Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Milford

According to Luke 5:1-11 [NLTse]
One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee,[a] great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. 2 He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3 Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon,[b] its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”
5 “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” 6 And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! 7 A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.
8 When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m too much of a sinner to be around you.” 9 For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. 10 His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.
Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” 11 And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.

Sermon
Why are you here? Do you know why you are here? I know that you woke up to your alarms, took showers, got dressed, and drove here. But, why? Do you know why you set your alarms, took showers, got dressed, and drove here?

Maybe you think it is because you wanted to worship God and show your love and adoration for Him with other Christians. Maybe you’re thinking it is because you wanted to learn more about the Christian life: Who God is by getting to better know Who Jesus is; who you are by getting to better know what Jesus has done and how the Holy Spirit has applied that to you. Maybe you think it is because your husband or your wife or your mom or your dad or your son or your daughter made you come this morning, and that’s why you’re here.

Well, the Bible tells us that you are here – that we are all here, each of us altogether – because God the Father has gathered us here by calling out to us through the voice of Jesus Christ and moving us to accept His call through the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, all of which moved us to set our alarms, take showers, get dressed, and drive here.
You are here because God wants you here. We – this unique mix of us – we are here because God wants us here.

Paul writes, “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) “Not that we loved God but that He loved us,” John the apostle writes. (1 John 4:10) The Lord Jesus Himself made it clear this way, “You did not choose Me but I chose you.” (John 15:16)

When a child is adopted he or she does not visit adoption websites looking through bios of prospective parents who are looking to adopt, and then picking from among them his or her new mom and dad. No. Parents adopt the child.

When Amy and I were dating she asked me to marry her: Not once, not twice, but three times! I said “no” to her every time, but not because I didn’t want to marry her. I loved Amy and was committed even during those moments to be her husband and have her to be my wife! No. I said “no” because the woman doesn’t ask the man to marry her (I know, call me old-fashioned), the man asks the woman.

And so it is with the Lord. The apostle Paul tells us, “You received God’s Spirit when He adopted you as His Own children. Now we call Him, “Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:15) We didn’t pick and choose and adopt Him. He picked, He chose, and He adopted us!

Likewise, to the Ephesian-Christians, the apostle Paul wrote, “The Scriptures say, ‘A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.” And St. Paul goes on writing to the Corinthian-Christians, “I promised you as a pure bride to one husband—Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:2) And it is the husband who asks for the wife’s hand, not the wife the husband’s…
You are here because God wants you here. You are His because God has made you His. We are here this morning because God Himself wants us to be.

So, what does He want from us, this God Almighty, the maker of Heaven and earth, the Holy One of Israel, Who knows everyone and everything (even the hearts of people), Who is and has within Himself all power, even power over death… He has called us to be with Him. He has made us His Own. His love for us like a husband’s; his love for us like a dad’s… What does this lover of our souls want from us?
Well, of course, as lover’s do, He tells us.

In our reading this morning Jesus said: He wants us to go and fish for people. And in our passage from John where Jesus said, “You did not choose Me but I chose you,” He went on to say, “And I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit.” (15:16)

Let’s start with our reading from Mark. Our Lord and Husband wanting us to “fish for people” means that He wants us to “catch people” for Him or “gather people together” for Him. And yet we’ve just said that people only come to Christ when He’s first called them personally! So then, “fishing for people” must mean having people respond to Christ’s call and then come to be with Him because they’ve heard His voice calling to them through us – through our words, our influence, or our ministry in their lives: Fishing for people.

And He has appointed us to go and produce lasting fruit. And that lasting fruit might include “fishing for people”, but, certainly it must also include the fruit Paul so famously refers to as the Fruit of the Spirit: “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control,” (Galatians 5:22-23) the very character of God that gets produced in us as we are with Him daily responding to His call.

So, where “fishing for people” speaks of Jesus’ desire for us to call more and more people to Himself through us, “producing lasting fruit” speaks about Jesus’ desire to make each of those He’s called – each of you, each of us – Jesus’ desire to make each of those He’s called to be more and more like Him.

Now, that can seem like a pretty tall order, and like pretty hairy and complicated tasks. But I believe that Jesus has intended for it to be simple.

Elder Doug Jacobs preached to you all several weeks ago about the book, “Simple Church”, that different ones around the congregation have been reading. So many churches around the world are trying to be all things to all people, having become so very scattered and complex and, perhaps, so very unfocused and lost as a part of it. Yet the Bible seems to portray our life together quite simply: Jesus calls people; they come to Him; and then they go and serve as His mouthpieces to others while at the same time growing to be more like Him in character and heart.
For years I have been talking and preaching and teaching about God’s calling us to regularly – even always – be a part of worshiping Him, talking, preaching, and teaching us to be a part of at least one Bible Study to help us be growing in Him, and talking and preaching and teaching us to be a part of at least one ministry so that we can be serving Him. I’ve talked and preached and taught about it as WORSHIPING making us like a pitcher, and GROWING being that which fills us up, and SERVING being that which pours us out, ready again for a fresh filling. I’ve talked and preached and taught about it as WORSHIPING being that which refreshes and renews our new life, and GROWING being, then, like breathing in, and SERVING being, then, like breathing out. And our “Simple Church” study has provided even more of a foundation and an intentionality to all of that for us, and, of course, most especially, for the elders.

We believe that Jesus Christ is calling people to Himself and developing “fishers-of-men” and “fruit that will last” by setting us to be a WORSHIPING – GROWING – SERVING people. That as we WORSHIP and actively participate in expressing our commitment to Christ by WORSHIPING, that as we GROW and are actively GROWING through Bible study, prayer for one another, and Christian fellowship, and that as we SERVE and are actively SERVING in ever more self-challenging and faith-demanding ways, that we will indeed be living lives following after Him as He calls, and that draw others to Him as His ambassadors and mouthpieces, even as we become more and more like Him in grace and truth.

If you are not already involved in at least one Bible Study, whether that be one of our small groups that meet in the church or at different ones houses throughout the week or whether that be one of the Sunday School classes that will be beginning Sunday, September 13th, I charge you to join one, or to start one yourself in your own home or neighborhood.

If you are not already involved in at least one serving-ministry, whether that be serving Sunday morning or serving in other ways at other times across the week, I charge you to offer your gifts to be a part of serving the Lord Jesus Christ through your service to one another or to others around our community.
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He’s calling us to be with Him. in order to call even others to Him, and in order to be more like Him, the way He is. WORSHIPING – GROWING – SERVING. Simple.