Page 8 - Florida Sentinel 1-8-21

Called To Follow Luke 5:1-11 (KJV)
The Scriptures
1. And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gen- nesaret,
2. And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.
3. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a lit- tle from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.
4. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
5. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we
have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: never- theless at thy word I will let down the net.
6. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.
7. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.
8. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me;forIamasinfulman,O Lord.
9. For he was aston- ished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:
10. And so was also James, and John, the sons of
Zebedee, which were part- ners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.
11. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and fol- lowed him.
Background
In this week’s lesson, we will see the level of commit- ment Jesus asked of His dis- ciples as they were called to leave what they were doing to follow Him for the rest of their lives.
Jesus began to preach in the synagogues around Galilee (Luke 4:42-44). It was about this time that Jesus’ ministry took a turn and He started gathering dis- ciples who would shadow Him constantly and become prepared to carry on His ministry after His departure.
Setting Out With Doubt (Luke 5:1-5)
Once again, Jesus taught the people, but this time in
the open air, from the shores of the Sea of Galilee, in one the nearby fishing boats. Two boats were left near the water’s edge by fishermen who were washing their nets.
Simon (Peter) and his crew, which included the sons of Zebedee, James and John, and Simon’s brother Andrew were honored to have the popular Teacher on their boat. (Jesus taught from Simon’s boat.)
After he had finished teaching, Jesus turned His attention to the fishermen. He asked them to “let down their nets to catch.” The men had been out all night and has not caught anything, but followed the dfirections of the Master.
We may not always un- derstand what God is asking us to do, He simply wants us to obey.
Responding Without Hesitation
(vs 6-11)
Simon was hesitant
about going ot to sea, but he did. Both boats went out to sea. “They caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break” (v. 6). Simon began more fully to understand who this Teacher really was. Simon fell to his knees, saying “I am a sinful man!”
Jesus calmed Simon’s fears and calmly redirected his life. Simon and his com- panions would no longer be fishermen but apostles, helpint to establish Jesus’ kingdom on earth. The men were now willing to partici- pate in Jesus’ mission.
Peter’s act of obedience proved to be a turning point in his life. He was trans- formed from catching fish to catching people.
Jesus is calling us to fol- low Him and participate in His mission of drawing all men to God through salva- tion in Jesus; by being a light for Jesus wherever we go.
ple.
God uses ordinary peo-
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