Noon Bible Study - with Pas

[Music] how's it going church without walls family you all need to join us for our virtual spirit back to school rally on tuesday always the 10th at 6 00 pm that's right you don't want to miss out it's going to be a good old-fashioned spirit rally you don't want to miss the great escape that's right you can't escape god's love this year so we'll kick it off at six and then chime on in all the way through you don't want to miss us parents teachers educators everybody students praying in righteousness and in truth see you there [Music] brook hollow christian academy is enrolling children from six weeks old to first grade visit the website for additional information ladies mark your calendars and get ready because amazing women's weekend is coming september 23rd to the 25th visit our website for additional [Music] information [Music] hi church family have your children tuned in for our kw and ignite services they're available at children.ccww.org and youth.tcww.org brook hollow christian academy is enrolling children from six weeks old to first grade visit the website for additional information ladies mark your calendars and get ready because amazing women's weekend is coming september 23rd to the 25th visit our website for additional information how's it going churchwater walls family you all need to join us for our virtual spirit back to school rally on tuesday always the 10th at 6 pm that's right you don't want to miss out it's gonna be a good old-fashioned spirit rally you don't want to miss the great escape that's right you can't escape god's love this year so we'll kick it off at six and then chime on in all the way through you don't want to miss us parents teachers educators everybody students praying in righteousness and in truth see you there [Music] come on and praise the lord [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] it's be worthy from my enemy and bless it be the rock and let the god of my salvation be exhausted my salvation be exalted [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] and let the god of my salvation be exhausted the lord [Music] my salvation be exhausted hallelujah [Music] there's only one [Music] [Applause] there's only one [Music] he's alone over my life [Music] [Applause] there's only one [Music] this is the day the lord has made we rejoice and we are glad in it what a joy it is for us to study the word of god to gather around to hear what god has to say to us from his word on the day i want to begin a series of messages for our study under the caption the difference jesus makes it's a phrase sometimes that we use when we talk about god about the work of the holy spirit in our life and what jesus accomplished for us at calvary but i want to talk about the difference jesus makes in luke chapter 5 there are series of people that our lord will meet and i want to begin with one of the first persons that he meets and the difference that he made in his life and how he moved this person from failure to success in reflecting over chapter 5 and verses 1 through 10 i was thinking about the old alchemists who would try to mix medals to come up with maybe gold or some silver bronze and i said that's exactly who god is the alchemist he meets us one way and he changes us to be another way he takes us where we are it makes us a better person howard thurman a philosopher theologian made the comment one once about the religion of jesus he says that jesus meets us where we are and then he lifts us to where we ought to be and then puts a crown of righteousness above our head and dares us to grow tall enough to wear it to see our lord as an alchemist one who changes us is a truth hear god's word on this day as we study the word of god luke chapter 5 beginning at verse 1. and see if you can see how our lord moved peter from one place to the next from one level to the next level or how it changed his character and then maybe as you listen you may want to ask god can you change my character and my life and my living and my ways the same way beginning at verse one one day as jesus was standing by the lake of god nessera the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of god he saw at the water's edge two boats left there by fishermen who were washing their nets he got in one of the boats the one belonging to simon and asked him to put out a little from the shore then he sat down and taught the people from the boat when he had finished speaking he said to simon put out into the deep water and let down your your nets for catch and simon answered master we worked hard all night and haven't caught anything but because you say so i'll let down the nets when they had done so they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break so they signaled their partners to come over to the boat to come and help them and they came and filled that boat so full that they began to sink when simon peter saw this he fell to jesus knees and said at jesus knees and said go away from me lord i'm a sinful man for he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken and so were james and john the sons of zebedees the partners of simon and then jesus said to simon don't be afraid from now on you will catch fish for for people so they pulled their boats up on shore left everything and followed him this is the word of god this is one of six places where you read where it begins on a particular day beginning at verse 1. and on this day jesus is standing by the lake of gnessrit he doesn't call it galilee he's probably referring to this particular parcel of space of this watery space between capernaum togba and tagba and so now he says in this certain place and so one day jesus was standing by the lake of gnessrit giving it its other name and like he was accustomed when he would prepare to teach people would gather around him people were crowding luke says around him listening to the word of god now notice that luke doesn't tell us what jesus is teaching we can assume when you read the gospel of luke that he's teaching as he taught on the planes in the succeeding chapters ethical teachings and moral teachings for our behavior how we'll live a particular way so we we don't have to reach far to know what jesus was teaching we just continue to read the fascination of his magnetism this young charismatic leader they would come and hear him teach the word of god probably because as one person says through the scripture we've never heard anybody teach or speak like this person speaking that he does not teach like the others he teaches as one with authority he doesn't teach from his footnotes he's the footnote himself and so they gather around him to hear him teach the word of god in verse 2 at the water's edge he sees two boats that have been abandoned by fishermen that have been fishing throughout the night and when he notices them they are washing their nets which is the indication that when you read whether in matthew or in mark when you see james and john and they are washing their nets this is an indication that the end of the day's fishing is complete they've done all that they're going to do at that moment and now they are just washing their nets jesus sees this and he knows that they have expended all of their energy and their resources you and i know that they have been fishing all night and so they have expended suspended all of that energy all that our resources is all gone now and so when jesus sees them he says since they finished fishing maybe what i can do is commandeer the boat and so in verse 3 he got into the boat as he saw at the water's edge he got into the boat of one of the boats and the one belonging particularly to simon and ask him and pay close attention to put out a little from the shore and this he did and there he sat down from the boat and he taught the people more you probably remember uh for those of you who are very new in the faith jesus carried these large crowds of people sometimes they're referred to as multitudes and they would become so large that he had to step away and so there's a particular place a little natural cove out off of the lake that makes for a perfect amphitheater it may have been that kind of place where jesus sits in the boat and uses that natural inlet to project his voice to the people that are sitting and listening to him and he gets into simon's boat and uh and he teaches from there after he says simon which you push away and and he does and once he does that he asks simon um put out into the deep water uh when it when they're gathered he says uh when he had finished speaking he said to simon verse 4 put out into the deep water and let down the nets for a catch now simon is the big fisherman he will later become one of the key figures i call him a member of the a team peter james and john this is who though luke doesn't use his name yet the name has not been changed when you see simon he's referring to hear simon peter and so he says to simon he says push out and let down your nets for a catch the person speaking according to luke for simon peter is the big fisherman who has lived and who has made his living working at the sea this is not a novice this is not a neophyte that has come along and says i'm trying out something this is a person who has spent his life at the water's edge living out in the ganesha sailing around maybe down to the sea or maybe across the galilee the thai beerus he knows these bodies of water and their geographical locations he also knows the plenty of fish that live in this body over 300 different kinds of fish in in this body of water so he knows this he knows also that jesus is no fisherman his hands have not been cut and bruised by the nets they have not been scarred by the hooks they have not been blistered under the sun now our lord has these rough rugged hands he's a carpenter not just somebody that cuts wood but who works with stone so you have a stone mason a wood cutter saying to a fisherman after teaching launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch those of you that know anything about fishing you know that there's a particular time that you fish and high noon is not the best time for fishing late in the evening they had been towing all night early in the morning these people are not nervous again and they hear jesus say to them push out and let down your nets for catch verse 5 simon answered master master the underlying that we worked hard all night and haven't caught anything and here's the word but because you say so i will let down the nets because you say so and at jesus word he goes back and that's what he does and so when they had done so they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break now they signaled their partners over to come over and help them in the boat and they became so field that the boats were full and they began to sink i want to pause now and pivot and give you some lessons from this portion of the story and then i'll conclude the lesson when you read this your immediate spiritual reaction when you think of your life and you're meeting your lord at a moment is to remember that all of us this is the life lesson of failures before we meet and encounter our lord on one hand peter could say that he's made a good living fishing but when it mattered the most he saw that what he perceived to be success was really failure absent his relationship with jesus christ the lord as i was meditating on these words i started thinking i didn't want to just say loosely uh said in some uncouth way that people who are listening may say i disagree with that i've not met our lord i don't follow him i don't practice his teaching i have a very successful job i'm lucrative lucrative income i have a wonderful family home i have everything that america says that you're supposed to have to be successful nobody's arguing that that's not our lord's coming to the planet invading your world to say i want you to live like a papa be marginalized and uh and uh only if you're destitute are you really spiritual no in a higher holier and heavier fashion when you hear the word of god it points out regardless of what we may have consumeristically or materialistically that without our lord life lacks real purpose and meaning simon peter here points that out and in this whole image this this kind of interpretation without making the scripture say something that it doesn't after he had fished all night and caught nothing this is an expert and now he discovers that there is one that can make a difference you see obedience leads to more faith let me show you it's not when peter lets down the nets you know where faith to address his failure begins you got it when jesus commandeered the boat and said push out from the shore and peter responded at that moment it seems that way doesn't it that our lord always begins with baby steps if i can call it that baby steps to say do this something that's achievable to see if you can handle the big challenges push out and peter pushed out and then he says that when he jesus said when he finished teaching now go out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch and for whatever reason peter responds to what jesus says and he goes out even though he gently protests the command and instruction and direction and said master we have toiled all night we not only fish we worked at it we incorporated our best teaching skills now we know we're fish school in this water and we went to all of the spots and we caught nothing now those that are listening now i've just written out your life story i have tried it all even though i have been successful and it seems like the more successful i've become the emptier i am and i've tried everything you tried most things the one person that makes the difference is the living lord of this story and when peter did that and he launched out to the deep he says nevertheless at thy word there's another lesson that we learned and that is simply this that failure is never final when we surrender obediently to god's command there are times where you feel like failure is final this is it there's nothing left for me i can't explain it i don't know how it happens i can't put a timetable to it and yet our lord has this beautiful way in which he reveals to us that your failure is not final when you surrender or obey to my instructions launch out into the deep and simon says nevertheless at thy word and that's where faith began doesn't it faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of god these are not cliches this is living word romans 10 17 that reminds us that it is the word of god that builds faith up in the life of the believer and you'll be asked to launch out into the deep of life at times and you'll say but i've been out there and yet obedience will say but if our lord commands it do it again he must have a lesson for you to learn he must have something for you to achieve and simon goes out nevertheless at that word i'd like to say it this way in in when it's sermonized that jesus met these disciples on the edge of the lake after the night of fruitless fishing frantic and frustrated and then he comes to them with a word of faith and says launch out into the deep and they do it but he then he tells them what's going to happen he says not just to launch onto the deep let down he said for a great catch and so they're not going to fish singularly or that is the let down one net or a hook and a fish they're gonna get fish in the net now notice i said they because often when we read this we assume that simon is on the boat alone the crew is with it and so all of them have failed until they go back out and try it again now as an aside i know i'm talking to several of us pastor wes included but there are times that after you have failed you have to get up and try it again but i failed and get up and try it again i didn't do so well and get up and try it again and that's what happened and so failure is never final when we obey god's command for our life but here's something else that happens now the fish net has been dropped and something miraculous takes place simon and the disciples when they had done so they cart hear this word such a large number of fish that their nets began to break now that's a picture of success but in it notice what takes place nets almost break boat will almost sink crew will almost be drowned because sometimes success brings to us more than we can handle and when that happens notice what takes place in the very next line so they the crew signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them and they came and filled their boats so full that they they began to sink you see it net's about to break boat about the sink crew about to be drowned and how do they succeed take some fish out of one net put it in another or however they transferred it somebody lighten the load so we all can make it to shore safely here's another lesson then from faith to success is never for you singularly one of the things that the scripture does clearly is that it is counter culture you don't have to be very bright to pick that up by reading the scriptures as soon as you read particularly in the new testament and when you start with the life of jesus you pick up jesus lifestyle is different from everything that in quotes america teaches me or the west or the western influence says success looks like christian success is i'm not successful until i share my fish with somebody else and god always gives me more fish than i need for the purpose to give fish to somebody else and none of us are taught that way initially that only happens after someone has had a genuine transformative encounter with the lord jesus christ that god has blessed you we would say not just for you and so the first thing that simon does votes about the saint crew about the drown nets breaking and he doesn't need a bible lesson he doesn't need a new member's class he doesn't need a conference there is something in the presence of our lord that instinctively says if i am to enjoy this huge catch of fish then i need to share what i have with somebody else and he does on doing so he is the focus of the story because you can become so involved in the miraculous catch until you miss the purpose of the story the story of the fish and the fruitless fishing of the disciples to be is really an entree to this scene the spotlight if a stage shifts away from ganesha as a sea and men out fishing at night and catching nothing to the center stage and that is a conversation with simon and jesus when simon peter saw this in verse number 9 he fell at jesus knees and said go away from me lord i am a sinful man now remember earlier he refers to jesus as master and now he says lord which becomes interchangeable terms at times and then he says to him at this very moment he makes a confession i'm i'm a failure that's what he's saying when he says i am a sinful man i'm not in right relationship with you and without that i am a failure so when you hear people say well how did he know all of this augustine says you were created in such a way that without god filling that empty vacuum you cannot rest until you rest in him so when somebody says that god has not spoken to them or has not addressed them romans chapter 1 they are deliberately saying that they have intentionally suppressed god's voice from speaking to them you're god's creation and he knows what your needs are and he knows what you need and so simon on his knees i guess grabbing the knees of jesus saying i am a sinful man and then for he and all his companions verse 9 were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken now on one hand what's really happening in verse eight is when simon is on his knees he says go away from me lord sounds like isaiah chapter six of the prophet saying woe is me i'm a nun i'm a person of unclean lips and god cleanses him and now he says in verse 8 go away from me lord i'm a sinful man verse 9 for he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish that had taken what drove verse 8 for peter the fog at jesus knees the way that he did and confess i'm a sinful man i'm glad you asked remember he's a professional fisherman that he knows the particular places where the schools of fish would be and the time that they go back out is unpopular and and the fish won't come out this sounds like a scene from the barren sea of the deadliest catch doesn't it and here you have the liveliest catch where jesus knows to go exactly where he's supposed to go now this is not a stretch remember in the beginning was the word and the word was with god and the word was god jesus would know where to go because remember the christian faith testifies that he is god so he would know where creation is hanging out and somewhere between that peter recognized it and knew that he was in the presence of more than a good teacher more than some community lord or some itinerant professor he knew at that moment he was in the presence of holiness and down to his knees with a confession he goes i don't know about these other fishermen they're so astonished about the catch until they don't know what to do they can't believe all of what they have taken in and in it you have these names james and john the son of zebedee the partners of simon for those of you that enjoy reading the scripture and you says you know this is not following chronological order i remember meeting these people in in mark and in matthew even in john but they it didn't fall in this order each gospel writer is telling their story from their perspective you hear people say scripture contradicts itself no it testifies to itself mark looks from one angle and luke looks at another one and matthew sees from another vantage point and john sees from another they're telling it it would be the same if we all looked at one incident and we were all standing on different corners of the street looking at it we tell it from the angle that we see it so when you read matthew or mark and you meet where jesus sees peter casting his net and then james and john they are washing that net and then they're mending that net that same image will follow them until they fold up that tent and move upstairs jesus peter will always be casting his net trying to bring in people sermon on the day of pentecost and all the thousands of people that respond he's casting his net you'll see james and john washing that net and mending the net john will spend a lot of time writing to the churches and referring to the people to whom he addresses my little children james will serve as one who is cleansing the nets as a servant and a leader in the jerusalem church and so now these people are about to experience one last thing and so jesus said to simon don't be afraid from now on you will fish for people i've always been fascinated about the scripture especially studying the scripture just learning from the scripture you're no longer going to fish for fish you're going to fish for people when a person fish for fish they're fishing to send the fishes the fish to market is dead you're gonna fish for people alive fish fishermen and fisher women they have similar characteristics one is they're patient people that fish are patient when they take somebody who's never been fishing and they're ready to catch fish immediately they already know not a good fisherman not a good fishy woman yeah patient i take some mess i learned about people that fish they're courageous some of the places where they'll go to fish for fish takes a lot of nerve to go and do it yeah you get out with some of these people really fish you say are we we getting on this boat to go out there fish we're going into this cove we're going to go and take this rivoli fishing courageous patience nerves but this is mission now talk and this is that the church is going to make herself in a way where she's going to reach for people the mission we're going to fish for people and you're going to fish for all kinds of people the church has to be very careful you know we're very clear to talk about drop your net take in the fish that day when they caught those fish they were not all the same kind of fish i want to try to say this right so you can hear and feel what i'm saying you we talk about whosoever and most people don't belong believe that they really don't they want fish clean before they catch it you watch it when you start using a tag like the church without walls the law to start sending people just like that to your church without walls to see if you really can live up to that name there are some hurting people and there are some broken people and there are lost people and there are people who have made a mess of their life and their failures and they really want to come to the church so that they can experience the grace that you say that you have and not everybody who comes here comes looking a particular way i don't mean just not suited up i mean they they they may they may not fit the category i think i can close this i'll try to tell it the way that i heard tom long tell it in a sermon as he said that he and his wife when they had relocated are looking for housing at the time when he was teaching at princeton as the professor of preaching and they joined one of the downtown presbyterian churches and during the season uh of the year i can't remember i think it may have been lent or somewhere around there where they would make a special emphasis where they would take up an offering for the poor and things like that and he was looking for a church home i think that's what it was and and so um they would have a new member's dinner that that's it a new member's dinner and after he and his wife at united there was another gentleman and he gave his name who had united to the church and he didn't look the part i mean this church is full of university professors and very passionate sophisticated people who has an emphasis for the poor and the marginal but that new member dinner that night people stood up and they introduced themselves one young man introduced himself with tattoos and different piercings and earrings and and uh people were asked to question you know why to unite to the church you know people say i like the music and another one said that well i like uh the youth program uh there's an emphasis here on singles they all gave their reason when they got to this young man with his piercings and markings and uh nobody looked at him strange he gave his reason for being there he says i i come here because i've i found salvation here and he said it was an interesting thing uh dr long said that that everybody else was talking about how they had found you know a place for children you for their marriage and to say but this young man found salvation there so they had come now together and so time had gone by where during special prayer his name came up where he was missing and and was asked you know to um be prayed for people were saying pray for this person they knew that he had probably fallen into his previous life of addiction and things of that sort and so tom long found out where he was and he went to visit him in prison he had been arrested and he came in and said you know you and i we joined church together at the same time and i just wanted to check on he said i'm doing fine he said i'm doing fine he said you know i had a a warrant out and um i never had to turn myself i never would have been found out i could have gone more years i i never had to turn myself in but i just couldn't live with myself so i had to i i i turned myself in to pay for the crime that i committed nobody would would have found me i could have gone but after i met jesus and got salvation i wanted to settle that he said but i'll be all right i'll be out three days before easter i said i'll be fine said but but but while i'm here i have a ministry and a mission that i'm going on and i'm talking to people who've had lifestyles like mine and they're coming to know who jesus is long that day said he knew then what missions and salvation and evangelism and church was about that's what jesus did in this when he says that i'm gonna make you fishers of men i pray that our church doors always stay open to all kinds of people i must be honest i have a lot of fun when i see certain kinds of people come down the aisle i start looking to see how nervous one or two people might get but when jesus meets you at the point of failure you don't know what success is gonna look like and you don't know what kind of fish are going to be caught in that net and so they pulled their boats up to shore and they left everything everything to follow him they never forgot how to fish because after the resurrection they would go back fishing but that day they understood that jesus is the one that makes a difference and he can move you from one place to the next from one level to the next level and simon peter and james and john and though andrew's not mentioned i know he was around left that lucrative job as fishermen where everybody says man you you fellows are success they left because they knew without christ their life at best was failure and the very moment they followed him all of the security that they was accustomed to was hanging in the balance and even though jesus would say to them foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head they would know we have finally finally found the true meaning of success and this is the word of god thanks be to god let's pray together our father we are always given over to new definitions of what success looks like and it's always material what we drive and where we live and the money that we make if we don't have it then people tell us we're not successful and yet today i think of the countless men and women who have served you in mission fields and in ministry of various kinds that never received the american dream the way that they thought they would but in terms of the kingdom dream they found all of the peace and all of the comfort that they ever needed even when it looked like their barrels were running empty some miraculous way you kept feeling them teach us spiritually lord how what it means to be successful and that is to have a right relationship with you help us to fish for men and women and may we not become fish inspectors taking some in and throwing others out may we learn to lovingly receive people the way that they are and now god we pray for our church that we would be that kind of church and i pray for our people that we will remain to be that kind of people in the name of jesus christ our rock and redeemer we pray amen i want to give you an opportunity uh in the study of god's word to move from failure to success and that is like simon peter to fall to your knees whether that's physical or spiritual and say to the lord i'm a sinful person save me and if you say that the lord will save you if you confess your need lord i need a savior he's faithful to forgive those that confess to him when you do that we want to receive you into our church fellowship moreover to celebrate you in god's kingdom it might be the day that you're saying pastor wes i'm already a christian but i need a church home and i want to extend that invitation to you that you would become that also you may say past pastor wes i'm a christian but i've strayed away from god well the good news is throughout this book it is a great story to tell us about how men and women have come back to god how they have returned to god and i want you to do that so we're praying for you and already welcoming you and i look forward to being with you as we study through luke chapter five the difference that jesus makes let's prepare then to give our tithe in our offerings as an expression of our gratitude to god of how god has blessed us to be able to give and what a joy it is to give to the one that is given to us as you make preparation for that let's say together wherever you are you may be on lunch break you might be on the late shift studying but let's say it together whether there's a temple there's a need but there's a need there's a provision where there's a provision there's god and where there's god he'll supply in miraculous ways it's offering time praise the lord thank you for your faithfulness of giving your tithe and offering our journey gifts and for your i mean unwavering commitment to the church without walls and with that said pay close attention to the website for all information that you need and i look forward to seeing you again on next week as we continue our study the difference that jesus makes [Music] thanks pass ladies mosaic women's ministry wants you to join the group that matches your individual season of life to find out which season you're in visit women.tcww.org men we haven't forgotten about you check out men.tcww.org to find out more about momentum men's ministry now let's see what's new beyond the pew brook hollow christian academy is enrolling children from six weeks old to first grade visit the website for additional information ladies mark your calendars and get ready because amazing women's weekend is coming september 23rd to the 25th visit our website for additional information coffin christ is a church without walls bible study you'll personally engage with sermons i preach on sunday to discover for yourselves how to authentically live out what the bible says it means the name coffin christ expresses the relaxed and conversational small group atmosphere grab a cup of coffee rt and join us on tuesdays at 7 o'clock p.m small groups be encouraged [Music] how's it going church without walls family you all need to join us for our virtual spirit back to school rally on tuesday always the 10th at 6 00 pm that's right you don't want to miss out it's going to be a good old-fashioned spirit rally you don't want to miss the great escape that's right you can't escape god's love this year so we'll kick it off at six and then chime on in all the way through you don't wanna miss us parents teachers educators everybody students praying in righteousness and in truth see you there [Music] look this way i want to bless you as we prepare to leave and go into the world to serve the lord bless you and keep you the lord make his face to smile upon you and be gracious unto you the lord lift the light of his countenance upon you and grant you his peace may the lord bless you when you go out and come in when you rise up early and settle late in your labor and in your legion your laughter and in your tears until that day when we shall stand at the feet of jesus where there's no sunrise our son said god bless you be encouraged i love you

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Length: 58min 17sec (3497 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 28 2021