eph. 4:27.
D. At the mere word of the Lord, Peter let down his
nets. Is the Word of God enough for you? Or
will you rebel against what God says in His
Word?
I. A Night Of Struggle
II. A Morning Of Surrender
III. V. 6-11 A TOMORROW OF SATISFACTION
A. Because obedience ruled the day, they
witnessed the immediate reward of a vast catch
of fish, Beyond that, this miracle brought these
fishermen to their knees in worship of the Person
and Power of the Christ. When they submitted
to Him, He revealed to them that all of their
tomorrows would be different because of their
obedience of today. When they heard this, they
immediately left everything behind and followed
the Lord Jesus. Surely, we can see that their
lives were forever altered.
B. This is a lesson that we all need to learn today.
The secret to perpetual and deep satisfaction as
a child of God is found in absolute surrender to
the will of the Lord in every area of life, John 14:
15, 21. As long as we hold anything back from
His Lordship we can never expect Him to bless
us like He wants to.
C. If you would like to see all of your tomorrows
altered and your life filled with the best that God
can give, then the secret lies in total surrender of
everything in your life to His will!
Conc: When the Lord told Peter to let down his net, he
didn't want to. However, he did want the Lord said to
do in spite of his own wants and wishes. The results
were far better than he could have ever imagined!
Friend, the same blessings wait for you if you will do
what Peter did. Jesus has spoken in His Word! Now,
I ask you, will you let down your nets at the Word of the
Lord?
He is calling someone to be saved. Will you let
down you net?
He is calling His children to faithfulness and
surrender. Will you let down your net?
He is calling husbands and wives to a renewed
commitment to one another. Will you let down your
net?
He is calling His people back to the Bible and to the
church. Will you let down your net?
You may not like what the Lord is calling you to do
today, but will you join Pater and say, "Master, we have
toiled all the night and taken nothing: nevertheless
at thy word I will let down the net."?
No one can let down your net but you! Will you
obey Him this morning?
