Title: Faith is Action / Luke 5:1-11
Content Faith is action / Luke 5:1-11
1. The man of action Peter: Verse 11
It is not surprising that Peter, who obeyed Jesus' command to go out into the deep and cast his net, caught a lot of fish. It is because such a miracle is so easy for Jesus, who rules the world. However, it is truly amazing that Peter and his companions, who had met Jesus, abandoned all the boats and nets that were important to them and followed Jesus when Jesus said, “I will make you fishers of men.”
Simon Peter and his companions, as the heads of a family, would have had to suffer if they did not go out to the Sea of Galilee to catch fish. However, I wonder if they would have been able to follow Jesus, leaving behind the boat, net, and everything that they valued the most in response to Jesus' one word. They also wonder what courage they would have had to immediately leave everything and follow Jesus when all they could do was catch fish in the Sea of Galilee.
However, the act of immediately abandoning and leaving was the key to the secret that Peter became the protagonist of a new destiny in the Lord. If they had not taken concrete steps to follow Jesus, leaving their boats, nets, and everything behind, they would never have been able to become disciples of Jesus, and they would not have been the heroes of the glory of becoming apostles of the early church. Their faith in action allowed them to experience a new destiny.
They didn't study much, and that's not to say they weren't exceptionally smart. His social background wasn't very good either. They are not Israel, the powerless frontier of the Roman Empire, and not Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, but the people of Galilee, a rural area on the outskirts. Even in Galilee, they are not the people who were awake to the tide of the world early, but the fishermen who are dark in the sense of the times. The secret that ordinary people could become disciples of Jesus and apostles of the church that saves the world is because they acted as they were moved by the words of Jesus.
2. Peter acted promptly according to grace: vv. 8-11
When Peter met Jesus and caught a lot of fish according to his words, he was deeply moved by his heart. I realized that God is not only in the books that are far away in heaven, but He is the One who comes into our lives and performs precious works in our lives. Peter was also captured by Jesus' words that you would become fishers of men. Peter did not end with being moved by these words. Realizing God's specific demands with a heartbreaking feeling, he took the action of abandoning the ships, nets, and the necessities of a fisherman's life, which he had considered as supporting his life, to go on a new path.
We too receive grace from God. The problem is that we cannot act immediately according to the grace we have received, and we simply hesitate and become the protagonist of grace. The inspiration of the Holy Spirit specifically requires us to change and to take concrete actions for change. It reminds us of what God specifically wants us to do in our minds. The thought that we should cut off what we want to cut off and leave what we want to leave takes hold of our hearts. It reminds you of what to do. It reminds us of what we should be dedicated to.
When God asks us to be specific, we must act immediately. If you put it off until tomorrow, your life will not change. If you don't act immediately, you miss the chance to change your life and change your destiny. Peter and his companions immediately departed when the thought that grace came upon them and that they were so precious to them and that they should leave the boat, the net, and all that they were a part of and follow Jesus, took hold of them. I left without delay. If you don't leave immediately, you'll never leave. They immediately abandoned them according to the grace they had received and left, so they became the protagonists of a new destiny to follow Jesus.
3. He left everything and followed Jesus: verse 11
First, Simon Peter and his companions left their boats, their nets, and all their fishing gear, which they so cherished and held to be all they had.
We cannot go on a new path because we are unable to throw away what we think we cannot live without. When it inspires us to abandon what was important to us and follow the Lord, when we boldly abandon it and follow the Lord, we become the protagonists of a new path. You will get something more precious than you ever imagined. Sometimes, even in a situation where you have to leave, you are already used to life and cannot leave. Just like the Israelites who were slaves in Egypt. The Holy Spirit reminds us of things we are familiar with that we should let go of. He also gives you the strength and ability to throw them away immediately. So when God calls us to act, we must respond in faith.
Second, Peter and his companions immediately followed Jesus.
For Peter and his companions to follow Jesus, they were exalting and expanding beyond their own level and into the level of God. The dream of the disciples as fishermen on the Sea of Galilee, their lifestyle, what they valued, and the people they could influence must have been too narrow and narrow. Now, following Jesus means following a dream they could not have imagined within themselves. They experience amazing things that are different from what they expected to experience as fishermen. Jesus told Peter and his companions to choose a way beyond themselves following the Lord and they immediately took up the challenge.
◎ Let's share the actions of Peter and his companions.
◎ Let's share an experience in which you acted according to the realization God gave you. Let's share an experience we didn't have.
◎ What are the actions that God requires of us today?