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Matt 4:18
Luke 5:1-11
Faith in relation to God taking care of our needs
- “Put out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch.” Do we do the work, and trust God in the rest, or do we worry, and leave God to do the work.
- Believe and labor. We’ve been commanded to work by God. Yet we must continue to trust that God will provide.
- We should continue to hope, even if God does delay for a time. For Peter continued to labor on through the night, even though he caught no fish, and the danger of going without food was ever present.
- After the disciples caught the fishes and tasted the fruit of faith, their faith increased and grew
Discipleship
Teach the word of God
Jesus was teaching to the crowds. And this is what we should do. In Acts 19:9-10 Luke said that Paul “reasoned daily in the hall of Tyrannus . Just as Paul who focused on teaching the word of God in each place that he went to people who have yet to know God, we should too be focus on spreading the word of God
Obey the commands of Jesus
In verse 4, Jesus told Peter to let down his nets, who answered and said, ‘Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets’” (v. 5). If Simon had not obeyed, there would probably have been no catch. Jesus could make the fish jump into the boat. But he doesn’t usually act that way. Peter is an example given to us. Not a perfect one. But a good one.
Peter was a fisherman. Jesus was a carpenter. He could have been thinking about how Jesus can’t possibly know more about fishing then he does. He’s first reply was about how he had been working all night, and was tired already. “I’m tired, doesn’t seem like a good time, but I’ll do it anyway.” How many times have we had this ‘half-hearted’ obedience. Yet God still accepts it. The time is never perfect. And our hearts are never perfect. But Christ honors simple efforts to obey him.
Humble yourselves
v 8b says, “Simon Peter . . . fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, ‘Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!’ What are our reactions, when we look around and see God’s hands and God’s miracles on all the things around us.
Treasure Christ above all
When Peter and the rest had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.” This is what it means to follow Jesus: he is more valuable to us than everything. Can we be like Paul who says that “I count everything as loss compared to knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8)
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